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singmyaubade · 10 months

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No Longer Yours

James Potter x Female!Reader

IB: In The Cold November Rain by @sweetsweetjellybean (Make sure to check it out, it’s incredible and one of the best I’ve ever read !)

A/N: First, I apologize for my time writing this; it just had to be perfect! I am so grateful that you all love my story enough to give it so much love and support and practically beg for a part 3; thank you so much. I had no idea how to start and continue this, so please be kind. I really hope you guys enjoy this part, and I hope it's everything you dreamed of <3

Summary: James had disregarded you for multiple years, but when you have an epiphany in your final year, how does it feel to taste his own medicine?

Warning: It may contain swearing and soon-to-be smut.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

"Shh.. don't wake her up!" You heard Lily whisper in your half-asleep state as the sun peeked at you through the blinds.

"It's Marlene's big oger feet," Mary snorted.

"Hey! My feet are not the size of oger feet," Marlene replied, sticking out her tongue.

"Shh!" Lily warned.

You heard the shuffling of paper and steps as you opened your eyes to see your best friends hanging up decorations, a smile appearing on your face immediately.

"Oh, bollocks," Lily sighed, face-palming, "Happy birthday!" She yelled, half annoyed but half happy there was a smile on your face. She embraced you as you sat upright in bed, glad to see your friend's dedication to your birthday.

The rest of them told you a happy birthday, embracing you in a tight hug.

"Wow, I can't believe you actually got Marlene up this early," You said, opening another card they gave you.

"Well, it took a chicken drumstick," Dorcas replied.

"Otherwise, I would've been grouchy, and Y/n would have had a horrible birthday, so really I did it for her," Marlene said as Mary rolled her eyes.

"I wonder what the Marauders have planned, especially James," Lily muttered.

Every year for your birthday, James would give you a grand birthday party and tons of presents. He usually would sneak into your dorm room and surprise you with cannons and the other Marauders, but of course, this year was different.

And coincidentally, your birthday was the same day as the start of winter break, which always meant you had to pack on your birthday.

And every birthday, you had to go over to James's house for your birthday dinner with your families.

Which you were not looking forward to this year.

"Oh shit, sorry, Y/n, I know you don't want to speak about him," Lily apologized.

"It's alright; I'm sure I'll be reminded of him today many times," You replied, getting out of bed, "I can't believe I don't get to spend my birthday at Hogwarts," You said, grabbing clothes from your closet, setting them next to the trunk.

"It does suck, but you can at least be excited about your birthday dinner," Lily replied, closing her trunk.

"Hopefully, it goes well without James hinting to our parents that I hate him and don't want anything to do with him," You angrily said, shoving your clothes in your trunk.

"Do you really hate him, though?" Mary asked, "I mean, you were best friends with him all these years, and now, you utterly hate him,"

"That was before I realized he was cruel and truly considered me anything but something that he couldn't get rid of," You said, "But enough about James, are we still meeting together after Christmas?"

"Of course, your house, Y/n?" Dorcas asked.

You nodded, "But we can't steal my parent's booze again; I'm pretty sure the elves are scared of Marlene,"

"I didn't mean to scare them with my clown impression; it was just too good," Marlene smirked.

"Yeah yeah, for sure," You said, laughing before packing the rest of your clothes.

Suddenly, your parent's owl flew in from the window, delivering you a letter. You opened the envelope and straightened the folded-up letter, which stated:

Dear beloved Y/n,

Your father and I are experiencing a torturous delay from France; we have fought with the conductor multiple times and even considered apparating or the floo. Unfortunately, because of the horrible mangling rabbit, I TOLD your father not to eat, he has been throwing up all evening, and we can't apparate, and the nearest floo is eight hours away. You will stay with the Potters tonight and tomorrow night because too many wards might injure you in the house that the elves can't disable, but we hope to return before then. We want you to have the most incredible birthday and love you so much; we are incredibly sorry to miss it. Please forgive us.

Sincerely,

Your proud parents.

"What does the letter say?" Lily asked, glancing at you the folding her socks.

"My parents are stuck in a delay and can't make it to my birthday dinner in time, or even tomorrow," You shrugged.

"I am so sorry, Y/n," Lily said, embracing you.

You hugged her back. "It's okay; at least I have the Potters.

"Are you sure you will be okay?" Dorcas asked.

"Yeah, you can stay with me if you want," Mary offered.

"No, it's fine." You sighed, "They will be hurt if I skipped the opportunity to continue the tradition, and my mom would wring my head off if I didn't go," You joked.

"Okay, well, let us know," Lily smiled.

The whole part of you was sincerely upset; you didn't want your parents to not be there for your birthday. Even worse, you weren't on good terms with James, which only made for an awkward dinner with his family.

But you understood and knew your parents would make it up to you, and you know how guilty they felt; you just missed them.

You chose to keep your mind off it and keep packing until it was time to go to the train.

"When does this bloody train come?" Marlene shivered, "I'm fucking freezing,"

"I told you to bring your jumper," Mary sighed.

"I didn't think I really needed it," Marlene replied, gritting her teeth.

"I knew you would be cold," You said, giving her one of your extra jumpers.

"You know, Y/n, I'll kick Potter's bloody ass for you; just remember that," Marlene suggested, causing you to laugh.

"Speaking of the devil," Dorcas muttered under her breath.

You turned around to see James looking straight into your eyes. You had to admit that James had never been so intimidating. His eyes looked as if they had darkened, and he looked as if you were his Slytherin competitor in Quidditch.

"Are you ready?" He asked, his voice sounding deeper.

He didn't even say Happy Birthday.

"I'm gonna sit with them," You blankly stated, not an ounce of kindness in your voice.

"It's better if we sit together," James demanded, "Otherwise, we won't be able to find each other in the crowd when the train stops," He explained to you slowly as if you were a child, which only pissed you off.

"Are you fucking mishearing me, or are you just delusional?" You asked, "I said I'm gonna sit with my friends and not assholes. I don't even consider an acquaintance." You sneered, your voice sounding so harsh that it shocked your friends, "Please do me a favor and leave me the fuck alone."

"Are you really gonna be an uptight bitch?" James asked, a cocky smile on his face, "I mean, Jesus, I like it better when your mouth is shut or perhaps filled." Some of you knew that James was just being an asshole because he was hurt, which is what he always did, even when he was a kid, but the only thing about it was that he only did it to you.

That only angered you more before you slapped him for his rude comment, "Don't you fucking dare speak to me like that."

"Or what?" He stepped closer

"Okay, guys!" Lily stepped in, "We will approach you five minutes before the train stops, and you guys will walk together in peace, hopefully," Lily dragged you away as you glared at James.

"I can't believe you actually slapped him," Marlene said, following after you guys, "I mean, after what he said, I would've punched him so hard in the di-"

Mary cut her off, "Jokes aside, are you okay, Y/n? I mean, I have never seen James so mean and awful towards you or anyone for that matter,"

You sighed, "Yeah, I'm fine, I just don't get why he is so mean to me when he was the one who broke my trust in the first place,"

"What did he do?" Marlene asked.

The rest of the group looked at Marlene as if she had killed a unicorn. Nobody had really asked what James had done but considering your resentment towards him, it must’ve been unforgiving.

You hesitated, “He just didn’t say some nice things about me.” You answered, hoping to move on.

“Like what kind of things?” Marlene pried.

You could tell she was just curious, but you were so humiliated by what James had said that you didn’t even want to tell your closest friends.

Dorcas elbowed Marlene, causing her to hiss in pain before she said, “It isn’t our business if you don’t want to tell us, Y/n.”

“Yeah,” Lily agreed, “Maybe it’s better it is between you and James.”

The rest of the group agreed including Marlene who was hunched over in pain and verbally cursing Dorcas for the hard elbow.

You muttered a “thanks” before heading onto the train. You sat by the window, staring outside to the foggy mountains.

You didn’t want to admit it but you did miss James and how much he cared for your birthday. Sometimes it seemed like it was his birthday with how high he held your birthday.

You didn’t understand why he couldn’t just try to even figure out what he had done or fight for your forgiveness, he just chose to be angry at you.

You didn't even want to think about him. Why does your whole life revolve around him?

"Anything from the trolley dearies?" The Trolley Witch asked.

"Chocolate frogs," Marlene said.

"Jumbling Jellies," Lily answered.

"I'll take Fizzing Wheezies," You said, paying her 10 galleons for you all.

"Y/n, you don't ha-" Lily was about to say before Marlene shushed her.

Lily glared as Marlene spoke, "Bless your heart, Y/n," She smiled as you laughed.

As Marlene started devouring her chocolate frog, you couldn't help but remember how you and James would share Fizzing Wheezies every time on your birthday on the train.

Practically tradition.

You wondered if he thought the same. If he was relishing in the memories.

Your thinking was halted when Dorcas set a hand on your thigh as you smiled, laying your head on her shoulder. You closed your eyes, trying to prepare for the day ahead.

"Y/n," Someone lightly shook you by your shoulder as you looked to see Lily. She was waking all of the girls up as the train stopped.

You yawned, getting up to grab your luggage. James was right that there would be traffic, so you had to rush off, saying your goodbyes to your best friends.

"Promise to write?" Lily asked, looking near tears.

"Lils, it's only a week," You snorted as she gave you a stern look.

"A week I won't get to see you," She hugged you tighter as you smiled and returned it.

"See you before Christmas?" She asked.

You rubbed her shoulder, "See you before Christmas."

"Promise me you won't forgive Potter," Marlene sighed, causing you to laugh.

"Do you have no faith in her at all?" Mary asked next to Marlene.

"Do you have no faith in her at all?" Marlene mocked, causing Mary to glare.

"Okay, okay!" You laughed at the both of them, "Only if you promise you both will stop bickering," You hugged them both.

They glared at each other as Dorcas spoke, "Forgetting someone?"

You grinned, "Never," You hugged her, kissing her on the cheek.

You were waiting for her to say, "Give him hell?" You asked as she laughed.

"I think you know what to do," She encouraged before you exited, waving goodbye to all of them.

Even though it was only a week, you still hated being away from your best friends. They were like your third family besides your actual and the Potters.

You saw the back of Sirius's head as you approached him, considering he lived with the Potters.

He turned around before you could tap him, picking you up, "Happy birthday Y/n!" He said, kissing your cheek as you yelped.

"Okay, thank you, Sirius, put me down!" You giggled.

He put you down as you smoothed your clothing, "So where's Potter?' You asked.

He smirked, "Only last name? Ice cold Y/n." You didn't respond, so he assumed you were waiting for an answer, "He went to the toilets,"

You hummed, silently tapping your foot on the pavement, only hearing the ruckus around you both.

"Excited for your birthday dinner?" He asked, partly ready for the drama.

"Very," You sarcastically said.

"Hey, Mom and Dad aren't too bad," He said.

"We both know Euphemia and Fleamont aren't the Potters I despise," You muttered.

"Well, for your sake, I'll make him behave," He sent a charming smile your way.

"What would I do without you, Black?" You rolled your eyes.

"Probably be miserable," He answered, causing you to laugh.

"What are we laughing about?" James said, not even a smidge of excitement in his tone.

Your usual mad facade slipped back in as you grabbed your luggage and started heading toward the car. You could hear Sirius laughing behind you.

You saw Euphemia and Fleamont waiting by the car like they had usually done since Sixth year since James told them to stop coming inside because of his newfound "popularity."

Your face lit up immediately, excited to see two of your favorite people worldwide.

You embraced Euphemia, giving the tightest hug you could and giving Fleamont a kiss on the cheek while they asked about your studies. You could see James rolling his eyes both audibly and physically.

"Okay, Mother, I don't think Y/n likes all the questions," James said, leaning his head on the window while his father drove.

Sirius was in between the two of you, snoring asleep. Considering the train ride, you didn't even know why he was tired.

"I don't mind at all," You said, smiling as James glared at you.

You knew that Euphemia could feel the tension between you and James, but she ignored it, "So Y/n, I have made you something extraordinary." Euphemia said.

"And that is?" You asked, knowing she wouldn't tell you.

"I guess you will have to find out tonight during dinner." She sweetly said, winking at you.

You smiled to yourself, relieved your birthday wouldn't be that bad.

You entered the house that you had been over to so many times, admiring it fully.

"James will show you your room," Euphemia said, rubbing your back as you smiled, trying not to show your discomfort about James.

James didn't even wait for you before heading up the steps. Thankfully, he carried your luggage because he knew Euphemia would berate him.

"It's in there," He lazily said, not even opening the door before walking downstairs.

Jerk.

You grunted, lifting your heavy suitcase inside the room.

You admired the room, which looked like it was made for you. It was warm and tremendous for a guest room. It had all of your favorite colors and smells.

It was perfect.

You decided to nap before dinner, considering you had no one to talk to, and you were partly tired after the drive anyway. You knew an elf would get you when it was time.

"Ms." A frail voice said as your eyes fluttered open to see Dot, the Potter's elf that had been there since you had first moved in.

"Oh, hello, Dot," You spoke lightly, yawning.

"Ms. Potter tells Dot to inform you it's time for dinner," Her small voice said.

"Thank you, Dot, I appreciate it," You thanked before the elf nodded her head and apparated out.

You stretched, wearing a semi-formal dress, one of your favorites.

You headed down the stairs as you smelt the food radiating from the dining room. It was all of your favorites; it was pretty extraordinary. Ms. Potter was always the type to blow you off of your feet, regardless.

Your face lit up, "This is stunning, Ms. Potter," You looked at the glowing lights.

Euphemia smiled, "I'm glad you love it,"

You sat next to James with Sirius next to him. His face had certainly softened, but he was clenching his jaw when you sat beside him.

"Now," Euphemia started, "I know we usually do gifts after dinner, but we all had such beautiful surprises for you that we couldn't wait."

Euphemia started first, giving you one of your favorite movies since you were a kid, except the movie wasn't available anywhere.

You rose excitedly, embracing her, "How did you get this?" You asked, smiling at the CDs.

"A friend of mine is good friends with the director, and he happened to have one last copy," She answered as you excitingly hugged her before returning to your seat.

"Thank you, Ms. Potter," You looked at Euphemia, "I love it,"

She nodded before Fleamont gave you his gift. It was a beautiful crystal from Bejing.

You thanked him for the beautiful gem before Sirius offered you his gift. He gave you a perfume that smelled of fire whisky but wasn't actually fire whisky.

Part of you wanted to know how he did it, but you decided to save it for later as you thanked him, kissing him on the cheek as he cheered.

Last was James, who picked up the gift from under the table. He had looked you in the eyes, not a set of resentment in them at all.

Your breath hitched as he gave you a stuffed animal your grandfather gave you when you were nine. You had cried for a week because you had lost it and teared up when anyone mentioned it.

He gave it to you as it looked brand new and was cleaner than when you had it when you were nine.

When you pressed on the heart, it always said "I love you" in your grandfather's voice and even had your name on the collar.

You teared up, "How did you find it?"

He stuttered, "I-I found it in the treehouse in the corner,"

"I thought the treehouse was infested with Clockonuts," You said.

He laughed, "Well, I risked my life to get it back,"

Every sense of anger you had felt had disappeared; he had done something that was so out of his actions lately that it made you miss him.

"Thank you," You genuinely said.

He gave you a simple nod before you began eating. Conversations started after, talking about school.

"So, any boys, Y/n?" Euphemia asked as James dropped his fork on his plate, making a huge sound that caused you to look at him.

You cleared your throat, "Well, I am trying not to focus on that right now,"

"Except for Carrows," James muttered.

"Who's Carrows?" Euphemia asked, genuinely curious.

You took a bite of your carrot, "Um, well," You swallowed, "He's just a friend I have."

"I don't sit on my friend's laps," James scoffed, causing you to glare at him.

"Well, I don't call my friends sluts," You spat.

"James Fleamont Potter, what did you call her?" Euphemia added.

James ignored her, "Well, when your best friend is acting like one just because you don't fancy her, I think she deserves it,"

Mate-" Sirius chimed in, but you were faster.

"When have I ever fancied you?" You asked, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of that knowledge.

"Y/n, you were practically obsessed with me," He ridiculed, "I couldn't get away from you, and the only time I could was when I dated Lily; it was the best months of my life," His face looked shocked after he said the last words.

You couldn't tell if he meant it, but it hurt you badly. All those years of friendship were fake; he couldn't tolerate you.

"That's enough!" Euphemia said; even Sirius was silent.

A tear ran down your cheek, "I'm actually not feeling well; I'm gonna go to bed." You said, placing your napkin on the plate in front of you.

You heard Euphemia berating James as you ran up to your room. In some ways, you didn't understand why James did everything he did if he hated you so much.

Why did he give you that gift? Why did he always call you and get mad when you didn't want to be his friend? Did you ever mean anything to James Potter?

And if you did, why did he have to ruin your birthday?

A/N: If you hated this, I apologize.

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starlightkun · 4 months

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❧ word count: 3.4k ❧ warnings: cursing, drinking (reader gets a bit tips), vomiting ❧ genre: fluff, angst?, friends to lovers, fake dating at the office holiday party trope, reader is stupid (beloved) ❧ extra info: title taken from merry-go-round (christmas edition) by astro my loves ❧ author’s note: idk what it is about kun and christmas and cheesy hallmark movie premises that gets me going but i hope yall r liking all these lmao

“I’ll do it.” Kun immediately offered.

“Huh?”

“I’ll be your fake boyfriend for the night.”

“I lead a cursed existence,” you declared as soon as Kun picked up, slamming your front door closed behind you.

“Uh, why? What happened now?” Your friend’s voice was concerned.

“Jangwook wants to meet my boyfriend at the office Holiday Party this Friday.” You threw your house keys onto your kitchen table and stalked into your bedroom.

Kun knew exactly who you were talking about, your coworker who had been not-so-subtle in his advances towards you, crossing the line on more than one occasion. “I thought you reported him to HR.”

“Yeah, I did.” You kicked your shoes off and into your closet.

“And he still works there?!”

“Uh-huh,” you scoffed, putting him on speakerphone to start getting changed out of your work clothes. “That’s unfortunately usually how that goes.”

“God, Y/N, I’m sorry.” Kun’s voice was sincere. “You’re looking for another job, right?”

“I just started, do you know how bad it looks on a résumé to only work somewhere for less than six months?”

“I think quitting is pretty justified in these circumstances.”

“Well, I’m not. So now I have to find a fake boyfriend in the next two days or it’s going to get worse.”

“I’ll do it.” He immediately offered.

You stopped in your tracks as you were grabbing your pajamas from your dresser. “Huh?”

“I’ll be your fake boyfriend for the night,” Kun reiterated. “Come on, who else would you have asked? Yangyang?”

“Sicheng, maybe, if he wasn’t too busy.” You referenced another mutual friend of yours.

“He’s working.”

“Oh.”

“Come on, I’ll do it.”

“Alright, thanks, Kun,” you agreed. “I’ll owe you one.”

Two days later, you stopped Kun outside the event venue where the Holiday Party was supposed to be happening. Everything had to be perfect tonight, you two had to be convincing. In order to distract yourself from that idea, you readjusted the neckline of Kun’s turtleneck for a moment and smoothed over the lapels of his suit jacket.

“Okay, there you go,” you smiled at him nervously, then fidgeted with the hem of your outfit. “Do I look okay?”

“You look beautiful,” he assured you, offering his hand out to you. “Ready?”

“As I’ll ever be,” you sighed, lacing your fingers with his, ignoring the sparking along your skin where it touched his.

Walking into the party, you immediately wanted to leave. The venue was abuzz with chatter from all your coworkers, and Christmas music blasted from speakers somewhere. You spotted the bar in the far corner, and pulled Kun over there.

“No fucking way am I doing this sober,” you muttered to him, earning a laugh.

“Go for it,” he rubbed your back as the two of you sidled up to the bar. “I’m driving.”

After ordering your drink and Kun’s soda, you turned around to the rest of the party, eyes searching for somebody pleasant you could talk to. You finally spotted one of your work friends and led Kun over to her table.

“Hey, Sookyung,” you greeted her brightly.

“Y/N!” She threw her arms around your neck. Already tipsy. “There you are!”

“Here I am!” You chuckled, hugging her back. “How are you?”

“Great! Great!” She beamed at you as you pulled away, inquisitive eyes finding Kun next to you. “And who’s this?”

“Sookyung, this is my boyfriend, Kun.” You hoped your voice didn’t squeak too much over the word boyfriend. “Kun, this is Sookyung, we work on the same floor.”

“Nice to meet you.” He went to offer his hand for a handshake, but she just squealed and hugged him anyway as well.

He looked over at you in confusion, and you mouthed ‘drunk hugger’ to him. He made an ‘ahh’ sound, gingerly patting her back before she let go of him.

“So I get to finally meet you!” She was beaming at him. “When Y/N would talk about you and talk about her boyfriend, I always thought you were two separate people! And I felt bad for her boyfriend because I sort of thought she had a crush on this Kun guy. But you’re the same person! That makes so much more sense.”

“You’re not driving home, right?” You asked her pointedly, feeling your skin grow hot with embarrassment and needing to divert from that information as soon as possible.

“Nope!” She giggled. “My girlfriend’s here somewhere. She doesn’t drink.”

“Good, good.”

“Speaking of, there she is!” Sookyung took off into the crowd.

“And there she goes,” you shook your head, watching her disappear between other bodies.

You fortunately didn’t have very long alone with Kun to address what she had just said, as another coworker appeared at your table. Unfortunately, it was the exact person you’d hoped to avoid for as long as possible.

“Y/N,” Jangwook set his drink down, already far too close for comfort.

You instinctually backed away from him, right into Kun. Before you could apologize, though, Kun wrapped his arm around your waist and pulled you even closer, letting his hand settle on your hip.

He offered his other hand out to your coworker. “Qian Kun, I don’t think we’ve met.”

Jangwook shook his hand, and you could see his face contort with pain for a brief flash before he took his hand back. “Lee Jangwook.”

“Jangwook, this is my boyfriend, Kun,” you made introductions awkwardly. “Kun, Jangwook and I are on the same team at work.”

Your coworker seemed to be sizing Kun up for a moment, appraising him and the hand he still had on you, and Kun met his gaze, unwavering. Before you could attempt to continue the tense small talk, a hand grabbed your elbow, and Sookyung was suddenly at your side again.

“Y/N! The girls are doing shots, come on!”

“Sook, I don’t want to—” You were cut off by her insistently tugging you out of Kun’s grasp.

“I’ll be fine here,” Kun reassured you with a dazzling smile, pulling you closer to kiss your forehead before fully letting you go. “Go have fun.”

“O-Okay,” you replied, your voice higher as you were a bit stunned.

Needing no further prompting, Sookyung yanked you off towards the bar. You let her talk you into doing one shot with her and some other female coworkers of yours. It was your usual after-work drinks crew minus a couple men.

You set the shot glass back down with a heavy thunk on the bartop. “Alright, that’s it for me.”

A chorus of disappointed groans came at that, but you stayed firm on your decision as they all got another round, and you watched them, sipping on your cocktail you’d gotten earlier.

“You and your boyfriend are so cute, Y/N,” another one of your coworkers gushed, squeezing your forearm. “I saw you two walk in and I was just like ‘ugh, I need to find somebody who looks at me like that!’ Where did you get him?”

“Oh, we met in college,” you explained vaguely. “Friend of a friend.”

“Then why have you never brought him before?”

She was talking about the other monthly events that your workplace puts on for the employees and their significant others to socialize. You’d gone stag to the other five.

“He’s busy. He travels for work.”

“What does he do?”

“Structural engineer. So he has to be on-site for a lot of builds and stuff. He just got a promotion last month, though, so he doesn’t have to travel as much anymore.”

“Oh, that’s nice.”

“So when—” Sookyung was cut off by a hiccup. “When is he going to, you know? Pop the question? If you’ve been together since college?”

You felt your skin get hot again, and looked around the room as you tried to come up with an answer. “We haven’t really talked about that. We’re fine where we are, you know?”

“Of course, of course.”

After a little while longer, you excused yourself from the women to find Kun again. He had disappeared from the table you’d been at before, and you peered around the room curiously.

“Looking for someone?” A familiar voice came from beside your ear as an arm wrapped around your shoulders.

“Oh, Kun,” you breathed a sigh of relief, turning around to see his familiar smile. “There you are.”

He rubbed a hand up and down your exposed arm. “You’ve got goosebumps. Are you cold?”

“It’s a bit chilly in here,” you agreed casually, not even noticing due to the alcohol buzzing through your veins and warming you from the inside.

He slipped his suit jacket off, draping it over your shoulders before pulling you close to him again. “Better?”

“Much, thank you.” You pulled it tighter around you. “Are you having a good time?”

“I am now that I’m with you again,” he leaned in to whisper. “That guy was a real asshole.”

“Wow, shocker.” You rolled your eyes.

Kun snickered. “Are you having a good time?”

“Yeah, it’s alright.”

“Just alright?”

You shrugged, leaning back against him. “Guess it’s better now that I’m with you.”

“That’s what I like to hear. Now let’s get you some food.”

Sat down at a table with Kun and a big plate of food, you happily munched away as he kept a casual hand on your thigh, and you tried not to think about his casual hand on your thigh. You were on your second drink already, taking a big gulp every time your eyes happened to stray to Kun’s hand so very casually just on your goddamn thigh.

“So what did you guys talk about?” You finally asked him. “You and the asshole?”

“Oh, you know, what I do for work, education, where we met, how long we’ve been together, that kind of stuff,” Kun shrugged.

You felt your eyes widen immediately. “Do you think he knows?”

“No, baby,” he chuckled, wiping your mouth with a napkin. “He doesn’t know shit.”

“How can you be sure?”

“He felt the need to warn me about the late nights you two do at he office sometimes. He was testing me, like he was going to pull a gotcha on me.”

“We only have to stay that late because he sucks at his job, and as the new person, I’m first on the chopping block for staying late!” You ranted. “And I swear, he does it on purpose just to try to get me alone!”

“Yeah, he tried to make it sound very… scandalous,” Kun shook his head, lip curling with disgust. “I was just really casual and said you make sure to tell me when you stay late so I don’t get worried about you coming home safe. Oh yeah, we live together and we’ve been together since college. That work?”

“Y-Yeah, that’s fine.”

“And I made him promise not to tell you, but—” He had a mischievous grin on his face as he added lowly, “I’m thinking about proposing.”

You almost spit out the bite of food in your mouth as both you and Kun burst into laughter, you slapping his arm with your breathless laughs. He squeezed your leg and rubbed your knee as he half-heartedly tried to shush you.

“Please tell me he looked fucking pissed,” you begged, grabbing his arm.

“He did,” Kun confirmed with a nod.

“Best Christmas present ever, Kun. Thank you.” You wiped at a tear in the corner of your eye, grabbing your drink and finishing it off in one go. “Ahh, I think I want another one, actually.”

“How are you so good at this?” You huffed, crossing your arms over your chest.

Kun had loaded a rather tipsy-you back into his car later in the night, and was now taking you back to your apartment.

“What? Driving?” He chuckled. “Been doing it a few years. They gave me a license and everything.”

“No, being my fake boyfriend.” You asked the one thing that had been nagging at the back of your mind the whole time. “You don’t feel weird or anything? Because we’re friends?”

He side-eyed you. “You’re too drunk for this conversation.”

“I’m not drunk!”

“You’re not sober enough for this conversation,” he corrected himself.

“Is it because you like me?”

“Y/N, let’s just focus on getting you home, okay?”

“Because Minji said you looked at me like… you know…”

“And Sookyung said she thought you had a crush on ‘that Kun guy,’” he retorted. “Like I said, let’s save this conversation for when you’re stone cold sober, Y/N.”

“So you don’t like me…” You mumbled dejectedly.

“That’s not what I said.”

You looked out the window, feeling the heavy pout on your face. “But you want me to be sober when you let me down easy so I don’t cry or something.”

“Y/N...” He sighed, looking over at you as he pulled to a stop in front of your apartment. “Oh, jeez, are you crying right now?”

“No…” You sniffed, wiping at a tear.

“Yes, you are, you liar,” Kun said gently.

“Okay, maybe I am.”

“Y/N, I’m not going to let you down easy.”

“You’re going to be mean when you reject me?!” You looked over at him with wide, horrified eyes.

“No, no, what? I’m not going to reject you,” he promised, offering his hand out to you. You cautiously put yours atop it, and he gently squeezed your hand between both of his. “Jeez, Y/N, I��m in love with you. And I wanted you to be sober and not crying when I told you that, but there goes that plan.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I’ll even let you in on a secret.” He shifted forward conspiratorially. “Sicheng didn’t have to work tonight, I just couldn’t stand the thought of anybody else being your fake boyfriend.”

You sloppily wiped at your wet cheeks with your free hand, whispering back, “Here’s my secret: I was only going to ask him because I knew you would’ve said yes and I thought you didn’t like me like that, and it would’ve sucked to be your fake girlfriend for one night when I wanted you to be my real boyfriend forever.”

“Forever?” He repeated with a giddy grin on his lips.

“Or something, I don’t know, I’m drunk, Kun, remember?” You pointed to yourself zealously.

“I thought you weren’t drunk? You were very insistent—”

“No, I’m sooo drunk, actually. And sleepy! You should cuddle me to sleep.”

“I’ll sit with you until you fall asleep,” he promised.

“But aren’t we for real dating now?” You tilted your head, pouting again.

“We’re going to have this conversation again when you’re sober, okay? Then we can decide if we’re for real anything.”

“You are mean.”

“The meanest, for sure,” he agreed placidly, giving your hand a final pat before reaching over to turn the car off.

Kun helped you up to your apartment, get everything ready for bed, and stepped out of the bedroom while you changed into your pajamas—you had just enough body coordination left to do that on your own. He made you drink some water and take a few pills before finally letting you crawl into bed. As promised, he sat up at the head of your bed next to you as you curled up under the covers.

“Kun?” You sniffled, looking up at him as he rested a gentle hand on your hair.

“Yes?” He looked down at you tenderly.

“Do you really like me?”

“More than.” He patted your head.

“For how long?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Months, years, who’s to say?”

“Oh. I’m sorry...”

“Why?”

“That I didn’t—” you let out a loud yawn, struggling to keep your eyes open. “That I didn’t see it sooner. I just thought you were a really nice guy.”

“I am. I’m a really nice guy who’s in love with you.”

“I don’t know if really nice people go around saying they’re really nice all the time...”

“You don’t have to apologize for anything, Y/N. I didn’t tell you.”

“I know, but—”

“You should go to sleep, Y/N.”

“But where are you going to sleep?”

“The couch. I’m staying with you until you fall asleep, though. Remember?”

“Okay...” You yawned again. “If you... If you get cold out there, you can come in here, you know?”

“Right. I’ll keep that in mind,” he agreed, humor in his voice.

“Because it gets really cold in my apartment at night, you know? Sometimes… Sometimes I’d imagine you were with me on really cold nights, cuddling me to sleep.”

“Really?” He questioned, intrigued now.

“Or… other stuff…”

He burst into laughter, stroking your forehead. “You definitely should go to sleep, Y/N, before you say stuff that you’ll have to kill me for knowing.”

“Mmm, okay.” You rolled over, finally letting your eyes flutter shut. “Goodnight, Kun.”

You were asleep before you could even hear his response.

When you woke up for the first time, it was still dark out. Your head hurt, and you chugged the rest of the water on your nightstand before grabbing the cup and shuffling out to the kitchen to get more. As promised, Kun was asleep on your couch, features illuminated softly in the moonlight streaming through a gap in the curtains. You refilled your cup of water, chugged it again, refilled it again, and shuffled over to the living room.

Standing over Kun, you pushed on his shoulder gently. He stirred, opening one eye to look up at you in confusion.

“Y/N? Everything okay?” He murmured, his voice thick and foggy with sleep.

“I’m sober,” you deadpanned. “My bed’s cold.”

He blearily scooted over to make room on your tiny couch, pressing himself into the back cushions. You crammed yourself on mostly on top of him, burying your face in his neck as his arms encircled you. Neither of you said another word as you both drifted back off to sleep.

“You’re in love with me?!” You repeated for probably the fourth time that morning, as Kun held your hair back and you clung to the bowl of your toilet.

“I don’t know how else to phrase this to make you believe me,” Kun sighed as you leaned forward to retch again. “You didn’t hallucinate last night in a drunken stupor, I really do have feelings for you, you also said you have feelings for me, I put you to bed alone and went to sleep on the couch by myself, then in the middle of the night you said you were sober and cold and joined me on the couch.”

You wiped your mouth with a wad of toilet paper he handed you, more memories of last night coming back to you. “Did… Did I say anything else?”

“Like…?”

“About it being cold?” You winced.

“Yeah, you warned me that your apartment gets cold.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“And that sometimes when it gets cold you imagine me—”

“Ah! Stop it!” You shoved him away from you as he burst into maniacal laughter. “You’re the worst! You’re mean and I hate you!”

“But what if I told you that I also imagined holding you on cold nights sometimes?” He scooted back over next to you, draping an arm over your shoulders. His lips brushed over the shell of your ear as he added, “Or… other stuff?”

The bile that rose to your throat was completely coincidental, but certainly not a good look as you apparently hurled at the idea. Kun continued dutifully holding your hair and rubbing your back as you puked.

After flushing for the umpteenth time that morning, you turned back to him incredulously. “Seriously?”

“Is there something about me that gives off the vibe that I’d lie about this?” He rebuffed.

“Well, no—” You stopped to spit into the toilet. “But I feel like there’s plenty about me that would be conducive to that hypothesis.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Kun, we’re having this conversation while I puke my brains out, for one.”

“And what about me would make you think I’m that judgmental?” He snorted. “You do remember the night I successfully defended my thesis, right? Because I don’t.”

“You weren’t that bad.”

“And you weren’t that bad last night either,” Kun brushed a piece of hair from your face, his gaze tender as he looked at you. “Nor are you that bad now either. And even if you were— I’d still love you.”

You felt your eyes water, and not from the burning in your esophagus this time. “Okay…”

“Okay?” He confirmed.

“Okay,” you nodded, resting your head on his shoulder.

“Thank god, I feel like I just defended my thesis again,” he joked, kissing the top of your head.

“You’re so mean to me…” You whined, burying your face in his shirt. “I don’t know why I ever thought you were a nice guy.”

“I’m plenty nice,” he retorted. “You’re just too hungover to notice.”

“So are we like… for real dating now?” You mumbled.

“Yeah, probably.”

You let out a choked laugh at that. “Good to know.”

⤷ 2023 hallmark movie marathon | blog masterlist

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sihtricfedaraaahvicius · 8 months

Text

Note: I know I said I wouldn't write/post a fic today, but I couldn't stop myself in my grief, and I needed a LOT of fluff as well as a coping mechanism. So here I am, with a little ode to my beloved Thor. Firefighter chapter 3, direct follow up to part 2.

Warnings: suggestive/fluff. mention of animal death, grief and a brief hint to childhood trauma.

pairing: Modern!Sihtric x you (f)

summary: Sihtric stuck by your side after the incident with your cat.

wordcount: 3,7k

Masterlist

'Do you hate me? For what happened?'

After you saw your Mister Meow Meow under Sihtric's car, Sihtric had held you tightly wrapped in his arms, pressed against his chest. He cried just as hard as you did, and kept murmuring endless 'I'm so sorry, love,' and 'I really didn't see him,' as he held you. Sihtric eventually asked what you wanted to do with Meow Meow's body, and you said he should be buried.

'Next to the tree he always climbed in,' you sniffled, 'where you and I first met.'

Sihtric smiled softly and agreed. He wiped your tears and you tried to wipe his eyeliner, which had run down his cheeks, as best as you could. Sihtric picked Meow Meow up in his arms and carried the lifeless body inside. You figured the poor cat had been sleeping on your driveway, as usual, because no one normally used it at that hour, so it was one of his favourite spots to nap, when you'd let him out of the house. And you completely forgot that Meow Meow had escaped through the open back door when you and Sihtric had sex on the living room floor, before the BBQ. And therefore it didn't cross your mind that he could be sleeping in your driveway, but when you heard that thump, you immediately knew what had happened. At least he was asleep, you thought, so he went rather… peacefully.

You searched your attic for a box in which your furry friend would fit, and you draped it with a soft cloth. Sihtric had cleaned Meow Meow up as best as he could, and carefully laid him inside the box, then stood back and let you do your thing. You petted Meow Meow on his little head and pressed a soft kiss to it, then you put some of his favourite toys in the box with him, as well as a few cat treats he loved.

'Maybe he'll need a snack on his way,' you sobbed with shocking shoulders.

Sihtric wrapped his arm around you as you both looked down into the box, and he held you tight when you broke out in tears again.

'Do you wish to bury him now?' Sihtric asked after a few minutes, wiping a tear from his own face, 'it's quite late. I mean, I don't mind it, love, I'll dig a hole right now if you want. But maybe you want to wait until the morning?'

'Maybe it's better in the morning,' you sniffled, 'it's really dark out there, near the tree.'

Sihtric agreed, kissed your forehead and cupped your cheeks. 'Can I do anything for you right now, sweetheart, tell me?'

'Will you s-stay here with me?' you fought your tears, 'tonight? I'd like to sleep at… at my house now.'

Sihtric looked at you, compassionately, and he pressed another soft kiss to your forehead, then to your lips.

'Of course, doll,' he whispered, 'but I do really have to stop by my place to feed… you know,' he struggled to say 'his cat', afraid you'd resent him for still having a breathing cat at home.

'I know,' you said, 'you should go and feed Dog,' you smiled lightly at the silly name of his cat, 'and give him a cuddle for me.'

'I will,' Sihtric smiled softly, 'will you be okay here for like half an hour?'

'Yeah,' you looked back at Meow Meow, 'it'll give me some time alone to say goodbye, I guess.'

Sihtric studied you, desperately hoping you would be okay.

'I'll be okay,' you reassured him when you saw the look in his eyes, 'it'll just be weird, to sleep without a cat on the bed, you know?'

'I know,' Sihtric said, 'I promise I'll be back soon, okay?'

He pecked your face all over and then kissed your lips again. 'See you in a bit, babe,' he whispered before he kissed your cheek.

And when Sihtric drove off your driveway, he started sobbing behind the wheel. Another animal died because of me, he thought.

After an ugly crying session, you managed to somewhat compose yourself again. You closed the box and placed Mister Meow Meow safely on the table. You found peace knowing that the cat was already of age and half deaf. He had a good life full of cuddles and treats,and in the morning you'd say your last goodbye. With that thought you went upstairs and changed into your pyjamas.

Not much later Sihtric rang your doorbell, and as you opened the door, Sihtric ran back to his car.

'I hope you don't mind I brought someone,' Sihtric smiled when he walked back up to you, holding his own adorable, black cat in his arms.

'Dog!' you cried out, and started sobbing again, 'of course I don't mind,' you said and took the cat in your arms.

Dog was Sihtric's emotional support cat, and if there's anything you needed, it was emotional support.

After some strong doctor's advice, Sihtric was matched up with Dog about two years ago, after a lot of childhood trauma had spilled out during long overdue therapy sessions. Sihtric hadn't given you a lot of details, except that his trauma was caused by his father, and that it led to Sihtric having severe panic attacks when he was alone at home often. And Sihtric said he's been doing so much better ever since he got Dog.

When Sihtric got home to feed Dog that night, before returning to you, he broke out in tears again and laid down on his kitchen floor. Dog ran up to him immediately, licking his face and jumping on his chest. And then Sihtric knew he had to bring his cat with him. Sihtric was afraid he'd freak out at night, at your place, if he started to spiral about him accidentally killing Meow Meow, but he also knew you would feel better too with Dog around.

You sat on your bed, on top of the sheets as you played with Dog, who was easily entertained while doing his job of making you, and Sihtric, feel happier and more calm. Sihtric sat back, shirtless, against your bed's headboard, and the sheets covered him from his hips down. You were too busy with Dog to glance over your shoulder, but if you had done so, you would've found Sihtric's eyes on you.

Sihtric stared at you with his heavy-lidded and completely in love mismatched eyes. A soft smile graced his face and he felt his heart ache inside his chest. Sihtric wished he knew how to express his feelings for you, but he didn't even know if there was a way, or if there would ever be a word that could express what he felt for you.

I'm going to marry her, Sihtric thought as he looked at you. He suddenly smiled wider and lightly shook his head to himself. You only met her like two months ago, you idiot, he argued with himself. Yeah, but I love her. She's just… perfect. I can't even imagine not having her in my life anymore. Am I going too fast? He furrowed his brow. Maybe, Sihtric lightly shrugged at his inner dialogue. Okay, maybe. But… proposing doesn't mean you have to get married fast. You can be engaged for years. Sihtric nodded, that is true, he thought. And he snapped out of his thoughts when he heard your soft giggle, when Dog jumped in your lap and started purring as he headbutted his soft head against yours. Oh, fucking… gods, Sihtric exhaled sharply at the sight of you and his cat. She'll be my death regardless, the little valkyrie she is, he smiled at himself again and a soft chuckle escaped his lips.

You turned and found Sihtric smiling at himself.

'What are you up to?' you smiled.

'Hm?' Sihtric snapped out of his thoughts again, 'oh, n-nothing,' he blushed.

'Sure,' you chuckled, 'well, I think we should go to sleep. I'm exhausted,' you said and joined him under the covers.

You faced Sihtric and he snuck his arm around your waist under the blankets, pulling you a little closer against his body, and your legs tangled together. Dog settled down on Sihtric's pillow, resting his fluffy body against the top of Sihtric's head, as the cat always did when Sihtric wasn't laying down on his back. Otherwise Dog would sleep on Sihtric's chest, as the cat was trained to monitor Sihtric's breathing. If it would suddenly spike, the cat knew something was off and would distract Sihtric in any way possible. And you thought Dog was a blessing for watching over the love of your life like that.

'I… have to ask,' Sihtric spoke softly, 'do you- do you hate me? For what happened?'

'Hate y-,' you frowned, 'Sihtric,' you sighed and chuckled, 'of course I don't hate you, how can you possibly think that? It was an accident. I don't blame you, honey,' you said, 'if it was me driving, the same thing would've happened. We both didn't see Meow Meow.'

'I just feel so awful, baby,' Sihtric whispered and pressed is forehead against yours, 'I'm so fucking sorry. This is going to haunt me…'

You hushed him sweetly and cupped his cheeks.

'Stop that,' you whispered, 'there is no reason to beat yourself up over this, okay?'

Sihtric nodded as he sniffled. 'I'm sorry, love,' he said.

'And stop saying sorry,' you chuckled lightly, 'promise me you will try to let this go? I am not mad at you, I don't blame you, and you don't need to apologise. It just happened.'

Sihtric nodded again, 'I'll try,' he said and gave you a soft smile.

He caressed your cheek with his thumb and bit down on his lip as his eyes darted over your face. He hummed soft and allowed a bigger smile to tug at his lips.

'You're so damn cute. Hm, I love you,' Sihtric whispered, then realised he had said that out loud and his eyes grew wide, 'I- I mean…' he stammered.

You stared at him with big, glossy eyes, seeing Sihtric's cheeks turn a shade of red before he tried to hide his face, but you stopped him from pulling the blankets over his head.

'You love me?' you asked after a long moment of silence.

'Well,' Sihtric chuckled nervously, 'y-yeah. I....'

'I love you too,' you blurted out.

'You do?' Sihtric looked concerned.

'Of course,' you laughed shyly, 'I… I love you.'

'Okay, but… I love you more,' Sihtric smiled a little smug, and he pulled you in for a kiss.

After you both admitted to being in love with each other, there seemed to be no more stopping. You were both emotionally exhausted, but that didn't stop neither of you from whispering 'I love you' in between soft kisses and cuddles for hours on end, until you finally fell asleep. And it seemed that the more affection you showed to Sihtric, the more smothering he became, but you loved it and couldn't get enough of him.

You were glad you had been able to sleep with him that night, and with Dog, who was a much calmer sleeper than Mister Meow Meowever was, but you enjoyed his soft purring all the same. And you woke up rather early in the morning, with Sihtric next to you. You sat up and looked at him for a moment, and you smiled at the sight of the handsome firefighter in your bed, who loved you.

And you couldn't help yourself when you cuddled up to him and pressed soft kisses to his shoulder and neck, to wake him up, hoping to get some hot action.

Sihtric hummed softly and wrapped his arms around you while you continued your kisses. And the more awake and aware Sihtric became, the intenser he hummed and the bigger his smile grew.

'Hm, baby,' Sihtric husked as you pecked his neck again, 'do you know what you're starting here?'

'Mhm,' you smiled, hands moving up into his short hair, 'and I hope to finish it too.'

'Hm, fuck,' Sihtric smiled and bit down on his lip, his hands moving down to your ass.

He grabbed your hips and pulled you on top with ease, his arousal teasing you as you straddled him. You leaned in to kiss his lips, and you moved one hand down into his boxers. Sihtric's breath hitched and he hummed with a smile.

'You know what I like,' he whispered, slowly running out of breath as you worked his length with your hand.

You kept your face close to his, enjoying the expressions that twitched on his face as you pleased him.

'You like that?' you purred.

'Fuck,' Sihtric's breathing became faster, heavier, his hands squeezing your thighs, 'need you to fuck me, babe,' he moaned, 'you make me so damn horny all the time,' he breathed heavily, 'come on, doll, let me have you.'

And just as you wanted to pull down his boxers, Sihtric's cat leaped onto his chest.

'What the-,' you blinked and sat back up.

'Fuck!' Sihtric hissed, 'not now!' he groaned and shoved the cat off, but Dog wasn't having it, and jumped back on his chest.

Then you realised the cat probably thought Sihtric was in a state of panic, as his breathing was hard, fast and heavy. And you started to laugh.

'Fucking… gods,' Sihtric sighed and chuckled, 'really, Dog? This is exactly why you sleep downstairs when she's over,' he hissed at his cat, regretting he brought him right now.

You cackled and got off Sihtric.

'God,' you snorted, 'that's a cockblock, huh?'

Sihtric muttered and hid his face behind his hands.

'Shit,' he said, 'I'm sorry, baby.'

'It's fine,' you laughed, 'we'll make up for this later,' you smiled and pecked his cheek, 'but Dog will stay downstairs then.'

After you both had breakfast, you carried the box with Mister Meow Meow outside as Sihtric had dug a hole. You were kinda glad that your nosy neighbours weren't able to move back into their house yet after the fire, so you could bury your cat in private, without them lurking through the window.

'You okay, love?' Sihtric asked as you lowered the box into the ground, his hand on your shoulder.

'Yeah,' you sniffled and got up from your knees.

Sihtric wrapped his arm around you, and like last night, you both stared down at the box. But this time it was closed, and in the ground.

'Thank you for everything, Meow Meow, I will always love you. I'll never forget you,' you said softly, 'you've given me so much joy and love. You were one of a kind. You were my best friend in a way too. And,' you chuckled, wiping away a tear, 'because of you I met the love of my life,' you said and looked up at Sihtric.

Sihtric smiled sweetly at you and kissed your hair when you had said your last words to Mister Meow Meow.

'And here I thought Meow Meow would one day be the death of me,' Sihtric chuckled softly and then choked up.

'I promise,' you squeezed Sihtric's waist, 'Meow Meow did this on purpose, to mess with you one last time,' you chuckled, 'he knew you were competition.'

'Smart bastard he was,' Sihtric smiled, 'he really was competition. We both wanted your heart.'

'And you boys were too foolish to know you both already had it.'

'Oh, doll,' Sihtric sighed and kissed your lips with a soft hum. 'Listen, Meow Meow,' he said and looked at the box, 'I promise I'll look after her for you and take care of her.'

A few weeks had passed since your beloved Mister Meow Meow had been buried, and Sihtric had been subtly prying if you wanted a new cat. You said you did, but not a kitten, as cute as they were. You wanted to adopt one from a shelter some time soon, as your house was rather empty without Meow Meow in it. Sihtric had stayed over with Dog most of the time, but some nights required you both to sleep apart due to your jobs, and then Dog would not be around you either. During those nights you simply realised you really needed the company of a furry friend.

And Sihtric went to a shelter behind your back some time later. He knew you loved any cat, but you had a soft spot for big fluffy cats, and Sihtric couldn't believe his eyes when he spotted a rather young, white Norwegian Forest Cat waiting to be adopted. Apparently his owner had passed away in a tragic car accident about a month ago, and Sihtric felt it was destiny. It took a few days to arrange everything, and every day Sihtric went to the shelter, without telling you, to lowkey bond with the cat. Sihtric had also stolen one of your shirts and left it with the cat, so he'd get used to your smell already and would recognise you as his new owner, while Sihtric would sort of be his owner too, as he was the one to rescue him.

About a week later Sihtric finally got the call that he could pick up the cat. The shelter had given him a brand new collar and name tag, and Sihtric couldn't wait to surprise you. But first, he made a stop at a jewellery store.

'You better not let me down, buddy,' Sihtric said to your surprise cat as he tied a little handwritten note to its collar.

Sihtric got out of his car and carried the big box that held your new pet over to your door. He rang your doorbell and anxiously bit down on his lip, as he couldn't fidget with his rings.

'Sihtric,' you smiled, then saw the large box in his hand, 'are you finally officially moving in?' you laughed.

Sihtric's eyes grew big.

'You'd want me to move in?'

'Well… I mean… I- I wouldn't mind,' you felt your cheeks heat up, 'a-are you moving in?'

Sihtric's heart jumped out of his chest, and he shook his head to bring his attention back to the box in his hands.

'No, I mean… well, eh,' Sihtric sighed and tried to collect his thoughts, 'I have a gift for you,' he smiled.

You let him inside and wondered what on earth he was up to.

'Sit down, baby,' Sihtric said, barely able to contain his nerves as you did what he asked.

'Are you okay?'

'Fine,' Sihtric swallowed hard, 'look, so, eh… I mean… I guess it's… maybe a bit … fast. But- but if you really want me to move in-'

'I'd love that,' you smiled, 'maybe it's fast, but… everything just feels right with you. I just - I don't want to be without you anymore,' you said, and Sihtric blushed.

'I don't want to be without you anymore either,' Sihtric smiled, 'and then… eh, this… I guess this,' he looked at the box in his hands, 'this is… a… somewhat of a… moving in gift,' he chuckled.

He placed the box in front of your feet and told you to open it.

'Oh my god!' you yelled upon the sight of the adorable white cat, 'Sihtric!? What… what…' your eyes teared up right away, 'is… f…for me… mine?'

'He's yours, my love,' Sihtric said, and tried to keep his nerves in check. And he also desperately tried to not cry at your happiness.

'Oh my god!' you cried out again, 'what… when… ohh,' you cooed when the cat allowed you to pick him up with ease, and he licked your face. 'Oh my god, how cute are y- oh, what's this?' you frowned, and then read the note on his collar.

Hi, my name is Thor. I needed a new owner as I lost my previous one. I wish to keep my new mom company for as long as I live… and that handsome guy over there wishes to have my new mom's company for as long as he lives.

'Wha- I don't… Sihtric?'' you said, confused while being a crying mess.

And when you looked over at Sihtric, he got down on one knee as he held a box with a stunning ring in his slightly trembling hand up to you.

'My love,' Sihtric said, hoarsely, fighting his tears as well as a feeling of panic, and Dog ran up to him. 'You are just… everything I have ever dreamed of,' Sihtric continued, 'and every morning when I wake up without you, I am terrified that you truly were just a dream. So… I only wish to wake up next to you, every day, for the rest of my life,' he swallowed a sob and took your hand, 'baby, please,' he smiled as his tears fell down, 'will you marry me and dream with me every night, and wake up with me every morning?'

Sihtric stared at you with big, watery eyes. And he held his breath when you stared back at him, hugging your new cat while Sihtric held your hand.

'Y-yes,' you let out a sob, 'Sihtric, of course!'

Sihtric exhaled sharp with relief and almost passed out for a second, but then managed to slip the ring around your finger and he grabbed your face, kissing you all over as you both cried.

'I love you,' Sihtric whispered, almost desperately.

'I love you more,' you sniffled, 'I never want to fall asleep or wake up without you ever again.'

'Neither do I,' Sihtric smiled as he looked down into your eyes, 'but I love you more.'

And right as Sihtric taunted you, your new fur baby, Thor, let out a loud meow as he pushed himself in between you and Sihtric.

'Looks like you have competition again,' you sniffled and smiled.

'I'm willing to share you with them,' Sihtric chuckled as Dog started to interfere too, 'but not in the bedroom,' he said firmly as he looked at his new, put together family, 'in the bedroom, she's all mine, you guys got that?'

'Only at night, or when the door is closed,' you laughed.

'That is fair,' Sihtric agreed. He kissed your lips and then smiled cheekily, 'I kinda need you in the bedroom now,' Sihtric said, 'with the door closed.'

taglist: @clairacassidy @finanmoghra @uunotheangel @hb8301 @bathedinheat @neonhairspray @anaeve @bubblyabs @travelingmypassion @sylas-the-grim @bubbles-for-all-of-us @andakth @bel-bottoms @willowbrookesblog @lady-targaryens-world @skyofficialxx @diosademuerte @elle4404 @alexagirlie @sweetxime @solango @gemini-mama @cheyennep3107 @little-diable @jennifer0305 @drwstarkeyy

#sihtric x reader #sihtric x you #sihtric kjartansson #the last kingdom #tlk #sihtric #sihtric fic #the last kingdom fic #modern!sihtric

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kairiscorner · 9 months

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PLSS DO ONE WHERE READER INTRODUCES MIGUEL TO KPOP LIKEEE this man definitely has loona on his workout playlist 💯💯💯🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️

HELLO !! ok disclaimer: i'm not really that well-versed in kpop, so i had to ask help from my friends and kinda combined theirs and my opinions together, so sorry if it's jumbled and ooc, i tried :')))

introducing him to kpop – miguel o'hara x reader headcanons and blurbs

"what am i listening to?" he asked you as he looked at you with a perplexed expression as he listened to the beginning of the song russian roulette by red velvet. he didn't take the headphones off, but he didn't fully comprehend what exactly he was listening to. "it's k-pop." "ok, and why does it sound like a cotton candy fever dream?" he asked you as you chuckled aloud, knowing what the lyrics really meant. "it... it's part of the appeal." you said as miguel sighed and sat back as he listened to the song. you swore he swayed his head a little as he listened to the song; and you might've, sort've caught him on camera doing it.

miguel only agreed to listen to kpop because you wouldn't stop bugging him about it, like you and lyla keep streaming newjeans songs (FUCK YEAHHHH) and they just become an earworm for him 😭😭😭

he probably unironically likes supershy and it's his deepest, darkest secret.

why do i see him playing 'attention' while working out what, he blasts that while he's at the gym, ignoring everyone else and........ maybe hoping to get your attention (haha kairi's a shitty comedian)

the song's lyrics and melody are the only things filling his ears right now, the calls and greetings of the spider people in the gym are being tuned out by the song as miguel lifts a couple of weights. peter b walks over with mayday on his chest, the redhead babbling and trying to call for her 'tio miguel' as her father keeps rambling to him about his dad bod and proposing an idea to make a playpen for the spider babies when the spider parents aren't around; but miguel can't even hear either of them--he's too engrossed in the song and hoping that he'd not only go away, but that somebody's attention would be captured from his exercising. hopefully.

when 'paint the town' comes on his playlist while working out HE GETS IN THE ZONE; NOBODY CAN RIP HIM AWAY FROM HIS WEIGHTS

the only reason he likes boy with luv is because of how cute you are when you sing along to it :>

imagine him listening to life goes on while looking back at memories of him and gabriella (•‿•)

he can't stop the tears from falling; he knows it's a kpop song sung by really flashy guys who many people all over the world adore, that it usually wouldn't be something to bring him to tears, but... the message is conflicting with his emotions.

as he watches his daughter come back to life through the videos and photos they had together, though the stinging feeling that she's gone–that he can never hold her nor speak to her again, and can only see her in his dreams–won't leave him alone. the song's lyrics, after he understood the translation of it, made him feel a little achy, but it also helped him feel a little relieved, in a way?

"life goes on..." he read the title aloud as he tasted the salty tears rolling down to his lips as he blinked them back, seeing the distorted image of his daughter as he watched the video of the two of them at a soccer field after her big win. even without her, miguel still lived; life... went on.

though he couldn't understand why he lived when his daughter should've been given a full life ahead of her, he lived. and because he lived, his life will go on, with or without her–but he refuses to live another day without thinking of her his beloved daughter, and... apologizing for being the reason her life didn't continue, her life couldn't go on because his did.

tags !! @miguelswifey04 @binibinileonara @fiannee @fictarian @yuridopted0 @arachnoia @meeom @ophanimgold @melovetitties @popeheywardssecretgf

#miguel o'hara #migurl o'hara x reader #miguel o'hara x you #across the spiderverse #miguel o'hara x y/n #miguel o'hara fanfiction #miguel o'hara fluff #spiderman 2099 #atsv #atsv fluff #atsv imagines #atsv miguel #atsv x reader #atsv x you #atsv x y/n #spiderman across the spiderverse #spiderman across the spiderverse x reader #spiderman across the spiderverse fluff

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jellycreamjammedart · 2 months

Text

Lost and Found (Super)Stars

PT. 7 (index/parts) (Tag: desktop/mobile)

read on AO3 (registered users only)

FNAF Security Breach Ruin, post-"betrayal" elevator ending

hurt/comfort, Found Family, something I like to call "Hopeful Horror"

Summary: Having had her kindness stomped on then spat back at her, betrayed by who she thought was her friend, and now stuck at the ruined remains of Freddy Fazbear's Mega PizzaPlex, Cassie tries to find the slightest bit of meaning and worth in all of this.

Roxy had a surprise for her? Cassie honestly found it hard for anything to be able to save this birthday party...

Nevertheless, she doesn't want to doubt the wolf.

"It's time for the birthday cake! So I asked a friend to help me make this a little extra special." Roxy stepped further away from the door, and seemed to mouth a 'Come in!' to whoever was next there.

After her, came in the very familiar face of a bear beloved by many. "Happy birthday, Superstar!"

Glamrock Freddy greeted with his usual charisma and joy, though pauses for just a second to take in the drastically empty party room save for literally only two kids. "... you were not exaggerating, Roxy. This looks like a very sad party." He discreetly whispers to Roxy, his ears dropping slightly once he could actually set his eyes on how precarious the situation was for this girl's birthday. Still he tries not to waver in front of the lone kids.

"I am truly terribly sorry that your birthday party has not been a bright experience here at the Mega PizzaPlex. We try our best to make sure every child has their special day as something to smile back at. So of course I had to help my good friend Roxy!"

Cassie does smile softly; it's not even like it was the Glamrocks' fault her party was disappointing. If anything, they're single-handed the ones who kept it from being a totally unsalvageable disaster.

"You got it with you, right?" Roxy asks Freddy, to which the bear nods, his ears wiggling.

"Of course I do!" He confirms joyfully, before lightly clearing his throat to address the kids again. "Anyway, Superstar, it is on behalf of both me and Roxy that I bring you this!" He states before there's a light hiss coming from his gears, and the front of his torso opened up, revealing a fresh birthday cake resting inside.

"It's your birthday cake, Cassie!" Roxy elaborates cheerfully, while carefully taking the confectionated treat out of Freddy's stomach hatch; Roxy's frame was much too thinner to deliver cakes like that so she lacks the feature. And she thought getting at least Freddy to also chant Cassie happy birthday as well and deliver the cake could be more enticing than just she bringing the cake over by tray.

"It is a delicious carrot cake! Roxy told me it is your favorite!" Freddy says once he could close his stomach hatch.

Roxy carefully sets the cake down on the table in front of Cassie. "It's a carrot cake made especially just for you on this special day!" The cake had a light hued creamy cover, stripes of orange icing on the sides. The top had the likelyhood of Roxy in a kart with Cassie sitting on the hood, drawn with colored icing, the kart's wheels being actually icing each with a cherry on top. The words 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY CASSIE' were written in colored icing with orange and blue little lightning bolts surrounding it.

Naturally, the candles were unlit; it would have been hazardous to have them lit up inside Freddy's stomach hatch.

"Ah. Allow me." Freddy politely excuses himself past Roxy to approach Cassie and the cake. "Please lean back, Superstar." He requests as his index finger folded back, revealing a built-in lighter. The bear carefully uses the little flame to light up the candles on the cake. "There we go!"

"Are you ready, Cassie?" Roxy excitedly asks while her hands rose in front of her while Freddy did the same, indicating they were about to start clapping to the birthday song. The only boy to show up to this party readies his hands as well.

"Happy birthday, Cassie!!"

Cassie felt her heavy eyelids flutter and creak open slightly, still feeling much too heavy to do so. She barely squinted them open so all she saw were dim blurs. Slowly she registered feeling her side to be resting on a soft but mildly unkempt surface.

Huh, she could feel some kind of fabric on her forehead, and when she tried to sit up it slid off and onto her chest, her elbows propping her up.

"Oh! Cassie!" Roxy was across from her, her endoskeleton ears wiggling lightly. She sounded happy to greet the girl.

"Uh... uh. What happened?" Cassie slurred, still a little disoriented. And if Roxy still had her eyelids, she would have blinked.

"... nothing? You fell asleep."

"Oh." Yeah, okay. That actually made sense. The girl slowly shifted until she was sitting up, slowly registering her surroundings again. She had been asleep on one of the couches in the ruined Winner Lounge room of Fazer Blast. Looking down at her lap now, she realized that what had been on her forehead was a piece of cloth, torn off one of the couches, and it had a round dark red stain on it. Roxy must have tried using it to stop or slow the bleeding on her forehead.

"You really looked like you needed to rest, so we let you be." Roxy explained; after everything Cassie has gone through down here, that was an understatement however true.

"Wait..." Cassie begins once she realizes something, looking around them. "Where is...?"

"... Freddy?" Roxy guessed. "Actually that's a different Freddy. A prototype version." The wolf felt the need to clear that up; Cassie's brain might not have had the chance to process that information. "But I don't think that matters right now, really. A prototype Freddy is better than no Freddy. He was fretting really badly over you actually! So he went back out there looking for any medical supplies while you were asleep."

But if Roxy is being honest, she doesn't think there is much of that that could be found. But if Prototype Freddy found anything at all, it would be better than nothing.

"You may have survived that elevator, but you didn't come out of it unscathed, Cassie. You need medical attention."

Cassie frowns a little but not because she disagreed with Roxy. Rather, she just didn't want to think about her moments in that elevator. "I'd... I'd rather not remember that right now, Roxy..."

The wolf goes quiet in apology... though something nags at her. "I'm sorry Cassie, but... what even happened?"

The girl groaned softly while shaking her head; she didn't want to think about it, but also understood why Roxy asked.

"I... I managed to get in the elevator, I could've escaped... but..." Cassie felt an imaginary lump form in her throat while having to hear the voice of who she thought was her friend in her skull, over and over, telling her he was willing to throw her under the bus, willing to kill her for his own benefit-- then actually attempting to do so. "... Gregory didn't let me. He... he cut the elevator... s-sent me crashing back down..."

Just thinking about it made her head hurt.

Roxy is eerily quiet, but then her ears slowly pinned back. "Gregory!? Gregory did WHAT!!?" The wolf's voice cracks with red hot anger and hatred while also trying not to blow up in front of Cassie... though her claws clearly dig into the old couch, leaving holes in them. "Why, when I get my hands on that brat..." She sneers, but doesn't finish her sentence. Her vendetta against Gregory was of no real use at this present moment. Her ears unpin from her exposed endo skull, then drop.

"... I'm so sorry, Cassie." Sorry for what, exactly? Roxy didn't have words for it. For helping Cassie escape into what essentially became another trap, perhaps?

It's not like she could've predictated that Gregory would have accessed the elevator, much less sabotage it thus sabotaging Cassie's way out. No one could truly have predictated that. Who would have imagined the brat was that much of a selfish monster, anyway? But the wolf still felt sorry.

"No matter what he did or tries to do, I'll make sure you are safe and sound, Cassie." Roxy promises through a low, subtle growl, trying to suppress her anger.

Cassie doesn't really have it in her to continue on that topic, but knew Roxy meant her words seriously. "... I know. Thanks, Roxy. You're the best." That made the ruined wolf's ears wiggle and improve her mood by a good deal; She was the best. It was great to hear that again, it's been so long.

Cassie's expression shifts, lightly fidgetting with the cloth that had been on her forehead, rather antsy to move away from that topic for the time being. "... why did Freddy want to hurt me?" She asks; it's especially confusing with him now being friendly to her. What changed his mind?

"He didn't 'want' to hurt you, believe me." Roxy starts a bit candidly, thinking how she's going to explain the situation to Cassie without getting too technical.

"A lot of his systems and protocols were down, and he didn't have his head to command a booting of those protocols. He was sticking to barely any running programming he had, which was contain and apprehend trespassers and potentially dangerous individuals." That probably explains why Prototype Freddy tried shoving her in his hazardous stomach hatch, it was just to apprehend her, and he couldn't tell how hazardous his own body was without his head to assess it.

Roxy continues. "When he detected your blood, it... let's say it force-booted or 'jump-started' those protocols into booting even without his head. We all are programmed to act immediately to help in case of injuries or symptoms of sickness. So when all those dormant systems booted back up in him, he could assess things a little better and realize you were not a dangerous trespasser, but just a child. An injured child who needed aid, no less."

"Oh..."

So... Prototype Freddy just didn't really know what he was doing. He was just trying to do what his programming could tell him in his sorry state.

"Ah! Speak of the devil..." Roxy looks out the Winners Lounge, but with her ears twitching, it seemed like she was 'seeing with her ears' Prototype Freddy returning from outside.

The headless bear walks in with a few things in his arms, which looked like old table cloths, which Roxy took from him. "I mean... those could be useful as bandages, I guess." But they needed more than that for Cassie, both robots knew that. But it's still much better than nothing at all.

"Hello, Freddy." Cassie greets softly, to which the prototype responded with a low rumbling of his inner mechanisms that almost sounded like purring. His shoulders rose slightly as if to convey excitement to see her awake. "What did he find, Roxy?"

"Table cloths." The wolf folded them then handed them to Cassie to tuck into her backpack. "Could be useful, but not much by themselves. If only we still had the Medical Stations at least..." Roxy laments, Prototype Freddy dropped his shoulders to indicate a shared feeling.

Cassie looks down at the folded fabric in her hands, looking a bit deep in thought. Until a certain thought came to her.

"I think we could ask the Daycare Attendant."

"The Daycare Attendant!?" Roxy parroted with a knee-jerk reaction. Prototype Freddy, even without a head, was clearly cringing. "You can't be serious, Cassie! That guy's clearly missing all their screws!"

"No no! It's okay! They're okay!" Cassie tries to reassure. "I had to reboot them but they seemed fine afterwards!"

"You- you rebooted them?? The Daycare Attendant???" Roxy asks incredulously, her endo jaw dropped. Prototype Freddy matched with his jagged stomach hatch lids hanging open. "No offense, Cassie. But I can hardly believe that you managed to get close enough to that lunatic to reboot them, and make it out in one piece. Any endoskeletons that wandered into the Daycare got torn to pieces!"

"Well, I never said it was easy." Cassie retorted with a shrug.

"But even then... why them?" Roxy asks at first then immediately facepalmed mentally; it's not like there were many left in this rotting place to nit-pick. But the Daycare Attendant still seemed especially volatile.

"I mean... they were always serious about having supplies and having things be organized. If anyone would know where to find things here, it would be them." Cassie points out, thinking back when she was younger and put under Sun and Moon's supervision.

One of Roxy's ears twitches as she thinks the child's reasoning over. "You make a fair point, Champion... But are you sure they're trustworthy now?"

"Yes! They actually helped me out of the Daycare after I rebooted them!" The little girl reassures.

Roxy crosses her arms, mulling over the topic, lightly stomping her foot in mild anxiety. Prototype Freddy, meanwhile, stood quiet, occasionally turning his upper body between Cassie and Roxy. "... okay. Okay. The Daycare's going to be our next stop them... But getting there might be tough. A lot of the place has collapsed thus a lot of paths have gotten blocked off by junk!"

At this, the headless Glamrock chimes up, chittering a grinding noise. Roxy's ears perk up at him. "What, you think you can open a path for us?"

"I think he could, Roxy." Cassie interludes. "He's burst his way through Fazer Blast several times!" Which was scary to think back on, when he was chasing her.

"I see..." The wolf reflects. "I guess we have a plan, then."

To Be Continued...

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darklydeliciousdesires · 3 months

Text

London Will Burn - Chapter Twelve.

Look at me go! I updated on time for once, haha! Happy Friday, besties. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend <3

Previous chapters - One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten Eleven

Tag list - In the comments, please DM to be added/removed

Words - 4,180

Warnings - 18+ content throughout. Minors DNI.

“Sorry mate! Christ, the traffic was absolute murder! They’ve completely closed off the bloody main road outside my offices and... Oh, hot waiters. Hello!”

In times of tension, Rin knew she could always trust in her old friend Carly for a little light relief, literally veering off mid-sentence to appreciate the appearance of the wait staff there at San Carlo, where they were meeting for a long overdue catchup dinner.

With their beloved Rashida now living over in Chicago, it was just the two of them, their friendship fully re-bonded since Rin’s return from Africa. Not that geographical distance had diminished the love or closeness between the two lifelong friends whatsoever.

“Oh, don’t worry. It’s fucking mayhem out there! Come here, give me a smooch,” Rin assured her, kissing her cheek as they embraced. “I only got here on time because I was in Chelsea for a meeting this afternoon.” Carly took her seat, thanking Rin when she dutifully poured her a glass of wine. “Anyway, why are you eyeing up waiters? Not loved up with twat waffles, still?”

No, it was fair to say that Rin had never really liked Carly’s long-term boyfriend, Mathias. Not after their visit to Kenya, when he’s gotten absolutely smashed, resulting in him thinking he could square up to Sokoro, a decision that had landed him in a world of regret. Being dangled by his ankles over the top of the stairs within the lodge by the pissed off Kenyan until he’d apologised had sobered him up nicely, though.

“You will be pleased to hear that the man known only as twat waffles to you is no longer in my life. Yeeted him about four weeks ago. I’ll say it, you were right.”

Rin beamed. “I always am.” Well, not always. The events of the previous week were still burning in her gut, being shamed in the way she had been by Sean and his superior powers of deduction. “No but honestly, honey. I’m glad because you can do so much better than him!”

“In this instance, you are correct. I can and I will, with that waiter over there with the blonde hair if I have my way.” She paused, raising her glass in his direction. He was at the table in seconds.

“Good evening, ladies. Are we ready to order?”

Oh, he was so sweet, absolutely none the wiser to the fact there was a bona fide man eater about to chomp down upon him. “Not yet, love. I was just appreciating the fact that you happen to be the most gorgeous man within the restaurant, so cheers to you.”

He pinked at the cheeks, nodding while attempting to bite back his grin. “Well, when you need me, feel free to appreciate me again.”

Rin chuckled, shaking her head. “We'll take some focaccia and olives to nibble while we decide, please.”

He made a quick note on his iPad, smiling widely. “Certainly.” Scampering away, Rin fixed her friend with a look of pure mirth.

“You’re terrible, Muriel.”

Her assessment had Carly in hysterics, reciting their favourite line from the nineteen nineties cult classic film, Muriel’s wedding. They’d always said it to one another when there was mischief afoot. “I am, this much is true. So, how’s everything? How’s work, and my beautiful goddaughter?”

“Tiger is perfect, as usual. As for work... hm.”

Inclining her head, she took a sip of wine and thanking the waiter when he brought over the required pre-dinner nibbles. She winked again and of course, he blushed furiously. “Oh? I sense a story there. Does it have anything to do with her dad? How’s all of that going, by the way?” Of course, Carly had been made privy to it all. She’d known right from the start, after all.

She ground her teeth before forcing a somewhat terse smile to her face. “I gave him a black eye last week.”

Some things truly never changed, Carly making a motion with her hand that she should elaborate. “The tea requires spilling, Miss C.”

And so, Rin did. She spared certain details over her work (although of course, Carly well knew she was a hardened criminal, Rin never gave away enough that could implicate her at any point in the future, just in case) but managed to sum it all up in a way that gave the story without all of the nuanced ins and outs of it.

“Right, so he potentially saved you from making a big mistake with the Per...” she began, eyes scanning around before leaning in close to whisper, “the PM, shall we say, and you gave him hell for it?”

“He embarrassed me in front of my associates, and took great pleasure in doing so,” she spoke, picking up another small cube of focaccia and dunking it into the balsamic vinegar bowl. “I don’t take kindly to that.”

A taste of one’s own medicine was always the bitterest, Carly couldn’t help but note. “Yet you do exactly the same with him at any given opportunity.”

Rin frowned. “I’m sorry, who’s side are you on here, exactly?”

“Yours, always yours, love,” she was quick to interject, “but sweet, from what you’ve told me about him, if you bite at him, he’ll do exactly the same back. You two, you’re much too similar for your own good. Something I believe you once said about you both, didn’t you?”

The focaccia was chewed upon with mild fury. “He doesn’t deserve to ever have one over on me. Not after what he did. I want him to suffer. His punishment will be prolonged, mark my words.”

God, she was so hardheaded, especially when it came to Sean. Carly looked a little pensive, picking up her wine. “Do you want to know what I think about that? The complete, unfiltered truth?”

Her lips thinned, eventually nodding. “I suppose an outside perspective couldn’t hurt.”

“Okay.” She took a breath and another sip of Sauvignon Blanc for courage, placing her glass back down again softly.

“You’ve already punished him enough, Rin. You deprived him of a relationship with his daughter for six years, and you came back and took an empire he was planning to preside over out from under him, and then made him effectively run his own company for you, on your terms. Trust me, from what you’ve told me about Sean, you’ve hit him twice where it hurts with big strikes. Family and business are what means everything to him, and you hold all the power over both. Prolonging that, well, as far as I can see, mate, all that does is cause problems for you.”

“How?”

“Your business deals should be running smoothly, and if you continue to hold him in contempt, they simply won’t. Risky really, when taken into consideration just what you do. Then of course, for Tiger. In fact, mostly for Tiger. Trying to repeatedly cut her father down for a mistake he made seven years ago will only hurt you and her in the end. Has he ever offered you an apology for his actions?”

She lifted her chin, remembering it, when he told her of his lament. “He has. I have to give him that.”

Carly reached for her arm, squeezing softly. “Well, then. There you go. You have to stop figuratively yeeting him right in the gonads for it at point or another, or behaving like this is only lowering you to his level, or former level, I don’t know. I can’t speak for him, but I can speak for your character. You’re better than this.”

If anyone was going to give her the truth, it was Carly. It was a truth she did need to hear, too, before the battleground that was her relationship – or lack thereof – with the father of her child became even bloodier than it already was. “Why are you bloody laughing? I’m trying to talk seriously for once in my flippin’ life! You could at least appreciate my attempt to be sage!”

“I am,” Rin chuckled, covering her hand with hers where it still rested upon her arm. “It’s just you still can’t help but be funny through it. Yeeting him in the gonads, oh god.” She descended there, laughing richly, even wiping a few tears from her eyes, it had entertained her so much.

“And at the fucking risk of getting my head bitten off, well, maybe it’s because you still lust after what’s hanging directly above the gonads that you’re getting yourself so bent out of shape over him.”

Immediately, she sat a little more upright, her laughter stalled. “Order me the burrata salad to start and then the salmon penne. I’m going for a cigarette.”

“Avoidance tactics,” Carly chimed as Rin rose from her seat, discreetly offering her middle finger in salute.

“Bugger off.”

“Filthy habit,” she further teased, Rin mouthing that she was a knob, her clearly entertained friend giggling as she picked up her wine. “This could all be so much simpler for you if you weren’t so much like your dad.” she muttered, sipping the buttery smooth Sauvignon while looking down at the menu to make her choice.

They had a lovely night together, parting ways at just gone 10pm, Carly heading home and Rin calling a car to do the same. After stopping at a Tesco Express to purchase a bottle of Johnnie Walker Black, though, home was not where she ended up.

Sean was coming to the end of a five-mile treadmill run when the buzzer sounded through his penthouse, slowing the machine to walk before climbing off, his bare chest glistening with sweat.

“Yes?” he spoke into the intercom, seeing the woman upon the screen turn to reveal her face to the front entrance camera.

“Can we talk?”

She had a nerve, turning up out of the blue at 10:35pm. “That depends on whether I’m going to get lambasted all over again for trying to do the fucking right thing, Catherine.”

“You aren’t. Promise.” She knew she needed to give a little, Carly’s words hitting home with her a little. He buzzed her in, Rin moving to the lift, hitting the button for the penthouse. As it glided in ascent, she spoke sternly to herself, her internal monologue advising that she needed to keep calm and talk things through with him, apologise for her pride getting in the way the week before, that she was doing this for the greater good of business continuing to run smoothy, and for her daughter to have a father in her life. One who truly did want to be there.

All of her steely composure flew straight out the window when he opened the door to her, though, when her eyes nearly fell out of her head for seeing him there, shirtless and gleaming with sweat, his navy joggers so low slung she could almost see his...

“Well, don’t you look resplendent in Dolce and Gabbana,” he spoke, raising an eyebrow.

She cocked her head, swallowing hard. “How did you know this is D&G?”

He took a moment, his eyes roaming her slender curves. “I have an eye for quality.” The scent of her perfume wafted under his nose, spellbinding, those orchid notes reminding him how it felt to have his senses flooded by it, his eyes meeting hers.

Her body moved, yet her feet planted, her mouth agape as her chest and cheeks flushed, overcome by the sight of him like that, her throat drying. No. Not now. She willed her brain to take the reins away from the jockey that was her desire, steer her right, but she failed. It was too strong, charging away down a path she swore never to encroach upon again, moving in a second to press her mouth to his, his arms immediately locking around her as he kissed her back with all the heat of a thousand suns.

Now they were in trouble.

Flattened against the door, he pinned her there as they gave in to the torrent, his hands smoothing over her body, reaching to ruck her dress up around her waist, both panting furiously as their tongues rolled in an erotic dance, Sean grasping her thong and tearing it from her in one swift yank. It sent a flood to where she ached for him, her legs wrapping around him as he lifted her, pulling his joggers down just enough to free his cock and plunge it into her fully.

Lord, how she’d missed the feel of being split wide around him, kissing him in utter frenzy. It was mindless, feral sex, their need for one another rampant and unhinged, her body banging against the thick, black door as he fucked out every single wave of desire, longing and, if he was honest, utter contempt he held for her, his fingers dug in hard beneath her thighs.

It sizzled through her, each sparking pulse, tiny fireworks set to burn within her blood, crying out as he filled her again and again, his teeth at her neck scintillating, hanging onto him for dear life. It felt like he was attempting to fuck her right through the door, the pace barbaric, smouldering, everything she needed and had craved in the years they’d been parted.

It shimmered through them both, the crest of an almighty wave they rode until it crashed, washing over them entirely, Rin feeling completely mindless as she swam to the surface of her pleasure, desire glimmering down her spine. That was the moment her brain engaged, her breathless body pinned by his, their tightened muscles slackening as the divinity ebbed away.

Oh, god. Damn him. Damn him for being so fucking irresistible.

He was the first to speak, finally sobering from his orgasm enough to form words. “Please don’t tell me we’ve just possibly given Tiger a sibling.”

“We haven’t,” she panted, “IUD.”

“Oh, thank Christ.” He finally looked at her, withdrawing and placing her down, his mouth twitching a little. “So, you wanted to talk?”

“I did,” she confirmed, rearranging her dress, looking away. Easily, she could have throttled herself for her actions, hiding her face in her hands for a moment, dying a little. “For fucks sake! We’re such a mess.”

He raised an eyebrow, pulling his joggers and boxers back up again. “That we are, Catherine.” He paused, watching her run her hands over her hair, still looking desperately uncomfortable. “We could become less messy, though. Perhaps if we ceased the urge to needle at one another quite so much as we do.”

“Are you truly admitting to the fact that you do?” she asked, Sean feeling his blood flicker in annoyance.

“I am, yes. Because somebody who continues to fucking punish me for the mistakes of my past bloody deserves it. Know that for my part, it is only in retaliation,” he told her, walking over to his kitchen, Butch there in his bed, absolutely none the wiser to her arrival and subsequent pounding against the front door.

She pulled the bottle from her bag, nodding towards him. “It’s because you enjoy the fight, Sean. Don’t pretend that isn’t how it is.”

God. The Woman was insufferable. He turned to her, his nostrils flaring. “Stop it. If I can put my ego aside here and admit my transgressions, then so can you. You know full well you hold your power over me like a fucking sword of Damocles, in both business and with Tiger whenever the opportunity arises. Now, admit that, or get the fuck out. I’m going for a shower; I suggest you take the time I’m gone to consider that. Glasses are above the sink cupboard.”

She knew she had to, he was right, but god, it wasn’t easy. They were both just too similar, too – to use an analogy she herself had many times before – cut from the exact same cloth. Except this time, deep down Rin knew that Sean was right, and she loathed him for it all the more.

Life would be made exponentially easier for her if she simply ceased her desire to punish him, to realise that Carly was right. She had struck back against him more than evenly. The playing field was entirely equal once more.

Just last week she’d heard Ed Dumani offer peace towards Sean, and regardless of the fact he hadn’t been ready to accept, she knew that a clean slate was exactly what had to happen between her and the father of her child, so that ultimately that precious little girl didn’t suffer because of her parent’s rampant toxicity.

“I almost expected you to have done a runner.” His words pulled her from her thoughts, a freshly showered Sean entering the kitchen again, going to the cupboard himself to retrieve the glasses she’d been preoccupied from fetching. “I perhaps couldn’t blame you if you had.”

He poured two large measures, Rin thanking him as he slid hers across the black marble worktop, knocking it back in one. He followed suit. “Come on, it’s fucking cold in here and the lounge is warm.” They walked back out again, Butch still sleeping on with a series of deep snores, taking a seat upon the long, L shaped grey sofa, Sean refilling their glasses. “So, what did you come here with the intention of saying?”

Taking a breath, she closed her eyes for a second, seeing Tiger there in her mind’s eye. It forced her to take a lasso to her pride and give it several tethering yanks. “I want to apologise for my part in us continuing to have friction. It isn’t conducive to us healthily co-parenting Tiger, no matter how much I dislike you at times. I need to be better for my daughter.”

He snorted softly, sipping his drink. “At times? Catherine, you despise me near enough constantly.”

“Do you truly blame me for that?”

“Yes, I fucking do when you’ve had seven bloody years to get over it!” he spoke tersely. “I apologised to you, and it was sincere. I regret what I did to you, every fucking day I regret it, but god above, woman! You have to take your fucking boot off my bloody neck at some point.” She looked accepting of his words, albeit that acceptance bitter, Sean continuing in her silence. “I lost everything, went through hell after my father died, attempted to claw it back only to have you take it all again and only give it on your terms. Terms I have complied with.”

“But Sean...”

“No, for fucks sake, there isn’t a fucking but here! Stop fucking punishing me. If you want me to cease resenting you, then you have to stop making me sorry for something I already regret! I am doing everything in my power to prove worthiness, to prove most importantly that I can and will be a fit father for Tiger, but as soon as you perceive me to have any kind of upper hand, you fucking use her against me, like you did with the Persians!”

Her ire ramped in an instant. “You fucking enjoyed that, making me look small!”

“I didn’t want Bahram Forouhandeh to fucking kill you! I was looking out for you, you ignorant, insufferable woman!” His eyes were wide, exasperated as he scoffed, sinking his whiskey. “And yes, maybe I did derive a little joy from cutting you down, but bloody hell, Rin! Like you don’t do exactly the same to me at every fucking opportunity!”

“I just apologised, and you’re throwing it at me all over again!”

“Because you need to have it thrown at you all over a-bloody-gain to recognise what you’re doing to me!” He took a moment, his heart jackrabbiting in his chest, trying to calm down from the anger that had all too sharply risen. “Your father was exactly the same. On his terms or not at all. You? You’re better than that, and I am one of the very few people in your life who not only sees that, but isn’t too afraid of you to tell you either.”

Neither was Carly, and it wasn’t lost on her, how his statements more or less matched those of her oldest friend. She’d always taken pride in the fact people likened her to her father, but truly never dawned in her until right then that perhaps it wasn’t always a complimentary likeness.

Bolting back her drink, she took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Sean.” They were words that did not come easily, feeling bitter, like ashes in her mouth.

Standing, he picked up the bottle, moving to seat himself at her side, topping up her empty glass. “Finally. Now I only have to await a little sincerity in your actions going forward, and maybe my fucking blood pressure might lower a tad.”

Lifting the glass to her lips, she took a sip, nodding. “What would like first, then, for me to show this sincerity?”

“A blowjob wouldn’t go amiss.” He expected the light slap he received to the chest. “Well, you did ask.”

“And you just shagged the shit out of me against the front door not ten minutes ago!”

He smirked, his eyebrows twitching. “I never claimed not to he insatiable.”

Rolling her eyes, she rested her head back against the comfy sofa, biting her lip. He certainly never had, as a mere few minutes against the door had reminded her, should she have forgotten. “No, you definitely didn’t. I’m still not putting your cock in my mouth, though.”

“Spoil sport.” The conversation moved away from their dalliance into the verboten, talking instead about of work and life, and then of Tiger when they were over half a bottle into the whiskey.

“I know I say how perfect she is, the bias of being her mum, and she’s always so well-mannered when we meet up with you,” Rin began, her words peppered by giggles.

“Apart from when we took her on the Harry Potter tour and she had a meltdown mid-way round,” he interrupted with, remembering the squealing well.

“Yes, apart from that.” She paused again, looking pained. “You fucking have a habit of doing this to me, interrupting and making me forget what I was about to say!”

He snickered, flicking the side of her glass. “No, darling. That’s called alcohol.”

“Anyway, as I was saying…”

“As you were saying.”

God, how he knew how to wind her up, even when he was being playful rather than deliberately devious. “Be quiet, or I’ll black your other eye.”

“You bloody won’t,” he warned, “look at it, still purple.” It was, too, just a smidgen marking the skin violet around the socket.

“As I was saying, she isn’t the perfect, Tiger. She’s going through a phase of saying things she definitely shouldn’t at the moment. She called the window cleaner a dickhead the other day because he appeared suddenly and startled her.”

Predictably, Sean cracked up hard. “The profanity apple has not fallen far from the tree, I see.”

She laughed, cringing a little. “No, it certainly hasn’t. That child had bionic hearing, and stealth mode. I never know when she’s going to sneak up on me and overhear my vulgar mouth. Bastard shoes was another recent one, when she couldn’t get her little Timberland boots on because she hadn’t loosened the laces. Sokoro nearly pissed himself laughing at her.”

“When do you plan on telling her who I am?” he then asked, Rin feeling a little pit inside for the question, no matter how gently delivered.

“Soon, I think. Before our next meeting. She needs to know.”

He smiled. “Good plan.”

What was also a good plan to them that night was working their way through the rest of the Johnnie Walker, Rin feeling the effects strongly, not having much memory of the night. Upon waking the following morning, she certainly had no remembrance over how she’d ended up in Sean’s bed, her sober, slightly hungover self feeling a little flicker of panic.

They hadn’t... nope. Her underwear was still on, she felt after checking, her shuffling around stirring the body at her side.

“Morning,” he yawned, propping himself up. “I hope you don’t mind, but if you’d slept on the sofa you’d have only awoken to Butch trying to sit on your head, so I brought you in here.”

“You have more than one bedroom though, no?”

He might have been half asleep, but he heard the tease in her tones clearly. “I do, but the beds aren’t made up and I was too pissed to wrestle with a fucking duvet cover, so yes. Here you are.”

The warmth of him, the bright of his blue eyes, the scent of his skin. No. Not again.

“Here I am.” She looked down for a second, feeling a hand reach beneath her chin, Sean shifting closer, his heart quickening as she looked up from beneath her long, full eyelashes at him.

That time, he was the instigator of the kiss they fell into, his body moving to cover hers.

Now they were in trouble.

#sean wallace fanfiction #gangs of london fanfiction #sean wallace smut #sean wallace fanfic #sean wallace fic #sean wallace x ofc #gangs of london #gangs of london fanfic #gangs of london fic #joe cole #london will burn #sean and rin

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yourlocalartsonist · 7 months

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ROTTMNT Moths Fly In Packs - Chapter Eight

A/N: I AM SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG OH MY GOD. I genuinely didn’t expect it to, chapter 8 was supposed to be way shorter but uh yk my brain didn’t like that apparatnly. So now it’s uh 10K words. I think it’s genuinely worth the wait and read tho so hey, alls well that ends well or something. I’m gonna try to be faster with updates now. I’m FAIRLY CERTAIN chapter nine will be much shorter or at least nothing crazy like 8 or 10k. But what I can guarantee is chapters 10-13 will most definitely be short and lead up to the grand arc finale of chapter 14. We’re getting pretty close to it and I’m literally vibrating from excitement but no spoilers. Anyway enjoy the chapter! :D

Credit to: @sweaterrat @sleepdeprivedbagels and @yosajaeofficial for being my beloved beta readers! This story wouldn’t be able to have the quality it does without them so please give them some love and check out their ROTTMNT stories too!

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter | Chapter One

Disclaimer: Chapter involves depressive thoughts, mentions of bullying, depressed behavior, mentions of Kr*ng, PTSD behavior, violence, very lightly graphic description of injuries, blood, and curse words. If you’re sensitive to that stuff, scroll past and stay safe!

—

Outside the window, you can make out a bird’s nest sat in one of the trees. It’s been here for a week now, perfectly timed with when I got back to a consistent school life. But lately, the mother’s been staying at the nest more often. I’m guessing they’ve got babies on the way, she’s probably incubating her eggs right now. I think I’ve gotten attached to them, that small family of robins. The parents are so dedicated, aren’t they? The mother especially, never leaving the nest unless absolutely necessary.

On the contrary to my peaceful view, the classroom is noisy, hectic, and cluttered. No real science work for today so everyone’s just doing their own thing. Very loudly. Jaiden and Zane are chatting and laughing with each other next to me. I think things are better between us, I still don’t really know where Jaiden and I stand right now but at least Zane seems fine with me. Though I won’t lie, I’ve been feeling more and more like a third wheel around them.

“Dude! I’m telling you, we have to play this game together! We’d have so much fun!”

“I already said I would, Jaiden! Man, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you laugh like this. Shame you’re letting such a pretty smile go to waste.”

“Yeah? Let’s hang out more often then and maybe I won’t do that.”

Like right now.

Lowkey, I’ve been feeling invisible around those two. Jaiden barely pays any attention to me, it’s as if Zane was their best friend instead of me! I mean, I know friends can drift apart, I definitely know. But still, I never imagined it would happen to us. I still don’t wanna believe that’s what’s happening. I wanna keep hope.

“And ironically, you’re being pretty quiet today, Salena. Did you two switch personalities or something?”

“You are weirdly quiet, actually. What’s up?”

Oh lookie, I’ve been acknowledged. “Nah, you guys don’t have to worry about me. Just lower on energy than usual.”

I went back to my routine of staring out the window like the main character in a music video. In the reflection, Zane was still watching me. With the way his eyes lingered, I had a feeling he’s not falling for my excuse.

Seems like Jaiden’s not too worried, though. “Oh, Zane! You wanna hear about this new skate park I found?” Just went right back at it with Zane. Who’s weirdly still staring at me.

“…Actually, I’m kinda hungry. Jaiden, you mind getting me a snack from the vending machine?”

“Huh? But I wouldn’t know what to get you. N-not that I don’t pay attention to what you like! But, you know… Salena has better taste in these things! She should go-”

“She always goes.”

“‘Cause she knows what she’s doing.”

“Jaiden.”

“Guys, it’s fine! It’s fine. I’ve got this.” I didn’t want them to fight again so I got up from my seat. “Be back soon.”

Jaiden gave me their most gleeful smile I’ve seen them make in a while. I think seeing them smile makes this gesture worthwhile. Even if it’s just for a little bit.

The walk to the vending machine shouldn’t have been long, it’s not super far away. But my legs dragged on forcing each step to be slower than the last. I feel guilty thinking like this but a part of me wants this dumb walk to go on forever. I can’t stand being near them and I don’t know why! It’s not like we’ve got bad blood, they’ve both been normal towards me since I came back. So why am I acting like this? I’m seriously starting to doubt Splinter’s theory of me not being the problem here…

I approached the machine, stopping as I heard a struggling voice in front of me.

“Argh! How’d she say these things worked again?”

His finger pressed against the glass, tracing the code for the snack he wanted. He tapped the buttons on the screen. Nothing happened. Scratching his head, he leaned forward to read the next instructions. Finally, he pulled out a dollar bill.

…Before proceeding to insert it in the wrong way. And taking it out. And inserting it back in. And repeating the process. I can feel my soul exiting my body from second-hand embarrassment.

I recognized the fluffy black hair. With a crooked smile, I pulled out my own wallet.

“You’re supposed to put it in this way.” I slid my bill into the slot, the granola bar he selected successfully being pushed down soon after. “Good to see you again.”

“Woah, cool!” He stared at the giant food box almost with a childlike wonder, pausing for a few minutes before turning to me. “And hey! Yeah, it’s really nice seeing you again, too.” His eyes remained locked for a while before he scrambled to hand me the bill he had. “Here! Let me pay you back-“

“No, no, no, don’t worry about it! Really! Consider it my apology for, um, last time.”

“Apology? I mean, you weren’t the one doing anything weird so I don’t think you’ve gotta apologize.” He stuck out his hand. “I’m Casey Jones Jr. I was gonna introduce myself the first time we met but, you know.”

“Salena Moni! So, how’s everything holding up? You joined pretty late in the year so if you need any help reviewing stuff I’m more than happy to.”

“Oh, don’t worry! It’s actually going alright. Still technically my first time going to a real school, so it’s a little bit of a challenge but I already knew most of the material anyways. I didn’t have to catch up on much.”

“Wow, that is… remarkably impressive.” If only I handled transferring as well as this guy. “Wait, hold up, real school? Were you homeschooled?”

“You could… say that. My uncle taught me everything, he was the smartest person I knew! Just turns out it was literally everything.”

“Cool! I guess we can check grades off the box, then! So, is everyone being nice? Made any friends?”

I bit my lip as I received my answer in the form of his face freezing mid-speech. “W-well uh…”

Oh, you poor thing…

I guess he could read my face since he immediately tried reassuring me, as if he wasn’t the victim in this scenario. “I-I mean it’s not awful! A couple people were nice to me, including you! Sure, some are a little… hostile. But it’ll get better eventually.”

“Y-yeah! It definitely… definitely will.”

And cue the classic awkward silence that stars in any first conversation. A little overdue for this one now that I’m thinking about it.

I’m so conflicted. I know damn well he’s not gonna have the high school dream he’s probably imagining right now. No one does. I may not have been at this school for long, but I’ve been here long enough to know how the people are. April told me it gets even worse every year as cliques start getting established and people grow past the initial politeness. I’m glad she did, she never kept anything about high school from me no matter how bad it was. Nothing was in my control but at least I knew it was coming.

And here I am playing the exact opposite role for Casey. I hate giving people false hope, I hate it with a passion! But I’m supposed to, I think. In a situation like this I’m supposed to hype him up. Ignorance is bliss! Wouldn’t it just ruin his spirits if I broke the glass?

“Anyway, it was nice to meet you! I guess I’ll see you around?”

“Y-yep! Hope things get better for you soon!”

“Me too.”

Ugh, the guilt is eating me up! I’m acting like I’ve never told a lie in my life but it’s not that. It’s his pure mindset that’s completely fucking with my morality!

I know to keep my mouth shut, I do. I don’t want him to hate me like everyone else does. I haven’t met someone who’s been so nice to me in this stupid ass school before, I don’t want to ruin this chance now that I finally got it. Plus, he might not even believe me…

I watched him turn to walk away.

Fuck it, social norms are for losers!

“W-wait! Casey?” He turned back around and I nearly shit myself from fear. “So, don’t be mad but I may have um… lied about something?”

“Uh, sorry?”

I took a deep breath, bracing myself. “Well, here’s the deal. Things aren’t really gonna get better, sorry. Or, actually! I don’t mean that extremely literally, I guess...”

Focus on your hands, it’ll be okay. “Just… People here are mean. Really, really mean. You’re homeschooled, you’re new, and you’re nice. It’s a recipe for disaster here whether it’s today or even a year after you’ve settled in!”

I can’t even read his expression and get an idea of his reaction. He’s got a scary good poker face, I’m curious which relative taught him that one.

“Casey, please don’t take this the wrong way. I-I’m not saying any of it is your fault! Or that you need to change or do anything. I’m only saying this so you don’t have any… unrealistic expectations so to speak.”

God, his silence is more terrifying than anticipated.

So much so I couldn’t help letting out a quiet breath of relief when he finally did speak. “You know, you’re the first person here who’s told me that.”

“…Is that bad?”

“Not at all. All my family, they never got the chance to go to school. Hell, I didn’t think I’d have the opportunity. But here I am! First time in a new building with weird people and absolutely no clue what to expect. I’m usually good with surprises but this one is just so… different. Different is scary, you know?”

I nodded. I most definitely did know.

“Anyway, you’re right that people are just mean here. I don’t even know why, I mean, I’ve met my fair share of dicks before but at least they had good reasons! We were under so much stress… But that’s not what I hate. It’s the fact that any time I tell an adult, they say the same thing over and over again!”

“Let me guess.” I cleared my throat and enhanced the performance with my intoxicated Mrs. Doubtfire voice. “Just ignore them and give it time and it’ll magically fix itself ‘cause boredom beats bullies or some shit, right?”

“Yeah, exactly!” His laugh is like holding your parent’s hand when you’re getting the flu shot, it’s magical! “They say that to everyone, don’t they? God, what’s up with that? I’m so not used to adults lying to me.”

“Dude, what? You’re kidding, your whole community’s gotta be amazing if you’ve never been lied to by an adult.”

“Eh, more or less… Anyway, um, thank you. For telling me the truth. And the granola bar. I seriously owe you for this.”

…I take it back, Splinter might’ve actually been onto something.

I mean, he’s a little strange, I won’t lie about that. This is the first time I’ve heard someone actually be grateful for me telling the truth. In the past it either got me isolated or in huge trouble, depending on who I was honest with. Maybe this is why I’m so used to lying. I hate it but I’ve had to do it so much. I’ve never met someone who finally lets me relax about it, not until Casey Jr it seems.

Maybe he deserves me being a little braver for a change.

“Well, here’s a way you can repay me. By us being friends!”

…

This was a lot more epic in my head without his speechless pause. Maybe I got the vibe wrong-

“REALLY!? OMIGOSH! That would be so cool! I’ve literally been thinking about asking you the same thing ‘cause I keep wanting to talk to you but never run into you but now we can talk whenever we want, IT’LL BE GREAT!!!” Spoke too soon, he is literally shaking me by the shoulders. It feels unnatural not being on the other side of this scenario.

“Casey, my stomach doesn’t approve of this-“

“Sorry, sorry!” He finally stopped and allowed me to remember the pleasant feeling of absolute stillness. “I just can’t believe you actually wanna be friends with me!”

Still, his surprising enthusiasm gave me a good laugh. “Dude, it’s alright! It’s kinda more surprising you wanna be friends with me.”

“Why wouldn’t I? You’re the kindest person I’ve ever met in my entire life, anyone who’s friends with you is lucky to have you!”

Lucky to have me?

Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit, unexpected compliments go burn in a fire but also don’t leave, it actually feels really nice.

“Salena, are you okay? Did I say something wrong?”

“N-no, I mean, all I did was buy you a snack and tell you people are jerks. I’m not too sure I should be receiving the title of the ‘kindest person you’ve ever met’ and stuff.”

“O-oh yeah, you have a point.” He got a little flustered at that, despite it really being my fault for not being able to take compliments. “I don’t know, I mean, I still think you’re really cool. I’m just so happy you wanna be friends with me!”

He looked like a child on Christmas morning as I tippy-tapped my number into his phone. Come to think of it, I know I’ve definitely reacted excitedly towards certain people - or turtles, I should say - but having someone do it to me? Feels kinda nice.

I looked up at the clock. “Shit. We should probably head back to class before we get in trouble.”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re right. But hey,” his eyes closed as the corners delightfully wrinkled “it was great running into you again! Fate really wants us to be friends.”

He has a really nice smile.

“Funny how life works, ay?”

I skipped my way back to class, mind too deep in thought to realize how fast I went.

This guy, Casey Jones, he’s giving me certain vibes. I don’t mean the creepy, stalkerish, "I need to get the hell outta here” vibes. More like deja-vu. I can’t pin what exactly, but something about him feels so… foreign yet familiar. Homey, if you may. Like a nice, warm fire in mid-winter night. It’s really soothing.

And immediately I’m thrown into emotional whiplash as I went back inside the annoying ass classroom of teenage chaos. So much for soothing vibes. I plopped back in my desk as Zane slowly scanned me.

“You took a while. Did you get my snack?…”

…Fuck. “Sorry! I completely forgot!”

“How did you forget when it’s the literal reason you even left?” Jaiden doesn’t seem as chipper as before.

“I know, I’m so sorry. I got a bit distracted. Gimmie a sec, I’ll be right back-”

“No, wait! It’s fine, I’m not hungry anymore.”

“Really? Okay, suit yourself.” I shrugged, getting settled in again. He leaned closer to me, both confused and concerned.

“You seem happier right now. Did something good happen?”

“Oh, yeah, I guess! Just ran into a new friend.”

His face scrunched up, going back to chatting with Jaiden. I have no clue why he glared when I said that, I don’t think I said anything wrong or alarming. Honestly, bro has worse mood swings than I do. It's seriously annoying sometimes but whatever, they’ve gone back to their little bubble now so I shall go back to mine.

I pulled out my phone, greeted with Casey’s excited text already.

CJ: Hey! Not really doing anything in class so if you’re free too, text me back :D

Smiling, I let myself get engrossed in my phone, happily typing away. He’s a fun guy to talk to. His enthusiasm and bubbliness is a little surprising considering how borderline timid he seemed at first. Goes to show, never judge a book by its cover! I felt my mood lifting, less gloomier than before.

Until I remembered something he said.

“My uncle taught me everything, he was the smartest person I knew!”

Was?...

***

Ah, midnight. A time when the mentally sane and emotionally stable would be sleeping. Turns out I’m neither of those folks, I’ve got better things to do. I have weapons now but I’ve gotta actually practice using them if I don’t wanna render them useless. Besides, in bed or out here, I’m not falling asleep either way. At least this serves as a good distraction! And won’t give me a headache like my phone will.

The blades cut through the air as I twirled them, striking at an imaginary enemy soon after.

I try not to think about life when I’m training, it distracts me too much. Sometimes I feel like Casey’s the only thing making school bearable anymore. We don’t share any classes so we text more than talk but I don’t have to do any mental gymnastics to figure out how he views me. I’m still confused as hell if Jaiden likes me or hates me and have no damn clue what Zane’s deal is anymore. He keeps staring at me. More than usual. Sure, I could always sit there and ponder for hours on end what the fuck is going on, but I doubt even that’d get any results.

The sickles, however, do show results. They feel lighter, smoother, easier to duel. I’m getting faster with them and my arms don’t feel as broken after training anymore! It’s something I can lose myself in, track the improvement. It’s so much simpler than everything else.

It keeps my mind occupied. If I focus on them, I don’t think about anyone from school or anything bad that’s happening! Or at least, I usually don't. I guess I’m thinking about it now, though…

“Someone’s training hard.”

“AHH!!!”

Immediately I jerked to turn and held up a blade in defense. However, it turned out to be a false alarm as instead of some midnight mugger I expected to see, I’m greeted with a smirking blue idiot standing in front of me.

“Woah, hey! I come in peace!” The stupid bitch held his hands up, mocking me with his fake fear. “Been a while, huh?”

“Leo? Oh god, you scared me! Where did you even come from?”

“The better question would be: Where did you disappear to? We haven’t gone out in like a week! You kept leaving me on read when I texted you but seemed fine in the group chat. What gives?”

“…I forgor?”

“Really?” I could tell he wasn’t satisfied by my answer. “You just forgot to respond to me? Every single time?”

“W-well sorta. I mean, it’s nothing you did so please don’t take it personally! It’s with everyone. I’ve just been a little bad at responding to dms…” My social battery’s been so low lately I question if it’s even charged at all. “That’s entirely on me, though! I’m so sorry.”

He crossed his arms and looked me up and down. He’s doing that nonchalant poker face again, the one he does when he doesn’t wanna be read, otherwise he’s an open book.

“You know you can tell me if something’s up, right?”

I guess he also does that face when he’s trying to read someone else. “Yeah, I know. I’m alright. It’s just… I dunno, things are a little weird but it’s fine. It’s really nothing to worry about.”

He hummed in response. I don’t really think he bought it but his eyes eventually drifted to my weapons, dropping the topic regardless. He must not wanna push it.

“Sooo, sick weapons! Where’d you get ‘em?”

“Oh, these? Draxum gave them to me!”

He gagged, interrupting me. “You met Draxum? The sheep guy? Oh, poor you! Was he awful to deal with? I bet he was! You know, like always.”

“Oh come on, he wasn’t that bad! A little grouchy at first but in his defense, I caught him in the middle of his shift, so.”

“Please, sheep bitch doesn’t need a reason to be a jerk! He’s just an old cranky loser who spends his days yelling at kids and smuggling whatever mystic bullshit of the week he found from the Hidden City! It’s giving Oscar the Grouch, just missing the lemon. Oh wait, that’s ‘cause unlike Oscar, he doesn’t even have one single thing that makes him uncharacteristically happy!”

“Wow, angry aren’t we?” It’s rude to laugh, but I can’t help myself around this dork. He looks like a kid who got denied an Xbox when he crosses his arms like that. “Leo, be real. This is because he threw you off a roof, isn’t it?”

“You know!? I mean-“ He laughed, trying to hide his poorly made lie. “What? Of course not… Maybe just a little but that’s not important.”

Leo grumbled on with some incoherent noises for a minute, before cooling down and moving on from the “sheep bitch”.

“Ugh, well anyway, if you got it from that moron, they’re definitely mystic or something, right?”

“Oh, absolutely! They’re actually super cool, I mean-“ For a good five minutes I kept blabbering on and on about the sickles and how they function and all my progress that I didn’t notice Leo - bless his heart - trying and horrifically failing to pay attention. He doesn’t really hide it well when he spaces out.

“And they- Uh, Leo, you good?”

“…Would you be mad if I said I got like, none of that?”

I sighed but gave a gentle smile. I knew he had a short attention span so I can’t really act like it’s his fault I forgot about that.

“Actually, do you want me to just like… act it out instead? I think I’ve gotten pretty good at using these so I don’t mind showing instead of telling!”

He shrugged “Nothin’s stopping you. Go on, impress me!”

Well, nothing except my nerves. But hey, it’s just Leo. If I mess up, he’ll laugh with me a bit and then I’ll just retry. No real pressure around him. I could use a progress check right now, anyway.

“Aight, so we only know two out of who knows how many powers for these things, they’re the only two I’ve been practicing. First up!”

I spun them around, careful to not mess up my handling. My goal is to form blades strong enough to crack a dent through the concrete edge of this building. So the sickles need to be made out of metal or steel. I usually go with metal but I do actually wanna impress him and steel’s stronger. I aimed at the edge and swung my arm forward, the sickle shot through the air and sliced through the concrete like a knife to a cake.

“OH SHIT!”

“I got it!” He teleported to catch the flying solo sickle and came right back within a matter of seconds. Oh, what I’d give to experience never having to walk again.

“Sorry about that! They’ve never broken the edge like that before!”

“Sorry!? You’re not allowed to be sorry, that was so cool! It went clean through!” I’ve never seen him gush about something this way. I’ve gotta admit, it’s kind of adorable. “Okay, I’m hooked! What’s the other thing it can do?”

“Invisibility! But I can’t do it for long, at least not yet. I made progress, though! Went from only three seconds to five!”

“Wait, actually, back up a bit. I get that Baron Ass told you how the sickles work and blah blah blah, but how’d you learn how to fight with ‘em? Ya know, the non-mystic aspects.”

“Oh, YouTube tutorials at first. But honestly, sickle fighting is mid so I did a lot of improv, really.”

He chuckled and eventually lost to his giggles as if me saying that wasn’t completely justified. “Did you just call an ancient form of martial arts mid?”

“Stop judging me, I’m right! Sickles were improvised weapons. They’re good for the last resort, not the first choice!”

“I’m not judging, I’m not judging! Promise! I respect it, even!” He leaned against the roof’s edge, gradually collecting himself. “But if they’re that bad, why didn’t you ask for a different weapon? One that’s cooler and not ‘the last resort’?”

Oh boy, where to begin?

I then explained how I essentially found myself wrapped in some “chosen one” bullshit through the sickles. They still don’t work any time Barry touches them but are perfectly fine in my hands. It’d be pretty dumb to pass up these weapons for a different one, even if sickles aren’t the coolest thing to own. Although, he’s definitely acting like they are judging by how intensely his eyes are staring at them. They’re sparkling brighter than I thought eyes realistically could.

“Well, now I’m offended! Mystic mystery sickles that do all kinds of glowy stuff for you specifically? How could you not tell me about these sooner!? They’re so amazing!”

“I know, I’m real sorry, Leon.” He’s joking around, his tone’s too light to be mad. But I do still feel bad for accidentally ignoring him like that. “Anything I can do for you as an apology?”

“Well…” His smirk revealed that thing was the main reason he came here in the first place. “We could make up for the lost time and go on a run together tonight. It is a weekend so you’d still have tomorrow and the day after to rest up. But hey, that’s just an idea…”

It's Friday again. Just like the first time we did this.

He held out his hand as an offer and I took it with a grin. “You make a convincing argument.”

And off we went, dashing through the night. It’s a bit humid today so the wind from sprinting so fast is greatly appreciated. Not to mention my speed is so much better than before!

The daily restrictions of civil life can go suck my dick and feed my liver to their uncles ‘cause oh my god nothing beats this feeling! No one else is here, no one who could stop us! Sure, jumping off roofs isn’t the safest way to have fun, but everything else in my life is already so safe! I’m allowed to have this one thing, this one moment to be free.

I’m so distracted that I didn’t realize I’m actually giving Leo a run for his money this time! Hehe, run. God, I’m so funny.

“Looks like you can actually keep up with me now!”

“I know, right!? It feels fucking amazing!”

Judging from his mischievous ass face, I probably should’ve kept my mouth shut. “I don’t mean to burst your bubble but…”

A blue light appeared as a hole ripped in the sky and the lovely piece of shit went right through, appearing again somewhere way ahead of me. “I’m still faster!~”

“Hey! No portals allowed!”

“Uh, last time I checked, portalling is totally allowed.”

“Says who!?”

“Says me and I’m leader! Whatever leader says goes!”

To add insult to injury, he doesn’t just portal himself. As I’m trying to catch up to him mid-jump, the jackass opens a portal right under me, sending me back even further than I already was with no time to recover.

“Leo, you cheat!”

Bro’s giggling his ass off as he blinked in and out of sight. I’m no different with how sore my face is, so I can’t even pretend to be mad.

Instead, all I can do is try my best to speed up and catch up, plotting my revenge in the meantime. Easier said than done, that dude’s faster than the Flash right now since he’s, ya know, portalling. Doesn’t help that he keeps appearing right next to me every few minutes just to taunt me and disappear again.

A few minutes into our little cat and mouse game though, I lost track of him and he hadn’t shown up in a while to pester me. So, I started calling out his name, trying to look for him. You’d think it’d be easier to find a 5’5” giant, green turtle man but I guess they wouldn’t be ninjas if that were the case.

“Leo? Leo!? Le- Huh?”

I finally found him. But instead of the shit-eating grin he gave me earlier, he’s silent and still behind the edge of a roof, his back facing me. It’s starting to freak me out a little, he looks like he’s going fucking Blair Witch mode. No words, no witty remarks, nothing. Just ghostly staring at whatever the view is. Only thing I can see from here is a museum.

“Hey, Leon, you okay?”

“Shh!”

With his eyes still fixed up ahead, Leo took my hand and guided me forward. He eventually looked at me and nodded towards the street below us. Gazing in that direction, I saw a large purple truck with the logo of that one weird shoe store I browsed a few years ago. From what I’ve gathered these past few weeks, big trucks mean bad news.

But maybe that’s not what I should be focused on. Standing near the truck were two people, their skin an unnatural shade of purple. One’s large and brutish, the other tall and slender. They’ve got foot marks on their faces and flames on their bald heads. Exactly how Mikey described…

“The Foot Clan.”

He nodded. “I don’t understand, those guys were all turned into Krang during the invasion.”

Sorry, what? “You’re sure it was those two specifically? I haven’t heard about any cures or vaccines for the Krang victims on the news. It’d make headlines if there were.” I haven’t heard anything about them for a while now that I think about it.

“Yeah, I’m sure.” He leaned closer to the edge, as close as he could get without getting caught. “They’re parked a street away from a museum, the hell are they up to now?”

I mimicked his actions, trying to hear the Foot people better. The slender one’s on the phone, sounding frustrated. He’s doing that whisper-yelling thing people do when they wanna be mad quietly to avoid societal shame.

“Yeesh, someone’s having a bad day.”

“You can hear them?” Why does he look so confused?

“Yeah, can’t you?”

Leo shook his head. “Whatever, what are they saying?”

I cocked my head to the side, spying in on their conversation.

His voice is scratchy, a little sore on my ears. “What do you mean you can’t get it off? Just bring the whole thing and hurry! We can’t risk alerting anyone!” Neither of us can tell what he’s referring to, unfortunately. The Foot dude avoids naming it.

I looked back at Leo scanning around for any clues. He stared at the back of the museum for a minute before his eyes widened. “I know where we are. It’s the Historical Society Museum. Donnie mentioned wanting to come here once.”

“I think I’ve heard of it. Isn’t there a lot of ancient stuff in there? Like, from centuries back?”

Nodded again. He’s being unnervingly quiet, considering it’s Leo. He stared at the clan, then at the museum, then back at the clan. He looked… scared. Scared in a way I’ve never seen him before. I felt my hand being subconsciously squeezed. I didn’t even notice he hadn’t let go in the first place.

…I have to help him.

I readied myself for whatever his idea was, no matter how outlandish or risky it may seem. “Alrighty, what’s the plan?”

“Right.” He hesitated, before gripping his katanas and turning back. “…The plan is for me to portal you home, kick some Foot ass, and pick you up so we can continue our run.”

WHAT!?

“What do you mean ‘portal me home!? I’m not leaving!” I was prepared for anything, but this!? “We just stumbled across the Foot Clan who are for some reason not freaky alien zombies and messing with ancient artifacts that do who knows what!”

“Yeah, that’s why I’m sending you home before your adrenaline junkie ass can do something stupid.”

“And what makes you think I’d do that!?”

He held up my scarred left arm and stared at me unimpressed.

“…Okay, that’s a low blow even for you.”

Though as much as I hate to admit it, he kind of has a point. I sighed. “Alright, tell me. If I leave, will you at least call your brothers to help you out?”

“Yes!”

“Leo.”

“Fine, I lied.” The steel fucking balls of- “But still! I’ll be okay! I’ve gone against them plenty of times before.”

“Doesn’t mean you’re invincible!”

Before I could say anything more, I heard the sound of a truck starting up. I looked down and Leo followed my line of sight to see the Foot getting ready to drive.

Shit, they’re getting away!

“Okay, okay! Listen, I promise, I promise I won’t run off on my own and do something dumb this time. Anything the leader says goes! Just please let me join!” I can’t leave him alone!

I could sense him debating on what to do. His eyes look so conflicted, there’s definitely more than what he’s telling me. Nevertheless, I’m not budging. I don’t wanna sit at home being useless and worry the entire time.

He took a deep breath in, and let out a loud sigh. He looked at me with a defeated smile. “I’m not getting rid of you, am I?”

“Nope.”

“Alright, fine, but you’re sticking close.”

Before I could celebrate too much, I felt the ground beneath me disappear into bright blue light. Not anything sudden, more gentle really. Even then, I felt disoriented with my feet going from firmly grounded to touching the air! Not to mention how light my whole body felt. Gravity did a complete 180 and I got flipped around, landing under the truck.

I nearly lost my grip but a hand on my back kept me in place long enough for me to recollect myself. Leo portalled us here.Well, obviously he did, it just caught me off guard again. It’s not really too bad going through his portals but it sure is a fucking trip when it’s unexpected. Either way, it got the job done.

They drove for quite a damn while. It wasn’t the most pleasant experience having to cling on to the bottom of a moving truck as the only scents to breathe in were that of oil and gasoline, but we probably looked super cool! My ears disagreed but oh well. They parked in front of a mall this time. Not just any mall, the fucking World Trade Center! We’re literally on the other side of the city, what on Earth could they need here?

I wanted to follow them in but Leo was against it. He said it’d be safer for us to spy from a distance for now so we went to the roof of a neighboring building, looking in at them. The Foot are on one of the higher floors, almost seeming like they’re scavenging for something.

Leo’s trying to figure out another way in for us. I still don’t understand why we didn’t just follow them. I know Leo’s not a total reckless nutcase or anything, but being this cautious felt a little unlike him.

“Hey, look, I don’t mean to shoot your own words back at you or anything. But you know you can tell me if something’s up, right?”

For a split second, he looked different. His eyes were dead, his lips shut and neutral. He stared at me but he looked so… lost. Empty.

And then his smile returned, face back to normal. Or at least what he convinced me was normal. I’m not so sure anymore. He flicked my forehead again. Even softer than the first time he did it. “Stop worrying so much! You’re gonna give yourself a chasm worse than Raph’s.”

I didn’t know how to take it from there. So I just watched him.

He eventually decided on portalling us into the building’s vent system. It’s a little cramped but was the only place we can eavesdrop without being immediately spotted. Though honestly, I don’t mind this one bit! I’m controlling the impulsive adrenaline ,however, he didn’t say shit about internal adrenaline! I can’t help it if stealth makes me giddy!

“Hehe! It’s like we’re in a movie!”

“Love your enthusiasm as always but remember to not get too caught up in it.”

I momentarily shoved my excitement to the side as we both tried listening in on the Foot Clan. The skinny dude, who I now know to be the Lieutenant, is barking orders at the rest of the soldiers scouting around while talking to the giant Brute.

“You disabled the cameras, correct? You know we can’t make it any harder for them!”

“Of course I did, it’s a no-brainer! Why’d ya have to ask it like that?” Woah, villain or not, his New Yorker accent is one to admire! “You know, sometimes I feel like you think I’m just stupid and nothin’ more.”

“Oh, don’t start now. Focus on finding good metal. The sooner we finish this the better.”

Hearing his raspy voice makes my own throat itch a little. I lightly clawed at it, trying to not make too much noise as I moved.

I leaned a little closer to Leo “What do you think they need metal for?”

“Not sure. Could be to make more soldiers or something? It’d be a cool upgrade from their paper soldiers.”

Leo’s tone seems a little lighter than before, I’m glad to hear him joke around again. “They could make paper soldiers?”

“Yeah! And they’re completely sentient, one of them even became besties with Raph! Anyway,” he pointed down at a handful of soldiers collecting metal artifacts “they’re probably trying to make those origami soldiers again with something stronger.”

“But how would you fold metal?”

“Beats me, Mikey would know more on this. He’s figuring out how to recreate whatever spell they used so we could get some help with patrolling. Word of advice though, salami origami does not work as a substitute.”

“No shit. Who’s bright idea was that?”

“...You don’t know him.” His guilty face says it all.

We were giggling a little too loudly, I suppose. One of the Foot dudes stopped and started listening for our voices again. He shrugged and moved on soon enough. I didn’t realize I was covering my mouth till I let myself breathe again.

“We should probably be a little quieter and take this stealth thing more seriously.”

I nodded in agreement. He’s not upset, honestly he’s struggling just as much as I am to choke down more giggles. It’s like we’re hiding under a blanket during a sleepover pretending we’re not awake in front of the parents and not in a likely life or death situation spying on the black-magic cult. I’m trying my best but it’s already hard enough to keep my adrenaline addiction in check and Leo being here makes it worse in the best ways possible.

Still, I don’t wanna know what happens if we get cau- What was that creaking sound?

CLANG!

It would seem those were not really sturdy vents.

You know that moment from the Ice Age sequel when the vultures surround the main cast with hungry, devilish eyes ready to feast on them at any given moment? Yeah, let’s just say I wouldn’t be surprised if the Foot Clan randomly bursts into song about “glorious food” full on broadway musical style.

“Uh… Hey, fellas! Long time no see, am I right?” Despite his demeanor, I caught the real reason he raised his hands. I reached back for mine as well.

A sheath of metal filled the air as Leo took his katanas out their case, perfectly timed with the Lieutenant’s new orders.

“GET THEM!”

“Run, hide first then get the stolen thingie if you can. I’ll keep ‘em busy!” Leo charged into the fight, holding them off to make sure they couldn’t get to me.

Unfortunately, there’s like a bajillion of them that can easily outnumber us. I’ve learned to be quite a slippery sprinter but even then two already managed to block my path.

Now would be a good time to turn invisible!

“Come on, come on!” I could barely get the sparks to even start spreading. Turns out stress is a huge fucking factor I neglected in my training.

I wouldn’t have minded if it just took a few seconds to work but the real issue was I couldn’t keep it working. I didn’t even really go invisible, just sorta flashed in and out of transparency for a few seconds! The only reason I haven’t gotten caught yet is ‘cause these two morons are too busy laughing at me.

“Is that really the best you can do!? Whoever you are, little girl, you’ve got your work cut out for you!”

“Oh no! She’s… she’s… blinking like an old flashlight!! We’re so scared!”

…BITC-

Resorted to traditional methods. I made the sickles the consistency of a metal pot and threw it at one of their heads, knocking them down. The other I kicked straight in the chest while they were distracted by their idiot teammate, also knocking them down. I’d love nothing more than to give some extra special attention to them but this old flashlight’s gotta run for the shadows while they’ve got an open chance.

A blue portal opened in front of me. “Hey Salena, so this fight’s a little more intense than I expected and I wanted to quickly check if you’re really sure about-”

“Leo, I’m fine! I’m not leaving mid-battle!”

“No, no, that’s fine! That’s great! Just a reminder there’s no shame in calling it- DUCK!”

Without hesitance, I dropped to the ground right as his sword swung above me to block one of the soldier’s attacks. Maybe I should let Leo handle this guy since I can’t really do much while laying on the floor. Then again, doesn't mean I can’t do anything. And also I don’t have good impulse control.

“OW!!! WHAT THE FUCK!?”

I bit on to his ankle as hard as I desired despite his pleading cries. I didn’t let go until Leo broke out of his shock and finally punched him unconscious. Fighting might actually be a really good way to get out my urges.

“Why-“

“Don’t. If it works, it works.”

I flashed a grin, got back on my feet, and bounced away. I need a better vantage point if I wanna find the stolen item, especially with the chaos over here. I quickly made my way up to the indoor balcony thingie. Terrance? The second floor? Whatever the fuck it is. I’ll have to admit, despite how absolutely pumped I’m feeling right now, it kinda feels nice getting away from the clusterfuck for a bit. I heard Leo still spamming all his dialogue options to keep the main two creeps occupied. Actually, I’m pretty sure I can see them from up here, too.

“So, you guys are looking great! Never thought I’d say this, but I am loving the old look making a return.” His hands did more tricks than usual, keeping his swords flowing like an intricate dance. There are multiple soldiers practically hounding him yet he’s fending them off almost gracefully.

“Can’t you stupid children stay out of our way for one night! There’s great evil being put on the hold right now for your antics!”

“Hey, speaking of evil, what’s with the normal amount of eyes? Not that I’m missing the other option but- GAH!”

And yet, even with Leo’s skilled moves, he’s struggling to keep up with the two leaders specifically. I deadass would’ve been slaughtered by now if I didn’t listen to him about hiding.

“We got some outside help. Now, stop askin’ annoying questions and maybe we’ll go easier on ya!” He swung his axe again, thankfully missing Leo.

I gotta wonder, from Mikey’s stories, they’ve fought the Foot Clan with ease several times in the past. Leo was doing fine just now, too. So why does it look like this could be his first time facing off the Lieutenant and Brute? Nobody’s perfect but I don’t think either of us expected him to lose his grace and become borderline clumsy against them.

Wait, no! Distractions! Leo can handle himself, I need to focus on my own task. Stolen thingie! But where the hell is it?

Just as I was about to think they left it in the truck like common sense would dictate, a soft, reflective red glow caught my eye. The moon was on my side tonight.

“There she is!”

Or maybe I was being too optimistic. In fairness, I should’ve known I couldn’t stay here for long.

It would be really fucking nice to turn invisible now. Sickles? No? Oh, okay, fuck me then I guess.

I hopped off the edge before they could reach me and slinked to the other side of the room, following the red gleam. Despite the sickles betraying me with horrific timing twice tonight, I got them to cover me long enough to reach the ruby ring the glow came from. The light bled past the folds of the drape covering their stolen prize. I lifted it to find a… weird mannequin bust? With arms. Decorated with several ornaments and jewelry including the ring. What the fuck are they using this for, a fashion show?

I flinched to the sound of a loud thud paired with Leo’s groan. Flipping my head behind me, I saw him cornered against a wall, swords shielding him from the Brute’s axes.

“Okay, either you two got a lot stronger or my body isn’t what it used to be.”

I gotta calm myself down, Leo’s a trained ninja and will likely be completely and totally fine! A tiny slip doesn’t mean inevitable doom!

…I hope.

I turned my attention back to the mannequin thing to mentally measure its size. I’m fairly certain it’ll fit inside my backpack, it’s not too big. Just gotta get it in now.

Another sound interrupted me. This time, it was loud metallic clanking off the floor. Leo’s katanas…

“On second thought, maybe it’s both.” His weapons were away from him, too far out of reach. His voice sounded weaker, arms wrapped around his torso.

Oh no.

Neither of them were holding back. As soon as he was down, they were practically hammering at him. His arms were up, defensively blocking his head. I’m supposed to stay away from this. I’m supposed to listen and focus on my task. But I can’t stop my body from turning when I see something like this happening.

He’s in the air now. I need to move. He’s being swung. I need to be faster.

“Let this be a lesson, turtle. Our battles have drastically changed.”

The window shattered from the force of his body.

“LEO!”

I don’t remember ever sprinting this fast, but I was out the window right after through the very hole he created. The height couldn’t scare me if it tried. My arm outstretched, I caught him with one hand and had my sickle in the other. Careful to not dare mess up my timing, it snatched onto a power line just as my blades turned to rubber, thick enough to not get us shocked from the voltage.

“N-nice… nice catch.”

“Thanks.” It’s harder to talk when I’m panting like a dog and trying to limit my shaking limbs.

His weight felt like it would rip my arms apart. I didn’t expect a giant muscular turtle to be light but that doesn’t make it hurt any less. Still, some-fucking-how, I’m able to keep us both hanging from the wire, comprehending the fact that we’re not dead. Thank fuck for Raph forcing me to work out sessions.

“You, uh, you doing good up there? You’re breathing kinda heavily. Hey, heavily! Didn’t even mean to make that one!”

“Leo I will drop you.”

He convinced me to suffer a little longer and try to swing him, giving enough momentum for him to catch onto the side of the neighboring building. Then, I swung myself, Leo catching me to soften the landing. We scampered up to the roof, coincidentally the same one we were on a while ago.

“And literally back to square one. Fantastic.” He sighed, clearly annoyed by our failure. His attention quickly shifted once he noticed me rubbing my sore arms. “Hey, you okay? Want me to take a look at you?”

“Me? Take a look at yourself first, idiot!”

I’m not gonna pretend I’m not in pain, but it’s nothing close to the tragedies on his body currently. His arms are bruised and cut from the fight. One was actively bleeding with bits of glass still stuck in some places. Luckily it was the only fleshy place he took damage on, everything else was protected, albeit a little cracked.

“It’s… It’s fine. My shell took most of the hit, anyway.” This bitch. “Besides, I’ve got bigger things to worry about.”

Despite his condition, he started walking to the edge of the roof, heading back towards the WTC.

“Where the hell are you going?”

“To get my katanas back.”

“Oh, no, no, no, you are not going back in there! Can’t you just make new swords or something?”

“And help the foot by practically gifting them Hamato weapons?”

“You said they’re made from your magic! Shouldn’t that protect them from other people trying to use them?”

“I don’t know, we only learned about this ninpo stuff, like, last year! I don’t know enough to be sure nothing will happen if I leave them with the Foot. I’m not doing that.”

“Well, I can’t let you go back.” I stood in front of him to block his path. “We can figure something else out but you are not going back in there! Look at you, it’d be crazy!”

“I was crazy once-” My hand shut his stupid, smug mouth before he could complete the ritual.

“Leo, you were thrown out a window! You’re hurt!”

“Hey, hey, it’s okay! I’ve been through worse! I’m just gonna get my swords back, that’s all.” He put a hand on my shoulder and threw on a fake smile to comfort me. The blood is literally dripping down his arm as he did, defeating the point. I looked back at his eyes, not bothering to hide how furiously concerned I am. If I’m reading him right, he’s not oblivious to reality. He’s a medic, he knows it better than I do.

He took a shaky breath in. “Fine, you’re right that I’m a little hurt. But we can’t waste time patching me up, I need to get my swords! Rule number one of basic survival is never let the Foot come into possession with highly mystic material ever.”

“Then I’ll go while you take care of yourself.”

“NO!” His head perked up as his eyes grew wider. He tried saving his initial reaction. “No way, not happening. It’s a safer plan if I go in, I’m more used to them” Safer for us or for just me.

“And yet, you got beaten to a pulp, isolated from your weapons, thrown out a window, and are now bleeding with shards of glass sticking out your body. Did I miss anything?” He’s neglected himself all night being overly cocky and confident nothing bad would happen to him. That’s what’s led to him turning out like this! “They didn’t exactly go easy on you, Leo-”

“Then imagine what they’d do to you!”

His brows knit together, staring at me, not blinking. I guess my wish was granted since he finally stopped disguising his true fear.

“Salena, please. Stay here, I’m going in.”

I almost let him go. Almost.

Too bad for him, I yanked him by the mask tails and pulled his stunned face back to face me.

“Hey, wh-”

“Alright, listen. I know whoever these guys are, they’re dangerous as fuck. I know I’m nowhere near as skilled of a fighter as you and I probably never will be. And I know I am way in over my head about this. But none of that matters to me.”

He kept quiet. So I continued. “What matters is that I’m your friend. Friends don’t let each other jump into losing battles, okay? You’re hurt, Leo. Please, just let me help you.”

I looked up at the sky. The clouds are covering the moon now and should stay that way for a little while. I could take advantage of the newfound darkness.

I stood on the ledge, mentally preparing myself to reignite the flames. Sure, I talked big about being able to handle myself and whatnot but I’m just trying to fool myself into thinking I’m not scared. If I can keep myself level-headed and use my sickles, I’ll be able to stay invisible for a short bit. If I play my cards right, that should be all I need.

I felt a hand grab my wrist. Turning around, I readied myself to once again reassure Leo I’d be fine but stopped when he put something in my palm. I recognize them, they’re tanto knives.

“Hey.” His smile is forced but not disingenuous.

“You’ve got this.”

So off I went with the last little push I needed. The cool night air feels fantastically refreshing on my skin. Every leap leaves me more confident I’ll succeed. I have to. He needs someone he knows he can depend on.

I scouted around and found an open window to sneak back in through. Judging by how crazy strong these guys are, my best bet is the element of surprise and for these oversized lethal boomerangs to actually work in my favor. Which they hadn’t before. But nothing’s ever hopeless. The reflection off the moon was their main source of light, with the clouds hiding it now and my knowledge of the floor’s layout, I think I might have a working plan this time.

I rushed over to the balcony I was at previously, this time being more cautious of any look-outs. There were three of them up here so I’m glad I didn’t choose the reckless route. I took my sickles out my backpack, breathed in, and turned invisible. A little harder to do since my nerves haven’t completely disappeared but it’s going smoother than before.

I snuck up to the soldier at the back of the trio, covering his mouth and dragging him to the dark, knocking him out shortly after. His two buddies were a piece of cake after that, hit one with a blunt-force sickle and take the other by hand at the same time. No one noticed a thing.

With the balcony cleared, I reclaimed my little sighting spot and looked over the entire floor, making note of every nook and cranny I could hide in. The clan’s focus changed since last time, they’re trying to get out as fast as possible. Seems like they’re taking Leo’s katanas with them since Lieutenant Itchy McSore-Throat was holding onto them.

“All of you hurry up! We must get out of here!”

I spotted the stolen mannequin in the distance. It’s actually not too far and surprisingly not removed. The two leaders seem distracted by someone. Perfect timing. I crept down and started taking out some more soldiers, listening in to the conversation at the same time.

“What about getting all the mystic metal we can?” That’s a new voice.

“Forget the metal, we’ve got enough for today. We need to leave or that turtle will bring reinforcements!”

“Yeah, sure, whatever makes ya happy, boss.”

“You better not be questioning my authority.”

“Our authority, he means. We’ve had your type before, and they grew to be traitors. I suggest you don’t test the patience of the Foot ‘cause it’s growin’ thin.”

“Nice phrasing! Even if you shouldn’t have interrupted me.” I can’t tell if these two have workplace tension or workplace bromance anymore. “But he’s right. You’d do well to remember your place, rookie.”

“Hey, I wasn’t tryna question anything guys. Just sayin’ maybe we should’ve planned this better in case we got caught.”

“So you may be right. We’ll keep it in mind but work on your delivery when it comes to criticism. Now quickly, go join the others.”

“Can I at least hold the magic swords?”

“No.”

She grumbled and left through the door, likely exiting the building. Her attitude was a pleasant surprise. I’ll admit, I kinda assumed all the Foot soldiers had brain-numbing levels of obedience.

The clouds were clearing up, though. The moonlight brightened the room back up, I can’t use the darkness for cover much longer. Alas, if only I knew how to use my literal invisibility powers for longer than a few seconds but you know what? This is genuinely perfectly okay. I’ve taken out enough of them to only leave a few left standing, not to mention the majority of them are already out the building. I gotta take these freaks head on if I wanna get Leo’s swords. No more hide and seek.

I let the light illuminate me.

“Hey guys!~” I waved gleefully as the Foot idiots finally noticed my presence. “Remember me? Hope it hasn’t been too long.”

“You!” The Brute turned to me first. “You’re the Hamato ally from earlier!”

“What are you doing here! Why have you returned!”

“You sure have a way of asking questions that makes them feel like statements. Anyway, I’m here to collect something you stole from my friend.”

He gripped the swords as he scowled at me. I held my own sickles tighter.

“You foolish child! You leave us no choice but take you out permanently.”

“Oh, really now? You and what army.”

I scoffed when I caught his expression change. Everyone looked at each other, noting how very few of them are suddenly in the room. So distracted they barely noticed me going for my first blow.

He quickly got ready to block me with Leo’s weapon, absolutely bewildered when I only zoomed past him and sliced at the leg of another soldier behind him. It wasn’t too deep but poor guy was still rendered useless. I dashed to my left at another soldier, dodging his attack and punching right up his chin.

“What’s going on!? Those sickles were dull the last time she used ‘em!”

“They must be mystic…”

“Right you are, Lieutenant! I kept them dull on purpose, my mistake.”

I threw a tanto at a cultist’s shoulder.

“You threw Leo out a window. I think you can bear to see some blood.”

One by one, I went around the room, sprinting past anyone chasing after me and immobilizing anyone with their guard down. I got in a groove good enough to keep myself progressing along while getting out my rage. I wasn’t kidding before, I would’ve kept my blades dull again. I’m still careful to not do anything fatal but I’m not gonna be exactly merciful, either. They deserve this.

Fighting felt like dancing, gliding across the room in an energetic fashion. I’m not crazy enough to go for the Lieutenant or Brute which ended up being a plus for me. They was more than ready to protect themselves, but not their team. At last, I got them all exactly where I needed them.

Alright, stay calm. Turn invisible no matter what.

My sickles shone with a pink glow, allowing me to disappear from their sight. I scampered past them, reaching the bejeweled mannequin behind them. It feels a little different? But there isn’t any concrete proof for this so my brain’s just tricking me. Whatever, no time to lose. I shoved it in my bag, getting myself used to the weight, and aimed a sickle at his arm.

“Where’d she go!?”

“Stay alert! Don’t let her catch you off guard!”

A bit late for that buddy.

My blade sliced through, leaving a massive gash on his arm. He screamed and dropped Leo’s sword. I ran through, catching it just as I became visible again. I snatched the other one as quickly as possible and sprinted to create some distance.

I held my arm up to my face, making good use of the wraps’ built-in comms. “Leo! Heads up!”

I threw a katana out the window, smashing the glass as it flew outside. I stopped in my tracks with a smirk. I knew we won.

I dodged the last attacks of the night, accelerating faster than I realized I could go. “Well folks, this was quite a fun match! Hope to never see you again!” Blue light sparked across my body. I leapt in the air, gave a quick peace sign purely to piss ‘em off, and bid my farewell.

“Toodles~”

Teleportation isn’t actually too bad if you know it’s coming.

The cool night air returned on my skin. I was floating for a few seconds before crashing to the roof on my knees. I didn’t even care about the pain, I was too busy enjoying the hug I received for my success!

“I DID IT! I FUCKING DID IT! WOOHOO!!!”

“Celebrations later, escaping now! Come on!”

Leo dragged me up and pulled us through another portal.

***

“We are the champions!~

“Gone with the losers ‘cause we are the champions!”

I handed another slice of pizza to Leo, half the box pepperoni for him and the other half plain cheese for me. We already dropped off the mannequin back to the museum and I gave an anonymous tip to 911 so now we’re simply chilling on the roof singing to celebrate our victorious night. I’m honestly still hyper as hell over it.

“I can’t believe we actually did it! I can’t believe I actually did it! Salena one, Foot Clan NONE BABY, FUCK YEA!”

“Man, I am so happy you came out okay. You have no idea how relieved I was when I saw you again.” He bit into the cheese, the least stressed I’ve seen him all night.

I couldn’t realize it earlier but that hug he gave wasn’t for my success. It’s clear to me now.

“Leo?”

“Hm?” He looked towards me as he bit into the cheese.

“Thanks for trusting me.”

He mirrored my smile. “Hey, we’re friends, right? That’s what I’m here for.”

The spring breeze feels so sweet. The view of the city is rewarding as always. A safe city, a safe night. I can see why they’re so into this whole hero gig. Everything about this moment feels absolutely perfect.

Buzz! Buzz!

I swear to god if my fucking phone’s gonna ruin it again. I quickly checked the notif to see if it was anything important. To my surprise, it’s Jaiden.

They sent me a text. The first one in weeks. It’s a dumb meme I saw earlier today.

We used to do this a lot in the past. Whenever we got into a fight, it’d be our way of ending it. We could never stay mad at each other for more than a day. In the past at least.

I guess this means they’re not mad at me anymore.

“Everything okay?” Leo stared at me, probably concerned by my change in demeanor.

I double tapped to like Jaiden’s meme and put my phone away, going back to normal.

“It’s nothing important. Just, uh, highschool stuff. You wouldn’t get it.”

He laughed “Oh, okay, well. I know I’m too fabulous to be the average, uncool, normal teen guy doing normal teen things like going to highschool that you want right now but…”

“If you ever need someone to lend a shoulder, you know who to call.”

He’s an idiot, but a very sweet one when he wants to be.

“Thanks, Leo, but I mean it this time. It’s nothing.” I raised up my slice to request a toast of some sorts. “Let’s go back to celebrating, shall we?”

He let out a satisfied chuckle, returning my toast. I didn’t wanna let anything ruin the way I felt tonight, even if their text tainted the vibe a bit. But hey, it’s technically a win, too! I got my confirmation that Jaiden and I are indeed still friends.

Though I gotta admit, I’m not as happy as I thought I’d be.

—

Next Chapter

#save rottmnt #rottmnt #rise of the tmnt #unpause rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rottmnt season 3 #rise of the turtles #rottmnt fanfiction #rottmnt x oc #oc x canon #rottmnt oc x canon #nickelodeon #rottmnt moths fly in packs

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3lder1ch-l0verz · 8 days

Note

Hello ❤️

I hope your doing well ❥

I wanted to request a male reader x Jason and Male reader x Michael Myers

Like I wanted jason/Michael and reader being best friend since kids and before they become slashers and everything reader had to leave because his family was having trouble after years he come back but even. thought he knew jason/ Michael become slashers he still loved each one of them deeply (I am and at explaining)

Can you do them separated or together :)

Hey Dove! I'm so sorry this is late! I've been busy and lazy lol. Anyways, I can totally do your request! I hope this is of satisfaction! I apologize in advance if it's bad! I didn't know which version of MIchael you wanted, but I mostly had RZ! Michael in mind.

Side note: Since this one was so long, I'll be doing a second part to this request. The next fic I work on should be Jason :)

TW: Mentions of blood, (possibly OOC) Michael Myser

Old Friends...

It had been ages since you last saw Michael. At the time, you were both 16 and he was still in Smith's Grove Sanitarium. Due to your mother being a nurse working along side Dr. Loomis, you pretty much got a free pass to see him whenever you wanted.

Of course, he never spoke to you. He usually just stared at you. Though, you didn't mind, you were used to him being the quiet one.

However, the peace didn't last long. One day Michael attacked your mother, which lead to her death. Stuck with fear, your father decided to move away.

This left MIchael, well, angry. You were his, you needed to stay with him. Not somewhere he had no access to you.

That was years ago though, and you had made your peace with it. It was Halloween night, and you had finally finished unpacking all of your things. It felt good to be home again, inside the same house you speant most of your life in.

It was now 11:35. The candy had been passed out, pumpkin pie had been made, an extra pumpkin carved in honor of the best season of the year.

Your house was quiet, not a sound to be heard. Most of the children had gone home, silence filled your street. You had just laid down in your bed when you heard the sound of glass shattering downstairs.

You felt no panic or fear, you had a cat. Yes, your cat...you had almost forgotten to check up on her before you went to bed.

You walk downstairs, and go straight for the kitchen.

"MayLee, little lady, what are you doing down here? Breaking dishes again? So naughty." you chuckled to yourseld as you enter the kitchen. There on the floor was a broken drinking glass, but no cat in sight.

"Oh, I see, a little game of hide and seek? Come out, come out wherever you are..." It was a game you and MayLee played, hide and seek. She would hide, and you'd have to find your beloved cat.

You failed to notice the looming figure in the corner, and the droplets of blood dripping next to it.

You searched for a while, almost giving up until MayLee jumped up onto a window seal and meowed, startling you.

"Jesus! You scared me MayLee. Where were you hiding old girl? You weren't in your usual spots. Did something scare you little lassy?"

You picked her up and held her, causing her to meow again. She was a calmcat usually, but right now she seemed...on edge. Tense and frightened.

You start walking towards the stairs but halt when you see a large siloughet of a man. You felt the cold grip of fear grip you for the first time in years. The figure tilts it's head and then steps towards you, causing you to step back.

This continued until your back was pressed against the wall, next to an old picture of you and Michael. The man points at the picture, and then at you.

You were tense, your cat jumps down out of your arms and runs off to hide. The man points again.

"I-i don't know what you want..." The man points again, this time a bit more aggressively. He reaches out and grips your chin. He makes you look at the picture.

"T-that's me and my best friend...his name is MIchael..." you didn't know what else to do. You remained tense, what was he going to do?

You yelped in shock as he lifted and tossed you over his shoulder.

"What are you doing?! Put me down!"

The man ignores your words and walks out of the house and towards the old Myers resident. You weren't let down until you were inside the house, inside MIchaels old room. Surprisingly, the man took his mask off. You were still tense, and you could only stare at the giant.

You slowly relaxed as realization fills you. You've seen this man before, how could you have not noticed?

"...Michael....is that you?" The man nods, shocking you again by wrapping his arms around you and hugging you.

You hugged back, heart punding against your chest. It was really Michael...

"I...how...Michael...you're back...How did you escape? How did you know I was back? I...It's good to see you again, Mikey..." He huffs and held you tighter.

You rub his back as you two sat there and held each other. It stayed quiet for a few minutes, pure comforting silence.

"(Name)...I love you...." You felt felt your face warm up. His voice was raspy, and strained, not surprising considering his frequency in talking.

"...I love you too, MIchael..."

#l∅verz fic #x male reader #l∅verz work #l∅verz writes #x gn reader #slashers #michael myers #friends to strangers #strangers to lovers #please forgive me #I'm bad #i'm bad at this #forgive me #im sorry #part 1

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sneez · 2 years

Audio

this is a traditional welsh folk song, although the english lyrics i am singing here were written in the nineteenth century. this is another one which i would love to learn in its original language :-)

#my voice #a new song for you my friends!!! after a very long time forgive me #(also as usual i am so sorry i have not answered anything for ages i have been dead to the world since exams ended but i am Emerging from my #nest now and hoping to get around to responding to messages and asks very soon!!! i love you all so much)#anyway TESTOSTERONE MY BELOVED listen to how low i can go now.....i can sing like eight or nine frets lower with the capo now it's bonkers #i have recordings of me singing this same song before i started T and it's nuts hearing how high i used to sing it #i can't go anywhere near that high anymore :-/ but i Can go considerably lower!! which is exactly what i wanted :-D #anyway i love this song an extreme amount. the magpie lane version is my favourite and the one which most inspired my rendition #i hope you are all doing well my beloved friends i will hopefully talk to you more soon. and i love you very much

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legendary-pink-dot · 10 months

Text

Home at Sunset

Pairing: Francisco "Catfish" Morales x reader (no gender specified, but female in my mind)

Rating: Mature. A couple references to sexual activity.

Word Count: 1.2K

Summary: Frankie and his aviators. Sunrise, sunset, and all the moments in between.

Notes: No use of "Y/N". No mention of Frankie's canon child. Angsty as hell; I am SO sorry, Frankie and Frankie's emotionally tortured and misunderstood lady.

A sunrise

Civil twilight gives rise to the first rays of sun. It's a sudden flash in the cockpit as they reach the end of the Andes mountain range and the start of the ocean, where their getaway boat awaits them. Frankie gently nudges the helicopter a shade higher, his touch confident but featherlight. So focused he forgets to put on his aviator sunglasses to protect his sight.

"Alright, baby, alright..." As snipers treat their weapons as a beloved and animate object, so too does Frankie with every aircraft he pilots, simultaneously guiding them and giving them exactly what they need.

One final ridge to clear and they'll have put this mission behind them. A mission that had gone wrong right from of the start, their team leader ignoring his instincts in favor of greed, and Frankie and his teammates making the mistake of not standing up to him. The result was having to do things other what they went there for, and running against time to leave with their stolen money and their lives.

"Come on now, come on..." he croons, just as sweetly as he did to you every night when he was home in happier times. A touch more elevation, *right there, just like that,* that's all it would take to get over the peak. She's close, so close, and he's almost there, he's got you...

**bang**

The gearbox blows and the helo suddenly drops, a plunging freefall that brings fearful shouts from his teammates. Frankie is the pilot you can trust, the calm in any storm. That's why he's always chosen. He furiously recalculates, readjusts, recalibrates on the fly, letting his years of experience and training take over.

In the few safe seconds he has left, he makes a controlled descent into the smoothest patch of jungle he can find, fatally spinning out but saving his team.

The loss of their transport hurts more than their cuts and bruises, but it's not the most pressing issue at the moment. Their landing site is remote and full of angry villagers, half fearful of the intrusion and half eager to claim the bags of stolen money that fell from the sky.

The slaughter that happens next is not his fault, yet he supposes it somehow is. The team silently loads the loot onto mules while Frankie packs away every poor decision that led to this moment, leaving the heaviest of baggage to deal with later as they make their slow and perilous trek towards home.

One early morning

"They trust me. They're putting their lives in my hands. It's my job to keep them safe."

It was Frankie's usual justification for going on private missions after retiring from the service, and he had used it again just hours before he was set to leave, both of you still agitated and arguing well into the early hours past midnight.

He takes that responsibility seriously -- too seriously you thought, wondering why he was willing to risk himself and his newfound peace of mind again for a team that didn't truly appreciate him. It was a rhetorical question and you knew it. "What about your responsibility to me? To us? You never come all the way back from these trips, and I hate seeing what it does to you."

Frankie had merely shrugged, raising his hands as if to say, "I have no choice." You knew he didn't, in a way. His loyalty to his teammates, his comrades, his friends ran deeper than you could ever hope to understand. It had helped fuel your love for him, but was also the source of your greatest pain, having to help Frankie put himself back together every time a piece of him was broken off.

"It's just recon," he'd promised. "It's safe. Easy money and no flying. I'll be home in 3 or 4 days." His voice had been calm but you heard the premonition of doubt floating below it. Never a good sign. A good pilot trusts their instincts, and Frankie was one of the best.

You had clung to each other that night, resigned to whatever fate the mission would decide to bring you, the risk always present of him not coming back and this moment being your last chance to savor him. You'd rocked against him, close and tight in his lap for an eternity, chasing a high that usually came easily but for once eluded you. A premonition twinned to Frankie's that you couldn't let go of, or for.

You'd woken a few hours later to discover he'd left while it was still pitch black outside. He hadn't waited for that pre-dawn time you usually love to languish in together, when he quietly slides thick and hot and sweet inside you, free but moored, both of you suspended in time and feeling like the world is holding its breath just for you. You'd slept in too late to catch the moment. You wondered when you'll be allowed to capture another.

An afternoon

It's been a full 5 days without any contact from Frankie, and none of the team's partners had heard anything either. That wasn't normal, but it had happened before. Going no-contact during a private mission was critical for your safety and theirs. You couldn't do anything but trust, hope, and wait.

As you finish your lunch, it's raining hard. You reach into the hallway closet for your umbrella, pausing beside the accessory rack and noticing for the first time since he left that he'd taken the wrong pair of aviator sunglasses with him. He was supposed to take his usual mission pair with the polarized lenses for high contrast, but had apparently taken his daily-wear mirrored chrome ones instead. "Just recon. No flying," he'd said. Right.

The same dread from that earlier promise returns and throttles you. You wish wherever Frankie is right now and whatever he's dealing with, that his vision is clear. It's the best you can hope for.

The sunset

Cars pass your house without stopping, a dog barks, kids are in the street playing out their last few minutes of dusky freedom. The golden hour passed long ago, and you've sat through 7 of them now without Frankie, sitting at your kitchen table paralyzed with fear and doubt. This is your 8th and you don't know how many more you can take.

You know the sound of Frankie's truck intimately: the purr of the well-tuned motor maintained by a dedicated mechanic, how the gravel in the driveway crunches differently than when underfoot the lighter wheels of your hatchback. You hear it now and wonder if it's a mirage. This announcement of his arrival is a sound you'd almost given up hoping for, and you let out the breath you didn't even realize you were holding.

You sprint to the door and fling it open. Most people would see a tired but normal Frankie walking up your driveway, but all you see is a shell, a ghostly being you recognize from the homecoming of previous missions. It's less of a soul and more of an enclosure for heavy burdens like relief, survivor's guilt, and personal recriminations. Your heart leaps and you forget every frustrated, hopeless word that was said the night before he left.

He drags himself up the flight of steps and falters. You see yourself reflected in his mirrored aviators, and you gently reach out to remove them so you can search his eyes for what you need to see.

Night closes in, the final tint of daylight fades, and Frankie falls into your arms and breaks.

#frankie morales x reader #triple frontier fanfic #pedro pascal #francisco catfish morales #i'm so sorry #hella angst

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gliphyartfan · 1 year

Text

@stars-for-thought @linked-heroes @screaming-until-god-hears-me @crestfallenmermaidan @ice-cream-writes-stuff @imprisioned-in-the-hole @yandere-linked-universe @justanerd1

Hey folks! Happy holidays and merry new year! I hope you all are enjoying yourselves! Sorry for the wait, inspiration does NOT come when I want it to, but luckily I have my muse to always inspire me! (You know who you are~)

TTAU Wild gets his time to shine with this rework! I hope you all enjoy this bit! For those who read my old version, I hope this is a good upgrade! And for those who are new to this blog, I hope it leaves you wanting more!

Enjoy folks! Let's get started!

There was something to be said, being alone with one other person in a place that was normally lively with the living. Alone within the plaza,two stood before the memorial statue of a beloved princess, a rare moment of isolation within an area that is usually occupied by others in one capacity or another.

"I wonder...Sidon.."

"Yes Link?"

"Would Mipha have accepted that my heart would never accept hers?"

"..."

Link did not look away from Mipha's statue, did not bother to glance at his companion beside him.

Link could see Sidon out of the corner of his eyes, but kept them locked firmly on the sculpture. His own mind lost in thoughts that have plagued him greatly since awakening in this period once more.

The images still vivid enough in his memory that Link was almost physically unable to shake them off. Memories of a time that no longer existed in anyone's memory but his and one other. Memories of a time that had once been so dear to him, that had ended so cruelly.

Link sighed slowly, pushing down any emotions that could possibly cross his face.

It didn't escape Link's notice that Sidon had chosen the silence. Not a questioning of his words or question asked. A simple acknowledgement that there was more to be said.

He knew it wouldn't do either one of them much good, but perhaps, Link could use some company in order to help gather his thoughts.

"I know she would not have wanted me to mourn her forever." Link said quietly after several minutes had passed, his voice barely audible.

"Nor would she have blamed you for rejecting her feelings." Sidon countered gently, ever so carefully placing his hand on Link's shoulder, giving him gentle support.

Link looked away from the statue, his gaze fixed on his reflection in the pool of water beneath him. His expression unreadable. Sidon watched him from the corner of his eye for a few moments before turning his gaze back to Mipha's statue.

"Her heart...would have felt…much anguish, knowing she would never have that special place in your heart," Sidon said softly, quietly, his gaze locked onto the face of the statue.

"But never would she have cursed or shunned you." Sidon added, his gaze still trained on the face of his sister's likeness.

Link said nothing.

"Your heart would be in the right place, Link. I am confident in that fact. You seem to feel that you have made many mistakes in the past," Sidon started.

"You, as well as I, certainly will make many mistakes in the future, both near and far. Of this, we both can agree."

Link frowned, but did not reject his words.

"I think...I have made mistakes that, in other circumstances, would be deemed irredeemable." Link mumbled, his gaze moving briefly from his reflection to Sidon's.

Sidon nodded.

"I have no doubt that you have my friend. You did not know what was true, what would happen when you made the choices you did, said the words that you have said."

"Yet, the things you saw, have said, have done... I do not need to know them to know they changed you Link. The results of those things did something you couldn't even understand until the truth appeared before you." Sidon finally turned to look at his friend.

"Now you must learn to forgive yourself and walk forward."

"...How can I forgive myself for the unredeemable..." Link murmured. Sidon shook his head slowly.

"That cannot matter right now. What matters is forgiving yourself."

Link frowned, the expression etched deeply upon his handsome features. He looked up at Sidon. "What if I cannot?" He said.

"Then, my friend, that is where you must take a leap of faith and prove to yourself that you can." Sidon responded. "Walk forward, make amends in the only ways you think you can, perhaps those actions will be enough towards whoever or whatever you wish to repent to.”

Here Sidon shrugged.

"Perhaps they will never be forgiven. But whatever redemption you seek, whatever punishment that you feel must be had, it would no longer be up to you."

Link closed his eyes for a few moments, his hands tightly clenched into fists at his sides.

"Forgiveness does not always come easily Link,” Sidon continued. “ For anyone, especially if it is from within, but if you truly wish for it, then it shall come easier than you can imagine. Even if you do not realize when it arrives."

Silence.

Link took in a slow breath, exhaling through his nose.

"Do you wish to know what it felt like...waking up within that shrine?" 'Again' Link added silently.

Sidon looked at him.

"Tell me…”

Link's gaze fell upon his feet. His fingers flexed a few times before relaxing again.

"There was nothing but darkness...a sense of numbness, a type of heavy fog, both in mind and body." Here, Link chuckled bitterly.

"And...forgive me, but I could not bring myself to believe when my mind gathered itself. Bring myself to believe that I had awoken in such a place, believe that whatever circumstances," That pulled me away from My swordbrothers, the few that I could trust with my most precious.'

" would have brought me there, would curse me to awaken within that ancient tomb in the guise of a healing facility."

"Link..."

"And when I knew nothing, nothing about anything. all I could hear was HER voice." Here, Link could not stop the venom that escaped passed his lips, pointedly ignoring how Sidon flinched in surprise.

"...The princess." Link could feel the bitter chuckle bubbling in his chest and did not bother to resist it's escape.

"It's how I even knew what my name was." He let out a humorless laugh. "I knew nothing in the beginning, did you know, still know nothing, but back then? when it all came back to me? it was all too much." He closed his eyes.

"It was all too much Sidon and it broke something in me."

How it started an crashing tsunami of memory after memory, of their precious (y/n), of Her beautiful eyes, of Her beautiful smile and of Her warm kindness.

To wake up and find himself back within that shrine. back where it all began for him.

Hearing Hylia's heir whispering in his ear. his sword brothers nowhere in sight. His beloved nowhere within reach..

How the fogginess of sleep left him and memories came back.

The clarity started to eat away at the fragile self control that he had painstakingly tried to hold on to.

How he closed his eyes and tried, tried to wake up from what he hoped was a cruel dream, but every moment he opened his eyes and saw the interior of the shrine. It only fueled the despair inside him more until it consumed him.

How long had he stayed within that shrine? how had he screamed to block the goddess blood's words, that had soon become frantic, from reaching him.

Patches of darkness between moments of hazy clarity and pain. the scent of blood, his own, invading his senses as he hoped beyond hope that he would wake up.

Separated from his most trusted, separated from Her. What Will was there to push him forward now? What purpose could be enough to pull him from that place of death and revival and lead him to the open world?

All he had wanted to do at that very moment was to go. back.

'Take me back.' He whispered in the depths of his mind, could hear his heart pounding against his ear drums.

'Take me back. They need me. She needs me. They could be in danger, they all need me. Take me back.' He pressed his head against the side of the healing bed, raising it only to let it fall against it with a thud.

'Take me back. Take me back.'

'Link...'

'Don't force me through this burden once more. Don't make me Hylia's pawn again, take me back.'

'Link, you must get up...' 'Worthless witch, you who selfishly shunned Her kindness when she held out her hand to you, I would claim your head if I could, force the soul of your precious father to watch as the life drained from your eyes.' Link thought darkly to himself, clenching a fist tight enough that his nails bit deep into the palm of his hand.

'Please Link, you must-'

"SHUT UP! JUST TAKE ME BACK!" Link screamed aloud at last as he raised his head and slammed it down against the bed, His hands were shaking with fury and hatred. Why wouldn't that witch shut up? He should have strangled her when he had the chance. Why wouldn't she shut up and let him wake up?

His vision was blurry. but if it meant that Zelda would shut up, would finally be silent. He would not 'stop'.

"Take me back, I don't belong here." Link's voice wavered as he spoke, to whoever or whatever could have possibly brought him back to this place, his throat tightening in desperation.

"Take me back. Please....Take me back." His voice began to grow weaker by the second as each word spilled forth, falling like rain upon the white linen sheets and soaking deep into its surface, leaving behind streaks of color to contrast the otherwise monotonous white background.

"Take me back." Thud

'Link, please...!'

"Take me back." Thud

'Link-!'

"Take me back." Thud

'Li-'

"Take me back." Thud

'You-'

"Take me back." Thud

'...'

"Take me back." Thud

Over and over, he brought his head back down against the healing bed, his eyes unseeing, tears unending as they poured down his cheeks. His movements mechanical as he chanted his plea over and over again, uncaring of the blood that poured from the open wound on his forehead to the healing bed and floor below.

He had to go back. He needed to wake up. they were all waiting for him. They had to find Her, She needed them. If he was here, the others could be in danger as well. She could be in danger, he couldn't be here, shouldn't be here, She needed them to protect Her. He had to go back.

Why wasn't he waking up? This was a cruel dream, he hated it. In a time when he was alone, without Her warmth, her protection, So why wasn't he waking up?

He didn't deserve this torture, did he? He didn't want this. So why?

"This isn't real, Take me back...this isn't real...Please take me back..." He repeated over and over, hoping against hope that his would come true.

Why wasn't he waking up from this? He didn't want to do this, not again. never again.

'Link...Please...'

Why was the only voice that answered him hers?

Where were the others? Where was his Beloved? Had he done something wrong? Why wasn't he waking up?

'Link...'

He was sorry if he had. He was sorry and he'll do better. Just let him return to the others.

'Link...'

Just let him return to Her.

"Take me back...This isn't real...Take me back.."

'You must get up, Link...'

"Take me back," He begged, his voice hoarse. "I'd rather die than be away from Her. Just take me back."

'Link...'

“Please just kill me if it means I can be with Her again.”

___

He did not know, nor had he even cared to find out how long he had stayed like that before finally accepting that he would not be waking up from this torment. If only to silence the witch's voice as quickly as possible.

The stars had greeted him as he stumbled out of the shrine. The swirling malice consuming the destroyed castle in the distance.

He took it all in with heavy numbness weighing his limbs down.

He hadn't cared to look at the old man, former king and father to the unworthy blood, simply turning and walking the opposite way.

It became all too clear as soon as he made the decision to face his first camp of monsters how weak his body had become, if he had compared it to his former strength.

His mind moved faster than his body. He stumbled when he would have dodged, the darkness of night not helping him. His weapons, so weak and fragile, heavier in his hands than they ever were before.

The way the bokoblins mocked him as they landed blows that he used to easily evade. It made him physically ill to see how weak he now was as he eventually made a run for it, the laughter of the monsters following behind him.

It forced him to accept the inevitable fact that he would need to approach the king and gain his paraglider and return his slate back to working order once more.

A part of him wanted to simply get it over with, to part ways with the king as quickly as possible. yet he abstained from approaching him for a few days, a desperate part of him hoping that this truly was a dream and he would finally wake up.

But the truth of the matter eventually settled around him, after waiting one more day, he reluctantly accepted the reality he had to face and went to announce himself to the king.

Constantly having to remind himself of his need to get his items back was what kept him from lashing out at the princess' voice and her father's constantly prattling.

The shrines upon the plateau were child's play compared to the ones that he would inevitably face again down the line, his focus solely on regaining his items and getting things over with.

He had chosen to focus solely on the shrines first and foremost, knowing he would need to grow stronger to reclaim the Master Sword.

'Follow the hero's duty and bring peace to the people of Hyrule'

He performed his duty efficiently, if only to silence the trapped princess who would speak to him from time to time. if it meant that Zelda wouldn't speak to him, rarely staying in once place as he wandered from shrine to shrine was a simple enough task.

Tackling the divine beasts afterwards was less of a bother in some ways. Yet cruel in others.

He hadn't known how to feel when gazing at the incorporeal forms of his late companions.

He had thought he wouldn't feel anything when he saw them again. Yet a sense of grief echoed through him.

He supposed his former reputation of being a silent knight benefited him during such moments. His late companions would not know of the changes within his heart.

He supposed, given his silence, some of them were easier to deal with more than the others.

Daruk and Urbosa merely took his silence in stride, saying their piece and sending him on his way.

Revali had been a bit different, as if the rito champion discovered something in Link's eyes as he gazed upon him, but said nothing on the matter and did not deny him his power.

Mipha...she had been a bit more difficult to meet once more.

He barely remembered her as it was, and in a way, he felt shame as he listened to her words and felt nothing.

Shame because he would gladly bring ruin to this land, to the domain, her home, if it meant he would return to the only people he trusted.

He could not even apologize for those thoughts, she would not understand why, and the words simply wouldn't come out.

Perhaps that was why he was standing before her statue. Perhaps he was hoping to convey his remorse in some shape or form.

Because in the end, she chose to pilot Vah ruta for his sake, not because Zelda asked her, not because it would bring honor to her people, who loved her so, but because she merely wished to be by his side.

And was he not the same in a way? Would he not fight ganon countless times if it meant a future by (y/n)'s side?

Mipha did not deserve his animosity. He could accept that fact better now.

Yet it still felt so hollow in his heart.

"She...should have chosen someone more worthy of her heart..." Link said quietly, though it seemed so loud in the empty plaza.

Sidon sighed beside him, looking up at his sister's statue with sad eyes. "I'm sure she knows of your thoughts Link...She chose you. And despite that you do not hold her in your heart in the way she wished, she is still someone who has a special place in your heart regardless. That is the greatest gift you can give her now.

Link turned to look at Sidon. "Sidon..."

"My sister is...dead..." The zora prince's voice quieted for a moment before regaining it's normal volume.

"She is dead and whatever possible future she could have hoped to have with you is gone as well. She would now only wish for your continued happiness Link."

Link release a breath, his shoulders sinking as he allowed Sidon's words to wrap around him.

"But you must continue on, Link, my sister would not be proud if her feelings prevented you from staying true to yourself, I cannot imagine any other outcome."

And with that Sidon gave Link a small smile and moved to turn and walk off.

"Wait!" Link called.

Sidon stopped, turning back toward him curiously.

"...Thank you."

It was all he knew to say. He was thankful for everything that was said, Thankful that Sidon did not scoff at his words nor did he brush them aside. Sidon would never know what plagues his heart, but Link supposed he didn't need to know in order to give advice.

Sidon smiled and nodded, returning to his own trek back toward the upper floor fo the domain, leaving Link there staring up at his late friend's statue, her eyes gazing down on him with an echo of compassion that he vaguely recalled.

"I'm sorry I could not return your feelings." He whispered softly, bowing his head slightly.

"But thank you for your kindness..."

Raising his head, he turned around, taking a deep breath of the cold moist air. Allowing the sounds of the waters surrounding the domain to flood his ears. There was no point lingering here anymore, even he could tell that. It was only wasting time if he did.

He began heading towards the entrance, his heart heavy, yet lighter than it had been in a while.

A piercing howl greeted him as he made his way across the bridge. He chuckled, a tired smirk crossing his face.

"So much work to be done..." He sighed, pausing briefly.

He stared forward onto the path before him.

"But I will fulfill my duty, I'll make my way back to everyone. Soon." He mumbled under his breathe.

"Until then..." A nudge against his right hand brought his attention away from his thoughts, looking down, he raised an eyebrow.

"You don't have to wait on the outskirts every time you know. They do know about you." A huff and whine were his answer. He sighed.

"Alright Wolfie, sorry for making you wait."

---

"She was real, It was all real." He muttered between clenched teeth, hands gripping at his hair. The trees and flora concealing his curled up form, giving him the illusion of privacy in a time period where there was none.

"How do I wake up? What do I need to do." He whispered, he didn't care who heard, he would kill them even in his weakened state. He didn't need weapons to tear their throats out with his teeth.

All he needed was to wake up, that was all. If he could wake up...It'll be better...right?

He could almost hear Her voice, his fingers twitching as if him reaching out would allow him the blessing of holding Her in his arms once more.

He needed a way to return to them, to Her. He needed Her. No amount of torture or distance could change that fact, anyone who assumed otherwise were fools.

He just needed to go back.

So lost in his despair, he did not notice he was being approached until a wet nose pressed against his cheek.

Startled, he jolted upright, blinking back his tears.

"Wha-!?" He snapped, reaching towards his rusted sword.

Hearing a soft whine he halted his actions. Taking the time to look at the unexpected invader of his space.

"...Wolfie...?" The wolf slowly padded closer, pushing its muzzle underneath his chin gently. Link closed his eyes, burying his face into the familiar fur.

"...Why are you here? How did you find me?" He questioned, voice thick with unshed tears. The wolf yapped quietly, leaning up against his leg affectionately, as if to comfort him.

"...Huh..." Link murmured with confusion. His body sagged from the sudden onslaught of warmth, allowing his body to relax against the beast form of his sword brother. Wolfie licked at his cheeks, prompting Link to let out a few quiet tears, which caused the wolf to let out another whine.

"Tell me it's a dream." He whispered into the fur. Wolfie stilling at his words.

"Tell me this is all a dream. Please. Tell me I'll wake up and we'll be with the others." He whimpered, pressing his face harder against the wolf who whined again.

"Tell me this isn't happening." He muttered weakly, voice breaking.

The wolf whined once again, nudging Link again with its nose.

"You're real aren't you? You found me." He choked out, his throat raw with emotion, causing a fresh wave of tears. But he didn't care. Not at that moment, in that place.

Because he needed Wolfie, he needed something real in a place that no longer felt it.

"Tell me you're real..." He whispered, squeezing his sword brother tightly.

"Please tell me it was all real." That She was real.

There wasn't a reply. But when he looked up, Wolfie was watching him, his eyes trying to convey the words he could not speak.

Link sniffled as he released his grip, allowing himself to sink against Wolfie. Closing his eyes, he rested his forehead against Wolfie's chest.

"It hurts." He admitted to Wolfie who remained silent, waiting for Link to gather himself before beginning to lick along his hairline.

"I don't know how I could possibly do this again."

Link whispered, closing his eyes, letting himself enjoy the feeling of the warm fur on top of his face.

For a moment, he allowed himself to pretend everything was ok, they were all ok. That they would all be able to reunite one day.

That they were as real as he remembered them to be.

"I...you.." He swallowed, absentmindedly stroking wolfie's fur.

"I won't ask for anything more, I swear to you. But please, please tell me the truth. Just this, and I won't ask again. But please," Wolfie looked at him, waiting.

"Please tell me it was real." That they, She, was real.

He asked his question in a whisper, afraid that if he spoke it any louder, the answer would be something he couldn't handle.

He wouldn't ask for anything else. He just needed to know. He needed to know that one answer.

Wolfie barked once in order to gain his attention, and to make it clear, he slowly and deliberately nodded, confirming Wild's query.

Whatever tension that had held his muscles taunt, any worries or fears that wrapped his heart, left him as he allowed the answer wash over him.

It was real. They were real. She was real.

Relief is all he felt at that moment. His tears reflecting the feelings welling inside him.

"Thank you...thank you..." He breathed out, soon sobbing quietly into Woflie's fur, slowly relaxing against the wolf, feeling the exhaustion of the past several days finally weighing on him as he let himself forget for a brief moment of the path he would have to walk once more.

It was all real. She was real. That's all he needed to know. He was fine with everything now. Everything was alright now. She was real and that's all that he needed to keep going.

Everything would be okay now. She was real and that's all that mattered.

---

Wolfie whined again as he walked ahead of him. he paused, looking back at him, before proceeding with his journey.

"What am I going to do with you?" He murmured, sighing heavily yet a small smile on his face, walking forward to follow his companion.

The glow of the domain behind him illuminating the path ahead.

#linked universe #yandere linked universe #linkeduniverse #lu #loz #lu wild #lu wolfie #ttau #TTAU rewrite

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