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#maybe highly preferring to play alone when i was a kid was normal. maybe not making eye contact until ppl gave me shit about it was normal.
confetti-critter · 2 years
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I wonder just how much time I spend thinking about if I'm autistic or have adhd 🙃😔
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aeempress · 3 years
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Apritello Express Evidences, part 2
Khem-khem, ladies and gentlemen, we shall continue out praising Apritello's episodes. And yeah, this part will be dedicated, in entirety just one episode.
Purple jacket. April and Donnie's episode.
I really love this piece of masterpiece, because it show April and Dee relationship, better reveals them as characters, and demonstrates their connection. (My previous points at this whole situation)
The episode begins with Donnie sneaking into April's school under the pretext of helping her. Soon, April stated the reason why she called D - her science computer project. Actually, she could take a photo of the code and sent it to Donatello, and I'm sure, he would send her the correct one right away, he's coder, he's prodigy, no probbles.
But still, April just asked him to come over and help her without stating any reasons. And he, indeed, came at speed of the light.
I want you to understand what exactly does that mean.
First: April is aware how much Donnie is into human culture. He wants to study in normal human school, do some average teen stuff. Especially, he is loving school and science-related stuff, all these science school projects, visits to botanical gardens, experiments and laboratory work. Because it's his field. It's exactly his domain, where he's good at. His family does not share his interest in science, and April is only one who can understand him. Probably.
Also, April know, how badly Donnie wants to go to school, which gives him an excuse, even if not the most solid one, but an excuse, nevertheless, to visit her school again.
Why again?
Because he has no problem navigating there. Donnie went directly to April's computer class.
He loves this place. And he'd already helped April with her projects.
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Even so, knowing that every time she asked guys, especially Don, for help, it turned into a cataclysm, April still called him to help.
It's just a weird, indirect way to say, " Let's hang out, I know how much you like this whole situation with science, school and etc. Here ya go, buddy"
It seems like April did that to make something pleasant to him, something small, but nice to make him feel better. Because, as I state before - he likes to help April (praise, doing something useful for April - still counts as a motivation) and he likes school.
Second: khem-khem, D came at her school, as it seems, right away she called/texted. He didn't even know the proper reason, but c'mon: April ask for help, plus, her school. Sounds legit, don't you think?
Anyway, April has always been being the reason and excuse for teetles, but especially for Donnie. Clear? Clear. Good.
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Donnie also tends to not think things through when he is excited. Because he went at the daylight in place, full of people just to help April.
ROTTMNT shows us how turtles were really afraid of human reaction and possible consequences. They have plan "H" to pretend they are going to Galaxy Con, brothers have explanation why they look weird and it's definitely not because boys are mutants, uh-huh, no, plus, guys go on surface at evening or night hours, when there are not so many people, and it's dark, obviously, to cover them and keep unseen.
Yeah, of course, Donnie seems more capable then his brothers to handle the surface (he has cash, D's dressed up as old ladies more than once, according to Leo, he was in April's school before, so yeah, no big deal) and I suspect that his friendship with April is one of the reasons.
Third: do you remember how April worried about looking "normal" when she was finally invited to a school party? She even forbade Mayham to appear nearby, just not to look like the lizard boy. Because cool kids don't bring pets to school. April doesn't have many friends, or rather, there are none at school, and she's been trying to solve this problem by getting close to Taylor Martin, the coolest girl in school.
And April O'Neil just calls Donatello, an objectively strange guy (since when is it normal to be a fan of school? Pretty questionable) in place, where her reputation is hanging in a balance. Our girl does not try to hide Dee, as it usually shown in shows for kids, and April do not pretend that she sees him for the first time in her life because, you know, Donnie will catch everyone's attention being himself and may embarrass her in front of her classmates. But no - April says with all her actions: "Yes, I know him. Yes, that dork is with me. And I don't give a damn about your opinion. Your problems, not mine. And yeah, I'm fine with him being here."
I mean it, guys. The devil is always in the tiny details.
The way they behave around each other.
Donatello is way more, MORE relaxed and just being himself: dramatic dorky nerdy ninja with current obsessions. The way he sneaked in school and April's classroom, the way he behaves alone with her is contrasting the way of his attitude while his brothers are near.
Don has a specific way to shown up. Instead of texting her, Donnie used shurekens. Yes, he almost fell off the lamp, but still, that's... quite an entrance he makes there.
April worries about him, when he fell from ceiling.
Our girl feel relaxed enough around Donnie, so she winks at him.
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A wink is a fairly casual gesture that shows some expression of sympathy, trust, and togetherness. It's both good for saying "We're in same boat, we're team" and show the playful attitude towards someone. Isn't that an indicator?
Ironically, that being the best friends April and Donnie do not have any secret handshake/brofist/special greeting, as it usually the besties have at kid's series. Like Kendra and Jeremy have.
I can do only one possible logical conclusion: their relationship is far beyond "friends," "best friends," and "family".
Btw, about this certain phrase about secret five.
- Nay, fair April. A secret five[...].
Once again, nice wording, Donatello. Fair April? Maybe I'm too critical, but often when someone wants to convince their interlocutor and at the same time show one's condescension to them, it's usually uses "my dear ..." or something like that. I understand that semantically the difference is not very big, but in the first case, you can feel Donnie's personal attitude, even though he uses a book word. The second is just formal politeness, which emphasizes the difference between the rightness of the disputants.
This phrase were interpreted on official Russian dub as (okay, it's really hard to choose the correct word, because there's a lot of synonyms in English that sits quite well, while on Russian it's just one word, damn) "Нет, милая (No, honey/sweetheart )". Actually, a strange choice of wording, 'cause this is not what usually friends use to say to each other. We prefer use words like " my darling", "my dear", to demonstrate leniency. And again, most often this prerogative belongs to the older generation. Russians rarely throw around such words as "honey", "dear", "sunshine", because this deprives these endearments of any meaning, and a person using them, as a rule, is familiar. Of course, there are people who use them on a regular basis, but I HIGHLY doubt that Donatello is one of them. It's not his style.
But still, maybe I just too critical at this point.
April, as it is shown, have some kind of power to cool and calm him down and bring Donnie back to life reality.
1. Don awakes from his daze while heard April's voice
2. He's literally coming back to life, when April said about his broken jetpack.
3. Dee obediently interrupts his touching farewell to the jacket when April yells at him.
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Oh, and his face. I remind you, fellas, we're talking about Donatello, "I really do not like to express emotions"-guy and "I will die if someone broke my bAbEyS"-guy.
And what do we see? Donnie's emoting. And feels free to do that. He's even drooling. (What seems kinda interesting without context, if you're understand what I'm talking about ;))
Dee doesn't seem angry about broken jetpack. And his wide smile, while he's assuring April he can fix it? A few minutes ago, he was steamed when his stuff was stolen, but when the jetpack was broken, he doesn't even raise an eyebrow. Very eloquent.
April is his support
April also supports Donnie whatever he's up to. Yes, she hadn't been excited when Othello had expressed a desire to join the club. However, she also introduced him to Kendra and company. Yes, she showed by her whole appearance that she did not share his joy, but nevertheless, our loyal captain O'Neil was there for him, by his side all this time.
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And her sweet facial expression. From "Srsly? Join this jerks?" to "If you dare to even think about to hurt him, I'll smash you".
And one more cute detail about Dee. Even if he does whatever he wanted so badly, Don constantly looks around at April, looking for her approval.
- Be honest, April, do I look fantastic, or SUPERBLY fantastic?
- You look like you drop a juice box in a laundry. (Play nice, April, don't be mean)
He cherishes her opinion.
April had even called him late at night just to, technically speaking, say that his tech were stolen. And what's the big deal with all his outfit? It's late night, they can just sneak out into Nakamura in their usual form. But noooo, April give a special ride on her bicycle. Just. You know. Our girl carried her own weight and his all the way without stopping. And then she went up 53 + floors running non-stop because Donnie's equipment was stolen. And then she had to chase the her classmates, dodge and jump out of the window. Because Purple dragons stole Dee's tech. Like shooting fish in a barrel, no big deal at all.
And it's definitely not because he will be totally crashed or he'll do stupid things during his anger, which will then come out sideways.
And April comes along with him to very end.
By the way, their phone conversations.
Donnie is the very case when "Call at any time of the day or night and I will pick up the phone".
When April called him when he needs D's help with Albearto, when something is definitely going on behind.
As it says in transcript of the episode:
[April takes out her phone, scrolls to Donnie’s listing and calls him. Donatello appears on screen. Behind him a flying microwave wearing boxing gloves shoots lasers at his brothers.]
Don: "You are conversing with Donatello."
April
[Crouched on floor in hiding.]
Dude, I need your help."
Don: "For you, anything. As long as it does not involve bees, or spiders, or beach balls.
[There’s an explosion behind him and his brothers cry out, which he ignores.]
And yeah, he took her incoming immediately, he ignores absolutely and totally everything around him, because... April? Expositions, bloody flying microwave bot turned to destroy mode, his brothers screaming and being in life-threatening situation? Naaah, it can wait.
Donatello was at Todd's, building "the puppiest place on Earth" and was very enthusiastic about to finish this thing. But he paused anyway to answer April.
We already know how obsessive with work Don can be: if something interesting gets into his field of view, he begins to do it all day long. Remember "The Purple Game" - a very revealing case. Yeah, we weren't shown how much Donnie is into engineering, but I can guess that point remains the same.
April called him at late night and Donnie picked up the phone.
April, unlike Donatello, is a teenager who is burdened with social relationship such as family, school, and work periodically, which implies a more or less strict schedule to follow and some conventions, such as " April, you can't go out late at night to catch robbers, you are underage and you have to go to school/work tomorrow). However, she was watching the news late at night, so she called Dee. ( I have a lot of questions, but I'll never get answers, as it seems)
D, in turn, doesn't have so many contacts with the outside world. I highly doubt that anyone else outside of the family and April has his number. And yet, when he hears the call late at night he takes it. Yes, he had awaken from the nightmare, but still.
And what's up with his usual "You're conversing with Donatello"? He didn't even understand what's going on, as it seems, he's too sleepy to play his usual image and playfully attitude as we could see in "Hypno Part Deux" and "War and Pizza".
Adorable couple-like D&A arguing
April very rarely uses "I told you so" against anybody, or rather, this is almost the only case. This phrase is more suitable for Leo or Donnie, and you know," I told you so! " we usually use on people we know well, and we want to tease 'em about them being wrong. Which, in fact, once again highlights and proves how close D&A are. And I don't even get started about the fact that this is more like a couple's quarrel, not a friend's.
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And one more time - in the end, when April suggests using the jacket to stop Kendra.
Their teamwork
I stated that before, I'll tell it one more and more times. The chemistry of their team interaction is incredible. It's as if they can feel each other, and each knows what the other is capable of doing in the next moment. April easily adapts to Donnie's attack, realizing his plan.
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Donnie also throws them both out of the window in order to continue the pursuiting Kendra on the jetpack. Don is one hundred percent sure of April, that she will understand what he wants to do, Dee trusts her with his life without hesitation, and she has never used his jetpack. He just puts her before the fact: April will be using the tech.
Up for Donnie!
I really like how this scene was made. Donatello struggles with his own tech, somewhat he made by himself, having invested almost whole himself and his soul, but what "betrayed" him in end. When Dee finally managed to shake one of his battleshell, which almost choked him, Donnie feel so scared and unsecured. We can see his anxiety - Dee's coaching position with covering his head with his hands and tucking his knees.
Defenseless, helpless, and mostly lost, and then, just in time - hero comes to save his life. She uses Donnie's name as battlecry, look how furious she is.
Funny fact: on Russian dub April yells "Don't touch Donnie! (how dare you, madafaka)
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April fits in Donnie's type of girls. She's cute (obvious) and mean (not so obvious).
I can't say that meanness is the main feature of April's character, as we can say about Kendra. But this personality trait is still present in her and sometimes it does not manifest itself so widely. April's meanness is not so pronounced, it is much softer and smoother, and it is not exposed.
But April becomes really mean when someone messes up with Donnie.
She's his support and prop. Literally. Just look at first frame, okay-okay, jokes aside
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She's genuinely enjoying of kicking bad guys ' asses, even letting go of witticisms and barbs.
Last scenes
Don survived a rough night: he was used, his tech was stolen, so he and April had to chase the satin robed punks. Donnie was hit in the head with a hammer, he fell from a bird's-eye view, passed out and then his battleshell tried to strangle him. And April is here to comfort him, to cheer him up.
Yes, we don't get any hugs (because it's kids show, bleh), the tactility is kept to a minimum, except for April's comforting hand on his shoulder, but they don't even look at each other. But the softness of her voice, the intonation with which she utters a phrase (that is usually sent to the friend zone, but "pal" is really neutral word, and the most important how she said that) turn the scene upside down. It is not what April did to comfort him matter, it's how she did this.
I said "yes" to you way too often
April mirrors Donnie with his "Anything for you". Yes, of course, she said this with a certain amount of grumbling, but her voice and her demeanor suggest otherwise - she is not at all averse to going to giving in him.
And the way they're look at each other.
This one
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And one more detail
It's really tiny, it's hard to catch from the first watching the episode, but still, it's possible. I'm talking about graffiti on the walls of the alley where April and Don had landed.
This one
Yeah, if we speak about reality it's quite normal to see graffiti like this. But we talking about TV-series, where everything has its own place and meaning. And if there something, it must be there, it's not just whim of artist who put it in there. But this little graffiti changes the mood of scene.
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iloveitwhen · 3 years
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jasonette but like siblings but like angst- like that whole trope where they are blood related and got separated, or they didnt get separated idk thats cool too i just want some sibling jasonette😅
Wow. ok. uhmmmm. this is a lot i think?? I got a little jk a lot carried away and this past week was super busy so i’ll finish the second part later??
Again... a lot...
Jason is walking home after another night at the bar when he sees a small woman, teenager? Slip into a dark alleyway and two men follow in after her a few moments later. 
Jason curses and bolts across the street, what was this girl thinking? How stupid do you have to be to go into a dark alley where no one will hear you or care to help?
He jumps into the alley to find one man already slumped on himself on the floor and the other getting kicked in the teeth by army boots then falling limply. 
Jason curses again, impressed this time. He scans over the men noting that they probably had pretty good concussions judging from the dent in the garbage can the first man was laying next to and the way the second guy’s head smacked onto the concrete when he fell. He lands his eyes back on the woman, no, definitely a teenager, with a smile on his face that instantly falters. The girl is in a fighting stance and waiting for him to attack so he quickly raises his hands to placate her.
“I’m not here to fight you, I saw you get followed and I was coming to help.” 
“Nobody helps in Gotham,” she states, a dangerous edge to her voice that held a carefully hidden accent. 
“Not from around here, are you?” 
The girl narrows her eyes, “I was born and raised here, take a step further and you won’t be waking up tomorrow.” 
Jason pockets his hands and smirks. He likes her, she’s a fighter, she reminds him of himself when he was younger. 
“Ok. Just make sure you make it home safe. A girl’s going to get some unwanted attention at a time and place like this.” He turns around and crosses the street but as soon as he’s out of her sight he turns back and hides in the shadows to track her and make sure no one else tries to catch her alone. Just because she could handle herself the first time doesn’t mean she’s necessarily safe from the next attempt. 
The girl exits the alley and starts toward the direction of Jason’s apartment calmly as if she didn’t just get attacked. At least that means less walking for him. After a few minutes she slips into another dark alley, of course she does, and Jason crosses the street again going into his own empty alley before pulling his helmet on and scaling the building. As he peers over the side of the building his helmet scans the area giving him feedback he would normally miss due to the horrible lighting and telling him that the alley was empty. He figured she had somehow gotten into one of the buildings and decided to go home by rooftops since he was already up there. 
However, as he landed on the opposite rooftop his feet slipped from underneath him. Jason managed to roll out of it but before he could get his footing his hip was kicked into and he stumbled, tripped over a seemingly perfectly placed rock and smashed his head on the side of the stair house. Then, just as quickly as this all transpired, there was a body behind him, they hooked their fingers under his helmet and lifted it to expose his neck and press a knife with jagged points onto his neck. How did he know the knife had jagged points? Good question, it was, as previously mentioned, against his neck and piercing into his skin, drawing blood. 
“Why are you following me?” a girl’s voice filters through his mask and he resisted the urge to roll his eyes. His mask let him know through the constant visuals that the voice belonged to a female in their late teens, not that he didn’t already know that. 
“Making sure you got home safe,” he says carefully, weighing his options and trying to decide if he should let her feel like she got him or escape with a slight nick on his neck. 
Eh. Jason preferred to not have a bleeding neck no matter how small the cut. 
“Lies,” she hisses, digging the knife a bit deeper as a warning, maybe getting out sooner was a better idea. “What do you want?” 
“Knife off my throat first,” he manages without pushing his neck further onto the blade. 
A second later the girl releases him and jumps back with enough space between them to react if he ended up deciding to attack her. 
Jason gives her a quick glance as he stands up, a hand to his throat to check for blood. 
“I wasn’t lying-”
“You’re not fooling anyone you Red Hood wannabe,” she snaps. Jason just laughs in surprise, no one has ever accused him of being a Red Hood wannabe. He's the one who made the mantle into something to respect, something to fear. He stops laughing and levels a glare at the girl, his helmet telling him unhelpfully there was no match of facial recognition in any database. 
“I am Red Hood-” he started to growl out but she cut him off again. The audacity. 
“Red Hood wouldn’t have been caught by the person he was trailing, Red Hood wouldn’t have been caught off guard, Red Hood doesn’t have a stupid streak of white hair on his head. He may have been a theatre nerd but he wouldn’t do that.” 
Wait what. 
“What are you talking about?” But it was more of a demand than a question. 
“You’re not…” she trailed off waving her hand in the air trying to find a word, “slick. Same jacket, same shoes, same build, yeah. You’re not fooling anyone.” 
“Ok. Whatever, I’m going home.” He turns and starts jogging across the rooftop towards home. So much for helping out. 
“Where is he?” she calls out after him.
“Right here, princess,” he spat before jumping to the other rooftop. 
But as soon as his feet leave the building a big dark blue warbly hole appears and swallows him before he can react. Unfortunately for him the other side of that weird black hole was a face full of concrete. 
“Prove you’re him.” 
Oh this girl was something else. Jason shakes his disorientation away, he didn’t know how she did that, nor did he care but he was pissed. He swings his foot around and connects with her ankle, she falls as expected but easily bounces right back up and hops out of his range. 
“Do that again and I’ll have to break my no killing kids rule,” he growls out, staring her down for a moment. Her face was finally lit by the dim yellow street lamps and he could see the entirety of her face and all the raw emotions she was trying to hide. For a split second familiarity passed through him, like when you see someone at the library then at the store a few weeks later or you see an old school friend ten years later and can’t quite place them. Jason dismisses the feeling and turns to go. 
“Wait.” She says it so vulnerably that Jason gives her a chance, when he turns she pulls up her sleeve and shows off her forearm. 
In the center of her arm is a faded black tattoo that was a writing symbol, but because of its name and one of its uses it was used to brand child soldiers in Gotham from a particular gang that Red Hood obliterated as soon as his first order of business in Gotham. 
It was the double dagger, or better known in Gotham as the death dagger. The children were expendable although highly trained and dangerous, they could give Damian a run for his money in the child assassin department. The tattoo was a reminder to the children and to the people they came across that they were soulless, emotionless, their lives and actions were not their own and they would give their lives willingly for the mission
Meaning who they were before was dead. No family, no connections, no one would notice if they went missing and no one would be able to identify their bodies if and when the time came. Sometimes poor families would sell one of their children and promise to forget them and to never contact them. 
Jason was led to assume that this was another child soldier looking to thank him, or kill him. It was 50/50 these days, some of those kids just never recovered. 
“So what is it that you want? You want my autograph across your head?” Jason asks dryly. 
The girl just huffs and pulls her sleeve back down. 
“I want to know if my brother is underneath that mask.”
I want to know if my brother is underneath that mask.
The words struck Jason deep in his chest but it only fueled his anger. He didn’t know why that hit so deep but he was not in the mood for this nor would he be at any time. 
“Just because I ended that gang doesn’t mean we’re family. Go find your other assassin siblings to play house with.” 
“Annette,” she calls after as he turns his back again. A strike of familiarity pulses through him and when he hesitates she continues, “that was my name before I was initiated. I was one of the first. Daddy’s little girl,” she was still talking louder than necessary since he hadn’t turned back around. “I’m the only one left from The 13.” 
Right. The 13. That’s what everyone called the first batch even as they were killed off, they were the most ruthless being the oldest and were also the most aggressive in proving their worth. It was common to find a number from 1-13 placed strategically behind at the crime scene, whoever had the most successful missions would be highly rewarded, or so he was told. 
“Do you remember?” 
“I remember destroying that gang and their stupid leader and having to kill some of your little friends and I also remember The 13 died within the first year and a half and were easily replaced by their younger friends.” 
“Do you remember me?”
“Look, kid,” he finally turns to look at her, “I don’t care, ok? Yay whoopdeedoo I saved you, get in line. It’s what I do, kill bad people and let the rest walk away. You’re not special.” 
“Annette Marie Todd,” she says hurriedly, like it’s a last resort. “Jason Peter Todd,” she continues, “just you. Me. And a blitzed out Mom.” 
Jason did not like this, he knew the Dagger Children were ruthless and expert manipulators but this was pushing it. He spun around to face her, ripping off his helmet, she already knew what he looked like and it was in the way of his death glare. 
“You don’t know who you are messing with. If you really were a Dagger you’d know that I am not one to be fucked with.” He slides his helmet back on and without a backward glance he runs off to the next roof and continues home. Thankfully not another portal thing opens up in front of him. 
———————————
Jason didn’t have a sister. He did not have a sister. He would remember having a sister. He would remember having a Dagger for a sister. But Annette was such a familiar name. And she had said her name was Annette Marie Todd. Todd. 
No that’s stupid. Impossible. She was just messing with him, for all he knew she could have been subtly showing her face in random places for him to react to the familiarity of her face and she could have said the name sometime in the last few months for him to vaguely recognize the sound of her name but not place it. 
But the Lazarus pit did alter his memories from childhood, it was like looking through a fog of red anger, or maybe it was always like that even before the pit, and it also completely wiped out other parts of his memory. But a sister? No. No way. 
Hours of this, circling around the possibilities and shifting around on his bed trying to get comfortable until he finally drifted off in a very restless sleep. 
Jason found himself in a familiar apartment, the one he lived in before his “mother” died. He looked around and it was more of the feeling of familiarity that convinced him where he was than anything else. He steps aside for a younger version of himself to run by him and turns to the window that led out to the fire escape and watches him climb out of it and close the window. Jason turns back around to see what Young Jason was hiding from. A man hands a thick envelope to his mother, Catherine Todd who had wrapped herself in a thin silk robe, her bony frame visible as well as her happy focus on the money inside that envelope. Jason couldn’t make out the man’s face but he turned around and grabbed the small hand of a little girl in pigtails. She turned her head and faced the window sending a smile but he couldn’t quite make out her face so he instead turned to himself sitting outside.
As he turned his surroundings changed but in his dreamstate he paid no mind to it. This time he was standing in an aisle of a store as a child. He looked around and found his mother dressed embarrassingly in a thin tank top and ragged jeans and flip flops. He feels a squeeze of his hand and looks down, his little sister is looking up at him and pointing to a rack of stuffed animals of Clifford the Big Red Dog that were suddenly there. He sends her a smile and looks up, intent on catching up with his mother and asking her to buy one but as he chases her his intent slips from his mind and instead he wants to taste the cupcakes he just saw. He opens a case and takes a bite but yelling makes him turn around and there is Batman towering over him. Instead of a tasty cupcake he is holding something thick and metal, a crowbar. He throws it at the man and turns to run away and jumps out of the parking garage and jumps into the air flying up. But he’s too slow, he tries kicking and swimming in the air to propel himself further away from Batman but a hand wraps around his foot. 
Jason jerks awake, breathing heavy and feeling uncomfortably hot. This was much more mild than his usual nightmares, if it could even be called a nightmare, but it was bad in a different way. It wasn’t unusual for Jason to be getting chased in his dreams by one thing or another and it always ended before whatever or whoever was chasing him got him but it was getting a little old honestly. 
His head was pounding so he slipped out of bed and poured himself a glass of water from the kitchen. As he takes a sip he recalls his dream and how he had looked down at his sister. But that couldn’t be right. 
A searing pain in his head forces him to tighten his grip on his cup before it goes away again. Stupid head. Stupid dream. Stupid girl trying to get in his head. 
As he lays back down a memory of clear grey eyes flashes across his mind’s eye. 
---
Throughout the next few days Jason tries to ignore the headaches and his dreams of the young black haired girl with grey eyes and of getting chased which was more frequent and more urgent than he remembered them being. It was just all a big waste of time. At least the Dagger girl wasn’t trying to find him anymore, he didn’t know how he would react if she showed up again. 
After another dream of getting chased, this time he was just so tired of it he got a few good punches in on the Bane/Joker demon that was chasing him when his phone buzzes, startling him awake. He ignores it in favor of a cup of coffee and checks the time on the oven that he never uses, it’s almost two o’clock. 
His phone buzzes again several more times in quick succession. He finally heads over and clicks his phone on to see five messages from Stephanie. 
Replacement’s replacement🤰
so u have a little sister and u never told me???
anyways shes at the big house and getting interrogated by bruce and i think hes ready to adopt her
hello
so rude
i mean it looks to me shes tellin the truth but like seems sus for obvious reasons and ur the only one that'll actually know so… hurry up??
Jason curses and rushes to grab his things before running outside and zooming to the Wayne Manor on his motorcycle. 
welp i’ll add with another part soon that i havent finished yet but anywho let me know if jason is too ooc or something😁😁
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acciofanfics · 4 years
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Say Please (George Weasley x Reader) SMUT
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Request: Any chance you could do one o f the weasley twins and a slytherin reader. From enemies to lovers with a nsfw
Pairing: George Weasley x FemReader
Warnings: Bad language words and smut
Word Count: 2567
A/N: So I hope this fits in with the request, the timeline is a little rushed. Also, I normally prefer Fred myself, but my partner in crime loves George so I figured I’d try writing for him 😂 -S
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Honestly, (Y/N) rarely caused much trouble. It might’ve come to a surprise to some of the close minded Gryffindors, but not all Slytherins lived to torment their class mates. In this particular moment she wondered how her house ended up with the poor reputation, because she would not be in detention if it hadn’t been for those annoying Weasley twins. She shot a glare over at... she thought it was George. “3 days. 3 days detention because of you and your brother! Could you have not at least waited until after class? I’m not sure what it is that warranted the abuse to begin with but no that wasn’t enough detention to?!”
Fred and George never thought too much about detention. They mostly didn’t get caught, but there were always a few hiccups and they’d learned the best way to deal was grin and bear it... it did suck that McGonagall was aware the punishment did little to deter them. It was her policy that they had to be separated during detention, she thought they had too much fun otherwise. Poor Fred... he was stuck in Snape’s classroom alone. Not that George much cared for the girl scolding him, “If it’s any consolation we weren’t even aiming for you. It’s hardly our fault you decided to sit next to that git Clark.”
As far as apologies went. That was a rotten one, but she supposed it did provide some comfort. If she were being frank, she didn’t really care for her desk mate either. He often snuck looks at her parchment and tried to correct her or offer his help to even the slightest mistake. It was so condescending, and he rarely knew what he talking about. She tried to imagine what it would like if he had been the one to open the exploding note. “Well, I guess that does clear some things up. Maybe you should work on your aim.”
“Well you can blame Fred on that, he’s the one with the bad aim.” George chuckled although he had to admit it wasn’t nearly as fun to pick on his slightly older brother when he wasn’t there to disagree with him.
“Well who’s the brains of the operation because it wasn’t the brightest plan to start with?”
Yeah, George definitely didn’t enjoy the company that much. She might’ve been pretty, but that seemed to be the only thing she had going for her. A sense of humor? Definitely not. An eye for genius? Clearly lacking. Sure the exploding note had been delivered to the wrong target and landed them all detention, but it got a great response. Lots of laughs. “Agree to disagree.”
“Well you don’t have to agree with me, I’m still right. You got a few kids to laugh, you missed your target, there’s no lasting effect really and had it been Clark who opened it you would’ve been spending detention with him for 3 days. Since you called him a git I’m guessing you three aren’t that close.” Her voice was so matter-of-fact, and so annoying. It also didn’t sit right with George that she might’ve gotten a few details right.
“Well what would be your brilliant plan?”
“Oh I don’t have one.” (Y/N) stopped her cleaning (no magic, because it was a punishment) and looked at George. He thought she was smiling for a split second, but upon further inspection it was definitely a smirk. “Of course I haven’t put any thought what so ever into it. I guarantee that I could come up with a better one though.”
The next day George cursed the fact he had detention again... it didn’t seem fair that it was only him that had to share it with (Y/N). When he asked Fred to go in his place, Fred told him the fact that he asked him to trade was proof enough he didn’t want to trade. Thankfully Professor McGonagall had a task for them that required a little more concentration and therefor less time he actually had to speak to the girl.
“I’ve done some thinking and I think I figured it out.”
George snickered at her thought. McGonagall had them grading first-years parchments. They should’ve definitely known the information already, but she left them an answer key just in case. “Well, I’d hope so. You’ve been looking at the answers for the past 30 minutes.”
She rolled her eyes, and didn’t bother looking up from the parchment. “Ha ha. I meant I figured out what I think would be a numerous prank for Clark.”
“Oh do tell...” George sighed, not at all interested, but willing to humor her all the same.
“I’ve spent an unfortunate amount of time with him, and I’d say he fancies himself more than anyone else. I’ve been paying a bit more attention, since our last conversation and I’ve noticed anytime he passes a mirror he checks his hair. I think you should do some sort of charm to mess with his hair. Even if it’s fixed relatively quickly he’ll be furious.”
Hmmm.... maybe? “What if it wasn’t a charm?”
“A potion might have a longer lasting effect... but how would you give it to him without him knowing something is up?”
“Maybe slip it in his drink?”
“He’d see it and none of us he likes enough to not suspect something and immediately know who it was.”
“Do you think it’d be possible to hide it in some sweets? Sign it from a secret admirer? He’s too arrogant to turn it down.”
George hadn’t meant to honestly give what she said too much thought and there he was:planning out a whole prank with the girl. Fred would feel so betrayed, until it worked at least. Maybe she wasn’t as bad as he originally thought, but he still didn’t know if he liked her that much. Plus she was probably all talk.
Finally it was day 3, the end of their torturous sentence. It couldn’t come fast enough, especially since they had to clean again. George had shared the information he’d gathered from (Y/N) with Fred and he was all in. As much as he hated that they didn’t think of it, a good joke was a good joke.
“So it might interest you to know that I’ve acquired most of the ingredients to brew a hair raising potion. I just need one more thing I can nab tomorrow.”
Wow. Honestly he hadn’t expected her to really go through with it, much less steal the ingredients. “We haven’t even gotten out of detention yet and you’re already trying to get back in. You’re gonna miss me, huh?”
“Oh come off it. If you and your brother want to help, I’m going to set up in the girls bathroom on the second floor tomorrow night after dinner.”
There would’ve been no problem with that plan whatsoever. Sneaking out hadn’t ever been a problem since Fred and George snagged the Marauder’s Map in their first year, and even though they’d given it to Harry they still had most of the secret passages memorized. No, the problem that Fred had landed himself an extra day of detention. It wasn’t a secret that Snape didn’t like them, but it seemed unlikely that Fred really had done NOTHING to provoke him. He honestly couldn’t help but feel a tiny bit annoyed at his twin for leaving him to walk into that bathroom alone...
“Where’s Fred? I thought you two did everything together?” (Y/N) teased as she pulled a cauldron out of one of the stalls and gathered all of her supplies around the surrounding area. George was just a bit surprised that she actually recognized it was him. They’d tricked their own mother more than once, and she’d caught on in 3 days time?
“You know Snape, he’s got it out for us. Fred took the brunt of it today,” George shrugged and drew closer to her, ready to offer his assistance. “Look on the bright side, now you have me all to yourself.”
“Yay...” Her voice was less than enthusiastic, but a small smile played on her lips none the less. “Well don’t just stand there, hand me those rat tails.”
George had to admit that it wasn’t nearly as bad as he imagined. While, he was starting to come to the conclusion he might’ve misjudged her, he was now sure that was the case. He’d even gotten her to laugh! Surprisingly it was a good laugh too, one of the ones that were highly contagious. Brewing the potion didn’t take nearly as much time as he thought, and it wasn’t long at all before (Y/N) was giving it a final stir. “Now it just has to set for about an hour. I suppose after that we just need to put it in some candy and give it to him?”
“Seems simple enough, once we figure out the best place to leave it that will make sure he gets it.”
“I’ll leave it outside his room.” (Y/N) stated simply. It only made sense that she would, she was in the same house and the magical enchantments that the school was founded had a pretty backwards, but beneficial rule on the dorms. Girls could get into the boys dormitory quite easily, so I’d wouldn’t be a problem.
George couldn’t place it, but he didn’t know how thrilled he was with that part of the plan. There were other ways: like leaving it on a table in the great hall... or visiting the owlery? “What if you get caught?”
“I suppose I’m no stranger to detention now, am I? Don’t worry I don’t plan on letting you guys take credit for my brilliance, I won’t snitch.”
“It wasn’t that!” He didn’t know why it was so important she didn’t think he was worried about that, but it seemed like it was relevant in that moment.
(Y/N)’s smirk came back when she saw his cheeks turning just the slightest tint of red. She wouldn’t admit it to anyone else, but there was the possibility she didn’t hate the twins as much as she did when she first opened that blasted note. Well, George at least (she hadn’t been forced to spend time with Fred). And it wasn’t like she was blind, he was attractive. Plus she hadn’t even planned any payback for him ruining her reputation in McGonagall’s class... it wouldn’t hurt to tease him just a bit. Really, he kind of deserved it. “We have an hour to kill... I wonder what we should do?”
George tensed ever so slightly when she leaned closer to him and batted her eye lashes. She was definitely on to him. Damn, well he wasn’t usually one to back down from a challenge. Usually he had his brother for backup, but that wouldn’t do him any good here and honestly he no longer desired to have Fred’s company... at least at the moment. “Well, I have a few ideas... we are alone.”
(Y/N)’s confidence didn’t waver, she expected a bit of stubbornness from him. Instead she climbed into his lap, her knees resting not so comfortably on the cool tile. Her forwardness seemed to catch him off guard slightly, but he quickly regained composure and smirked at her. It took a good bit of effort not to roll her eyes, but she managed. “Well don’t just sit there.”
George knew he was falling into a trap, but to be honest at that moment he didn’t quite care. He didn’t need to be told twice and he captured her lips in a lip bruising kiss. It was almost instantaneous that they both seemed to forget they they didn’t fancy either other. Her arms wrapped around his neck and his hands found her thighs, where he began to pull her against him.
It took no time for a sweet kiss to start burning into something more. No, it was more like someone throwing a match into gasoline: an immediate explosion. Her hips moved willingly against him, both enjoying the friction and she didn’t even think twice about George snapping open the buttons on her blouse. It gave her the idea to start on his shirt.
(Y/N) shivered when George helped her out of her bra. The cool air making her arch herself into him even further, but the cold didn’t last long because George began placing feverish kisses all over the newly exposed skin. Her moans definitely did something for him, even if it was just a confidence boost he nipped a bit harder or his grip on her skin got tighter. Normally, George might worry about leaving a hand shaped bruise on her arse, but he was far too focused and seeing how loud he could make her.
(Y/N) awkwardly reached between them and started to undo his trousers. George was willing to pull his hands away from her briefly to help her accomplish her goal. She leaned up, just enough for him to be able to wiggle his trousers and underwear down enough to free his erection. It wasn’t the most graceful thing they’d done, but she hiked up her skirt and pulled her panties to the side so she could sink down onto him.
The two let out a moan in unison and George grabbed hold of her hips, “Bloody hell...”
(Y/N) wasn’t sure what exactly came over her, other than a mixture of satisfaction and lust. “Say you’re sorry for getting me detention.”
Was she kidding? “Seriously?” When she started to lift herself up, he quickly changed his tune. “I’m sorry!”
She quickly dropped herself back down, earning another moan from the redhead underneath her. Of course having his cock buried deep inside her felt amazing, but having a bit of control made it feel even better. “Say please.”
George didn’t even think twice about obliging her order. The word spilled from his lips before he could even comprehend what he was saying, but he didn’t care. The plea made her move against him finally and he would say anything to keep her bouncing on his cock. Clearly she knew it too and that was enough to keep her satisfied because she kept it up.
It was somewhere between an eternity and a few minutes, before she felt herself getting close. It was harder to keep it up her rhythm, and George must’ve noticed because he started to use the grip on her hips to his advantage by lifting her and pulling her back down. She stopped abruptly, “If you want something from me, you need to ask.”
“Please?”
“Please what?” (Y/N) purred into his ears, rolling her hips.
“Please let me fuck you...” George’s voice was needy and he was so scared that she would tell him no. It was an instant relief when she muttered an okay against his skin.
Before (Y/N) could even register what was happening her back hit the frigid tile and George’s hips were snapping against hers hard and fast and she was seeing stars. So close... so close... she was coming undone. “George!”
It was no time, before he finished. Her orgasm fast-tracking his. He had to let his breathing steady before he could speak, “I think that should be a regular occurrence. We are way too good for it to be a one time thing.”
He laughed when she winked at him, “Well you know what to say.”
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fluffymisha97 · 4 years
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Morning after
One-Shot
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Summary: As the written in the title. ;) 
You were woken up by the blinding sunlight that was pushing its way through your blinds in the bedroom. You groaned a bit feeling how your body ached and your head as well. You had gone out with a few friend to a party the night before. You could almost taste the drinks you had on your breath. You felt the urge to brush your teeth. A groan beside you startled you.
You shot up, clutching the sheet to your body. The groan came from your ' not so subtle hookup' from last night. You almost had to pinch yourself. It seemed highly unlikely that such a gorgeous man was in your bed. His chest was decorated with some tattoos that you seemed remember tracing with your fingers last night. He looked so peaceful and innocent. However none of what you did last night could hardly be seen as something innocent.
Feeling your mouth run dry, you found your underwear and put on a robe. Quietly you tiptoed out of your bedroom to go to the kitchen. As you were getting some water and were enjoying the peace and quiet. Your mind wandered back to last night. You remembered each caress, touch and kiss. You felt the all giddy inside. You were so wrapped up in your day dreaming that you hadn't noticed your roommate approaching you.
"Sooo somebody got some action last night. Wow...omg just wow. You're so lucky girl, it's annoying."
You almost screamed and jumped up in the air when you first heard her while spilling most of your water.
"Jesus, Abby! You scared the crap out of me. What are you even doing home?! You said you were going to see your parents."
"Yeah yeah yeah. Enough about me. We HAVE to talk about who's in your bed. Give me all the deets."
"hmmm how about no? What's the big deal? You don't have to sound like I never bring a guy home like I'm a old maid or is it spinster?"
Abbys eyes rolled in the back her head as she pondered about wacking you in the head.
"Girl, don't be stupid. You really don't know who he is?"
"Of course I know who he is. His name is Chris short for Christopher. I would never bring someone home without knowing that. Abby please."
"Well clearly you don't. That guy's like really famous. His name is Chris Evans. Smoking hot. But you obviously know that. He's best known for playing Captain America in those Marvel movies that your brother talks about."
"Are you kidding me? Well he never mentioned that to me."
"Oh gee you don't say. Don't you find that odd? Maybe he's not as clean and great like everyone is making him out to be. A little bit sketchy noooo?"
"I don't think so Abby. I think there's a perfect explanation for not telling me. Just look at us right now, that's probably what he would like to avoid. He's a normal person too you know. You're talking like a crazy person. "
Abby was about to reply when a cough startled her causing you both to turn around. Chris was standing in the doorway peaking out. He was wearing his pants that hung dangerously low and shirt turned inside out. His hair was in complete disarray which was partly your fault.
"Oh sorry. Did we wake you up?"
You quickly tried to apologize for you and your roommate's loud voices.
"Well you guys aren't exactly the most quiet people in the morning."
Chris said laughing. You visibly relaxed hearing him say this.
"Haha believe me Y/N ain't quiet at any time of the day. Judging from what I heard last night, you would already know that."
You felt your entire face heat up and you elbowed Abby in the ribs or tried to. Wanting to shut her up. Not that she seemed to get the message. She just went on and on. Chris only seemed amused by it and didn't really say anything. You locked eyes with Chris and felt yourself lost in those deep blue eyes. After a while Chris wasn't really paying attention to what was being said and just looked at you.
Abby ranted on and on while moving around the kitchen. Chris had moved closer to you with a small grin on his face. He came over to stand where you stood. Chris payed no attention Abby who was still talking when he leaned down to kiss you. His arms wrapped around your waist and pulled you closer to him. Your hands went up in his already messed up hair.
You had to pull away to catch your breath. That man could could bring you to your knees just by kissing you. Abby coughed loudly to get your attention. You turned to her whilst Chris was still holding you close. Intoxicated by you.
"Abby, didn't you have somewhere you needed to be at?? Preferably now..."
"Y/N what kind of friend would I be if I left you alone with a man you've just met?... A very good looking man I might add BUT Stranger danger."
"Abbs, you would be the best friend if you left and didn't listen in on my sex life. There's something called boundaries."
"Judging by what I heard last night, I would say you got enough to last a while year and..."
"Abby, if you don't leave now... I swear to God. GO buy some headphones or earplugs while you're out, I don't want you listening in again."
"Okay okay. I'll leave. I can tell when I'm not wanted."
You had to laugh. You tried to tune her out while turning your attention to Chris. On her way out of your shared apartment, she yelled out.
"Imma leave now. You get 1 hour and then imma be back. Show some self control. And please do me a favor and don't have sex on my coffee table. It was my grandmothers and it's vintage."
Both you and Chris burst into laughter as she finally left.
"I'm so sorry that you had to see that. She's really inappropriate and nosy. I'm really... "
Chris didn't let you finish before capturing your mouth again.
"That's really distracting when you do that. I suppose, I should ask if you're hungry that's probably what a good host would do right?"
Chris played with a strand of your hair
"Hmmm that's probably true. I'm hungry alright but it ain't for food."
Chris kissed you again and you both stumbled backwards to the couch. You couldn't help but giggle feeling consumed by him.
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pickalilywrites · 3 years
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it’s my first fic since i started my job ❤ i hope you enjoy ^^
..........
You and Me at the End of the World 
Falbi. SF8 AU. 
11194 words. 
Read on Ao3!
»»————- April 3, 2026 ————-««
Falco wakes, a sigh escaping his lips. He feels an incredible weariness in his bones as if he had run a marathon yesterday even though he hasn’t really had PE in a month. He hasn’t had PE since his teacher had run off just like everyone else did when they heard that an asteroid was hurtling towards the earth and set to destroy life as everyone knew it. Everyone Falco knew just up and left their jobs and homes to pursue their dreams: his classmates dropped out of school to become idols or viral TikTokers, the mailman stopped delivering mail to Falco’s house and decided to fly to every place in the world he had always wanted to visit, and even the principal of Falco’s school had resigned but not before advising all of the students to drop out of school because it was useless now that they were all about to die. 
Many people had taken the principal’s advice, but not Falco. He still goes to school on the weekdays and spends the weekend completing homework assignments that will never be graded. A few students had visited the school even after the principal had closed the school down, but they had stopped coming after they saw how many of their peers had dropped out and saw how even the teachers didn’t bother coming back. 
It doesn’t bother Falco that he goes to school every morning and studies in an empty classroom all day or that he has to fish out study plans from the notebooks his teachers left behind just to give himself something to do. His parents have asked him why he bothers going to school when all of his classmates have pretty much given up, but Falco really doesn’t have an answer. If he had to say anything, it’s probably that he doesn’t have anything in particular that he wants to do. 
Falco acknowledges that he’s never been incredibly ambitious like some of his classmates have been. His talents are unspectacular. He knows that he’s neither athletic nor smart. He’s always been average. He never studied too hard because he knew he’d never get the highest score in the class and he never exerted himself too much in PE because there was always someone stronger or faster than him. It isn’t something that ever bothered him, and he’s grown to accept that part of himself. 
He doesn’t have any special interests either. Sure, Falco enjoys playing video games and playing sports like any kid his age, but he can’t see himself wasting the rest of his days on them. Some of his classmates even asked him to join them. Falco has had multiple offers: join a band as a bassist even though he’s never touched a bass guitar in his life, become a part of a dance crew despite his coordination being awful at best, start a video channel pulling off different stunts and tricks to gain a little bit of spotlight before they all died, among others. He declined all of them in the end, preferring to be alone, and even now Falco doesn’t regret his decision. He’s content being a normal kid living out the rest of his tedious life as monotonously as he always did.
His parents live quite normally too except for the fact that they quit their jobs like everybody else did when news of the asteroid came out. Rather than return to their jobs every morning, his parents go out on long walks together, often visiting places from their younger days. They usually leave long before Falco wakes, but his mother is always sure to leave out a freshly made breakfast for Falco and his older brother Colt. 
Colt hasn’t made any drastic changes to his lifestyle, not like some other people his age. He, too, dropped out of school like many of his peers and Falco’s classmates, but he usually spends his time visiting internet cafés or playing baseball with his friends. The elder brother once curiously asked Falco why he bothered going to school and the younger just simply shrugged. Colt never bothered to ask again, and Falco was fine with that. 
Falco rolls out of bed and heads to the bathroom to brush his teeth as he normally does. His hair looks like a mess. Since news of the upcoming apocalypse, people either care excessively about their appearance or they don’t care about it at all. Considering his circumstances, Falco should probably fall in the latter category, but he fixes his bed head all the same, patting down the cowlicks and running a comb through his hair to get rid of all the tangles. 
After washing his face and getting dressed in his school uniform, Falco wanders into the kitchen where his breakfast is waiting for him. On the stove sits a pan with fluffy scrambled eggs mixed with little bits of crispy, dark spinach leaves, and sweet gruyère. Falco twists the knob on the stove with a sharp click before popping bread into the toaster. As he waits for the eggs to warm up, he fixes himself a glass of orange juice. 
Falco ends up splitting the eggs in half, leaving a portion for Colt whenever he decides to roll out of bed. He sits at the kitchen island by himself, munching on some generously buttered toast in between bites of egg. It’s a much fancier breakfast than his mother used to make. Scrambled eggs were usually plain except for a dash of salt and pepper, but his mother has become more experimental with her cooking now that the end of the world is evident. It’s a good change, Falco thinks as the blend of savory bacon and salted eggs melt onto his tongue. It probably would have been nice if his mother had decided to be more adventurous with her cooking beforehand, but it’s not as if having regrets about this can change the past so Falco just eats the rest of his breakfast before dumping his plate in the sink and calling out to his brother that he’ll be heading to school. He doesn’t even wait for a response from Colt before heading out the door. 
Ever since news of the asteroid, Falco has begun seeing very interesting people on his way to school. Some of them are familiar to him. Others he’s never seen before in his life. They’re not all strange, of course. Sometimes there are just kids running up and down the road kicking a soccer ball or couples holding hands as they take a morning stroll. But there are more than a few eccentrics on Falco’s way to school. 
Lately, there have been people claiming to be superheroes. They have superpowers, they insist. Some will rush up to strangers on the street and show off their powers, but Falco has never seen any proof of their alleged superhuman talents. 
Some people post videos online demonstrating their special gifts. Falco has seen a handful of them, mostly because his friend Zofia keeps sending them to him every few days when she finds them particularly funny. He finds them mildly intriguing, although he’s fairly certain that most (if not all) of the videos are either staged or edited to look real. He’s never been fully convinced by any of them. 
On this particular walk to school, Falco passes by a person who claims to be able to create seismic shifts and another person who she can talk to animals. Neither person is particularly believable. Falco only gives a passing glance when the first person begins to demonstrate their powers by spinning in a circle and letting out a low groan that begins to grow into a loud shriek. The earth, Falco notices, does not shake. He’s even less interested when the animal girl starts shouting post-apocalyptic prophecies about how giant bugs will inherit the earth once the dust has settled on the earth after the asteroid impact. 
Falco reaches the school gate and pulls it open himself because there isn’t a teacher there to welcome him like there used to be. He leaves it open to save trouble for anyone who ends up coming after him, although he highly doubts anyone will be joining him. He walks across the courtyard where some of his former schoolmates play soccer, looking at them briefly but not bothering to bid them good morning. When he gets to the building, he pulls open the door and steps inside. The sound of his shoes against the speckled tile echo across the empty hallways as he makes his way to his classroom. 
As usual, it’s empty. Falco could probably sit anywhere he wants, but he ends up at his old desk, the second seat in the third row from the right. He sits down with a thud and lets his backpack fall off his shoulder. He pulls out his notebook and looks at today’s lesson that he copied from his homeroom teacher’s planner earlier last month: geometry, English, social studies, art, and science. 
Falco dutifully completes his assignments for the day. He even double-checks his answers once he’s done. Maybe he’ll look over the answer key after school if he feels like it. He spends his break staring at the window at the kids playing ball in the field or playing pranks on each other in the quad. He doesn’t make any attempt to join them. 
At 2:15, Falco packs his things. He puts away his pens and pencils neatly in his case, zips up his backpack, and slings his bag over his shoulder. As he walks to the door of the classroom, he thinks he imagines footsteps running down the hall. It makes him wonder if the impending apocalypse is making him go mad because he can’t imagine why anyone would be here when the world is going to end in a week. When he pulls open the door, he sees his friend Zofia about to reach for the door. 
“Oh, good,” Zofia pants. She bends over, hands on her knees as she tries to catch her breath. Ashy blonde locks are falling out of her ponytail. “I was afraid I missed you. You weren’t replying to any of my texts.” 
“We’re not allowed to use our phones in school,” Falco says as he looks down at her. 
Zofia looks up, an expression of mild disbelief on her face. “Geez, I can’t believe you’re still doing this.” She straightens up and sighs. “Our teachers probably appreciated what a goody-two-shoes you were back when they actually cared about their jobs, but I assure you that they don’t care at all now that the world is about to end.” 
Falco rolls his eyes and walks past Zofia. He can hear her following him from the extra footsteps that accompany his. “What do you need? I thought you were busy trying to pet ‘every dog in the world’ or whatever before the asteroid strikes.” 
Zofia’s arm links with Falco’s and she flashes a cheesy smile at him. “I realized it was impossible so I settled for petting ‘as many dogs as possible.’ I’m pretty satisfied with my work, so I’ve decided on pursuing something else.” She doesn’t immediately follow up with what it is she’s working on, and Falco knows she’s absolutely itching for him to ask. 
“... What is it?” Falco asks. 
“I’m glad you asked!” Zofia says, tugging him closer to her. She pulls her phone out of her pocket and flips through it for a bit before finding what she wants to show Falco. On her screen is a long post on one of the message boards their classmates post on. “There’s this girl. She’s totally crazy.” 
A glance at the phone screen confirms Zofia’s words. It’s a post that looks like it’s been circulating through message boards of different middle schools in their area. The original poster is someone named Gabi Braun, aged 14, and she attends Liberio Middle School across the city. Her post is a call for all people with superpowers to contact her so that they can save the world together. 
Falco looks at Zofia and wrinkles his nose. “And you’re showing me this because …?” 
“Because she’s absolutely crazy, but she’s interesting,” Zofia replies as she pockets her phone. She smiles at Falco. “Let’s go visit her.” 
“What? No!” Falco says. He yanks his arm away from Zofia. “You said she was nuts! Why would we look for her?” 
“Because the world is ending in a few days, so we might as well do something stupid,” Zofia replies. She links her arm around Falco’s again and pouts, batting her eyelashes up at him. “Come on, aren’t you the least bit curious? There’s a girl our age who thinks she can save the world if she gathers enough nutjobs who think they have superpowers.” 
Falco isn’t curious at all. “I have homework,” he says to Zofia, which he knows is the wrong answer. Although Zofia hasn’t tried to convince Falco to stop going to school like the rest of their peers, she has been pretty vocal about how stupid she thinks Falco is for living the end of his life so mundanely. 
“You also have a friend,” Zofia says. She begins to tug at him after every other word, trying to get him to follow her. “A friend you care about deeply and don’t want to see hurt if she ends up walking into some creep’s trap.” 
“Then why are you going at all if you know it might be dangerous?” Falco mutters, but he knows Zofia’s right. His normal school life consists of him going straight home after classes and doing his homework, but it occasionally includes him reluctantly following Zofia sometimes to make sure she doesn’t get into too much trouble. He’s not too surprised when he ends up walking with Zofia to the meeting place the poster mentioned in their message. 
Normally, Falco and Zofia would have taken the bus into the city, but it’s difficult to flag down a bus. The schedules are erratic at best and oftentimes buses don’t show up on schedule at all. It is the end of the world, after all. 
It’s a curious thing, seeing the city at the end of the world. It’s a little bit like how the movies portray it, but not at all like the movies at the same time. Cars fill the street while drivers honk their horns and shout at each other to hurry up because they don’t want to spend their last days on earth stuck in traffic. The doors and windows of so many shops and buildings are smashed in and their contents gone. If people aren’t running around and screaming at each other on the street, they’re walking around like it’s a normal day save for the fact that they’re all looking for the next thing they want to do before they die. 
“I’d suggest going to the mall downtown or something later, but it’s probably ransacked like everywhere else,” Zofia says with a wistful sigh. 
“We could have just gone to the arcade in our town,” Falco mutters. The internet café and the arcade in their town is a mess because none of the gamers there bother to clean up their trash anymore, but at least there are still computers there and nobody has hauled off the arcade machines. 
The two wander about the city and linger near the subway station entrance the message board poster had mentioned. There are people going up and down the stairs to the subways and some kids skating around and doing tricks on their skateboards. Adults pass by hurriedly with their phone stuck to one ear, rushing to make plans with someone on the other end because they have limited time left. It feels like Zofia and Falco are just standing frozen in time while the world rushes around them. 
“Who do you think it is?” Zofia whispers in Falco’s ear. 
Falco scans the scene, his eyes quickly flitting over anyone that didn’t look like a middle schooler. He doesn’t think it would be any of the skateboarders, so he glances over them too. Whoever this Gabi Braun is, she doesn’t have any interest in anything aside from saving the world with her impossible idea. She must be looking for people just like he and Zofia are looking for her. 
Finally, his eyes land on a girl their age with a stern expression on her face. Her dark eyebrows are knitted together and she turns her head from side to side every few seconds as she scans the subway station, her brown hair whipping from side to side. She leans against the railing near the subway entrance, her arms folded across her chest. Somehow, she looks familiar, but Falco doesn’t know why. 
“Her,” Falco says. He raises his hand and points to her only to realize it’s rude and quickly lets his hand fall to his side. He’s about to jerk his head over in the girl’s direction, but Zofia has already seen who he was pointing to and starts dragging him over. 
“Excuse me,” Zofia says, catching the girl’s attention. The girl’s gaze is intense, her brown eyes scrutinizing the two of them, but Zofia doesn’t shrink away from the girl like Falco does. Instead, Zofia holds out a hand cordially and gives the girl a friendly smile. “You’re Gabi Braun, right? I’m Zofia, and this is my friend Falco. We saw your message reposted on our school forum and wanted to help you.” 
The girl looks at them suspiciously but takes Zofia’s hand, shaking it reluctantly. “You really want to help?” Her eyes flit towards Falco, who looks down immediately. “Why do you want to help me?” 
“Hmm,” Zofia hums and tilts her head to the side. “Because the end of the world isn’t something I’m particularly looking forward to.” She looks over at Falco and, with a grin, elbows him playfully in the ribs. “And this guy doesn’t have anything better to do, so I had him come along.” 
“What were you doing before?” Gabi asks curiously.
Falco purses his lips. It’s not that he’s ashamed about how he’s spending his last days. Living plainly is a far better choice than some people have made. Apparently, some people decided that murder was something they needed to check off their bucket list. If you ask Falco, he thinks being a normal student is far better than being a last-minute murderer. Still, it’s not something he wants to say out loud to a stranger. 
He kicks at the sidewalk and mumbles, “Just … homework and stuff.” 
To his surprise, Gabi doesn’t ridicule him or ask why. She simply nods as if this is a perfectly normal way for someone to spend their last days. She doesn’t ask them any more questions, somehow satisfied with Falco’s answer. She’s already digging around in her back for something and pulls a laptop out of her bag. 
“I’m still waiting for people to show up, but I wouldn’t be surprised if nobody ends up showing,” Gabi says, gesturing for the two of them to sit beside her. Her tone doesn’t sound disappointed at all. In fact, she sounds rather like she expected this to happen. 
Zofia sits on one side of Gabi, peering curiously over the brunette’s shoulder as she types away. Falco wants to sit beside Zofia. It would be more comfortable than sitting next to a stranger, but he would have difficulty seeing the screen. Reluctantly, he takes a seat next to Gabi. 
“I’ve been looking at videos,” Gabi tells them. “People have been submitting them after seeing my message on the school forums.” 
“Is there anyone particularly interesting to you?” Zofia asks. 
“Not really,” Gabi says. She opens up a folder on her screen and a video file pops up. She presses Play. “Technology lets you edit anything into videos now. Some of these powers look super fake, but I still have to take a chance in case they do have powers and are interested in saving the world, right?” 
The three watch the video play out. There’s a man on the screen claiming to have pyrokinesis. He’s wide-eyed and staring at the camera, holding out his hands with his palms to the ceiling. His explanation of his powers is similar to everyone else who has posted these kinds of videos on social media: he was just born with them and never bothered to reveal them until now for fear of being ostracized. 
The flame doesn’t ignite right away. It’s a flicker — a spark, really —  that grows into the smallest flame. The fire is hardly the size of the man’s fingertip, but he looks delighted just the same. The three children watching are not as thrilled. 
“You really think this guy can save the world?” Zofia asks, raising her eyebrow. 
“I don’t think this guy can save anyone,” Gabi replies. She’s so brutally honest that it would be funny if they weren’t discussing the fate of the world. “But I’m taking whatever help I can get at this point.” 
They spend the rest of that afternoon looking through applications. Most of them are just internet trolls and Gabi has to roll her eyes more than once before closing out the applicant’s video. There are a few promising candidates Gabi moves to a separate folder but only when Falco and Zofia also agree that the person might be worth looking into. They go through written applications too, often filtering out any CVs that aren’t descriptive enough and sometimes those that are too descriptive and more fitted to some sci-fi character description than an actual person. Gabi calls a few numbers from the short list of people that the three all agreed on, but nobody ever picks up. Nobody shows up either. Still, Gabi doesn’t seem to be discouraged. 
“Why are you doing this?” Falco asks at one point while they’re watching a video of a man who claims he can read people’s thoughts. 
“Hm?” Gabi says, looking away from the video. 
“Just … this whole thing,” Falco says and vaguely waves at the screen. “You know it too. This might not work, so why even bother trying to save the world?”
Gabi frowns and her eyebrows knit together like she doesn’t quite understand Falco’s question. “Well, what else would I be doing?” 
Falco doesn’t respond because, well, he doesn’t have an answer. It’s not like he knows what to do with the rest of his life either. If Zofia hadn’t convinced him to come here, he’d just be at home with his head stuck in a textbook. Even if it’s useless, whatever Gabi is doing is far more interesting. 
»»————- April 4, 2026 ————-««
Falco’s parents drop him off at the edge of the city. His mother had wanted to drop him off closer to his destination point, but Falco assured her that it wasn’t necessary. Besides, there were a lot of weirdos in the city, he reasoned, especially now that the apocalypse was coming. She reluctantly allowed him to be dropped off at the edge of the city, but not before giving him a can of pepper spray and a baseball bat in case he ran into anybody cruel enough to mug a middle schooler. 
He doesn’t have any trouble meeting Gabi at the library they agreed to meet at. Zofia isn’t there with him after deciding this morning that saving the world wasn’t what she wanted to spend her last moments doing. She did, however, request that Falco send Gabi her best wishes, which Falco promised to pass along. 
The two of them sit on the tenth floor of the library at a table by the window. The library isn’t exactly empty, but it’s not exactly filled up either. There are a few other visitors in the library with them. Some are seated at tables or couches, but others choose to sit between bookshelves, folding up their legs so that people can walk around if they need to get through. Hardly anyone pays attention to Falco and Gabi. They’re too busy flipping furiously through their books, eyes scanning the pages in seconds, as they try to finish their reading list before the world ends. 
While Gabi watches more videos of superpowered applicants while Falco gathers books on powers that interest them: pyrokinesis, psychokinesis, time travel, to name a few. As he gathers research articles, he also stumbles across the section of the library dedicated to outer space and celestial bodies and decides to grab a few books on asteroids and meteors as well. There’s a slim chance that they might help, but Falco might as well try. 
Gabi doesn’t talk much to Falco, too engrossed in her research to hold a conversation with him. He doesn’t talk much to her either. He does, on occasion, glance up at her to observe her progress, but she always seems to be staring at the screen with the same dissatisfied frown on her face. Every once in a while Gabi will lean over and ask Falco about whether or not a certain candidate looks promising, but his answer is almost always no and she goes back to staring at her screen. 
At noon, the two take their lunch break. Gabi hadn’t brought anything. She tells Falco she was planning on just grabbing something from the snack machine near the elevators. The library remains one of the few places that was relatively untouched by thieves and vandals because not many people think “let’s rob the library” when they hear that the world is ending. Because Falco’s mother has a tendency to overpack his lunches, Falco decides to split his meal with Gabi. He figures that a sandwich is far better than whatever half-filled bag of chips Gabi would end up grabbing from the vending machine. 
Falco munches on his katsu sandwich. It’s a favorite of his: two slices of pillowy milk bread with a thick cut of juicy pork cutlet covered in crispy bread crumbs wedged in between. A little butter and mustard give the sandwich a little bitterness that makes the tip of his tongue tingle and savory tonkatsu sauce drizzled over the thinly sliced cabbage underneath the katsu complete the simple but scrumptious sandwich. 
He looks over to see if Gabi is enjoying her food as much as he is, but she’s scarfing it down so quickly that he isn’t sure she’s even taking the time to taste it. In between bites, she’s scrolling through her laptop with greasy fingers, frowning. A glance at the notebook beside her tells Falco that Gabi hasn’t found many promising candidates. 
“Do you really think this is going to work?” Falco asks. He’s halfway done with his lunch but Gabi is a bite away from finishing hers.
Gabi shrugs. She doesn’t look up as she answers. “I don’t know. It’s worth a shot, right?” She scrolls a bit more before she pauses, her fingers hovering above the touchpad. Her eyes flicker over to Falco so suddenly that he nearly drops his sandwich. Gabi narrows her eyes at him suspiciously, her attention entirely on the boy. Her gaze is intense and she scoots to the edge of her seat, leaning in towards Falco. “You’re awfully skeptical about this plan for someone who’s trying to save the world.” 
Falco gulps, trying not to shy away from her intense gaze. If he were a turtle, he’d be curled back in his shell right now. “I just want to make sure we’re not wasting our time,” he mumbles. 
“Falco, do you not believe that people can have superpowers?” Gabi asks.
Falco is about to shake his head and say that that’s not the case but before he can Gabi settles back into her seat, arms folded across her chest, and announces, “I have a superpower.” She says it quite loudly, loudly enough for her voice to be heard across the entire floor, but people are too preoccupied with their reading to pay much attention to her although a few readers do shoot her a dirty look for being so loud. 
Falco is not quite sure what he expected Gabi to say, but it wasn’t that. He sits there awkwardly, sandwich still half-finished in his hands. After a moment, he asks, “Er, what is it?” 
Gabi pops the last bit of her sandwich in her mouth and wipes her fingers on her jeans. After she chews and swallows, she leans towards Falco once more and gives him an impish grin. “I can read people’s minds. Telepathy,” she tells him. She doesn’t wait for him to ask for a demonstration. 
Gabi puts one hand on Falco’s chest and stares deeply into his eyes. Falco’s heart is beating wildly in his chest. If by some miracle Gabi doesn’t hear it, Falco’s certain that she’ll be able to feel it underneath her fingertips. She doesn’t say anything about it, though, just continues to stare at him with those intense brown eyes of hers as she reads every single thought racing through his mind right now, like how he’s never been quite this close to anyone, how he’s never had his heart beat quite this fast, or how he thinks he might just die right here right now before the asteroid even hits. 
Suddenly, Gabi’s face breaks into a smile and she pulls her hand away, Falco’s chest feeling achingly empty now. Gabi is laughing now, but Falco doesn’t have any idea why. 
“God, I didn’t think you’d believe me,” she laughs. She’s laughing so hard that it’s difficult to make out what she’s saying. “I didn’t think you’d believe me, but you really did. You’re really gullible, aren’t you?” 
Falco blinks, confused for a minute as he tries to process what just happened. “You … can’t read minds?” he says a beat too late. 
“No, god, but you thought I did,” Gabi laughs. 
“Then what’s your power?” 
Gabi’s still giggling as she answers. “Something else. It’s not important. I’ll tell you if it ends up being useful.” 
She’s laughing. She’s still laughing. It’s a laugh that comes from her stomach and has her clutching her sides. People are glaring because it’s disrupting the peace, and Falco feels like he should tell her to stop but he finds that he doesn’t want to. He doesn’t even mind that she’s laughing at him. He just likes the sound of it. 
»»————- April 5, 2026 ————-««
They sit with a pack of chocolate-covered biscuits shaped like little bamboo shoots between them. While Falco eats them one at a time, usually popping one in his mouth after he’s read a few pages of whatever book he’s reading, Gabi shovels them into her mouth by the handful without even looking. They’ve gone through their fifth pack of the little chocolate biscuits and it’s not even noon yet. 
“Do you think you can do it?” Falco asks at some point. 
“Save the world?” Gabi asks. She sucks her thumb, trying to get the chocolate off. Falco nods and Gabi says, “Well, who else if not me?” 
“Literally anyone else,” Falco replies because, well, they’re only kids. 
“Right, and just die young, dumb, and stupid like every other kid our age,” Gabi says with a roll of her eyes. “No thanks. I’d rather have died trying to do something. Besides, it’s not as if the adults are having that much luck either.” 
Gabi slides her laptop over so that Falco can see the screen. On it, a video plays of a rocket shooting into space. The caption on the bottom reads “NASA Space Missile Failure.” Falco vaguely recalls hearing about the missile launch earlier this morning. The scientists were excited about it, hoping that the missile would collide with the oncoming asteroid and shatter it into smaller pieces that would burn up in the atmosphere, but it seems like they had been excited for nothing. Apparently, they had miscalculated the trajectory of the missile and it would miss the asteroid completely. 
“That sucks,” Falco says finally. He’s not exactly sure how he feels about the news. He should probably feel disappointed, but he feels the same way he did a month ago when he heard the world was ending: perfectly indifferent. 
Gabi shrugs. “Armin said it wouldn’t work. He said their calculations were off,” she says. She glances at Falco and adds, “Armin’s a genius. He’s my mentor’s husband.” 
“A genius? Is that his superpower?” Falco asks. If Gabi knows someone who’s a literal genius, he doesn’t see why they’re doing all this work. Shouldn’t this genius, whoever he is, have all the answers? 
Gabi thinks for a minute, her lips pressed into a thin line. “I’m not sure. My mentor just says Armin’s a genius, but he’s way too humble to admit it,” Gabi finally answers. She frowns, leaning forward with her elbow on the table and her chin in her hand. “He can’t help us though. He’s busy tending to his fish.” 
Falco isn’t certain he’s heard her right. “His fish?” he repeats. 
“Yeah. He’s a marine biologist. He likes to have some fish at home,” Gabi explains like it’s the most normal thing in the world to take care of your fish when the world is about to end. “He says it calms him down to see them swim around.” 
Falco is still trying to wrap his head around all of this — Gabi and her willingness to save the world, the genius she just spoke of who just wants to take care of his fish, and the asteroid hurtling towards the earth. He doesn’t understand any of it. “So it’s okay for you, a kid, to try and save the world while a literal genius is taking care of fish at his house instead of trying to prevent the apocalypse?” 
Gabi blinks. “Yes,” she replies as if there could be no other answer. “Because it’s what I want to do. And it’s what he wants to do. Why should we be doing anything different?” 
“But shouldn’t you be doing, I don’t know, kid things?” Falco asks. He’s starting to feel a little frustrated talking to her. This isn’t what she should be doing at all. This isn’t what they should be doing. They should be enjoying the last few days they have together. They should be playing games at the arcade, or wandering around the empty mall, or eating snacks at the park, not … whatever this is. 
“Maybe. Probably. But I don’t want to,” Gabi says. She turns the laptop back and starts typing away. “I don’t like the idea of doing something just because the world is ending. I’ve always done what I wanted, so I don’t have any regrets. This is the only thing I want to do now.” 
It’s more than Falco can say. Like Gabi, he doesn’t have anything he wants to do, but then he’s never really ever wanted to do anything. All his life he’s been floating from place to place and participating in whatever was expected of kids his age: attending school, joining a sports team, learning an instrument. He didn’t care about any of it. He doesn’t have any regrets about it, but he does feel a sudden wave of admiration for Gabi. She’s saving the world now because she feels like it, but she could just as easily leave this task for another if something else strikes her fancy. Falco wants to know what it feels like to pursue something so impulsively. 
He wants to want things. He wants to be with Gabi. He wants to help her save the world. 
“Is there something you want to do before the world ends?” Gabi asks. She’s just asking to be polite. Her eyes are already glued to the screen of her laptop, her face turned away from him. “You don’t seem to be as into the whole ‘save the world’ thing as I am.” 
Falco shrugs even though she’s not watching. “I don’t mind it.” Falco could leave it at that. He doesn’t have to say anything else, but he does. “There isn’t really else I want to do anyway,” he tells her, but it’s a lie.
He wants to hold her hand. 
»»————- April 6, 2026 ————-««
Falco has never looked forward to anything as much as the researching sessions he has with Gabi. He’s never really looked forward to anything before, actually, and he’s not sure why being surrounded by books and looking at (mostly) fake superhero videos with Gabi appeals to him so much. 
He likes a lot of things about the way Gabi works. She’s quiet and focused, eyebrows knitted as she decides whether or not to call another applicant that probably won’t pick up. She never gets discouraged even though things don’t look promising. They’ve probably called dozens of people and only a third have actually responded. Most of them turned out to be trolls, which isn’t surprising considering they were taking submissions from strangers on the internet, but Gabi still carries on. Maybe it’s Gabi’s passion and stubbornness that has drawn Falco to her, but it feels like it’s more than that too. 
He feels, in a way, like Gabi completes him. Before he met her, he was wandering aimlessly. Now he doesn’t know what he’d do without her. Staying at home and studying seems unbearable when the option of being with Gabi exists. 
Falco isn’t sure how Gabi feels about him. He doesn’t even know if she has any feelings towards him — if she likes him, hates him, or just feels completely indifferent. At any rate, she doesn’t seem to mind spending her last few days on earth with him, and that makes him feel a little better about the world ending. Occasionally, he thinks about how Gabi probably wouldn’t notice if he stopped coming to help her. Well, she might notice, but Falco doesn’t think Gabi would change her routine. She’d just continue saving the world with or without his help. 
“Don’t you think it’s weird?” Falco asks at one point. Gabi looks at him with a raised eyebrow and he elaborates “We hardly know each other and we’re just here … saving the world together.” 
Gabi frowns, a thoughtful look on her face. “I don’t think it’s weird,” she says to Falco, and he feels his heart flutter in his chest. “A lot of weird stuff has happened because it’s the end of the world and we just happened to meet each other. If a total weirdo had showed up instead of you, then maybe I would be saving the world with them and we never would have met.” She doesn’t seem to mind the thought of working with a total weirdo in place of Falco. 
Falco slumps in his seat, deflated, but Gabi doesn’t seem to notice. 
“I’m glad it was you though,” Gabi continues. 
Falco lifts his head. “Really?” He scoots closer in his seat, curious. “Why?” 
Gabi twirls her pen between her fingers, looking upward as she thinks. After a moment, she shrugs. “I don’t know,” she answers. “It just feels better knowing I’m working with someone. It’s better than working alone, I guess. I might feel the same way even if it were someone else, but I also might not. Still, I’m glad it’s you.” 
It doesn’t really mean anything. Like she said, it could have been some other kid who ended up answering Gabi’s post and helping her with her impossible quest to save the world. It could have been some other person sitting with her and looking up useless articles on asteroids and meteorites. It could have been someone else having this conversation with her. But, Falco reminds himself, it wasn’t. It’s him sitting beside her, eating snacks and discussing the end of the world. It probably isn’t fate that they met, but it kind of feels like it is. 
»»————- April 7, 2026 ————-««
Tired of the same snacks from his pantry, Falco decides to try the café on the first-floor of the library for some new things to eat. He had asked Gabi what she wanted and she told him to just get her anything. 
The first floor café is relatively well-stocked for the end of the world, but maybe it’s because bookworms prefer literature to satiate their appetites rather than food. 
The display case, usually filled with dessert sandwiches with slices of strawberries and kiwi and slathered with whipped cream, is cleaned out, but the shelves behind the cash register are still stocked with different kinds of chips and candies. Falco scans the shelves, looking for his favorites: baked potato chips covered in rich butter, little rice crackers flavored with soy sauce and red pepper flakes, and chocolate cookies in the shape of tiny hamburgers. 
Falco stares, for the longest time, at the other snacks and wonders what Gabi would like, if she has a preference for anything. Maybe he should have paid more attention when they were eating together to see if she ever seemed to gravitate to certain foods he brought or commented on any of the snacks they ate together, but he can’t recall anything. He feels stupid for not noticing, but he also doesn’t want to keep Gabi waiting and ends up grabbing whatever grabs his attention. 
He arrives at their designated research table, huffing from the flights of stairs he had to climb. Falco deposits the snacks rather ungracefully in front of Gabi, letting them fall out of his hands and onto the table. Gabi looks up from the noise, her eyebrows raised, but she smiles when she sees that it’s him and Falco’s heart flutters almost painfully in his chest. 
“These are yours,” Falco says, shoving Gabi’s share of the snacks towards her. 
“Thanks.” Gabi picks up a snack with a gray cartoon cat on the wrapper. It’s a puffed corn stick. Pizza-flavored, the wrapper says. She opens it with a grin. “How did you know these were my favorite?” she asks. 
“I … I don’t know,” Falco says. “Must have been a lucky guess.” 
But it doesn’t feel like it. 
It feels like he knew, from the beginning, what she had wanted. It’s like he had let his instincts take over when he had randomly chosen snacks for Gabi and somehow selected her favorite ones. It was as easy as picking food for someone he had known for his whole life, which is impossible because he hadn’t even known Gabi a week ago. Maybe, then, he had known Gabi in a past life and that’s how he happened to pick her favorites. Or maybe they really are fated to be together and knowing things like her favorite food are just second nature to him. The latter two explanations are almost impossible and yet so much more likely than the first explanation. He doesn’t know how to explain it though, not without seeming crazy, so he doesn’t say anything. 
»»————- April 8, 2026 ————-««
Tomorrow is the end of the world and they are no closer to saving everyone from the asteroid hurtling towards the earth than they were yesterday. In fact, they are no closer to saving the world than they were a week ago when this effort began or even a month ago when they had first found out the world was going to be destroyed. Their attempt to prevent the world’s end was futile and their effort today will probably be equally useless. Still, here they are on the tenth floor of the library doing the same thing they did yesterday. 
The sun is about to set and it’s almost time for them to head home. Falco wonders if they’ll be here tomorrow spending their last moments at the library when the world ends or if Gabi will call it quits and suggest they spend their last day without each other. He’s too afraid to ask. 
They pack up silently, Gabi slipping her notebooks and laptop into her bag as Falco arranges the books into neat stacks on the slim chance that they’ll return tomorrow. Falco notices that Gabi packs the same way she always does — quickly, dumping everything into her backpack as if she doesn’t care if they get damaged — and it stings a little bit that she doesn’t pack a little slower this time like he does just so that he can spend a few seconds more with her. Maybe he shouldn’t be so disappointed because it’s obvious she doesn’t care for him more than she would care for a coworker or a classmate she was randomly paired with to complete an assignment. 
Falco is silently pining when Gabi speaks, startling him. 
“So, the world ends tomorrow,” she says easily. It’s like she’s talking about the weather. “Are you satisfied with how you spent your last days? No regrets?” 
They’re two questions that seem related, but Falco’s answers for them are very different. 
He is satisfied with how he spent his last days. The past week perhaps isn’t as spectacular by other people’s standards. Falco didn’t go bungee jumping or skydiving or deepsea divings like some of his peers. Some people would argue that the way he spent his last few days was as boring as the way he spent the past month, although Falco would argue that it was infinitely better because he had Gabi. He’s convinced that however he chose to spend his last days, as long as they were with Gabi, he would be happy. He could even watch the grass grow with Gabi and he’d be completely content. So, yes, he’s completely satisfied with how he spent his last few days, but he has many regrets. 
He regrets not meeting Gabi earlier. He regrets not being able to spend more than a week with her. He regrets not doing things with her that kids their age should be doing: playing soccer in the field, catching butterflies by the river and letting them go, and hanging out at the arcade and beating their high scores. But most of all, he regrets feeling this way about Gabi and not being able to tell her. 
Falco doesn’t answer her question. Instead, he asks, “Do you?” 
“No,” Gabi replies with a smile and it makes Falco feel a little better about the ache in his chest. 
»»————- April 9, 2026 ————-««
Falco doesn’t expect Gabi to call him the next day. Before bidding each other goodbye yesterday, Gabi suggested they not see each other again. 
“You should spend the day with your family or something,” Gabi said to him. “Your parents probably want to spend their last day with their kids. I’ll just do this by myself. And, you know, thanks for everything.” 
He had wanted to tell her that it was fine if they spent their last day together. He spent his whole life with his parents. He should at least spend one more day with Gabi if this is his last one, but he bit his tongue and said goodbye to her with the fakest smile before turning on his heel and walking as quickly as he could to where his mom would pick him up.
Falco was lying on his bed staring at the ceiling when Gabi called and told him to meet him at the bottom of the hill near the outskirts of his town. She said her mentor was coming back today and that they could visit her to see if there was still a possibility of saving the world. Falco didn’t even question her or ask if they really have any hope after their days of research lead to nothing. He just leapt out of bed, told his parents he would be out and that he loved them, and biked up to the hills where Gabi asked to meet him. 
When he gets there, Gabi is already waiting for him, bundled in a navy peacoat and a gray scarf tied loosely around her neck. Her face breaks out in a grin when she sees him and she waves a gloved hand to greet him. 
“How did you get here so fast?” Falco huffs once he finally reaches her. The hill gets too steep for him to bike, so he gets off his bicycle and walks with Gabi beside him. 
“My uncle Reiner drove me here,” Gabi replies, shoving her hands in her pockets. She rolls her eyes, but her mouth twitches with a smile. “He says he wanted to spend a little more time with his favorite niece before she becomes famous for saving the world.” 
“You really think we’re gonna do it?” Falco asks. 
Gabi shrugs. “I think if my mentor thinks so, we probably have a good chance.” 
They arrive at the mentor’s house at the top of the hill. It’s small, more like a tiny cabin than an actual house. When Gabi knocks, they’re greeted by a blond man with big blue eyes. The man smiles when he sees Gabi, pushing his tortoiseshell glasses up the bridge of his nose. 
“Hello, Gabi. I guess Mikasa told you she’d be coming back today,” the man says. He looks over Falco. “Hello. You must be Gabi’s friend Falco. I’m Armin.” The man offers a hand for Falco to shake. 
Falco nods, wondering why the man’s name sounds so familiar. It’s only when he’s shaken the man’s hand that he remembers Gabi had mentioned Armin a few days ago when they were researching in the library. He’s the genius that likes to spend his days taking care of fish. 
Falco follows Gabi when the man invites them into the cabin. Falco’s a little taken aback at how simple the interior is. The living room is small and the kitchen is smaller with only the essentials. There isn’t even a microwave. 
“Sit down,” Armin says, gesturing at the dining table in the middle of the room. He heads towards the kitchen cabinets where he takes out three mugs. “I’ll make tea for us while we wait for Mikasa.” 
“Can we see your fish later, Armin?” Gabi asks. She’s already settled down in a chair, kicking her legs back and forth. It’s clear that she feels at home here. When she notices that Falco hasn’t taken a seat yet, she gestures for him to sit down at the seat closest to her. To Armin, she continues, “I was telling Falco about you and he was curious about what a genius would be up to at the end of the world if he wasn’t trying to prevent the apocalypse.” 
Armin chuckles. “Do you like fish, Falco?” he asks. He smiles when Falco makes a surprised noise, an answer stuck in his throat. “Sure, we can take a look a little later.” 
Over apple tarts and tea, Gabi and Armin fill Falco in on Mikasa. She’s Armin’s wife, Gabi’s mentor, and the key to saving the world. Mikasa has a superpower, Gabi explains, that allows her to identify other people with superpowers and what those powers are. She helps people utilize their powers, but she took off for a month when the end of the world was announced to gather people with powers that might prevent the asteroid from crashing into the earth. 
“Did Mikasa tell you if she met any promising people?” Gabi asks. She’s licked her plate clean and cinnamon sticks to her lips. 
Armin shakes his head, a resigned smile on his face. “Unfortunately, no. She said all the candidates she met didn’t have any sort of useful power, but who knows? Maybe she’ll meet someone on the way here that can stop the meteor.” 
“Ah, it’s a meteor now?” Falco asks, sitting up in his seat. 
“It’s been one for a while,” Armin says. He glances out the window for a second. It’s not blue like it was when Falco woke up this morning. It’s orange now., not like a sunrise but more like someone has set the sky on fire. “We should be able to see it soon. The estimated time of impact is soon if I recall correctly. Hopefully, we get to see Mikasa soon.” His eyebrows are knitted together in concern, but Gabi looks just as unbothered as ever. 
“I’m sure she’ll be back soon,” Gabi says. She collects her empty plate as well as Falco and Armin’s before depositing them in the sink. It’s an awfully normal thing to do considering the fact that the dirty dishes won’t matter when the earth is destroyed. She lets them soak in the sink and then turns to Armin. “Can we go see your fish now? Falco hasn’t seen them yet.” 
“Sure,” Armin says with a smile. He gets up from the table and gestures for Falco to follow him. “Let’s go see the fish.” 
Armin leads the children to a side room. Inside is a large glass fish tank with so many plants, shells, and rocks that Falco doesn’t see the fish at first. He and Gabi crouch beside the tank, their faces not quite touching the glass. Falco can see neon fish the size of his pinky darting back and forth between plants. He spots a miniature catfish the size of his thumb hiding behind a rock while a school of ten or so black and white striped fish zips around the 50-gallon tank. There are many more fish that Falco spots, lots of which he doesn’t know the name of but Armin patiently points them all out and tells Falco both the scientific and the common names of each fish and their habits. It’s clear that he loves it, taking care of the fish and looking after them, and Falco thinks he understands a little bit why Armin has chosen to spend the rest of the world like this. Occasionally, Gabi pipes in with whatever she remembers about each fish, usually their behavioral patterns she’s noticed when she’s visited, and Armin always grins whenever she speaks. 
The three don’t notice when Mikasa arrives. They’re too busy staring at the fish swimming back and forth in the tank without a care in the world. The fish can’t grasp the fact that the world is ending. After all, their world only consists of the four glass walls that encase them and anything outside doesn’t concern them. It’s only when the door to the room opens and Mikasa steps in that the three realize that she’s returned. The fish, however, just keep swimming. 
“That’s a nice way to spend the end of the world,” Mikasa comments. She has a tired smile on her face. She wears a soft cream-colored turtleneck, a long black coat hanging over her arm. “I see Gabi has joined us. As has her friend.” The woman nods at Falco. 
“H-hello,” Falco stammers. He’s not sure what he was expecting Mikasa to look like. Perhaps like a woman with all the answers, someone who looked like she had seen the world, but she doesn’t. She just looks like any other woman, maybe a little more tired than other women, but still just a normal person. She doesn’t look like she has an amazing superpower, but then again neither does Gabi nor any of the potential candidates that claimed to have powers. “I’m Falco.” 
“Ah, yes,” Mikasa says with a nod. “Gabi mentioned you before. I’m Mikasa, her mentor.” She drapes her coat over a nearby chair and walks over to join the three of them beside the fish tank. 
“Did you find anyone?” Gabi asks. She looks out towards the living room, craning her neck to see if Mikasa had brought someone they didn’t notice. 
“No, nobody that could save the world, if that’s what you’re asking,” Mikasa sighs, shoulder slumped. “Although, I did run into a guy who was convinced that the only way to save the world was to destroy it. I got away from him as quickly as possible.” 
“Probably a smart decision,” Armin says with a nod, and Mikasa smiles in reply. 
“Well, shall we go watch the end of the world together?” Mikasa asks, putting an arm around Gabi. She looks around at the others. “I heard it was going to be quite spectacular. Like a meteor show in the middle of the day.” Her eyes settle on Falco and her smile begins to falter. Her brows knit together and she opens her mouth as if she’s about to say something. 
Armin notices the change in her demeanor and looks back and forth between Falco and Mikasa. “What’s wrong? Are you …?” It seems like something clicks in his head and he quickly turns to Falco. With a hand on the boy’s shoulder, Armin asks quickly, “Falco, do you have a power you haven’t told us about?” 
The question startles Falco and he jerks away from Armin’s hand in surprise. “I … I don’t know,” he says, stumbling over his words. He’s never felt like he had any kind of superpower. He’s never shown any sign of being special. He’s always just been … normal. 
“You … do you not know?” Mikasa asks, her eyebrows raised. She looks at Gabi. “Falco can save the world.” 
It’s too much for Falco to take in when the world is about to end so soon. He has too many questions like: What power is he supposed to have? How come he didn’t know about it before? Is there still time to save everyone or is it too late? He opens his mouth to ask, not knowing which one will come out of his mouth first, when he feels a comforting hand on his elbow. Falco looks over to see Gabi standing beside him, somehow calm despite this revelation. 
“What’s his power, Mikasa?” 
“He can travel back in time,” Mikasa says, still staring at Falco with her intense gaze. “Under the event of an unexpected death like, say, getting hit by an asteroid, he can go back in time and prevent it from happening. But only if he remembers that it will happen in the first place.” Her eyes flicker towards Gabi for some reason. 
“What … what does that mean ‘only if I remember’?” Falco asks Gabi. 
Gabi’s biting down on her lip, expression contemplative. Finally, she tells Falco, “My power is that I’m unforgettable. If you reset your time after the meteor hits, usually you won't remember what happened, but you will if I use my power. You’d be able to remember me and everything we’ve done together. If you go back in time, maybe you can find a way to save the world because you’ll know what to expect.” 
“Then … then that’s good news!” He doesn’t know why everyone around him isn’t jumping up and down in excitement right now. They’ve found a way to save the world. If not this time, then the next time or the time after that. “Isn’t this good news?” 
“I mean, it is,” Gabi says. She doesn’t sound as confident as she usually does. Instead, she’s hesitant, almost shy. Falco doesn’t think he’s ever seen Gabi shy before. She’s looking at the floor now, kicking at the hardwood floor with her sock-clad feet. “It’s just that … I have to make you fall in love with me to make you remember me.” 
Falco’s mouth falls open and no words come out. 
“It’s not like it’s hard,” Gabi says almost hurriedly, more because she’s embarrassed than in a rush to save the world. She’s shed off her embarrassment and assumed her usual confident demeanor. “I’m very lovable, you know. It’s just …” Her voice trails off again. 
“She has to seal it with a kiss,” Mikasa finishes, and Falco can see why Gabi was so embarrassed. His cheeks redden just from the thought of kissing Gabi. Mikasa adds rather apologetically, “It’s just the way it works, her power. She needs to kiss you.” 
“Only if you’re okay with it, of course,” Gabi adds. She’s still avoiding his gaze, her eyes on the floor. “I’m fine if you’d rather not. You might just be stuck in the loop all by yourself. It’d be a little less painful since you won’t remember each time but still -” 
“I’m okay with it,” Falco says. 
Gabi looks up, surprised. “You are?” 
“Yeah,” Falco says. “I’m … I’m fine with it. Let’s save the world. Together. That’s what our entire plan was, right?” 
“Yeah. Yeah,” Gabi repeats and she smiles. It’s different from how she’s smiled at him before. It’s a little bit bashful, a little bit excited. It looks nice on her, Falco thinks, and he’s so distracted that he’s surprised when he realizes she’s holding his hand. 
Mikasa tugs at the elbow of Armin’s cardigan and the blond man nods. Taking Mikasa’s hand, he turns to the kids and says, “We’ll be out there just to give you two some privacy. Hopefully, we’ll see each other again soon.” 
The door shuts softly behind the two adults. Falco doesn’t know if they wait in the living room or if they’ve gone outside to admire the sky. From the window, Falco can see that the sky has changed from a burnt orange to an explosion of different colors: shades of violet, pink, blue, and yellow all together almost like a watercolor painting. There are streaks of white in the sky. It’s like a meteor shower in the middle of the day just as Mikasa had said. 
When he turns to Gabi, she’s looking at him with her hand still holding his. She’s chewing on the inside of her cheek, but she smiles when she sees he’s looking at her. 
“Are you still up for it?” Gabi asks. 
“Y-yeah,” Falco says, his voice cracking. He feels his face flush, but he likes the sound of Gabi’s giggle even if he’s the one she’s laughing at. He licks his lips nervously and leans in just the tiniest bit. “Is … is it okay if I kiss you?” 
Gabi bites her lip and nods. She leans in too and Falco takes it as his cue to close his eyes and close the gap. 
He doesn’t know what to expect from this kiss. Maybe warm lips pressing against his while his heart threatens to beat out of his chest. Maybe Gabi’s hands gripping his arms while his hands hover awkwardly around his waist. Maybe the world ending and, when his eyes open, Falco waking to thoughts of Gabi and how to find her next. But none of this happens. Instead, Gabi puts her hands on his shoulder and pushes him gently but firmly away. 
“I can’t do it,” Gabi says. 
“Wha-?” 
“I can’t do it,” Gabi repeats with a shake of her head. She looks upset, but Falco doesn’t know why. He wonders what it is he did to offend her. Maybe she doesn’t want to kiss him. Maybe she finds him repulsive and doesn’t want to kiss him even if it means saving the world. Falco thinks this would be the case if Gabi didn’t look so apologetic. “I can’t kiss you. Not like this.” 
“What do you mean?” Falco asks, panicked. He takes a glance at the window. Outside, the meteors in the sky look brighter. It’s like a million stars are falling to the earth. It’s only a matter of time before the world ends. He doesn’t know why Gabi is doing this. 
“I don’t want to kiss you just to save the world and I don’t want you to kiss me for the same reason,” Gabi says, taking a step away from him. She shakes her head, tears pricking her eyes. “I want you to kiss me because you like me, not because you have some responsibility to save the earth so … so find me again and kiss me. Find me again and tell me you like me and kiss me hard. And then … and then we can save the world.” 
But he wants to kiss her now. He wants to kiss her because he likes her. He wants to kiss her because the world is ending. He wants to kiss her even if the world isn’t ending. He wants to tell her that, but he doesn’t have the words. 
Ever since Mikasa had revealed Falco’s power, everything has suddenly made sense to him. Falco understands now why his life felt so empty before he met Gabi and why he never felt the desire to do anything. He knows why he was so drawn to her when they first met that day in the city and why he felt like she completed him. It’s because they were meant to meet each other, meant to be together, meant to save the world. 
Falco wants to kiss her so badly. He wants to hold Gabi’s face in his hands and put his lips on hers and kiss her until the world ends and when he wakes up again he’ll find her and kiss her again and again and again. He wants to tell her he likes her now and that he’ll like her again. He wants to tell her that he’d like her even if the world weren’t about to end, but he doesn’t. He doesn’t get to tell her anything. 
A bright light flashes from the window. All Falco sees is Gabi and then white, and then nothing. 
»»————- March 9, 2026 ————-««
Falco wakes up and rolls out of bed. He brushes his teeth in the bathroom and brushes out his hair before blearily heading down the stairs where his mom is making breakfast. His father hasn’t left for work yet, he notices, which is rather strange. His mother hasn’t finished making breakfast yet and his brother isn’t dressed for school. He stares at them, wondering why they’re acting so odd. It takes them a moment to realize he’s there. 
“The world is ending next month,” his mother tells him. She points at the TV screen that Falco’s father is staring at. On it flashes a picture of an asteroid hurtling towards the earth. The little banner underneath the picture says it’s far too big to burn up in the atmosphere. Scientists have no hope of human survival. 
“If I knew, I would have slept in,” Colt mumbles. 
His family looks shocked by the news, but Falco doesn’t feel anything. He grabs a banana from the fruit bowl in the kitchen and starts to head out the door. 
“Wait, where are you going?” Colt asks him. 
Falco pauses by the door. “I don’t know,” he says after a moment. He’s not sure what to do now that the world is ending. There isn’t anything in particular that he wants to do. “I’ll go to school, I guess.” 
He leaves after assuring his parents that it’s fine, that he really doesn’t mind going to school because he isn’t sure what else to do. He stops by his mailbox and looks up at the sky. It’s clear and blue, no asteroid in sight. 
He takes a deep breath and then releases it. It sounds like a sigh. 
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blueaura · 4 years
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Lost and Found Ch. 2
A/N: Hey guys, just trying my hand out at this fanfic thing. I love reading everyone’s stuff and decided to write something myself. I’m fairly new to Tumblr so any tips or suggestions are highly appreciated. Let me know if y’all like it and would like me to continue. Feedback would be amazing. Thank you and happy reading.
Summary: Sam and Dean meet a young hunter who is a little rough around the edges and they reluctantly take her under their wing. But she might be a little more connected to them that any of them realise.
Word Count: 1.6k
Chapter 1
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Chapter 2
Dean’s first priority after going back to the motel was getting Sam patched up. Y/N went to her own room and got into the shower to get the dingy warehouse stink off of her. The water pressure was abysmal but it got the job done.
She went back to the boys’ room and knocked on the door. Without waiting for a reply, she pushed the door open to see Dean wrapping Sam’s ribs. The younger Winchester clearly thought it was unnecessary if his facial expression was anything to go by, but he let Dean do it anyway. Sam knew better to argue with Dean in his ‘mother-hen’ mode.
“You okay?”
“I’m fine.” Sam could see the guilt in her eyes. If only she had followed orders, Sam wouldn’t have bruised ribs.
“Really, I’m good. I’ve had worse. It’s part of the job. We screw up and we learn. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Now you know better for next time.”
It surprised her that Sam could read her so well after just three days. She remembered their first interaction. She had stopped for a quick bite at a diner when they walked in and sat beside her on the breakfast bar. At first, she had ignored them, going back to studying the case she was in town for. That didn’t last long though, as pieces of their conversation caught her attention quite quickly.
“Do you guys always talk about cases this loudly in the middle of a diner where anyone could easily overhear you?” she had asked them, still looking through her notes, “cause that does not seem like a smart thing to do.”
She had finally looked up and saw them staring at her in disbelief.
“Excuse me?” The shorter one, which she would later learn was Dean, had said.
“You are hunters. Discussing a case as weird as this one out in public. Loudly. I wasn’t even trying to eavesdrop. Like I said – not smart.”
“You’re a hunter? You’re like 12!” Dean had exclaimed. He had obviously been exaggerating. For one, she was 15, not 12; and two, Dean was still under the impression that she was over 17 at least. She couldn’t blame him. She didn’t look like an average 15-year-old and she had never bothered to correct him anyway.
They had gone on to argue over who would work on the case, and when neither party backed down, Sam had suggested they just all work together. The rest had been history.
She was jerked out of her thoughts when she registered what Sam had said.
“Wait, next time?”
Not happening. She liked the Winchesters and yes, they were not bad as far as hunting partners went. But there was a reason she hunted alone. She didn’t like people in her space. She knew that as soon as they figured out that she was a 15-year-old orphan, they would ship her off somewhere, ‘for her own good’. It had happened way too many times before for her to trust anyone, no matter how nice they seemed. She had been put into foster care three times on the behest of ‘concerned adults’ before. The homes were so bad that she preferred the streets and ran away the first chance she got. She had been on her own since she was 11 and had practically raised herself even before that. She didn’t need anyone to tell her what was best for her.
“Sorry boys, I prefer to hunt alone. Don’t get your hopes up for another team-up anytime soon,” she said before Sam could open his mouth again.
Dean’s jaw ticked but she could see him forcing the tension out, in hopes of reasoning with her. He knew that telling her what to do wouldn’t work, he had noticed that she had problems with authority.
“Look, we have this friend. She’s a sheriff and she’s got two other girls living with her who are either hunters or aware of the life. If you want –”
Dean knew that they had messed up. Y/N’s face grew hard as she listened to Sam talk about Jody and the girls. Yes, they had called her and asked her if she would be willing to take in another stray but Jody had warned them that Y/N didn’t sound like someone who wanted a normal life. Claire had wanted to hunt but she had also wanted a family. Alex had wanted to get out of the life. Both of them had wanted to be there.
He could see that they were losing her. He didn’t understand why he felt so strongly about helping her, but he panicked at the thought of her hunting alone out there. So, he blurted out the first thing that came to his mind – “You could hunt with us!”
Sam paused mid-sentence, looking at his brother incredulously. That was not what they had agreed on. While his brother clearly felt more strongly about helping her, Sam himself had grown quite fond of Y/N and wanted her to be safe. But he also knew that they had too much on their plate to add her into the mix. She’s just be in more danger anyway. They were in the middle of dealing with the darkness – there was no way bringing Y/N into their life would end well. After the way they lost Charlie, Dean should have been the first one to realize that.
Y/N’s face dropped the hard stare it was featuring only to be replaced by a look of surprise. Hunting with the Winchesters was something aspiring hunters dreamed off. They were the big leagues, where the real action was. She’d heard rumors about their dalliances with angels and prophets and monsters from purgatory. So, of course she was surprised when they offered her a chance to play with the big boys. But she knew she couldn’t take them up on it. Specially since Sam didn’t seem too enthusiastic about it either. Which stung – but she understood.
“As tempting as that sounds, I’m good. You guys probably have a lot to deal with anyway if Sam’s face is any indication. I don’t want to be a problem. I’ll get out of your hair and maybe we can team up again if you happen to be on the same case as me.” Y/N didn’t want to get close to people. They just ended up abandoning you sooner or later.
Sam backtracked guiltily, assuring her that they wanted her with them. He didn’t want her in danger but he didn’t want her to feel unwanted either. There was just something about her that made both brothers want to protect her.
“You won’t be,” Dean said firmly. “You’re clearly a good hunter. You figured out the case before us and you were right. You could use some tactical training and work on your combat a little bit. From where I’m standing, you don’t have anyone to teach you either. We can help –”
“You’re telling me you have time to take in a rookie hunter in the middle of dealing with your apocalypse of the year?” she scoffed, raising an eyebrow at Dean.
Sam remained silent, a spectator to the back and forth between his brother and Y/N. He wanted her to come with them. He just didn’t want her to end up dead like every other person they cared about.
Dean switched tactics when enticing her with training didn’t work.
“What about living arrangements? We have a pretty sweet set up in Kansas. It’s like a bat cave. You’d like it there.”
“I manage just fine in motels,” she fibbed just a little bit. Even with fake IDs and fake credit cards, she sometimes had a hard time convincing motels to give her a room. She’d spent more nights in the cold streets than she cared to admit, but it was all just a part of being a hunter and she accepted that. Even the rooms she did get were dingy at best, but she didn’t want their charity.
“Look kid, I know how it works. You can’t lie to me.” She looked away at that.
“What about family? You have anyone we can at-least get you back to?” Dean had just about admitted defeat at this point. Even Sam looked dejected and he hadn’t even exactly wanted her with them in the first place.
At his statement, she jerked, her whole body flinching at the mention of family. The reaction didn’t go unnoticed by either brother.
“Y/N? You alright?” Sam asked when she didn’t say anything for a minute.
“No. No family,” she ignored Sam. “I never knew my father, all my mother said about him was that he was a hunter too. I always assumed he died on the job.”
She was fidgeting with her rings. She did that when she was nervous or uncomfortable, they’d learned.
“What about your mother?” Sam dared to ask softly.
“Dead.” Y/N’s voice was hard which surprised Sam. In the time they’d spent together, she had never seemed cold, but she did right now.
“Killed by a werewolf when I was 11,” she continued in that same emotionless voice, “I’ve been on my own ever since.”
She didn’t ever share anything about her life with other hunters and the fact that she told them this perplexed her, but she couldn’t ignore Sam’s puppy dog eyes.
“I’m sorry kiddo,” Sam said, empathy practically oozing from his voice, “We know what it’s like losing a mother young. It doesn’t get easier.”
“What was her name?” Sam said after a brief pause.
She was silent for a long time. She hadn’t said her name out loud in almost 5 years.
“Sandra,” She finally said softly, the tiniest hint of emotion in her voice. “Sandra L/N.”
Dean froze.
He knew that name.
Chapter 3
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sleuthingenigma · 4 years
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𝚊𝚞 𝚋𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚖𝚎𝚎𝚝 𝚌𝚞𝚝𝚎
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𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞’𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞.
Betty was perched on the hood of Archie’s truck next to Veronica, looking out at the crowd of teens that had made their way to the empty lot that day – a mix of Bulldogs with red solo cups and Southsiders with beer cans. Normally, the two crowds steered clear from one another, only being in this close proximity when they absolutely had to. 
Aimlessly, she let her legs swing, bumping into the car. This was just another social gathering she didn’t care all that much for. It’s not like they’d even be able to see the race—the drivers would be zooming throughout their little town, circling around until they were back at the lot. 
The race didn’t grab much of Betty’s attention… but her zoned-out eyes certainly perked up at the sight of the Southside racer. He had just finished looking beneath the hood of his car, likely confirming everything was in order before he took off. But when he finished, he leaned up against the side of it, crossing his arms. His expression was broody, but there was a stark handsomeness to him that she couldn’t shake. Maybe it was the knitted beanie in the shape of a crown, or the charming leather jacket… but more than likely, she was willing to bet his eyes would give her a run for her money. 
But she didn’t have the greatest view from where she currently was… Turning to Veronica, Betty whispered that she’d be back before the race started, before hopping down off the truck. But she was too invested in the Andrews boy to care where her friends was slipping off to.Betty wasn’t usually this 𝘣𝘰𝘭𝘥. She really wasn’t. But, what if he didn’t make it out of the race in one piece? What if this was her last chance to see those eyes of his?
That was highly unlikely, but it was the excuse she was giving herself to make such a daring move with the handsome lad from the Southside.
Wearing high waisted jeans, a white tank top, and bright red lipstick to match her bandana, Betty was certainly done up for the event. She’d even felt more confident with her outfit of choice as she strutted over to him, hoping it she might look easy on the eyes to the boy.
As casually as possible, Betty leaned against his car right next to where he stood, glancing over at him with a soft smile. That’s when it dawned on her… she had no idea what to say, what excuse to give as to what brought her over here. She’d thought through none of this, and just been pulled to him like he was an 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘺 fierce magnet! 
Taking hold of the first idea that came to her head, Betty cleared her throat, trying to keep a somewhat natural composure – and not let him see that she was really sweating this one out. 
But he beat her to the punch. Thank goodness.
“Betty Cooper – to what do I owe the pleasure?” he grinned, turning his body toward her to give his full attention.
Her jaw dropped ever so slightly as their eyes met, and she allowed her eyes to swim in those gorgeous green hues of his. Just as she’d opened her mouth to respond, another Southsider donning a leather jacket, a Serpent, headed over to them.
“5 minutes, Jones, and you’re off,” he said, nodding curtly before heading back over to the rest of his group.
That’s when it clicked. Jones. Oh. This wasn’t just any Southside boy. He was the 𝘚𝘦𝘳𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦. Jughead Jones. She’d heard a tiny bit about him – he and Archie used to be close pals back when they were kids, but for some reason they’d drifted apart.
He didn’t look like just any rough, troubled Serpent… his face had a gentleness to it that she was absolutely eating up, smiling at him like an idiot.
“My friends actually dared me to come over here and offer you a kiss, you know, just for good luck,” she spoke lightly, tilting her head as she awaited his response.
He looked away and smiled, shaking his head. And did she see the hint of a 𝘣𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘩 on his own cheeks? 
“Shouldn’t you be over there spreading your luck to the Northsider in the other car?” he asked, raising an eyebrow and eyeing Reggie Mantle, already seated in the opposing vehicle.
She shrugged her shoulders, chewing on the side of her cheek, that smile never leaving her lips. “Is it so hard to believe that I’d prefer to give you a bit of luck over him?”
Jughead’s eyebrows shot up and he chuckled in disbelief… but this expression slipped away as he squinted his eyes at her. “What’s your angle?”
She looked almost offended, her shoulders dropping a little bit. “I don’t have an angle…”
He held his palms to the air, as if hoping for some clarity. “You don’t seem like the type of girl to just float around handing out kisses to guys that mean nothing to you.”
Betty looked down, playing with her fingers, unable to control the words that were begging to come out – though that didn’t make her any less nervous. “Maybe you 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 mean something to me… Would you want to play around with that idea over milkshakes at Pop’s later?”
The skeptical look didn’t leave his face, as if he’d been weary to trust anyone, let alone a Northsider. 
“Come on, Jones! Buckle up!” the same Serpent boy from earlier called out to Jughead, giving the final warning. They were about ready to takeoff.
Jughead gave her a polite smile, before taking a step away from her to head around the front of the car. She grabbed his arm before he had the chance to walk off, tugging him lightly back toward her.
“How about it, Jughead? After the race, I’ll come and find you – and we can head over to Pop’s in the 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐚𝐫,” she suggested, looking up at him with pleading eyes – hoping he would just say yes.
Instead of replying, he leaned in closer to her, pressing a soft peck to her cheek, incredibly close to the corner of her lips. It left her wide eyed and taken aback—and between her racing heart and goosebumps travelling widely down her back, she was in the clouds. Wasn’t she supposed to be giving 𝘩𝘪𝘮 the kiss?
His eyes locked with hers, and that smile of his absolutely lit her up. 
“I’ll keep my eye out for you after the race, Cooper,” Jughead winked, before moving around the car and opening the door.
Betty pursed her lips, trying to hide her giddiness. Once he was inside of the car, she poked her head through the open window.
“Good luck – I guess I’ll owe you a congratulatory kiss afterward instead, since you 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘦 your good luck kiss.”
With a proud grin he said, “Fine by me.”
Betty pulled her head out of the car and tapped her hands against the hood, encouragingly, flashing him a smile as she walked backwards a few steps, keeping his gaze as long as she could before the cars rolled out of the lot.
                                                     ***
About a half hour later, the Northside Darling and the Southside Prince could be found strolling into Pop’s diner, his arm around her shoulder and hers around his back. 
They ordered separate meals, but in the middle of the table sat a single strawberry milkshake, with two straws sticking out of it. 
And Betty waited until she’d taken the first sip, before Jughead had the chance to get the delightful taste in his mouth, to plant a lingering, strawberry-sweet kiss to his lips – standing up, bent over the table.
“You know, all I could think about was you during that race,” Jughead admitted, with a stupidly happy smile on his face after their lips parted. "𝐘𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐦𝐚, 𝐂𝐨𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫."
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thejustmaiden · 4 years
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The Sesshomaru F*cks Debacle
Hey, fellow Inuyasha fans! How we feeling?? I imagine a lot of us are doing quite fabulously after the recent news we got about the sequel coming out this Fall, "Hanyou No Yashahime." So if it wasn't obvious already, I want to take the time to discuss the topic of- you guessed it- Sesshomaru. Go figure! 
***THIS IS A REPOST OF MY ORIGINAL BLOG THAT DISAPPEARED FROM THE TAGS. PICS/GIFS HAVE BEEN REMOVED TO HOPEFULLY REPAIR THAT.***
Let's be real, as much as probably (and literally lol) all of us have viewed him as "daddy material" at some point or another during our teens, Sesshomaru being physically intimate with another being, much less a human, is difficult to conjure up in our minds. And there's nothing wrong with that, per se, as sex and romance doesn't come so easily to some as it does to others. Then again, that's not to say a romantic relationship is completely impossible or unattainable for him either. 
I, for one, am not a huge fan of the idea of Sesshomaru siring children of his own. Granted, adopting/protecting children and other small companions is kinda his thing (I saw one user even describe him as a 'walking daycare' 🤣), and maybe it'll just take some getting used to, but all in all it's not entirely unfathomable to picture him having biological children. Though I'd be lying if I said I still didn't prefer he just took these two twin half-demon girls in and under his wing instead, like he did Rin. However, seeing as that's unlikely the case since the two girls resemble him in some fashion, the chances of that coming true are slim, which must mean that Sesshomaru did in fact bone some lucky lady. That's not to say I don't acknowledge that there's still a chance these kids aren't truly his but we'll see! 
Which leads me to the real reason behind this blog! I'd like to address in-depth why I and so many other Inuyasha fans consider shipping S*ssrin as wrong and why it makes a lot of us extremely uncomfortable. 
BUT FIRST BEFORE I FORGET, I want to give a little unofficial disclaimer by stating that this blog isn't intended to upset certain fans regarding my stance on the controversial ship. Thus I will not tag it under that ship name, and I suggest others who agree with me to do the same in any of their future posts. 
Because let's not forget that the most important thing is that we're all fans here. We fell in love with this story and hold its beloved characters close to our hearts for a reason. And that still counts even if you're returning to this fandom a decade later. So please, let's try and remember that and be civil towards one another. Putting people down by attacking and insulting others in real life really doesn't make us any better than them. I REPEAT, please do not engage in this post unless you plan to be kind and respectful of others who may have a differing opinion than you. There's never a need to be ugly towards another human being. That goes for all shippers and fans of Sesshomaru in general. Thank you in advance for your understanding and compliance. 😊
Again, none of these comments are aimed at being inflammatory towards those fans who have a different approach to this pairing. If any of you are reading this now, please keep that in mind before deciding to participate in any discourse with me and other antis. 
Okay, let me go ahead and list a few of the main arguments fans of this particular ship use to support them together. Then I'll give my reasons why those aren't enough to justify their relationship turning romantic:
1. Rin will be an adult before they get romantically involved
2. Sesshomaru didn't raise her and therefore isn't her father; he was never like a father to her in the first place
3. Sesshomaru hasn't been grooming her, not then and not now. Besides, it was Rin's choice first.
4. Age difference shouldn't matter when you look at other relationships in the series (InuKag, Koga x Ayame, etc.)
5. It was always going to be canon because the drama CDs exist
 These are the main points I'm seeing around. Now let's dissect them, shall we? These are my direct responses- I'll try to keep them short and concise. Fyi: Jk! I'm lying, that never happens. 😆
1. Rin may be an adult, but from our standpoint that doesn't make much of a difference. It doesn't matter because it's all about how her relationship with Sesshomaru started off and how it continued onwards. From that moment, it was basically established from the get-go that their relationship resembles that of one a young girl shares with an older man who winds up becoming her guardian. She initiated it by trying to bring him food while he was injured, and he reciprocated by deciding to bring her back to life that fateful day. 
Of course we're all happy that he did, because he's a better demon for it and a similar thing could be said about her! Therefore you must understand that fans against this pairing find it very hard to grasp the notion of a budding romance here when we look at their history. For us, it's synonymous to imagining a father eventually falling in love with his daughter or someone else who reminds him of a daughter, and vice versa. But let's just say he's not a father to her like many of you claim and more like, say a modern-day babysitter. Isn't it still bizarre to you that a young girl could fall in love with the man who looked after her and cared for her at that age, maybe even played games with? One day or on multiple occasions he even sees her naked because she had an accident and got hurt so she needed help changing or something. I admit it's more realistic that it was Jaken if anyone who'd be in charge of this, but why does it really matter who was tasked with what? Sesshomaru may have not been around all the time but that doesn't mean he's any less involved or invested in Rin's general care and well-being. So it's that thought alone that keeps many of us from even contemplating a romance forming between them. Whether he hardly interacted with her over the years or not is irrelevant, because it's clear to me that they have both formed a strong enough bond that constitutes calling them family. I highly doubt he ever even planned to keep Rin in his company as long as he did. But it happened, and whether you want to admit it or not, meeting her changed his life. Meaning Rin was never just some girl he traveled with or hardly knew. Despite his feigned indifference and stoic ways at times, I'm pretty sure we can all agree that Rin grew on him and was the first person to really influence him in a way that helped soften and open up that heart of his in a way nobody ever had before. One's significance to any given person isn't solely measured by the quantity of time spent alongside that person but by the quality of how that time was spent with said person. It's safe to say that in the case of Sesshomaru and Rin, they definitely fall under that category. 
2. Fair if you don't view Sesshomaru as Rin's father, but you must acknowledge that he did fill some father figure-like role to her at the very least. Or let's just call him her vassal if you think that's a more accurate description. Also, can I just quickly stress again that it doesn't matter how long she spent by his side or whether she spent more time in the village or not, because he still ended up playing a major part in her childhood as an adult male role model. Regardless of the title you give him, it still stands that although he may not be her official adoptive father, he is LIKE A FATHER. There really is no point in denying that, because their dynamic exudes one of a father-daughter. I guarantee you that any outsider looking in would agree that if not her father then at the very least he embodies a male relative of some kind. Honestly, the details of their relationship dynamic specific to this show (regional/period differences, human vs. demon culture, etc.), don't really matter here. Why? Because one can assume that the general consensus here is that a large percentage of fans perceive their connection as a familial one. Yes, most would unanimously agree that Rin and Sesshomaru, along with Jaken and Ah-Un, are a FAMILY. 
If she had first met him as an adult, then we'd possibly have a very different story here. The point of the matter is that he didn't, so that should be where this discussion ends. Unfortunately, for many, it's not. The bottom line is that a child he knew and cared for should never be someone he begins to view in a romantic light. I don't care how many years have passed (or that to demons years are like days or some less inconsequential length of time), and how much she's matured or how specific marriage customs were back then (if they're no longer appropriate now then why are we still condoning these backward practices?). Rin should NEVER have the desire to be sexually attracted to this father figure she's always looked to and trusted to protect her. Maybe it's vastly different from a demon's perspective (even though still unjustifiable in my opinion), but as a human, Rin's feelings towards Sesshomaru wouldn't and shouldn't suddenly change towards him and in such a drastic manner mind you. Yeah, maybe she used to have an innocent crush on him, but I'd like to think our smart and compassionate little Rin would learn that was simply because she was a child who didn't know any better. Besides, growing up with Kaede and around other humans I'd like to think she fell in love with another human sometime over the course of all those years. It only makes sense, right? Don't you think that's part of why Sesshomaru left her there in the first place? He wished for her to experience what it was like to live a normal human life, falling in love and marriage both being a key part of that. If I were Sesshomaru, I'd be deeply troubled if I started to develop feelings for a little girl I once protected and kept in my company for quite an extended period of time, which was at least a year from what I understand. (Pls correct me if I'm wrong because I gather it may have been longer.) 
3. Apparently in the manga and the Final Act, we see Sesshomaru still visits the village to check on Rin from time to time. He even brings her gifts, such as beautiful and luxurious kimonos. I recently learned from another Tumblr post that kimonos are what older men gift in order to sort of earn their favor with these young ladies, AKA they're wooing them. If that is indeed true, then that would mean he's basically grooming her and has been for however long she's lived there in the village but potentially even longer. To put it nicely, he's courting her. If this was another young lady (maybe not an adult perhaps but still of marrying age) who he DIDN'T assist in raising, then I could possibly get on board with this.
The thing is, it's far from that with them two if you consider everything they've gone through and endured together! Because he not only met her as a young girl but he got to know her first as a young girl, and she became one of his traveling companions all while she was only a young girl!!! Their bond will always be defined by that time when she was just a young girl, and nothing can or should change that he will always see her in that same light. Kinda like how our parents or other family members from older generations tell us that they'll always see us as their babies. So the fact that her time spent with Sesshomaru is constantly compared to her time spent in the village shouldn't apply here. Don't we all know this already? That we can can come across someone in our lifetime and maybe the time with them is short-lived, but that doesn't make it any less significant or those people any less special. Sesshomaru made an impact on her as much as she did on him, that much we know is true. Sure, it was years ago, but that's not something you ever forget. Sometimes when you look at loved ones you haven't seen in a while, there are just certain memories you have of them from over the years that will come rushing back to you without fail and that you will always cherish no matter what. I'd like to believe that when Rin looks at Sesshomaru and he looks at her, that they can both look back fondly on their times traveling together. This explains why I'm really struggling here to picture how anyone could sleep with someone they used to treat as their guardian/father/ward/daughter/what have you. So someday and somehow, this person just stops viewing them that way, is that it? I mean, how does this work exactly? It's not like you can just flip off a switch and forget everything from your past with this person, ya know? Unless you have your memory wiped, what I'm understanding is that S*ssrin shippers approve of the idea of these two characters KNOWING that they are or used to be like practically FAMILY to each other, yet agree that these two characters in question still have the capacity not to mention desire to pursue HAVING SEX with each other anyway. Do I got that all right? Did I miss anything?  
Originally I provided two examples of fan art I found to help put what I'm trying to say here into better perspective, but since they've been removed, just type in "Sesshomaru and Rin" on Google and you'll find plenty of examples of what I'm talking about here- and no, it's not S*ssrin images. I realize Sesshomaru has never been the touchy-feely sorta guy like it's depicted in some of the fan art, but that doesn't necessarily diminish the affection he feels and attachment he has towards Rin. He just has a different way of expressing his love is all, even if he doesn't outwardly show it. The real question here is, can you really look at sweet pictures of an adult comforting a child who's been under his care for a significant amount of time and then suddenly be like, "oh man, I can't wait till they bang!" I'm sorry, to each their own, but you gotta admit why we must find that creepy. 
4. Regarding Inuyasha and Kagome's relationship, we need to remember that he didn't age after all those years stuck to that tree. And besides, demons age differently so this is a pretty unfair comparison. This isn't the best example, but think about how a cat's lifespan works. 10 years in (indoor) cat years is like 56 in human years. So technically in demon years, Inuyasha is physically and emotionally compatible with a human around Kagome's age. Hell, even though he's over a hundred years older, Kagome is still a whole lot more mature than he probably ever will be! 😂 (Psst! We still love you, Inuyasha! 💋)
Now as for Koga and Ayame, this also isn't comparable to Sesshomaru and Rin. Koga met Ayame one night, only not to see her ever again until she was older and of age. After rescuing her on that night when she was only a girl, he gives her a piggyback ride and you can tell he just wants to cheer her up when he mentions her being his wife someday. (And boy, did that work wonders on Ayame!) Then they gaze at this stunning lunar rainbow together, which I think is quite rare judging by looks of it. This is not an attempt to defend this proposal- if we can even really call it that- but all I'm saying is that I don't think even Koga knows what overcame him in that moment. Fast forward to present-day when they cross paths again, and Ayame still remembers his so-called promise, but guess who doesn't right away? Yep, our man Koga! It takes a quite a while for it to come back to him, too. This further proves my point that something beyond Koga and his power possessed him to say all those things to a little Ayame for some reason. Maybe you can call it destiny, or maybe it was some special kind of magic caused by the lunar rainbow, Idk! All I know is that they do end up together in the Final Act and that it wasn't until they met as two consenting wolf-demons that they really grew to know each other and coincidentally- or maybe not so coincidentally- fall in love.
 5. From what I understand, it appears these drama CDs are some kind of satire which doesn't equate to canon. Perhaps Rumiko did not debunk them but she also didn't confirm they're true either. I'm hearing conflicting reports, however, and her involvement in them is questionable. Like her name is supposedly on the cover or something? But then I've also heard that she has spoken out against this ship. From the sounds of it, there is enough evidence- or lack thereof rather- to conclude that fans cannot use this as proof enough for their ship already being or soon-to-be canon. 
Finally, I'd like to end on this note where I'll be addressing ethics in entertainment. When it comes to our choice of entertainment, there's always a level of escapism implied, sometimes so much that we project ourselves onto certain characters. Delving into a fantasy world like that of Inuyasha can really help some people better cope with real life problems, but it's all about striking the right balance, as each individual has different wants and needs. The thing is there's only so much escapism one can allow in a fictional world before basic morals from our own world begin to take precedence. I can always enjoy some good fantasy, but it's not long until I start to reflect on how I personally relate what entertainment I'm currently absorbed in to real life. It's inevitable really. For example, if certain relationships portrayed on screen conflict with strong opinions I've adopted on a sensitive topic, especially those that take children into account, then I feel it's my responsibility to speak out against any media that even remotely promotes it. Yes, even if it's just fiction. Because art imitates life, right? (And yes, sometimes the other way around.) So in other words, our stories should mirror our way of life to some degree. History has seen its fair share of ugly events and traditions we are surely ashamed of but that we've hopefully learned our lessons from. Most societies nowadays seriously frown upon or condemn stuff like pedophilia, child grooming, or anything of the sort. Of course it doesn't help that we see still see these kinds of issues glossed over so much that we've become desensitized to them in many respects.
The thing is we cannot allow this way too common older-man-dotes-on-young-girl trope (or anything resembling it) to continue to be glorified or romanticized. It matters not that feudal Japan was a drastically different time to be alive and that this was the norm back then, or even that this remains a popular ship in Japan. All it comes down to is if whether we would currently tolerate such acts and behaviors were we to witness them in real life. If your answer is 'no', then it should be 'no' in every respect. If you deem it acceptable just because it's fiction, then I'm sorry to say, but you're going to have to answer to a lot of people. No surprise there, that goes for all fandoms. I guarantee you it's not just the people who personally identify as victims who have serious qualms with this ship either, because you don't necessarily need to have bad experiences of your own in order sympathize and see where a lot of these people are coming from. And no, just because I'm unhappy with the possibility of S*ssrin going canon does not mean I'm whining or that I'm attempting to spread negativity about this series before it's even out. Remember, fans have the right to be critical of whatever content it is they're watching/reading, and if they demand something in the storytelling be represented better, then of course they can challenge that. After all, none of us should feel like "canceling" the content we love is our only hope to fixing a story. That's not how it ever should be. Fans are fed up, and can you really blame them? Nah, we can strive to do better in this area, plus it's not like there isn't always room for improvement. So let's please be more vigilant about how the content we consume translates to reality, in addition to being mindful of how it can directly correlate to real life problems for ourselves as well as others around us.  
That's a wrap, y'all!! I hope you enjoyed what I had to offer on this topic, and here's hoping I actually contributed something new to this conversation! I'm aware that that's unlikely the case for us fans who've been living in this tag the past couple days (like me lol), but I'd like to believe I put my own spin on it and it was still worth your while. 😉 
P.S. Overall, I remain optimistic about the new show! So are there any friendly Inuyasha group chats on Tumblr I can join? If so, please do invite me! I need to obsess about this sequel even more than I already am, EEEK!!!
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antihero-writings · 3 years
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The Boy with the Unspeakable Name (Ch8)
Fandom: Harry Potter (and the Chamber or Secrets)
Fic Summary: Tom Riddle may have won his battle with Harry in the Chamber of Secrets, but there were a few unforeseen consequences; loss of Tom’s memory being the most obnoxious of them. Is it possible to stop Tom’s past from becoming his future? Or is the young Tom Riddle doomed to repeat his mistakes?
Notes: Hey! I'm so so sorry there was such a delay with this one! I was having a bit of a block with it. I hope you're still interested in reading! I'm hoping the next one will be a bit faster, as it's one I've been excited for. Cross your fingers everybody!
By the way, I changed that thing I said I would in the Snape chapter! It's towards the end, when Snape's looking into Tom's mind. It's not a big deal if you don't want to check it out, but it is related to this chapter!
I hope you guys like it!! As always, it's your comments, and interest, that keep me writing!! <3
Chapter 8: Only in Dreams 
Tom stared up at the ceiling in the hospital wing, his hand behind his head, thinking about all that had happened…and some of what hadn’t happened.
Sometimes that was very dangerous thing to do indeed.
An annoying woman by the name of ‘Madam Pomfrey’ kept periodically checking on him, and offering him food and medicine. He wouldn’t be surprised if she woke him in the middle of the night just to make sure he was sleeping well.
There was also a boy in the bed beside his. He kept asking him if he wanted to play a game with a strange name. Tom made it clear the only game he was interested in playing was one in which he shut up.
When he had arrived with Snape earlier, a group of students were leaving. Apparently they had been ‘petrified.’ Whatever that meant. That made it sound like they’d been turned to stone, but they clearly were still flesh and blood—(maybe he would have preferred stone).
Snape even pulled aside one of them—a girl with bushy hair. Tom tried to subtly listen, but Snape pulled her into another room, and Madam Pomfrey had deigned that moment as one of her thousand times to ask if he was comfortable.
Which left him here, with the annoying nurse, a boy who probably couldn’t hold in his own pee…and a lot of questions.
So many things about this whole situation weren’t quite right. Waking up in that chamber with the dead girl, the way she died, the way Harry and Snape reacted to his presence, and Dumbledore’s later denial that he had killed her, or that their hatred was all that serious. And though Dumbledore had explained the diary, he wasn’t satisfied there either. Not to mention the fact that everything else in that Chamber still was unaccounted for.
There were things they weren’t telling him.
He highly doubted a teacher would be so vehement against just a bully, not to mention the fact that everyone else he’d met so far hadn’t recognized him…He had to be something more than that.
There was something they weren’t telling him. In fact, he reasoned, there were probably a great lot of things. He wasn’t going to assume they were all on the same side just because they said so.
The idea that this was a magic school, and that he was a student…He wasn’t quite sure how to feel about it yet. They’d done magic in front of him, so he couldn’t deny it—not that he intended to. And the thought did send a certain energy through him…like that word was everything right in the world. And he was indeed excited to learn magic. Well, maybe ‘excited’ was too strong. But that was one of the few things that didn’t give him confusion, question and pause. Rather it create a form of what could only be called hunger within him. He wondered how proficient he had been at magic before he lost his memory. More than anything he wished he could remember the spells.
He was sure he could figure this, them, out—maybe even tonight, if he just stayed awake a little longer. But he was more exhausted than he realized and, in the midst of his pondering, fell into dreams.
“Wait, mom!” His voice sounded strange, high and young…too high, too young. Almost girly.
A plump woman with short red hair turned around at the last word.
“What is it, Dear?!” She sounded a bit put out. “Are you ready to go?”
“I’m missing my Charms book!” Tom’s voice was pained. “Have you seen it?”
She gave a forced exhale. “And you’re sure you checked your room? Didn’t miss any corners?” She inclined her head. “You’re sure it’s not sitting on your nightstand?”
“Yes! That was the first place I checked!”
“You checked under the bed?”
“Yes!”
“The bookshelves and wardrobe?”
“Yes!”
She sighed. “Talk to your father, Fear.”
“Did you say you were missing a Charms book?” A boy about his age with red hair like their mother’s came in front of him, along with an identical copy of him.
“We wouldn’t know anything about it, sure.”
“We’re just a little concerned”
“Of course, for our—” The last word got blurred.
“Boys. You didn’t take”—He was sure she said his name, but for some reason the word became murky, as if she was trying to speak through a veil of water—“Charms book, did you?”
“What?”
“No!”
“Never!
“You know us, Mom, would we ever do something so terrible as steal a poor”—Another blurred word—“—’s charms book?”
“We’re good and virtuous boys.”
Tom looked at the woman who was apparently his mother, who gave him a knowing look. “Check your brothers’ room.”
The dream turned over, and now he was standing on a platform in front of a glimmering red train engine, the words ‘Hogwarts Express’ emblazoned on the front. Steam poured out from its many orifices, and it whistled with the shrillness of a bird being squeezed…though the sound was like music to his ears.
That wasn’t the only loud noise, in fact this place was extremely loud indeed. The whole platform was full to bustling with children, parents, and as many other assorted relatives as it could hold. But the strangest thing was, he wasn’t annoyed by their presence. He was feeling many things: nervousness to leave his parents, and about what house he’d get sorted into, and if the other kids would like him, and excitement, excitement for what the castle would be like, what house he’d get into, what the classes would be like, what friends he’d make…but no annoyance.
Perhaps more than anything there was a pit in his stomach about Harry and Ron. Were they okay? Why didn’t they get through the barrier? He had been so excited to ride the Express with them. His parents tried to assure him they’d be fine, but he could hear the fear lining their voices too. He tried to let the sight of the engine distract him, and the excitement about the coming year overpower him. They’d gotten safely through crazy situations before.
He gave his parents a giant hug, and his mom kissed him many times, and he could tell she was trying very hard not to cry. They told him everything would be fine, and gave him a number of quick quips of advice. He looked towards the engine, about to take his first steps towards it on his own.
The dream crossed over itself, and though he was on the same platform, he was alone.
Well, not alone alone, it was just as loud as before, and there were just as many passersby. Not the same people, still. But this time, the sound was muffled somehow, like he couldn’t completely hear or feel what was going on around him. Just a few loud shouts would break through, and each time they did, annoyance would strike him.
There were no parents to wish him luck, or kiss him goodbye. No brothers to steal his books.
Did he like it better that way?
He looked down at his robes, and felt satisfaction run through him. They were clean and sleek and new. The first clothes he’d had that fit that description in a long time. None of the other kids got those. Well, none of the other kids could do magic either. He was special.
Just satisfaction. Not really excitement or nervousness…Just that hunger. That hunger for magic, for prowess, for a better world. Nothing compared to the bursting geysers of emotion he’d felt moments ago.
He looked up at the engine, a small smile lining his features as he stepped up to enter it.
Tom woke up to the hospital room, and went from teetering to falling off the bed.
And for a brief moment he was dizzy with unsurity; unsurity of where, or even who he was.
After he took a moment to right himself, the questions restarted themselves:
Was that just a dream? Or were those his memories?
They can’t have been, could they? He didn’t wake in a flurry of remembrance of all the memories preceding and following those. Besides, Dumbledore had told him his family was dead.
Although the final dream, or memory, was so different from the first two…Maybe that was from another year, and explained what had happened to his family?
He could tell from context they were his family, at least at some point. Yet he didn’t recognize them, or remember their names, or much of anything else about them.
Yet…
Yet, at the remembrance of their images, waves of emotion crossed over him, mostly comprised of loss, and longing. He didn’t know where those waves could have hailed from, when he didn’t remember or care for these people. But something inside himself wanted all this to stop.
It overwhelmed him. He wanted to brush it off…but stayed on the ground, leaning against the wall, digging his nails into his shirt.
He tried to feel normal…or even remember what normal was. He thought he felt normal most of the day. Right now he didn’t feel like…himself.
A line of light reached its hands out to him, and he looked up to see the door to Madam Pomfrey’s room open slightly. She must have heard him fall off the bed—(did she have owl hearing? The other kid was still snoring like a troll). Meeting her eyes was a mistake, because she gave a small gasp, and ran over to him with the speed of a rocket powered penguin.
As she helped him up, she quickly began bombarding him numerous questions, comforts, and recommendations—
“I’m FINE!” he yelled, pushing her hand away—(the other kid’s snores abruptly stopped, but he didn’t wake)— “Stop pestering me, Woman!”
Her eyes widened, apparently so shocked a student would speak this way to her, that for a moment she couldn’t speak. And at that look, before she could scold him, he muttered.
“I’m…sorry.”
The words just came out, he didn’t really think about it. But as his tongue traced the words he tasted iron.
“My dreams weren’t very pleasant,” he added. “That’s all.”
She still proceeded to berate him heavily for his behavior, and checked more than once that his dreams really were the only problem, but he could barely hear her. He couldn’t stop thinking about how strange it was that, after all the foreignness both the day and the night had to offer, the most foreign experience of all that day, was the feeling of those two words leaving his lips.
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kezibun · 4 years
Text
Random SF headcanons
So I've had the SF bros on my mind recently. Tbh they probably are my most thought out characters, with them kind of being a mixture of many different versions of them with my own twists, they might just be my favourite pair of brothers. I mean I love Red and Edge but Black and Rus' sibling dynamic Is just awesome. 
When in the underground they were the Malevolent Sans and his loyal but deadly Mutt, no one dared to cross them, yet at home they were just two loving brothers. 
I headcanon that they managed to pull off the boss and underling facade without affecting their sibling relationship as much as the UF bros did. Mostly because one Black is the older brother who looked after Rus all those years so he had a good measure of his respect already and two Rus was already the quiet (shy) mysterious type who's always looked to his older brother for protection and orders, and Black has always given him exactly that. It just worked for them and all it took was a little extra training to make Rus the ultimate weapon, he was already strong and more than willing to execute every single order barked at him. So as soon as Black figured out a plan to get into the Royal guard and for Rus to play his part as his minion it was set in motion. 
Rus was more then willing to do a lot of the dirty work and have his big bro take all the glory (he's never been much for fanfare and attention) tho it wasn't long before people recognised Rus as Black's loyal minion and began calling him Sans' Mutt, no one dared to even look at the brothers in the wrong way, they were the dream team. Rus didn't mind his new title but Black? He hated people calling his brother Mutt, despite seeing the need to use this new nickname, he felt it down graded and insulted his brother but that's why it was so perfect, this is what was needed to protect his little brother… Soon after came the need for Rus to call Black M'lord. Yet again Rus didn't mind, Black felt a little iffy about it but not half as much as calling his brother Mutt… even tho it was part of the plan to make everyone see Rus as his lower minion and as if he was nothing compared to himself he still loved his brother and didn't like the feeling of degrading him and he could see the toll it was starting to take on his brothers already rather low self esteem and confidence.
The only strain this put on their relationship (other then the fact they were so busy they didn't get much time alone to just chat...) is something that Black felt and still feels a little guilty about, it's the fact that when he escaped with his brother he had the responsibility of raising a child thrust upon him, (despite still being one himself)… but instead he trained up a weapon under the facade it would help keep them both safe (and it did), but he feels that maybe he could of just protected them both and let his sweet, innocent, shy brother stay exactly that, an untainted sweet, innocent boy… instead of the LV tainted, highly deadly, very loyal Mutt he trained him to be. Deep in Black's soul he wonders whether he really had to train Rus the way he did to protect both of them or if it was actually just a way to further his own interests, help him get into the royal guard and climb to the top. He feels like he could have done better… as if he failed his brother. . .
Well…. After all the deep thinking I started wondering about food as you do. I know Rus' favourite food and snack are those sweet potato cinnamon cookies and he likes to drink BBQ sauce, cinnamon tea and chai latte (Rus loves cinnamon and other spices), and of course Black likes burritos but does he have a favourite snack… I couldn't really think of a snack food that Black would love, he likes cake but not that much, all I could really think about was what drinks he likes, you probably noticed that he is a proper coffee snob, he just loves his coffee and it must reach all his standards, but I also thought about whether or not he likes wine? And I came to the conclusion he likes red wine but I think he might actually prefer it mulled (hot with spices for those who don't know) then of course I had to figure out how he found out about mulling wine… and I came up with a little scene… 
I've gotta give you a little background for this scenario, why? Is it necessary? No not really but I wanna ok!? Plus gives a little more weight to it... 
Well you see here Black is about 21 so Rus is 17. Black is head of the guards and anything the Queen can give him to do, he is basically second to the Queen in status and has been for almost a year now. It's a pretty tough time for the boys though, a certain little kid has been visiting and messing with time, this is about the 5th or 7th time? But who's counting? Not Black who remembers everything or Rus who has been getting Nightmares about past timelines.
 The last three routes took a serious toll on Black, before this it had all been normal pacifist routes but they had their first (and only) true pacifist route, they got a taste of the surface world but when Chara got bored they reset the universe again, they were all ripped away from the perfect surface life... then Chara decided to go and do the first of many genocide routes… and the last route was back to normal pacifist that left most happy... but not Black… remember the fact that Black was the second to the Queen? Well no one really knew what Black was to Toriel, a loyal servant? A friend? Was he like a son to her? Or was it more romantic? There were theories but No one knew... Not even Black did, all he knew was he rather liked the attention she and everyone was giving him. But what happened in this route? Well Chara had played matchmaker and brought Toriel and Asgore back together which left Black rather forgotten and cast aside, while most celebrated so he felt even more left out, alone, like nothing, a nobody,  … until the next reset that put everything to normal and him back in the centre of attention but with the feeling it didn't mean anything, it left him a little empty, hollow especially after the hard times he just lived through and all the struggles, that attention felt like one of the few things he could look forward to, that he could enjoy but now it felt fake, just not real. 
Basically Black had been dealt three rather big blows in a row so he was a little fed up… and Chara should be arriving in a day or two as usual after a reset, to do whatever the hell they wanted and Black was feeling more then a little helpless with how out of his control it always was…
OK that got deep again… um… now lets get into the scene.
"M'lord?" Rus asks as he sits on the kitchen counter.
Black looks away from his new cookbook to turn to him. "Papyrus, please don't call me that when we're alone…"
"Sorry bro… habit I guess. We don't see each other at home as often as we used to… speaking of... You're home really early. What is it about 7? You're usually at work for at least another 3 to 5 hours? What's up?"
"Yes, well her majesty sent me home early for looking unwell…" 
"You ok tho?"
Black nods before stirring the pot in front of him. "Just tried, don't worry about it brother."
"Ok… well um... what ya cooking? smells good."
"I'm trying a recipe from this new cookbook to help wind down, it's called mulled wine." He then tastes it and puts a few more spices in.
"Did you just put cinnamon in? Can I try some when you're done?" Rus chimes. 
"I guess you can have a little. And maybe we can chat for a bit with it? it's been a while hasn't it. You can tell me about your day, and put in your order for the shopping this week. Maybe we could schedule a music session? Or you can talk about anything and everything." 
"Yeah, that sounds good. Thanks bro." 
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inadaydream99 · 5 years
Note
hello💕 can I request a stray kids reaction when other members see you cuddling? fluff? I hope you know what I mean jshsj thanks🥺
Hey, thank you for sending in a request! I hope you enjoy reading this 😁
Chan
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It’s not unusual to find yourself laying across the sofa cuddling your boyfriend. In fact, it’s a regular occurrence. But even still, it doesn’t stop the complaints and whines from the other members to stop being so mushy in front of everyone.
You are both minding your own business when Seungmin walks into the living room and instantly lets out a noise of disgust upon seeing you and Chan cuddled up together. The act itself is completely innocent, but Seungmin can’t hold back his distaste of the constant need for you to be touching in some way. If it’s not cuddling, it’s holding hands, or Chan’s arm wrapped around your waist and so on.
“What’s wrong Seungmin?” You question innocently, lifiting your head slightly off of chans chest to meet eyes with the younger boy.
“Can’t you cuddle somewhere less public?” Seungmin asks in a slightly blunt manner, a sad look on your face as you look at Chan who gives you a reluctant smile before answering Seungmin.
“Sure.” Chan simply reply’s as you both sit up and move apart. You look over to see Seungmin’s reaction, his eyes slightly wide in shock. He felt kind of bad, not actually thinking you would stop cuddling because of him.
After a while, Seungmin stands up, heading out of the room. Before he leaves he turns to face you and Chan who are still sat on the sofa separately, looking slightly awkward. Seungmin makes eye contact with you, sending you a subtly nod and smile to let you know he was leaving. You return the gesture before resuming your cuddling session, a content smile on you face from being alone once again.
Woojin
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“You don’t have to constantly be on top of each other.” Your eyes widen in surprise upon hearing Minho’s sassy remark, the others snickering in responce.
You feel Woojin’s arm tighten around you, keeping you close as he senses your thoughts of moving away.
After the first remark, the others joined in, a flood of jokes aimed your way about having too much PDA even though you and Woojin are just cuddling. It’s pretty causal, you’re not exactly on top of each other like Minho’s first joke.
You don’t respond, silenced by your embarrassment. But Woojin, however, is visibly getting irritated as the comments continue.
Usually when you cuddle with your boyfriend no one draws any attention to it, but Minho had opened the flood gates to this simple act of affection and gave the younger members a chance to mock Woojin.
“Alright! That’s enough now.” Woojin aggressively spits, eyeing everyone as their faces suddenly become subdued and quiet. You look up to see your boyfriend’s expression, his eyes filled with rage sending fear into everyone.
“Woojin it’s ok, it’s just some lighthearted jokes. It’s not stopping us from actually cuddling.” You softly speak as you gaze up at your boyfriend, trying to get his anger to disappear.
Seeing your calm responce to the now slightly awkward situation made Woojin sigh in defeat, his features softening as he looks at you.
Minho
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What started off as you and Minho cuddling together in his room turned into you attacking Jisung with pillows for interrupting your quiet time and then proceeding to annoy you both because he is jealous that Minho never shows him affection like that.
“If I want to cuddle my girlfriend then I will.” Minho laughs as his pillow smacks Jisung in the face, the younger dramatically falling into the floor and whining in pain even though it didn’t hurt him in the slightest.
You stand next to Minho with a smirk that matches his, looking down at Jisung who lays defeated on the floor.
“I don’t think he will be interrupting our cuddles any more.” You laugh as Minho grabs you by the waist and pulls you with him as he falls back onto the bed behind, clutching you to his chest tightly.
Changbin
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“Do I look like I care?” Changbin throws his head back in laughter at your remark towards Felix after he complained that you guys are always cuddling around everyone.
You have a triumphant smirk on your face as Felix rolls his eyes in responce and slumps onto the sofa beside you both.
“I just think you could maybe do that in your own time.” Felix mumbles grumpily under his breath, still loud enough for you to hear it.
“This is our own time, you’re intruding.” Changbin challenges with a raised brow and cheeky grin.
Throughout this whole conversation your cuddling never stops. In fact, you make more of a conscious effort to be obvious about it, your head resting on Changbin’s chest and your hands playing with his in your lap.
Hyunjin
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You were currently fighting the bright red blush that covered your face, curling into your boyfriend to hide from the attention that has been directed in your direction.
You see, you and Hyunjin rarely had any sort of PDA in front of the guys, both of you preferring to keep it private as you didn’t get much time to be together.
So when you are found cuddling on the sofa, everyone took the opportunity to point it out and make a big deal over a very simple act.
“Leave us alone!” Hyunjin playfully exclaims as his arms tighten around you protectively. His overdramatic facial expressions sending everyone into laughter.
You finally lift your head up and begin to move out of Hyunjin’s embrace but fail when a loud whine emits from him in responce.
“Don’t let the comments ruin our cuddle!” Hyunjin complains like a child. You chuckle at your boyfriend, finding his behaviour very endearing, before settling back down next to him, your arms wrapped around his torso and a content smile across your lips.
Jisung
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Cuddling is an everyday occurrence between you and Jisung. Your boyfriend doesn’t really care if there is people in the room or not, if he wants your attention then he is going to get it.
You are currently talking to Jeongin, laughing as he tells you about Hyunjin falling and hurting himself because he got too cocky whilst practicing earlier in the day.
It doesn’t normally bother Jisung when you give attention to the guys, knowing that you are friends with them all. But when he wants your attention and you ignore him, that’s when he becomes jealous and possessive.
Coming up behind you, he places his chin on your shoulder and snakes his arms around you waist, his hold firm in order to make his presence known. But you don’t bat an eyelid in his direction, your conversation with Jeongin unfaltering.
After a while of not being acknowledged, he decides to up his antics. Beginning to nussle his nose into the crook of your neck, a smirk appears on his lips as he sees the goosebumps appear on your skin in the wake of his breath.
“Ugh, can’t you wait until you’re alone? We are tying to have a conversation, it’s disgusting.” Jeongin snaps at the elder boy, resulting in Jisung to lift his head and send a warning look.
“Thanks for sharing your opinion, it’s a shame I don’t care.” Jisung retorts earning a snicker from you in responce. He feels pride swell in his chest upon getting a reaction out of you which urges him to continue with his attention seeking.
Finally, Jeongin leaves and you turn your attention into Jisung. As you meet his eyes you hold back a laugh from seeing the mischief they hold as he finally gets what he wanted: your undivided attention.
Felix
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“That is not my problem.” Felix sasses earning a laugh from you. It’s not often that he is that openly sassy, but when he is it’s highly amusing.
You have been hanging out in the kitchen with your boyfriend and have somehow moved from baking to standing in each other’s embrace, your arms around his neck and his around your waist securely, surrounded by the mess.
Your moment of tranquility is ruined by Woojin entering the kitchen and making a comment about people wanting to eat and not be put off by your sickly affection.
As you advert your gaze to see Woojin’s reaction you feel Fleix’s hands squeeze your waist making you jump in surprise. He stifles a giggle at your reaction and turns to look intriguingly at Woojin who just rolls his eyes before leaving the room.
“Come on, let’s go and annoy him some more.” You say as you give your boyfriend an evil look before taking one of his hands from your waist and dragging him into the next room.
Seungmin
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It’s been a long day at work and the only thing that has gotten you through it is knowing you could cuddle with Seungmin after.
It was all nice and cozy, your limbs intertwined with your boyfriend’s as you cuddle on his bed. The room completely silent apart from your breathing and the occational sounds of quick kisses that Seungmin has been planting all over your face.
Your little world comes shattering down when Changbin enters the room and lets out a disgruntled noise. Your head lifiting to shoot him a look of displeasure at the interuptance.
“Look, it’s sweet that you guys are cuddling but can you just stop the other stuff while there is other people in the room?” Changbin casually asks, trying to come across as reasonable as possible even though he can already predict the responce he will get.
“If you don’t like it then maybe you should leave.” Seungmin mocks, an irritaitingly cheeky smile of his face.
You sigh loudly before pulling away from your boyfriend and sitting up on the bed, your hands resting on either side of you to hold you up. Seungmin takes your hand in his and plays with your fingers as he continues to lay down, a pout on his face at you moving.
“Now you’ve ruined our moment, I hope you’re happy.” Seungmin complains as Changbin laughs while leaving the room once again.
Jeongin
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“But I need affection to survive.” Jeongin complains cutely, the most adorable expression he can pull on his face as he looks around the room. You giggle and pinch his cheek, cooing at how adorable your boyfriend is.
All the guys laugh at watching you baby Jeongin, his cheeks flaming red with embarrassment before swatting your hand away and lowering his head to try and hide his face.
His whines are a result of the guys finding you cuddling together, their teasing of the youngest uncontrollable as they see him loving the affection from the innocent act.
“I though you needed affection?” You chuckle at the shyness it has caused him, only laughing louder when he peeks up at you through his lashes with a look begging you to stop.
You were relishing the moment, loving this side to Jeongin. It’s completely opposite to his usually cheeky and mischievous antics towards everyone.
You move to rest your head on his shoulder, snuggling into his side as much as you can not caring about the teasing you both recieve. Jeongin doesn’t make any attempt to accept your cuddle, but you know that if you were alone he would, he just doesn’t want to look soppy in front of the members.
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byeoltoyuki · 5 years
Text
Addicted ⇾ JHS
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↳Pairing : You x Hoseok
Genre : Fluff (yeah, I can’t help it)/ Smut / gang!au (kinda)
Words: +5k
Warnings: oral (female), fingering, hair pulling, unprotected sex 
Summary : In which Hoseok was supposed to be your enemy and yet you couldn’t resist those beautiful lips.
A/N : Ugh this is so highly unedited and I’m so not convinced. But at the same time, I know myself, I will never be fully satisfied . Hopefully you’ll still like it🥺
                                       ✻✻✻✻✻✻✻✻✻✻✻✻✻✻✻✻✻✻
Nemesis
[8:25pm]
Are you free tonight?
You
[8:25pm]
No.
You
[8:25pm]
Busy.
Nemesis
[8:26pm]
Mission?
You
[8:26pm]
Mind your damn business
Nemesis
[8:27pm]
So it is. Why so mad?
Nemesis
[8:27pm]
Did you piss off Namjoon and he asked you to do something you don't like ?
You stared at your phone for a while, rereading Hoseok's last message. Of course he knew what was up. He always did. You hated how Hoseok saw through you. You were supposed to be unpredictable, cold and fearless, you had this perfect image build up in your organization. And then he came over and turned your life upside down in all possible way. Before him, your life, your goals and aspiration were in order. But that was before.
You sighed.
Nemesis
[8:30pm]
How sad. I missed you.
Nemesis
[8:32pm]
I miss your pretty lips around my cock.
Nemesis
[8:33pm]
And how nicely you would beg for me to touch you.
For fuck's sake. Your breath hitched in your throat as you read his messages. Hoseok was shamelessly riling you up. He knew you were busy and yet he wanted to mess with you.
It worked.
You closed your eyes and took a deep breath, trying not to succumb to your needs.
Nemesis
[8:37pm]
Did you miss me, love?
Nemesis
[8:37pm]
Did you miss my tongue?
Nemesis
[8:38pm]
My fingers?
Nemesis
[8:38pm]
My cock?
You whined in frustration before typing your message.
You
[8:40pm]
God. I hate you.
Nemesis
[8:41pm]
Hmm... I recall you screaming something else last time.
You
[8:41m]
You're terrible
Nemesis
[8:42pm]
I know.
Your relationship with Hoseok wasn't always like that. Six months ago you would have punched him right in the face if he had dared to talk to you like that. Six months ago, you considered Hoseok as your enemy, a pain in the ass that sadly worked for Namjoon. Just like you.
Hoseok represented everything you hated in a man; he was full of himself, rude, arrogant but so terribly attractive and good at his job. But what irritated you the most was how well he understood you, in a way nobody else did. He was rude to you but just because you were a bitch to him too. But truth to be told (and god knows how long it took you to realize) you were simply covering your attraction with hatred. There was no way you could admit out loud that this obnoxious man was actually your type.
There was only one thing that you didn't expect from Hoseok. You took him, despite his rudeness, for someone who didn't care or who was patient with people. Oh how wrong you were.
The day Hoseok snapped marked the day he changed your life without a way to turn back.
***
"You and your pretty smart mouth will get you in trouble." Hoseok said as he pushed you into an empty room and slammed you hard against the nearest wall. It hurt and you would have winced at his display of strength if it wasn't for his eyes. They were fuming. Hoseok was angry, really angry and it wasn't a sight you expected to witness one day. And yet, by the way he had his hand wrapped around your frail neck, how his body was close to yours, your realized that he wasn't only angry. No. Hoseok wanted you.
Holy shit.
You were in trouble. Big trouble. All alarms in your head rang in distress, your brain reminding you that you were supposed to hate this man guts. But your body was a treacherous bastard and before you could even realize what you were doing, you pressed yourself hard against his body. It took him off guard and for a second his grip around your neck got lighter. Not like you minded anymore.
"Oh you little minx"
You were out of your mind. Completely.
Hoseok stared for a moment, waiting for your next move or maybe trying to guess by himself what was running through your pretty head. He let go of your neck and instead his fingers wandered over your face, stroking your cheek gently. All traces of anger had completely vanished from his face.
"So this is how you play?" His fingers slowly moved till he placed a finger against your lips, parting them with his thumb and you eagerly sucked on it. "All this time you were a little bitch to me only because you wanted me to fuck you?"
This was wrong for so many reasons. You weren't supposed to tell him the truth, you swore you wouldn't. But now that you were pressed against him, now that he was staring so intensely at you, you just couldn't think about anything else. You couldn't stop yourself from feeling aroused. Hoseok was right. You wanted him in hope to get him out of your mind.
"But you know, Y/N. All you ever had to do was to ask."
You groan in reply and threw yourself on him, your hands circling his neck and the next thing you knew you were kissing him, hungrily, needy, as if your life depended on this kiss.
***
It was supposed to be a one time thing. A quick (hot and delicious) fuck and then you would go back to your normal life. Go back hating each other.
It didn't quite work like that.
Hoseok was an addiction. No matter how much you tried to get out of his grip, no matter how much you would argue and even throw things at each other, you would always come back and ask for more. You thought your job made you feel alive. But Hoseok? That was a whole new story.
Tonight, however, even if you were dying to see him after two whole weeks away from each other, you couldn't. Tonight, you were on duty and you couldn't screw up. The mission on itself was not rewarding and you hated Namjoon for using you for your looks instead of your skills. But maybe you wouldn't have been stuck in this situation if you hadn't disobeyed him in the first place.
You : later?
But Hoseok preferred not answering your message and maybe it was for the best because you could finally concentrate on your mission. Except your body was longing for something else.
****
The gala took place at a luxurious hotel. Not like you were surprised. Politicians, CEOs, models, so many had gathered at this place. You didn't feel at ease surrounded by all those rich people. They were all full of themselves, money was the only thing that mattered to them along with your status in the society. You, however, had no problem with mixing with them as you came to the event with Jaehyun, the heir of a famous IT company (according to Namjoon). You had never heard of them before Namjoon introduced you to Jaehyun. You should have known it was a trap. In your misery, you were lucky to find out that Jaehyun wasn't like most of those rich kids. He was kind and funny but his love for woman would be the reason behind his fall.
As soon as you entered the main hall you spotted Jaehyun talking vividly with a group of people. Your eyes, automatically, scanned the place, looking for exits and for possible threats. Nothing was out of ordinary.
"Y/N!" Jaehyun called your name a little too loudly for your liking, attracting a very unwanted attention on you.
A bunch of people around you stared, whispering. Not like you cared.
Jaehyun joined you, forgetting all about his friends. He circled one arm around your waist, bringing you closer to him as he kissed your cheek. "You look astonishing tonight babe."
You mentally cringed at the nickname. You hated with all your being called baby; it disgusted you and gave you the urge to punch someone. Sadly for you, you had to bite back your tongue and put a perfect fake smile. You leaned into his touch and pretended to be flattered.
"My dad is at the party too. Would you like to meet him?"
No. But you couldn't possibly tell him that, instead, you nodded and waited for his next move.
"Wait for me him?"
Jaehyun, and for once you blessed him, left you alone for a moment. You could finally breath and regain your composure. Not for long. While you were lost in your thoughts (you should have known that letting your guard down when you were surrounded by enemies was a very bad idea) you didn't notice that someone had approached you until you felt a warm hand in the middle of your back that you could feel through your thin red dress. You tended, ready to make a scene.
"I have to agree with him. You look breathtaking, love."
Your heart missed a beat at the sound of Hoseok's low voice. Your body relaxed instantly, warming up at his touch. The urge to just lean back and rest in his arms was hard to ignore and your brain  wasn't a big help either since it decided to bring back the memory of his messages.
"What are you doing here?" You hissed angrily at him. Hoseok didn't make it easy easy for you looking like a hot mess with his hair parted in the middle, wearing a black suit, his jacket unbuttoned. He's testing my patience.
"Oh you know." He shrugged, a smug smile plastered on his face. "Heard about the party and decided to join."
"In other words, you want to mess with me." You concluded
"Now why would I do that?"
"Oh don't play coy with me, Hoseok." You crossed your arms over your chest and frowned at him.
Hoseok leaned closer, his face too close for your liking (you actually liked the idea of having him so close if not for your mission), he smirked. "Aren't you happy to see me?"
"Hoseok." You warned him.
"What? I haven't seen your pretty face for two weeks."
You rolled your eyes at his attempt. "You could have texted me."
"Oh. Are you upset, love?"
Hoseok took a step closer to you and you wished you could take a step back, but your stubbornness and your feet stayed rooted to the floor as you let him invade all your personal space. He leaned even closer, his warm breath tickled your ear. "Want to know why I'm here, love?" You shivered and tightened your grip on your glass. Your knees were getting weak. "Because I hate thinking that another man could have what's mine."
Shit.
A low whimper escaped your lips without you being able to stop it. Hoseok took a step back, looking proud and satisfied with the effect he had on you. His words hit you hard (not like you believed in them) but his sudden possessiveness took you off guard.
"Now you can either follow me or stay with this rich kid."
"What do you think you're doing? I can't follow you!"
"Your loss then."
He left you alone and upset and horny.
I hate you.
You closed your eyes and took a deep breath to calm your frenetic heart.
It's going to be a long night.  
****
You hoped, no, you prayed that Hoseok would leave the party or at least make himself invisible after ruining your mood with his perfect face and tempting body.
He didn't.
Hoseok showed you a side of him you didn't know; he was a ray of sunshine who had no problem mingling with people, socializing, making them love him. If only those people knew that behind this beautiful smile hid a monster. Your monster.
You tried as hard as you could to concentrate on Jaehyun and the people he introduced you to but your mind was somewhere else and your eyes kept going back to Hoseok. And of course he had noticed. He was reveling in your silent misery.
You bit at your lower lip, fuming from inside at his audacity. You thought the night couldn't get worse. Hoseok proved you wrong once again. He chatted happily with another woman, standing all too close to her to your liking. You recognized right away the look on his face, it was one you had seen too often whether it was directed to you or another woman he wanted.
Jealousy wasn't something you experienced very often. Probably because you never cared enough and yet seeing Hoseok so close to another woman made your blood boil and you heart clench.
Screw you.
You excused yourself from the group you were talking to and walked confidently toward Hoseok. Or at least you made him believe that. He quirked a brow at you, obviously taken aback with your sudden change of heart. But you didn't stop by him. You didn't make a scene. You didn't yank this woman from what was yours. No, you just walked by without even sparing them a glance. You could, however, feel Hoseok's burning gaze on your back.
You patted your back mentally, proud of your little revenge.
Not for long.
You barely made it to an empty hall, someone (and you guessed easily who it was) grabbed your wrist into a tight, almost painful grip. You let him do it, a smirk playing on your lips as he trapped your between his body the wall.
"That wasn't very nice of you, love." Hoseok said. His eyes were twinkling and he was smiling widely at you. Without a doubt, you amused him.
You could feel the heat radiating from his body, so warm, so tempting. You wanted to reach for him, to touch him, but Hoseok was faster and pinned your wrist above your head. You squirmed in his grip, trying to fight him back but he overpowered with one final attack: he put a knee between your thighs, completely paralyzing you.
Hoseok hovered over you, his face closed, his warm breath ghosting over your lips but never giving in. "You're such a bad girl."
"Hoseok." You complained, impatient and needy, you wanted more. "Take me home."
"Hm? Why?" He hummed, his head pressed against yours. "Why would we need to wait when I have this?" He took a step back, causing you to whine at the loss, but then you saw what he put out of his pocket. A freaking room card.
Maybe if you weren't so infatuated with him, you would have wondered how in the world did he manage to get a key for a room in this expensive hotel. Maybe you would have realized that it was his plan all along. But you were lost in him and your brain betrayed you just the same way your heart and body did.
Too eager, you grabbed his hand, intertwining your fingers with his, squeezing it gently, before smiling wickedly at him. "Lead the way."
Hoseok only laughed at your eagerness, nevertheless just as enthusiastically he lead the way.
**
You didn't get the chance to look at the room nor did you care for it. As soon as you made it to the room, Hoseok had you crushed against the door, his lips ravishing yours, nipping, biting, sucking, everything to make you completely lose yourself. And you were. You were completely lost in your own desire, drowning in his touch. Your heart was pounding frenetically against your ribs, your blood roared in your ears as you forgot all about the world and who you were. You had your fingers tangled in his hair, pulling at it while the kissing got more intense, setting your body completely on fire. You needed so much more. Kissing was nice. You loved kissing Hoseok more than you wanted to admit to yourself but those same lips, you wanted them somewhere else.
"I'm upset with you, doll." Hoseok muttered against your skin, lips traveling from your lips to your jaw, sucking on your skin, marking you (despite you always complaining about it), making you moan and throw your head back into the door. You tug his hair, bringing him closer to you; you felt his smile on your skin before came a light sting. He bit on your collarbone and you arched your back even further.
"Do you know why, sweet thing?" He abruptly stopped and yanked your hair harshly, forcing you to let go of him and to look him in the eye. His eyes were burning, feral, sending shivers down your spine and right to your throbbing core. You were more than excited for what he had prepared for you.
"Red suits you too much." His grip on your hair got tighter and you hissed but didn't stop him. "And this dress?" He hiked it up very slowly, digging his nails into your skin and you hooked a leg around his waist in response, giving him better access to your body.
"You like it?" You stuttered, breathless.
Hoseok only groaned in appreciation, his lips working hard on your skin, making sure not to leave a single spot untouched.
The dress you wore was thin and despite arriving just above your knees there was a split on the right side. It had a low neckline which gave him the perfect view on your bra-less breasts. He planted a soft kiss on your lips, letting go of your hair and instead his hand slid to your neck touching the freshly made mark.
"Absolutely sinful." Hoseok took a step back, his warmth leaving you instantly and you whimpered at the loss which made him smirk. You tried to stop him by reaching his hand but he was faster and dodged your hand.
"Hoseok!" You complained, throwing a tantrum like a child, not caring for a second about your reputation. You were desperate and you were ready to play dirty. Fortunately for you, Hoseok, despite all his smirking and teasing, was dying to have you. When you tried a second time to reach for him, he gave in. His hands grabbed your butt tightly and just like that you jumped on him, wrapping your legs around his waist, your hands pushing his hair back as you crushed your lips to his. Hoseok deepened the kiss without hesitation, sliding his tongue against yours, groaning as he tasted you, squeezing your butt even harder, digging his nails into your skin.
He carried you through the room before throwing you on the bed. He stood at the edge, staring hungrily, his eyes dark and the aura around him screamed danger. You sat on your knees, watching him, waiting for his next move. But he didn't. Fine. You looked at him, smiling seductively as your hands reached for your neck, you saw his face twitching at your gesture, you had all his attention. You let your fingers sliding slowly down your neck till your breasts, his eyes following your every move hungrily before you grabbed the hem of your dress and pulled it over your head. Hoseok licked his lips at the sight of your naked body.
"Shit. You're a tease." He put a knee on the bed and wanted to touch but you decided to pay him back and have your own little revenge resulting in you slapping his hand away. It took him by surprise, a scowl visible on his beautiful face.  
"Oh i don't think you deserve to touch me, babe." You purred. You weren't done playing with him (knowing all too well that you were about to awaken the beast). You crawled backwards in bed, putting some more space between you but you never broke eye-contact. Once settled comfortably, you resumed the exploration of your body, your hands traveling from your breast till your navel and then, you slid your panties off, disregarding them completely on the floor. "Like the view?"
Hoseok's eyes darted from your face to your now exposed core. His eyes got even darker, if possible, and you shivered in excitement when he growled and started undressing himself, fast and messily, almost ripping his shirt in the process. He was eager and wanted to join you.
"You're lucky I missed you." He said and you had to fight back your own urges just to tease him more but how could you when he looked so terribly attractive naked? Simple. You couldn't.
He climbed on the bed, crawling until he had you pinned under him. You expected from Hoseok to go hard on you, pull your hair, mark you, crush you under him until you begged for him to stop because you deserved it after the teasing. But tonight Hoseok felt different and you realized it only when his hand reached for your cheek, he stroked it gently, brushing your skin with his thumb. It felt so intimate, so intense, so gentle, you weren't used to this.
"Hoseok?" You were sincerely confused with his change of behavior. "What's wrong?"
"You're beautiful."
You blinked madly at him, your brain trying hard to comprehend his words. What are you doing to me was what you wanted to tell him, your heart racing in your chest and your own feelings were messing with you. You weren't supposed to let them out but when Hoseok looked at you like that, like you were the most important person in the world, you couldn't stop. You grabbed Hoseok by his silver chain, pulling at it to bring him closer to your face, halting for a second. It took you just a glance at him, before finally you brushed your lips against his, softly, slowly, running your tongue over his upper lip before going for more.
Hoseok deepened the kiss and pressed his body against yours, his warm chest rocking against your breasts. The battle for dominance was fierce, none of you ready to surrender. Until Hoseok broke the kiss abruptly. Not because he didn't want to kiss you, hell if he could, he would keep kissing you forever. His lips, however, moved south, leaving a trail of kisses from your neck to your breast - biting just under your left breast and eliciting a loud moan from you, to your navel. He stopped just to straighten up and admire your body, your swollen lips, your flushed face, your messy hair spread on the bed.
"Am I not the luckiest man in the world?" He whispered while his hands slid on your thighs, stroking your inner thighs that sent shivers right to your throbbing core that begged for attention from him.
"Hoseok. Please, touch me." You begged
Hoseok chuckled at your pleading but complied anyway. He spread your legs, settling in between. He planted a soft kiss on your knee, trailing his lips over your thigh, nibbling at the skin, biting your inner thigh but never reaching for where you needed him the most. You desperately nudged him with your leg, whining but all he did was to grab for your legs and spread them wider. "That wasn't nice, babe." But he didn't seem to mind, considering how he went back exploring your body.
"For fuck's sake, Hobi!"
"Ah. Finally." You wanted to roll your eyes at his stupidity, who would have guessed that all he was waiting was for you to call him by his nickname, but before you could do it, he kissed your clit and you had no other choice but cry out and arch your back, combusting right on the spot just with one touch. He threw your legs over his shoulders to have a better access to your heat.
His fingers slipped in with ease, you were already drenched with just his teasing, his kisses. You were desperate to the point of wishing he could just skip the foreplay and ravish you. But your words got completely stuck in your throat and instead he elicited another loud moan from you as he brushed just the right spot inside you. But Hoseok didn't stop there, he wanted to see you come completely undone under him.
"Fuck." You mewled and grabbed a fist of his hair tightly, bringing him even closer and begging silently for more. He alternated fingers and tongue, flicking his tongue, biting, sucking, teasing you mercilessly. "It feels so good, Hobi."
"Yeah?" He breathed against your core and curled his fingers, your hips jerked, wanting to feel him even deeper inside you. Your walls clenched in response while your eyes rolled back, taking all the pleasure he was willing to give you.
"Look at me." He ordered, his dominant side suddenly decided to show up (old habits die hard after all).
"Hoseok. I-" You whined and grabbed the sheets, fisting them hard. How could you possibly keep your eyes open when he was assaulting your core? When the pleasure was getting so intense? You wanted to snap, you were so close.
But you should have known better.
He withdrew his fingers and hovered over you. He grabbed your chin and forced you to look at him. You did but frowned at him. You were upset, he had robbed you of your orgasm and just for what?
"Why do you never listen huh?" He growled and while you were too focused on your lost pleasure, he gave a harsh slap right on your cunt, making you whimper helplessly and close your eyes. "What did I say?" And came another slap.
You felt your tears pricking at the corner of your eyes but you followed his order, you forced your eyes to stay glued to his. Hoseok smirked, satisfied and let go of your face, only to have his fingers back on your center, drawing circles on your clit. At first, it was slow and gentle but enough to make it hard for you to look at him. You fought back your own desire.
"Please." Your hips jerked forward and you squirmed under his touch and dark eyes. "Please, please."
"Please what?" He played coy, pretending not to know what you wanted.
"Take me. Ruin me. I don't care, just please."
"Hmm, but should I give it to you? I wanted to go soft on you because I missed you but you've been such a bad girl." But despite his words, he positioned himself and brushed his cock against your cunt, teasing you.
"Fuck, please. I'll behave!" You almost screamed the words, desperate to have him fill you to the brim.
"Will you now?" Nevertheless, he slid slowly inside you, not fully (and it took him all his willpower not to just slam inside you), waiting for your reaction.
"Shit." You inhaled sharply.
Hoseok slammed into you with one swift move, filling you, stretching you in the most delicious way. You threw your head back into the cushion, your grip on the sheets tightening as you got lost in the feeling of having him finally inside of you. You felt finally whole.
"God, babe. You feel so good." He groaned and halted for a moment. No matter how much he wanted to move, he let you a moment to recover, to adjust.
"Move."
Hoseok huffed at your order, taking his chance to slap your thigh and to remind you who was in control before moving again, setting a harsh, fast pace, pounding fiercely into you. Each one of his thrusts was sharper, stronger, hitting all the right spots that had your toes curled and your moan got only louder. You couldn't suppress your whimpers and your begging, asking for him to go harder.
"Shit, Hoseok, don't stop."
"Yeah? Don't get mad at me tomorrow when you won't be able to walk."
"Shut up."
Hoseok's fingers dug into your skin in response, hard enough for bruise to form later. You didn't care. Not anymore. Not when his cock was buried so deep inside you, not when he made you see stars, not when this beautiful man was showering you with attention. Overwhelmed with the waves of pleasure wrecking your body and with your feelings, you grabbed Hoseok by his chain and brought him closer to you, seeking for his lips. The kiss was sloppy with a lot of teeth clashing, bruising.
"Touch yourself, love." He muttered against your lips.
You didn't need to be told twice seeing how close you were to reach your release, one that you believed Hoseok wouldn't ruin. You slid your hand between your body, letting at the same time your fingers ran through his chest before finally reaching for your clit. Hoseok's thrusts got even harder and before you could even think about anything, you screamed his name, coming absolutely undone, your vision fading to black for a second as your whole body tensed.
"Shit, babe." Hoseok choked but didn't stop moving, he kept pounding into your sensitive whole, seeking for his own release. "You feel so so good." He pressed his body against yours, kissing your neck, leaving wet trails behind him until his lips met yours, his groans died in your mouth.
"Cum inside, Hoseok. Shit, please." Despite all your senses being overstimulated, you managed to blurt.
"God, you're gonna be death of me." With one last thrust, he came with a loud grunt, filling you with his release.
Hoseok collapsed on top of you, breathless, sweaty, his chest rising and falling rapidly, his heartbeat echoing with your own. You wrapped your arms tightly around his body, crushing him fully against you so he could rest his head right on your chest.
None of you talked, too busy recovering, too busy enjoying each other's warmth. You ran your fingers through his now wet hair, pulling gently at his locks while your free hand stroke his arm. Hoseok didn't move for awhile while you softly played with him, but then, when you thought he could have possibly fallen asleep right on top of you, you felt his lips against your skin. He moved to the side - a whimper escaped your mouth at the loss of his warmth and he chuckled in response. He grabbed your hand and brought it to his lips, kissing at first your knuckles and then your thumb and then another finger.
"I didn't lie when I said I missed you."
"Hm?" Lazily, you raised your head to have a better look.
"And about your mission." You winced at the reminder but Hoseok only smiled and kissed your hand one more time. "I spoke to Namjoon before coming here. I told him that he can't keep using my beautiful girlfriend for some dirty work."
You gawked, completely dumbfounded, at him. Hoseok had just confessed not only about his doings with Namjoon but also about you being his girlfriend (not like he had ever mentioned it before).
"Don't look at me like that." He laughed awkwardly
It was almost amusing to see the oh so confident and hot man such as Hoseok to blush under your intense gaze. But it was also terribly endearing, adorable. You couldn't stop yourself from jumping on him, straddling his legs, you pinned his hands before intertwining your hands together. You leaned over him when a huge grin spread on your face at his bewildered look.
"Just for your record," You breathed against his lips. "I missed you too."
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tiaragqueen · 5 years
Text
Cave In
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✂ Pairing: Yandere! Park Jimin x Reader
✂ Word Count: 1,2k+
✂ Trigger Warning: Isolation, possessiveness
✂ This story is fictional and for amusement only. I don’t believe any of the members would do this in real life. As always, thank you for reading and I hope you have a good day!
Do not re-upload my writing to another website or use it without my permission.
Requested by @kpopgirlbtssvt
***
For some reason, I feel completely unmotivated lately. I just can’t seem to get the words right, therefore I apologize if it’s not up to your liking.
If you like my writing, please support me on ko-fi!
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“I hold you down; kiss you so hard. I’ll take your breath away, and after I wipe away the tears, just close your eyes.” - Possession [Sarah McLachlan]
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You felt suffocated.
No, the room wasn’t small by any means. In fact, it was rather spacious and there wasn’t much furniture to make it crowded. Just some basic ones such as closet, bed, two nightstands, and dressing table. It was plain, per se, and had more than enough space to breathe in. The air conditioner hummed quietly in the furthest corner, but other than that, there were no electronic devices. Not even a television.
But waking up in a foreign place wasn’t something that you’d experience every day, nor did you’d expected this beforehand. Now, you had been here for more than three hours, wrists chained around the bedposts. With the clock ticking in the background, your breath became ragged to the point of hyperventilating. Your heart thumped wildly, and you feared that it might burst out of its ribcage anytime soon. You were sweating and shaking as if you had been running a marathon, wide eyes darting around from one spot to another vigilantly. Swallowing the nerves didn’t help your tight throat, and your lips were awfully dry too no matter how many times you licked them.
The restlessness grew in each passing second as you fidgeted with the chains, trying to ease the blister in your irritated skin and – possibly – releasing them. It was ridiculous, you knew that much because you didn’t have the key and you weren’t some super-strong human with an ability to break chains. Though, it was certainly a nice thought to entertain. You mumbled a repeated prayer, remaining alert to any sign of danger that might occur.
The door creaked, eliciting a start from you. With the ever-growing apprehension and bile that rose to your tight throat, you watched Jimin cheerfully skipped inside the room. He uttered a greeting that you failed to hear through your ringing ears and plopped down beside you. Wrapping an arm around your shivering shoulders, he brought you close to him and smiled.
“Jagi, how are you doing?” You knew he knew you weren’t faring well; it was blatant through your mannerisms alone. But he went on anyway, as though he was asking about the weather. Regardless, you buried your face into his chest and sobbed.
“I’m scared.”
Jimin cooed and stroke your hair. “Poor you...” His normally soft voice sounded mocking in your ears. “You must feel very lonely too, right? Well, worry not. I’m here now, for you.”
You avoided the thought of him being your captor, but when he fished out a key from his pocket and unlocked the chains, you knew that it wasn’t baseless at all. That it wasn’t just an unfair assumption or the blame that you’d put on him due to your current... predicament. You didn’t like to play the victim or appear weak, but the reality forced you to think otherwise. Besides, he had – unknowingly, or was it? – helped you alleviate your anxiety attack. Therefore, you’d be a fool to let it slip.
Did you really want to seek comfort from your kidnapper?
Stealing a glance over your shoulder, you frowned. It wasn’t as if you had a choice, anyway. The window was barricaded, and you didn’t need to go outside to know that he had most likely done the same to other windows. Jimin had always been an overly cautious one, or paranoid to say the least. You just never thought he would resort to this option.
Oh, who were you kidding? This was Jimin you were talking about. Nothing was too extreme or impossible for him to achieve to keep his lover close.
Regret constricted your chest as you squeezed your eyes shut in reluctant resignation. You should’ve paid more attention to her warning when she told you that Jimin was an overprotective and possessive man. And you should’ve indulged in your laziness to stay in your house instead of going out to comfort him after breaking up with her. Then maybe, just maybe, you wouldn’t be stuck in this room.
Well, what kind of a person who would let their friend cry alone? You were beginning to consider that your selflessness might as well be your weakness too because you certainly couldn’t bear to see his bloodshot eyes and trembling lips.
If only you could reset the time...
But who were you to get that privilege?
“Cuddle with me?”
You nodded mutely as you lied down beside him, still enveloped in his embrace. It wasn’t so bad and had it occur any other time, you would’ve thought of it as comforting. But now that you experienced first-hand how twisted he was behind that sweet and innocent façade, your feeling was far from comforting.
“I’m really lucky to have you, you know?” he murmured, chin resting on top of your head. “You’re so caring and beautiful. Sometimes, I wonder why did I even date her in the first place.” He chuckled. “Stupid me for being blind to the blessing from God.”
You remained quiet, opting to listen to whatever he was rambling about. It wasn’t like you could bring yourself to answer, anyway.
“When she left me, heartbroken, you stayed behind to console me. You were so worried, and you even cried when I told you about my breakup. It was the first time anyone ever reacted that way, and I knew then and there that you were special. Such a sensitive heart; so easily bleed to the slightest sob story. It’s rare to meet someone as sympathetic as you. I can’t possibly let the world taint your innocence, can I?”
Jimin sighed contentedly. “But that’s okay. You’re here, I’m here. We’re together now. Nobody can separate us anymore. Not her, not anyone. I’ll devote my life looking after you, just like what you’ve been doing all this time. Consider this... as a reciprocation. Even though I know, that I can never be as kind as you.”
Intertwining your fingers with his, he looked down. “Jagi, look at me.” When you gave no response, he gripped your hand. “Look at me, please.”
Despite the polite request, the venom in his tone did nothing to hide the creeping irritation. He might prefer not to hurt you, but he wouldn’t hesitate to use force either. Like now, for example. The gesture seemed subtle, yet the pain from your hand and hair said otherwise.
Gulping, you hesitantly peeked up through your lashes. “Y-yes...?”
Jimin beamed, pleased to see you comply without anymore... coercion. “Kiss me?”
You sucked in a shocked breath, glancing around his chubby features to search for any sign of playful intent. There was none, as expected. Jimin never joked about affection, being a highly affectionate man he was. Still, it didn’t make his demand felt any less perturbing.
Slowly, you pushed yourself upwards so you would be eye-to-eye and landed a shaky hand on his cheek. Jimin hummed, waiting for you to continue the process. His patience was wearing thin, however, which was why you needed to act fast. After a brief moment of contemplation, you reluctantly leaned forward and pushed your lips against his.
It should’ve been an innocent peck, but Jimin was quick to make it even more passionate than it had to be. He kissed you with the fervor of a hungry man, almost pushing you to the edge of the bed had his hand didn’t hold your back.
Jimin finally withdrew before you could lose another oxygen and panted. Your face was blushing, and he chose shyness as the main factor. It wasn’t far-fetched, sure, but overwhelmed suited better. Not that he would care much.
“You're so cute; looking all flustered like that.” He smiled, gazing at you tenderly. Much to your surprise and dismay, he stole another kiss and grinned mischievously. “We’re gonna enjoy our time here.”
289 notes · View notes
thesummerstorms · 4 years
Note
For the characters HCs Darman? He's so precious and we need *more*
Link the meme here. Accepting, but if you send me the whole meme as opposed to specifics it might take a bit. Thank you to anon for the ask.
clothing style.
Dar dresses pretty simply even after he leaves the army. Bright cheery shades of color -anything but red or maybe orange- and well fitting, but comfy. Probably starts wearing dad cardigans very early on. Lots of space!hoodies, which Etain steals. Comfy, practical, cheery. Likes to roll up the sleeves of things to his upper forearm because Etain notices ™ and also keeping the fabric out of the way of whatever he’s working on. That said, he spends as much time in armor as civvies.
before - bed routine.
In barracks, his routine is exceedingly simple. Dar is one of those people who dozes off easy, so he more or less wraps up whatever he’s doing,  figures out the best way to secure the door or react to it opening, washes his face and brushes his teeth and is out. Never trust that you’ll actually get all 8 hours of sleep you’ve been promised.
Out of barracks, it’s a little bit more indulgent. If they have the water/aren’t rationing, Dar likes a second hot shower before he goes to sleep. Checks on the little ones, small snack or maybe hot chocolate, brush teeth. If he’s at home with Etain or they’re deployed to the same place, the he typically has to go retrieve her and coax her into bedtime - he can and sometimes does fall asleep while she’s still working but drastically prefers the bed with her in it even more so with her in his arms or holding him- maybe listen to Etain read or flip through a holozine for the roughly 10 minutes it takes him to pass out. (Etain frequently is taking things out of his hands after he falls asleep.)
In the Rhedian/Etain/Dar verse he has to track them both down, probably, and then they negotiate who gets to be the middle and who gets to be the edge. Darman can only sleep facing the door while laying on his side, so if he’s on the outer edge of the bed, he’s the little spoon and whoever curls up behind him has their arm on his hip, and if he’s in the middle or outer edge he’s big spooning
eating habits
Darman eats a lot. While he’s in GAR he eats big meals and eats them quickly, and it takes a few years after getting out to change the habit in any significant way, but left to his own devices in peace time he’d be a grazer. He doesn’t have strong preferences, taste-wise, but he loves novelty of food choices, even when his wife and kids are slightly intimidated.
As it is, he snacks a lot and is completely unabashed at eating things off of Etain or a brother’s plate. He makes up for it by becoming an excellent cook and spoiling his loved ones with their favorites. Absolutely steals all of the sweets Etain isn’t overly attached to, but makes up for it by offering her a lot of his fruit. Always drinks from her caf cup. When he gets the cure and his metabolism slows down a bit, it takes getting used to.
concept of home and family
He’s got a very, very Mandalorian view of family. Home is where his brothers and Etain and the kids are not only around him but safe and comfortable. Family isn’t blood- it’s the people who he can rely on to have his back no matter what who have chosen to show him love and trust and earn it in return. It’s a chosen obligation and support network.
hobbies.
Cooking, working out, sparring, casual team and pairs sports (though it’s as much about the challenge/social interaction as him actually giving a shit about sports), reading general-interest just casually informative holozines (like, space!Time or NatGeo) , watching the odd romantic holo, playing with his kids,  word puzzles
fighting style.
listen, I do not know enough about SW weaponry /combat or even real life weaponry and combat to answer this question thoroughly. I do think he looks into at least the basics of Teras-Kasi once Sith start showing up looking for his kids.
what calms your muse down after a bad day?
It depends on the kind of bad day. If he’s feeling drained, sometimes a hot shower, a cup of hot chocolate, sitting with Etain as she meditates, his legs bracketing hers and letting her deep breathing set the pace or else just outright cuddling.
But  if he’s restless or overloaded or angry he kicks everyone else out of the kitchen so he can be alone and takes it out on the vegetables until a particularly difficult technique or recipe distracts him and pulls him out of his head a bit. Occasionally he goes back to his roots and works on some stripped down demolitions projects at the nearest work bench. Working out alone doesn’t help in that kind of mood because he’s still in his own thoughts, but if he’s up to being around other people, sparring or some sort of high-intensity pairs game (slingball, etc) does. 
(Depending on her own mood/the reason for the upset Etain sometimes starts out sparring with him but is amenable to shifting to other distractions, too. Sometimes they skip straight to the pinning down if she notices he needs to burn tension and who ever starts off gets the go ahead.)
ways your muse says i love you.
his love language is in nurturing and gift-giving. he’s highly sensitive to small changes in his loved ones demeanor and part of his way of showing them he loves them is immediately trying to give or do something to make them feel better. have they eaten? do they need painkillers?  what’s small thing he can do or give to fix it?
alternatively if it’s less of a “need immediate support” situation he’s still trying to figure out what small thing he can give to show his affection: a stolen gift for Etain, sharing a food he’s fond of, double checking Rhedian’s kit for her without asking, or something he’s made for them in particular “I thought of you, and I want you to be content”.
describe your muse’s laugh.
softer than you’d think, but Dar has a terrible time forcing laughter, so if you hear it it’s warm and genuine or angry/bitter AF and which ever emotion it is feels readily apparent.
what items can be found in your muse’s pockets
assuming we’re just talking civvie pockets and not his gear belt then the star wars equivalent of a swiss army knife, credits, a false identchip (he swaps out which one), spare blank datachip, comlink/holoprojector combo, hard candies that are less prone to melting or some sort of snack, his wedding ring if he’s working on something dirty or delicate, sometimes little handwritten notes Etain has left him on flimsiplast, a stylus and a all-materials marker of some sort 
talk about your muse’s most prized possession(s)
Dar really doesn’t get too hung up on possessions. His wedding ring is highly sentimental but if push comes to shove can be replaced. The only thing he couldn’t easily abandon would be the very few holos he has of his first squad (which, like, SW has the Cloud, right?), a few surviving love letters of Etain’s, and maybe when he’s older and his brothers start dying some of their armor plates.
describe your muse’s walk
He always tends to walk like he’s wearing Katarn armor even if he isn’t: chest forward, long strides, walking with intent and clearing civvies easily out of his way. He does fuck up a knee as an older man, but unlike Kal, no one has to beg him to go to treatment and it only bothers him if he’s been extremely rough on it or he’s run down in general.
talk about your muse’s accent.
A weird, hard to place amalgam unless you know that he’s a clone commando. Part basic non-distinct Core World Broadcast Pronunciation from lots of flash training as a young child, the slightest edge of Kuat and of Keldabe from learning from Kal Skirata, eventual hard edge to his Mando’a that’s unique to the Neshurok district on Nar Shadda. People tend to be surprised he doesn’t sound Concordian, but he didn’t have enough exposure to Fett for that.
describe your muse’s smile
wide, artless, not the “crooked and charming” type so much as genuinely expansive
how often does your muse get sick?
Not too often- he has a good immune system, special genetic modification, and more vaccinations than any reasonable being could keep track of. That said, it’s impossible to avoid getting sick forever with kids.
does your muse know when to rest, or do they push themselves?
Dar’s a lot better at giving himself physical rest (training to make the best use of his efforts and preserve his ability to keep going kicking in) than mental rest in a daily context, though he absolutely has overdone it on missions (conditioning that you are less than your objective and replaceable is a bitch.)
does your muse snore? sleeptalk? sleepwalk?
He snores. Etain says terribly, he says he’s not as bad as any of the rest of Omega, which may or may not be true.
the thing(s) your muse thinks about before falling asleep.
depends on the night. anything from galactic politics to memory of his first squad to the annoying squeak from the air vent that needs looking at to the breathlessness edge of Etain’s voice or her touch before they finally settled down
is your muse a fitful or a quiet sleeper?
Darman has nightmares that wake him up and leave him upset, but unless you’re a Jedi it can be hard to tell because he doesn’t move around very much in his sleep until he wakes up full of adrenaline and gasping. On a normal night, he’s a pretty quiet sleeper and most of his movement comes from adjusting to Etain, who absolutely is restless. That said, he’s fairly easy to wake.
your muse’s thoughts on cops and other authority figures
Cops are initially sorted into the Jaller Obrim schema of tentative friendship/support, but that falls by the wayside pretty quickly when he’s a fugitive from the galactic regime. 
He’s respectful of authority figures in theory and knows how to follow a chain of command, clone-officers being easily followed, but his experiences with Jedi Generals who didn’t know what they were doing, outright malevolent Imperial Army officials, the constant threat of death from the Kaminoans, Kal’s subtle manipulations, etc all mean he keeps a weary eye on them until they prove otherwise.
He doesn’t strive to be an iconoclast, but he’s inherently aware of the danger authority figures pose to his survival and those he loves.
skills and special talents.
cooking, singing, hand to hand, demolitions, shooting, chemistry, covert ops, battlefield first aid, good listener, decent at sketches though he doesn’t pursue it
disabilities or illnesses. 
Darman has very clear PTSD plus possibly some other comorbid mental health conditions. He does have old battle injuries that bother him somewhat as he gets older, including one knee, but nothing that’s immediately physically obvious or debilitating espc since he gets appropriate medical care.
habits and mannerisms.
lots of soft humming or mouthing a song he will never sing alone in front of strangers, deceptively calm expression even when he’s ruminating, going over his gear and equipment for the fifth time as a comfort thing
introvert or extrovert.
Ambivert.
religious or non - religious
Ambivalent- He’s married to a Jedi and the father of multiple Force-using kids, so he can’t exactly deny the whole Force-thing, but he doesn’t philosophize it the way Etain inherently does.
As for te kara’se… again, ambivalence. When Etain start taking to a… worship isn’t precisely right, but neither is relationship with Tarre Vizsla and Ranah teh Naast, he listens and doesn’t disapprove, but also doesn’t necessarily disagree. If he speaks to the Mand’alore of old, if he sometimes asks for advice, when his brothers have gone quiet too long or his wife’s blood is spotting his armor or his children are crying in fear… he doesn’t know whether or not he expects them to listen.The asking is still worth something, though. He’s likely to ask his brothers in the manda too, as much as anything else.
something your muse could never forgive.
injuries to his loved one, especially life-threatening or shattering ones, especially purposeful neglect or abuse or the cheap spending of their life. It’s easier to forgive his own blood spilt than that of his heart.
something that makes your muse smile.
naps in the sunshine, his kids being goofballs or learning something new. a brother earning some new happiness, the little looks Etain gives him when they talk without talking, the pleasure of a new taste or mastering a new skill, someone running his fingers through his hair or holding his hand
something that scares your muse.
the constant risk to his wife and children, and once the Mandalorian “Great Purge” starts to his entire family. the possibility of somehow letting down or disappointing or becoming estranged from a brother. Kaminoans, for years. his own anger, sometimes.
something that gives your muse hope.
Koa and Kad and Scout sitting around the family table solving a problem together, Koa with her aruetii science degree in one hand and a musical instrument in the other, Kad holding baby Etta (Dar’s granddaughter) tightly to his chest with a look of wonder on his face, Etta and Sivvar (Kad’s husband) laughing as they paint a mural on a bare expanse of wall, Etain wrapping a niece or nephew in her cloak as she holds them and smiling quietly back over her shoulder at him, Fi with a baby strapped to his chest, Atin and Laseema curled quietly together in an oversized arm chair, the first time he sees excitement in Niner’s face after the war
how your muse responds to being helped / taken care of.
He’s not used to in originally. With strangers he’s excessively polite, but with someone he actually loves and trusts, he gets incredibly soft- lots of little touches to their hands/arms (or face/neck if romantic or as platonically close as Omega) and his shoulders just kind of unspool tension
how your muse responds to unconditional love.
Similar to the above, but Dar’s loyalty runs deep, and he’s a romantic and a family-oriented person, so it tends to inspire devotion
how your muse responds to danger
To himself, a reasonable amount of stress or anger, but mostly his instincts kick in until later when he potentially has the ability to process how fucked the situation was. he becomes very decisive under pressure but he isn’t taught how to handle it after until he’s been fighting for years.
how your muse responds to stress. // how your muse responds to anger.
He tries to hide a lot of it to avoid being a burden, and it’s way more successful than you’d think. He doesn’t start developing explicit coping skills until after the war and his break down, although he does talk to Omega and Etain about it, alternating between showing them his soul in an expression of trust and hiding things so as not to trouble them.
With anger his protective anger is the easiest to glimpse at first, but eventually it comes out in other situations- normally the thought of being lied to or deceived or used. With all of the above, he gets cold and harsh until it tips too far. Less yelling than quiet anger.
 He’s not by nature inherently violent, but between his training and untreated PTSD, there are episodes where he feels as if he loses control of himself entirely and retreats to the violence he was taught would keep him alive. Part of his recovery is learning to stop things before they get there and recognize his own threat response.
With stress, see the above about bad days. also probably some explicitly PTSD related coping strategies but I’ll admit I haven’t researched that
did your muse grow up too fast?
Absolutely. Dar may have been socially naive on his first deployment, but he didn’t have a childhood, he had a product development phase haunted by the threat of Kaminoan culling.
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teaandatale · 4 years
Note
forgotten first meeting and either space au or roommate au for steggy?
57. forgotten first meeting & 22. Space AU or 12. Roommate AU
Well…  How about all three???
Sorry this took so long! Given my last two, I wanted to makesure this one was a decent ficlet length, and I realized I’ve had a sci-fi/spacedrought in the last year so it took a bit to get myself into the zone. This ismore of a collection of scenes, but I hope it gives you the gist of this ficmash up! Um… It’s quite long for a meme thing… So there’s a cut.
He’s not sure what he had exactly expected out of the Servicewhen he first joined up, but Steve sure hadn’t been expected to be halfway tothe outer belt aboard the most protected, secretive ship in the known galaxy, the U.S.S. SHIELD. He hadn’t expected an Earther like him would be tapped for a highly classified secret mission with the SSR. He wasn’t supposed to be here. He was working his standard circuit between Earth, Moon Colony II & Mars Colony, patrolling for the usual contraband when the call came. A prepped mission just lost one of their crew members, and he was requested at behalf of the Service’s highly elite trained SSR squad to report for duty. Steve made his last stop, brought his second-in-command and best friend Bucky up to speed, and boarded the first transport ship out towards the Service base on Ganymede.
He also sure as hell hadn’t expected to be paired up with the woman that he had been half in love when they were just recruits nine years ago.
Peggy Carter hasn’t changed much in his eyes, at least not in her stature and attitude. Her hair was longer than it had been back then, worn loose unlike the pulled back regulations of recruit days. But those eyes, the quirk of her brow and the perfect red lips, he remembered them just like yesterday, when his breath hitched and he never quite recovered it.
The moment he locked eyes with her, he gets a giddy feeling in his stomach, both excitement and something like nostalgia.
“Agent Peggy Carter, Agent Steve Rogers, welcome aboard,” CommanderPhillips, an old familiar face, greeted them on the Command Deck. “You’ll be getting to know each other very well over the course of this mission, but we’ll start with the high-level objectives and schematics.”
There doesn’t seem to be any recognition in Peggy’s eyes, and she quickly turns away to focus on Phillips.
“The target of course is Hydra, as you’ve both crossed paths with them in the System.”
He tries not to dwell on it as Phillips pulls up the relevant mission documents. They’re joined by Howard Stark who Peggy does seem to recognize.
An hour later, preliminary brief under way, they are giving initial prep assignments aboard the ship.
“I look forward to working with you Agent Rogers,” Peggy says without any ounce of familiarity as she sticks her hand out to him. He tries not to take it personally, after all, why would she remember him from that night they properly met all those years ago.
Steve swallows his disappointment and shakes her hand back. “I look forward to it also, Agent Carter.”
“Now if someone could point me to my quarters, it’s been a long journey here,” she says.
Howard taps several times on his command screen then clicks his tongue. “We’re running a full crew right now given the situation. The mission team was paired in the same bunk room before you two got assigned to this in their stead. Looks like you’ll have to make due with bunking together. It’s at least private quarters, unlike all the juniors manning Comm stations. They’restill in the general barrack bunks.” He shrugs. “Good time as any to get toknow each other real well before you two go off on your own.”
He notices Peggy make a face for a moment, but she doesn’t comment. Bunking with a girl. Bunking with Peggy. Maybe he should offer to take a spot in the bunks.
“Fine,” she responds in a clipped tone. “Now if you please Howard, point us to our quarters.”  
The quarters are small, as to be expected, though he supposes he’d been a bit spoiled having decent quarters on his usual circuit ship. The two bunks are built into opposite walls, with a small workstation under each. The privacy away from the crowded bunkrooms was a privilege. And Stark was right. He and Peggy were really going to need to get to know each other if they were going to make the covert mission work.
“Do you have a preference?” he asks her of the bunks.
“I’ll take the right wall if you don’t mind.”
He nods. “Of course,” he replies and they both get to work unpacking their personal effects in silence.
Steve contemplated saying something to break the silence, but he wasn’t sure if that would be more awkward than just saying nothing. He’d shared bunkrooms with women before, but he’d never shared private quarters withone, and definitely not one he had a crush on.
He decides not to make the situation anymore awkward for Peggy, who he is sure is not thrilled about sharing with him, and decides to give her as much privacy as one can in a tiny space.
“I apologize if I’m a bit short,” he hears from across the room. He turns and sees Peggy holding her blanket. “It’s been a long and wild journey here for me, so I’m on hour 34 without sleep.”
“You’re kidding!”
She shrugs. “Duty calls, but we hit an uncharted asteroid field which had been a pleasure to map out until we discovered it was one of the forgotten mine fields from the War.”
He’s impressed. Not surprised. But still… Impressed. “Wow,” ends up as his response.
“I just mean that the last few days have been particularly stressful.”
“Of course,” he agrees quickly. “That is one hell of a voyage to manage on a good day. Well you should probably get some shut-eye while you can. I was gonna scope the ship out. I can bring some food back in a couple of hours.”
He’s rewarded with a sleepy smile from her, and he can feel his heart thump against his ribcage. “That would be lovely. Perhaps some coffee if you can find it?”
He smiles back. “You got it.”
*
That first night, alone in their quarters together is awkward, even though Peggy seemed to warm to him when he had delivered on his promise of coffee and food. She asked him about his work on the patrol route, and he gets to hear about the more lengthy intense covert ops that had led her to stints on pretty much every occupied planet and various lunar colonies. He asks her a lot of questions about undercover work, having only done a few of his, and mostly out of necessity than direct order from above. He keeps waiting for an organic moment where their shared past will come up, but it doesn’t. They have a stilted conversation about turning the lights off, and then in the darkness, hyper aware that she is only several feet away, Steve can’t sleep. He stares up blankly, listening to the sounds of Peggy tossing and turning to get comfortable. He wonders if she slept well during her nap, or if like him, found that so much space travel made his brain so dizzy it wouldn’t easily relax.
He thinks about Bucky, and considers sending him a message just to check up on him. He thinks about how he spent the long voyage her missing his mother. It had been a long time since he had so many uninterrupted hours to just think. He misses her every day, but he had missed her so intensely the farther he got away from Earth, in a way he hadn’t felt since her funeral.
The morning alarm comes to early, but he’s out of bed and doing his usual routine or stretches and warm-up before he remembers that he has a roommate. He had so easily pulled off his t-shirt as he normally would have for exercise, but he feels so suddenly naked without it.
A sleepy Peggy Carter is a sight to behold, her features so soft. But even sleepy, her eyes roam his chest and he flushes. He grabs for the shirt on the floor and pulls it on, not daring to look in Peggy’s direction until he’s done his pull-ups. She joins in his stretches, and when she lifts her arms high up, he has to look away from her as a sliver of skin at her stomach becomes visible, before he says or does something embarrassing.
It’s been a long time since he’d been on a long voyage like this. He was used to his shorter cycles, never in the same place for more than a week, not going longer than three or four days without a docking. They’re still a while out before their passenger ship is outfitted and ready to go. It gives them plenty of time to strategize and to catch the other up on their knowledge and run-ins with Hydra.
They spend most of their days together. Compiling notes on known Hydra assets. Visiting Stark to confer about the specs needed for their mission. They run flight simulations together, Peggy as the lead pilot, the role she will be taking, and Steve as both navigator and lead engineer. They work on their cover, and keep up physical exercise, and weapons training, all together. By the end of their third week in transit, they’ve developed a genuinefriendship. Steve still listens carefully every night as she gets comfortablein her bed, listening for the sound of her breathing evening out before hefalls to sleep.
*
Two weeks after the success of their first covert trip, the test run Stark insisted upon before they flew off toward the Outer Belt alone, as goes to hell onboard the U.S.S SHIELD. They backtracked to Jupiter as the upheaval at Mars Colony played out. Phillips was apparently concerned about the powers at play, and was called back in the event a true skirmish arose. Which was perfect time for their main comm system to go down. As the Command Deck scrambled to boot up secondary and tertiary systems without compromising their position, Steve jumped below deck with Stark to try to recover the main system.
“Steve? Any progress?” he hears Peggy ask on their local two-way.
“Slow going Peggy,” he says with a sigh.
He hears her sigh too. “It’s not looking good. Phillips’ is navigating blind and the Mars situation seems to be getting worse.”
“Riots?”
She hums. “We’re picking up gun ships on the long-range. No accurate reading though with the system so intermittent.”
“Shit.”
He and Stark exchange a look. They have Peggy confirm output levels as they work, hearing as the situation gets more and more tense, with a three-gunship fleet sent out ahead to make better assessment. She gives them updates as she assists the crew upstairs. The repair takes hours, but they get it done.
“Peg we got it! Should be live any second!” He doesn’t wait for her response before rushing back over to her.
There’s a cacophony of noise on the Command Deck when Stevefirst reaches it, followed up a sudden eerie silence as the newsfeeds come back up, and the screens report the live images. He gasps along with the rest of them with the fiery images of ships under fire. The distress calls of one ofthe fleet’s gunships comes too late. He feels Peggy’s hand on his arm, but hecan’t even focus on it when he sees another disturbing image. A patrol ship, with an emblem of a star encased in concentric circles. Destroyed. His patrol ship. Bucky. Destroyed. The Honorary First Avenger patrol ship destroyed as it made a play to intercept fire at civilian passenger ship bound for Earth. Bucky…
“Steve.”
He doesn’t recognize that he’s the one hyperventilating until she calls his name. He looks at Peggy but sees nothing. Her hand is still onhis arm.
“Steve.”
“That’s my…” He can’t breathe. He wants to scream. “Bucky.”
The look she gives him is too painful to look at.
“No! No!”
Something squeezes his arm. “Steve, please! Please. Stay with me here. Breathe please. Please.”
He tries to follow her breaths, but between the chaos in his head and the tears streaming across his face, he can’t be here. He should have been there. It should have been him not Bucky. He pulls away and runs. He runs all the back to their quarters. He starts to scream into the void of the empty room, pounding his fist into the wall. He’s never so wished he had private quarters until this very moment. How can he have a breakdown and scream and cry and mourn and hate when he has to share a room with someone? How is he supposed to keep this all in check? How is his best friend dead?
Steve’s lost track of everything. Time. Space. His own body. Everything hurts so much that at this point his muscles feel numb. He jumps when the door opens. Peggy looks at him mournfully. He wipes his hand roughly across his face, clenches his jaw and wills himself not to show further emotion. She comes and sits down next to him on the floor. He doesn’t remember getting there. Was he not in his bunk?
Peggy puts her hand in his and pulls him close to her. He feels like she’s waiting for something, but Steve doesn’t move or say anything. Neither does she. After a while, he feels her hands slide up his arms. He blinks away more tears that have formed and watches her look at him. His shoulders are still heaving when her hands come up to touch them. He tries to still his uncontrollable body.
She comes close and without warning, her lips are on high on his cheekbone. The next moment she’s ushering him into his bunk. He feels like a scolded puppy sent to its cage. He turns over towards the wall with a frown. But then he feels something warm behind him.
“I’m so sorry Steve,” Peggy murmurs into his ear, pressing her lips again his jaw. She curls into him, her arm around his waist, her head resting against his shoulder. The rest of his defenses fall and he lets her hold him, turning so that they’re facing each other. “I’m so sorry,” she repeats as he sobs again, this time against her chest. “I’m here for you. I’m right here with you Steve.”
They spoon all night. She doesn’t leave in the morning. Peggy continues to weaver her fingers through his hair, and rub her hands down his back. But she doesn’t leave. They get up to clean themselves up, to force food into him, and for Peggy, a brief check-in up at Command where things have cooled significantly. Steve worries he’s all alone again.
But then Peggy comes back and climbs into bed with him. He doesn’t give a shit anymore. He presses his fingers into her hips and pulls her against him. When she curls her hand around his neck, he shudders and buries his face against her shoulder. Their bodies twist close together in the tiny bunk, warmth pooling between them. She lets him grip her close like his life depends on it. He thinks it might.
He dreams of the night they met.
It was at the canteen late one night after a long day of training simulations and ship duties. She’s one of three women on the ship. She’s been there for two weeks longer than the rest of them. So when Hodge, a brick head of a bully at the best of times, makes a pass at her and then tells her she can serve under him once he’s Captain of his own ship real soon because trust him, his dad’s got money so he’s sure of a promotion in a hurry, she gives him a calm request of an apology. He snorts and reaches for her ass. He’s barely made contact when she grabs his wrist, twists and then lands a punch to his jaw so quick and clean Steve’s mouth drops in wonder and quite honestly adoration. Hodge stumbles with the force of the hit and falls flat on his ass. A couple of his friends try to help him out, while the rest mostly look away not wanting to get involved. Hodge pushes his friends hands away, and red-faced marches towards her. She doesn’t look fazed but Steve finds himself there blocking his way before he can realize what’s happening.
 “Easy there Hodge you don’t want to embarrass yourself a second time huh?”
 “You stay out of it you pipsqueak Earther.”
 It stings, like those comments always have, but he’s used to it. Had nineteen years of the like.
“That’s really original. No wonder they haven’t promoted you yet. Or is that just because your dad doesn’t have connections to Commander Phillips so your stuck proving your worth the same as they rest of us? Now if you’ll excuse me, now that your seat is vacated I wanted to get a drink.”
 Hodge’s buddies talk him out of causing trouble and he walks out. Beating Steve up in front of plenty of witnesses at the canteen won’t earn him any favors. Everyone knows Phillips is a hard ass with no humor for nonsense. And Steve bets if Hodge did get in trouble, Steve would be right there with him for instigating it. It would have been worth it for the amused look Peggy Carter gives him alone.
 “He’s a fun one isn’t he?” He finds himself commenting. It’s odd for him because he’s never really been able to talk to girls before. And here’s the most gorgeous one he’s ever met and he can’t stop his mouth.
She arches her brow, the amused look still present. He feels heat at the back of his neck and to avoid further making awkward motions, hefiddles with the drink he didn’t really want but felt compelled to get.
They sit there side by side in silence.
 “Don’t listen to him,” he hears her say after a moment. He’s not sure what this advice is in reference to. To his harassment of her? “Not all of us come from the high life of Mars Colony.”
 He’s surprised, pleasantly so, feeling a tug of connection with her already.
 “You’re an Earther?” he asks excitedly. She’s the only other Earth-born that he’s met in his almost year with the service.
 She nods. “Yes. I was born in London. Where are you from?”
 “Brooklyn,” he tells her.
 “That’s lovely. I’ve only been to Brooklyn proper once myself but visited New York frequently as a young child. My father was based there for a while.”
He dreams of how they talked for hours before they had to get shut-eye before morning duty. He dreams of how he had been so excited to talk with her again.
When he wakes up, after their third night of sleeping together, Steve kisses her once. Soft, gentle, quick. He feels too raw for anything more. Her closeness and her caring of him is a gift. They turn until they face each other, Peggy playing with his hair.
“We’ve met before,” he tells her, his voice rough with disuse. Her eyebrow quirks but she lets him continue. “On the U.S.S. Valkyrie. We were both recruits. At the canteen. You punched Gilmore Hodge. Remember him?”
She bites her lip as she thinks. “Yes, though it’s a little hazy. There have been a lot of assholes in my path.”
He shrugs his shoulders. “I understand. It was almost ten years ago.”
She bites her lip as she thinks some more. “Wait. The canteen. We talked about Earth. I told you about my brother Michael.”
He nods, and the first small smile in days forms on his lips. “Yeah, your fighter pilot brother Michael.”
“You told me about your Mum. A nurse making ends meet. Why didn’t you come find me again?”
He sighs. “Two days later I got a call from the hospital Maworked at. She was dying. The Service granted me a leave of absence. She died three months later. I came straight back to the Valkyrie. You were already gone.”
Peggy kisses him, so gentle, so full of warmth it makes him cry again. She doesn’t seem off put by the tears. “The stars are not always inour favor. But I’m so glad they found us here together despite all things.” Henods numbly in response. “I’m sorry I didn’t remember you Steve Rogers.”
He shrugs. “We’re here now.”
Peggy laces their fingers together. “We are here together. And I won’t leave you alone for anything. Not for all the galaxies inthe universe.”
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