#okay the official crosspost

[kingtomura]

Cat and mouse

synopsis: Your ex boyfriend has some nerve texting you at three in the morning — an entire week after the disaster breakup you had. You should really go over there and give him a piece of your mind. Well, you know what they say about famous last words.  wc: 6.1k | crossposted to ao3 content: tomura shigaraki x female reader, no quirks au, toxic tomura, reader is kinda toxic too tbh, unhealthy relationships, breaking up and making up, vaginal fingering, overstim, breeding kink, piv, dubcon creampie, degredation, threats of baby trapping, hurt/comfort, sweet at the end idc

You’ve told your friends time and time again to stay out of your business. They never listen. 

“Oh my god, Kirishima? Is he even twenty yet?” You drag as you watch your friend flip through several pictures of the redheaded boy like he was a member of the bachelor. 

She smiles, scrolling her phone for more options, “no, but he will be in a couple of months!”

“No!” Your words are sharp. You love Mina but god, you don’t want her to play matchmaker with you. It’s not like you’re a charity case or something. 

She gasps and you swear you could see the lightbulb go off above her head. “What about Denki? He’s fun!” 

You groan, falling back onto the bed and covering your eyes with your arm. “Mina.” 

“Hey, just give her a break okay? It’s only been about a week.” Your saving grace Yaoyorozu speaks up and it’s nice to finally have someone on your side. 

“Thank you.”

“Seriously? So we’re just going to sit around and watch you mope about all day?” Mina questions, irritation clear in her voice and it grates your ears.  

“Preferably, yes! Just let me be.” You roll over, face officially shoved into your pillow. It’s been a rough couple of days and you haven’t gotten a single call or text from Tomura. Not that you should be expecting one. You broke up with him after all. 

It’s just.. this time feels different. Usually there’s more arguing and he’s fighting for you to stay around, but this time there was nothing. No quips, no insults, just “fine, get out then.”

That hurt the most. 

You had no idea what he was up to. 

Maybe he was as depressed as you were. 

Maybe he’s found someone else. 

The thought makes you stop in your tracks. The idea of Tomura, your tomura with someone else is enough to make you nauseous. 

You jump to your feet and rush to the bathroom, locking yourself in and falling to your knees. 

God, what if that was why it was so easy?

You pull out your phone, the device lighting up and unlocking with your facial id. 

Tomura doesn’t use social media much but you could still check to see if he’d blocked you. 

To your surprise, he hadn’t. 

He hasn't posted anything either and there’s no new person in his followers. 

You feel yourself exhale a breath you didn’t realize you had been holding. No change is a good thing. 

There’s knocking on the door and you thank the stars you locked it. Your friends would judge you so hard if they saw you lurking through your ex’s social media. 

“Hey, are you okay in there?” It’s your saving grace Yaoyorozu again and you almost feel bad for shutting her out. 

“Yeah, I’m sorry if it feels like I pressured you! I’ll give you some space.” Mina's regretful voice calls and it makes your heart clench. You know she means well but she just doesn’t understand. None of them do. 

Whether you want to admit it or not, you love Tomura. 

Yes, you argue and yes, you fight, but he just gets you. He’s so cynical, but so caring — in his own special way. Too bad he was such an asshole. The argument wasn’t even supposed to go that far. 

There are tears beginning to blur your vision and you wipe them away, willing the feelings down and standing to your feet. 

If he wanted you to stay away, then fine. You could do that. 

You splash cool water onto your face and take a breath, steeling yourself and getting ready to face your friend once more. It was Saturday and they were convinced you needed a fun girl’s night.

It takes a lot to refrain from cringing at the phrase, but you believe they held some truth with the idea. You definitely didn’t want to be alone right now.

You unlock the bathroom door, meeting Mina and Yaoyorozu’s worried expressions with a smile. 

“We should probably get ready now, huh?”

Mina’s eyes light up, smile blinding and excitement contagious.

“Yes! Jirou and the others are here now.” She starts to clap, excitement buzzing around her, “Girl’s night is going to be amazing!” 

—-

Girl’s night was a bust.

The moment everyone arrived the apartment quickly filled with chaos. Noisy and busy, it was all giving you a headache. Until someone decided it would be a good idea to pregame before going out.

In preparation for the night your friend’s insisted that you get dolled up, hair makeup and skimpy clothes you wouldn’t look twice at on any normal day. 

You had to admit it made you a little more excited to get out and at least feel like your world isn't crashing around you. It was supposed to be a fun little night out. Somehow one drink turned into two, which turned into three which turned into Mina swearing she could beat everyone in a dance battle. 

The group only got more riled up as everyone indulged in this silly challenge. 

One challenge leads to another, which leads to more drinking, which then ends in everyone being too drunk to function and knocking out — all laid out in odd places around your living room floor and couch. 

The groggy feeling came first, your arms radiating in dull pain as you vaguely recalled trying to beat Mina in a contest of who could do the most push ups. It sure as hell wasn't you, but the drunk version of you thought it was possible to move mountains. 

You blink a few times, trying to will your eyes to rapidly adjust to the darkness of the room and find out what this odd buzzing noise beside you had been. Turning over, you find your phone, squinting as the too bright screen lights up your face and you see that it is three a.m.

You had fallen asleep with everyone else.

The phone buzzes again, lighting up and you have to squint further to read the contact name.

Tomura. 

Your eyes widen as you scan over the three texts he’s sent you. 

Wasting no time, you rush to your feet and into the bathroom so you can look at your phone without the chance of prying eyes overlooking your shoulder. Even though they were probably going to be out until late morning.

Tomura’s messages were short, no paragraphs, no essays but three different messages sent in succession. 

When are you coming to get your shit?

I’m tired of waiting.

And I’m deleting our farm btw. 

The first two messages don’t get much of a reaction from you, especially since it’s three a.m and he knows you’re usually asleep around this time. 

But the third message…

Your Stardew Valley farm that you’ve had and worked on together for almost two years being put on the line and threatened? What the fuck was his problem?

This farm was a constant in your relationship. Throughout the ups and downs and back and forths. You were sure that hell would freeze over before you both would give up that progress. But here he is, threatening you while you would have been asleep. What an asshole.

Your feet are moving before your brain can stop them and you make your way to the front door. Since your friends were all passed out it would be easy to sneak over to Shigaraki’s place, give him a piece of your mind and then sneak back. In and out, quick and easy. 

Your decision is made and you grab your coat, deciding to just go over there as you are. You hadn’t changed out of your outfit that was supposed to be for the night out, but it didn’t matter. You only needed to get over there and get there fast.

Once you arrive at Tomura’s doorstep you waste no time knocking. It’s around three in the morning so he should still very much be awake. 

There's a chill in the air as you wait for his answer and you wrap your jacket closer to your body. A rumble of thunder caught your attention and it's then you notice the rain clouds rolling in. You knew it would only be a matter of time before the bottom of the sky falls out and rain drenches everything. You were on borrowed time if you wanted to make it back before then.

After what feels like forever the door finally opens, revealing a very cozy pajama-clad Tomura, who seemed a little too pleased for his own good — if that sly smile he was doing a bad job at hiding was anything to go by. 

You don't give him a chance to greet you or say anything for that matter, stopping his words in their tracks as you cut him off. “What do you want?”

He doesn’t bother hiding his smirk now, the expression making your fists clench and your anger boil. “What do I want? You’re at my door, in front of my apartment.” He scoffs, clearly getting the exact reaction he had wanted from you, “I should be asking what do you want?” 

Caught like a deer in headlights. Whatever, you don't let that stop you as you pull out your phone to show him his text. “You sent this, I know you’re bluffing. What do you want?”

Tomura shrugs, leaning against his door frame and giving you a pleased look. Expression relaxed and content. Not a care in the world. “To talk.”

“Well, I'm here now, so let’s talk.” You spit, crossing your arms and waiting for whatever else he would throw at you. 

“Sure, but you should come in first.” He starts, looking up towards the darkened sky, confirming his assessment. “It’s gonna rain soon, you know.”

Of course you knew that. 

You just didn’t want to give him more time than you had. But you agree and go in, ignoring the fighting feeling in the back of your mind screaming at you to turn away and hightail it out of there. 

Tomura’s home is the exact way it was the day you left, give or take a few more containers of takeout littered around the place. You have half a mind to scold him about it, but quickly remember that it isn’t your place to do that anymore. 

So instead you stay quiet, following him into the apartment and into the living room. Opting to stand as he sat, and resisted the urge to get comfortable. 

“So, what do you want to talk about?” You try, done watching him pick up a controller and boot up a video game. Seriously? 

Your patience was wearing thin now as you watched him ignore you to play some stupid game. You try calling to him again, knowing this was probably a waste of your time and groans.

“I was in the middle of something before you got here. Let me finish and we’ll talk.” It's flippant the way he waves you off and continues the game. The lack of care only hurting your feelings further and making you realize this may have all been a big mistake on your part.

You shouldn’t be at your ex boyfriend’s house being ignored. You should be at your house getting drunk and hanging out with your best friends. There was no reason to stay somewhere you’re obviously not valued.

It’s a simple choice when you put it into perspective. 

But things are always easier said than done. 

You sigh, the air puffing out your cheeks, a bad habit you had when angry, and walk right in front of Tomura’s TV. There was more satisfaction in making him lose the game and then announcing your departure than just leaving quietly. 

He cranes his neck to see around you, but it doesn’t work, finally giving up as his character inevitably dies. “What!?”

“I’m leaving!” You announced, turning on your heel and heading towards the front door.

“You had to make me lose first? I said I was almost done!” He spat back, rising from the couch to follow you.

You shrug, “I don’t care. Why invite me in if you’re just going to ignore me?”

“Didn’t think you had the patience of a child.'' Tomura stands in front of you, cutting through your path and stopping you in your tracks.

It's almost comical the way he insults you. “Okay pot, meet kettle.” You try to brush past him, but he side steps with you. 

“What are you dressed like that for anyway? Did you go out tonight or something?”

“No!” You deny, a little louder than intended and then pause. “But it’s none of your business what I do anyway.”

Tomura hums at this, taking the words in and running them through his mind as he gives you a once over, eyes scanning from the too-tight shirt you wore — showing a generous amount of cleavage, down to your mini skirt that left little to the imagination. 

“Could've fooled me.”

“What do you mean by that?” You hate when he gives you cryptic answers, like it’s impossible to pry into his mind to see what he was thinking at the moment. 

“You knew you were coming to see me so I dont get why you're wearing that skimpy shit. Unless you wanted me to check you out.”

“Not everything is about you, Tomura. Maybe I just wanted to dress up and look nice.”

“Bullshit—”

“God, Tomura you always fucking do this!” You yell, walking right up into his face. The excitement in his scarlet eyes sends a chill up your spin, but you can’t back down. 

He gets closer, matching your tone and you can still see the grin he’s trying to hide. It makes you see red. “Do what? Tell you the truth? You know I’m not wrong.”

“Yeah, you think you know everything, but you don’t. I’m dressed up because I want to be, not because of you.” You’re insisting at this point, frustration threatening to tip over and spill out into the form of another pointless argument. Why did you think you could actually come over and have a decent conversation with him?

Tomura is a master at getting under your skin and hitting where it hurts. In all of your arguments he’s never really pulled out the big shots but you wouldn’t put it past him to do so now. 

“Oh, so you come over to my place dressed like a slut and you expect me to believe you don’t have some hidden motive?”

And there it is.

Your last straw. He could be so egotistical and mean — you’ve had it. 

You regret it the moment you do it, but your body moves before your brain can process your actions. You push Tomura. Hard. 

He doesn’t fall back far but you know it’s enough to piss him off. And he’s never been one to hold anything back, so he shoves you back and your back hits the wall. 

Tomura has you pinned before you know it and there’s a thrill that runs through your body in a way you know you shouldn’t be feeling. Your knees feel weak for reasons that are not related to fear and your panties were gradually becoming more wet. 

His voice is low and his eyes are narrowed as he pins you against the wall, pressing your cheeks together with his other hand. “You’re really starting to piss me off.”

You have to bite back a smile, knowing this has taken a turn and you aren’t strong enough to stop where it’s going. Not that you would want to. 

“Oh yeah? If I piss you off so badly then why are you hard?”

He doesn’t look down. He can feel his own arousal just as well as you can while it’s pressed against your abdomen. 

Tomura pushes off of you — maintaining some distance as he turns away. 

“You’re fucking annoying.”

“Sure am.” You supply, chipper and certain as you trail behind him. 

He’s walking further into the apartment, and you follow. Legs moving on their own accord as you go further into the lion's den, exchanging quips and insults. You jab your finger into his shoulder, bothered by the way he continues to ignore you, it's a pathetic attempt at catching his attention and it works. Kind of. 

The only response being him slapping your hand away with a glare and muttering a soft fuck off as he walked on. 

You both went back and forth. Like the sun and moon, you just can’t stay away from each other.  

It was how these things usually went between you and Tomura. He would start up, make a petty argument and you would never back down. Tomura is someone who was used to getting his way and others simply did what he said with no objections. 

But that was not how you were.

And he loved it.

You knew by the way he would get that devious glimmer in his eye when you would challenge a point, starting up a debate. Sometimes they were heated enough to make you both break up. It never lasted more than a few days. A week being the longest.

Push and pull. 

Tomura made his way past you again, ignoring your calls about how you hate being ignored. At this point you’re sure he’s doing it on purpose to rile you up more but you can’t help but take the bait. You grab his shoulder, forcing him to turn around and face you as you point a finger in his face. 

“Stop walking away from me!” 

He grabs your wrist and pulls you closer, making you stumble on your feet and almost lose balance. You were so close you could feel the heat from his body and smell the fresh linen scent of his shirt. “Don’t tell me what to do.” 

You snatch your wrist away from him, tension between you two growing hotter by the second as the space between you got thinner. 

“What are you going to do about it?” 

The narrowing of his eyes only made your grin grow wider as you watched the gears turn in his head as he thought about just how many things he would do about it. All of it enticed you, so you beat him to the punch. 

You reach forward again, fully intending to shove his shoulder again for another reaction, another glare, maybe even more words, but he stops you. It was fast, the way you both tumbled through the hallway as Tomura crashed his lips to yours. The relief of finally feeling his lips again meshed with the excitement of how rough he was with you. 

You lose yourself in the kiss, welcoming him in with open arms as you vaguely register the dark walls of his room and posters plastered along the walls in your scuffle.

It was exciting, probably the best part of breaking up and making up. At this point you think the whole point of falling apart is coming back together again. An endless cycle where the reward is worth the punishment. 

Cat and mouse. 

You end up on top of him, straddling his hips while your smug smile beams down at him. Tomura gives you an unamused look in return, yet the way his hands rested on your thighs gave away the ill hidden interest. It was all the encouragement you needed as you leaned down, hovering above him with both hands on his chest. 

“Not so tough now, are you?”

It’s bait. You know it’s bait, he knows it’s bait, but he takes it anyway — the way you knew he would. 

Tomura wastes no time flipping the both of you over, quickly reversing your positions as he settled himself between your legs. It’s dangerous the way his actions riled you up further, and you have to bite your lip to keep the smile from betraying your false anger. You couldn’t let him know how excited you were to be back in his bed. 

He presses your cheeks together and rocks your head left to right, tone mocking and eyes wild with fever, “Oh, look who’s become a firecracker all of the sudden. Where did that flame come from, huh?”

You want to respond, but Tomura beats you to it, releasing your cheeks and pointing a nimble finger against your forehead, “Don’t be dumb.”

His eyes trail from yours and then down to your lips, then finally down to your exposed cleavage. The movement was swift as he cupped one of your breasts in his hand and dipped down, claiming your lips again. It was softer than the first time but not by much, especially not when he matched his pace by grinding his clothed erection into you, making you moan at the contact. 

Your skirt was so short and it made you feel even more exposed than you already were. Tomura had easy access to you and the thin fabric of your panties made everything feel so much closer. 

You moan at the contact, swiping your tongue against Tomura’s bottom lip and wasting no time deepening the kiss as you pull him closer. You needed more and you needed it as soon as possible. 

Tomura pulled the low cut front of your shirt down, easily exposing your breasts from the confines of the shirt and massaged them, his thumbs rubbing soothing circles against your nipples and making you cry out from the sensitivity. 

He pulls away from you, eyes gazing into yours and you swore in that moment he put you in a trance. Tomura’s ruby red gaze always left you mesmerized and you can’t help the whimper that leaves your lips, brows furrowed and eyes wanting, “Please.”

“Please what?” And he’s not taunting you, he’s not mocking you. His eyes are soft as he brings a hand to your cheek. “Tell me what you want.”

“You.” Fuck, you’ve missed him. “I just want you.”

There’s a hint of a smile on his face as he strokes your cheek, soft look in his eyes making your heart flutter, and then it’s gone. Replaced by a hardened gaze as he moves to remove your shirt and bra, fully exposing you to his hungry eyes, and then moves to remove your short skirt. 

His hands hover there for a moment, debating whether or not he should keep it on and fuck you in it, but then decides against the idea and pulls it off, taking your soaked panties down with it as well. 

The air in the room feels cool against your skin as you shiver in anticipation. 

“Fuck,” Tomura whispers, now eye level with your cunt. You gasp as he runs two fingers between your wet folds and holds the digits up to show you. Syrupy clear slick clung to them, slowly trailing down as Tomura rose back up, eye level with you once more. 

“You’re so wet…” He murmured, bringing the digits to your mouth and you opened, taking them into your mouth and tasting yourself. You kept eye contact as you watched his eyes widen in delight — Tomura loved it when you put on a show for him.

There’s another moment of Tomura pressing against your tongue with his fingers and then he pulls them out, opting for a kiss in exchange, his tongue dipping into your mouth and groaning  as he could taste what’s left of your slick on you as well.

The pleasant feeling and linguid action of your movements made your shoulders relax as you practically melted into his soft bed, the feeling of his body above yours bringing you mountains of comfort. It was a distraction, of course. 

You felt the same two of Tomura’s fingers prod at your slick entrance before pressing in fully and all the way down to the knuckle. The stretch was intense but the pressure was euphoric, making you squeeze your eyes shut and grip him closer. 

He didn’t make you wait long as he pumped his fingers, quickly finding that sensitive spot so deep inside of you that only he could pinpoint and brushing against it over and over. 

The feeling was so good it made you pull away from the kiss to breathe, thighs twitching and toes curling in pleasure. You wouldn’t last long like this.

“Tomura, fuck..!” You moaned, drowning in ecstasy as he continued his abuse of your spot, never letting up or slowing down, aiming to make you cum as quickly as he could. It was obvious he wanted you to come undone as soon as possible by the way he watched your every expression. 

The way your brows furrowed to the way you bit your lip. Tomura eagerly drank every expression and gave it back to you in the form of pleasure. 

“What?” He started, unphased by your dilemma, “Gonna cum?”

It took a lot of focus and effort, but you nod — done with fighting for the night and accepting the fact that you will come apart quickly. So you give in to the pleasure. 

Tomura smiles, a devious grin splitting his features as he curls his fingers, hitting the spot one more time for good measure and you lose composure, your climax crashing into you like a tidal wave. There was nothing you could do besides ride the feeling while holding on to Tomura tight — like you would get swept away if you didn’t. 

He fucks you through it with his fingers, eyes never leaving your face as you come down from your high. 

“Pent up, huh?” He questions, and this time there is that little hint of teasing. It brings you back to reality. 

Yes, you have been pent up. You haven’t been able to get off to anything since you’ve broken up and it’s been hell. 

You have no time for the games, you just want him and you want him now. 

So, you take Tomura’s face in your hands, making him look you in the eyes. The flecks of black in his carmine eyes always makes you remember why you come back. Every single time. 

“Fuck me, please, Tomura.” It's soft and filled with desire that you cannot be bothered to hide, and Tomura has never been one to deny you.

He quickly discards his own clothes, making sure to not stay away from you for long. His cock is hard and leaking precum from the head as he strokes it in preparation. You feel giddy at the thought and watch as he slides the head of his cock between your folds, coating it with your slick, and rubbing against your clit. The action makes your hips twitch up towards him. 

He loves to tease and make you wait, but today he doesn’t make you wait long. Tomura leans down after lining himself up with your entrance and places his free hand behind your head, right above the nape of your neck. His hands were warm and the feeling of those hands cradling your head felt so comforting in the space of his familiar dark bedroom. 

You bring a hand to his hair, tangling your fingers in his ashen locks as he pushes forward. The stretch makes you whimper and Tomura captures your lips in a kiss again, swallowing the noises and releasing a groan of his own as your walls tighten around his cock. 

There's something about the way Tomura drags his hips, the way he starts off at a slow pace, winding you up as he steadily increases his speed and force. It happens so gradually that you don't realize you’re screaming his name until he tells you to shut up — threatening to cover your mouth because he didn't want his neighbors to hear how much of a slut you were.

It drove you mad the way he said it all with a smile and fucked you harder. Almost daring you to be louder so he can punish you with a hand over your mouth.

Tomura knew how rough you liked it and he always delivered, giving you back arching pleasure as he pounded into you. It leaves you gasping and struggling to keep your voice down. Your hands find the surface of his back, trying to hold on as much as you could with building pleasure on the horizon. 

“Tomu— Tomura..! Please,” you cry and he doesn’t miss a beat, driving his cock so deep against your sweet spot it makes you see stars. “Fuck..!” 

“Yeah, that’s it.” Tomura cooed, eyes filled with mischief as he brought you closer to the edge. “Cry for me.”

And you do, your body feeling euphoric as the feeling buzzed up your spine and filled your brain with the fuzz of ecstasy. 

“What are you gonna do, huh?” He starts, his hips grinding against you, the closeness of his pelvis rubs against your clit, making you cry out again, “What are you gonna do when I breed this pretty cunt and make sure you’re stuck with me forever?”

He’s bluffing, you know Tomura doesn’t want kids. He’s just trying to gauge your reaction. Your dedication. 

“Tomura…” You only moan, breath catching as he hits that spot inside you that he knows so well. 

Tomura is smiling, wild and devious, as you look up at him with glossy eyes, so close to crying from the feelings, “I’m gonna do it. I’ll make you mine forever and you can’t do anything about it.” 

“Ah!” You should stop him, tell him to calm down but he has your eyes rolling to the back of your head and your back arching off of the bed. Everything is blurring together and you can only slur words as the drool from your earlier kiss trails down your cheek. 

You are completely at his mercy like this and you know your friends would be beyond disappointed.  

It just feels so good the way his cock drags in and out of your body pulling moans and whines from your throat. He was relentless in the way he pounded into you — beyond the point of being soft and slow because he knows that’s exactly you like it. 

“Say you want it.” The command comes with the slowing of his hips and you whine, high and needy as Tomura slows to a near stop.

“Tomura, I—“

“Say you want it or I swear to god I’ll stop right now.” It’s a threat and you don’t want to find out if he’ll go through with it. Tomura never goes back on his word. 

“No, please, don’t— I want it!” you pant, frustrated and aching for more movement.

“I want you to,” you stammer, desperate to have your release. “I don’t care if you cum in me. I need you so bad.”

“That’s my girl,” He coos, dipping his head down onto your shoulder, “Fuck.. love you s’much”

You stop — you’ve never heard him say that. Ever. You doubted he would ever say it since it’s been so long. 

He doesn’t give you a chance to ruminate on it because he's picking up the pace again and giving you the friction you were so deeply in need of. The feelings are swimming in your head as your cries reach new heights. Tomura is too far gone to stop you or care and you’re thankful. You couldn’t stop yourself if you tried. 

The build of your orgasm crashes down and sends you with it, making your thighs quiver in pleasure and your eyes squeeze shut. Tomura’s mouth meets yours before you could cry out, the warmth of his tongue guiding you as he fucked you through it. 

He didn’t last long after, the way your walls tightened around him with the force of your orgasm has Tomura’s pace erratic as he chased his own high. 

The bed shook as Tomura finally finished, hips stuttered as he released inside of you, hot seed coating your insides and making heat rise to your cheeks. He really did it.

You watch as he slows to a stop above you, his eyes closed as he enjoys the feeling of release. Tomura’s breathing was heavy and you couldn’t stop yourself from bringing him down into another kiss, traveling from his lips to his cheeks and then back again. 

It was intimate and you were worried it may have been too much, given the reason you were both in this situation was because of a stupid breakup. 

Tomura’s pulls out of you, making you wince and taking the feeling of being so full away from you. He doesn’t go far, opting to stay on top of you and rest his head on your shoulder, wanting to keep you as close as possible. 

“You really piss me off.” He mumbles into your shoulder, out of breath and tired. “God, why can’t you just stay with me.”

“Tomura…” Your hands run through his hair, the sweat is making it stick to his forehead as you wait for him to keep talking. 

“Stop leaving me.” His voice is firm, unwavering.

“You told me to go.” 

“I didn’t think you fucking would. I would never actually want you to.”

“I can’t read between the lines Tomura, I’m not in your head.” You make him look at you this time, pulling his hair a little to get him to raise his head. “Did you mean it?”

“I just said I didn’t—“

“No, the other thing you said.” He gives you a look of pure confusion and you lose a little bit of hope, “when you said you loved me?” 

You stare into his carmine eyes, hoping, praying it wasn’t just pillow talk from the heat of the moment. 

He looks at you for a long time, frustration still wearing on his features. If you didn’t know any better you would say he was pouting. “Of course I meant it. I’ve always felt like that.”

“But you’ve never said it!”

“I show it!”

“How?” This is getting frustrating and going in circles. 

He groans, sitting up and taking his warmth with him. “I’m not going to sit here and list everything I’ve ever done for you. I don’t think it works like that.”

You open your mouth to counter, irritation on your tongue because that’s not what you meant, but Tomura stops you again. 

“I don’t know how to explain it, okay?” He shakes his head and sighs, laying next to you on the bed and looking up at his ceiling. “It’s weird. I have these strong feelings, but it’s not hate, it's not anger. It's the opposite of that.”

You stare at him as he focuses ahead, keeping his eyes trained on the uninteresting ceiling above.

“Father said it’s a weakness and I should feel that way but,” There’s a pause as he looks away from the ceiling, meeting your eyes finally, “if it’s so weak of me, then why are the feelings so strong?” 

Your heart aches. It's clear that he’s torn, and with the strange way he was raised you know that he can’t help the way he is. 

“Tomura…” 

“And it won’t go away. I can’t fight them down or push them away like I can with everything else. It eats me up and I… guess I lash out because of it.” He shakes his head and for the first time Tomura looks defeated. You’ve never seen him this way — he’s always been filled with confidence and self assured. “I just don’t know what to do.”

You bring a hand to his cheek as you press your forehead against his. It kills you that this is what’s been on his mind and you aren’t sure what you could do to fix it. Maybe there was nothing you could do, physically, but you would do your best to be there for him emotionally.

“Sometimes,” you try to be careful with your words, knowing how much Tomura looks up to his foster father even though the man has been nothing but strange to him. “People say things that aren’t true because they don’t know how to live with it.”

Tomura’s guardian cannot live with love nor the idea of it. 

“That doesn't mean you have to live that way.” 

And it’s the truth. 

Tomura doesn’t say anything, just watches you with heavy lidded eyes, ruby red nearly glowing in the low light of the room. He was so much more than what people thought they knew of him and you didn’t care if it took time for others to see that.

He leans in, closing his eyes and you meet him halfway into a kiss. 

It's warm and it's soft and you know that even when your phone is buzzing from dozens of missed calls and texts from your friends, it will be fine. 

You and Tomura would take things one day at a time.

#shigaraki x reader #shigaraki tomura #shigaraki tomura x you #shigaraki tomura x reader #tomura x reader #mha x reader #my works #tomura shigaraki smut #shigaraki smut #shigaraki tomura smut #tomura shigaraki x reader #tomura shigaraki x you

[taomyou]

The Romance of Reimbursements - Chapter 2

Pairing: Levi Ackerman x Reader Status: COMPLETED Summary: There’s a guy you see every Friday on bus 143, and you think he’s pretty hot. It wouldn't hurt to tell your best friend about him, would it? or, you and Levi take the same bus home from work every Friday, and you fall in love slowly, clumsily, and with all the time in the world to fold as many paper stars as your heart desires. Word Count: 6.3k Tags: slow burn, friends to lovers, modern au, office au, fluff, romance, meet-cute, matchmaking

(A/N: this fic is already completed and entirely available on ao3 here if you would like to read it. i am currently in the process of crossposting everything to tumblr, so please be patient!)

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That Friday, you do end up finishing those cookies for Hange.

After they were finished going off about the dinner they were dragging you to "no matter what," the two of you moved back over to the kitchen to roll out dough balls, cover them in cinnamon sugar, and shove them in the oven.

You both eased back into conversation about anything and everything, bar the guy from the bus, and things were smooth sailing for the rest of the day Hange spent at your place. After you were finished with business in the kitchen, Hange went back to their apartment to quickly grab some of last night's leftovers for the two of you to share as dinner, and you both decided to lay on the couch again to eat and watch random Shark Tank episodes on some probably illegal streaming site Hange found.

You swore they were uploaded to an official website somewhere, but they insisted that those episodes were probably really boring if they were free to watch. No matter, it was a great deal of fun even if neither of you really understood any of the entrepreneurial jargon they used on the show.

After you and Hange got tired of complaining for the hundredth time that none of the contestants would choose Lori as their investor, you sent Hange off with a smile, a hug, and a tupperware container of the snickerdoodle cookies. You had brought up teaching them the recipe so they could make it without you, but just like with every other recipe you tried teaching them, Hange insisted that coming over to your kitchen to bake with you was far more fun than doing it alone.

On the way out the door, Hange told you they'd text you the time and other important details once they got home, and, just like that, you were alone to stew in your thoughts again.

You dragged yourself to your bathroom, not having had a moment to change into your home clothes yet, and stripped yourself down to hop in the shower. The joyful expression that was on your face when you hugged Hange goodbye fell from your face and became replaced with a tight-lipped smile. You leaned down to turn the faucet on, tugged on the pullup knob, and let the water rain down on you.

Somehow, you missed the name Hange said belonged to him. Well, not somehow. You knew you weren't listening when they were rambling earlier, but you wished you had asked Hange at some point to put a name to a face. They had to have known you weren't listening, and you're sure they wouldn't have been offended if you did ask, but you didn't want to bring him up again for fear of them veering the conversation back to him.

Squeezing some shampoo into your hands, you rub them together to lather it up and bring them up to massage into your hair.

Oh well. No use really worrying about it now. You just needed to get through one dinner: how hard could it be?

✰

Okay, maybe you should've worried about this earlier.

Currently, you're standing in front of two outfits laid out on your bed. On the left is a nice black dress and a white coat, and on the right is a turtleneck, dress pants, and brown overcoat combo. You have another hour before you have to go, but here you are, trying to figure out what to wear to a dinner with who you thought to be the most beautiful man to set foot on this Earth.

You've been stood in front of your bed for a good 20 minutes already.

What were you even doing? Fussing over a man was one thing, but now you're acting like you're trying to dress yourself for a second grade class field trip to the zoo.

Actually, you wouldn't be wearing anything nearly as fancy to the zoo, but you get the point.

You're a grown, twenty-seven year old woman. You're an attorney, goddammit. You should be fine handling a measly dinner arrangement with someone you just happened to find absolutely gorgeous.

It's not like it'd be just the two of you either. Hange explained over text on Saturday that the "we" in "we're having dinner on Sunday" consisted of some of the people in their friend group, one of whom was your mystery bus stranger. They never really described any of their friends before in great detail, just assigning them nicknames so they could tell you stories about them from time to time.

You especially liked the ones about Shorty, a grumpy man Hange described as having a "perpetual stick up his ass."

He seemed like someone you'd want to be friends with, despite the obvious contrast his personality seemed to have to yours. Hange would talk sometimes about how much of a pain it was to hang out with him because he'd always complain about their driving or how sweet the tea he'd ordered was. Other times, they'd retell you his stupid jokes and let you laugh into the palm of your hand at how painfully sarcastic he seemed to be.

The only time you were ever tempted to actually come along with Hange and their friends was when they invited you to his birthday party (which was apparently disguised as a Christmas party, for whatever reason) a few years ago, but you already had a vacation back to your hometown planned that year.

Hopefully, Shorty's there at dinner. Maybe his presence would give you something to focus on instead of the handsome stranger Hange apparently knew and was going to bring with them.

Shaking your head to get out of your thoughts and back to the task at hand, you grab your phone from your shorts pocket to text Hange to ask what to wear. You get your answer seconds later when they reply, telling you to wear a dress.

"Dress it is, I guess," you mumble to yourself, grabbing the dress from your bed to change into it, as well as a pair of fleece-lined tights and safety shorts from your cabinet to help fight against the cold. Thank goodness you did your makeup before figuring out your outfit so you wouldn't have to rush that on your way out the door.

After putting on the dress and other garments, you head over to the bathroom with a small box of your accessories to use your mirror to put them on. It was convenient to have worn the dress, you decide, since choosing your jewelry would be easier than it would be if you wore the other outfit. After taking a quick look at all the trinkets you have in the box, you decide on a nice necklace with a single pearl pendant, purple wisteria drop earrings, and a decently large satin bow for your hair.

You take a good step away from your mirror to see how everything looks all put together, and you decide that you look... pretty. You hadn't really had the chance to dress up recently, and it was a nice change to be able to style yourself how you wanted. Of course, you had to look good at work, but it's not like you actually liked wearing pantsuits and heels all the time. Come to think of it, the last time you remember feeling so pretty was that first Friday, months back, when you first saw that stranger.

After checking your phone to see you had another 30-ish minutes to get to the restaurant, you shove your phone, wallet, and keys into your purse. Slipping on a pair of black flats, you make your way out the door and put on your coat as you walk downstairs to your car. Hange already left their apartment earlier in the morning, so they weren't able to carpool with you over to the restaurant, but they promised they'd be there a bit earlier than the scheduled meet-up time to make sure you'd have company while you waited. Somehow, you doubt that.

And you were right to doubt Hange's early appearance. When you get inside the restaurant, you see no sign of them anywhere. You take a quick glance at your phone to see that there's 10 minutes before the scheduled time everyone's supposed to arrive. The waiting area is quite large, but everyone looks already occupied with their own group, so you can't guess who is or isn't a part of Hange's circle.

To your surprise, you hear a familiar voice say your name behind you, and you turn around to see... Erwin?

"Erwin? What're you doing here?"

He seems almost as confused as you are to see him, especially since the two of you have never bumped into each other outside of work before, but he still answers nonetheless. "I'm meeting for dinner with some friends. I wasn't sure if it was you, but thank goodness it is and I don't have to make a fool out of myself greeting a complete stranger."

You nod in understanding, feeling a bit awkward seeing your work superior outside of... well, work. He's dressed in the same clothes he wore to the office, more or less, though, so you'll get over the initial shock soon enough.

He clears his throat, bringing attention back onto himself. "What brings you here tonight, if you don't mind me asking?"

You nervously laugh at his question, bringing up a finger to tap your cheek in embarrassment. "My friend's introducing me to a couple of their friends, which is quite a long time coming since I've gotten away with not meeting them for as long as I have. One of them is apparently this guy I've seen on the bus before though, so that should be fun," you answer, and despite the blistering cold blowing into the waiting area from the constantly swinging entrance doors, you can feel your face start to heat up like it always does when you think of him.

Erwin quirks an eyebrow at your answer, but before he can say anything, you hear Hange plowing into the space.

In tow is... oh, it really is him.

A large part of you, prior to this exact moment, wanted Hange to be wrong about knowing the stranger you told them about.

Some other part of you wanted it to be true, though.

He looks just as good as he did 2 days ago when you last saw him, maybe even more so now that you're under the extravagant lighting of the restaurant.

His suit's grey, just like his eyes, and it seems like he did his hair differently—maybe it's slicked back now, you can't tell from where you are in the room. You just barely take note of his height, which you never noticed before since you were too nervous to really look at him walk off the bus, but you jest that making him short was the universe's way of trying to make him "unattractive." As if that would even be possible; the man looks like he's topped the list of TC Chandler's Top 100 Faces every year since birth.

Even with the distance, however, there's no denying that that's him. The guy you see every Friday on bus 143 is across the room from you, standing underneath the same chandeliers you are.

The two of you accidentally make eye contact, and you think you're about to faint. Let's hope the host can seat you at one of those comically long tables so nobody can see the blush blooming on your face once again.

Hange skips over to you, giving you a hug and breaking you out of your momentary trance. Once you realize what's going on, you hug them back in earnest and give them a bashful smile. They most definitely take notice of your red face after leaning back a bit to get a good look at your face and pinching your cheek playfully, but they don't make any comment about it.

"You, hey, you! You look so cute!" They coo, refusing to let go of you. You awkwardly laugh, seeing Erwin over Hange's shoulder. If you thought he looked confused earlier, he looks completely and utterly taken aback now.

Hange pulls away from you and stands proudly between you and Erwin, that same shit-eating grin from Friday bright on their face once again. They motion for the other raven-haired man to come over, which he does with a quiet frown on his face. Somehow, even that gets you just a bit more red in the face.

"Levi! Erwin! This is my friend, Astraea!"

You nervously wave at both Erwin and who you now know as Levi, though you're quick to bring your hand back down to hold your other one behind your back.

You were sure Erwin wasn't who Hange was calling Shorty in their stories, and as much as you wanted to deny the possibility, Levi was probably Shorty given his obviously short stature. Curse you for wanting to meet Shorty and not considering that him and the bus stranger could've been the same person.

"Wait, your name isn't Astraea," Erwin says, quizzically looking between you and Hange.

Before you can explain, Hange butts in. "No, you wait! How do you know that? Are you stalking me and my dear friend?" They proposition, pointing an accusatory finger at Erwin.

Levi scoffs at that, and for the first time, you hear his voice. "Please, Four Eyes, as if anybody has the time to try and follow you around," he quips.

How is it possible for someone to sound so good? Dear lord.

You have to keep your eye on a decorative plant at the corner of the room to avoid making eye contact with anyone for fear of them getting a full view of your face.

"Erwin's my work senior. You know, the one that made me give up my parking spot," you tell them, eyes still locked on the plant.

At that, Hange laughs fully and puts their hand over their chest. "Small world! Well, good to know we can skip that introduction!"

"That still doesn't explain the fact that her name apparently isn't Astraea," Levi speaks up, probably rolling his eyes at Hange.

You can feel everyone's gaze shift to you, so you awkwardly choose to face Erwin as you answer. "Uh," you start. "When I was a kid, my younger brother was obsessed with Greek mythology. Astraea was one of the first names he learned and he insisted that I was 'just like her,' whatever that meant, so he'd always call me that. I ended up using it for all my usernames because I was so paranoid about people online finding my personal information. Eventually, I got so used to it that I usually just ask people to use Astraea instead of my real name."

Hange smiles and drapes an arm over your shoulder, trying to apparently get you less tense. You melt a bit into the embrace, but you're still too nervous to even look in Levi's direction.

"And your brother was right! I took a Greek mythology course in university, and you fit Astraea to a T!"

Erwin looks like he still has questions, so you nod at him to prompt him to ask them.

"How come nobody at work calls you that, then? You're close with quite a few people in the office—surely you've exchanged information with them by now."

You politely smile at that and answer.

"I ask them not to use it at work since I don't want other people in the office to look me up on social media, but they use it if we're out together."

Erwin seems content enough with your answer and offers you a calm smile. You still can't bring yourself to look at Levi, and you don't want to even begin to think about any of the possible things going through his head.

Does he even recognize you from the bus? Sure, you two have never talked or even made eye contact before this official introduction, but the bus wasn't really crowded at all. He has to at least know your face, right?

Before you can dwell on the thought, you hear Hange invite Erwin with them to go to the reservation desk to let the waitstaff know that your party has arrived, leaving you alone with Levi.

Before you can reach into your purse to try and make yourself look busy on your phone, Levi clears his throat and starts to speak. "So, you didn't know Hange and Erwin knew each other?" He asks, trying to make some conversation to fill the silence now that the other two were away.

You make no move to look at him, opting to keep your eyes on Hange's animated conversation with Erwin at the reservation desk. "No, Hange and I don't really talk about our friends all that much with each other. Just stories here and there, you know?"

Levi gives a hum in response as a signal he heard you.

God, you can already feel your palms start to get sweaty. The red on your face could probably be written off as sensitivity to the cold winter air outside, but you're done for if someone notices you wiping your hands on your coat too many times.

"Did you come with Hange?" You ask, eyes still on Hange in the distance.

"Yes. I was supposed to come with someone else, but he had a work emergency and sent Hange instead. They're probably trying to see if our reservation is still fine now that we're a person short. If I knew that Hange was going to be the one driving me, I would've just walked over here myself."

Okay, well, now you know for sure he's Shorty.

You laugh a little at his reply before tucking your hands into your coat pockets.

"That's Hange's driving for you," you start. "Have they ever talked about me before?" You question, deciding to try and gauge his opinion of you from Hange's stories of you. You see him nod from the corner of your eye.

"If you're the neighbor who lets them run around wild with a sugar rush practically every other day, then yeah, they've talked about you plenty," he remarks.

You laugh awkwardly, eyes shifting to the floor. "Good to know."

Definitely not good to know, but you weren't gonna let anyone but you know that.

Before either of you can try and save the conversation, Hange waves their arms high up in the air to get the two of you to the desk where the host is waiting with menus tucked under his arm. You and Levi walk towards them, not much distance between you and him, and the four of you are seated at a fancy booth. Hange and you sit on the same side while Erwin and Levi are seated across from you, with Levi right across from you.

There goes any chance of avoiding eye contact with him.

To buy yourself some time away from his steely gaze, you open the menu to look at the options.

Alright, you weren't actually looking at the menu. You looked it up online when Hange texted you where you were going, and you already picked out what you wanted before today. It seems that Erwin also knows what he wants, not bothering to even pick up his menu.

"Is it alright if we call you Astraea, then, seeing as we're not at work?" He asks.

You look across the table at him, glad to see that Levi brought the menu up over his face so you couldn't see each other, and nod. "Yeah, that's fine."

Hange bumps your shoulder with theirs and asks you to help them choose between the two dishes they want, and once they choose one of them, Erwin flags over the waiter.

You think it's weird that he doesn't wait for Levi to tell him he's finished looking at the menu, but you don't want to question it.

After everyone informs the waiter of what they want, he takes your menus away and comes back seconds later with napkins, both cloth and paper ones, and silverware. Out of habit, you immediately start tearing at the paper napkin to form a long strip.

"You still make those?" Erwin asks. 

You absentmindedly nod, starting to tie the small loop at one end to start the star.

"She does it everywhere we go! I have a vase of them at my place, it's a really cute decorative piece to have," Hange praises, looking over at you with their face leaned into their hand.

"I have a jar of them on my work desk, and I've gotten quite a few compliments from clients about it over the years," Erwin adds, now also watching you form the small trinket.

You finish rolling up the strip, tucking it into itself, and pinching the corners before handing it to Hange, just as you always do when the two of you are out together. This time, however, instead of putting it into their coat pocket as they usually do, they hold it in their palm and stick their arm out across the table in front of Levi, who blankly looks between the star and Hange.

"Why are you giving it to me?" He questions.

Hange groans and gets up a bit from their seat to get closer to him. "I have more than enough at home already, and Erwin seems like he does too. Just take it!"

Levi rolls his eyes but goes to grab the star from them, placing it down on the table. You didn't think he'd take it at all, but you were even more sure that he would just leave it there after dinner was over.

Hange turns their attention back to you, eager to get a conversation going at the table. "So now that I know you work with Erwin and I don't need to introduce the two of you to each other, let me tell you about Levi!" They start. "I don't know if you remember, but Levi's the one I call 'Shorty!'"

You nod at that, having figured that out already. You look back over at Levi who seems to just be looking outside a window across the restaurant.

Seeing as Levi and Shorty were the same person, you suppose it wouldn't be a bad idea to try and become acquainted with him.

Maybe becoming friends would help force your budding attraction to him down, and seeing him every week wouldn't be so stressful on your heart. The heat on your face has cooled down significantly now that you've had a moment to get settled into your environment, but there's probably still a light tint on your face that you'd probably never be able to get rid of with Levi around. If distance made the heart grow fonder, proximity should do the opposite, right?

"It's nice to meet you, Levi," you offer with a smile.

He lets his eyes trail back to you before scoffing and going back to looking outside the window. "Thanks, Four Eyes, for introducing me as a Shorty," he sarcastically says. There's a pause where nobody speaks before Levi opens his mouth again. "And is it really your first time meeting me if we see each other on the bus every week?"

You stop breathing momentarily, letting the question sink in. You awkwardly laugh for what feels like the hundredth time today.

So he does recognize you? Go figure.

"I guess not, but it's nice to finally know your name."

He nods and looks over at Erwin whose eyes were already on the raven-haired man.

"What are you looking at me like that for, fucker?"

Erwin chuckles at that, giving his friend a good-natured pat on his back. "C'mon, Levi. Be a bit nicer," he lightly scolds.

"Yeah, Levi! She's probably already terrified of you!" Hange adds.

Levi makes eye contact with you at that, seemingly trying to gauge your own opinion of him.

You raise your hands slightly up off the table in defense. "It's fine, guys! He's right, we do see each other every so often. And the client I had last week was far scarier than Levi, I think I can handle him," you joke, trying to lighten the mood.

Hange laughs at that, as does Erwin. Levi doesn't offer up any sign he thought your comment was funny, but you notice that his frown has been replaced with a neutral expression.

Until the food arrives, you and Erwin discuss some matters from work. You feel a bit guilty for having brought up that you had a bad experience with a client, since now Erwin is determined to get you to talk about it with upper management. You most definitely won't, but something tells you that he will, being who he is. Hange is listening along to your conversation, giving their own opinion or cracking a joke here and there while Levi remains quiet. Whether or not he's listening, you can't tell.

The food arrives just as you and Erwin finish talking about work. As the four of you eat, the conversation is shifted once again towards Levi.

"So, what do you do for work, Levi?" You ask cautiously, trying to find a way to include him.

His eyes don't come away from the plate of carbonara in front of him, which you're grateful for because it means you wouldn't be making eye contact again. "I'm a professor at the University downtown," he says monotonously.

"Levi, please! Give her something to work with! Astraea, he teaches architecture at Sina University on top of doing freelance work!" Hange praises.

Your eyebrows furrow as you try to put together the pieces of information you're receiving about the man.

You did your Juris Doctorate degree at Paradis Law School, but some of your professors held lecture at the Sina campus because it was further downtown and closer to their own law offices. You knew how hard it was to try and find parking at Sina, even with the parking pass you bought during your first term. You had to call the finance office several times to try and cancel it after realizing how useless it was.

He probably took the bus to and from Sina's main campus to avoid the hassle of parking.

After you were happy with the conclusion you came to, you stew a bit in the information again, this time thinking about how you would've loved to have a professor as gorgeous as Levi when you were a student. You were never one to skip class, even when you went through periods of extreme burnout, but you knew you never would've even considered ditching if lugging yourself to class meant you got to see him.

"It's really impressive that you're a professor. You probably take the bus because of how shit the parking is, right?"

At the mention of the parking conditions, Levi finally looks up from his food to scowl in your direction. You assume it's to show his disdain for the actual parking (because the other possibility is that he's annoyed at your question).

"The absolute fucking worst. I thought I was safe because I have a staff parking pass, but no. Those childish, good-for-nothing brats would even take the last parking spot right in front of my fucking eyes," he griefs. At the mental image of an unlucky student parking and running off to avoid the wrath of a random professor, you let a full, hearty laugh escape your mouth. You don't bother covering your mouth as you laugh, having already finished chewing before Levi even answered your question. Erwin and Hange join you in your jovial giggling, and they both chastise Levi for slandering the poor students.

You can't see whether Levi's smiling or not, seeing as he brought up his cloth napkin to cover the lower part of his face, but you're sure he's just doing that to hide his mouth while he chews his food.

The rest of the dinner went smoothly—much more smoothly than you anticipated.

Everyone contributed in some way or another to the steady conversation, and the anxious feeling Levi brought you over the course of the last couple of months dissipated the further into the night you got. You didn't get to learn much more about him, though. The conservation turned over to Hange, who mostly talked about work and their coworkers, but everyone at the table knew more than enough about their antics to be able to comment on the stories they were telling. Even Levi let a small smile slip onto his face every once in a while.

Hange suggests that the four of you let the waiter do a "credit card roulette" to end the night, and you assume that Erwin and Levi are used to this because they both reach into their wallets wordlessly to give their cards to Hange. Thankfully, they see your confusion and don't laugh at you for it.

"Whenever we hang out, we let the waiter blindly choose which card to pay the bill with. If you're not up for it, that's fine, but it's always a great deal of fun," Erwin says, explaining what the three of them are about to do.

"It's fun for you guys, I fucking hate doing this," Levi grumbles.

Hange laughs at that and hunches over, hand to their chest. "Good one, Levi! Astraea, don't listen to him! He's only salty because his card always gets chosen!"

You smile at Levi sympathetically and move to your purse to get your own card and hand it to Hange, deciding to join in on the "fun."

Hange cheers at your participation, and so Erwin again flags over the waiter to choose between your cards.

Hange probably coached the waiter into choosing the Chase Sapphire card when they left the table to go to the bathroom earlier, though, because it's Levi's card that gets chosen.

You see him sigh in frustration across from you, pinching the bridge of his nose, and Hange breaks out into yet another fit of laughter. You aren't really all that surprised that Levi's card gets chosen, but you join in on the moment and laugh with them, and Erwin soon also joins with a deep chuckle and some words of sympathy for Levi's bank account.

Before the receipt comes back and Levi is able to sign off on it, Hange suggests that the rest of you leave for the waiting area to avoid the guilt of seeing Levi cover such a large bill, but you decline and say you'll keep him company. Levi looks pretty confused, but he doesn't protest, and so Hange and Erwin scurry off to the front of the restaurant to wait while you and Levi sit in silence.

When the waiter comes back with the receipt and places it on the table, you grab it before Levi gets the chance to sign his name.

"What do you think you're doing?"

You hold out your pointer finger to him, effectively shushing him as you look at the total and dig into your purse to get your wallet. Your friends are usually quick to question you about why you even keep cash on you, but you always have it in case of situations such as this one. When you get enough money to cover just a little more than half the bill, you hold it out in front of Levi and give him a tight-lipped smile.

"I feel pretty bad about having you pay for my food when you don't really know me," you reason, still waiting for him to take the bills in your hand. He seems pretty caught off guard, but he makes no move to take it from you. "You and Erwin probably didn't know I was coming until a day or two ago anyway, so think of it as me apologizing for intruding on your plans."

He doesn't look offended, but he still doesn't do anything to indicate he's willing to take the money. Instead, he stands up and leans over to grab the receipt tray from you. Sitting back down, he signs his name and motions for a waiter to come over. The waiter looks a bit confused as to why you have so much money out when the bill was already paid, but he thanks you for dining with them and leaves.

Levi looks at you for what feels like an eternity before he speaks up. "There were no plans to intrude on. Hange texted us on Friday at damn near midnight to tell us we had to come to dinner with them and their friend on Sunday."

You blink slowly. And again. And again. You don't say anything, but as the silence grows, you're suddenly aware that he's been looking at you for a good while, and you can feel that all too familiar heat on your face again.

"My best guess is just as good as yours as to why they decided to introduce all of us so suddenly," he says, trying to ease your confusion.

Except he's wrong.

You know why Hange organized all this: it was to get you a chance to meet the handsome stranger you told them about just 2 days ago. 

You're finally able to gather the words you want to say after a good second, but not before you let yet another anxious laugh past your lips.

"Still, I feel pretty guilty that you're paying," you say softly, your cash still outstretched to the man in front of you. He sighs at your words.

"Don't feel bad about it, I don't mind," he starts. He sees that you're still unwavering in your resolve and continues. "But I appreciate the gesture. If you're so worried about it, let the waiter play roulette with your card again next time," and with that, he pushes your hand back towards you.

You're already too flustered for your face to get even more red than it already is, but his touch made it seem like it was possible. And what was it he said? Next time? Would you be meeting with him in this group again? Would you even be opposed to that?

No. No, you already thought to yourself it would be nice to befriend him, even before you knew who he was.

Desperate to get some air, you sheepishly shove your cash back into your purse, not bothering to put it back neatly into your wallet, and get up from the table.

"Alright, I'll do that then," you say.

He nods in return and starts getting up himself. Once he's up on his feet, you start heading over to where Hange and Erwin should be. You notice that Levi's eyes are lingering in the direction you just came from, so you tap his shoulder to get his attention.

"Did you forget something at the table?" You ask.

He hesitates a moment before nodding, saying a quick "go ahead" to you before walking back to where the lot of you just sat.

You, not wanting to be inconsiderate, stay put and wait for him to return. Soon enough, you see him come back with a hand in his pants pocket, and the two of you continue the trek over to your friends. You don't remember feeling like the walk was so far, but you could probably chalk that up to the fact you were completely stuck in a daze earlier. You still were, to some degree, but it was to a much lesser one now.

When you catch sight of each other, Hange gives you a huge smile just as they do every time they see you, and the four of you head out of the door, thanking the man holding it open. Everyone's car in different areas around the building, so you all have to exchange pleasantries before heading your separate ways.

You hug Hange goodbye first, and they thank you for coming along to dinner. You thank them for inviting you as well, and Hange immediately moves to say goodbye to Levi, leaving you to send off Erwin.

"I didn't expect you to be who Hange was bringing, but it was nice seeing you," he says, extending a hand out for you to shake.

You accept it firmly, and you smile up at him. "I didn't think I'd ever catch you outside of work either, but yeah. It was nice," you reply.

He returns the smile you give him, and Hange comes over to the two of you to nudge you over towards Levi and take your previous spot in front of Erwin.

You didn't think Levi seemed like the type to care for physical touch, despite the earlier exchange you had at the table, so you don't offer him a hand or hug. Instead, you bring your hand up to give him a wave. You get a nod in return, which you'll take as his own way of saying goodbye.

"You know Hange's gonna drag you around everywhere with us now, right?"

You chuckle at that and look up at the dark sky above you, your hands in your pockets. They're no longer as clammy as they were when you first made eye contact with Levi, thankfully, but the warm of your coat is still very much welcome.

"Yeah, but I think I'll manage."

Just barely out of your line of vision, Levi's expression gets just that tiny bit more peaceful, and he joins you in looking up at the sky. He mumbles something under his breath, but you don't quite catch it.

After one last goodbye to everyone, Erwin walks across the street, Hange and Levi head over to the valet area, and you walk over to your car parked a little bit down the road. As you sit down and position yourself to back out of your parking spot, you let out a breath you didn't realize you were holding.

There's a heat that creeps its way back to your ears and cheeks, just as it does every time you think of the handsome stranger from bus 143, but for the first time, you don't feel inclined to try and to get rid of it.

✰

Next Chapter

#levi #levi ackerman x reader #levi ackerman #levi x reader #attack on titan #tao.levi #the romance of reimbursements

[crimsonhj]

We Should Kiss Like Real People Do

Summary: It's Game Night at Cyno's house for the still-only friends 4ggravate crew, and Kaveh is making margaritas for their first round of Genius Invokation TCG. Yet, the alcohol keeps flowing, and by the third round of TCG, the air becomes a bit more charged with something other than competitiveness. (Author's Note at End)

Content: 2,417 words, rated mature, 4ggravate, Kaveh/Cyno/Tighnari/Alhaitham

CW: Drinking (until drunk), but read tags just in case

Crossposted on AO3

Kaveh rolled his eyes, his blush fading as he began to shake the margarita mix and tequila together, ice clinking inside the metal cup. He could feel everyone’s eyes on him as he poured a bit more tequila than necessary into it and shook it again before pouring it into the four glasses. Grudgingly, he took out the lime Cyno had sliced up and perched a slice on Alhaitham’s glass, just as he liked it.

“Alright you vultures, there you go,” he said, taking his and sipping from it. He hummed. He mixed it well.

Alhaitham gave him a leery look as if Kaveh might have poisoned his drink before taking a slow sip. He sat quietly for a moment before saying, “You can’t save money, but you can make a good margarita. Maybe you should quit being an architect and ask Diluc for a job.”

“And maybe you should get a job as a professional shit-talker,” Kaveh shot back. He wouldn’t lie and say he hadn’t considered doing architecture on the side, but when it came from Alhaitham’s mouth, it seemed utterly ridiculous.

“You’d make crazy money being a professional shit-talker,” Cyno piled on with a small smile. “You know, people pay to be degraded because they find it arousing. I bet you’d be good at that.”

Kaveh and Tighnari burst out laughing, and Alhaitham grumbled about how he’d never indulge strangers in such a lascivious way, looking down at his drink.

“Okay, okay,” Tighnari said around his laughter. “Game time, game time.” He slid off the counter, tail swinging back and forth and patting Alhaitham on the shoulder as he walked past.

They all followed him, Cyno flipping off the kitchen light as they settled around the dining room table.

Set-up went quickly, and soon, they were rolling the first dice of the game. By the second round, their glasses were empty, and Cyno brought out the spiked lemonade and straight vodka.

“You bastard,” Kaveh swore at Alhaitham as he officially killed his Nahida.

Alhaitham stared at him, gaze sharp yet slightly unfocused. “Play better then,” he replied.

“Ha!” Cyno yelled. He’d dealt enough damage to take Alhaitham’s Raiden down to 1. In victory, he downed a shot of vodka.

“Don’t celebrate, Cyno,” Tighnari said, cheeks flushed. He had stacked an artifact and dealt damage to all three of Cyno’s cards.

“You!”

Dice clattered across the table, and Kaveh felt a little unsteady, even sitting down as he finished his third spiked lemonade. Gods, he was going to be so hung over tomorrow. At least Cyno always let them spend the night.

The drunker he was, the less Alhaitham talked, and he was silent as he ended the last of Kaveh’s cards with a lazy swipe of his hand. Kaveh didn’t even know how much Alhaitham had drunk, but he didn’t care.

“How can you do that, Haitham?” Kaveh cried out, staring at his cards and then at Alhaitham’s two remaining. “It’s unfair you can’t be this good.”

“Yeah, you totally wrecked him,” Tighnari added, tapping on Kaveh’s Yoimiya. “You even got Yoimiya.”

“I’ll beat him, Kaveh, no worries,” Cyno said, eyes bright even as he missed the dice he grabbed for.

“It doesn’t matter, I lost!” Kaveh said and sat back, crossing his arms. “Again!”

“You talk too much for someone who always loses,” Alhaitham said. Kaveh was envious of his steadiness. Alhaitham always seemed to hold his liquor better than the rest of them, the only sign he was drunk was being quieter than usual and sleeping for way too long. “Shut up.”

“Make me.”

Alhaitham stood up and Kaveh scooted back in his seat, suddenly a little nervous.

“Uh oh,” Tighnari whispered, his ears drooped against his head from the alcohol.

Uh oh indeed, Kaveh thought as Alhaitham stalked over.

“Joking, Haitham, joking!” Kaveh exclaimed, holding his hands up in mock surrender. He scrambled out of his chair to put a few feet between him. He didn’t think Alhaitham would truly hurt him, but he had no clue what Alhaitham would do to make him shut up.

“Didn’t sound like a joke to me,” Alhaitham replied, closing the distance. His eyes glimmered, and Kaveh could smell the vodka mixed with Alhaitham’s cologne.

Before he could get him, Kaveh darted away, inserting himself between Tighnari and Cyno. He stumbled, catching himself on the back of Tighnari’s chair because his scrambled brain lied to him about where the floor was.

“I would stop running if I were you,” Cyno quipped, looking over Kaveh’s shoulder and leaning away. “I don’t think you’re getting out of this one, Kaveh.”

“No, no, I will not stop. I will not shut up until Alhaitham stops being a mean ass mmph–” Kaveh’s words were muffled as Alhaitham grabbed him and pulled him into a bruising kiss, Alhaitham’s hands clutching his face.

“Oh shit,” Tighnari said somewhere in the distance.

Kaveh didn’t breathe, didn’t even try to speak as the world practically dissolved around him. Alhaitham was so fucking mean, so ornery, but damn, them kissing felt so right, like a key sliding into your home’s front door lock. His lips tasted like the lime he’d sucked on and the peach vodka he kept at Cyno’s house to keep Kaveh out of it. Kaveh dug his fingers into the bunched-up fabric of Alhaitham’s white button-up, a small whimper leaving him.

With a quiet grunt, Alhaitham pulled away, shaking his head. “See, you shut up just fine,” he said and sat back down in his chair.

Kaveh blinked hard, drunk brain trying to catch up. Wordlessly, he sat down. He touched his lips and stared at Alhaitham. Was it merely to shut him up? An excuse?

Cyno and Tighnari shifted in their seats. Kaveh couldn’t tell if they were uncomfortable or…something else.

“So, what are you two waiting for? We have a game to finish,” Alhaitham muttered and rolled his dice. Cyno and Tighnari startled as if they were in a trance but nodded.

Still shocked, Kaveh got up and went into the kitchen. He poured himself a glass of water and sipped it, hoping to sober up. Alhaitham…kissed him. And fuck, if Kaveh said he didn’t want to kiss his stupid face again, he’d be a liar. From the dining room, he heard Tighnari lose his last card with a groan and his chair scrape across the wooden floor. Within a few seconds, Tighnari joined him in the kitchen with a quiet giggle.

“You know, Kaveh, Alhaitham might have had the right idea,” Tighnari said, leaning into Kaveh’s space. His ears flicked briefly up before drooping back down, his tail beginning to wag.

Absently, Kaveh petted Tighnari’s ears like he always did during their movie nights when Tighnari curled up between him and Cyno. “What do you mean?” he asked, not even thinking much of it as he nursed his glass of water.

“You can’t be that stupid from the alcohol,” Tighnari muttered, his tail wagging harder at Kaveh’s gentle hands on his ears. He grabbed the front of Kaveh’s shirt, pulled Kaveh to his height, and kissed him. Kaveh almost dropped his glass, fingers going limp at Tighnari’s insistent movements, pressing against him and nipping at his lips.

“Fuck,” Kaveh mumbled against Tighnari’s mouth, shakily setting down the glass before tangling his fingers in Tighnari’s hair. It felt similar to kissing Alhaitham but more passionate like Tighnari wanted to devour him. Gods he was fucked. Did friends do this? Kiss each other when they were drunk?

Tighnari pinned Kaveh to the counter, his feverishly hot hands beginning to slide under Kaveh’s shirt when they heard a shout of victory from Cyno. They jumped apart as if burned, Tighnari panting and Kaveh dazed.

Before they could even recover, Cyno bounded into the kitchen, practically singing. “See told you I would win, Kaveh!” Cyno crowed and ruffled Kaveh’s hair, seemingly oblivious to his and Tighnari’s states. Cyno picked up Kaveh’s glass and downed the water. Alhaitham wandered in, eyes sticking to Kaveh immediately.

Kaveh felt his face turn redder. Alhaitham looked…odd.

“Alright, alright, movie time!” Cyno said, wrapping an arm around Kaveh and Tighnari’s shoulders and dragging them into the living room, past the dining table with their abandoned cards and glasses. Kaveh stumbled over his feet, grabbing onto Cyno’s waist to stop himself from smashing his face on the floor. They were practically thrown on the couch, Alhaitham calmly following after and sitting much closer than usual to Kaveh.

“We’re watching Spiderman,” Cyno continued. “Into the Spiderverse.”

“Well, I’m laying down,” Tighnari mumbled, laying across their three laps as if it was nothing. And it was, for the most part. Tighnari did often lay across their laps during movie night but never drunk and never with three out of the four of them so…tense.

Kaveh watched as Cyno’s hand crept possessively into Tighnari’s hair, petting his ears as the opening credits rolled. And Alhaitham, usually not touchy, laid his hand on Tighnari’s calf. Kaveh rested his hands on Tighnari’s hip, unsure of what else to do because Tighnari usually had his head in Kaveh’s lap.

Ten minutes passed, and Kaveh could feel Alhaitham’s free hand sneaking into his hair, stroking softly. It was heartbreakingly tender, enough so that Kaveh wondered if the universe really had come up with nicer clones of people and had replaced Alhaitham at some point in the night. He wouldn’t say anything. He didn’t dare to possibly break the moment hanging between all of them. Instead, Kaveh closed his eyes and rested his head on Alhaitham’s shoulder. If his roommate was going to be nice, he would take advantage of every second of it.

Rough fingers brushed against his cheek, bringing with them the woody scent of bergamot and amber wood. Cyno. They traced over his cheek, over his lips, then across his jawline, as if he was trying to map Kaveh’s face.

With the weight of Tighnari in his lap and Cyno and Alhaitham touching him, Kaveh thought that it was something like heaven, the heaven he dreamed about when he hugged a pillow to sleep at night. His body felt heavy and slow as he drifted off, this moment seared into his memories.

A/N: Okay y'all, don't kill me. This is my first ever Genshin fic, and to be honest, I'm only AR 27 so I have not gotten to Sumeru like...at all. These four have been rotting my brain even before I started playing, but since I genuinely haven't had any in-game interactions with them, I've only begun to get an idea of their characterization and their dynamics from other fans (and reading the Wiki). So, I am open to constructive criticism for their characterization and dynamics! I do intend to continue this as a series, so feedback is really important.

Title from "Like Real People Do" by Hozier

#4ggravate #getting together #sort of #genius invokation tcg #kaveh/tighnari/cyno/alhaitham #drinking #drunken flirting #couch cuddles #bold alhaitham #bold tighnari #4ggravate game night #drunken kissing #4ggravate movie night #modern au #not beta read #kaveh/alhaitham #cyno/tighnari #cyno/alhaitham #cyno/kaveh #alhaitham/tighnari #kaveh/tighnari

[mellarked-katnisseverdeen]

Toasting

Pairing: Everlark, K+ rating.

Synopsis: One year after the revolution, Katniss thinks about the future. There isn't much she is sure about despite all her healing. But what she is sure she wants has to do with her Boy With The Bread.

A/N- At long last, an obligitory Toasting fic! As stated in a previous post, this is much over due. I love me some AU's but sometimes one has to just do a soft canon one-shot. Am of the headcanon Katniss and Peeta do marry offically, but outside of signing the paperwork the whole thing is small, for themselves and def not a traditonal wedding. The fluff is toothrotting but don't imagine anyone will complain. Hope you all enjoy!

This also reminds me I have another ficlet I gotta crosspost on Ao3 cause I totally forgot. So, that will go up there along with this sometime this weekend XD.

The one-year anniversary of the rebellion somehow comes faster, and so much slower than Katniss expects. It seems like no time has passed, but she also feels different enough that one could assume decades had gone by.

It comes on a day that isn't lost to any of them. Haymitch had not drank the day before, and she was up about an hour after Peeta starts baking prepared to savor the day. Delly and Thom come over, as does Sae, her son, and her granddaughter. Katniss helps Peeta cook at his house, which is theirs in all but official name. They talk excitedly about all the changes, good changes in the last year. What's planned for the next year in the small, rebuilding community around them. More houses, an official school. The finishing of the medicinal medicine plant.

As they eat, Paylor gives a heartfelt speech. Commending the nation on healing, on prospering after the defeat of the Capitol, and vows to help continue the efforts. It moves Katniss more than she expects and judging by the silence as they watch, their small group share similar opinions.

It's enough for the get-together to become a party.

Sae has brought a fiddle with her, and Katniss, Haymitch, and Delly are all encouraged to sing. Katniss laughs at Haymitch actually keeping up with the two of them, and Thom playfully dances with Saes' granddaughter, Hal. They are singing between laughter when Peeta nudges her, and gestures to the area that had apparently become a makeshift dance floor.

Heat rises in her cheeks. "I can't, I-"

"Don't fret, go on and dance Katniss. Me and Haymitch got it, right old man?" Delly teases.

Their dance is slow to start, but soon Katniss grows comfortable in his arms and they take turns pulling one another into different steps and patterns of swaying. It's uncoordinated but enough to make Katniss pleasantly warm from the inside out and a grin forces itself on her face. It wasn't like they didn't share a bed every night, but doing this normal thing together brings her a giddiness she tries to control and fails as they enjoy themselves.

They escape to get a drink from the kitchen while she leans on his shoulder. The thought of how much her sister would love something like this crosses her mind.

Katniss waits and prepares to fracture apart like glass at any thought that crosses her mind about her sister. Prim, who was taken too young and should be here. Should be relishing this freedom, the peace that surrounds them now. While a twist in her stomach does come, the hollowed-out part of her heart where Prim had lived ached, but she remains put together as Peeta opens the fridge and she leans on the counter. Yes her sister deserved this celebration, just as much if not more than any of them.

But just as happy as Prim would be to be here, Katniss was well aware of how angry Prim would be knowing she let missing her take away from it.

Peeta seems to notice her deep in thought and nudges her. "You okay, Kat? You can talk if you need-"

She takes his hand with a shake of her head. No, Prim was somewhere wonderful watching them…she wouldn't ruin anything by being miserable when she could manage it. "Nothing. Just, thinking. Nothing important. Come on. Let's get back so I can give poor Delly a break from trying to match Haymitch's awful-sounding tune."

He takes her hand with a snort, and they grab their glasses to go back into the living room.

__________

The next morning, she wakes to his gentle pecks on her nose and cheek. A typical morning would have her leaving the bed to go hunting before he truly stirs. This morning though she stays under the covers thinking even when he leaves to work at the bakery.

It's different than other days when she might as well have been chained to her bed. Her thoughts are even similarly centered on Prim. But instead of her loss or the grief and pain, her mind turns to what her sister would want for her now. What Prim would encourage her to do, without her? This time she considers her sister watching her from whatever perfect place someone like the youngest Everdeen would go after life, and what she would want to see her doing. Katniss was well aware it was simple, that Prim would want nothing short of her happiness, but putting that sentiment into action was more tricky.

Dr. Aurelius had said something like that. She had made a routine, had stabilized, and could function going through the motions. That eventually meaning would come from that, and she'd find something that she wanted, that she liked and looked forward to during her day and indeed further into life. The future.

Getting out of bed, Katniss lets the thought slide in favor of falling into the morning routine, minus any hunting. Showering, dressing, and going down to the kitchen where the breakfast she was planning to make already sits. A note from Peeta confirming it was made by him in case she was hungry.

A smile graces her lips as she slowly savors it. Then an idea.

There wasn't a lot she could say she wanted, yet. No solid plans for the future she yearned to make happen. Hunting, keeping herself clean, and able to connect to the small group of people surrounding her was was enough to keep her out of the dark placing in her mind most days. But she can say there are things she'd be happy never changing. Something she finds she has the desire to make permanent

The time it takes her to eat the eggs and apple Peeta set out for her is all it takes for her mind to mull over the idea to deciding to make it happen.

Standing, she goes to the counter and pulls a box out of the cupboard. The lettering spelling Mellarks Family Bakery on it and opening it reveals dozens of recipes. Pulling out one of the most basic ones, Katniss reads it and gets to work making the best dough she can manage by herself and splits it into two. By the time Peeta comes home the loaves had sufficiently been allowed to rest, and rise. Katniss gets shy when Peeta asks about them when he comes how greets her, and sees them on the counter.

"I thought, we could share some toast." That is all she gets out. "If you like- just put them in, and we can get a fire going for when it's done."

Peeta is smart enough to know exactly what she is asking. Toast shared by a fire means more in their District, and he recognizes it as easily as she would. Pinning her with blue eyes, his voice is bearly a whisper when he speaks.

"Katniss, are you sure? I will, in a heartbeat, but only if you truly want this."

She nods and kisses him. A deep and long one that leaves no question.

He can't stop grinning as he puts the loaves in the oven and sets a timer. The two of them rustle some small foods to eat with it- some fruits, and a bit of dried jerky of Katniss's making. Some butter for their toast. By the time it's done, the fire is raging while they sit on the ground in front of it, quietly holding one another with matching grins. An occasional kiss being all that disrupts the moment. The stillness changes and they can't be still when the timer goes off and they rush into the kitchen to pull it out.

When they pull them out, they go to dress while the bread cools- deciding the occasion deserved more than dirty work clothes and flour-soiled pajamas. Katniss dawns on a flowy, simple cream dress. Peeta puts on a simple dress number, a black pair of pants, and a white shirt. They try not to laugh or trip over themselves slicing the loaves, and taking their meal to the fire.

Without a word, they take two pieces of bread on pokers and toast them over the fire before buttering them, kissing, and feeding the toast to one another. Katniss had a love for bread, for the buttery taste of toast before but there was not a doubt in her mind this particular piece was the best she'd ever have.

"Peeta." She says, after swallowing her first bite.

"Yes."

"I love you." She rushes out. It still feels dangerous and scary as they fall off her tongue, even if they also feel more true and right than anything.

He takes her hand, kissing her despite their shared crumbs. "I know. I love you, too."

#Everlark #Katniss Everdeen #Peeta Mellark #Toasting #One-Shot #AJ Writes #The Hunger Games

[c11tto]

Devotion // ShuCa AU

Crossposted on my twitter Added a bit more details, but overall still the same.

Shu is a minor god who rules over small villages and is well respected within the community. despite that, his past is nearly unknown to those who know him.

Luca is a high-ranking demon who doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty as long as he gets power. He's lived for so long that he's accumulated a small following of demons and celestials. you could call him a king amongst hell.

The Heavenly Officials have warned both celestial and demonic entities to beware of this man. any more devotees might lead to an imbalance within the system they know now.

Though Shu was a minor god, he was very much powerful, and he didn't like sticking to the rules to a T… nor did he keep up with the heaven's gossip.

So when he makes contact with Luca, he's immediately curious about the strange man who seemed to carry an aura of loneliness around him.

Luca, "I'm surprised you haven't kicked me out of your temple yet."

Shu looks at him curiously, "Why would I? You haven't done anything to wrong me."

Luca laughs uproariously, similar to that of a lion, "Are you serious? You honestly don't know who I am?"

"Does it matter?" Shu argues back. He sounded so sincere that made Luca go silent, "As long as you aren't doing harm to me or my people, then I won't regard you any less than my followers."

In Luca's long life, this was the first time he was treated nicely by a celestial being.

There were no double-faced, backhanded comments. no underlying favors that needed to be returned. no nothing.

Just genuinity.

After a while, Luca murmurs, "…can I come back again?"

Shu raises a brow, "Of course."

So Luca comes back every week on a Sunday without fail. Shu would always stand in front of his temple, happily waiting for him with a wide smile.

Despite Luca's giant house back in the underworld, it could never compare to how Shu felt like home.

It felt like returning to a comfy warm bed after a cold rainy night. Like the spring that follows after the harsh winter. The Underworld may be hot, but being with Shu was like a warm embrace.

After a while, Luca fails to visit one Sunday.

It's okay, Shu thinks, maybe he was busy.

He fails again the following week.

One week turns into a month, and then into a year. Time was irrelevant to all immortals as they passed by in a blink of an eye.

But for the first time, Shu could feel the slow drag of time as each second passed.

it wasn't until a fellow god visited his villages one day.

Shu, "Ike…"

Ike is a major god, ruling over poetry and an element. He comes down in gold, gaze hard as he stares back down at Shu. "Did you come into contact with Luca?"

Ike was a close friend of his, so being stared down like this was rather intimidating.

Shu, "why?"

Ike, "Did you know he's the Ghost King?"

Shu, "…who?"

Ike could only grumble in frustration.

Ike, "The Ghost king? The Harbinger of War? One of the Four Vices of the Holy Principles? Does no name ring a bell?!"

Shu looked sheepish, "…I only know Luca as Luca. He never told me he was a god, but I knew."

Ike wasn't sure if he wanted to strangle or congratulate him for being out of touch with whatever's happening in the Heavens.

With a low voice, Ike mutters, "He's being sent to the Underwater Prison for trying to meddle with the heavenly officials."

Shu stood, and for a peaceful god, Ike was surprised to see such rage on his face. The sky boomed with unseen thunder as it darkened gradually.

"Why."

Ike felt afraid.

Sure he's been around other terrifying gods before, but not to this… caliber. He takes a step back, raising both his hands as a sign of peace.

"It wasn't my idea." he slowly says, "The higher-ups deemed it to be."

Shu repeats, "why."

Ike, "Shu… please calm down, and I'll explain everything to you. you're scaring your people."

That seemed to snap Shu out of his trance, noticing the harsh winds that whipped around them as rain pelted down like cats and dogs.

With a deep breath, the clouds slowly disappeared.

Inside Shu's temple, Ike explains who Luca was in its entirety.

He explains that Luca was the cause of the great celestial war. He was once a darling prince of the Heavens, now fallen from grace and ruled the underworld with loyal devotees.

They are a small, yet powerful group, capable of massacres, insinuating wars, and the like.

Shu, "…capable of starting the war?"

Ike, "The war wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for them."

Shu, "Something drove them to do it. it wasn't entirely their fault."

Ike argues, "However, you cannot deny their involvement. they were the main cause of the trag—"

"No." Shu stops him. Shu stands, his eyes flashing a myriad of colors, "he wasn't. you're mistaking him for someone else."

It's Ike's turn to be confused, "What? the scrolls wouldn't lie about our history. it was documented in th—"

Shu, "in the vault to the far east. guarded by a fox spirit, right?"

Shu is a minor god.

While he has ascended to the heavens, it doesn't mean he had complete access to it. he'd need to become a major one— similar to Ike.

Ike, "How… Do you know what?"

Shu easily ignores the question, "The records are wrong. They've mistaken Luca for someone else."

Ike, "Who… then?"

For a split second, Ike sees another version of Shu in different robes. His eyes were pitch black while his skin was an ashen gray.

The person he saw wasn't the kind, benevolent god Ike has come to know Shu.

This person… reeked of death.

#shuca #lucashu #cashu_ls #mafiyami #whew i missed added 5 billion tags here AHSDASDKJ #now i DONT have to censor th names #shuca thread

[tiannasfanfic]

Naughty Girls Need Love Too

Adrian Chase/Vigilante x Reader (Angst)

Summary: ARGUS finally makes Adrian Chase an official member of the team, which gives him security clearance to read everyone's files. The only one he really wants to read is yours since you couldn't tell him about most of your past until now. Adrian soon finds out a few things about you that shake him to his core. (Crossposted to AO3)

Rating: Teen and Up

Author Note: No pronouns (f, m or gn) used, Reader not described. Inspired by a prompt from the "101 ways to break your characters' (and readers') hearts" Prompt List on Tumblr. The prompt was. 36) "You don't look at me like you used to..." It's full angst, all hurt and no comfort. I can already see how to do a part 2 with a happier ending if people want me to write it.

CW: Talking about canon-typical Adrian Chase behavior, criminal behavior (murder, theft, extortion), mentions of sex work but not specifics, breaking up, Adrian being an idiot, Adrian being a hypocrite, Adrian being angry and yelling at Reader.

Word Count: 2,320

“You don't look at me like you used to.”

Your words made Adrian stop in his tracks, halting halfway between your car and his. You had deliberately parked close to the door of Fennel Fields than him so he would have to walk past you on the way to the Sebring. You had waited for him on the hood of your car but didn’t say anything until it was clear he was just going to walk by in silence.

He had been avoiding you for three days. Ever since he saw your file, more or less. Your real file, that is, not the cover story he had known as the gospel truth for the last eighteen months.

He had been avoiding you for three days. Ever since he saw your file, more or less. Your real file, that is, not the cover story he had known as the gospel truth for the last eighteen months.

And you were ready to get this over with.

“Why should I?” he finally asked, his voice unusually quiet.

You studied Adrian where he stood, your heart racing. His back was to you still, hands clenched into fists, shoulders raised and held stiffly. This obviously wasn’t a conversation he wanted to have, but neither did you. It needed to happen though. For both of you.

Four days ago, the paperwork to officially bring Adrian into ARGUS as a full member of the team finally went through. It was a miracle it ever did considering the requisition to open your position was put in after that one and was approved much sooner. After a year, Harcourt had finally given up on hiring Adrian and just kept billing him as an “Outside Consultant” as she had been doing to make sure he got paid.

Once all his paperwork was signed and Harcourt made sure all of his access worked, the first thing Adrian wanted to do was look at your file and his file. Especially your file though. While you had been dating for almost ten months now, he knew there were things you hadn’t been able to discuss with him yet due to his lack of a security clearance.

But, before you handed it over to him, you had given him a warning.

“There’s a lot in there I wasn’t able to tell you, yes,” you told him. “You…might think differently of me once you read it. Give me the chance to explain myself after you’re done, okay?”

Adrian had promised nothing he read in there could change his mind about you. He said you two would talk about everything. He reminded you he was not afraid to ask questions and planned to ask you a lot. He also stated he knew everyone that worked for ARGUS did shitty things. He said he had known and accepted that when he got with you.

You knew it was all bullshit, but he didn’t know what he was in store for yet. You couldn’t blame him for being optimistic.

The first thing Adrian discovered was that you weren’t technically an ARGUS agent. You worked for them, yes, and you played the part so well no one ever questioned it. You tended to come off as a goody two shoes agent that took her job way too seriously. Most of the time, you did things by the book and ONLY by the book unless there was no other option but to go off book. You were even a bigger hard ass when you first arrived than Harcourt was, which she even made comments about. Because of this, Adrian had made it his mission day one of your arrival to get you to loosen up and have more fun.

The reason you were so uptight had nothing to do with having a stick up your ass, or whatever it was he thought. You were still technically in prison and had to be on your best behavior when it came to work. The bomb in your head made any designated area your prison cell, just like Chris. In your case though, the ability to live freely was a privilege due to your good behavior and willingness to follow orders. It was a reward for all of your service and “loyalty” you’d shown to Waller. But it could also be revoked at any time, for any reason, and you would be right back in your old cell if that ever happened.

Prior to ARGUS, you had been a trustee for many years at Belle Reve Penitentiary. Prior to Belle Reve, you ran a small crew in Gotham. Not big enough to get a hero’s attention or anything, but big enough you didn’t get absorbed by a larger crew. You eventually got caught by Gotham PD, got some life sentences, and made a deal with Waller to start working the years off. You were on Squads for a few years, keeping your head down and doing as you were told, just like in prison. Your reasoning was, why make life harder on yourself? You knew there wasn’t any way to escape, so might as well do the best work you could and hopefully get something good out of it.

A couple of years of this saw you promoted to Commanding Officers of your own Squad. A couple more years later, after turning yourself into a Yes Man (within reason), you were trusted with jobs like this. You were sent out from the prison by yourself fairly often now, usually getting deployed out to help with technical and coordination issues with struggling Task Force teams, like the one in Evergreen. But you were under constant surveillance via the bomb. You were always limited to a certain area and the tracker was monitored 24/7 to ensure compliance. With each successful mission, not only were years taken off your sentence, but you were also granted a larger area to move around in. As long as you kept being good, your boundaries would continue to be extended.

With your transfer to Evergreen to help Harcourt after her injury, you had been granted your largest perimeter of freedom to date. Not only did it cover the entire city of Evergreen, but it also included a safety net of fifty miles beyond that, just in case, and had a twenty-mile Warning Zone beyond that. You were also allowed to leave those areas so long as you phoned it in first to let them know for what, why and for how long. It was a huge sign of trust from Waller as well as a warning.

Don’t let those idiots fuck up again. Look at all this freedom you have now. You don’t want to lose it, do you?

And you did have a lot of freedom. Waller didn’t care what you did in your off time as long as you did your job and did it flawlessly when it came down to it. This allowed you to have a decent life. You had your own tiny apartment, a cheap car, coworkers that were also your friends and a social life. You could drink, smoke weed and really just do whatever the hell you wanted so long as you didn’t cause trouble for Waller or ARGUS.

And, as of this mission, that freedom also included finding someone you loved that also loved the hell out of you.

Unfortunately, the person you fell in love with was pretty anti-crime for most reasons. You knew there was no way Adrian would be able to read your file and NOT look at you differently. While he made justifications for what he did, your crimes fell outside of what he typically made excuses for. You hoped for the best but expected the worst.

When Adrian turned around to face you finally, your stomach sank. Now that it was just the two of you, he wasn’t masking his feelings like he had around the others. While he wasn’t looking at you with hatred, what you actually saw on his face was worse.

Pain. Betrayal. Disappointment.

You wanted to cry.

You hurt him. You hadn’t meant to, or wanted to, but you did. All because of those stupid agreements you had to sign. All because you were so impatient that you allowed him to pursue you before you could tell him everything he should know.

You wanted to tell him you were sorry, that you regretted your choices in life, that if you could go back in time to change those things that you would. But you were done with lying to him. You didn’t regret anything you had done. Plus, those choices are what led you here to be with him, so how could you?

“Because you said you’d let me explain,” you were finally able to say, hoping you sounded more confident than you felt. “I’m sorry for hurting you.”

Adrian stared at you.

“Why?” he asked.

“Why what?”

“Why did you do…” he trailed off and made a gesture, like he didn’t want to say it. “Any – All of it?”

You thought it over. He gave you time to. Adrian could be extremely patient when he wanted to be.

“It wasn’t malicious,” you said after a bit. “And it wasn’t about the money. At least, not at first.”

“What was it about then?”

Adrian’s voice had a flat, emotionless tone. Each time he spoke, it made your stomach twist.

“Looking out for each other,” you explained. “We had a lot of problems in the neighborhood. Once we had those problems resolved, we realized we could actually make some money doing what we were already doing and that we could help each other out in that way, too. It went well for a while, but some people always feel like they deserve more than they do. Once greed popped in for a visit, that’s when poor decisions started getting made and things went downhill. I tried to fix it, but one thing to lead to another, and here I am.”

Adrian openly scoffed and then looked at you with an angry expression.

“One thing led to another…” he repeated and shook his head. “That’s one hell of a way to say you are a thief and murderer. Plus, it leaves out the prostitution and extortion you were involved with, too.”

You felt yourself bristle and allowed it to happen this time. He just went after the one accomplishment you were most proud of.

“All of that was done with the safety of those in the neighborhood in mind,” you said, a firm tone to your voice. “There were a lot of people in our neighborhood that worked the streets in one way or another. My job, my specific position was to look after the sex workers. My people never had any problems with customers after a few examples had to be made. That was why I did that. If they had to work the streets, I wanted them to be able to do it safely. Remember, the prostitution and extortion were just tacked on at the end to give me extra years. They aren’t the main things that I went down for.”

“You openly admit to being a thief and murderer then?” Adrian asked.

“Absolutely,” you stated without hesitation.

You both stared at each other. Adrian’s eyes were cold, and you had trouble meeting his gaze. You managed to hold it though and, after a little awhile, he looked at the ground.

“Why?” he asked again, quieter this time.

“I told you wh-“

“Not that,” Adrian snapped, finally looking up at you again. Anger filled his eyes, betrayal all over his face. He made no attempt to hide it. “Why did you go out with me? Why did you let me get close to you? Why did you let me start feeling for you? Why did you let me start loving you?”

Your heart was in your throat. You felt sick.

“Because I really liked you,” you said quietly.

Adrian stared at you.

“And, what? Because you liked me that made it okay to put me in the position where I would discover the woman I love is just as bad of a person as the people I kill every night? If not worse, in some cases?”

You didn’t know what to say.

“I kill people like you every night,” Adrian repeated. “Every. Fucking. Night. Actually, why shouldn’t I put a bullet in your head right now? I should, you know. I would with anyone else.”

You shrugged, feeling exhausted all of a sudden. “So why don’t you then?”

Adrian’s gaze snapped back up to yours, his face turning red as he stared at you.

After a few minutes of silence, of staring into each other’s eyes, you realized your conversation was over.

You slid off the hood of your car and went to the driver’s side to leave. As you opened the door, you looked back at Adrian. He was still watching you with that same expression, only now his eyes had a sheen to them.

“Just…do me a favor,” you said with a sigh. “Try to keep in mind that…you and I may not have the same reasons for doing the things we’ve done, but there’s not much difference between us.”

“You and I are NOTHING alike,” Adrian spat out, his voice filled with venom.

“According to you,” you objected. “But in the eyes of the law, you and I are no different. We’re both murders, no matter what our reasons are. Chris, too.”

“You leave Peacemaker the fuck out of this!” he suddenly shouted at you, eyes flashing. “Chris has nothing to do with your fucking shit either!”

It was no use.

Adrian was perfectly willing to make justifications for himself and his best friend, but not the person he loved.

“Okay,” you said, sighing. “I’m sorry. I’ll leave you alone now.”

Adrian didn’t reply, just nodded curtly to you. He was holding his frame even more stiffly when the conversation first started. A slight tremble was going through his frame.

Without knowing what else to do, you got in your car and drove away.

#adrian chase #vigilante #adrian chase hc #adrian chase fluff #adrian chase fanfiction #adrian chase imagine #adrian chase x y/n #adrian chase x reader #adrian chase x you #vigilante hc #vigilante fanfiction #vigilante imagine #vigilante fluff #vigilante x y/n #vigilante x you #vigilante x reader

[wackymaci]

well. okay. secret blog officially expanding to include canon convo snippets?!!! (no rebwoggy pwease) I guess I’ll backtrack slightly thru my twitter gently and timidly when the mood strikes bc . aaahh. and to start with a classic™ since this was just a topic of discussion—

—WEEEEELLLL okay wait backtracking FURTHER to mention, did we all see the literal essay novel I wrote a few weeks ago narrating the step by step story of how Thanatos fucking ✨exploded✨ after he’d escaped Tartarus? this is relevant. About how (like most things) the escape was accidentally Loki’s fault bc he’d been secretly talking to Thanatos the whole time without anyone knowing??? well first of all you should read that essay???

so after I posted that, on twt I had scrounged up three short clips from probably one of my all time favorite scenes - yknow, the one where everyone FOUND OUT WHAT LOKI HAD DONE during the above series of events, and so behind the cut crossposted from Twitter please behold- And also if this is your first raw text Canon Convo you’ve ever seen. yes the *ENTIRE ELYSIUMVERSE* LOOKS EXACTLY LIKE THIS— SURPRIIIISE—

these are cut pieces and arent completely seamless but it’s scenes from the same thread, obviously. E!L, love of my life. Everyone wants to kill you all the time with good reason

teehee! + another absolute gem same convo later on

this is a convo that cycles in my head so frequently that I simply must draw it one day and. and yet. classic tho! STRANGLES HIM it’s fine he made up for this in the end :’)))

#canon convos #HEY! A NEW TAG APPEARS!

[gimme-a-thrust]

I really want to get that Ozzie's notebook from the official store, so I'm hoping that she will go towards me securing it.  NOTE: If you would prefer to pay to buy the notebook for me, I will discuss extra art of her with you!!!

Okay, so, I started thinking about Stella and Lilith as a breedable together the other day in the car, and I couldn't stop thinking about her, and so I finally sat down a couple of days ago and worked this out. I really love how she came out, and overall she took me four hours. o.x Regardless, I'm very happy with her. I hope that she finds a good home!

This is crossposted to DA, FA, and Tumblr. She now has a Toyhou.se!

PRICE: $15 USD

RULES:

1. Do not send the money before I say it's okay. I will note you my Paypal when I have agreed to give you the adopt. 2. Check the comments before you ask for one to make sure it's still open. 3. This is first come, first serve. 4. All payments will be made via Paypal. No exceptions. 5. There are eight versions of this reference sheet as well as a separate color palette that you will receive upon purchase. 6. I do have a toyhou.se, if you're going to post there. It's Sunshinecackle. Should you have a TH as well that you would like to put her on, I am happy to upload the images there as well as give them to you separately through a st.ash file.

ADOPT: Open

Design, Art © Me

Stella, Lilith (c) Vivienne/Spindlehorse

#Helluva Boss Adoptable #Helluva Boss Crackship Adoptable #Hazbin Hotel Adoptable #Hazbin Hotel Crackship Adoptable #Stella x Lilith Crackship Adopt #Lilith x Stella Crackship Adopt #Crackship Adoptable #Adoptable #Adopt #Helluva Boss Adopt #Hazbin Hotel Adopt

[duhragonball]

Millionaire

Holy shit, I did it.  This damn weinerfic is now officially over one million words long. Do I have that picture of second-form Frieza?  Let me check.

Didn’t have one, but I found a screenshot of the manga, which actually rocks harder than the anime version of this line, so that works for me.

The number itself isn’t really the point.  I just needed a milestone to shoot for, and this was it. Back in 2020 I was taking stock and I was somewhere in the 700k range, so I asked myself if I thought I could get to one million by the end of 2022.  So when the writing got hard or the editing felt like too big a hassle, I used the word count to keep me going. 

Truth be told, I’ve always been self-conscious about the length of this thing.  From the beginning, I envisioned Luffa as an idea like the Bardock TV special, depicting a character from the franchise’s lore in a fairly digestible story.  But I knew I would need to go into a lot of detail to really achieve what I wanted to do with her.  I came up with the character in 2004, I think, but I never got serious about writing the story because I knew it would be an enormous commitment.  Once I finally got started in 2015, I told myself that I was ready, and that I would just see how things played out.  Oh, it’s probably going to be 100,000 words, no big deal.   Okay, it might end up being 500,000 words, well, I’m already 300,000 in, so that’s not so bad.   And in 2020 I saw where I was and realized I might as well aim for 1 million, because I would end up there anyway. 

And I’m still not done.  I had hoped to wrap up the Demigra fight by this point, and I’m pretty close, but I’ll still need to finish a few more chapters to get that out of the way.  Then I’ll have a couple more items to check of my to-do list, and then I’ll have to figure out what to do next.  So in the end, this moment is just a milestone, like when you’re going down the interstate and the mile marker sign hits a big round number. 

But, this milestone does mean I’m finished for the year 2022.  I’ve got some stuff left to edit from my Nano run last month, but I’ll worry about that later.  I need to crosspost chapters 198-202 over on this tumblr, but that can wait too. 

Right now, I really need to get back to that Christmas Annual story, but I like my chances a lot better now that I’ve got this other thing locked down.

#luffastuff

[ran-orimoto]

[Merry Christmas, my Tumblr cupcakes! Buon Natale! The Shibayama family and me all wish you a wonderful Natale. So much peace, happiness, joy, harmony in your households💕.

Hm, I usually hate crossposting but I will make another exception for Christmas💕. I think here Kou has received so much love in these months? I know he’s the most popular kid among my Ocs on IG, but on Twitter it’s definitely Ran.

Anyway, short long story. My Christmas comic sketches lack sense every year and this is what I like about them🤣. ]

Kou doesn’t really hate singing. Indeed, when he lived in Italy he was so into singing, as much as Junpei, and he also used to sing during Zecchino D’Oro.

Zecchino d’Oro is a musical festival where chorus of children sing original kids songs. When I was younger, I had so many DVDs featuring musical videos dedicated to children and I admit I still listen to some old songs when I feel like doing it ahahah. They are very adorable and pure, and there also ton of Christmas songs (both original and cute revisitations). During the competion lot of famous singers join and I believe Junpei would love having fun with kids too. So I do headcanon he will eventually end up there too someday, and Kou would be so happy and proud💕🤣.

However, when Kou starts living in Japan, his classmates will begin making him uncomfortable about Junpei, due to how big he is. This will lead Kou to becoming colder in Junpei’s regards and detesting singing as well, because it’s something that’s connected with Junpei. This is the reason why every Christmas isn’t that appreciated by Kou🤣.

Even if Izumi is busy with the restaurant, Junpei will always give his best to stay with the children as much as he can, also to fill those times of the year he couldn’t be there. Moreover, he knows he isn’t going to stay with them on New Year, so he obviously wants to give them his whole attention. A tradition in the Shibayama ‘s household is to sing Christmas songs while Junpei (tries🤣) plays them on the piano. Needless to say Kou doesn’t really like this activity at all, or better, he does like it but he is too torn to admit it.

So he will walk away this year as well, while someone is wishing upon a Christmas star to get a precious desire of his fulfilled. Digiworld has got no concept of time…It can connect dimensions but also people living in different time layers. Uhhh, Junpei, I don’t think you have wished to get a Kou for on Christmas Eve’s night ahahahahahahah.

“My wish is to get to stay with Izumi-Chan forever…~~~”

✨✨✨✨✨

Kou…Isn’t exactly what he wished for, okay? 🤣 Or maybe he is, in some kind of way?

PSA That I thank Joseph for still making me discover Junzumi official stuff at the end of 2022. I was kinda inspired from the “More More Happy Christmas” Frontier song ahahahZ

#junzumi #junpei shibayama #digimon frontier #junpei #kou #I’m so stupid #but Kou is more c’mon #and maybe bby Junpei too #I love Junpei dressed in that silly way for Christmas #even if his nose fell smh #ahahahahahahhahah #OPS #zura’s sketches

[moonstrider9904]

Saleucami

Chapter 10 of Moonwalker: The Batch

{series masterlist} {next chapter} {previous chapter}

{join my taglist!} {crossposted to Wattpad} {crossposted to AO3}

Crosshair x Fem!OC, Hunter x Fem!OC

Chapter summary: While on Saleucami, Sarah deals with the loss of Crosshair whilst acknowledging formerly neglected feelings for Hunter.

Warnings/tags: Mature (minors still not allowed). Angsty, lots of moping, lots of angst in regards to Crosshair, romantic tension, mutual pining, yearning, and I believe that's it, but let me know if there's something I forgot to tag!

A/N: Longer chapter today but I promise it's good!! I'm excited because this is where Sarah and Hunter's arc officially begins, but fear not because there will still be lots of Crosshair x Sarah in future chapters too :3 I'm happy to have been out of my writer's block to post this on time!

Word count: 7.1k

Songs: Breeze by takeo and Spencer Hunt

Hunter

The landing on Saleucami had proven a big jump from Kamino, what with the firm land, the sun shining, and the plant life and farm lands as far as the eye could see. It truly felt to Hunter as if they'd left the rainy planet behind, or rather, forced it behind, and he still hadn't made his peace with that.

He felt especially conflicted anytime he laid eyes on Sarah, who had failed to put an optimistic front as much as his brothers and Omega. She was trying, though. It was just that losing Crosshair had taken more of a toll on her than the others.

Hunter hated the feeling he got, the way his hands fisted when he thought about her missing someone else—and yet, he too desperately missed his brother, even if it was a fact he’d refuse to admit.

Hunter knew how hard it was for Sarah to so much as think of returning to Kamino before she met them. He and the Batch had helped her overcome that, and yet, it seemed as if history had repeated itself for her. Though she said she was fine, Hunter knew it was to not cause conflict with the others over any difference in opinions they may have on the sharpshooter, which was still a topic left to be discussed.

Nobody had spoken Crosshair’s name in the whole voyage.

But Hunter couldn’t linger on that as well.

He felt responsible.

He knew the others would hold him responsible too, or at least, he felt that way.

It was far easier to focus on Sarah, though that didn’t come without its difficulties. He thought about how much he could decipher from the young woman, able to read her like a book; Hunter also knew her well enough to know she was trying to move forward, and she was trying desperately.

It pained Hunter to see her so upset almost as much as it always pained him to see her running off with Crosshair, and he felt awful about that. He wanted to help her, but he didn't want to take advantage of her, and for the whole trip to Saleucami he'd kept his distance from her. What comforted Hunter was knowing that she hadn't been alone; Echo had been there for her for the entirety of the trip.

Watching them, Hunter could only wonder what those two were like in the first days of the war when they met. He wondered what Fives was like—he had to have been amazing if he’d caught Sarah’s heart, as was Crosshair.

Meanwhile, Hunter merely aspired to be that way as well.

But in the real world, he still felt like he had to do something, so when Tech landed the ship and everyone started getting out of the Havoc Marauder, Hunter caught up to Sarah and gently placed a hand on her shoulder before she exited.

"Hunter," she said softly.

He was about to speak, but stopped as he looked into her eyes. Those fantastic eyes, which always gleamed with specs of so many colors it seemed like looking into nebulae, were dimmer, the colorful flecs now pale ghosts of what they usually were.

Sarah tried to appear okay by raising her eyebrows, appearing in a good mood, and she could probably fool the others, but she would never be able to fool Hunter. He knew her gestures, her mannerisms. Memorizing her was all he could do since he met her.

Seeing her expression, he was compelled for a moment to wrap his arms around her, to keep her in the safety of his arms, to protect her, even though he knew she’d protect herself.

The more Hunter lingered on the thought, the closer he felt to pulling her to him. She was so small that her head would rest over his chest, and he'd be able to take in her sweet scent while enveloping her body completely with his.

But he stopped himself from doing that.

"Sarah..." Hunter began. "Are you sure you're alright?"

Sarah's lips curved, but barely. "I will be."

From outside, the sound of a giggle caught their attention. They both looked at the sight of Omega skipping around and occasionally brushing her fingers on the dirt, a marvel for a kid who'd only ever known the plain durasteel of Tipoca City.

And despite the care and responsibility Hunter felt towards Omega, his attention landed on Sarah again when he heard her chuckle softly.

"At least she lights up the mood around here," Sarah said.

Hunter's gaze traveled back to Omega, who was still delighting in the novelty of something as simple as dirt. A dull ache clenched at Hunter’s chest; the kid had waltzed herself into their lives just as Crosshair had been torn out of them. Looking at her prance around and at Sarah observing the kid, he wondered if she’d come to the same realization. He wondered if Sarah would resent Omega.

Sarah was a being of light and magic, at least that’s how Hunter saw her. She’d never resent a child, but he feared that, for all he’d ever wanted her to love him back, she would wind up resenting him instead.

Whatever Sarah thought, all he could understand at the moment was how much he wanted those two to be safe.

Hunter followed Sarah out of the ship to regroup with the others and he led the way between the plant fields over to Cut's place. They would soon be greeted by Cut and his wife Suu; the two familiar faces were a sight for Hunter's sore eyes, and he was finally able to feel something besides uncertainty since leaving Kamino.

The warmth of a family, the familiarity of those close to him. How long had he reprimanded those two very basic needs, neglected them from himself?

Inside the hut, Hunter noticed the beautiful pink-skinned Twi’lek observing Sarah quietly, smiling when she reached out to hand her newest guest a beverage.

"Right," Hunter broke the silence. "Echo, Sarah, Omega, these are Cut and Suu."

"Pleasure to meet you," Echo said as Sarah nodded, managing a polite smile.

"The pleasure's ours," Suu replied at Echo, but her gaze remained on Sarah most of the time.

Hunter figured Sarah's eyes had caught her attention, the way they did to anyone. He could see how Suu eyed Sarah with interest, even happiness, with her usual welcoming warmth.

She'd also eye Hunter from time to time, and she'd switch back and forth between the two.

Unfortunately, Suu's ease was not reflected by her husband, who eyed the squad with heavy eyes.

"Where's Crosshair?" Cut spoke the words everyone in the squad had been dreading to hear.

And just like that, any hope in Sarah's eyes vanished.

Hunter spoke up, hurrying to get past the subject before Sarah felt any worse.

"Things became complicated when the war ended," Hunter answered.

Cut could only nod. "Yeah, Rex told us about that. Real shame what happened to all our brothers."

Both Echo and Sarah snapped their gazes to Cut at the mention of the clone captain.

"You know Rex?" Sarah asked.

"He's a good friend of ours," Cut said with a melancholic smile. “He and I go way back, wound up wounded here and then helped protect my family. He’s a good man.”

"When was he here?" Echo asked, also eager to know anything about Rex, of any indicator of his well-being.

The smile faded from Cut’s features. "He came by yesterday."

Sarah and Echo exchanged looks, both visibly disappointed to have missed Rex by so little time. But as Hunter observed Sarah, he'd noticed a small change in her. He could even sense she didn't feel as dim as when Crosshair was mentioned, as if being reminded of Rex had motivated her in some way.

Everyone fell silent once more as the weight of the current events settled on them. Desperately needing a ray of light, the sound of Cut and Suu's two kids filled the room as they ran up to their mom telling them about the ship outside their place, making Wrecker happily get up and spread his arms wide.

"Shaaeah! Jek!"

Both kids looked at Wrecker, eyes wide with happiness.

"Uncle Wrecker!" They cried out in unison as they tackled Wrecker's huge figure.

At that moment, Hunter stole a glance of Sarah, who was looking at the kids with a serene smile, while Omega looked at the kids in confusion. It wasn't long before Shaaeah and Jek looked over at the new child’s face as well.

"Who are you?" Jek asked.

Omega was initially shy around them, but a soft pat on her back from Sarah encouraged her to take just one step forward and timidly introduce herself to the kids, who then offered to play outside. Omega looked at Hunter, unsure of what to do. In turn, Hunter found himself smiling at the kid and giving her a nod, more of encouragement than approval, and Omega's big brown eyes lit up as she ran outside with Shaaeah and Jek.

Hunter watched as they patiently taught Omega to play catch. Soon, Omega was trying to keep up with their play like any normal kid would—like any normal kid deserved.

It warmed Hunter's heart to see Omega around other children, rather than to be ordered around at the Kaminoan medical facility by scientists. With all his thoughts, it took Hunter by surprise, even with his heightened senses, when he noticed everyone had been staring at him as he looked after Omega, which caught him only slightly off guard.

However, he was able to notice when Sarah let out a soft chuckle, which made him feel more at ease.

"You have a nice place here," Sarah told Suu.

"Thank you,” Suu happily replied to her. “Would you like me to show you around?"

"Oh, no, I wouldn't want to cause trouble," Sarah nearly shied away.

"It's not trouble," Suu chuckled. "Come, I'll even prepare tea."

"Tea sounds amazing," Sarah smiled, and she looked back at Hunter before going with Suu. "Do you want to come?"

Hunter gently shook his head at her. "I'll watch over the kids."

"Alright," Sarah whispered, smiling softly at him, and Hunter had to reprimand the sudden need to kiss her.

It only became a bit easier for him to do that when he noticed Suu looking at them over Sarah's shoulder, with a raised brow and a small smile.

And as Sarah found her way towards Suu, Hunter could also feel the rest of his squad looking at him, but he'd choose to ignore their teasing for now.

As if that was even his choice when it came to his brothers.

Hunter finally turned around, glaring defensively at them. "What?"

"YOU LIKE—" Wrecker began yelling, but Hunter shot him a look. Wrecker gave him a mischievous look and opted to whisper. "You like Sarah!"

Hunter did his best to appear unbothered. “No.”

"Hunter, you have to admit you're not one to hide it," Echo said.

"It's not that," Hunter continued to deny. "She's been through a lot recently and I just want to make sure she's fine. I'm protecting her, that's all."

"I wouldn't be completely against it," Echo admitted after a few tense seconds of silence.

"Meaning?" Hunter looked up at him.

"You said it yourself, she's been through a lot recently,” Echo continued. “And if things continue down the same route, I'd much rather have her move on as soon as possible."

"Move on?" Hunter questioned.

"Oh, come on, it doesn't take a genius like myself to know she has feelings towards Crosshair," Tech intervened. “I am convinced something happened between them on Kaller; they gave multiple signs of it when we were on Kamino. I…”

Hunter looked over at Tech, knowing trailing off wasn’t proper of him.

“Spit it out,” Hunter prompted.

“I saw them alone in a room holding hands,” Tech said, hesitantly. “They looked like they were going to kiss.”

Hunter didn’t know what he’d expected to hear—he only felt dumber each second for trying to think otherwise.

"Which means she'll still be in pain so long as Crosshair keeps hunting us down," Echo finished.

"My point exactly,” Hunter said, doubt flooding his tone.

"So you can honestly say that you have no attraction towards her whatsoever?" Echo raised a brow.

Against his will, Hunter hesitated. He hated lying to his brothers, and he most definitely wanted to hold Sarah in his arms someday as more than his comrade, but now wasn't the time for that. Hunter couldn't overwhelm her with that.

He also knew he could trust Echo. He’d proven himself to that squad multiple times since his arrival, even before he was officially part of the squad. Hunter had given Echo the spot of right hand man more times than he could count.

A spot that was previously exclusive to Crosshair.

Too many thoughts raced through Hunter’s mind. Not wanting to replace Crosshair, not wanting to accept he wasn’t there, not wanting to overwhelm Sarah, not wanting to jump into Crosshair’s place, take advantage…

"That's right,” Hunter finally answered.

"Oh, come on," Wrecker insisted. "What's not to like about her?"

"Is her voice too beautiful?" Tech followed. "Are her eyes too captivating? Is her hair too silky? Or perhaps is her laughter too magical for you?"

"I'm beginning to think you like her," Hunter grimaced. "You know what, conversation over."

Hunter went to stand at the doorway and did as he told Sarah, watching over the children as they played. In the meantime, the rest of the group scattered to mind their own business, except for Cut, who walked up to him.

"So..." Cut shyly began, hoping he could provide a more neutral, mature point of view to Hunter’s worries. "You and Sarah?"

"No—!" Hunter replied, almost too loudly and startled. He then sighed, attempting to calm himself down. "No, it's not like that. She's part of the squad, and in any case, she was with..."

He stopped himself before mentioning Crosshair again, but he didn’t know if it was because Sarah wouldn't appreciate him talking about her and Crosshair behind her back, or because it still pained him to acknowledge the fact that she chose Crosshair instead of him from the beginning.

Sighing again, Hunter looked out at the horizon. "It doesn't matter."

"Uh-huh," Cut said, obviously seeing right through Hunter. "How'd you come across her?"

"She's an old friend of Rex," Hunter answered. "She went with us to rescue Echo, and after that they both joined us."

"I see," Cut said, also gazing at the sight of the children playing. "And what about the kid?"

Hunter looked Cut in the eyes as though to prepare him for the long story he had before him, and he decided to just ground himself and let Cut in on all the details of the previous days.

Sarah

Cut and Hunter surprised Suu and Sarah when they suddenly walked into one of the bedrooms, making Sarah nearly choke on the delightful berry infusion Suu had kindly prepared for her.

And she couldn’t help the way her eyes wandered when she saw Hunter donning civilian clothes rather than his usual military gear. Sarah froze—had she never seen him in anything that wasn’t part of his armor?

The outfit had a green shirt, a color that looked surprisingly good on Hunter, with short sleeves that emphasized his strong forearms and hands, a sight deeply intimate in the absence of his gloves. Sarah noticed the scars on his fingers due to his own blade, and as her gaze traveled upward, she made out a couple of veins marking themselves on his forearms, only making him appear stronger.

“We’re heading into town,” Cut spoke, breaking Sarah’s trance. “Do you need us to get anything?”

“No, honey,” Suu replied. “We’ve got everything we need, Sarah’s helping me pack.”

Cut nodded at his wife and headed out the door. Before Hunter followed, Sarah noticed him looking at her, his gaze lingering. She directed a smile at him, reassuring in its nature, making him feel comfortable enough to leave with Cut.

By that point, Suu had already shown Sarah most of the house and told her a few stories of when Rex had gone to visit in the past. It was truly a lovely little place, where a family could live a cozy life, and even if they were going to leave it, Sarah knew they would find a new home where they could leave that same quiet, peaceful life.

She felt happy for them, and only slightly yearned to have what they had.

On occasion, Sarah glanced out the window of the room they were in and saw Omega playing with Shaeeah and Jek, tossing a ball at each other, tripping, laughing. It was a sight to warm hearts all over, and yet, Sarah found hers squeezing as a pang of pain suddenly hit her.

“Hey,” she broke the silence. “Do you mind if I get some air?”

“Go ahead,” Suu told her. “I’ll be right here if you need anything.”

Sarah nodded politely and left the room, making her way to the house’s backyard. When she arrived, all she could do was stand and stare at the landscape, not knowing what to do. All she could do was think.

Memories swarmed before her eyes of the things she’d seen during the war, the times she’d thought of what she’d do when it was over. But a much heavier thought lingered within her, as she repeated to herself relentlessly that every single one of those plans, given recent events, had changed, as though to completely vanish into the air.

Only then did she deign to admit to herself how much she missed Crosshair.

She felt her eyes tearing up. If Crosshair were still there, and she were sad about any other reason, he’d be walking out that door right about now. He’d approach her quietly, uttering a quick Hey or a Problem?, and she’d either rant her heart out or say nothing.

Either way, Crosshair would know what to do. He’d know how to comfort her, he’d be there for her.

But he wasn’t.

And the worst part was that he hadn’t even chosen that. He’d been torn away from her.

Time passed and Sarah remained standing there, her mind locked on everything that was going on. She’d lost track of how long she’d been out there when the sound of the door opening and closing made her quickly turn around to find Suu walking towards her, her eyes sympathetic as ever.

“They’re back,” said Suu.

Sarah tried not to linger on the fact that she’d been out there mourning for longer than she would have liked, and forced herself to be back at reality.

“That’s a relief,” she said. “What news do they bring?”

Suu gently shook her head, doubtful. “Something about chain codes, registration protocols. Apparently, getting off the planet is going to be difficult. My husband is a deserter, if he’s discovered, everything is lost.”

Sympathy now shone in Sarah’s eyes too. “Damned Empire is making everything harder than it should be. But look, Cut’s smart, and so are you, and we’re here to help. We’ll make sure you get on that transport.”

Suu smiled with gratitude; now it was her turn to help Sarah. “You seem sad.”

Sarah’s features softened as she exhaled the lingering tension. “Everything that’s happened these past few days has been awful. I think the only good thing in all of it is Omega arriving to us.”

“You miss Crosshair,” Suu said.

Sarah gave a sad smile to keep herself from crying. “I take it you met him.”

Suu chuckled. “You should have seen him with the kids. They love him. Of course, he’d never live that down with his brothers. And for all his brooding, he was never a bad man. He has Cut’s utmost respect, and mine too.”

A tear fell from Sarah’s eye. Since Kamino, she’d felt like there would be a bitter resentment towards Crosshair, even if it had all happened against his will. To hear Suu talking so greatly of him gave her the comfort she desperately needed.

But the sadness remained there, and it wouldn’t leave anytime soon. Sarah looked up at Suu, the longing returning to her gaze as she looked at the beautiful mother of two.

“Seeing what you have with Cut,” Sarah began. “Your house, your kids, the fact that you’ve been able to stay away from the war for so long… I want that. And before the clones turned on the Jedi, we’d anticipated the war would be over soon. I saw myself having all of this.”

“You saw yourself with Crosshair?”

Sarah struggled to keep the tears inside. “Yes.”

Suu’s eyes met Sarah’s; somehow, her gaze was telling her it was okay to cry, to feel. Instead, Sarah took a deep, centering breath, and continued.

“But I don’t think that’s going to happen anymore,” she finished.

“Maybe not with Crosshair,” Suu said, her tone soft.

Sarah tilted her head in inquiry at what she’d said, and Suu gave her a gentle smile as if they’d known each other for life.

“You deserve to have what you want,” Suu began. “If a quiet life with a home and someone to love is what you want, you should have that. I don’t blame you for wanting it after seeing all the horrors of war, and trust me, it’s still possible for you to have it.”

“I thought I could have it once,” Sarah answered. “With a clone named Fives. But he passed, and then Cross came along and I allowed myself to feel that again.”

Sarah chuckled to stifle her own sob. “And behold what’s happened.”

Suu gently shook her head, though still smiling. “We must not shut ourselves from the possibility of new people coming into our lives because of previous hardships, Sarah. And if you just open your eyes, just a bit, and you look around…”

Her words caught Sarah’s attention, and she finally looked Suu in the eyes.

“You could find someone who already sees you,” Suu finished.

It didn’t take long for the gears to turn in Sarah’s head and a face appeared in her mind.

“Hunter?” She spoke, very softly.

Sarah almost wanted to accept the idea. She’d noticed him looking at her before. She’d seen Hunter doing it whenever she was with Crosshair, whenever they ran off to snipe from some tower or cliff.

She’d noticed how Hunter would look sad every time.

And it wasn’t like Sarah didn’t find him attractive. Hunter was protective by nature, brave, undeniably handsome, strong, smart, and unbelievably kind. He was the whole package.

But with everything that had happened, the way everything was just so messed up in every way, Sarah found herself shaking her head.

“It’s too soon,” she spoke.

“It is,” Suu rested her hand on Sarah’s shoulder. “And you do need time, but if and when you feel ready again, you might want to know that you have quite the man who’s already crazy about you.”

Sarah looked over at the house, knowing Hunter was inside. She felt guilty for even thinking about Hunter that way, with Crosshair’s parting being so recent.

And she didn’t want to let that be permanent either. One way or another, she wanted to get Crosshair back even if she had to venture out on her own one day.

But her marks burned as Suu spoke, and Sarah knew better than to ignore them.

*

Things had taken a negative turn too quickly. Little Omega had come too close to getting hurt when an innocent attempt to retrieve a ball over the fence led to a close encounter with a Nexu, one Hunter and Suu had barely managed to rescue her from.

In his worry, Hunter had not only raised his voice, but he’d also become more distant from everyone. He did that whenever he was deep in thought, and while Omega hid away on the ship, the house seemed eerily quiet when preparations to get the family on the shuttle off world became more imminent.

Sarah went outside of the house to the yard where she’d stood with Suu earlier to find Hunter brooding, arms crossed, watching the landscape as the wind lifted some of his curls.

He turned around when he heard Sarah walking up to him, smiling softly at her.

“She’s fine, Hunter,” Sarah broke the silence in an effort to reassure him. “And I’m sure she’s not mad at you, just… don’t be so quick to scold her next time.”

“Next time,” Hunter said, disheartened.

“She’s a child,” Sarah answered. “If it’s not a scrape on the knee, it’ll be us worried she’s disappeared when really she was just hiding in the basement.”

“She really could have been hurt,” Hunter continued. “Look, Sarah…”

She looked at him intently, with her beautiful nebulae eyes resting on him, visibly making it harder for Hunter to speak.

“I’ve been thinking a lot since we arrived, and what just happened only confirms it,” he began. “Omega doesn’t need a group of soldiers, she needs a family.”

“That’s good,” Sarah answered. “I think we all need that change in mindset.”

“She needs to stay with Cut and Suu.”

Sarah felt herself going cold, not having expected Hunter to go there so quickly. Her eyes widened at him, evidently in disbelief.

“Were you planning on checking with the others?” Sarah asked him.

“Is there a counterargument? Sarah, we can’t provide for a kid,” he said. “She should be playing with kids her age, the biggest risk for her should be getting low grades in school, not getting shot. Cut said it clearly, she is not a soldier.”

“Neither are we,” Sarah replied. “Whatever we were loyal to disbanded. We’re running from the army, and if we settle down and do what Cut and Suu did, we’ll be able to provide for her one day, and ourselves.”

Hunter’s features softened briefly. “Is that what you’d want?”

Sarah sighed. “Yes. I have a terrible feeling about the Empire, things will not be looking up anytime soon. And if we have to run away and save our necks, we might as well do that.”

Silence fell between them while Hunter remained deep in thought, and Sarah hesitated to speak the next words.

“I’ve wanted that for years, Hunter,” she admitted. “A house, a family, a child. No wars, no weapons.”

Hunter paced away from her a bit as he thought, and then he turned to face her again. Sarah watched him, bewildered at his sheer beauty in the golden sunlight of Saleucami, and her thoughts began to spiral onto what Suu had told her earlier.

“Then stay with her,” Hunter said.

Sarah’s thoughts were broken as she once more couldn’t believe what Hunter was saying.

“What?” She asked. “You want me to stay with Omega? With Cut and Suu?”

“It’s the only way I can guarantee your safety,” Hunter said. “Yours and Omega’s. You go with them, get started. The rest of us will find credits, resources…”

“You’ll find Crosshair,” Sarah said.

But Hunter fell silent again when she spoke his name, and Sarah rubbed her face in tension, knowing she had to change the subject.

“Look, if that’s what you’re thinking, then let’s just all stay together,” she said. “Fuck the transport, we all leave in the Marauder, settle down in a distant planet. Tech and I will work out a way to track Crosshair down, and then we find him, we get him, and forget this nightmare once and for all.”

“Sarah, it won’t be simple,” Hunter answered. “We’re wanted, settling down won’t be easy for us to do, and if we all stay together, we’ll only put Cut and Suu in danger.”

Sarah’s heart only sank because she knew Hunter was right.

“Then why push me away too?” She asked. “You know I can stick up for myself, so why are you so concerned about my safety?”

“I can’t let you get hurt,” Hunter replied. “You’ve been in too much pain since Kamino, you don’t deserve all this loss.”

“Well tough luck, Hunter, I’m as much a part of this squad as you are, as Crosshair,” Sarah said firmly.

But Hunter’s eyes saddened. “I can’t promise you we’ll find him, I can’t even promise you he’ll want to come with us if we do. The only way I can protect you from that is if you stay with Omega.”

He walked up to her, barely inches away from her as he desperately held himself back from taking her into his arms. Sarah noticed the way he struggled, but her mind was too clouded by thoughts for her to even know which line of thought to begin with. Ultimately, she realized what staying with Omega would imply, and she forced her tears inside, but not without making her voice tremble with dismay.

“I cannot lose all of you too,” Sarah spoke.

“Sarah…” Hunter said, clearly pained. “I can’t lose you either…”

“Then why?” She asked again, unclear as to why Hunter would try to get her to leave.

Her mind racing, she tried to settle on an answer. Maybe it pained him too much to hear her insisting on going back for Crosshair. Maybe he was terrified they’d all be hunted down soon enough, terrified of the Empire realizing they should have ordered her to be executed too.

Hunter stepped closer, his warmth radiating onto her as he beckoned for her to look at him in the eyes.

“Please,” he said.

Her heart sank when she realized she wouldn’t change Hunter’s mind, she wouldn’t even understand him. Everything was uncertain, everything was cause to fear, and if Hunter wanted her away from him for whatever reason, she felt she had to respect it.

If only she hadn’t listened so closely to Suu’s words.

Sarah took a step back, her eyes filling with tears.

“I’ll stay,” she whispered, not trusting her voice enough to sound sane.

“Sarah—” Hunter was about to reach out for her.

But she turned around and left. At that point, she would do anything to numb the pain, even if the effort was futile.

The sun went down on Saleucami, and the hour to head for the transport off world was nearing. With everything packed, all that was left was for Omega to meet them at the station with the chain codes, six of them encoded and brand new.

Sarah couldn’t bring herself to look at Hunter.

The town felt dark and hostile, with the shadow of the Empire veiling it, making it a phantom of the lively place it must have been once. Sarah had heard Cut and Hunter mention a few changes they’d seen, but Sarah never imagined it like that. There were clone troopers marching in groups every few blocks, inspecting people, so much that it didn’t even feel like the war had ended.

What called out to her the most was that every trooper’s armor was identical, all of it white, stripped of colors or markings they would have added to represent their GAR division.

It was as if all the individuality had been taken from them.

When they got in line for the transport and she heard a chain code announcement in the background, Sarah noticed the strange vibe she got from the man in the hologram. She felt her usual premonition, and as she looked at the hologram, Crosshair came to mind.

But before she could ponder further on it, the line continued to advance, rendering them closer to the chain code revision. It would have been a real danger to not have them handy, but by act of the universe, Omega showed up just in time carrying the chain codes, her eyes sparkling with joy at the prospect of having succeeded in her first solo mission.

“I’m here!” She said proudly as she looked up at Hunter. “But I have six codes, what do we want the other two for?”

Sarah’s heart sank; Cut shot a pained look over at Hunter, who didn’t look any happier.

Sarah rested her hand on Omega’s shoulder, kneeling down to be more at her height.

“Omega, honey…” She spoke. “You and I are staying with Cut and Suu.”

The smile faded from Omega’s eyes, and she looked over at Hunter as though hoping Sarah was telling a lie.

“What does she mean?” Omega asked him.

Cut and Hunter exchanged a look before the latter released the luggage he was carrying to position himself in front of Omega and Sarah, kneeling down as well while Cut and the others advanced in the line.

“She’s telling the truth, Omega,” Hunter admitted, though not without heartbreak. “I want you and Sarah to stay with Cut and Suu.”

Omega looked up at Sarah, pleading for help even though Sarah couldn’t find any words within her.

“Was it because of what I did?” Omega asked. “I promise I won’t try anything like that again, just don’t get rid of us.”

“It’s not that, Omega,” Sarah comforted the child. “And no one thinks you did anything wrong. Hunter’s just looking out for your safety.”

Sarah knew Hunter was giving her a grateful look, but she still didn’t bring herself to look at him.

“Hunter, I want to stay with you,” Omega said. “And I’m pretty sure so does Sarah.”

“You both deserve a family, a life,” Hunter said, beckoning Sarah to look at him. “You’ve had to face loss again with us, Sarah. I can’t guarantee I can fix that for you, but by this I’ll be saving you the risk of going through it again.”

“By making me lose all of you,” Sarah shook her head. “It’s worse.”

“Hunter…” Omega caught the sergeant’s attention. “You’re my family.”

“Quit holding up the line!” A trooper yelled from the outpost, pressuring them to move forward, and as though on cue, blaster fire could now be heard from deep within the impound dock, courtesy of the remainder of the batch.

“You have to go,” Hunter said to them.

Sarah’s eyes glistened with the tears she refused to shed. Gently, she pat Omega on the shoulder, willing her to walk forward even if she seemed just as devastated as Sarah.

With Omega gone, Sarah looked at Hunter. She was about to walk away too, but Hunter reached out for her hand, stopping her. She looked at him, eyes wide with hope.

Hunter struggled. In his eyes, it seemed like a million words flashed by him, but he sighed and, defeated, gave Sarah a heartbroken look.

“Take care, alright?” He said.

Sarah knew that wasn’t everything Hunter wanted to say or do. He was close to her, far closer than he’d ever been. His eyes were on her lips, his thumb brushed the back of her palm. His features had softened the way she’d never seen; in the dim light, Sarah could even make out the way Hunter’s pupils had dilated.

Whatever he wanted to do, Hunter had to give up on it when a trooper went to escort Sarah over to where Cut and Suu were. She looked over her shoulder, forced to watch him as he stood there, drowning in the tragedy of his own unspoken words.

And then he was on his way to the impound dock.

It would probably be the last time she saw him.

Blaster fire continued to echo in the air while everyone went on as if nothing were happening.

Sarah and Suu met gazes. The chain codes were almost done being scanned; only two more to be authorized and they’d be on their way to a more peaceful life. But looking at Suu, Sarah recognized in her eyes that she didn’t want her and Omega to come along.

It wasn’t that Suu wasn’t happy to help, it was that even she knew it wasn’t right for them to separate.

Sarah wanted to remain with Hunter.

She wanted to remain with her squad. With Echo, her best friend in the entire galaxy. With Wrecker, with Tech, with little Omega learning by their side.

She wanted to keep the hope of getting Crosshair back.

“Chain codes are valid, you may head to the transport,” the trooper behind the counter said.

Sarah and Omega looked at each other as the blaster fire became vivid in the background. They were both thinking the same thing, and Sarah looked back up at Suu, who already knew what they’d decided.

“He needs you,” Suu said, placing her hand on Sarah’s shoulder.

Sarah reciprocated the touch and looked at Suu and Cut together.

“Thank you,” she said.

Cut nodded, and Sarah turned around and ran off into the streets with Omega following closely behind, making their way to the impound lot.

Sarah prayed it wasn’t too late; at the entrance, she found a trooper guarding who was ready to aim and fire at her, but Sarah outmaneuvered him and took over his blaster, setting it to stun and firing the bolt at him, buying them time.

“Stay behind me,” Sarah told Omega, who obliged.

It was a firefight inside the impound lot. Wrecker and Echo worked on the clamp holding the Marauder down, while Tech and Hunter tried to keep the waves of clone troopers at bay.

It seemed like Hunter was getting cornered; he’d even tripped and fallen, and hope seemed lost, but it didn’t escape Sarah’s eye.

“Get to the ship!” Sarah called at Omega, who quickly ran to safety while Sarah ran up behind the trooper cornering Hunter and, just before he shot him, she stunned the clone and got rid of the threat.

Sarah now stood in front of Hunter, blaster in hand, panting after all her running, after her fear of not having arrived in time.

And in turn, Hunter looked at her with disbelief, but still, gratitude and relief remained dominant in his brown eyes.

He reacted quickly and shot a trooper who’d tried to sneak up on Sarah, and while she stunned the few remaining troopers headed her way, Hunter covered for her while she and the rest got on the Marauder once it was ready to fly.

He was the last one on the ship; he’d successfully protected them all.

*

Sarah waited until the ship was out in space to fully relax. After making sure Omega was seated comfortably in one of the passenger seats, Sarah walked into the central room of the Marauder, where Hunter sat in front of one of the large holopanels, its faint blue light shining on him, giving him a cold glow not unlike moonlight.

He noticed Sarah’s presence and stood up to greet her, his eyes filled with apology, with regret.

“I…” He didn’t know what to say. He couldn’t justify trying to push her away, or trying to do the same with Omega. “Sarah, I didn’t know what else to do.”

“You’re scared,” Sarah approached him, stopping when she was barely inches away from him. “You’ve spent your entire life worrying about your men. I know you have good intentions, Hunter. I know all you ever want to do is protect.”

Hunter looked away from her. “If I knew how to protect everyone, we wouldn’t have lost Crosshair.”

“What happened with Crosshair was out of your control,” she said. “Out of all of ours.”

Hunter looked up at her again, relieved that, at least, she didn’t hold that against him.

“But no more pushing us away,” Sarah continued. “We’re not going to survive if we split up, Hunter.”

He felt his own heart rejoicing at how close she was, at having her there in front of him when he was certain he wouldn’t see her again. The one thing he’d realized in saying goodbye to her was how he wouldn’t bear to be without her, even if she loved someone else.

Sarah looked gently at him. She, too, looked beautiful in the pale light of the holopanels, and there was little Hunter could do to continue resisting her. One of his hands traveled up to cup her cheek, his thumb gently brushing her skin, over the marks on her cheekbone.

Sarah leaned into his warmth, finding comfort in it, until she felt his hands traveling down to her waist, pulling her in for a delicate embrace. She felt his body perfectly enveloping hers; she could feel his heat and his muscles through the fabric of the civilian clothes, something she could never feel through armor. Her head rested on his chest, her hands on his abdomen, and she felt Hunter fully wrap his arms around her back, holding her as if she was the galaxy’s rarest treasure.

In his embrace, he contradicted his former will to let her go.

They both knew, at that moment, it would always be impossible for him to do that.

Sarah pulled back, with his hands still resting at her waist, and hers on his forearms. They looked at one another, both unable to speak, their gazes flickering from their lips to their eyes and back, Sarah felt her entire chest vibrate, her heart leaping, her skin and marks burning.

Hunter got closer; it was as if they were dancing, tempting each other, taunting to see if they would or would not do what was obvious, or if Hunter would speak the words he had failed to tell her at the docks. Their foreheads brushed in more softness than tension, but Sarah backed away before she did something she wasn’t sure of.

She felt her heart screaming at her as soon as she stepped back.

But despite that, Sarah managed a tender smile at Hunter, her cheeks reddening at what had just happened.

“You, um,” she stuttered. “You should probably talk to Omega.”

“Right,” Hunter answered, just a tad too quickly.

Sarah walked back into the cockpit and went past Omega, ruffling her curls before gesturing over at Hunter. The girl gave Sarah a smile and she pranced over to the central compartment to meet up with Hunter.

She looked over at Hunter as he and Omega talked, her heart melting at how soft he looked in front of the child.

He almost seemed like her father.

Shortly, the vision returned to Sarah, of a quiet life in a little house, with a husband and a child. Her gaze trailed downwards; there was uncertainty, but by all means, there was hope.

And all the while, her marks hadn’t ceased to burn.

Taglist: @zoeykallus @sageislostinspring @misogirl828 @dangerousstrawberrypie @salaminus @ladykatakuri @morganlefaye13 @seriowan @rain-on-kamino

Link to join my taglist at the top of the post!

#moonstrider writes #the moonwalker series #tbb hunter #tbb hunter fanfic #sergeant hunter #tbb crosshair #the bad batch fanfic #the bad batch fanfiction #hunter x oc #tbb hunter x oc #tbb crosshair x oc #crosshair x oc

[chocolatepot]

Despite my busy schedule of reading fanfic, writing fanfic, and thinking about what I should do next in the fanfic, I managed to finish reading a book! A Lady's Guide to Celestial Mechanics, by Olivia Waite. I think my final verdict is "it's okay, but it could have been a lot better." (Crossposting from my DW, if this looks familiar to anyone.)

Basic synopsis: Lucy Muchelney has been working as her astronomer father's scientific assistant and in fact doing much of the work. She meets Catherine, Countess of Moth, who is a new widow and former victim of spousal emotional abuse, and tries to make it as a scientist in her own name with her new patroness. The official, misogynistic scientific society is against her, but her pop-published translation of an important French work takes off, leading them to try to embarrass her in a debate with the original author - only to inadvertently champion the cause of minorities in science. A happy ending!

To start with: it's well-written. Like, the text is never clunky, the prose is very nice. That's more than I can say for a LOT of romance novels. It's lacking all the romance-novel clichés that I hate!

But ... that's also a negative. The romance novel clichés, it turns out, are extremely boring to me when they're het - I'm always like, "why can't the man and the woman actually get along when they're not kissing/having sex? why can't they support each other? why can't things happen that aren't directly related to the deep erotic blaze they feel?" when I make the mistake of picking up a straight romance novel, and Lady's Guide does a great job of saying, "they can!" Unfortunately, this means that there is no tension or conflict between the characters until close to the very end, and it only lasts about a chapter. It turns out that I am actually super into those clichés as long as it's with a queer romance! As my AO3 output will show, frankly.

But yeah, the characters are kind of doe-eyed and supportive of each other and the story barely has anything to do with their romance, which is a cardinal sin in Romancelandia. They meet, Lucy comes to live with Catherine, they both dart glances at each other like "is she ... ?" and then they give in and kiss, and then they have sex. The obstacle comes in when they meet Lucy's ex, Pris, who got married to a man at the beginning of the book - cribbing a bit from Anne Lister, it's a Marianna situation except that Lucy finds it pretty easy to resist her - and Catherine is jealous and they don't communicate briefly, confusing them into thinking the other is done with the relationship before they explain and come back together. More grievously still for me, they just seem very samey. Their personalities seem pretty similar and if they had different aesthetics I didn't pick up on it or forgot.

Which brings me to my next point: it might just be that I knew the third book in the series was about working-class suffragists (which is extremely Social Justice Approved), but I felt like so much of this characterization and plot was determined on the basis of "what would make this book Feminist and LGBTQ+ Positive?" Lucy is introduced with her dickish painter brother threatening to sell her telescope, and the men of the scientific society are all wankers who condescend to women, promoting a well-connected (white) male idiot to do the official translation over Lucy and a biracial man. Pretty much every female character has some kind of passion or talent that is being stifled by society, which they turn into something lucrative by the end, and Waite is careful to not focus just on STEM but to have characters announce that Embroidery Is Art, Too and so on. One of the reasons that Catherine and Lucy seem so samey is that they are carefully constructed to walk a middle path between butch and femme, closer to the femme side, which avoids the cliché of historical women hating gowns and corsets etc.

And I hear you saying, but Cassidy! It sounds like she did everything you complain about authors not doing! This is true. However, it felt like it was done specifically to make discourse-savvy readers happy rather than because it was true to characters that appeared in her head. (Also, I freaking love a strong butch/femme dynamic, I am high femme and I swoon at the thought of a tall, chivalrous butch, particularly if she sometimes dresses in historical male clothing. GOD. In general I like "opposites attract" ships, really.)

This all being said, I loved the twist of the French author turning out to be a titled woman of color - it was really well handled. I didn't think at all about their identity, just assumed they were a Macguffin, and so the reveal blindsided me. Very little in romance novels is actually surprising, so that was great. But on the whole, I didn't feel the feelings I ought to have felt in reading. And maybe my standards have been off because I've been reading OFMD fic that really makes me feel things lately, but IDK.

#books

[bbnibini]

the thought of barbatos beginning the official distrust of demons in solomon's case (other than asmo being asmo--i believe solomon might've seen him as a lost puppy rather than an actual threat to himself) is so interesting and i can't believe i haven't thought about it before! barbatos had already been tricked into a life-binding contract with diavolo, so making another life-binding contract shouldn't be something he was excited about, right?

barbatos & solomon act pretty distant towards each other, too. the new event where barbatos brushes off the fact that solomon is human, barbatos changing the subject when solomon asked if he mentioned him in one of the hard mode lessons, barbatos agreeing with solomon when the topic of pacts being purely business-related during solomon's birthday ur...

maybe you're onto something! although i'd also like to believe that there is some inkling of trust between the two, given that they witnessed each other at their most vulnerable(?). solomon was dying and barbatos was summoned when no one else should've been able to, given his status.

in my personal experience, twitter in general just isn't as fulfilling as tumblr is? i don't mean to scare you off of there, but the drama that goes on there within the obm fandom is in far greater quantity than on here ;; so much so, many people have been leaving the fandom there left and right. don't get me wrong, it's nice to be there for art & writing inspiration, but sometimes seeing an abundance of ignorance & constant bitterness doesn't bode well for your well-being.

to truly enjoy (obm)twt i feel like you'd just have to post self-indulgent things and you'll eventually gain your circle of people who also enjoy it? even then, the algorithm there can be horrendous to newcomers...

the premise is similar to any social media site, only that i highly encourage to not look as deeply within the fandom there unless you're very picky with who you follow and are prepared to block a fair amount of people. so far i think you've been doing great! spam-posting is something that can get other peoples' attention quicker, especially if you're someone they enjoy receiving content from. ^^ if you're seen to be enjoying yourself then i'm sure others will enjoy that too!

Hehe you're welcome! I think Solmare purposely left these things vague for our own interpretation. There's some conflicting information about Solomon and Barbatos actually, because if you recall S3 in the Serenity Manor, I high-key remember Barbatos saying he trusts Solomon hence why they have a pact (this is also the same scene where he friendzones MC hard haha). Then there's Solomon who also shares a group chat with Barbatos and Asmo called Invocatio where they seem to talk like good friends who care about each other.

Twitter in general just has that vibe, I think. I did own a Twitter two years ago, but I didn't really know how to use it. Things update so quickly, it was overwhelming for me so I deleted it. Thanks for looking out for me though! (If you're not comfortable for us to follow each other back, that's okay! I just thought you wanted a follow back since some people followed me but I don't know which one of them are you). I prefer using AO3 for my fics. Crossposting in Tumblr is tedious but I find it a lot more forgiving (albeit annoying because coding is my nightmare lmaoo).

I don't really participate in drama nor entertain it so I don't really know much, nor care to know much. The worst that happened to me in the few days I remade my twitter was a random person who said they liked the black-haired Solomon I personally commissioned from an artist better if he had white hair but that was easy to just hide, block and ignore. I've had worse (getting weird HC requests that forced me and my friend to put boundaries in our old request box, getting plagiarised more than once,etc etc). Frankly, I'm just here to love Solomon in peace (pun intended). He's hated more than enough in the fandom. I'd be more than happy to find the 10 people who appreciate him in the bird app though if I find the opportunity. xD

#ask #3vocatio #obey me

[peninkwrites]

A New Era - Ch 3 of 11

Niki, Quackity, Eret, and HBomb rally to help Ponk get away from Sam.

[CW: abuse of power and aftermath of police brutality]

Crossposted to ao3

Ch 1

Ch 2

Ch 4

Mafia AU masterpost

~ A Collective ~

Quackity is irritable and distracted when Niki calls, but he says he’ll get to the station soon as he can.  He’s in the middle of something right now.  Niki doesn’t want to know what Quackity might be taking care of at seven in the morning at Schlatt’s place, really she’s surprised he’s there at all.  She wants to ask how Tubbo is, but there are more urgent matters to attend to.

Niki hangs up and starts dialing another number.  While it rings she waves over Ranboo, who had been drowsily prepping the dough that had risen overnight.

“Huh?” He asks.

“Ranboo, I might need you to watch the shop, not sure yet but I might have to leave,” Niki says.

“What?” Ranboo is more alert now.  “Is everything okay?”

“Not sure yet,” Niki shifts restlessly as it rings.

A weary voice answers.  “King residence.”

“Hey, H, it’s Niki!”

“Hey, Niki!  Uh, everything okay?  Bit early for a social call,” HBomb says blearily.  Niki can imagine he had a late night out with Eret.

“Actually, H, everything isn’t really okay.  I’m fine!  But is Eret in?” Niki doesn’t know why she feels so urgent.  Ponk had sounded scared.  Actually, properly scared, and from what she knows about them, they don’t scare easy.

“Yeah.  Uh.  She’s somewhere in here.  One sec.”   There’s a clatter as HBomb sets down the phone.

The following minute or so is agonizing, but finally voices return, a far deeper one picking up this time.

“Niki?  Everything alright?”

“I’m not sure.  But… I need you to do something for me.  Well, not for me, but for a mutual friend.”

Eret sighs, “you know I’ll help you in a heartbeat, but is this not the kind of help that can wait a few hours?  I haven’t slept yet and holy fuck am I about to be hung over–”

Niki feels fond annoyance at her friend’s usual exploits.  “It’s actually urgent.  It’s– It’s Ponk.”

“Ponk?” Eret immediately refocuses.  Eret knew that Ponk was friendly with Niki to some extent, but this situation is growing more and more unusual and therefore far more concerning.  “Are they okay?  Are they at The City?”

“No, they’re– They’re at the police station, Eret,” Niki feels a pang of guilt.  This isn’t her story to tell, especially to Ponk’s boss, but Eret is also their friend.  She may not involve herself in the city’s underbelly of criminal activity beyond visiting the speakeasy, but she knows better than to trust the institutions of this city as well.  She won’t judge them.  “They were arrested and I think they might need help. Help from someone a little more prepared to– I mean, I don’t know what I can do, I don’t have anything to back me up, so.  Well, I think they might need help from someone like you.”

A pause on the other end of the line, her voice muffled and more distant in the background for a moment, “H, bring the car around.  Can you find my cane?”  A reply from HBomb Niki can’t quite make out and then Eret returns to the line.  “Thank you, Niki.  H and I will go get them.  Take care of yourself.”

“Of course.  Quackity said he would defend them on the legal stuff, I just thought, well.”

Eret replies with a hint of amusement, “money can never hurt, right?”

Niki exhales a laugh.  “Yeah, right.”

“I’ll try to call and update you later.”

“Okay.  Thank you, Eret.”

The line goes dead and Niki manages a bit of relief.

“What’s going on with Ponk?” Ranboo looks worried.

“Not really sure, but Quackity and Eret are going to help them.  Nothing left for us to do but get ready to open,” Niki shakes herself, trying to refocus.

Ranboo poorly buries a smirk.  “Should we make Wilbur earn his keep a bit?”

Niki pushes him lightly.  “Let him sleep in today.  But, yes.  After this, he’s officially a City Bakery employee.”

“Yes!  He’s doing deliveries,” Ranboo says smugly before putting on his mask to head up front.

“I don’t know if he can even drive!”  Niki calls after him.

~

Quackity does not have fucking time to deal with this.  He’s got a dead body on a blood soaked mattress and a scared teenaged murderer struggling to get a move on.  And apparently, he’s needed at the fucking police station because the universe has decided to make his life as difficult as possible.  He’d already called Karl hours ago and told him he wouldn’t be home that night, then he got ahold of Purpled who will gladly take care of a corpse for a couple hundred bucks, but that doesn’t change the messier aspects of this particular murder– the politics.

“Okay, Tubbo.  How d’you wanna play this, huh?” Quackity has dragged Tubbo out of the bathroom and sat him down on the edge of his bed.  “If you feel like trying the ‘died in his sleep’ route, you can.  No one who matters will believe you, of course, but hopefully knowing you killed the bastard means they won’t say shit.”

Tubbo is fiddling with the watch Quackity gave him, staring at the floor.

“Come on, man, I need you to snap out of this– I need to go.”

Tubbo looks up, a flicker of panic showing for a moment.  “You said–”

“I know I said I wouldn’t leave, but I’ve got someone to take care of the body on the way and it is urgent,” Quackity sighs.

“What kind of urgent?  Is Karl okay?”

Quackity has a moment of fondness that Karl was Tubbo’s first concern.  “No, actually.  Ponk got arrested.  No clue the details, but Niki said Sam arrested them.  So.  It’s gotta be at least a little fucked, y’know?”

Tubbo gets to his feet, whatever haze he’d been struggling through is lifted immediately.  “Are they okay?”

Quackity sighs.  “I don’t know.  That’s why I gotta go.”

Tubbo nods.  It might seem strange, that they both feel such concern for the person who had arguably prolonged Schlatt’s life over the past few years, but Ponk had always been good to them.  Maybe giving a raging alcoholic sedatives had risked Schlatt’s life, but it’s not like Tubbo and Quackity were too concerned by it.  Ponk showing up in the evenings to give Schlatt medical advice he would most definitely ignore had always been a good thing because they knew Schlatt would be passed out for the rest of the night.  Ponk obviously hadn’t done it for Schlatt’s health, they’d done it as a favor to the other people stuck in that house with him.  Ponk had always taken the time to ask either of them if they were hurt.  Ponk knew what kind of man Schlatt was, and even if Quackity and Tubbo had never had the need to take them up on it or had at least never chosen to, Ponk offering to tend to any injuries without judgement had been a comfort.  Ponk in general had been a comfort, their presence easygoing and lighthearted despite everything else that came with this particular patient.

“You should go.  The body is handled.  Later today I think some of the boys were supposed to come over to talk about the border with the Badlands.  I can deal with that and if they ask why it’s me and not Schlatt…” Tubbo reaches almost subconsciously for the holster under his arm.  Quackity hands him the gun he had taken from him earlier, now cleaned of blood.  Tubbo takes it almost robotically.  “I’ll tell them.  And if they have a problem with it, I’ll make sure that they don’t,” Tubbo’s voice is no longer small or shaky.  

Quackity knows the kid is strong enough for this, but he also knows the types Schlatt has invited to his inner circle.  Quackity can almost see it.  Tubbo asserts his authority, at least one of them will try to kill him.  Tubbo can shoot one of them, but if things start to fall apart, it’ll be hard to control who else gets shot.

“Alright.  I don’t think you should go alone.  You need someone to back you up, someone tough.  So not Ranboo,” Quackity says pointedly.  “And the guys you’re gonna be dealing with are too stupid to know they should be scared of Niki.”

“Niki has enough going on and I would never do that to Ranboo, are you kidding?” Tubbo almost laughs.  He thinks it over for a moment.  “Okay. Jack Manifold.”

Quackity laughs.  Tubbo doesn’t.  “Wait, you’re serious?”

Tubbo nods, smirking but utterly sure of himself.  “Jack Manifold has been working in customer service for however many years it’s been now, with Tommy being a bother for at least half that time.  Do you have any idea how close that man is to snapping?”

“Does he know how to use a gun?”

“Yeah.  And a bat,” Tubbo says simply.

Quackity tries to read Tubbo’s face for some sign of insincerity.  “Fuck it, you’re the boss now, do what you want.”

Tubbo smiles a bit more weakly at that.  “Right.  I’m the boss.”

Quackity puts a hand on his shoulder, the best he can manage to reassure him.  "I will be back as soon as I can, Tubbo.  Promise."

“You know you can leave, Quackity,” Tubbo says.

“I know, I know, I’m going–”

“No, I mean.  I’d like your help, at least in the beginning, but if you and Karl want to get the fuck out of here, I want that for you,” Tubbo looks too old.  Quackity almost can’t believe the kid had just turned eighteen the day prior, but then again, Tubbo has had a weight on his shoulders his whole life.

Quackity hesitates.  He doesn’t need Tubbo’s permission and he doesn’t think that’s what Tubbo is offering, he’s letting him go as a friend, not an authority.  “We’ll see how your first meeting goes, boss,” Quackity gives him a pat on the back. “I gotta change into something a little less gross, get ready to scare some pigs.”

“Give them hell, Big Q.”

“Always,” Quackity grins.  He doesn’t look in the master bedroom as he leaves.  When he next returns, Schlatt will be gone and he will pretend that means nothing to him.

~

“Captain?”  There is urgent knocking on the door of Sam’s office.

“Yes?” Sam answers irritably.  “I hope this is important–”

“I don’t know,” the Officer looks anxious.  He’s new, just on desk duty at the moment.  “She said– She said you were gonna want to talk to her?”

Sam frowns, following him out.

Sam doesn’t know what he was expecting, he hadn’t listened in on Ponk’s phone call of course, doubting it would be of any use to him, but he had been curious as to who Ponk would call.  He certainly hadn’t expected they’d call their boss when arrested.  That is the opposite of what most people would do, but Eret King stands in the lobby in irritable glory.  She is not dressed for a 7 am run to the police station, instead a deep purple evening gown reaches the floor, wrinkled slightly just as her curls are a bit askew and her lipstick faded, her red tipped cane is unchanged, simple in its design save for an ornate handle, black sunglasses on as always; a bombshell, and an intimidating one at that.  She’s clearly come straight from one party or another, but she definitely doesn’t look tired or weak in any way.  At her side is a much shorter man– although that’s not hard, she towers over Sam as well, heels or no heels– in a black suit, a chauffeur's hat in his left hand, his right arm offered to Eret should she need it.  Sam vaguely remembers him from the work events Ponk had dragged him along to, he works for Eret as well, HBomb if he remembers right.

“It’s Sam, Eret,” HBomb murmurs at his approach.

“Mhm, yes.  The Captain,” Eret says scornfully, facing Sam’s general direction, nails glittering under the harsh fluorescents as she drums them on the counter impatiently.  “I’m sure you’re a busy man, Captain, so I’ll make this short.  I’ve been informed that there’s been a mistake, leading to the arrest of my best curator.  I’m here to collect them, because as I’m sure you’ve realized, my staff represent me, and I know your adorable little department would never accuse a King of any sort of criminal activity, or whatever this nonsense is about.”

Sam knows how this is going to go.  As Eret said, she is the head of the King family at present and her estate could buy a small country.  Maybe the Mayor isn’t entirely in her pocket, but he knows to respect her opinion when it is offered for the sake of his career.  She is a threat and definitely knows it from that charming smile.

“Well, you can’t just collect them, Mr. King.  They’re in our custody,” Sam says coolly.

Eret leans forward, bending down so they’re eye to eye.  She lowers her sunglasses revealing startlingly pale eyes with a smile that almost appears wolfish.  “Okay, and how do I get them out of your custody, Captain?” She says, sweet like poison, her voice deep and unwavering.

Sam forces himself not to step back.  He doesn’t know how much of him she can see, but either way it feels like Eret looks right through him.  “They’ve been formally charged with obstruction of justice.  We are well within our rights to hold them.”

“Hm,” Eret pulls back.  “Are they a flight risk, Captain?”

“No.  I don’t believe so,” Sam says stiffly.

“That’s wonderful news, Captain.  That means you’ve set bail, I presume?” Eret says.

“They are still being held for questioning.”

“Do they have a lawyer?”

“I’m not at liberty to say,” Sam says coldly.

“Can I speak with them?”

“Unless you’re their lawyer, no,” Sam snaps back.  He has no intention of letting a rich snob try to order him around.

Eret sighs.  “It’s a bit early for this, Captain.  I’ve had a long night.  I’m tired, but if I must,” she steps closer, “I understand this might call for some of my charm, just to encourage you to speed up this process a bit.”  She smiles.  “Captain, I can and will ruin you.  Do you know that?”

“Are you threatening a police officer?  Right here, in the middle of the station?” Sam snaps. Sam is used to threats, it’s her calm that unsettles him.

Eret laughs, low and dangerous.  “Do you really think a person of my status need messy my hands with something as trivial as threats?  No, Captain.  Let’s call this a civil courtesy, or even friendly advice, shall we?  I could ruin your career with a word.  And as I said, accusing one of my people is the same as accusing me and see, we Kings don’t take insults like that lightly.”  A pause, waiting for Sam’s defense.  He says nothing, jaw tense.  “Hm,” she seems amused by his efforts at restraint.  “Last night I had drinks with people far more powerful than you.  I had drinks with some of the people who employ you, who drag you out of the muck every time one of your trigger happy fools make a mistake.  And even then, none of them are as powerful as me,” she inclines her head in almost a bow, like this is a proclamation of humility rather than pride.  “I find it… well, rather sweet that you think organized crime is the greatest danger in this city, but you don’t seem to realize how much more you have to lose beyond your life.  See, I don’t need to threaten you, to use violence or some irritating illegal exploits.  See, I fucking own half this city and you, Captain,” another scathing look over her glasses, something somehow even more vicious there than before.  “Are nothing but a dog on a leash.”

Sam feels like he can hear his blood pumping through his ears.  She didn’t quite anger him, that would be too simple, but he definitely felt wrong.  Sam forces his tone to remain flat and unfeeling, “unless you are their lawyer, you have no right to speak with my suspect.  Is there anything else I can help you with, Mr. King?”

“Hm,” Eret is still smiling.  Sam tries not to let that make him feel uneasy.  “May I borrow your phone?”

“There’s a payphone just outside.”

“Thank you, Captain,” Eret turns around, accepting HBomb’s arm and returning to the street.

Sam lets out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.  “She’s a lot scarier than I remember,” he mutters.

“Yeah,” the lackey at the desk agrees nervously.

“You didn’t hear that.”

“O-Oh– Yes, Captain.”

~

Eret hasn’t even dialed when HBomb gently taps her arm.

“It’s Quackity.  Quackity HQ– He’s walking toward the precinct.  He’s probably a pretty good option, and I mean, he’s right here,” HBomb says.

Eret sets down the phone, “which way?”

HBomb turns her in his direction.

“Mr HQ?” Eret calls.

Quackity stops.  “You’re… You’re Eret, right?  You’re a King, or I guess the King right now.  I remember you from… Niki’s place,” Quackity says vaguely.  “Look, while I’m sure you’ve got something interesting and ideally profitable to tell me, I’m actually here to help a friend–”

“Ponk, right?”

Quackity stops, caught off guard.  “Yeah, yeah it’s Ponk,” he turns to face her, surprised.  “They work for you.  Are you–”  He grows wary.  “Why are you here?”

“Niki sent me.  I am only here to help them.  However I can.  I know you’re not cheap, Mr. HQ.  Bill my office, okay?” Eret says.

“Nah, I wasn’t gonna charge th–” Quackity quickly stops himself, realizing he had almost thrown away a very rewarding opportunity.  “Thank you, Mr. King.  I will.”

“The Captain was being rather avoidant, but HBomb and I will hang around.  If he posts bail, please tell me.  I can take them home…” Eret stops, thinking again of the man she had just spoken to, the last time she had met him, he’d stuck close to Ponk’s side, sounding nervous among rich museum donors, but Ponk had reassured him, calling him handsome and promising they could go home soon.  “Or not home, but wherever they want to be.”

Quackity gives her a nod before realizing a verbal reply would probably be more effective.  “Uh, will do.”

“Thank you.”

Sam had maybe expected Eret King to return, waving threats of whatever team of lawyers her family had, he had not expected Quackity HQ to enter the precinct with clear antagonistic intent.

“You,” Sam says before he can stop himself.  “You?”  Quackity HQ had been a goliath haunting the police department.  He had gotten Schlatt out of legal consequences more times than Sam can count, not to mention being wholly responsible for what few members of the Badlands that had ever gotten arrested never being tried and is solely responsible for Captain Puffy’s graceful and legal retirement from the police force, expertly ensuring her illegal exploits are politely ignored at the risk of destroying the department’s reputation.  Quackity should come with a danger warning to every officer unfortunate enough to be in his presence.  There is only one reason for him to be here, however little that computes in Sam’s mind.  “You’re Ponk’s lawyer?”

Quackity grins with more than a little delighted malice behind it, gesturing grandly to himself.  “Play stupid games, win stupid prizes!”

Logically, Sam could guess Ponk had mob affiliations, but Quackity HQ?  “You’re…  You’re taking on Ponk as a client?  Not really your usual work.”

Quackity leans against the counter, hands folded in front of him.  “Ponk is a good friend, a good guy.”

“And you would know?” Sam says icily.

“Oh yeah, of course,” Quackity says with mocking earnestness.  “You know, Sam.  Can I call you Sam?”

“No.”

“Sam, Ponk has told me all about you.”

Sam scowls, bitter anger returning.  “Oh yeah?  Let me guess.  They told you what time I got off work, where I’m stationed, where my staff will be, maybe even when I’ll be out of the office for a break in, huh?  Did I get any of that right?” He says dryly.

“Oh no, Sam,” Quackity first feigns hurt, a hand over his heart.  Then he smiles with too many teeth and every bone in Sam’s body says run.  “Nothing like that.  Just how much they love you, how sweet you are with your dog, how they worried about you because you work so much, and they can’t wait to go home and see you,” Quackity gives Sam an unimpressed once over.  “And so on.”  

Sam is struck by the profound feeling that he’s doomed.  Doomed of what he has no clue, but doomed nonetheless.

“So where are they, Captain?”

Sam almost preferred when he mockingly called him Sam.  Captain almost feels like Quackity is painting a target on his back.

Ponk looks up sharply when the door opens.  Sam enters, followed by Quackity.

“Oh thank fuck,” Ponk’s shoulders sag with relief.  “H-Hey, Quackity,” they smile weakly.

Quackity steps around the table, assessing them carefully.  “You hurt?” He asks them the same thing he had asked Tubbo the night before, with the same tone of gentle worry.  It’s already clear the answer is yes, the question remaining is how bad.

Ponk hesitates, glancing toward Sam before quickly looking away.  They nod.

“Were you hurt here?  In custody?”

Another nod.

“Okay.  Good.  I know it doesn’t sound like it, but that’s, generally speaking, good,” Quackity had hoped he’d be able to catch up a bit more from what Ponk knows so he’d know what he was dealing with, but it’s obvious Ponk needs serious help, so he turns back to Sam, worry sharply traded for loathing.  “My client is going to be released.  Now.”

“That’s not for you to decide,” Sam refuses to look at Ponk.

“They need medical attention.”

“We can provide that.”

“Then why haven’t you?”

“Because they haven’t asked.  How are we supposed to know they need medical help if they never asked?” Sam feigns innocence.

Quackity pauses, glancing back to Ponk for confirmation.

“Didn’t realize I…” they mumble.  “He’s the one that did this, so.  Thought he knew.  And just, I dunno.  He was refusing to get me help or something.”

Quackity nods, irritated but understanding.  “Okay.  So, my client is not a flight risk, so why are they staying in custody?”

“Because we still have reason to question them.”

Quackity smiles, bouncing back on his heels.  “Well, then.  Let’s get a move on, shall we?  I can see you take your questioning very seriously,” thinly veiled rage behind every word.  He’s the one that did this.  Quackity had already had punishing intentions for Sam– cops are scum by nature, but a cop that arrests their partner, a partner who had been nothing but devoted to him, even if they didn’t always give him the whole truth, that deserves bloody retribution.

Quackity sits beside Ponk.  “Are you going to call in a medic or what?” He snaps at Sam.  “And if you think for a second I won’t be reporting their injuries–“ Quackity laughs.  “Well, Captain or not, you still have a boss, don’t you?”

Sam ignores him, returning to his place across the table.  “You do that.  Ponk is going to tell me who they’ve been giving information to, and then I will make their medical care my top priority.”

Quackity grows more agitated.  He knows he cannot force Sam to release them from questioning, but there are other means of making this easier.

“You cannot withhold medical care from someone in your custody, Captain. And Ponk, as your lawyer I advise you not to answer any of his questions,” it’s redundant, Ponk definitely knows that, it’s just one step in several of making it clear Sam’s interrogation efforts will do nothing but give Quackity more ammo to dismiss the case altogether.

“Yep, got it,” Ponk says wearily.

Quackity stares at the table, black coffee beginning to dry to its surface and definitely having soaked Ponk’s left arm, which is much more swollen than the right.

“What’s this?”

“Spilled coffee,” Sam says simply.

Quackity gives another vicious smile, “Right.  Of course.”

He turns back to Ponk, speaking quietly.  “Burns?”

“Y-Yeah.  It–” they stop with a shaky inhale.  “Yeah.”

“Do you think it’s a break?”

“Probably.  Hurts like a motherfucker.”

“Okay.  Don’t worry, we’ll get you out, no problem,” Quackity puts a gentle hand on their other shoulder.  He turns back to Sam.  “Captain, Ponk will not be answering anything today.  If you want to question them, I would be happy to supervise or negotiate a time for that depending on what you can offer, but if you expect either of our cooperation, you’re going to release Ponk now.”

Sam considers this for a moment, calculating something.  “Okay.  How about this.  I will release them, assuming they can pay bail, if you agree to come in for questioning, Mr. HQ.”

“Me?” Quackity laughs.  “Buddy, I’m a defense attorney, not a suspect.”

“Okay, either you and Ponk both stay here until we can have a reasonable discussion, or Ponk leaves, and you and I discuss their charges and… other relevant information,” Sam remains calm and unyielding.  Quackity wants to stab a pen into his smug fucking face.

“I’d be happy to,” Quackity sneers.

“Quackity, I mean,” Ponk laughs nervously, gesturing to their hurt arm.  They don’t want Quackity alone if Sam and his lackeys are really so quick to violence.  “If you’re here with me, I can deal with–“

“You can go to a hospital, Ponk,” Quackity cuts them off.  “I’ll be fine.  This is literally my job.  And trust me, big dogs like this…” Quackity gives Sam a once over, tutting him softly.  “Well, they get pretty pathetic when whoever they’re talking to isn’t chained to a fucking table.”

Ponk keeps looking at their broken arm.  The pain has made this entire conversation hard to focus on.  They’re too tired to argue.  “What’s bail set as?”

“$1,400,” Sam says.

Ponk looks up at Sam head on for the first time since he’d returned, cautious.  Maybe Ponk could scrape that kind of money together from their joint account, but not from their personal one.  One look at Sam’s face and they know he has no intention of letting them touch that money.  Unless there’s some legal defense entitling them, Quackity would know better.

“Bail is taken care of,” Quackity says.

“What?  Quackity, that’s too–“

“Not by me, you kidding?” Quackity scoffs.  “It’s your boss, Eret.  She’s been waiting outside.”

“Eret?!“ Ponk sits up, bewildered and a bit nervous, before wincing as their arm protests the movement.

“Don’t worry about it, man.  She doesn’t believe this shit for a second.  Just wanted to help.  I think Niki told her,” Quackity says quickly.

“Oh,” Ponk relaxes a bit.

“Captain?” Quackity gestures to the cuffs.

Ponk can’t help but flinch when Sam grabs their hand, but the relief is immediate.  Blood has beaded up where the cuff had dug into their wrists, more starkly on their left, a thin line encircling it and pushing back against where the broken bone had caused swelling.  It still hurts to move, even if only to cradle their broken arm close to their chest.  Sam goes to steer Ponk out of the room, looking like he’s about to drag them out with a hand on their right arm, but Quackity puts himself between the two of them immediately with a glare, Sam towering over him, but Quackity doesn’t move or let Sam move an inch closer to them.  Sam doesn’t acknowledge him, simply leads the way.

“You’re letting them go?” Dream stops Sam with a hand on his arm, Quackity and Ponk continuing forward.

“Can I help you, officer?” Sam says coldly.

“But we have them, if you could’ve just kept that lawyer busy and let me try–”

“Go back to your desk,  Now,” Sam snaps almost like an angry parent.

Dream pushes past him without another word.  He’s limping, Sam notes.  Not just a little, but badly, however hard he seems to be trying to cover it up.  Maybe when he’s less miserable he’ll ask if he’s okay.

Sam lets the two of them out into the lobby, going to the front desk and telling him to fine Eret, who has been waiting impatiently in the lobby.

“Hey, Ponk,” HBomb gives them a little wave.

“Hey,” Ponk nods.  “Um, Eret, you don’t– I don’t know how to–“

“Don’t worry about it, Ponk.  This is nothing to me and I’d much rather make sure you’re okay,” Eret shoves a wad of cash across the counter without another thought.  “Actually, H, check my count.  I’m not giving these bastards a cent more.  You can pocket the rest.”

HBomb counts the bills, taking back a $100 bill before returning it.  Maybe Ponk shouldn’t be surprised that Eret had $1,500 cash on her, but they have to admit that much money is a daunting thought.  Ponk doesn’t like knowing how much they needed other people to get them out of this.

“How’re you doing, Ponk?” Eret asks.

“Been worse?” They try to keep their tone light, but Ponk is so relieved this is over they could just pass out.

“HBomb?” Eret asks.

“Uh, their arm looks pretty busted up.  And a bloody nose.  And they look really tired– no offense–“ HBomb adds quickly.  “They have a big bruise on their chin too.”

Ponk shifts uncomfortably under the attention.  HBomb needs to be Eret’s eyes and Ponk knows that, but it isn’t exactly pleasant to have a catalogue of their visible injuries passed along.

“Take them to a hospital,” Quackity speaks up.  “Make sure they take note of their injuries, maybe see if you can get ahold of a camera.  We’re gonna need evidence.  I’ll handle stuff here.”

“You’ll need to reach them–” Eret turns to HBomb.  “Can you give him my card?”

“Uh, yep!  Yep, one sec–” HBomb rummages through his pockets before passing a card to Quackity.

“The first number is the museum, the second is my car, and, H–”

“Already got it,” HBomb snatches the card back and grabs a pen from behind the desk, scribbling a third number on the back before returning it.

“And that one is for my home.  If that’s alright, Ponk, you can stay at mine.  And if Quackity needs to reach you, he can,” Eret says.

“Yeah, yeah that’s fine.”

“You… have a phone in your car?” Quackity stares down at the card with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh, yes.  It’s come in handy quite a bit,” Eret shrugs offhandedly.  “And since we’re going to be running from the hospital to wherever else, that might be the best choice to call.  Or Prime Memorial hospital.”

“Prime Memorial– that’s–” Ponk winces.

“A very nice hospital, yes.  Which I will gladly take care of whatever insurance doesn’t cover,” Eret says firmly.

“Eret, I don’t need your charity,” Ponk doesn’t mean to sound ungrateful, but it’s been hard enough feeling like they’ve spent the past hours waiting to be rescued.

“It’s not charity.  You’ve been a good employee and a good friend.  Of course, if you’re not comfortable with it, that’s okay,” Eret is unwavering.

“Just let her do it, Ponk.  She might as well be paying for a cab it’s so little to her.  No offense,” Quackity says, Eret unbothered.  “I’ll do what I can here, but I’ll definitely have to call you later so I can get the details from your end of things.”

Ponk doesn’t have the energy left to argue.  If their bone had broken through the skin they would’ve bled out by now, but the pain alone is making it harder and harder to stay standing, and they have no idea how severe the burns actually are.  They nod.

"Ponk, before you go, can I speak with you alone for a minute?" Quackity follows them to the entryway where there's enough background noise to cover their conversation.  "Is there anything I need to know?"

Ponk glances furtively back at the front desk where Eret seems to be doing her best to make Sam uncomfortable.

"I– S-So," Ponk takes a deep breath.  Fuck– Everything hurts, but they know why they need to do this now.  "Sam saw me coming back to the apartment late with his keys, so including his work keys.  A-And lately a lot of police information has seemingly been getting out, shit like the mob always avoiding their patrols and things.  And he seems to think... he seems to think I did that," Ponk says very carefully and very deliberately.

Quackity nods, understanding immediately that Ponk very much was the one sharing that information.  "Okay, okay got it.  But all he's got is you with some fucking keys?"

"Yeah?  As far as I know."

”Good.  He doesn’t have jack shit.”

"I-If he offers a deal or something, I can't give him what he wants.  I can't tell him who I was giving that information to– it'll– it'll make all of this pointless I can't do that–" Ponk sounds utterly frantic.

"Hey, it's okay, man.  I am going to get you out of this.  No deals, no nothing, okay?  This piece of shit won't even get you in a court room," Quackity is utterly vindictive.

"How the hell will you–"

"Ponk, I am a very good lawyer," Quackity grins, dangerous enough that Ponk believes him.

"Okay.  Okay, thank you, Quackity, really," Ponk turns back toward the desk, HBomb seeing them and tugging on Eret's sleeve to let her know.

“Come on then, Ponk.  We’ll make them pay for this, okay?  Wrongfully arresting a member of my staff– they’ll regret it,” Eret offers Ponk her arm.  “Would you mind?”  She did not need help leaving the station, and if she did that was part of HBomb’s job at present, her offer was for Ponk’s sake.

“Yeah, sure,” Ponk takes her arm with their right.  She gives their hand a gentle squeeze and Ponk lets her support them, if only until they get to the car.  Ponk is almost out the door before they think to look back.  Sam isn’t looking at them, instead looking at Quackity, and whatever he seems to be saying in their defense.  At the last second Sam looks up and stares back.  For a moment Sam shows something human, Sam does not look guilty, but he does look hurt.  Ponk tries to find the hatred Sam must surely deserve, but they can’t.

Their entire reality has shifted from even twelve hours ago.

#I have been so excited for this one #my writing #mafia au #quackity and eret are sooo fine in this one #as always feedback is cherished <3

[werewolfinthelivingroom]

Rating Different Versions of Will Blake

Because Fever Swamp Brain is real

Official

OG Book: Not much to say, he was clearly just a dude. A guy alright. Twist is there just because we need a twist, but you can feel a good chunk of personality whenever Cassie antagonizes him.

8 R.L. Stines/10

Graphix: Great design since the art style is killer, and absolutely love the way it’s more obvious here that he’s actively interested in Grady for some reason. The gay undertones are slowly becoming apparent.

10/10

OG TV Show: Will’s actor has to take on both Will and Cassie’s roles in the story since Cassie got cut, but he really does bring Will to life as a character. He’s a more active threat, even if he canonically dies in this version. The eclipse scene though? * Chef’s kiss * absolutely gay as hell, if Will Blake was in Twilight (and the actors were all the same age) he would’ve bagged Bella AND Edward. 

11/10

Movies: My personal headcanon is that the monsters in the Manuscripts are beta versions of the characters in the official books, and this is why almost none of them match their book versions in either personality and design. The design is absolutely killer, but it’s obviously not the twelve-year-old if his six pack and tattoo weren’t obvious enough. Even the branding makes it clear that this is “The Werewolf of Fever Swamp” as a character, rather than Will Blake.

If he was a character in the book I can totally see him as like, Will’s cooler older brother who’s also a Werewolf and maybe Will would have less trauma in my fic.

0/10 as a Will, but 10/10 as a Design.

Horrortown: Just like Bart.

IDK maybe the designers just saw the word “flat-top” and went buck wild, I would believe his character design belonged to CONAN before Will Blake (ToT). Personality wise, he’s straight ;^; also if he wants Marty to leave Courtney alone, he should just date him - boom, problem solved. When he isn’t being the “Am Am Werewolf” in Courtney King’s General direction he’s pretty fun since he’s basically a Dogboy.

6/10

- IDK if Will cameos or even gets a mention in the Fever Swamp comics besides sharing the name “Blake” with a main character. Hit me up if he ever appears in anything else. Fanfic Will’s in the Readmore.

Non-Canon

The Werewolves of Fever Swamp by Monokuma_memes(X): My own Will and I’m not deluded enough to rate my own writing, so read it yourself and make your voice heard. He’s gay and has trauma and that’s all I’m spoiling now.

?/10

You Never Grow Out of Your Goosebumps Phase by bluemandycat(X): Kickstarted me actually sitting down to write my fic, mostly because I wanted to put my own fucked up Will out there. Beware because Grady and Will aren’t really healthy at the point the protags of this fic find them, but you do feel a little bad for Will when he’s not being a dick. For what little we see of him, very interesting.

6 bullets from Cassie/10

Goosebumps United... (2014) by Lord Candycane(X): Aw yes, the Infinity War of Goosebumps/j. Not much for Will to do in this fic besides cameo every once in a while, since there are like...100 characters here. Though I do like the idea that Grady and Cassie just keep him in check like it’s their job. He also gets to be emo about being a Werewolf here! No gay undertones, since Grady holds most of them in that one chase scene.

5/10

Goosebumps United (2021) by Sweetiebuttons(Ao3:X and FFN:X): Okay, so SB made a fic based on Candycane’s fic(basically their own take on the idea) and just went hamwild. It’s crossposted on FFN and Ao3 but for some reason under different names and also FFN has more chapters uploaded(maybe they’re retooling the fic for ao3??). SB portrays him much more sympathetically, sometimes to a kinda cheesy degree? Honestly. it’s pretty endearing in a “webkinz milk cat” kind of way. Absolutely love him becoming friends with people that did this to him:

Not to expose myself for having terrible taste as a kid, but I like the touch of comparing Will to another gay-coded werewolf. Will gets to meet other werewolves and it’s definitely fascinating to think how he’s the only lycanphobic werewolf in GB canon - there’s even some more Fever Swamp lore based on what little we had in the first United fic. I do like how Will is now the straight man and just has to deal with constant BS from his fellow werewolves, and I especially like the idea of Will not being comfortable with how gung-ho Grady is about being a werewolf. 

The dialogue is kinda confusing, and Will just goes all over the place and never finishes the interactions so we don’t get much. But I do like the ideas that are presented here.

6/10

Werewolf of Fever Swamp by sweetie buttons(X): Okay this fic is a revisionist piece on Grady having a Father/Son relationship with the Swamp Hermit, and Grady doesn’t become a Werewolf. Will is irrelevant in SB’s sequel to this fic, but for what was shone he sticks closely to his book counterpart. Except for the reveal, because like...Will did not even feel like he wanted to eat Grady. Like every description of him felt like Will wanted to cry and throw-up over how beautiful his boyfriend is. This Will would’ve bit Grady on purpose 100% and the Hermit and [REDACTED] were homophobic to get in the way of that/j.

5/10

Welcome to Goosebumps High by DanielDaponte(X): Not much to say, its Monster High but Goosebumps and it got put on permanent hiatus. But Will shows up for one chapter, now an adult and the school’s gym teacher(C.E. Teacher??), which is honestly the funniest thing that has happened with the character. I also forgot about the main character thirsting after him, which is doubly funny.

10 Werewolf Thirst Traps/10

The Goosebumps School(and it’s many sequels) by SquadMemberK17(X): This series is so fascinating, I could go on about how bonkers the sequels get and how weirdly engaging this self-ship fic about the hat guy from the Dead House live action episode. Like, a bunch of Goosebumps protags are brutally murdered in this fic it is so mindboggling. BUT we are here for Will and he’s a side character in the MC’s friendgroup, in fact, he’s the first person she meets. Will is weird because the author has a bunch of weird ships besides the main one with her self-insert, but Will gets paired with Hannah Stoneman from Werewolf Skin in what I can only call...Monster race shipping? Will honestly had more chemistry with the main character and Grady. Speaking of Grady!

The plot has Sarabeth doing weird shit to destroy the main character for some reason and it would take forever to explain, but one of her plans include getting the Swamp Hermit to kill the MC and Will. You see, in this canon the Swamp hermit killed Grady when he got turned and reveals Will’s past to the MC. Will then saves MC and kills the hermit, and after this traumatizing event it’s never talked about again?? Also, Grady’s cameo just involves his severed head so have fun with that (ToT). Will still had better chemistry with a Dead Grady than he did with HANNAH. 

Goosebumps Adventure by Stone-Man85(X): It took me too long to realize this fic plagiarized the Haunting Hour movie, and even a more embarrassing amount of time to realize Grady and Will don’t show up (even in the Fever Swamp chapter). This led to a rabbithole that decimated one of my non-GB discords, but as for the Fever Swamp chapter I did not expect that much homophobia to be thrown into my face. Also, RL Stine is a real person in this fic and dies in the first chapter.

-85/10 a plague upon the Author’s house.

- I’m not talking about the fic where a dude’s fursona has a yaoi moment with the Movie version of Will. Or the Wattpad selfship fics. 

#Night Bumper #goosebumps #The Werewolf of Fever Swamp #Will Blake

[boopsterliv]

Hackeratom + "Can I have this dance?"

(Alright, the story starts under the ‘Keep Reading’ thingy because it is longer than I thought it would be. Crossposted on AO3 (https://archiveofourown.org/works/38856489). Takes place during a canon divergent Season 4. Thanks for requesting this, it was very fun to write! I hope you like it!)

Zari despised a lot of things. ARGUS, the threat of Neron looming over them, John going out and doing incredibly stupid things. But she was sure there was a special place in hell for the heels she was wearing. Of course, they were the nicest shoes she had, and they matched the wind totem on her wrist. Zari wasn't much for fashion, but there was no way she was showing up to Sara's wedding in sneakers.

The seats were packed with friends/coworkers from the superhero community. She had been one of Sara's bridesmaids (she had to admit she cried a little when Sara had asked her a couple of months back) and had become good friends with the others in the bridal party. Laurel was a total badass when it came to planning, Felicity was nerdy and sweet, Thea was totally awesome, and Sin was sarcastic and sassy (also probably one of her new best friends).

Zari thought it'd be easy enough when it came time for the actual wedding. She knew everything that she was doing. And then came the meeting/hang-out where the group decided who would walk down the aisle with who.

The Groomsmen consisted of Mick, Cisco (Cisco's engaged to Len's sister and the two of them are somewhat friends), Barry (he got so excited Leonard nearly changed his mind), Jax, and Ray. (Nate had been slightly offended that he had been skipped over but got over it quickly) Zari had one goal: not to be partnered up with Ray. He was totally into Nora and Zari was... totally okay with that. Totally. She just didn't want to walk down the aisle with him. That brought up really inappropriate thoughts she should not be having about her teammate.

The group had gotten down to business right away. Laurel and Mick were paired up immediately, both because of their roles (the Maid of Honor and Best Man respectively) and because they were dating. Felicity and Barry were close friends and comfortable walking together, plus their respective spouses didn’t mind. Thea and Cisco had hit it off and were now both bros and partnered up. Jax and Sin had been best friends since Sin had joined the Legends after Sara became captain (She was an on and off member, but when Sara called for her help, she was ready for duty) So, Zari was unfortunately left with Ray before she could protest. She didn't want to cause Sara or anybody else stress by complaining, though, so she decided to put up with it. She had run from the literal government before, this would be a piece of cake.

So, here she was, walking down the aisle with her hand tucked into Ray's arm. Zari looked right at John, who was officiating, and he gave her a crooked yet sympathetic smile back. He knew this was hard for her.

Zari held her breath. She didn't want to think about how close she was to him. Didn't want to think about how he killed it in that suit. Didn't want to think about how she could totally put her head on his shoulder right now. She wanted to run away, and if this hadn't been Sara's wedding, she would have. But she had a responsibility, and this was just one hurdle to completing it.

Of course, when they separated to stand in their respective places, it was all smooth sailing from there. Zari paid attention to the ceremony, definitely didn’t cry, and then they were off to the reception. Zari definitely didn’t cry a second time when seeing the happy couple have their first dance, and the bridesmaids’ dance was fun to perform. When the dance floor opened up, Zari went to the open bar to get a drink. She took a sip of her whiskey, flirted with Charlie (She was manning the bar), and sighed. Life was good.

“We need to talk,” came from next to her, and Zari turned to look at who said it, even though she already knew who it was. It was Ray, sitting there in his suit. It made him look as dashing as ever and it wasn’t fucking fair. Zari knew it wouldn’t be right to ignore Ray, no matter how much she dreaded this conversation, so she swallowed, took a deep breath, and set her drink down.

---

“We need to talk.” Ray knew Zari, and he knew this was going to be difficult to do. He wasn’t the best at serious conversations (people didn’t always take him seriously to begin with), but this was a long time coming.

Walking with Zari down the aisle brought up a lot of unwanted(?) fantasies. He was certain she’d never feel the same way he did. She was a badass hacker from the future with wind powers and he was... him. Both times he was engaged ended in heartbreak and a lot of restless nights thinking about what could have been. That’s assuming they’d even get to the engagement phase! And now he was thinking too much, instead of just focusing on one thing at a time. She needed to answer before he could have any regret.

Zari set her drink down and turned to him with one of her most menacing glares. “About what?”

Usually, Ray would tiptoe around the answer. Beat around the bush. But Zari was clearly annoyed, and Ray needed to get through this quick before he had second thoughts, or she ends up walking away. Of course, it always helped to have something to do while talking. So, before he backed out of his not at all thought-out plan, he stood up and offered his hand. 

“May I have this dance?” Zari froze for a moment, and if he didn’t know her so well, he wouldn’t have seen it. She then rolled her eyes. He could only respond with a small, “Humor me?”

Her glare faded and she looked off to the side. The hesitation was there. Ray could sense it. They waited there for seconds (or days). Ray thought he messed up. He was too forward, and now Zari would probably scoff and walk away and he’d never have a chance to say how he felt. But can’t take it back now. He’s a time traveler, he knows how that works. He couldn’t go back and slap his past self senseless for even thinking about dancing with her without the risk of the timeline breaking again and then the truth might break that he was an idiot and now he’d be in the same position where Zari hates him and think he’s an idiot who-

“Sure.”

His heart stopped. He did a double take as she took his hand and stood up, confident yet reserved as ever in her movements. He shook his head and led them to the floor, slow dancing their way into an awkward situation. He could barely hear the music, and it felt like his heartbeat grew louder. Halfway through the song, Ray finally found the courage to speak up.

“When we were at the ceremony, it made me think about how awkward you’ve been lately. We haven’t really hung out.” Zari looked up at him, but he kept talking. He had to get it out, just in case she walks away and never looks at him again. It’s the things you don’t do, as a wise asshole once told him, that keep you up at night. He’s felt heartbreak before. He can survive it again, just as long as he gets this out.

“I miss playing video games and working on the Waverider tech with you. I miss pulling pranks, and training together, and midnight talks. I just really... miss you. You’re smart, and witty, and a total badass. It’s no wonder I fell in love with you.” Zari gasped, and Ray looked above her head and focused on the dance before continuing to speak. “I love you, Zari. And if you don’t love me back, then I’ll accept it. I... I’d still want to be your friend, but if you don’t want that, I’ll leave the team. I wouldn’t want to make you uncomfortable."

He could feel the tears in his eyes, but he could also hold them back. Ray felt the weight leaving his chest, but it was quickly replaced by another one. He meant what he said. Leaving the Legends would hurt, but Zari couldn’t leave the Legends and go back to her own time, plus having an awkward relationship with your ex-friend teammate would surely hurt missions. 

“You don’t need to answer right away,” he said at the end of the song, when they stopped moving at the edge of the floor near the wall. “And whatever your answer is, I don’t need an explanation. Don’t be afraid to hurt my feelings. I can handle the honest truth.”

“... What about Nora?” 

Ray felt startled, and finally looked at Zari’s face. Her eyes were glossy, her mouth drawn tight. “Nora’s... Nora’s great. She’s incredible. But we’re just friends.”

A tear slipped out of her eye. Her face slowly broke into a smile, and the powerful Zari Tomaz was suddenly crying with glee. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. When she pulled away, she wiped her eyes and laughed. 

“We’re morons. We’re total fucking morons.” She calmed down with the laughing, and after a quick check to make sure nobody was watching them, turned back to him. “I love you too, Ray. I love you way too much.”

And with that, she kissed him again, the rest of the world disappearing. He had dreamt about this, among... other things. She was just as good a kisser as she was a superhero badass. Any doubt he felt was gone. She loved him back. Holy shit she loved him back! Ray was certain she would reject him. But she didn’t, and Ray would make sure she’d never regret that decision.

They stayed like that, arms around each other and eyes closed, until Mick’s wolf whistle brought them out of it with a laugh. They then joined the reception hand in hand, already thinking about their future and the teasing from their friends.

#prompt me! #hackeratom #zari tomaz #zari 1.0 #ray palmer #dancing #captain canary #in the background #love confessions #angst #wedding #but not theirs' #don't get it twisted #request #fanfiction #legends of tomorrow #legends of tomorrow fanfiction #otp #cross posted on ao3