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sanjisblackasswife · 2 years

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“Playing a Game You Can’t Win” Sanji Becomes More Dominant (Part 2) (Slightly NSFW)

Dom! Sanji x Sub! Black Fem Reader

Part 1 Here

Bad Summary: Sanji overhears your need for him to be more assertive to what you want him to do to you in bed and he takes you up on that offer

Thank you for 800 followers! I’ll try and finish the final part today!

CW: Kissing, Sensual Massage, Dom!Sanji, Sub! Reader, Fingering, Teasing, Begging

During dinner you felt a shift in Sanji’s mood. He was more quiet, he only gave you short lived answers to your questions, and he barely even looked at you. Did you do something wrong?

The rest of the day was rather busy so you had already forgotten the conversation you had with Robin and Nami. You wanted to speak with your Blonde man after dinner because he seems different and you didn’t really like that.

The clatter of dishes being washed by him was the only thing noise between you both this evening as everybody has left to their own business. Usually, you two would be talking and joking around but Sanji haven’t even looked your way since everybody left. It felt so unlike him and you couldn’t hold it in anymore.

“Sanji?” You turn yourself in your chair to face him fiddling with your fingers. He hums still not facing you from the sink, “Are you okay?”

Sanji stops his cleaning, he actually didn’t mean to ignore you he just had a lot on his mind tonight. He began to feel bad, cleaning his hands dry, he turns and walks over to you with a warm grin.

“I couldn’t be happier, Y/N.” He kisses your forehead, your cheeks, and then hovers his lips over yours. Usually you were prepared for a very wet and excited kiss with a small serenade but Sanji made you blink open your eyes in confusion. There was no kiss, just words from him, “I was just thinking about something that’s all…”

“Oh…okay…do y—“

“How about we take a shower together, and then I give you a massage? You been working all day today, Princess I Gatta spoil you.“ His silver covered knuckles brush against your cheek, he looked down at you with a sly smirk holding his unlit cigarette in the corner of his lips, and you look up at him like a little lost puppy pushing yourself into his sweet gentle touch. “You’d like that right?”

“Uh..” You jerked yourself back up for a moment feeling his thumb now rub against your bottom lip. “Yes. I’d —id like that.”

“Okay. Let me finish in here and you just be in the shower when I come, okay?”

“Okay!” You perked up hearing how monotone his deep voice was. He wasn’t fawning over you, he wasn’t sounding like he was offering you something as if he was worshiping your feet, but

It was a demand.

Maybe you were just tired thinking that …and bit horny. You both haven’t had sex in about a week due to troubles with enemies the past few days.

You get in the shower and clean yourself of all the sweat and grime from today’s work. You touched your cheek, still feeling where Sanji’s cold silver rings rubbed against you made you lost in thought. He always wear those rings during sex, but you haven’t been pleasured to feel them wrap around your ne—

“Hey you.” Sanji pulled back the curtain breaking you out of thought. “Is there anymore hot water for me?”

“Mmhm!” You smiled biting your bottom lip. Oh? Sanji not going into a complete bleeding fest? Usually it takes him 5-10 minutes to mentally prepare for seeing your supple golden skin under the water, clinging to your body nearly dry humping you, but nope. Not tonight. Sanji got in and bathed with you.

“Face me let me wash you.” He fingers crept around your waist tightly to turn you to look at him, your eyes immediately trailed down his lips down to his wet chiseled torso, but before your eyes went somewhere else Sanji coo’ed “You’re so beautiful, Y/N..”

He softly scrubbed the soapy towel on your chest down to your tummy admiring every stretch mark, scar, and curve you have, it was a sincere comment that made your heart swoon and reminded you why you fell in love with Vinsmoke Sanji.

“You are too, Sanji.” You giggled, you placed your hand on his cheek making him stop his focus on your body and looked you in the eyes, “I love you, Sanji…always will.”

You kissed him letting your fingers run through his hair you didn’t mind having a little bit of shower sex before bed, but Sanji had different plans.

The kiss got more heated when you slid your tongue in his mouth slowly moving one of your hands down his chest to grab his d—-

“Wait wait wait baby..” he fought his own temptations and pulled off your sweet soft lips holding your arms. “I—fuck..um…”

“Oh I’m sorry—I um…I got carried away I just haven’t…kissed you in a while I’m —-“

“No! No! Don’t apologize, sweetheart—it’s okay…” Sanji breathed out to clear his throat. As hard as it was to deny you of more kisses He had to let tonight go how he wanted. He had to call the shots tonight. “If we have sex now you’ll be too tired for your massage.”

“Oh! Right the massage I forgot I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” He patted your head before kissing your forehead. “Let me rinse you off and we can finish….good girl.”

If you were facing him still he would have clearly seen the switch in your face and how quickly you bit your lip. Sanji has never called you good girl and it makes you clench at how it rolled of the tongue for him.

You both got out and got dressed for bed in the bathroom, but Sanji suggested you just put on underwear and wrap the towel around you where in the moment seemed like a good idea since you were getting a simple massage. He walks you back to his room which kind of made you look back when you both passed your bedroom door, but he just rubbed your shoulders and told to he wanted to do something different tonight.

“Oh wow…” He opens his room and it smells so good ! It was perfectly warm coming in from the candles and the aroma was something similar to vanilla and cinnamon. He had a few towels, oil and a small rectangular gift on his bed. You actually forgot how much you enjoyed Sanji’s room. “It’s so nice in here! Sanji you—-“

In a Swift movement he pulled your lips onto his, it was passionate and slow making a small whimper escape into his mouth.

“Strip.”

Was all he whispered to you before pulling away, his natural scent brushed past you as he grab one of his cigarettes to light. You knew Sanji wouldn’t get mad at you for not listening, but we’re you really sure about that?

“I said,” You didn’t even feel the clasps of your bra unhook falling down immediately exposing your breast, “Strip, sweetheart….panties too okay?”

You didn’t have much of a response as you moved your hands down from your breast to rid of your underwear. You could feel Sanji’s hungry gaze on you as he was sitting on the bed watching.

“Come here…lay down on your tummy for me.”

It was a tinge of shyness you felt creep up inside the pit of your belly laying on the bed fully naked while he was in his tank top and pajama pants.

Something was different.

“You’re not mad at me are you, Sanji?” The worry in your voice nearly made Sanji break. He never had to hear this level of concern from you, but even though he wanted to prove to himself tonight he can be the dominant man you want him to be he will do it in a gentlemen like manner.

Well try.

“No! Never that, darling.” He placed the towel on your butt caressing it a little, “You could never make me mad I just want to make you feel good, okay? You ganna be My good girl and take what I give you right?”

That damn knuckle caressing again. You feel yourself clench again onto nothing as he rubbed the back of your thighs.

“Yes—“

“…yes..what?”

You froze for a second…what did he want you to say?

He hates “Daddy”

He isn’t a “Captain “

So…

“Yes, sir.”

Sanji could feel his cock twitch, but you wouldn’t know seeing the new twinkle in his eye, so it must have been the correct word. He kissed your forehead and got back on the bed.

You heard his palms rub in the oil and began his magic.

Its been less than 10 minutes and you’ve already felt yourself get embarrassingly turned on. You felt him put the warm oil on your now exposed butt and felt the liquid rush down your slit.

“Sanji!” You jerked at the teasing feel of it pour over your lower body, he chuckled and continued to massage your inner thighs.

“Just relax sweetheart..”Trying to do so seemed too difficult when the up and down motions of his hands kept brushing against your slit.

Eventually you just couldn’t take the subtle touches and your mewls seemed to not be enough for him to get the hint. You never had to beg for Sanji to please you, but now you were under his spell, you felt weak against his touch, and so nearly cried to him,

“Sanji…Touch me…please…”

“I am touching you baby..unless you wanted me to rub somewhere…or something else.”

He was clearly toying with you. Sanji didn’t want to give in to your pleads too quickly he wanted you to ache for it. And you wasn’t used to that, you could almost hear his amusement in his tone when you whine again and he slaps your butt lightly as a consequence for being so impatient and rubbing it right after to soothe you.

“Sanji…please….I wanna…” You were so caught up in the THOUGHT of him inside you you didn’t catch the spit on the side of your mouth until he cleaned it with his thumb.

“You wanna what baby? Drink some Water?”

“I want…your fingers inside me..” you shoved your face in your arms feeling a bit of embarrassment having to be vocal about what you want, but Sanji found it so attractive and hot seeing you like this, seeing you not demand. Maybe listening to that conversation was something he needed to remind himself who’s really in charge.

You whined his name immediately feeling his index and middle finger slide inside your cunt just way too easily, a small reward for Sanji of how good he was making you feel.

“You like that?”

“Yes! Yes Sanji i do please don’t Stop!

Sanji loves you, he really does, he loves you so much he would die for you, however tonight you may question that because after seeing how good you looked so submissive and obedient under his touch, tonight—

He wanted to break you.

Part 3 (final)

#one piece smut #TimikosSanji #one piece headcanons #black reader #one piece #sanji #sanjionepiece #sanji imagine #one piece x female reader #sanji smut #sanji x black reader #sanji x reader #female reader #one piece x black!reader #black foot sanji #x female reader #one piece scenario #x chubby reader

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olivia-anderson-fanfic · 3 years

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Stalker X Stalker, Part 12

First

Perma taglist: @nathleigh @peachmuses

Stalker x Stalker taglist: @aespades @jayjayspixiepop @blueslushgueen @fan-written @seraphichana @nerd-nowandforever @toodaloo-kangaroo @khneltea @raeuberprinzessin

Tim had exactly zero idea what was going on.

Marinette had disappeared into the shower so he’d figured that, hey, work was over and he was 90% sure it was the day she usually shaved (something he knew because every time she shaved she excitedly asked him to touch her leg because it was smooth) so he had time to kill…

He walked over to her jewelry box.

He’d already bugged all of the new jewelry he had bought her but her old stuff was perfectly intact and he kind of wanted more insurance. Sure, they lived together now so it was unlikely she would have much reason to leave without him, but he was known for his millions of plans and contingencies and he wasn’t about to mess up when it was someone he cared about.

So, he went to work on the first necklace he grabbed. It had a tiny cat with green emeralds for eyes.

He looked at the tiny black pupils that the cat had. He pulled a tiny pick out of his pocket and carefully started carving a circle in it for the bug.

And then a bug-shaped god came flying out of the door for something.

There were a few beats as Tim and Tikki stared at each other.

Tikki broke it with a loud groan.

He watched her float past him for the towel hung on Marinette’s bedpost and then go back inside.

Shit.

He darted towards the bathroom, only to pause at the door. He really didn’t want to burst in while Marinette was probably naked, that was a huge breach of privacy, but he also didn’t want Tikki to tell him about all the bugs he was planting! Shit! He bit his lip, considering.

“Here’s your towel, Marinette,” Tikki said with a sharp edge to her tone.

“... are you mad?”

“Not at you. Where are the cookies you baked last night?”

“Uh, the fridge --?”

“Thank you.”

Why hadn’t she told her? Tim wasn’t complaining, of course, but he was a little confused. She was clearly mad about it and he doubted that Marinette had made some rule that said ‘you can’t tell me about people bugging me’ because that was oddly specific and not a very good idea… so… what?

He didn’t know. He was just going to thank the god of luck -- he was pretty sure that was Tikki -- and continue what he was doing.

Marinette didn’t have to struggle to keep everyone inside the first night. She liked that. More time to plan.

But how did she get herself let out, you may ask?

Remember how Tim had said that all-hands-on-deck situations are the only exceptions to the Stay Inside While Injured Rule? Well, guess what had happened.

Arkham had had a huge breakout and Marinette wasn’t going to complain… even if her kwami might be a little disappointed in how happy she was about it.

She was even happier when she’d found out that one of the people that had broken out was Scarecrow. She’d been meaning to tell him about her guesses about his brownie recipe for a while and she hadn’t really had a chance to do it when she was talking to him through a phone with a thick glass between them.

Batman -- Bruce? -- didn’t need to know that they’d broken into a bakery for the night to test out their theories before she had taken him back to Arkham.

He’d thank them when he got the brownies (the missing ingredient was Mexican cinnamon!). Or, at least, she hoped he would.

Tim had to say… Marinette's plan to get everyone in her house was working.

He could warn his siblings but, honestly, he found it kind of funny.

He was surprised to see Jason show up first. He raised his eyebrows at his brother. “Didn’t know you were in town, Flamebird.”

Jason did an exaggerated eye roll that Tim swore he could see despite the domino. “Marinette said she had something she wanted to show me.”

And she did. She walked over and dropped the Harry Potter books onto the window ledge beside him. “This is terrible and I hate you for making me read them.”

“It gets better later on --.”

“I read two books. That’s six hundred pages. If you can’t get your shit together in six hundred fucking pages then you don’t deserve my time.”

He scoffed. “They’re not that bad.”

“Oh yeah? Read it. It’s been years for you, right? Get to book three and tell me it’s good.”

Jason scowled and grabbed the books, taking a seat in the armchair.

Tim grinned and rested an arm around his girlfriend. “You don’t actually hate Harry Potter, do you?”

“Only the book version.”

He frowned. “I think we need to break up.”

“Nope. Not allowed to break up with me.”

“Oh, well, if I’m not allowed then I guess I won’t,” he said, leaning down to press a tiny kiss to her lips.

There was a groan from the window and they both rolled their eyes, turning to look at Damian.

“Why must you sully my good mood so early on with your disgusting displays of affection?”

“It’s our apartment, you just so happen to be here,” said Tim, glaring at his brother. “We can do what we want.”

Marinette, bravely, stepped between the two of them with a bright smile. “Now, boys, it’s not the time.”

“It is not the time for your libido, and yet...” argued Damian.

“Please, that isn’t even close to libi --,” Tim started, only to get elbowed in the stomach.

She gave him a look that told him to let her handle it and, while he didn’t think that was a good idea, he held up his hands in surrender.

“Robin, it’s unbecoming of you to argue with everyone you meet,” she chided lightly.

… did she speak Damian or something? Because Damian actually looked a little reprimanded at that and Tim needed to learn her ways.

Then, she leaned down with a grin. He could see her hands start to rest on her knees but she thought better of it at the last second. “I got some new stuff from the pet store and I wanted to know if you wanted to help test them out on Vanelope.”

Damian narrowed his eyes slightly. “What kinds of new things?”

“A bunch of cat toys.”

“... I suppose I can test them out for you.”

“I mean, I said you could help --,” she started, but Damian was already heading towards Vanelope without her.

Tim looked over at his girlfriend. She didn’t seem all that put out by this.

“You really had something planned out for everyone?”

She smirked and took a seat on the windowsill. “Yep. It should take Flamebird about two days to finish the first two books -- assuming he can even get through them that quickly -- and Robin is sure to be very thorough in his testing of all the cat toys.”

“Oh? And what’s your plan for everyone else?”

She shrugged just slightly. “Guess you’ll have to wait and find out.”

When Dick appeared she set him up with Beat Saber, saying that she was curious about why the VR glasses gave her a headache and wanted to see if he had the same problem. Tim knew the problem was that they were made for men and therefore sometimes had negative side effects for women, but he bit his lip before he could offer to get a set custom-made for her in favor of watching Dick select the poppiest pop song in existence and instantly get addicted to the game.

Tim raised his eyebrows slightly when Steph appeared, textbook in hand.

“How did you know everyone would show up?” He asked once Marinette had set her up with a particularly long and difficult worksheet to make sure she got the lesson.

“Well, Spoiler shows up every Saturday night for tutoring, Robin comes by every other day or more and he didn’t stop by last night, Nightwing pops by most weekends, and I called Flamebird over myself… speaking of which…” She pulled out her phone and tapped a few buttons. “Right, Signal said he’ll be here in ten minutes seven minutes ago… so, he’s almost here.”

Tim grinned. “You forgot Cass.”

“She only ever really shows up to get away from all of you guys so, with everyone here, she’d have no reason to come over.” Her face split into a sheepish grin. “Also, she’d see through me pretty quickly.”

“Don’t you want B to have no help?”

She shrugged. “It should be a light night since almost everyone important is in Arkham right now but that doesn’t mean that the two of them can deal with all of Gotham’s petty crime on their own. I give them until three or four before they crack.”

“... you might be a little scary.”

“You don’t last long as a vigilante if you’re not at least a little smart,” she chirped. “I just choose to turn my brain off most of the time.”

He smiled. “Oh? And the exception is what? Making you stay inside?”

She waved him off. “Kind of. It’s more that I only put effort into making sure I’ll never be bored. What’s the point of thinking about anything else? All that does is make you sad.”

Well that didn’t sound healthy, now did it? Tim was pretty sure that was just repression but, honestly, he had no clue. His family famously did not use therapists.

Before he could figure out how to address that there was a knock on the door.

Marinette grinned and opened it to reveal Duke, who was holding a computer.

Duke looked around the apartment, raising his eyebrows at all the people there. “Uh… should I ask?”

“I’m spiting Bruce.”

“Wild. Whatever. Ready for GBBS?”

“Sure. Tim, you gonna watch it with us?”

He hesitated. Steph had been sending him pleading looks since she had gotten her worksheet and he felt kind of bad for her… but then Duke and Marinette sat on the couch and she rested her head on his shoulder lazily to get a better view of the computer and Tim figured that Steph was smart enough to do the worksheet on her own if she really tried.

He took a seat beside her and smiled a little when she switched to lean against him instead.

“So, who’s your favorite person for the season?” He asked.

She thought for a minute before shrugging. “The guy that always wins but keeps being anxious about his bakes. Forgot his name, though.”

“Rahul?!” said Duke.

“Sure.”

Duke frowned. “I’m not sure whether to be happy you like at least one contestant, be proud it’s Rahul, or be annoyed you didn’t remember his name.”

“Character development takes time,” said Tim wisely.

Marinette scoffed a little. “Just put on the damn show. I’m tired of listening to you assholes talk.”

Duke grinned. “Fine. Fine.”

Time passed as the three of them watched the show.

Other family members slowly made their way over one by one. Damian brought the cat with him. Jason came over to give his brain a break after all the reading he had done (and then, when Marinette pointed out that you never take breaks while reading good books, had gone straight back to Harry Potter). Steph decided she didn’t want to pass her class and came to lay across the top of the couch. Dick eventually got tired and rested his body after the intense game that is Beat Saber.

… B released her at almost exactly three thirty. They ignored their comms in favor of continuing to watch the season finale.

Marinette bit her lip anxiously as she preemptively turned off the notifications on her phone. Tim did the same.

They typed up matching tweets about how they were moving in with their partners, tagged each other...

Their fingers hovered over the tweet buttons.

“We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. I’m sure one of my siblings will do something stupid in a few days and the media will leave us alone,” said Tim.

She smiled awkwardly. “That isn’t what I’m worried about.”

He frowned just a little and slipped his arm around her. “Well, can I help with whatever it is?”

She hesitated. It would be better to warn him, she supposed. “Not really. You’re going to get the ‘shovel talk’ --.”

“My dad is Batman, Bean, I’ll live.”

“-- by the person who currently controls the embodiment of chaos and destruction.”

His face paled a little (which is dangerous, considering he was already pale enough). “Does Chat Noir not know we’re dating yet?”

“Nope.”

“... so he’s going to find out through the media?”

“Yep.”

“Shit.”

She nodded her agreement, curling into his side and glaring at the phone.

Adrien was going to be pissed. Especially since he was going to learn through the media. Sure, that was the intention, she was hoping that Tim would be left more or less alone because her friend would be too busy being hurt about not being told to focus on his anger at her boyfriend… but, yikes, she didn’t really want to deal with that just yet.

Also, she thought with a wince, Adrien was going to be even angrier when he figured out that she hadn’t exactly given up, as he called it, ‘stalking’ the people she was interested in. Marinette was pretty sure that Tim already knew about some of it but she wasn’t completely sure and, just in case, she wanted to keep it a secret for a while… a few years, at least, and she wanted to be the one to tell him because she was sure that Adrien would be a lot harsher about it than she would. He already called it ‘stalking’ when it was clearly different, she didn’t want to know what he would say if she let him talk about it in more depth.

Unfortunately, though, Adrien wasn’t stupid. He’d eventually catch on. The longer they dated without him knowing the guiltier he would assume she was.

She sighed and took his face in her hands. “I’m leaving it up to you. I’m not sure. I’m leaning towards being public but...”

He bit his lip as he considered it. She fought the urge to stretch his face until he let go.

He smiled hesitantly. “Well, I’ve lived long enough, I think.”

“Don’t worry, darling, I’ll summon a lucky charm for you,” she half-joked.

He gave a puff of laughter that wasn’t quite real and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Thanks, Bean, but I doubt that’ll be necessary. This is Gotham, no one dies here.”

“We don’t know how long that’ll take, though,” she said with a pout. “I’d prefer to have you back as soon as possible.”

He rolled his eyes. “You’ll always have my siblings.”

“But I want you,” she huffed. “You’re my favorite.”

She felt his cheeks warm beneath her hands.

“I’m your second favorite,” he reminded her. “Cass.”

She snickered. “True. You’re my favorite until Cass accepts my proposal.”

“Hm. I’ll have to enforce the bro code to make sure that never happens.”

“Oh no! I guess I’ll be stuck with you forever, then. What a shame!”

He smiled brightly. Sometimes she lamented the fact that he didn’t give a lot of genuine smiles. The grins and smirks were nice, of course, but she liked to watch the way he would duck his head slightly to try and cover his face with his bangs. Still, in the privacy of her own head, she had to admit that the fact she could get such a smile out of him when few others could made her heart rate spike. He smiled for her. Who wouldn’t be flattered by that?

She pulled the smile that she loved so much down for a kiss.

The first time they stepped out the door as an official couple they were hounded by reporters.

Tim wanted to ask how they knew where they lived. He settled for asking them to blur the area around them.

It was more than a little annoying to be harassed on your way to the grocery store. They had just wanted eggs, milk (Marinette kept leaving it out for some strange reason), some cat food, and enough miscellaneous snacks to keep Cass occupied. They did not want cameras shoved in their faces.

But years of being public figures had trained them to keep pleasant smiles on their faces and to answer questions with as little information as possible.

Finally, though, they made it inside and a manager kicked out the reporters.

Marinette let her shoulders slump a little beneath his arm and Tim flexed the muscles in his face before it could get stuck in that awkward half-smile forever.

He squeezed her a little. “You alright?”

She shrugged as much as she could without displacing his arm. “Yeah. Just… hate reporters.”

He nodded his understanding. He pressed a kiss to her temple.

“Want to buy some Oreos while we’re here?”

Her face lit up. “Can we?”

“I’m rich. Of course we can.”

And, so, they did. He made a mental note to start buying oreos in bulk. All the flavors, just in case she ever got sick of the normal version.

They glanced out the door and, though they couldn’t see the paparazzi waiting just outside, they were sure that they would be back soon. They ducked through back alleys to try and get away.

Only to stop in the middle of a dark alley at the high-pitched cry of: “Give me your money or else!”

Tim sighed and set down the cat food to hand over everything in his pockets. A glance back at Marinette confirmed she was doing the same --.

And then he stopped short. He turned more fully to look at their mugger and then started to laugh.

“I’ll… I’ll kill you!” Said the mugger, who was just a kid. They might not have even hit puberty yet.

“With a pocketknife?” Tim said.

Marinette turned around as well at that and a grin spread across her face. “Oh my gods, that’s so lame.”

“It’s Gotham, you gotta do better than that,” said Tim. He reached into his pockets and pulled out a butterfly knife. He handed it over. “Here, have this, at least. Christ, that’s terrible.”

The kid didn’t seem to know what to do about the fact that his would-be victims were laughing at her and apparently helping her mug people.

Marinette handed over everything except for the necklace Tim had given her. “Here, kid. And get a mask or something to hide your face, it’s not nearly dark enough in here for you to just go with a hood.”

“Oh, and here’s my address,” added Tim. He typed it into his phone -- damn, he should have brought more than a pager -- and then handed it over. “We always have a lot of extra food, so if you ever need it just knock on the window.”

“... thanks?” said their now adoptive kid (they didn’t make the rules, this kid was theirs now).

“Yeah, yeah, no problem. Can we go now? One of his siblings is coming over soon and he will start our show without us.”

“Uh… sure?”

Marinette sat on the kitchen island, squinting at the cast on her arm. Was it worth taking off for the sake of doing work? Maybe --.

Tim’s voice crackled through her ear and she perked up a little at the sound, smiling. He was talking, greeting guests it seemed. Right. He had a meeting today, Janet had mentioned it earlier that morning.

Marinette sighed a little at the reminder that, while she might not care about her broken arm, her boyfriend did. Yeah. Tim would probably be stressed if she took off her cast before the doctor said it was okay. She settled to lay back on the counter, head resting on her good arm, and stare at the ceiling as she listened to his voice...

Only to dart up when she felt a tap on her arm.

She looked over, eyes blown wide, and only relaxed slightly when she realized she recognized the person.

Adrien stood over her, arms crossed over his chest despite the glasses/miraculous he had hooked to the collar of his shirt, but he apparently wasn’t angry enough to not accept the usual kisses on both cheeks that Parisians did as greeting.

He said something that she couldn’t really understand with the part of her brain still concentrated on Tim explaining some sort of chart.

She sighed and reached a hand to her ear to turn off the bug. “Hey, can you repeat that?”

He didn’t. Instead he squinted at her ear suspiciously. “Does your ear hurt?”

“... no?” She said slowly, a little confused.

“Whatcha listening to?”

She paled. Shit. He was going to be pissed (or, at least, more pissed than he already was) if he found out that her supposed ‘stalking’ was getting worse. She needed an excuse.

“Uh, that one rapper, uh --.”

“BS. You don’t listen to rappers.”

He held a hand out and, reluctantly, she handed it over to him. She might as well get her murder over with.

He set it in his ear and, after a few attempts, turned it on. His face soured even more, somehow.

“This better not be who I think it is.”

She gave a tentative half-smile.

That was all the answer he needed. He grabbed her by the back of her shirt and started dragging her through the streets.

No one helped. Not that she expected them to, it was Gotham, but it was still a little hurtful.

Adrien stopped suddenly after a few minutes of walking.

“... wait… where’s his office?”

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sturchling · 4 years

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Salt-Fic September Day 26: Abandoned

Marinette was numb as she realized what had happened. This was horrible. The class had abandoned her in Gotham, alone. To think everything had been going well. The class had been nicer to her, and Lila wasn’t actively trying to ruin her time on the trip. In retrospect, that should have been Marinette’s first clue that something was wrong. She couldn’t believe this, and it had all happened in the course of two days.

The class was trying to come up with a place to go for the end of the year trip. Lila had become the class representative a few months back, when the class had started to believe the worst in Marinette. Lila had turned this into a class discussion in the guise of including the whole class in the decision. In reality, she didn’t have any good ideas and just wanted to steal someone’s idea to avoid the class’ irritation. But no one in the class had any good ideas either. Marinette sat in the back of the room just listening to the chaos of the class’ discussion.

While she may not be the class rep anymore, she still doesn’t want her friends to be disappointed by the class trip. She had found an amazing opportunity for the class. The Wayne family was sponsoring a trip to Gotham for the class who submitted the best video essay about their collective accomplishments. Marinette spent several weeks on it, but she was able to submit a video to the contest.

A few weeks passed and Marinette received an email from the contest. Her submission had won the contest! She was thrilled. She was excited to tell everyone, but then she realized that she shouldn’t. With the way the class thought of her now, they would likely immediately reject the idea purely because she suggested it. Instead she sent the information to Mrs. Bustier and asked her not to say who won the contest. Surprisingly, she agreed to her request and didn’t say anything.

Lila had no idea who won the contest, but she didn’t care. This was perfect. Lila immediately claimed the credit for winning the contest. “It was hard to write the essay through the pain from my sprained wrist, but I did it for you guys.” The class fawned over Lila, thanking her for her dedication. Meanwhile, Marinette just rolled her eyes. The information Mrs. Bustier sent the class specifically said that it was a video essay contest, not a writing contest. How could the class not realize this was a lie? They had the proof right in front of them. But that wasn’t important, at least the class would have a nice trip.

That was how the class had ended up in Gotham. The trip had been going surprisingly well. Marinette had expected that Lila would hog all the attention and the class would treat her as coldly as they had back in Paris. But instead, Lila was quieter than normal and the class was chatting with her again. Marinette had hoped that meant that they had realized that Lila was a liar and were willing to be her friends again.

Marinette was having a great time on the trip, when she met him. He had tan skin and dark hair. He was sitting in one of the halls of the Wayne Enterprises building the class was touring. He was sitting on a bench and reading a book. Marinette had been looking for a quiet place to sketch while the class ate lunch and decided to sit next to him. When she sat down, he gave her an incredulous look, as though he couldn’t believe she sat there. Then he just turned back to his book, and ignored her.

Time went by, and the two just kept reading and sketching in quiet. Eventually though, the boy’s eyes found Marinette’s sketchbook again. He stared at the sketch which appeared to be an outfit based off Robin’s costume. “Your work is exquisite. Very detailed.” Marinette was startled by the sudden noise. “Thank you. That is kind of you to say.” “Is it based on Robin’s costume? Why did you choose that costume?” Marinette went on to discuss her process for this design. The conversations continued until the end of the lunch for the class. When the class gathered outside of the cafeteria, Marinette had to leave. But before she did, the boy, who she now knew was called Damian, asked her, “I apologize if this is too forward, but would you care to have dinner with me tomorrow night?” Marinette agreed eagerly and was looking forward to seeing Damian again.

Marinette had no idea who exactly Damian was until later that night while speaking with Alya. “Girl, you scored a date with Damian Wayne. So, its tomorrow night? What time?” The girls spent several hours discussing the date. Alya wanted all the details. It felt like old times, before Lila ever appeared. Marinette enjoyed this time with her best friend. Alya even helped her get ready for the date, choosing an outfit and how she should do her hair and makeup. Marinette had no idea what Alya and the rest of the class was really planning.

The next night was one of the best nights in Marinette’s life. Damian had arrived early and endured some teasing from Alya and the class as Marinette finished getting ready. They left and had a wonderful dinner. Damian even took Marinette for a walk in a nearby park, while his brothers watched from the roof tops to make sure no rouges got any funny ideas. Marinette had a wonderful time. Damian dropped her off back at the hotel, and even walked her to the door to her room. Marinette was in such a happy mood. That was until she opened the door to her room after Damian left. The room was empty. All of Alya’s things were gone. They had been sharing a room. Marinette’s things were still there, but Alya’s things were gone.

Marinette searched the whole hotel, but didn’t find anyone from class. She went to the front desk and asked about her class. The person working the desk looked at her in shock. “You are still here? Your class already left, said there was some emergency in Paris.” Marinette panicked, expecting a bad akuma and checked for news on her phone. But there wasn’t anything. Instead, there was an unread text.

You shouldn’t have messed with Lila. Maybe this will teach you a lesson. Have a good time getting home.-Alya

Marinette couldn’t believe it. The class had abandoned her in Gotham.

She didn’t know what to do. She didn’t know how to get home. She didn’t have money to get a plane ticket, and the class must have done something to her original ticket. She called her parents and they got her a ticket for the first available flight, which wouldn’t be until tomorrow evening. Marinette spoke with the hotel staff member at the desk, to see about staying in her room one more night. But they told her that someone else had already checked into the room for the night. Her stuff was brought to her from the room and she didn’t know what to do now. She had no where to stay for the night.

Marinette realized she had only one option. She gathered her stuff and went to the Wayne Manor. When she arrived, she was greeted by an older man who stared at her inquisitively. “Good evening. I was having dinner with Damian earlier tonight. Something has happened and I didn’t know where else to go, may I please speak with him?” The butler looked at her warily, but did let her in the manor. He led her to a parlor and went to fetch Damian.

A few minutes passed and he returned with Damian following with a confused look on his face. “Marinette? What happened? Why are you here?” Marinette explained everything that had happened since Damian dropped her off. “So, they just abandoned me here. I already have a flight booked for tomorrow night thanks to my parents. But I don’t have anywhere to stay tonight. I’m sorry to impose, but I didn’t have anywhere else to turn.” Damian was furious. How dare the class do this to her?

Alfred had gone to get Bruce and fill him in on the situation. Bruce came into the parlor as well, to see Damian comforting an upset Marinette. Bruce approached the young couple, “Of course you may stay here tonight Marinette. After all, my family sponsored your class’ trip. That makes you my responsibility until you return to Paris. Make yourself at home. Now, I think I will go call your parents and tell them you are staying here with me.” Marinette felt at ease, knowing that things were being handled.

Marinette was returned to Paris in the morning, but she never returned to Francois Dupont. Her parents pulled her out of that school immediately after they learned their daughter had been left behind. She was now enrolled in an arts school that Chloe and Adrien had transferred to before everything in Gotham had happened. She also spent a lot of time in Gotham when she was on a break from school. She had to visit her boyfriend obviously. While Damian wished she had transferred to Gotham, he was happy that Marinette was in a better school. Marinette was happier than she had been in a long time.

Lila ended up being exposed a few months after the Gotham incident. Marinette never got the details of how it happened, she only found out because the class showed up to try and apologize to her. Marinette stopped them, “I accept your apology, but I can’t fully forgive you. You abandoned me in one of the most dangerous cities in the world. You didn’t care at all what happened to me. I had no where to stay that night and no way home. I could have been really hurt. I’m sorry but we can’t be friends anymore, I can’t be friends with people that would do that to me.” The class didn’t like it, but they accepted it. They knew what they did was unforgiveable.

While Marinette had been beyond hurt by what the class had done, she wouldn’t have changed anything about the trip. She learned who her true friends were and who wasn’t. She had also met Damian, who she had grown much closer to over the months after the trip. She was the happiest she had ever been and was glad that everything had happened the way it did. She was living an amazing life, with friends and family that cared for her and a boyfriend who truly loved her.

Hope you guys liked it! @maribat-central-official

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flying-nightwing · 4 years

Text

Dark Fox (7/7)

Thank you to everyone who took the time to read Dark Fox! It was my first longer serie ever since my writing hiatus, and the first one I actually finished ever lmao. It was quite an adventure and I really enjoyed writing this persona. This is the last chapter to close the story. I hope you like it gang!

Pairing: Jason Todd x Reader

Word Count: 6821

Warnings: usual

You hadn’t had a lazy morning in years, and you had all but forgotten how good it felt.

A single sun ray warmed the bed, making the temperature under the thin sheet just ideal. The slow, steady rise and fall of Jason’s chest under your head was soothing, as well as the random pattern his hand was drawing on your back. Usually, you’d have already trained and eaten by that time. Today, you had no intention of leaving the bed anytime soon. The last night had been spent fucking so many times in so many different ways, you were both exhausted and happier than before. Jason was even wilder than you remembered (or he got even better?), so much you were still riding the absolute high you had reached.

You traced his scars with your fingers; some old ones he had told you about, some you had put there yourself, and some others your had yet to know how he got them. You had a lot to catch up about.

“The last time we found ourselves like this,” You began, trailing your soft touch up and down the browned mark on his shoulder. It was as large as your sword, and a witness of the rocky beginning of your relationship. “I begged you to come back to the League with me”

He angled his head toward you. You could feel his eyes on you, half closed and relaxed as he’s even been. “But I begged you to follow me back here first”

It had been a heartbreaking moment. The build up of the unanswered question for a whole year had lead to there. None of you had wanted to talk about the time his training would be done, you had rather wanted to keep doing your stuff and ignore the impending separation. That morning hadn’t been unlike this one, with the sun coming through the hut and with you both on the hammock, naked and intertwined under the fur cover. He had broken the silence, asking you to forget the League and stay with him. Back then, you were so sure you could only reach Luthor through it. So you asked Jason to instead join the League at your side.

He had dressed up and left the hut, and you hadn’t heard from him from then until you crossed paths in Ukraine.

“I guess this is the fight you won” You smiled, flicking up your gaze to his. “Seeing as I’m here”

“The fight I won?” He raised his eyebrows. “Implying I didn’t win any other fight?”

“You did, but…” You teased, gently tapping your fingers up his collarbone. “Let’s face it, I still won most of them”

He gasped. “Excuse me?”

You smirked.

Before you could see him move, he rolled on top of you and caged you underneath him between his arms. His eyes were narrowed in indignation as he channeled his mean face on. It once might have worried you, but it had lost most of its purpose now. Especially since you were both naked.

“I’ve won plenty of fights against you” He sneered.

“Mhmm” You hummed, knowing all too well how he didn’t like to be challenged. You hadn’t poked at his pride in too long, so you couldn’t pass the occasion. “Sure you did”

“Have you forgotten what happens when the fighting range gets too small?”

You simply blinked.

“Or when I truly got angry? Or…”

You cocked your head to the side as he halted his words. Then, understanding flashed through his expression.

“You’re still riling me on purpose” He sighed.

“What did I like to say again?” You asked rhetorically, pausing for emphasis. “Ah, yes. When you’ll stop falling for it”

“I hate you”

“Don’t blame me for being such an easy target” You rolled your eyes. “Now come here”

“Bossy” He finally grinned. “I love it”

He lowered himself so his lips touched yours and kissed you softly. However, the moment didn’t last long, as his cell phone vibrated on the nightstand. You could feel the shift toward annoyance in his mood, and it only grew when the phone vibrated one more time, and another one after that. With a long sigh, he rolled off of you and to the side of his bed. He frowned, then all trace of displeasure at the interruption wiped off of his face.

“What is it?” You asked, peeking over his shoulder. He shut off the screen immediately.

“You’ll see” He chuckled. “Get dressed”

“Ooookay” You nodded slowly, watching him throw his legs on the side of the bed and reach for his shirt on the floor. You put on your clothes from the day before and went for the guest bedroom you had, changing into something clean. When you got out, Jason was waiting for you leaning on the doorframe.

“First though, breakfast”

You followed Jason, as you were still unfamiliar with the place. Sure, you had mapped the way from your room to the cave, and from the cave to every close escape around. But for the rest, you had barely the time or desire to explore. All this space was pointless to you, as you couldn’t figure out who would need all of this. However, it did provide a good way to avoid any Wayne during your stay, you’d give the manor this point.

But it didn’t allow you to avoid Bruce this time.

He caught you around a corner, and you three remained in a stare off for a few seconds. You knew it probably wouldn’t result in a fight, but your hand still hovered above the blade hidden at the back of your waistband.

“I think you have overstayed your welcome here”

Jason gritted his teeth, but you remained calm. You had expected this.

“I will be gone by tonight” You replied on a neutral tone, then pulled Jason with you to side step him.

“One more thing”

You halted your steps in the doorframe to the next room, turning your head to look at him. He hadn’t moved.

“I don’t want to see you in my city again”

“You must be fucking kidding me” Jason yelled, but you held up your arm to stop him from marching back to Bruce.

“Absolutely not” He turned to face you. “Ever since she’s came, she has conveniently disclosed very precise information on the weapon’s whereabouts, except when it mattered. And hid her family ties to Luthor”

“You think she’s working with him?” He scoffed.

“I don’t know, is she?”

Jason glanced at you, about to reply something, but you just shook your head at him. It was pointless to try and convince Bruce Wayne, especially since you knew your word could never overturn your suspicious behaviour. He rolled his eyes and walked away, and you were about to follow him before you paused.

“I’m not” You spoke up, and you could feel Bruce’s eyes on your back. “If you must know, I’ve come here to kill him, and I don’t need your permission for that”

With that, you walked away, not waiting for an answer from Bruce. You joined Jason in the kitchen, who was already working on cooking oatmeal. His jaw was still clenched, and his posture tense.

“I can’t believe the fucking audacity” He grumbled.

“He is entitled to his opinion of me” You shrugged and leaned on the counter next to him. “I don’t really care what he thinks about my intentions”

“Still” He sighed. “Are you still planning on finishing your mission?”

You crossed your arms against your torso and furrowed your eyebrows. You could just leave Batman and the others take care of it, and leave them to deal with Luthor. But again, you hadn’t came all this way to just give up.

“Bruce was very clear on his stance about me remaining involved in this shitshow” You hummed, before glancing up at Jason. “But we do have a bio weapon to stop, and I’m far from done with Luthor”

His disappointment morphed into a grin at your words. “Attagirl, that’s what I like to hear”

“I most certainly don’t like to leave things unfinished” The corner of your lips lifted. “You okay with going against Batman’s orders?”

“Oh my dear” He chuckled as he poured the oatmeal in two bowls. He glanced at you with an excited glint in his eyes. “Nobody has a better record of disobeying him than I do”

“Good”

He put a spoon in each bowl and handed you one. “Now we need to have a game plan for what’s next”

“Any idea?”

“I sure have” His grin widened. “I want to show you something”

He motioned you to follow him as he ate his oatmeal mid walk. He got down to the cave and led you to a small side room, where he grabbed the tablet on the table. You slowly ate your breakfast as you watched him press buttons and mumble to himself. Then, he turned to you.

“You ready?”

You nodded, unsure of what he was talking about. He dramatically pressed one more button, making the wall in front of you turn on itself with a woosh. Your eyes widened as you took in the content of the compartment.

“So?”

You blinked at glanced at Jason. Your grin slowly stretched to match his.

“Oh yeah” You nodded again, this time, with way more assurance. “This will definitely do”

----

Jason heard Bruce coming from miles away.

Even if he technically didn’t, his course of action was so predictable that the Bat’s dramatic landing on the rooftop behind him was no surprise at all.

“I thought I had made myself clear”

Jason stood up from his crouched position and turned to face him, arms crossed against his chest. “You did”

“Then what are you doing here?” He sighed in annoyance.

“Well obviously you’re blaming your wrong intel and failures on someone who has nothing to do with it, which is a classic you” He taunted. “So we’re here to finish the job. Her and I really do work well together, thanks for noticing”

“Red Hood” He warned.

“Batman” He mimicked.

Someone landing next to them grabbed their attention.

“Red Robin” Tim announced himself under Bruce’s hard glance and Jason’s amused one.

“What are you doing here?”

“Well, I knew something was up when I didn’t see Foxy in the cage all day” He explained. “So I followed you here. By the way, where is she?”

As if on cue, a shadow dropped behind them. The movement did no go unnoticed, and as if on instinct, Tim spun around and threw a shuriken. His expression quickly changed as he realized who was in front of him.

There you were, still crouched from your landing and holding his shuriken mid air inches away from your face. You were smirking under your mask as Tim stared at you in disbelief.

“Twice” You spoke as you stood up fully. His eyes quickly scanned you from head to toes, almost overseeing you handing him back his shuriken. “Twice you have thrown one of these at me”

“Where’s the League suit?” He asked, slowly taking back his small weapon. “And you’re stupid bow?”

You shrugged, sharing a knowing glance with Jason. “I thought it was time for a change”

Then, understanding washed across his face. “Oh, oh my. You’ve dropped the League”

He did another once over. You had ditched the heavy coat for a lightweight suit made of silk and leather, with armored plastic on the stomach, the upper arms and the back. The arm bracers had smaller spikes than the previous ones, and you no longer wore a heavy mask. Instead, you had only kept your half mask and wore a hooded robe crossing on your torso. Your grappling hook was now in your utility belt, and your arrows were replaced with sharper, more volatile darts kept in a sheath on your thigh. You now had 25 regular darts, five explosive and your two classic sedatives. Only your sword remained on your back, so it would “unclog your aesthetic”, as Jason had put it.

You did like it better like that, the bow wasn’t your style anyway.

The new gear was still all black, for the exception of a silver kitsune draw into the back of the armor that would show if you took off the robe. It was comfortable and flexible, and resistant to bullets and stabbing. Jason had hit the target right on with the design.

“Do you keep your wrist shooter?” He asked, squinting his eyes.

You raised your arm and shot over his shoulder to prove your point. He caught the small arrow mid air, nodding impressively.

“Still the best part of the suit” He muttered to himself.

“I thought you said you’d be gone” Bruce cut in. Your eyes went to him.

“I still have a couple of hours” You replied without missing a beat.

“Talking about” Jason said. “Your time window just opened”

“You can either help us or stay out of the way” You told Bruce as you adjusted you comm. “But this is happening regardless”

He didn’t speak right away, taking a moment to ponder your words. Then, he voiced his thoughts. “Are you going to kill him?”

You held eye contact for a few seconds more before taking off. You ran along the ledge and jumped on the next building, then letting yourself slide down the fire escape. You chose not no reply to him, as you didn’t need to give him another reason to come after you. Granted, not replying was practically the equivalent of giving a positive answer, but at least it could give you the benefit of the doubt for what it was worth.

Using the shadows of the city, you quickly made your way through the blocks by the back alleys until you reached the imposing tower in the middle of the Diamond district, the same building you and Tim had sacked for show barely a week before. Whatever damage you had done, it didn’t show anymore. It was like nothing had happened.

This time, you came in by the front door. The second you walked through the glass doors, all activity stopped. You took a few step forward, and four guards met you halfway in the lobby. Without a word, they escorted you past the front desk and through the metal detector going off like crazy. Anytime you could have easily gotten rid of them, but you held back for now. You waited a short time for the elevator, then got in and up to Luthor’s floor. He was waiting for you by the window, and turned around with a smirk once you got in his office. You pulled back your hood and unclasped your mask.

“I see you’ve got a new look” He pointed out. “Changed your mind about the league?”

“Something like that”

“Well, I’m most certainly pleased to see you’ve decide to do the right thing” He took a step forward. “This is where you belong”

Slowly, you reached for your sword and took it out. A shadow passed across his face, and nodded to something behind you. Or rather, someone. You dropped to a crouch to avoid the tazer being stuck in your back--once was enough--and thrusted your sword in the legs of the guys around you. You rolled forward and shot the four guards coming your way, before jumping on the desk and holding them in your aim. Luthor now had four new guards around, letting you know more would come if he needed. You reloaded your crossbow.

“I’m disappointed” He revealed with a sigh. “Those were good men”

“Let it be a reminder I can and will take them all out if they're in my way” You twirled your sword. “Step forward and none of them die with you tonight”

“How noble” He chuckled, not concerned at all. His hand rested in his pocket and his stance was relaxed. “Did your boyfriend with the red helmet tell you to do that?”

You shot an arrow to his knee, but he easily side stepped it like he had predicted that move. He raised an eyebrow.

“I see” He hummed. “But I had expected you would deny your destiny. So I decided to help you make a choice”

Four more men came in the room and ran at you. You vaulted over them and landed behind them, taking them by surprise. Before the could fully turn around, they were on the ground. You wiped your sword in the crook of your elbow and faced Luthor again. He was watching, unwavering, almost out of the door. He was stalling, that was clear, but you didn’t know for what yet. He smirked again, and you knew he’d finally reveal his thoughts.

“Now I know you won’t back down like last time” He taunted, and your jaw clenched. “So I guess you can come at me now, tear through my guards and get to me…”

You narrowed your eyes, knowing there was something more coming. He wouldn’t make it that easy for you to get to him.

“But like I said, I had expected trouble from you, like your mother before you” He sighed sarcastically. “So I prepared a backup plan. I decided to launch my weapon sooner and instead use it elsewhere, since you forced my hand. In twenty minutes, it will discharge quite literally the plague in the city aqueduct”

You tensed, your hand going to your ear to your comm and turning it on.

“Ah, I don’t think telling your friends will work” He tsked. “The only way to stop it is through my genetic code”

“Therefore mine” You concluded.

“Smart” He mocked. “Yes. So you can either kill me here and get it over with, or you can run around and save a bunch of people, and miss your shot. Again. But you don’t have the time to do both, I’m afraid”

You calculated his ultimatum, and he was right. If he kept the men coming, it would be enough to stall you too long for you to go from the diamond district to the aqueduct. He had planned this move carefully, knowing he’d get a win in either case.

“Don’t worry, the cure is ready to go, there won’t be much casualties” He brushed off. “You came here to kill me, didn’t you?”

You flexed your fingers on the hilt of your sword.

“Do it” He challenged. “That’s what you are. You were made to finish what you started, to stop at nothing to get what you want. This is how I made you, even if I disapprove what you’ve done with my gifts. So go ahead, kill me and prove me right”

He was almost in your face now, staring right at you. You straightened your back and levelled up with him, feeling something strange, yet not unwelcomed, swelling in your chest. You thought about Jason and what he said, about those civilians you saved from a certain death, and about the man in front of you. Seeing him from so close, you realized every ounce of anger you held toward Luthor was… Gone. You thought with him so close you would be tempted to fight him, but all you could feel was indifference. He didn’t matter to you anymore, he never should have. He represented your insecurities, and tried to drag you down with him to excuse his own failure in making you a copy of himself. You became aware he was a pointless chase, and you had better things to do than indulge in it.

“I’m the Dark Fox” You jutted your chin up, squaring up your shoulders. “Don’t fucking tell me what to do”

You turned around and jumped over the desk, grabbing an explosive arrow and throwing it in the window. You jumped through as it exploded, plunging down the building. You pulled out your grappling line and hooked it on your shooter, then aimed for the roof. It slowed your fall midway, and you used your glove to slow yourself down.

As your feet touched the ground, you saw Jason’s motorcycle pull in in front of the building. You put back your sword in its sheath and your mask on your face, then your hood up.

“Aqueduct, we’ve got fifteen minutes” You spoke as you climbed on the bike.

“Yep, I heard everything” He had a grin in his voice. Yet, he didn’t go yet.

“What?”

“I am so fucking proud of you”

You felt your neck heat up as you looked down, even if he couldn’t see you, in fact, you were glad he couldn’t. You never knew his praise would make you react that way, or that you would be so important for you to hear it.

“And for the record” He added. “It was very hot, too”

“Fucking hell, Jay, go!”

“Fine” He sighed and sped away from there.

“Okay so what is your thing with jumping out of windows?” Tim said through your comm. You had no idea he had stayed.

“It makes me feel less dead” You replied, and Jason audibly laughed.

“You madwoman”

“Since you’re here, I have a task for you” You said. “Could you pull out the files on the weapon and figure out how the failsafe works?”

“I’m already on it”

Then, a bullet barely grazed your shoulder. The sound followed closely after, but it was like in slow motion. You raised your arm to protect Jason's shoulder, letting the bullet hit your arm brace instead. Reacting quickly, you turned around facing backwards and shot an arrow through the gun aimed at you. You then noticed five motorcycles following you, probably tasked with taking you down.

“What’s going on? How many?”

“Keep driving” You ordered. “I’ll take care of this”

You shot another arrow, but it bounced on the body of the motorcycles, and from your position you couldn’t aim elsewhere. You emptied your arrows to get one good shot, and it was enough to take one down. But looking at your recharges, you only had ten darts left, and potentially more people to take down around the bomb. You looked down, then up again to the guns aimed at you.

“Fuck it”

You reached for one of Jason’s gun on his thigh and clicked the safety off. Then, you shot.

“Holy shit” Jason yelled, and you could only imagine his expression. “HOLY SHIT”

“Did… Did Foxy just use a gun?”

“I wish I could have seen that” He whined. “I am so turned on right now”

“Too much information Jaybird”

You clicked the safety back on and turned around again, then slipped the gun back in his holster.

“I thought you thought guns were disgraceful”

“I kind of still do” You smirked under your mask. “So don’t get used to it”

“You’ll at least do it once when I look, right?”

“Hmm, maybe” You hummed.

“Aww, aren’t you two the cutest”

“Shut up Tim” Jason warned.

“Alright then, I won’t tell you what I found on turning off the weapon”

“Speak, Tim” You contradicted Jason’s order.

“First you have to apologize for throwing me out of a window”

You thought for a moment before answering. “No”

“Then no intel”

You sighed.

“Let’s compromise then” You suggested. “I will not apologize because I am not sorry, but for the intel and not telling on me after you found out who I was, I will consider not pushing you out of a window again”

There was silence radio, then he spoke again. “Good enough for me. There should be a code pad, I decrypted it and the code is 0000. Yes I know, but then you’ll see a slit, and you gotta put your left hand in it. It’ll read pulse, heat, fingerprints, and more. Since you should share all of this with Luthor, it’ll stop. Or it’ll explode, that was unclear”

“Well that’s reassuring” Jason grumbled.

“Alright, we’re almost there” You rolled your eyes. “Thanks”

“See ya later”

You turned off your comm and reloaded your shooter minutes before Jason pulled in the aqueduct yard. He parked his bike and you both easily climbed the barbed wire fence, and even though the place looked deserted, you remained careful. Luthor wouldn’t have left his device without surveillance. You grabbed your sword and fell in step behind Jason, who had his guns up. Then, he halted his steps and held a hand for you to do the same. You had this feeling you were being watched, and you could only imagine he had it too.

“Get ready” Just as he said that, bullets began raining over you. “Go find the weapon, I’ll cover you!”

You held an arm up to protect your face and disappeared into the darkness. You kept running along the walls of the building, allowing you to get in undetected. You reached the main water room, where you could see from the upper platform about eight guards surrounding the very device you had been hunting. The countdown indicated 2:37, so you had no time to lose.

You jumped over the ramp and landed quietly on your feet behind the men. You approached the first one and swung your sword around to let it rest on his neck. You used him as a shield as the other guards noticed you, blocking their bullets. You raised your arm and shot your five darts at them. You pushed the dead man off of you and faced the two remaining guards, taking a fighting stance and swirling your sword at them. Before they could start shooting again, you lunged and knocked their guns out of their hands. They kept fighting around you, trying to get to you with punches and kicks. But they were sloppy and predictable, and even after one fetched a small blade from his belt, they were no match for you. You glanced at the countdown, and it almost reached the one minute mark. Your eyes then trailed on the two guards around you, still trying to get the upper hand. They both extended their arms at the same time for a hit, so you dropped to a crouch.

Like you did during training with Bruce and Damian, you sweeped your sword in a quick motion. Unlike them, however, your current opponent weren’t quick nor skilled. The blade of your katana sliced their knees, making them collapse on the ground. You quickly reloaded your last round of arrows and sheathed your sword, then made your way to the device. You easily found the locked pad and entered the code, then pulled off your glove and stuck your hand in the slit. You pressed the button and watched as the biometrical scan began.

You heard noise behind you as backup reached the room, and without taking your hand out, you turned your body and aimed. The first five men fell, but there were still five coming your way, so you reached for your shurikens in your belt. But you didn’t get to take them out as other, all too familiar shaped shurikens reached the goons first. You sent a deadpan look at where you noticed none other than Red Robin standing there smugly.

“Oof, I hope you didn’t have dibs on them”

“I had it handled” You replied.

“I’m sure you did” He smirked as he walked past you and took a look at the countdown, then at the weapon. His expression turned grim. “Twenty seconds”

The scanner was still working.

“If it doesn’t work, you’ll have to slice the pipe off” You said, analysing the situation. Cutting the water and flooding the building would bring less casualties than letting the virus flow in the water system.

“What!?”

The system unlocked. You quickly entered the command to stop, and the countdown halted. You pulled your hand back and put on your glove again, then grabbed an explosive arrow. You planted the dart in the slit and backed up, pushing Tim with you. Soon enough, it went off and the weapon went up in smoke.

“Phew, that was close” He blinked. “Well played”

“Motherfucking Dark Fox!” Jason dropped from the platform at his turn. His helmet was off and he had a wide grin on his face. “That’s what I call making a difference! The League could never”

“That was really cool” He nodded in approval. “By the way, what happened to, you know..?”

“Did you do it?” Jason’s eyes were now on you, his grin not so intense now.

“He’s gone” You said, but it didn’t help ease the questions in their eyes. “As in, I don’t know where he is. I let him flee to come here instead”

Jason’s eyes widened. “And you’re fine with this?”

You shrugged. “It doesn’t matter to me anymore. His time will come, like everyone else. I just won’t be involved when it does”

“That was unexpected” He whistled. “But hey, what goes for you goes for me. Love the new mentality”

“Killing him was what the League would have wanted”

“That’s nice. Good choice” Tim nodded. “So you’ll stay here then?”

“Well, not here, since bats and foxes apparently don’t get along” You snorted as you unclasped your mask and pulled back your hood. “But I’ll be around”

“About that, how does Blüdhaven sounds?” Jason chimed in again, sliding a hand around your shoulder. You raised your eyebrows at him “I’ve got a pretty nice place there, and it’s technically not Gotham”

“That won’t be necessary” A deep voice came from behind you. You glanced over your shoulder where the massive shadow of Batman stood. “I’ve seen you work tonight. You acted good, I can allow you to stay in Gotham as the Dark Fox”

Jason coughed in surprise as you blinked, then turned around.

“Thank you” You began, nodding respectfully. Jason’s wide glance was now directed to you. “But no thanks. Besides, I still don’t need your blessing to stay, or to be me”

Bruce stared at you blankly, not moving or commenting. Your guess was that he wasn’t expecting this answer, or at least not delivered this way.

“Oh, B” Jason mocked as he put back his helmet. “Nice try. Anyway, we should get out of here before the cops show up”

You put back up your mask and hood and followed Jason out, waving at Tim on your way out. You left the aqueduct and waited until you were further into the city before ditching the bike and finding a rooftop to station yourself on, just in case you were being followed. The masks and helmets came off once again, and you took a moment to breathe the air from up there. It was a clear night, with a good wind chasing the clouds away. Jason observed the city lights with you, crouched on the ledge. Then, you heard quiet shuffling behind you. You spun around, then held Jason back when he was about to lunge. You kept your eyes on the outline of the figure in the shadows, knowing all too well who it belonged to. You took a few steps forward.

“You look different” Talia smiled. “A good different. I’m glad you finally found yourself”

“Thank you” You lowered your head. “For allowing me”

“I only want the best for you” She stepped closer to you, her smile never wavering. “Has he taken good care of you?”

You both glanced at Jason for a moment, and you chuckled. “He has. He was gentler than I’ve been to him”

“I figured he would” She winked. “You two were meant to be”

Your smile dropped as you looked down. Surely, she would know what it meant. Her sympathetic eyes fell on you and her hand rested on your shoulder. You had chosen to part with the League, therefore, with her. It would be the hardest part for you.

“You don’t have to explain” She reassured. “I knew this would come to this, and I am here to free you”

Your eyes shot up.

“I talked with my father” She explained. “Seeing your unwavering service for all these years, he has agreed to relieve you from your duties to the League. All he asks in exchange is for you to remain out of the League’s affairs, and he gave his word he will not come against you or your family”

“Really?” Your voice was barely above a whisper.

Her smile was encouraging as she nodded at you. Slowly, you took off the black robe, exposing the silver fox on your back. Then you took out your sword from the sheath in your hands, kneeled and offered it to her. She took it and held it upright in front of you, just like the day you had been initiated in the League.

“In the name of Ra’s al Ghul, I release Thaelib fi alzalam from her servitude to the League of Assassins” She spoke. “Your debt has been paid and your bounds are no more. Rise”

You got back on your feet, your breathing hitching in your throat. You reached for your sword in her extended arm, looked down at it and putting it away again.

“Thank you”

“You’re very welcome” Her hand went to your cheek. “If you need anything, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I will be there for you”

“And I for you” You gave her a genuine smile. She offered her arm, and you took it at the elbow like she did. Your foreheads touched for a few seconds before you pulled away with a step back.

“It was nice to see you again, Jason”

“You too, Talia” He nodded with a small curve on the corner of his lips.

“Take care, children” She said before disappearing in the darkness again.

Jason approached you and took your hand, gently pulling your around to face him. He had this glint in his eyes, it was full of relief and happiness like you had never seen on him. To be honest, you were feeling the same way. It was like a burden had been lifted off of your shoulders, and you had never felt lighter. Sure, it brought you uncertainty to navigate without the League’s guiding hand, one you had relied on for most of your life, but it felt right. You knew Jason would help you like you had helped him, and things would start to look up from now.

“So, what now?”

“I don’t know” You chuckled. “It’s the first time I don’t need to follow any agenda. I’m kind of lost”

“Ah, this calls for the return of Teacher Todd” He grinned. “Lesson number two, you get to learn what fun and freedom taste like”

----

The grass was high as your mid thigh and small bugs swarmed up with every step forward you took. You didn’t mind though, you prefered it ten folds to the smog of Gotham.

For Jason, however, it was a different story.

He was sweating and grunting, and even if he was behind you, you knew he was getting annoyed by the flies and mosquitoes around. He was swatting his hand wildly and you could tell he was slightly regretting sharing his suggestion to you. The sun was high, and even for the end of the summer it was surprisingly hot.

“Ugghhh”

You rolled your eyes, but didn’t stop.

“Are we there soon?” He asked. “Jeez I had forgotten how far was that thing”

“Come on, stop lying to yourself” You teased as you spotted a familiar path up a small hill. “You like this”

He scoffed. “It reminds me of my ass being kicked”

“As I said” You smirked over your shoulder, and he raised his eyebrows at you.

You climbed up the small hill and came face to face with a small, half decaying structure with the roof caved in by the elements. Moss and grass was growing on the outside of the round walls, but the feeling of home you had subconsciously associated with it was very much intact. Jason stopped behind you, his annoyance completely gone and replaced by fondness over the sight in front of him. There were so many memories tied to the small hut, some bad but mostly good, and it was like you could feel them all at once. You dropped your bag on the ground and took a deep breath.

“So, was the trek up here worth it?”

“Fuck yes” He sighed in amazement, his eyes never leaving the hut. “I missed this place so much”

“Even if we had to work hard for survival?”

“Being here alone with you far outweighed any inconvenience this place brings” He stepped closer to you, his arm wrapping around your waist. Who would have ever thought? His nose nuzzled on your neck and your relaxed in his arms. “We’ll still have to do a bit of renovation around though”

“I hope you’ll help me this time” You looked up at him innocently. Last time you had built the hut alone before Talia had brought Jason, and even if he had been there, you would have absolutely not trusted him to help you with anything

“But you’re so hot when you work” He pouted. “I wanna watch and enjoy the view”

“And how would you make up all that work to me?” You asked, then you felt him smile on your skin. A smile full of mischief and promises.

“Oh, I have plenty of ideas”

“Oh me too” You grinned, stepping out of his arms, then you winked at him and disappeared in the hut. Only one hammock was still up, the other had fallen on the ground due to broken ropes. Stones of the small fireplaces were kicked in and weeds were growing around. The kitchen supplies were scattered around the makeshift shelf, but otherwise the place seemed to have been left untouched by human activity. Jason followed suit and took in the damages.

“Do you think we can still both get onto this hammock without the ropes breaking?” He asked, side glancing at you. You rubbed your chin in wonder, then hummed.

“There is only one way to know for sure” You tilted your head to the side. You nodded at each other and he walked around you, with you in tow. He carefully lowered himself first, then opened his arms for you. You joined him, and waited for a few second to test the resistance of the ropes. You heard them creaking and straining, but you were still hanging. You relaxed, and barely a second after, the ropes snapped.

In a blink, you were on the ground, and both of your weights made the wood give in. You ended up in the dirt, directly on the forest floor. yOu remained in silence for a moment blinking at each other.

“Well” You sighed. “The hammock could not support us both”

“Alright, there is a lot to do” He conceded. “How about you fix this baby, and I’ll gather the wood for the fire, hunt dinner and get the herbs for tea?”

“That’s more like it” You said as you stood up and dusted off your pants. You offered a hand to Jason and you pulled him up with you. “Do you remember where are the bows and arrows?”

“In the bark of the oak facing the boulder, yeah”

“Good” You chuckled. “I wasn’t sure you’d get it right”

“Come on” He groaned playfully. “I was quite a good student”

“Oh not at all” You laughed, taking a step in his personal space and looking up at him. “The worst, actually. You’re lucky you learned fast, or we’d still be there”

“Then I should have dragged my training on purpose” His lips hovered above yours. “You’d still be my incredibly unforgiving yet very hot teacher, and I your wild, stubborn and irresistible student”

“Hmm, does another sword in your shoulder sound good?”

“Only if I get to face you hand to hand”

“You’ve got yourself a deal” You whispered, before backing away abruptly. He blinked in confusion. “But it’ll have to wait. It’s almost sundown and we need to be installed by then. So get your sweet ass out there and stop distracting me here”

He sighed. “Why do I like it so much when you order me around?”

“I have no idea” You tapped his chest. “But the quicker we prepare everything, the sooner we can go to the lake for a swim under the stars”

He perked up at that, and with wide, excited eyes, he shot out of the hut faster than you could register. You chuckled and leaned on the threshold, lazily crossing your arms against your chest and taking a deep breath. You stared outside for a moment, enjoying the breeze and the sound of nature surrounding you. It was peaceful and beautiful, taking it in fully.

Then, you got to work.

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kandoesfanfics-writes · 4 years

Text

The Mug

So this is posted on AO3 as well---> Link

This is for @kceedraws as if was inspired by a conversation over discord. I hope you enjoy!

Everything felt off.

The dark haired woman rubbed her head and sighed. Her head was pounding, but she was determined to get her shopping done. Grey eyes scanned the shelves, looking at the different kinds of coffee mugs. She needed to buy new ones after her boyfriend broke several in a sleep deprived fit of elation, having just cracked a case. The issue?

This store had the coffee mugs stocked near the candles for Kwamis knew what reason! Normally the candles didn’t bother Marinette, but for whatever reason, the smells were too intense for her. Every time someone opened a candle next to her, she’d smell it and immediately feel nauseous. It almost made her snap, but she held herself together after taking several deep breaths.

She could feel the bile rising in the back of her throat as someone opened a cinnamon candle. Her hand flew to her mouth as she tried to fight the urge to vomit. She managed to swallow the bile down, but looked to see who’d opened the candle.

Marinette was greeted by a guilty looking child. A little boy, probably no older than six, was looking up at her with worried brown eyes. His lower lip was wobbling as he slowly put the jar down. He looked as if he were going to cry as he said, “I-I didn’t mean to make you sick.”

She felt her heart break a little at the remorse in his voice.

“Oh, it’s okay, honey. You didn’t make me sick,” Marinette said, kneeling down next to him. “I wasn’t feeling well before you opened the candle. Thank you for putting it back though. The smell was hurting my tummy.”

“You’re not sick?” the little boy asked. “My mommy works at a doctors office, an’ she can help you if you’re sick.”

Marinette was just about to tell the little boy it was okay when a woman came around the corner.

“Marcus, there you are! Now what have I told you about wandering off?” the blonde said. “I’m so sorry if he’s caused you any trouble, miss.”

“Mommy, the lady is sick! I opened a candle, an’ she looked like she was gonna barf!” Marcus told his mother. “You’re a nurse, can’t you help?”

His mother looked at Marinette before apologizing.

“I’m really sorry, miss. Marcus really likes to smell the different candles. It’s his favorite thing to do when we shop here. I’m assuming he picked a smell you were sensitive too—”

Marinette waved her hands quickly, insisting that Marcus was okay.

“To be perfectly honest, I’ve apparently become sensitive to all sorts of smells. Every time someone opens one, I feel nauseous,” she said. “It wasn’t his fault. It’s probably something I ate not agreeing with me. It’s been happening a lot to me lately.It’s strange though. I used to love some of the foods I can’t eat anymore”

The mother went quiet for a moment.

“So you’re having sensitivities to food, and your sense of smell has gotten slightly stronger. Do you have any cravings for particular foods? Mood swings?” she asked.

Marinette’s eyes widened as she nodded.

“Bloating? Needing to pee more frequently despite not increasing the amount you drink?” the woman continued. “And this last question might be a little personal, and you don’t need to answer it out loud. Just think about it. When was your last period?”

Marinette inhaled sharply. When was her last period? She hadn’t really been paying attention. Marinette had assumed that it was late due to the amount of stress she’d been under lately. Not to mention that Marinette had been taking birth control, and they’d been using protection. She could vaguely feel her breathing speeding up, and a hand on her shoulder.

Marcus’s mother had reached out to her, and Marinette could hear the other woman telling her to breathe.

“You might just be sick, but I work at an obstetrics and gynecology office,” she said slowly. “I’ll give you their card. If you want to set up an appointment all you have to do is call. If they asked if someone referred you, tell them it was Cynthia Hall.”

Cynthia gave Marinette the business card and told Marcus to say goodbye.

“Bye bye, Miss—” Marcus trailed off, realizing he’d never got the lady’s name.

“Marinette,” she said with a smile. “You can call me Miss Nette if that’s easier. It was nice meeting you, Marcus.”

“Bye bye, Miss Nette! I hope your tummy gets better!” he said happily, making Marinette chuckle.

“I’m sorry if we’ve both troubled you today, Marinette,” Cynthia said. “I hope you have a nice day.”

As mother and son walked away, Marinette grabbed the first mug she saw and ran to the checkout.

She had to stop at the drugstore on her way home.

————

A dark haired man shuffled out of the bedroom groggily as he rubbed his eyes. The drug smugglers had really tried their damndest to encode their drop locations, but after a few weeks of hard work, Tim had finally managed to crack the code. He’d just sent Bruce everything he had. The young man figured his adopted father and probably Jason would go to deal with it. Damian had school, and Dick was the one currently responsible for keeping an eye on him.

“Ma lutine?” he called out, looking around. “Ma lutine, are you home?”

His blue eyes scanned the room until he noticed a fresh cup of coffee on the table and a note.

Mon beau,

I’m in the bathroom. I’m going to take a shower, but thought you might want to sleep in. Here’s some coffee for you when you wake up. I love you!

-Marinette

He smiled fondly at the note and picked up the mug of coffee. He took a few gulps and sighed happily as the warm liquid filled his stomach. After a few moments he took note of the sound of the shower running. A devious smile crossed his face, and he gulped down the rest of his coffee.

Since the coffee was still nice and hot, that meant that Marinette had just made it. If she made it before she got in the shower, then that meant she hadn’t been in the shower long. If he finished his coffee fast enough, then he’d get to join her in the shower. He liked showering with Marinette. She was always so sweet, washing his hair for him.

Once Tim was certain he’d drained the entire cup, he went to put it in the sink. As he did, he realized that something was written at the bottom. Tim picked the mug back up and held it closer to his face. There was something written on the bottom. Huh, that was odd, Marinette didn’t usually buy cups like that—

The mug nearly shattered, but Tim caught it just before it hit the floor.

Without another thought, he raced to the bathroom.

————

Her hands were shaking as she looked down at the stick in her hand.

A pink plus sign stared back at her.

She was pregnant.

She was pregnant with Tim’s baby.

Her and Tim were going to be parents.

Marinette had no idea how she was going to tell Tim. There were so many thoughts racing through her head. What would Tim say? Would he even want the baby? Did he want to be a father? Was she ready to be a mother? What would her parents say? What would Bruce say? Would Tim still want to be with her—

Her thoughts stopped as Tim burst into the bathroom, the new mug clenched in his hands.

“Ma lutine, is it true?” he asked, his tired blue eyes wide.

Marinette looked at him in confusion for a few moments before Tim handed her the mug and told her to look in the bottom. She did, and her jaw dropped. At the very bottom of the mug said the following:

You’re going to be a dad!

She wordlessly handed him the pregnancy test she just took. Her heart pounded in her chest as she looked at Tim, silently waiting for him to speak. She watched his eyes widen as he looked at the little pink plus. Tears welled up in her eyes and she felt like she was going to cry before Tim grabbed her and pulled her into a tight hug.

“We’re gonna be parents! Oh my god, we’re going to be parents!” Tim whispered into her ear. “God, we’ve got to tell Alfred and your parents. They’ll be so excited. There’s so much we need to do…”

“...you...you want to keep the baby?” Marinette asked softly. “You want...you want to keep us?”

Tim pulled back from Marinette to look at her tear-filled blue eyes. He cupped her face gently before saying, “Of course I do, ma lutine. I-I’ve never been happier than when I’m with you. I love you, Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I love you so much. Our baby will have such a good mama...and I swear to you, I’ll do my best for them.”

“What about Red Robin? What about the fact we’re vigilantes—”

“Just say the word.”

Marinette looked at her boyfriend, tears now dripping down her cheeks. She breathed slowly before asking him what he meant.

“Just say the word, Marinette. I’ll put the cowl away,” Tim said, wiping away her tears. “I’ll do it for you and the baby.”

“Tim, you love solving mysteries—”

“And I can do that from the safety of my desk,” Tim replied. “I refuse to be my father. I will do anything for our child, even if that means giving up Red Robin. I don’t want our baby to grow up barely seeing their dad. I want them to know me.”

Marinette grabbed Tim and wrapped him up in a hug. She cried a little as he rubbed her back and told her he loved her. They rocked back and forth until Tim pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“C’mon, ma lutine. Why don’t we step into the shower before it gets cold, hmm?” he said with a wolfish grin. “We’ll let everyone else know later. For now, I just want to enjoy this moment with you.”

Marinette giggled, pecking him on the cheek.

“That sounds like a lovely idea.”

#timinette #timari #tim drake/marinette dupain cheng #mlbxdc #mlb/dc crossover

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mayquita · 4 years

Text

Damn You For Making Me Love You (15/15) - Epilogue / Don’t Stop Believing

That's it, this is the end. Or maybe not? I must confess that my idea for the epilogue was slightly different, but I was running out of time, so I had no choice but to present this alternative ending. Despite this, I think it works. Also, that will allow me to continue exploring this universe because I intend to write that ending. I don't know when, but I will. I'm determined.

One last note. The scene of the last performance is entirely inspired by a movie. In case you don't get it I'll reveal it at the end. In the meantime, enjoy the reading.

Thank you very much for joining me on this adventure during these last weeks.

Beta-Reader: Thank you so much, @ultraluckycatnd I couldn’t have asked for a better beta. Thank you for all your effort, your suggestions, your advice and for always being there when I needed you.

Special mention to @saraswans and @onceuponaprincessworld, thank you so much for your perpetual support and for believing in me and in the story. Thank you again to the moderators of the event, @captainswanbigbang for giving us this opportunity and making this possible. You all are the best :)

Summary: Emma Swan and Killian Jones are close friends and co-workers. And both are in love with each other. The problem? They keep their feelings secret not only to the other but also to the rest of their friends. When Elsa, Emma’s best friend and Liam, Killian’s brother and Emma’s boss find out, they decide to form an alliance and work as a team with a clear goal, to get Emma and Killian to take the next step in their relationship and confess their love for each other.

Rating: M

Word count: ~ 6700 (98k total in 15 chapters)

Ao3 / FFnet

Epilogue - Don’t Stop Believing

Liam - January 4, 2020

Liam couldn't stop smiling. It was as if, after their little getaway and his little — big — discoveries in the cabin, a permanent smile had settled on his lips. He had several reasons to do it, really. On the one hand, his brother and Emma had finally decided to give themselves a chance, leaving behind their fears and embracing their feelings. On the other hand, the acceptance of his feelings towards Elsa — and the fact that they were reciprocated — had led him to a state of almost continuous contentment.

There was no better way to start the year, honestly.

Speaking of Elsa... Liam looked up, directing his gaze towards the entrance of the Kraken. She was late. Since their return last Wednesday, they hadn't seen each other as much as he would have liked; not for lack of interest, but because of their respective responsibilities. But they had agreed to meet at the bar today, something not surprising since Elsa hadn't missed any of Killian's performances in the past few weeks. She wasn't going to miss it today either, of course, since it would be the first time Killian and Emma not only seemed to be a couple on stage, but were a couple in real life.

"She will be here soon." Emma's unexpected voice startled him while she came to stand beside him. "She texted us a couple of minutes ago. She was already on her way."

Liam turned his head to look at Emma, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Elsa hadn't sent him any text at all. He had checked his phone just a minute before. It was the use of the word us that finally gave him the clue to identify what Emma meant.

Elsa had sent a text to the group chat, where Killian, Emma, Kristoff, and Anna were also included. And Liam had silenced the damn chat the day before. "I didn't notice," he muttered, looking away, suddenly interested in ordering the glasses in the compartment under the counter.

"You haven't read it." It wasn't a question, but rather an affirmation. Emma's voice denoted no reproach, but curiosity. Fortunately, a customer approached the bar to order a drink so, after giving Liam one last skeptical glance, Emma moved away from him so he could serve the drinks.

Liam had his reasons for silencing the chat.

Emma and Killian were the ones to blame, in fact. Accepting their feelings and acting on them hadn't changed their behavior. Liam felt grateful for it, truly, but since last Wednesday, Emma had practically settled in their apartment, which meant that he had become a witness to their constant public displays of affection everywhere. They had always been present between them after all, but now they had acquired a level far from innocent or casual.

On top of that, their banter and almost perpetual bickering were still intact. It was frankly exhausting, especially when their teasing was also transferred to the texts they exchanged in the group chat. When he read an argument between them about something as banal as what they would have for lunch the next day, he had enough.

Now he just had to deal with them in person. Constantly.

For the next few minutes, he became distracted by serving and chatting with customers, his gaze instinctively heading from time to time towards the entrance. Elsa still didn't appear, something that was beginning to cause some concern in him. Not because of the fact that something had happened to her, but rather because the ghost of insecurity threatened to appear. What if she had thought better? What if…

"Stop worrying, she's coming." Again Emma's voice startled him. What's wrong with me today? He was an almost forty-year-old adult, not a bloody teenager with his first crush, for God's sake. Emma must have noticed his unease, because she immediately added, "Can you accompany me to the back room? I need to grab something."

It was an obvious excuse, he could tell. His lips pressed together, drawing a grateful smile, while he nodded. After telling Robin to cover him for a few minutes, he walked with Emma to the back room, to —he supposed —have a little chat with some privacy in a much quieter place.

Emma started talking the moment the door closed behind them. "You know, these past few days have been a little crazy. We've barely had time to talk, and..." She paused for a moment, offering him a smile full of affection. "I wanted to tell you that I can't be happier for you and Elsa. You more than anyone deserve to be happy and I'm so glad you found each other."

A wave of affection for Emma washed over him, while a warm sensation ran through his veins up to his heart. "We're still in the beginning, lass, trying to figure out our relationship. But I'm happy, very happy."

"Good," she said before melting into a tight hug with him to which Liam responded with pleasure. The affection he had for Emma went beyond words. He loved her in the most fraternal form of the word, as if she were his little sister. No matter what happened between Emma and Killian in the future, she would always occupy a special place in his heart.

"I'm also very happy for you two, Emma," he muttered against her hair. "My brother is so damn lucky to have found someone like you. I couldn't have thought of someone more suitable for him. You are perfect for each other." In response, Emma tightened her hug, burying her face in his chest. "You are better together."

"I wanted to... thank you, for acting behind our backs, for pushing us together," Emma confessed with a trembling voice after separating from him a little. Liam noticed her watery eyes and a lonely tear sliding down her cheek. He brushed her skin delicately, wiping away the tear and earning an adorable smile on her part. "These last weeks have been amazing; not only because I've been able to spend more time with Killian, which has led me to accept my feelings definitively, but because I’ve spent so much time with both of you guys. I love to share experiences with you."

"Good, although I must say that your fights are a bit exhausting, honestly." Emma made a sound, half laughing half snorting, causing him to grin. "But I love you both anyway. Besides, I should be used to it, right?"

"I love you too. And yes, you better get used to it, because I don't think we're going to act differently any time soon. It's one of the things I like the best about your brother, how he challenges me and how he fights back."

"I suspect that Killian thinks the same about you."

"He better."

They broke up laughing in unison. It was a liberating laugh, which served to lighten the mood after the previous moment full of emotions. Once the laughs subsided, she gave him one last smile of affection and turned in the direction of the door. But she had barely walked a couple of steps when she approached him again.

"I'll tell you a secret," Emma whispered in his ear. "You are my second favorite person," she confessed and then placed a soft kiss on his cheek before separating again. "And you better hurry out, because I'm sure your current favorite person is already waiting for you." After winking at him, she finally left the room, leaving him with a feeling of bliss that he hoped would last for a long time. Emma was someone so special to him that he hoped to have her in his life forever. He suspected that wouldn't be a problem — if it depended on his brother.

Indeed, Elsa was already waiting, sitting on her usual stool, the one that seemed to have her name written on it. The feeling of contentment increased the moment his eyes fell on her beautiful face, the butterflies of his stomach flapping furiously while all his previous doubts dissipated as he contemplated the adorable smile she gave him when their eyes met.

He hurried to her and, without thinking, pressed his lips to hers in a brief kiss, one with the ability to shake him inside. He had already started to get used to that delicious sensation, something he hoped wouldn't fade with time since he had no intention of stopping kissing that woman.

"I can't believe it!" Ruby's unexpected voice beside him interrupted them momentarily. "What the hell happened in that cabin now that nobody seems to stop kissing?"

Although Ruby's voice denoted surprise and a bit of annoyance, her funny expression said something different. "You better get used to it, Rubes," he simply added, his lips drawing a wide grin.

Ruby rolled her eyes, but then offered a wolfish smile. "You should definitely change the name of the bar and use The Ship of Love instead, or something like that."

"You can always suggest it to Emma. After all, she is the advertising expert."

"I think I'll pass," Ruby replied with a dismissive wave of her hand. She wrinkled her nose and then her lips curled into a wicked grin. "She's very busy lately, eating your brother's face." Liam heard Elsa snorting while he himself couldn't stop a chuckle from bubbling in his throat. Ruby was right. "Anyway, I'm happy for you guys. Really." After offering them one last smile she left to attend a customer.

Once alone, he returned his attention to Elsa. "Hi," he greeted her, pressing a peck on her lips. "I missed you."

"Sorry I was late. I had a last-minute meeting. We're organizing a winter festival with the girls," she explained, offering him an apologetic smile.

His heart swelled with pride towards her. Her ice skating talent was undeniable, as was her ability to transmit her knowledge. The fact that she worked mostly with children only increased his admiration for her. "No need for apologies, love," he assured her, as he grabbed two glasses and placed them on the counter. "The usual, I take it?"

"I'm not sure. I'm still a VIP client?"

Before answering, he leaned forward, resting his forearms on the counter and invading her personal space. "You can be sure, lass. You currently occupy the top. At least on my list." Liam secretly admired how her cheeks colored with a soft pink shade as she averted her gaze whenever he offered her some compliment. He had no intention of stopping any time soon, not only hoping to keep that reaction in her, but because the compliments seemed to flow naturally. He had definitely fallen hard for that incredible woman.

"Very much appreciated. That's one of the reasons why The Kraken has become my favorite bar, the customer treatment. Well, and also that the owner, or should I say the Captain, is quite handsome and charming."

This time it was his turn to blush while his heart made a small somersault. Gods ! It was as if he had traveled back in time and had become a teenager again. He resisted the urge to kiss her again — since he was the boss and was currently in his workplace, he should set an example for his employees — instead opting to offer her a smile of appreciation accompanied by a slight bow of his head. He then poured the liquid into the two glasses, offering one of them to her and holding the other in his raised hand.

"I want to make a toast because right now I feel like the luckiest man in the world. With you."

The gaze she gave him was so intense that it had the ability to melt the most frozen heart. "I think we have someone to blame about it, right?" Elsa suggested before putting the glass to her lips and then ingested the liquid in a gesture that was too distracting. After leaving the empty glass on the counter she looked at her watch and then looked up, her gaze wandering around as if she were looking for something. "Where are the two lovebirds, by the way?"

Liam also looked around, surprised not to see either of them, considering that Killian's performance was about to begin. He exchanged a look with Elsa as he shrugged and was going to offer to go look for them when he noticed that Elsa's expression changed as she directed her gaze to a spot above his shoulder.

He turned his head following the direction of her gaze, meeting Killian and Emma who looked like they had just left his office, since Killian was already carrying the guitar. They obviously had performed some other activity inside the room, though. At least if their flushed cheeks, Killian's disheveled hair and the flustered expression on both faces were an indication. Liam let out a huff while shaking his head. Those two were impossible.

"I guess they're making up for the lost time," Elsa offered through a soft smile as if reading his mind.

"So it seems. But I'm afraid they'll have to be apart at least for a while. I'll be right back. I'm gonna introduce Killian," he said with a wink before going to look for the two idiots in love.

The concert was proving to be a total success. Whatever happened in his office, it hadn't affected Killian at all. On the contrary, he seemed more inspired than ever, his presence on the stage more prominent, his smile more charming, his voice more powerful and tuned. There was something that hadn't changed, though. His attention was focused on a single person, someone who kept taking pictures of him as if he were the only person around her.

When Killian's solo performance was about to end, Liam came out from behind the bar, approaching Elsa and offering his hand. They walked through the crowd until they found Emma, who briefly hugged her friend before giving her the camera. The three of them turned their attention back to the stage, waiting for Emma's introduction by Killian.

"Thank you very much to everyone. You are the best audience one can dream of!" Killian shouted as he made a gesture of applause addressed to the public, which only increased the cheers towards him. "And now if you’ll allow me, the stellar moment of the night is about to start; the moment when someone very special to me will accompany me on stage." Killian then looked at Emma, the expression of pure devotion to her written all over his face. "I ask you to give the best applause you can to welcome my particular angel, the incredibly talented and beautiful Emma Swan!"

Liam watched as Killian approached the side of the stage where Emma would appear, holding out his hand to her when she arrived. They walked together to the center of the stage, both sporting the same expression of happiness. When they were in position, Emma nodded almost imperceptibly to his brother and then began to sing, without looking away from Killian.

Just a small town girl Livin' in a lonely world She took the midnight train goin' anywhere

Then it was Killian's turn. Liam would never have anticipated what happened next. After singing his first verse, Killian played the first chords with his guitar and then they merged into a passionate, brief, kiss right there in the middle of the stage, causing the entire audience to roar around them. These two know how to rile up the public, Liam thought as his lips tugged at a huge smile.

From there the magic continued on stage.

Liam stood behind Elsa, circling her shoulders with his arms while she rested her back on his chest, both watching in awe the huge talent both Killian and Emma had singing together. Liam couldn't be more proud of himself for being the one with the brilliant idea of pushing Emma that first time to accompany Killian on stage.

Don't stop believin' Hold on to the feelin'

That verse couldn't be more appropriate, Liam thought as he tightened his embrace on Elsa. He would never stop believing that everything was possible. Their current situation was the best example, with his brother and Emma creating magic on stage and overflowing with happiness and love. With a vibrant Elsa in his arms, it offered him the sensation of holding his (their) own future. He would definitely never stop believing in them and the endless possibilities they had together.

The End - Fin

About the inspiration for the scene of the last performance, the movie is Rock Of Ages, and here's the video (spoilers! it's also the last scene in the movie, just in case):

youtube

Thank you so, so much.

These last few months have been quite complicated for me, so I have barely had time or energy to write, but I haven't given up, so I hope to be able to continue creating. Until then, it has been a pleasure. Stay safe, everyone.

#cs ff #captain swan #csrt #damn you for making me love you #cs au #captain swan rewrite a thon #mayquita writes #my cs writings #cs au ff

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oneirataxxiaa · 4 years

Text

WITCHES AND DRUIDS

a little gift for @silverdecepticon93 for their amazing writing. some klarion content!

written by Persephone. Anastasia did some editing and helped me write Klarion correctly. It's a bit of a slow burn, and I probably got some story facts wrong, but I hope you enjoy!

requests are OPEN , remember to specify who you would like to write your oneshot. Anastasia, or Persephone.

• • • •

It's not that the weather wasn't pleasurable, it was, really. the sun was out, reflecting off the oceans subtle waves and warming the grey pavement just enough for beach-goers with no shoes to begin to hop from foot to foot. The wind was perfect, swaying the tall palm trees that lined the coastal road, every now and again, causing a hat to fly off in its cool breeze, making it's owner run after it with calls of protest. A girl in her late teens leaned back on a uncomfortably tacky faux beach chair just outside the open air cafe. Her hair moved slowly, partially from the outside breeze and partially from the squeaking old metal fan making slow rotations just inside the door. It blew no dust, so it was clearly well used considering the heat.

Happy Harbour seemed just that, happy. Everything had been calm the past few months, villain attacks were incredibly low, no major plots had been uncovered, and the group known as The Light was seemingly inactive after the league and teams triumph over them. The lack of attacks had Robin and Kaldur on edge anticipating something being planned in the shadows, but Y/n, Artemis, Megan and Wally had taken the opportunity to enjoy Rhode Island for what it was. In the ginger speedsters words, a paradise just waiting to be explored.

Zatanna Zatura was across the round table from Y/n, in casual clothes with a black baseball cap and a vanilla milkshake in hand, sipping on the straw slowly. Y/n herself had her favourite flavor smoothie resting on the table, her phone in hand as the camera on the device recorded what was happening in the small grass patch to their left. Wallace West swore on his life that he had landed a back flip the day before, which the rest of his friends refused to believe. In trying to prove his ability, he was attracting some strange stares from passers by, and rather ice filled glare from a mother who corralled her three kids, most likely in their early preteens, away, hurriedly muttering about 'unethical teenager'. Quite an interesting thing to be thrown their way, but the teen heroes had had worse hurled at them in their exploits as protectors of justice.

"Wally" Megan laughed, a short snort escaping her lips as she watched the boy try to land another flip. " You're going to break something". The Martian was resting on the grass, watching what was happening unfurl.

"cheers to that! please do!" Artemis' words were filled with sarcasm. The blonde teen making her way towards the table and picking up her drink to take a sip. Wally dropped to the ground again and sprawled out on the grass, crushing the green blades under his body. Y/n cringed slightly.

"you girls are no fun, even Connor is more fun to hang out with, at least he encourages me to improve my wicked moves" Wally pulled himself to his feet with a bounce and brushing off his pants with little success, the mucky dew soaked dirt already staining them brown at the knees. Y/n was glad he did his own laundry, she didn't want to be the one to wash those stains out. The girl stopped the video on her phone with the press of a button, dropping her hand to her side and turning the object off.

"I'd like to argue with that" Connor complained, he seemed to have appeared out of no where, walking towards them, ebony shirt still sporting the superman signal. He seemed a little happier today, perhaps it was the immaculate weather. Y/n reckoned it could put anyone in a good mood, even Connor, who hadn't been as happy has he could have been lately. His relationship with Megan had be strained.

"The man, the myth, the legend, how could you betray me my main man? You're really going to let the girls pick on your best friend?" Wallys drama queen was showing as he rested a hand on his head in a damsel in distress motion.

"Wolf is my best friend, you are" Connor faked a thoughtful expression, "an unfortunate acquaintance". Y/n could see the joking sparkle in Connors eyes. It was strange. Strange, but good. He deserved some joy in these darker days. "anyways, the reason I'm here for two reasons, reason one being because Robin decided to have an identity crisis, he's changing his name"

"Please tell me it's not another bird, I don't want it to be a bird" Artemis groaned, dropping heavily into one of the chairs. It groaned in protest from the sudden and violent weight.

"I don't know what he's gone with, but second reason I'm here is because we've got a new team member, Batman just made a visit and brought someone with him-"

"Batman was at the cave! and you didn't tell me! is he still there?" Wally began to vibrate from excitement, sparks ran down his arms and legs.

"When I left he was, bu-". Wally was gone in a literal flash, leaving the remaining team looking around frantically, glade the citizens of Happy Harbour seemed content in being too interested in their own lives to notice a super-powered boy and his friends.

"we should probably make sure he doesn't break anything, and welcome the new team member huh?" Zatanna said with a sigh, getting to her feet and stretching her arms up, elbows cracking slightly. As the group collected their drinks, waving goodbye to the cafes owner, who they knew well due to their frequent return to the place, Y/n saw something that peaked her interest, making the girl pause and turn towards it.

"Y/n, you coming or what girl?" Zatanna called out. The group somehow was a good ways away from her now, standing, ready to cross the pedestrian crossing at the coastal road. The curious frown on her face must have given something away.

"um, I'll catch up, yeah? say hi to the newbie for me?" the uncertainty in her voice made Zatanna pause, but nod, turning back just in time to walk with the others across the road.

Turning back towards the curiosity, it stared at her with dark eyes, watching her movement. Y/n walked over and bent down, petting the feline behind it's ears, coaxing a purr from the familiar cat-daemon.

"Hello Teekl" the teen greeted, "what are you doing here?" her hand continued to pet the creature, before it shook it's head, pushing your hand away with the action and going to work on licking its paw. Cats were always strange, but she supposed their sudden mood changed were due to their nature.

"I feel like you're just in this for the cute cat" the voice was monotonous and Y/n recognised it immediately. Turning her head slightly, she spied the source of the voice. He looked different, slightly older, taller, and dressed in more civilian esque clothing. Perhaps to attempt to blend in with the surrounding crowds of people.

"The cats a bonus" Y/n gave one final pet to Teekl before walking to the table she was sitting at previously, Klarion Bleak now occupying Zatannas previous location. "How are you? I haven't seen you since the whole light thing". I'd been about five months and the league was still recovering. Klarion got a sour look on his face, pausing, he fiddled with the hem of his shirt, a neat black button up dress shirt. He looked, perplexed.

"I've been keeping my head down I guess, Savage lose his mind after we lost, been hounding anyone who talks to about it" the strange look remained on his face. "I've been banned from annoying the justice brats, no offence, until he comes up with something new"

Y/n dismissed the nickname for her team and frowned herself. "Robins noticed, it's got him freaked out, running crazy circles trying to figure out what Vandal Savage is planning" a small grin rose on her face. Klarion noticed movement, seeing small clovers begin to crawl their way out of the cracks in the pavement. That caused the small smile that few saw to appear.

"your magic is getting better". That was how they met. Before the team. Both of them were young magic users, each pulled down a different road. One good, One evil. But between them there was balance, peace. Order and Chaos meeting in the middle for a calm chat and shared news on a sunny day.

"I've been getting better at it, but there's always room for more practice as Aqualad says" Y/n laughed. Silence entered their conversation. It wasn't awkward however, as it sometimes was among friends or co workers. It was a comfortable silence of enjoying a summers day without the chaos of the world. It be nice if things stayed like that, balanced, forever. But soon, Unfortunately, their friendship would burn and break. Being torn to their sides, ripped from the comforting friendship, forced to fight each other to prove loyalty to each side. No. Order and Chaos were balanced, but wars tended to tip that scale and break it. In the process, something much more important was shattered.

fin

#young justice x reader #young justice oneshot #klarion x reader

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tarisilmarwen · 4 years

Text

RobStar Week 2020, Day 6 - Wedding Bells

(*whispers* RobStar wedding, RobStar wedding, RobStar wedding, RobStar weeeeeddiiiiiiinnnng! :D

Featuring a few of my headcanons and a reformed Blackfire.

Enjoy!)

---

Argent made one last adjustment to the little jeweled tiara that crowned Starfire's veil and then stepped back in satisfaction.

"There we are," she declared. "Done!"

Starfire beamed widely, extending her arms to look herself over, pinching handfuls of the swishy satinesque white skirt and giving it little twirls.

"Ooh girl, Robin is just gonna faint!" Bumblebee crowed in approval, from her spot by the window.

She giggled in agreement.

The dress was perfect. Light white sequined lace all up her arms, dipping down across her collar in a subtle sweetheart neckline, ending at her waist where the billowing skirt began. She'd gone full Western traditional--for this ceremony at least--with all the something olds and something blues as part and parcel of her lovely ensemble.

She could hardly keep her feet on the ground, floating up a few inches off her strappy white heels.

Raven gave a smile as she took Starfire's wrist and gently tugged her back to earth. "How are you feeling?" she asked, for Starfire's sake as she could already feel the quivering joy and excitement rushing through the Tamaranian's body.

"I am... nervous?" Starfire replied. Her hands wrung together. "But also excited and also happy and... Oh Raven I cannot believe it is finally happening!" she gushed.

"Congratulations love," said Argent. "Truly."

There was a quiet click as the bedroom door closed, a hesitant figure slipping in.

"Do you have everything packed for when you leave for Tamaran tomorrow?" Blackfire asked, eyes anxious.

"I believe so..." Starfire mused, taking a quick look around the guest bedroom. "Oh!" she cried. "My favorite hairbrush!" she said, spotting it still on the vanity. "I will need that in the bag before we go."

Blackfire nodded. "I've got it," she promised.

She took a few steps in that direction and then paused, feet rooting, evasive eyes raising seriously, fixing on her sister.

"You look... absolutely beautiful, little sister," she said quietly.

Starfire's glow dimmed, her eyes softening a little. "Are you certain you will not attend the ceremony and wedding feast on Tamaran?" she asked.

Blackfire gave a wry, self-hating smile and shook her head. "I get the feeling our dear loyal subjects wouldn't be too happy to see me around," she said. She tried to shrug in a way that was casual and unaffected. "It's okay. Wildfire and I were planning to jet off around the Scarpia Cluster after everything anyway."

Starfire reached out, gently grasping her sister's hand with a sincere look. "For the record," she said, "you would have a place at my wedding, if you wished it."

The facade of indifference slipped off Blackfire's face, her eyes stinging, as she dropped her chin, mumbling a soft, "Thanks. But I don't think I'm quite... ready for that yet."

"Understood."

Starfire let go and stepped back, checking over her dress once again and looking around the room.

"Has anyone seen Silkie?" she asked.

"He was with Robin and the boys last I checked," Raven told her, finishing up with the clasp of her necklace and letting it drape over the collar of her bridesmaid's dress. She tilted her head up. "Speaking of..." she commented dryly, giving an amused smirk. "I should probably go check on him now."

Starfire giggled knowingly. "Is he doing the freaking out?" she queried.

"You know him," she drolled.

"Tell him if he ruins that tux I will absolutely 'ave his head," Argent grumbled, picking up the loose pieces of ribbon on the floor as she and Kole finished winding together the boutonnieres, handing one to Raven before the empath walked out the door.

***

Robin paced agitatedly back and forth, wringing out the hems of his sleeves.

"Flowers on the altarpiece?" he asked Cyborg.

"Yep."

"And you've got the music all queued up?"

Cyborg looked vaguely offended at that. "You would dare doubt me?" he said.

Robin's face pinched. "Cyborg..." he groaned.

"I've got it, Rob," Cyborg reassured him. "Pachelbell's Canon in D for the processional, Mendelsson for the recessional, all your favorite love songs as pre-ceremony mood music."

Robin nodded stiffly, his hands coming up, wringing in his hair. "Three hours for the reception," he recited to himself, under his breath. "Two more to finish packing for Tamaran..."

"Dude, would you just relax," Beast Boy complained, watching from his perch on Robin's bed, curled up indian-style with his chin pillowed in his hands. "You're gonna give yourself a heart attack." He straightened up, a sudden look of concern in his eyes. "Have you even eaten anything yet?"

Robin shook his head. "Can't. Too nervous."

"No way are you skipping breakfast, you're gonna faint at the wedding for sure!" the changeling declared, leaping up from the bed.

He nearly bumped into Raven on his quest to find Robin some food.

"Pardon me!" he squeaked, darting around her.

Raven let him pass her, then stepped into the room, crossing to Robin, who already had an apologetic look on his face.

"Sorry," he said, forcing himself to quit pacing and face her. "I'm projecting aren't I?"

"Loudly," Raven confirmed, reaching up to pin his boutonniere in place. "What's got you so worked up anyway? I thought you'd be happier about marrying Starfire."

He sighed, raking a hand up through his bangs. "I am, I am, I promise I'm just--" He fixed her with a serious look. "You know just how many things can go wrong at one wedding?" he asked. "And we had the stupid idea to have two." He pressed his heels into his eyes, groaning. "And there's a whole host of traditions and rules to remember when we get to Tamaran and I keep thinking I'm just going to embarrass her in front of her court and her people and--"

"Robin," Raven interrupted sternly. She grabbed hold of one his wrists, pulling it down from his face. "Listen to me: It doesn't matter if you do or don't mess something up, if something does or doesn't go wrong," she told him. "If at the end of the day you wind up married, then the wedding is a success. Please relax," she ordered, siphoning off some of his anxiety with her powers.

Robin blinked, slightly in a daze for a moment before the tension eased out of his shoulders. "Ngl," he complained. "Warn me next time you're going to do that."

"You'll thank me later," she droned, grabbing up his jacket from where it hung on the chair and handing it over to him.

***

Pleasant sunlight streamed down on their heads as the Titans fluttered excitedly around the Manor's garden in anticipation. Two other teams had managed to make it for the ceremony on Earth--Titans East and Titans Oceanic, mostly, plus one Kid Flash and of course Blackfire and Wildfire. The rest would be joining them for the wedding on Tamaran, an affair that promised to be even more grandiose and magnificent.

For now, Robin was content to celebrate with his mentor and father figure and his closest friends, in the backyard of his childhood home.

A wind lifted the pale ribbon streamers, and flower petals from the blossoming trees drifted lazily on it. He tramped his feet anxiously, waiting for Speedy's signal that things were ready and the wedding could proceed.

Finally, spotting the archer from across the way, Robin straightened to attention. Speedy was giving the thumbs up. Bruce was squeezing his shoulder comfortingly.

Everything was ready.

He was going to get married.

Robin couldn't stop the prickles of energy coursing through him, igniting his heart. He could barely hear the lilting strings of the Canon as he watched Argent and Kole and Bumblee and Raven float down the aisle on the arms of their attendants.

There was a pause as the Titans scrambled to rise to their feet.

And then there she was.

She practically glowed joy, the way she moved down the aisle making it clear that she couldn't keep from floating. Cyborg looked like was having a bit of trouble holding onto her, in fact, as he walked her down the aisle, but the big grin on his face told Robin that he didn't mind in the least.

Robin could feel his own grin cracking the edges of his jaw. He must've looked so stupidly happy.

Starfire giggled as she came within range, descending lightly to her feet and standing there with the sunlight caught in her red hair, a perfect picture of bridal bliss.

Robin felt so dizzyingly glad to see her that he got physically dizzy for a moment, tilting back on his feet.

Beast Boy caught him before he wobbled too much, pushing him back upright.

"Told you you needed eat something," he muttered.

The pastor behind them at the altar cleared his throat, raising his book of devotional readings as the music faded out.

"Our beloved friends and family, we are gathered here today..."

The bride and groom couldn't take their eyes and smiles away from each other the whole time.

#robstar #robin #starfire #Teen Titans #robstarweek #cyborg #Argent #raven #blackfire #bumblebee #speedy #bruce wayne #platonic pseudo siblings #beast boy #fanfiction #prompt fics

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bird-in-a-cage · 4 years

Text

Hey, guess what, its a sequel that absolutely no one asked for but I’m forcing upon you anyway because I got really into this idea and one google search led to another and I needed to get this out of my brain!

Part one is here. Probably best to give it a read first so you know what the hell is going on. But, for everyone who has already done that here’s part two of California Dreamin’. Enjoy some spectrophilia!

Lucid

The adults only section of Family Video was always a hive of sleaze. Most of the time though, thankfully, it was empty. Steve could always tell when someone would first walk through the door if that was their intended destination or not. They would stop, check out other titles, pick up a case of two from the shelves and roll it over in their hands, very visibly debating with themselves, all the while slowly but surely making their way to the back corner where it was all hidden behind a thick beaded curtain to give the illusion of privacy. The reality was it was never private. There was a camera in the top corner, blinking red and bright. A deterrent.

That didn’t stop some people though.

Robin was on Twizzler duty again, now doing it everyday to piss Keith off, seeing how far she could push until he snapped but in her own way. A drop of water slowly breaking through a mountain. It was kind of fun really, to watch her loudly eat the red candy but not give any eye contact to him as he walked around the store every now and then, giving all her attention to a copy of The Turning of the Screw. It did mean Steve was on return box duty again though while they had their little silent war. Robin mouthed thank you as he went off to start, then went back to being as unbothered as ever.

Steve took the two cases that were left after he’d done the rest of the store and dipped through the thick beads. Thankfully today the room just smelt like hot plastic rather than suspect body odour. One side of the small room was horror movies deemed too graphic and violent to be put on public display. Video Nasties. Steve had rented a couple a few times, they weren’t all that scary or good, but then he was probably just biased to that situation, having dealt with real life monsters that wanted to eat him and kill everybody and take over the world. On the other side were pornos.

Why anyone would publicly rent a porno tape he would never understand. Maybe some people just didn’t have an imagination. Watching one was just fine, no problems with that at all, and it was common practice for a dirty magazine or two to be passed around the locker room as a joke, but actually walking into a store with the intention of just renting a tape to jack off too? No, Steve couldn’t understand that. Probably because the shame of having to do it would burn him alive, but that was another matter. He slotted a case into a mid level shelf, a Terminator parody so wittily titled Penetrator, all these tapes had such awful names, when a case lower down started making its way out from the shelf. Steve rubbed over the pendant under his shirt, it was ice cold.

Of course he’d visit now.

With a grin he couldn’t hide even for a second, Steve nudged it back into place with his foot. Another title further up poked out. Mad Max: Beyond Thunderbone. Steve shoved it back home too.

“Cut it out,” he muttered low only so no one could hear him if anyone was close by. He was still grinning though, so much his cheeks started to burn a little. Another case slowly wiggled free and stuck out at eye level. For Your Ass Only. Steve bit his lip so he wouldn’t giggle and give the specter that followed him the satisfaction, pushing it back in place with two fingers. A final case at shoulder height was brought out into the light of day. Risky Jizzness.

“You wanna tell me why this looks like you pretty boy?” The voice floated around Steve’s head, deep and sultry. Billy was in one of those moods. Steve pushed it back into place and kept his almost whisper tone.

“Because my boyfriend is a ghost and I’ve gone completely insane so staring in a porno was the next logical step, obviously.” Steve felt a warmth envelop his chest, leaving his arms free to rearrange tapes and put the final one from the box back in its place. It was instantly comforting and a little tight. Easy to imagine Billy just stood behind him, holding him for real in the middle of his work day, resting his head on Steve’s shoulder and being a distraction from the monotony of stacking video tapes in alphabetical order.

“You should have mentioned that was your end goal, I’d have been more than happy to hold the camera.”

“Uh huh, sure, cause that’s all you would be holding.” He could feel Billy’s dirty grin burn his cheek, heat pressing and creeping up along his jaw like slow kisses.

“You know it baby.”

Steve still wasn’t sure on a lot of things about this, whatever this was. Whether anyone could hear what Billy was saying was a big point. He tended not to come out if there were other people around so it wasn’t as if Steve could test it. Even if he could he would look totally crazy, which he still wasn’t entirely convinced he wasn’t anymore. His mental state was one of those things he didn’t think about too hard. Like the Cold War, or being sucked back into dark, monster filled tunnels. Their presence was always there but it didn’t affect his day to day life so much. If anything, Billy following him around some days made Steve happier. More at peace. Of course it raised a lot of questions like why and how, and why and how again because there would definitely need to be several rounds of why and how before anything even started to make sense.

Then there was the where. Billy didn’t think he was in hell, was pretty sure he wasn’t in heaven, and wasn’t entirely sold that he was in the middle place either. They spoke about it sometimes when Steve slept and was whisked away to either the quarry or the beach, wherever Billy wanted to be that night. Steve kind of liked the beach more, it was always bright but not hot, calm and tranquil. It felt almost like a little vacation away from Hawkins. They would always lie next to each other on brightly coloured beach towels. Steve had never seen Billy in the lime green board shorts he liked to wear on beach nights, but he certainly wasn’t complaining. Even if Steve was stuck wearing what he wore to sleep and looked ridiculous by comparison. There was never anyone else there to judge.

That was just another thing they hadn’t quite worked out yet. Turns out no one gives you an instruction manual when you die and become a spirit just floating around, stick in limbo. You kind of just have to figure things out yourself. Billy had worked out how to change his clothes and the landscape of where he pulled Steve too. He hadn’t yet worked out how he did that though.

“I just, think, and here we are.”

He’d worked out how to pick things up and put them down, push and pull and throw. Steve would sometimes leave objects on the kitchen counter for Billy to touch and move, getting such a thrill just seeing an empty Pepsi can be flipped onto its side and rolled away with a hollow clatter into the trash can on the other side of the room. Steve had suggested that maybe Billy was stuck until he found his purpose, but neither of them could think what that would be. Max was fine every time she came into the store to just hang around, get a break from the noise of the arcade next door, and let Robin suggest scary movies she should watch even though she wasn’t old enough to rent them yet. There was never a mark on her, which is what Billy was worried about but would never say out loud. He always pretended to be such an asshole and that he didn’t care, when he was blatantly obvious he did.

“Maybe you have to save a baby or something? You know, push a stroller out of the way of oncoming traffic?” Steve suggested while they were on the beach. Billy pushed himself up off his towel printed with lavender stripes onto his hands to look down. The sun was shimmering off his forever perfect body.

“This isn’t the 30s. And I’m pretty sure that only happened in silent movies,” he smiled like Steve was an idiot. An adorable idiot. His adorable idiot. Steve reached up to cup Billy’s jaw. That golden skin still felt numb under his fingers. They would need to work on that.

“Pretty sure that us being here right now means anything is possible.”

They’d both worked out that the pendant turning icy cold instead of just its regular cold meant Billy was close by instead of just in the general vicinity, still invisible sadly but his presence was there. Small steps. They were slowly piecing it together. It wasn’t as if either of them had any time limit on it all. But really, a manual would have been helpful. Even a small information pamphlet written in Chinese was better than the nothing they had.

---

Billy was still in that mood that night. Even as Steve’s clock ticked around to three am and he still couldn’t sleep. He lay on his stomach, staring at the hands move slow around the face. He wanted to sleep so badly, he could feel the gentle pull around his chest come see me, I miss you but no matter how hard he tried it just wasn’t happening. Maybe it was too warm out, the air too soupy to properly relax into sleep and drift away. The sheets were long kicked to his ankles. He could feel Billy getting restless. The pendant felt like it was frozen, trapped between his chest and the sheets. Steve tried one more time, squeezing his eyes shut and hoping to just be hypnotised by the soft monotonous tick tick tick. But five minutes later he was as awake as ever. He kept his eyes shut though. Wishful.

The warmth left his chest and became more direct, felt like a hand stroking his back over his t-shirt, drifting up, rubbing the back of his neck and through his hair. Steve couldn’t help the small purr that gathered in his throat. He was a sucker for having his hair played with. By anyone. With permission obviously.

“I’m sorry Bill,” he mumbled into his pillow, head still turned towards the clock. “I’m trying...”

Steve didn’t get a response. He wasn’t really expecting one, sometimes Billy didn’t respond, couldn’t respond. It was just another thing they hadn’t worked out yet. In truth he wasn’t sure if his words were more for his spector boyfriend’s sake or his own. The hand pressed firmer. Steve easily imagined those tan fingers rubbing the little spot behind his ear. It definitely felt real enough to fool his brain that the other side of his bed wasn’t completely cold and empty. A gentle pull on his shoulder had Steve laying flat on his back, eyes still closed towards the ceiling.

“You’re making this harder you know…”

He felt heat on his cheek, across his jaw, over his lips. Kisses he couldn’t reciprocate no matter how much he wanted to. One hand became two, felt over his chest like they had done so many times before. Steve knew their pattern. What those blue eyes once liked to see. He chuckled and peeled his shirt off, tossing it to the floor.

“There. Happy now?”

Steve didn’t get a verbal response. Instead the touches became hotter, drifting over his skin with purpose, invisible fingers raking through his coarse chest hair, pressing and circling slow around his nipples. The heat left his face and worked its way down, across his now exposed collarbones one by one, his skin prickling as they crossed his body in two perfect lines. With his eyes closed it was so easy to imagine Billy was there. He kind of was. Steve moaned softly for him. One hand continued its way down, pressing over the waistband of Steve’s briefs. He chuckled again, putting his hand where he felt the pressure, slipping his fingers under the material, plucking them off his hip and circling towards his middle.

“You want these off too?”

Steve giggled a little, feeling nibbles on his earlobe, the phantom hand rubbing slow and firm over his lower stomach, through his happy trail. The air felt thicker still as his body got excited from all the direct but indirect attention. Steve definitely felt like he was being watched. He kind of liked being watched like this. He kicked his briefs off into the bundle of sheets at the foot of the bed, already half hard. He pictured Billy’s smirk, his tongue poking out from between his teeth in approval and arousal. It made Steve grin in return to the empty room as he flopped his arms up above his head to touch the underside of the headboard, reminding him that this was real, he hadn’t drifted off to sleep quite yet.

That seemed to get Billy’s blessing. The kisses placed to the side of Steve’s neck were searing. It felt so real, felt like sucking and that wicked tongue lapping over his skin to make bright red marks everyone would see, high under Steve’s jaw. They caused his dick to kick. He groaned feeling a hand suddenly around it. Thick and strong, pumping up and down with little abandon. The friction was delicious. Impossibly so. He was soon completely hard, pointing up towards his stomach, the first few drops of pre hitting his skin. Everything felt so real. The kisses moved back to his lips, desperate and pressing and wanting. Steve opened his mouth and felt a tongue slide along his own, dragging out sounds from his throat that sounded alien even to him, as he kept getting stroked and played with like a toy. Hips bucking up into a memory of Billy’s hand, tight and firm, thumb pressing along an underside vein.

Then there was nothing. Steve panted in the dark, left teetering on the edge of almost there but not enough. But then there was pressure on his shoulders, hands hanging on, thumbs rubbing in circles where his collar bones ended. Steve gripped the headboard tighter before his cock was pressing into an ever familiar tightness he could never forget. Even with his eyes shut they still rolled into the back of his head, a groan escaping his lips before the tongue was back, capturing and swallowing his sounds of pleasure. His cock sunk further and further until there was nothing more to push into.

“Jesus…” Steve managed to get out somehow, voice ripped and cracking deep. “You gonna bounce for me baby?”

He could picture that grin, a deep flush high on those freckle covered cheeks, eyes dark with desire and want before the movement happened. Steve felt his brain just about stop. It had certainly stopped trying to make sense of what was happening to him. Billy bouncing on his lap was one of his most favourite things. The way his chest glistened with sweat, the way his stomach pulled tight, pushing his abs further on display, the way his hair would stick to his forehead, the way his athletic thighs would clamp around Steve’s hips. Even though he was taking Billy was still definitely the one in control.

Steve moved his hands from under the headboard, felt fingers lock between his own almost immediately as the drag on his cock got faster, more desperate, less rhythmic and far less precise. He started muttering things to space that’s it baby, just like that, keep going I’m so close, his head started swimming as the heat low in his gut started to pull tight and impending. Steve wanted to keep going though, keep feeling all of this for as long as possible. The hands heavy on his own. The scorching kisses over his cheek and neck and lips. The impossible warmth and tightness around his cock, dragging and pushing quicker and harder. To just keep picturing Billy’s strong hips working and rolling, his thick cock aching and desperate to be touched but keeping Steve pinned so it couldn’t be, pre pooling into his belly button.

Steve came over his stomach with a cry.

The kisses over his jaw were warm instead of hot as he panted hard, chest heaving and heart rapid, skin shiny with exertion. One hand holding his own was the only feeling that remained as his cock fell lip over his hip. An unmistakable smell of smoke suddenly filled the air after what would most definitely have been two clicks of a zippo with a homemade etching of a skull on the side. Steve couldn’t help but laugh tired and worn out.

“God you’re an asshole.”

Warm arms clamped on around Steve’s chest again, the gentle pull. Come see me, I miss you, I love you. Steve was just about tired enough this time to fall.

#harringrove #my writings #billy x steve #steve harrington #billy hargrove #cross posted to ao3 #ghost smut #steve x billy

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amazingphanisnotonfire-imagines · 4 years

Text

Steve//this moment will just be another story someday

hi! based off this song. we have a bi reader because i wanted it soooo. and i know it’s the middle of march but i don’t care because i worked hard on this and i’m sad. ps, if that song finishes before you’ve read all of this (or if you just want to listen to something else), i suggest listening to this

The 4th of July is supposed to be a happy holiday celebrated by most of the American population. Fireworks are enjoyed by families, barbecues are frequented by friends and carnivals come into town to be enjoyed by everyone. Everyone is happy to be celebrating their independence, even though they were awarded it years ago, and even though the majority of Americans don’t really have their independence, they just pretend they do.

However, in the dingy bar that Steve is sat in, the 4th of July feels like a foreign holiday. The place is barely lit, the only light source coming from a few overhead lights and the occasional end of a cigarette. The few people scattered around the place look like they either did all the partying when they were about 40 years younger, or they’re too drunk to celebrate. In some cases its both. The fireworks outside sound more like gunshots to Steve as he nurses his drink that he’s been staring at for the past hour. Despite the hot July weather of San Francisco, Steve feels cold, a chill finding its way up his spine as he looks at the clock. 11:23pm...at least there’s not long left of this dreaded holiday.

When he was younger he used to love July 4th. All his cousins would come visit him and for a day he wouldn’t feel so alone in that big house. His father would actually acknowledge his presence, showing off what little accomplishments he’d achieved over the year in order to make the other adults jealous. And his mom would always let him have a sparkler once the sun had set. Usually his dad had gone to bed by then so it would just be him and his mom in the back garden, drawing patterns and writing words into the night sky.

However, after the events of last years 4th of July, he has a feeling he’s never going to enjoy it again.

He sighs and downs the last of his drink, ordering another from the old man at the bar who’s watching out the only window in the whole place. He nods and gives him a re-fill before sitting back on his stool.

Steve starts to think about what he’d be doing right now if last year had gone different. If there had never been Russians under the mall, if he hadn’t fought for his life yet again. Would he still be in Hawkins? Working with Robin? Babysitting the party despite their protests of how ‘We’re too old for a babysitter’ and ‘You can just say we’re your friends’.

Would his father still be disappointed in him? Something he’s grown used to over the years. Or would he have gone to work for him to make him just a little prouder. Maybe if it weren’t for all this demogorgon shit, he might have actually got into a college. Wait...no he wouldn’t have. Like his father said ‘the only sad excuse you have for this mess is yourself’.

Maybe his mother would still look at him like he was her son and not a stranger. Who knows. But he sure as hell knows he’s been a lot happier here the other 313 days he’s been finding a new life for himself in San Francisco.

313.

It hasn’t seemed that long until he’s thought about it. He lasted 52 days after the events of Starcourt before it got too much. Too much had happened in that small town. The people he cared about had been hurt. The people he didn’t, had know clue. Taking their little lives for granted. He needed to get out. So he sold the majority of his stuff, used the savings he’d been clever enough to hide (thanks to Robin), packed his bag and drove. He drove without looking back. Well, he did three times.

First he went to see Robin. To of course say goodbye, to tell her to be safe and if she needed anything to call him. He’d managed to find a cramped apartment in a semi-decent neighborhood before he left, so he scribbled the number down on a leftover napkin she’d brought home one day after a shift at Scoops and he smiled at the irony of the situation.

Second he went to see Dustin. His mom was not pleased about being woken up in the middle of the night but when she say the pleading in his eyes she let him in. Too nice to have refused him anyway. She liked Steve, he was a good influence of Dustin. Dustin walked out into the living room sleepily after being woken by his mom. He rubbed his eyes as he rounded the corner, although as soon as he saw Steve he was wide awake. Steve explained what he was doing and how sorry he was that he was leaving but of course he understood. Was he upset? Definitely. But did he understand? More than anyone. So Steve also scribbled his new number down and passed it to him, along with a can of Farrah Fawcett spray, and when Mrs Henderson wasn’t looking he slipped him his nailed baseball bat out of his duffel bag.

The third place he went was a surprise to himself. He didn’t know he was going there until he found himself parked outside. Hawkins Cemetery. The gates were closed but you could always jump over the fence round the back, thats usually how the weird kids got in so they could drink and try to talk to the dead. He navigated his way through the dark and three years ago he would have been silently shitting himself, however after all the stuff he’d saw there was nothing that really scared him anymore. He walked for a few minutes before finding his destination.

‘Barbara Holland.

In memory of our beloved daughter.

She will not be forgotten.’

Steve’s fingers traced over the top of the gravestone delicately. The cold stone doesn’t affect him as he seems to get lost in his thoughts. He hadn’t been the best person to her. Laughed at her behind her back. Made snide comments in front of her face. He’d been an ass to her. And then she died in his pool, when everyone else was too busy trying to keep their popularity. She’d been forgotten, taken to the upside down where she would have stayed forever. She deserved more than that. And she deserves more than this. He places a single purple Hyacinth on her grave before shoving his hands in his pockets and walking away.

He’s almost out of the graveyard when he spots something out of the corner of his eyes. The grave is fresher than the others, and its smaller, shoved right in the corner of the yard and he already knows who it belongs to before he gets there.

‘Billy Hargrove

Son. Brother. Friend’

Its a stark difference to Barbs, and just the sight of it makes Steve chuckle bitterly. He remembers overhearing Max telling the rest of the party during the wake that her and Susan had to persuade Neil into putting something more on that just his name. Yeah, Billy was a dick, but he deserved better. He deserved the chance at redemption. To become a better person and to prove his father and everyone else in his life wrong. He picks a few daisies from beside the grave and places them delicately on top of the stone. “See you later Hargrove.” He mumbles and he swears he can hear him laughing somewhere in the distance before he returns to his car and starts the long drive.

“A little lost there?” Its like he’s just been woken up from a fever dream. A minute ago he was sat alone at the bar, and now there’s a woman around his age with y/h/c and bright y/e/c, staring at him like he holds all the secrets of the universe.

“Huh?” He blinks at her, and three years ago he would have cursed himself for such a lame openly line, especially to a girl this pretty. But right now, he could be talking to Phoebe Cates herself and he wouldn’t give a damn. He just wants to be left alone to be sad and wallow in self pity about how awfull his life has turned out.

“You looked kinda lost in your thoughts. You okay?” The girl asks, placing a delicate hand on his arm.

“Yeah.” He shrugs her off. “Fine.”

“You sure?” She asks and hands him a napkin, he stares at her blankly and she pushes it further towards him. “You look like you’ve been crying.”

“Oh.” He quickly takes it from her and dabs at his eyes before scrunching it up and shoving it in his pocket. “Thanks.” He glances at her and forces a half smile before looking back at his drink.

“I see you’re quite the talker.” You tease and sit beside him. He huffs in annoyance, but it doesn’t really seem to dampen your mood. Instead you call for the barman and ask for a drink, as well as whatever your ‘chatty’ friend wants, which after a few seconds figures is him. “So?” You ask once your drinks have been placed in front of you. “Thanks Billy.” You smile and his head rises. “Oooo, now we’re getting somewhere!” You do a little excited wiggle as you sip your drink and he looks at you bored. “Okay, so you either are a Billy.”

“Pfft.” He scoffs and your eyebrows raise.

“Okay. So you know a Billy.”

“Knew.” He corrects. “I knew a Billy.”

“Oh.” You frown and think for a few seconds. “So, were you friends and you left? Because you don’t sound like you’re from here.”

“We weren’t friends, but yes I did leave.”

“Where are you from? Wait!” You shush him before he even has a chance to answer, your finger is over his lips and he’s staring at you annoyed, but you don’t seem to care. “Okay, say something.”

“I can’t.” His voice is muffled and you smile awkwardly before removing your finger, wiping it on his shirt.

“Now say something.”

“I’m from Hawkins, Indiana.”

“Well, not that. But okay.” You roll your eyes. “Hey, isn’t that were all that freaky shit went down.”

“Yep.” He grumbles and downs the rest of his first drink.

“Cool.” You shrug. He mumbles something under his breath that you can’t quite catch but you decide to let it go. “So about this Billy guy? Friend? Lover?” Your voice gets quieter and he stares at you shocked. “Oh come on. You can tell me, this is San Francis-”

“He’s dead.”

“Oh.”

“Happy now?”

“Well, you see no. The death of people doesn’t really make me that happy. No matter if I knew them or not.”

“Well sorry to disappoint you.” He huffs.

“You know you can talk to me right?”

“Why would I want to do that? You’re a complete stranger.”

“Because sometimes talking to a stranger is the best thing. They don’t know you so they can’t judge you. All they can do is listen and sometimes give advice.” You reply and he stares at you stunned. “Plus, I have some time to kill, and I can’t imagine you have anything better to do, otherwise you wouldn’t be sat in here alone.”

“Okay.” He nods. “I’m gonna tell you a story.”

“Ooooo!” You grab your drink and get comfy. “What’s it about?”

“A boy and a girl.”

“Awwww.”

“Not like that.” He cuts you off, effectively shutting you down. “Its kind or short, and kind of boring.”

“Well, you’re really selling it.” You huff. “Is the ending at least good?”

“Oh, its a whirl.” He replies and you can sense the sarcasm dripping off his statement.

He stops for a moment to really think about what he’s going to do. He’s going to tell a complete stranger all the reasons he decided to move. He’s obviously not going to tell you everything, but still. And why was he being so mean? He’s tried for over three years to be a nice person, to get rid of the persona he carried around with him during high school, so why has it come back tonight? And why don’t you seem to care about how he’s treating you. And more importantly, who the hell are you?

“Dude” You wave a hand in front of his face and he blinks before looking at you. “Your story?”

“Oh, yeah. So they were just 16-ish, when I knew them. And people were so mean to both of them. The girl was bullied by assholes in school who had nothing better to do than bring people down to try and build themselves up.”

“I hate people like that.” You spit.

“Yeah.” He nods, but refuses to make eye contact with you. “Me too.”

“What about the boy? Who was mean to him? Was it the same people?” You ask, your eyes are wide with fear and Steve finds it quite endearing. He’s telling you about people you’ve never met before but you seem to care so much about them despite that. For all you know he could be making this shit up, but you still seem so invested.

“No, the people, well person that was mean to him was closer to home.”

“Who was it?” You lean towards him a little.

“His dad.”

“Dickhead.”

“Yeahhh.” He agrees.

“Well, what happened to them?” You ask. “Are they okay?” He almost doesn’t want to tell you. Or if he does, he wants to make up some bullshit about how they’re both happy, with people who love and appreciate them. Buts thats not how the world works, and maybe telling you that will be doing you a favour. You seem too happy.

“No.” He shakes his head sadly. “They ended up not loving themselves, and now they’re gone.”

“Gone how?” Your voice is quiet and unsure, and you’re not even sure you want to hear the answer. He looks at the sticky floor, taking a deep breath and he doesn’t even have to properly answer for you to know what he’s about to say.

“Headstones on a lawn.”

“Oh.” You sigh. “Did you know them well?”

“Not as well as I should have.” There’s something else behind that statement. A huge amount of pain and grief is swirling behind his eyes, like a storm ready to destroy everything in its path.

“What were their names?”

“What will that do?”

“They can’t be forgotten if people know their name. And I never forget a name...its my thing.”

“Thats not a very good thing.” He replies and you see the hint of a smile hiding behind his frown.

“Ouch.” You place a hand over your heart. “Whats your thing then? Wait!” You shush him again but this time he doesn’t seem to mind as much. “I bet in high school you did kegs!” You guess and he rolls his eyes.

“Their names were Barbara Holland and Billy Hargrove.” He changes the subject and silence falls between the two of you. You vaguely recognized the names from the news. You remember your roommate saying something about knowing a girl called Heather that lived in the same town, apparently they’d been at summer camp once. They used to talk sometimes but after a while she stopped receiving letters.

“Well, at least someone else knows about them. And I’m bound to tell someone about them. Like I said, I’m good with names...not so much keeping secrets so if you’ve met aliens or the bogeyman, don’t tell me.” You say, trying to lighten the mood and it seems to work a little. He chuckles softly and thats good enough for you, for now. “Anyway, that can’t be the end of the story.”

“Why not?” He questions.

“Because it was sad.”

“What’s that got to do with anything?”

“All stories end happily. If not, it just means you’re not at the end yet.”

“Sure.” He raises and eyebrow. “But, if you must know, no, I’m not at the end. But believe me, this doesn’t end happily for anyone.”

“Well then its not over yet.” You say quickly making him roll his eyes before taking a swig of his drink.

“Back at home I know a boy and a boy.”

“Riiiight.” You wiggle your eyebrows and he smiles softly. He thinks Robin would like you, you’re sweet and accepting and everything he wishes he could have been back home.

“They were best friends with each other. Still are actually, despite some difficulties. But I always thought that at least one of them wanted more. They loved each other but never knew it.” He lowers his voice, the two of you are leaning into each other, your forehead’s practically touching. “I think they were always afraid of what people would say. Or even what the other would say. And now one of them has moved to a different state.”

Your frown deepens as you stare at the floor, your feet swinging against the stool as you play with your hands.

”That sucks.”

“I told you it wasn’t happy.”

“Well, then you’re not at the end of your story. And they’re not at the end of theirs. Love always catches up with you eventually. Thats just the way of the universe.”

“Sure it is.” He scoffs.

“Come on. I want a sequel!” Your drum your fingers against the bar while he stares at you. “Billy! Another round please.”

“You haven’t even finished that one.” Steve replies and you quirk your eyebrows, a smirk appearing on your face before you stare right at him and down the rest of your drink.

“Happy now?”

“Well, you see no not really, because I’m not carrying you home.”

“You’d be so lucky.” You tease and he giggles a little. “Come on.” You poke his arm.

“Fine.” He throws his hands up. “The sequel. This one is about me and my friend.”

“Ooo, yay! I want to know more about you mystery boy.” The nickname causes Steve’s cheeks to heat up and he’s kind of glad Robin isn’t here to tease him. “Now, is this friend a girl?” You rest your chin in your hand and he sighs dramatically, already knowing where you’re going with this.

“Yes. But not like that.” Now he’s the one shushing you making you stare at him surprised. “I’m not her type.”

“Okay.” You hold your hands up in defeat and he lower his finger, letting it drop to the bar.

“Both our parents were evil.”

“How?” You ask.

“My dad says I’m his biggest disappointment and my mom looks straight through me.”

“I’m sorry.” You place a hand on his arm but this time he doesn’t shrug it off, he lets you keep it there for a few seconds.

“Its fine. They’re both kind of right.”

“I’m sure thats not true.” You start to disagree but he talks over you instead.

“And my friends parents don’t agree with her lifestyle if you know what I mean?”

“Yeahh. I get that.” You nod, and now its his turn to try and decipher your look. He also prays he hasn’t attracted another lesbian, as much as he loves and supports Robin, he doesn’t need another factor to add into the thought that maybe he isn’t destined to be loved. “I play for both teams if you want to know.” You whisper and he nods.

“Cool. Whats that like?”

“Not any different to ‘normal’.” You reply and he chuckles. “So you and you’re friend? Quick question, is she cute?”

“Yes, she’s cute. And for a time I may have liked her.”

“Ha!” You snort loudly and a bright blush creeps up your neck.

“Do you want to know the rest of my story?”

“Yes.” You stifle your laughter. “Please, go on.”

“So, both of our parents were mean, so we made a bet. And if we worked and saved we cold run away to somewhere like here and we’d have a better life.”

“And?” You smile brightly at him.

“And?”

“Did that happen? Are you meeting her here?” You look around the dark bar.

“No.” He shakes his head. “I left early and she’s still there.”

“Oh.” You sigh. “I’m sorry. Is she going to be coming here soon though?”

“I don’t know.” He shakes his head. “Her parents are putting a lot of pressure on her to be everything but herself and sometimes I think she’s just going to give in. She’s been through so much and she’s so stubborn, but when I call her, she seems so broken and part of me thinks its because I left her alone.”

“No.” You grab his hand. “Its not your fault. Listen, I don’t know her, and I don’t really know you but she’s going to be okay. She’s going to come to San Francisco...meet a cute girl.” You whisper the last bit and he smiles softly. “And you’re going to have a better life.”

“And how do you know that?”

“Because, like I said. You’re story isn’t over yet. Its just beginning. Kind of like a movie, and eventually everyone gets their happy end. Everyone does.”

“Again, how do you know that?”

“I don’t, not really. But if you don’t have hope then what’s the point. Just you wait and see.”

“You’re idea of the world and my idea of the world are very different from each other.” He sighs. “Its not funny or pretty or sweet. Its full of assholes and monsters and shitty things.”

“Maybe.” You nod. “But I like to see the good in the world. You just have to see the good...”

“Steve.”

“And we finally have a name!” You cheer. “Keep looking for the good Steve. You’ll find it eventually.”

I think I’ve already found a bit.

“This isn’t the end of your story. For all you know it could be the beginning. Now, what time is it?”

“11:55?” He replies and relief washes over him. He’s made it through and nothing bad has happened. Not to him at least. And when he gets home he’s going to call the party, and Robin and maybe even his parents to see if they’re okay. But right now you’re talking to him and he has to tune back into the real world. “What?”

“Do you want a sparkler?” You repeat your previous question just as Billy hands you some change. He blinks at you and your roll your eyes playfully before saying bye and then dragging him out of the dingy bar and into the bright street.

Its empty, everyone is either with friends or family, in back gardens or at events. It seems everyone in the entire world has someone to celebrate with, everyone except him, and then he remembers. He’s not alone. Because you’re looking at him, a soft smile on your lips as you hand him a sparkler.

“I do this every year.” You explain and light the end of his before doing the same to your own. “I write something that has pissed me off in the past year, and then when it disappears, its like I’ve let it go. Metaphorically of course. Its kind of like a second go at New Years, because lets face it, nobody is keeping their resolutions.”

“Has that ever worked.”

“No completely. But there’s always time...like I said, it’s not the end of the story yet.”

And while he stares at you writing whatever in the air, with a bright smile on your face, for the first time in a long time there’s a spark of hope.

He thinks there could actually be a day when he enjoys July 4th again.

#steve harrington #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x you #stranger things #stranger things imagine

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my-fandom-imagine · 4 years

Audio

Hold on

A/N *Trigger Warning! This fic contains suicide. It was written for a friend and was not written lightly! The song “Hold on” by Chord Overstreet helped me write this.

Imagine coming back from a YJ mission and after an argument with your mom she commits suicide. Features Dick Grayson.

~Reader's POV~

It's been two years since joining the young justice team. Being the superhero Bluejay has been the best time of my life, i'm helping people and changing the world for the better. Dinah has been very kind in taking me on as a sidekick and later introducing me to the YJ team. Life was going amazing, unless you counted my home life. My mother never agreed to me being a superhero, mostly due to her having been married to my father the love of her life, who was a gang member working with the black mask in Gotham city. She hated that I worked with the sidekicks of the man that put my father in prison. My father ended up getting killed while in prison so now my mom blames Batman for his death. She never lets me forget that father was murdered and that I'm a disgrace for working with Nightwing and Robin. I love my mother very much but she always tells me she'll never forgive me for becoming a hero.

Our latest mission was finally over and I was able to go back home, I haven't seen my mom in a few days, not after our last fight. Upon entering our house mom was sitting at the kitchen table staring blankly at the wall in front of her. I cautiously approached her not knowing what kind of mood she was in this time.

"Mom? Mom are you okay?" I hesitantly asked. My mom's gaze slowly drifted up to connect with mine.

Her face contorted into a sneer. "Why do you insist on always returning and haunting me with your presence!" She spat at me and I took a step back shocked at her words, she's never sounded so angry at me before. Sure we've argued but never with such hatred.

"Mom what do you mean? I come back here because it's my home, your my home! Why do we always have to argue when I come back from a mission? Can't you just realize that I'm trying to do good in the world? That I'm just trying to protect the innocent?" I look into my mom's eyes but all I see is disgust and anger.

She stands up pushing the chair away from her and glares at me. "How did I end up with a daughter like you? Your a disgrace! I wish your father hadn't convinced me to keep you! He was wrong you don't make life happier! You make my life miserable, your a reminder that my love is dead and that you'd rather spend time with his killer than your own mother!" She turns angrily and leaves me standing here. I feel tears spring to my eyes as my mother walks away.

"I don't need you Mom! If this is how it's going to be every time I come home then I don't want to come home anymore!" I yell to her. She stops briefly before leaving the room entirely.

I sit down heavily at the table and rest my head in my hands. I feel the tears finally drip down my cheeks. I know she loves me but her words hurt worse than any blow a villain has ever landed on me. It's only been getting worse lately and I just want it to stop. I don't mean it that I don't need her, that I don't want to keep coming home. I love her but she keeps slipping further and further into her anger. She’s been in a bad state ever since my father died.

A loud crashing noise makes me jump to my feet and start running in the direction my mom went. I get to the bathroom and try the door but it's locked. I bang on the door. "Mom!? Mom are you okay? Please open the door." I frantically push against the door trying to get it open. I push all my weight against it and the door slams open.

I feel the breath leave me in a rush when I see the sight in front of me. My mom is on the floor and there is a growing puddle of blood forming beneath her. I rush to her and drop to my knees hard.

"Mom! Mom please no!" I scream as tears flood down my cheeks. I stumble to the counter and grab towels, rushing back to her I push the towels to her wrists hoping to slow the bleeding.

"Mom please don't leave me!" I sob and pull my phone out of my pocket, dialing 911 I keep holding pressure on her wrists as a lady answers my call asking what my emergency is.

Tears still falling down my cheeks I sob. "I need an ambulance, please my mom she's cut her wrists and the bleeding won't stop!" The woman on the other line asks for my address and after giving it to her I drop my phone after she says an ambulance is on the way. I keep holding my mom's wrists as the blood slowly seeps through the towels and through my jeans. "Please don't leave me mom! come back I still need you! I swear to love you all my life!"

It feels like forever before I hear the ambulance sirens approaching. I don't remember the paramedics entering our apartment. I remember them pulling me from my mom and tending to her while I sit on the floor blankly watching as they load her onto the stretcher.

The trip to the hospital was spent with a ringing noise in my ears and my eyes blurred with tears. My mom's face was slowly getting paler and my heart kept sinking further and further as we got closer to the hospital.

As the paramedics rush her into the hospital I follow as closely as possible to keep an eye on mom. There are a few nurses and a doctor rushing along with the stretcher yelling things back and forth to each other, I don't hear what they are saying just the rushing sound of blood in my ears as my eyes can’t leave my mom's face.

They push mom through a door and before I can follow a nurse blocks my way. "Miss you need to stay out here. The doctors are going to do all they can for her but you can't be in there." I numbly nod and step away from the door. The nurse follows with a sympathetic look on her face. "Is there anyone you can call to be here with you?" Her question makes my gaze snap to her, sound rushing through my ears as I stumble back a bit. I shake my head as tears build in my eyes again. "No, we don't have anyone, she’s all I have." I walk back until my back hits the wall and slowly sit down.

The nurse walks forward and crouches in front of me. "The doctors will do all they can, please don't lose hope, you seem like a strong woman, but perhaps there is a friend you could call to be with you?" She lightly probes.

"I’ll call someone." I mumble looking up at her. She nods before standing up and leaving.

Looking down at my hands I feel my heart squeeze seeing my hands and clothes covered in blood. I lean my head back against the wall and breath deeply feeling nauseous seeing all that blood. I close my eyes and keep breathing deeply. 'How did it come to this, was I really causing her that much pain that she'd leave me like this. Please don't leave me. I still want you. Come back I still need you mom.'

It’s been an hour, an hour of pacing back and fourth, waiting for news on her. An hour of sitting here while the blood on my hands and clothing dries and crusts, My skin itches and the blood on them makes me lose focus remembering mom laying on the ground motionless, blood pooling around her.

A door opening makes me sit up straight. Upon seeing the doctor I stand up fast and approach him. "How's my Mom?" I ask right away. My heart sinks low and throbs painfully when I see the look on his face. "I'm sorry she didn't make it." He says and I feel my breath leave me, my vision tunneling. "The lacerations were to deep and she lost to much blood. I'm truly sorry we couldn't do anything else." His voice sounds so far away as I back up to the wall and sink to the floor heavily.

The doctor leaves, most likely to contact the authorities. My heart feels numb and I don't know what to do. I pull my phone out to call someone, but who? Upon seeing my phone screen covered in blood, I feel sickness crawling up my throat. I quickly get up and rush to the nearest bathroom. I empty the meager contents of my stomach into the toilet. Sighing I lean back against the bathroom stall door. I pull my communicator out and dial Mount Justice. 'I can't do this anymore, I need to leave and I need out.'

My communicator connects and I hear the voice of Nightwing. My heart lifts hearing his voice but I squash it down to get what I need to say out.

I take a deep shuddering breath. "This is Bluejay" I say quietly.

"What's your status Bluejay?" He responds.

My vision blurs. "I quit.... I'm done, I'll send my communicator in before the week is out." I say defeated.

"Bluejay wait what's going on!?" Nightwing asks through the communicator.

I ignore him and hang up, tucking the communicator into my pocket. I head to the sink and quickly wash my hands, the water turning pink as the blood washes away. I sob as I can't get it all off and I quickly leave going back to the hallway where I see a few officers standing. Once I've given them my statement about what happened they leave asking me to stay here for them to come back.

~Dick's POV~

I stare at the screen as Bluejay hangs up on me. Tracking her location isn't hard, but seeing she's at Gotham General I pause briefly. Quick to look into the files of the hospital system I find out why she’s there. I frown and quickly get up worry filling me. You needed someone with you, you shouldn't have to go through this alone, I want to be there for you, I just hope you’ll accept it.

~Readers POV~

I've been sitting here for half an hour and I'm getting sick of the looks I get as nurses and other people walk past me. I want to go home, I want this to all be a really bad nightmare and to wake up at home in my bed and mom there in the kitchen making coffee. We weren't perfect but I love her!

I hear a throat clearing and look up expecting some cop or another nurse standing there. What I don't expect to see is Dick Grayson standing in front of me. I stand up and look up to him. "What are you doing here?" I ask, but his eyes alone tell me he knows why I'm here.

I bite my lip hard as I feel my eyes fill up with tears again. I feel my world crumbling in on its self and start to fall to my knees crying. His arms wrap around me bringing me to his chest, I bury my face in his shirt and sob.

He runs his hand up and down my back holding me tight to him. "I don't know what to do anymore Dick, she was the only family I had and now she's gone. I don’t wanna let go, I just want her to say let’s go home and for all of this to not be real.” I sob as he holds me in the hall of the hospital where my mother lays dead a room away, the last of my family gone. “and now i’m alone” His arms tighten around me and he leans his head next to mine and whispers. “You’re not alone Y/N, i’m here and i’m not going anywhere.”

#Young Justice #young justice imagine #dick grayson #dick grayson imagine #dick grayson oneshot #nightwing #nightwing one shot #nightwing imagine #tw suicude #trigger warning #rushed ending sorry #may do a second part #not sure yet #probably gonna be a part two though #writers block

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robinskalechip · 5 years

Text

home - chapter one

robin buckley x reader

not really reader bc i put a name in place of it but its a robin x character that doesn’t actually exist

a/n: this is my first fic so bare with me, im also taking requests for mostly hcs and oneshots

not my gif!

chapter one - the first meeting

robin was into her second week as a high school senior and she was already ready to be done and over with the school year. everyone was moping around and pointing out all of their precious “lasts” of their high schools years while robin didn’t care much. band was the only thing that came to mind that she would miss.

after school, robin worked at the video store with steve and it was as if nothing had changed. she still kept count of how many times he failed at picking up girls. the kids still rushed in to see them, minus will and el who would have loved the discounted movie rentals. most of the time the kids didn’t even buy or rent the movies. they just had steve or robin put the movie of their choosing on the television in the store and they would sit there and watch while robin would keep on eye out for keith so they didn’t get in trouble.

robin was currently in the back of miss foster’s second period advanced english class, her head buried in a book she had been dying to read for a while that foster had gotten her hands on specifically for robin. miss foster could see robin perfectly and didnt mind that she didn’t have her eyes on the board because she knew robin was at least 60% listening and she probably could teach the class for her.

robin’s head shot up when she heard a subtle knock to her right. she looked up to see a girl in denium pants with a matching jacket that seems sligtly oversized. underneath she wore a simple pink tee shirt that was almost a peach color and a pair of black combat boots to tie the whole outfit together.

robin was always one to notice the details.

on her hands, she sported multiple simplistic rings and robin could barely see the leather bracelet that was being hidden by the jacket sleeves. her hair was messy, but in a way that made her seem put together if that makes sense. similar to robin’s, just darker and a bit fuller.

the stranger had her head peaking from the slightly opened classroom door and knocked once more.

“is this a bad time?”

robin had never seen miss foster’s face light up so quickly. she hurried her way from behind her desk to approach the girl.

the girl met her half way, her face now as bright as the sun with a smile as she received a tight hug from miss foster. foster then turned to the class, hand still on the girl’s back, and said “this is one of the good ones ” as she pointed to her, still smiling.

“what have you been up to”

the girl still carried her bright smile as she spoke, “i’m actually a junior journalist at the times”

somehow foster became even happier but was cut short when a student at the front of the class cleared his throat.

“can we get back to the lesson please”

robin didnt know the kid, not even his name. but she knew she didn’t like him. he was one of those kids that took high school way too seriously. as if he would die if a couple of minutes of the lesson were taken out. maybe he’s not as smart as he thinks he is because robin is doing just fine and she’s barely paying attention half the time.

the girl was polite about it, not showing any negative response. “i have a few other stops to make but i should be in town a while, i’m sure i’ll see you the next time i go to get a bagel or get gas”

foster smiled, “okay miss milani, stay out of trouble”

milani

robin felt the name was familiar. she could see some students from the other side of the room whispering amongst themselves.

the girl started to make her way back to the back of the room. robin watched her closely. she saw her smile drop slightly as she saw the students whispering and she guessed they saw her because the noise came to a sudden stop.

on her way out, her and robin’s eyes met for a brief moment. a small smile appeared on both of their faces as the girl exited.

robin had never felt more vulnerable yet more as peace then she had in those three seconds.

about ten minutes later the bell rang and robin quietly gathered her things and headed upstairs to mr. andrew’s advanced biology class, aka the one class she was struggling with this year despite it being one of her best subjects in prior years.

as she stepped through the doorway, her heart began to beat a little faster.

the girl who had previously interrupted miss foster’s class was now sat on mr. andrew’s front lab table. the two were talking and laughing. robin thought to herself, i guess she got on with a lot of the teachers here.

robin tried to remain calm as she searched her folder for her lab report she was meant to turn in yesterday. she decided to take care of dustin while he was home sick, today was steve’s turn. we love parenting. robin didn’t know why she was feeling so hectic but she tried her best to calm herself down as she walked to the front of the class, directly to mr. andrew, whose back was towards her as he spoke to the girl.

“andrew you got a patient”

mr. andrew turned around, arms folded and still smiling as he looked at robin. “ah miss buckley, we missed you yesterday.”

robin could feel the girl’s eyes on her as she tried to maintain eye contact with her teacher.

“im sorry, sir. i would have turned my lab in the day before if i had known i was going to be out-“

mr. andrew cut her off, “it’s no problem, really. i havent even started grading any of the labs yet.” he gave her a warm smile.

robin wondered why he was in such a good mood and her mind only went to one place; her.

mr. andrew took the paper from robin’s possession and went to his filing cabinet to place it in the current period’s file. in this process he was approached by another student as robin started to turn around to return to her desk until she was cut off once again, this time from the body on the lab table.

“you were in foster’s class, right?”

robin turned around slowly.

“yeah, you were the one who interrupted the class and made that imbecile have a cow”

the girl laughed, causing robin to as well. robin liked her laugh. it reminded her of the way the smith’s music made her feel; euphoric, even if for a short while.

the girl jumped down from the counter and extended her hand, “i’m sofia”

robin smiled as she took her hand, “i’m robin”

sofia

why does robin feel like she knows this name

“you’ve got two of the best teachers in hawkins, i hope you know that”. it seemed like no matter what this girl was saying she had a brightness to her, robin felt like she was going insane but in the best way possible.

“yeah i’m really enjoying them so far, it’s only been a couple of weeks but i think we all have a mutual understanding of each other. foster knows i don’t directly pay attention but i know what’s happening and andrew knows i am only a unit in and i’m already lost”

she laughed again

“biology was a bitch for me too. try asking for mrs. samuel in the library, she helped me out loads before i left. that was just for regular bio but she seems to know what she’s doing.”

“how long have-“

robin was cut off by the mr. andrew telling the class to take their seats as he wrote down the days objectives.

the girl had briefly turned her attention to him to say goodbye and then followed behind robin as she went to leave, stopping once she reached robin’s desk.

she picked up the book robin had accidentally left on her desk as she was searching her bag and read to quietly to herself, “the price of salt”

robin was still standing by her chair as she looked at the girl staring at the novel, feeling slightly uneasy about the reaction she might recieve. but all that anxiety was quickly whisked away as the girl smiled at her, book still in hand.

“it’s one of my favorites. its an absolutely beautiful love story”

her face seems even brighter somehow, perhaps she really liked the story.

the two looked at each other a little too long, but surprisingly, despite just meeting, had no “awkward silence” between them

“i’ll leave you to andrew but um..check out mrs. samuel and i’ll hopefully see you around”

the girl headed out of the door and turned her head slightly at the last minute to give robin another warm smile that which robin returned as if it was almost instinctive.

robin thought about that smile for the rest of the day.

next chapter

#stranger things #stranger things fanfiction #robin buckley #robin x you #robin x y/n #robin x reader #robin buckley x you #robin buckley x reader

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stahlop · 5 years

Text

Must Love Dogs (2/?)

Here is Chapter 2! Killian is finally introduced beyond his profile, but he and Emma still won’t physically meet yet.

I’d like to thank @profdanglaisstuff, not only for being my beta, but for this wonderful artwork that she made for me!

Also on Ao3

Chapter 2

Killian didn’t usually work so late, but they were revamping the whole website at work, something about making it more user friendly (he didn’t how much more user friendly he could possibly make it), so he’d been working late nights for the past week or so.

Jolly didn’t appreciate the late hour. She liked sleeping with him on his bed and stealing his blankets. She didn’t care for the many dog beds he had bought her to try to deter her from this. She was currently trying to get his attention by nuzzling her head under his arm while he was trying to maneuver his mouse around in his graphic design application.

“I know, Jolly,” he sighed, checking the time and seeing that it was close to midnight, “I’m almost done for the night.” He scrubbed his hand over his face as the tiredness was seeping in and his eyes were starting to droop.

He took a last sip of the decaffeinated tea he had been drinking and was about to turn off the computer when he noticed an email alert in his notifications. Normally, he would let it keep until the morning, but being that his bosses tended to email him whenever an idea for the website struck, he figured he should check it out, just in case.

At first glance he thought it was spam mail that had made it through his spam filter, as he couldn’t recall what Mustlovedogs.com would be, and then he remembered.

One year ago…

After years of working at a company that didn’t seem to appreciate his graphic design talents, Killian had finally secured a job at the boat touring company he’d been in negotiations with for the past few weeks! This was cause for a celebratory drink with friends. Luckily, Robin and Will were available on such short notice.

“Cheers, mate!” Both Robin and Will chorused as they started on their first round of Guinness. They knew he’d been miserable in his last job and had mainly stayed on because his ex-girlfriend worked there as well. When they had broken up, Killian knew he had to find some other place to work. He couldn’t be at a job he hated plus work around the woman who had broken his heart.

They were about to order a second round when the dreaded ex walked in, with his former boss on her arm.

“Shit!” Killian cursed, “Milah, just walked through the fucking door with Mr. Gold.” His Guinness went down his throat a little bit faster; his joyous mood now turning sour.

“We need to get this bloke out of here.” Will said to Robin who nodded in agreement. While Killian and Milah had been broken up for about three months now, seeing her on the arm of another man, especially the man who didn’t appreciate his talents at work, could bring about another bout of self-pity, which was not something Robin or Will wanted to be around again.

“I thought we were celebrating.” Killian said as his friends tried to walk him home. He instead turned into a local pub that was just a few doors down from where they’d been.

“Three rum shots!” Killian announced to the bartender when he approached the bar.

“Mate,” Will began “I don’t think we need to be drinking the hard stuff tonight. I thought we were just having a few beers to celebrate.”

“Who said any of these were for you?” Killian asked immediately downing all three in a matter of seconds.

“Okay, then.” Robin said giving Will the look that said Killian needed to be brought home now.

Robin paid the bartender and both he and Will took Killian out of his second bar for the night and walked him the rest of the way home. Luckily, Killian didn’t live that far away from the bars they liked to frequent.

“Rolly Joger!” Killian exclaimed as his dog greeted him at the door. Both Will and Robin snickered at the fact that Killian was already drunk enough that he had messed up his dog’s name.

“At least I have one lady that loves me.” He said kneeling down to Jolly and letting her give him kisses all over his face.

“And I think that is our cue to leave.” Robin said to Will. They closed the door behind them as Killian continued to be bathed in dog kisses.

“Maybe that’s what I need, Jolly. A lady that loves me...us...both you and me.”He said, getting up from the floor and going over to his laptop. “There has to be someone out there who appreciates a man and his dog.”

He somehow managed to get his cursor into the Google bar and typed in ‘dating sites must love dogs’.

He chuckled at the memory. His breakup with Milah had been painful, but he had decided to adopt Jolly after it had happened, and then he got his current job, a job he was much happier in. So, he really did have Milah to thank for all that. Apparently, a year later, his profile was still up and someone was interested, having sent him a virtual kiss. He checked the time, seeing it was close to midnight and he was supposed to be at work at 8 the next morning, but looking at the profile couldn’t hurt, right?

He clicked the link, impressed himself by remembering the username and password he had set up for himself a year ago, and opened up the profile of one Emma Swan.

Suddenly, Killian wasn’t tired anymore. On his screen was a blonde goddess with a dog similar to his own. He could swear his heart skipped a beat. Jolly whined again.

“Hold on there, Jolly, I’ll be ready in a minute.” He had to read this woman’s profile. There was no way her looks and personality could match.

But they did.

“She’s studying to be in law enforcement, Jolly! Do you know how incredibly sexy that is?” He gave his pup a smooch on the top of her head. Jolly tried to nuzzle his head some more, but Killian was already up, taking his empty mug of tea to the sink. This woman, this Emma Swan, he could tell she had seen his profile first, had written hers to somewhat match the same playful (drunken) tone he’d taken on in his, and he liked that. Liked that she already wanted to impress him, wanted him to like her. He felt like she was talking directly to him.

He quickly changed into a pair of BU sweatpants and brushed his teeth. Jolly got herself situated onto her side of the bed. Killian went back to the laptop and Jolly whined.

“I know, I know, just let me do one more thing Jolly, and then I’m all yours.” He grinned at his dog who was currently giving him the evil eye because he wasn’t in the bed yet. He clicked the button to send a virtual kiss back, then closed his laptop and got into bed. Jolly gave him a lick on the nose, turned twice on the bed, and went to sleep.

He hadn’t been this excited about a woman since Milah. Hopefully, this wouldn’t end up the same way, although he highly doubted a married woman would be on a dating site. Killian couldn’t wait to see if he’d receive something else from the beautiful and well-spoken Miss Swan the next day.

EKEKEK

Emma woke to Ditie’s head in her face, her normal way of waking her up. She would put her head on the mattress and put her face right up in Emma’s face, starting at her until she woke up. The first few times Ditie had done that she’d freaked Emma out when she had woken up, scaring poor Ditie back to her dog bed. But Emma had gotten used to it, even though her heart still skipped a little upon waking up.

“Need to go out, Ditie?” Emma asked stretching. Ditie chuffed as though this were a stupid question. It was morning, of course she had to go out. She padded out of Emma’s bedroom and over to the front door to wait for Emma to get ready.

After Emma did her daily morning routine: bathroom, brush teeth, and put on workout clothes, Emma gathered the leash, put it on Ditie’s collar and started on their daily walk.

It was seven in the morning, not too early, although, earlier than Emma would have normally been up before she had a dog. Emma had never been a morning person, but she now had a dog she was responsible for. Luckily, there was a dog park not too far away that they would walk to, plus Emma could get her morning coffee fix right before the entrance of the park.

Once they made it to the park, coffee in hand, Emma let Ditie go while she sat down on her usual bench. She watched Ditie sniff and play around with the few other dogs in the park this early before getting her phone out of the hidden pocket of her workout leggings to check her email.

She was hoping that she’d have some info about the skip she was currently tracking, but instead she saw a reply back from the MustLoveDogs.com website. Killian Jones had also sent her a virtual kiss!

Her heart skipped several beats when she saw that. She noticed that the time sent on the email was 11:59 PM, which means he’d seen it and responded almost immediately after she’d sent the original kiss. The ball was now in her court.

But she wasn’t sure what to do now. The bigger dating sites had an instant messenger type feature. She could usually feel a guy out by his short responses to see if she wanted to go out on a date. Of course, most of her dates had gone horribly, so maybe instant messaging was not the way to figure out if someone was a good match. This site was pretty new so it didn’t have that feature. She could email him through the site though.

As she sat on the bench contemplating her next move, someone sat down directly next to her, practically pushing her off the bench. She was about to give this person a piece of her mind when she saw who it was.

“Ruby!’ she yelled, “What the hell?” Ruby just laughed, flipping her brown locks with red streaks behind her shoulders.

“Sorry,” she replied with a smile on her bright red lips, way too bright for seven in the morning, “I saw you sitting her when I brought Wolfie in and you seemed so deep in thought, I couldn’t resist.” Ruby was one of the first friends she had made when Emma had moved to Boston. Her grandmother owned the 24-hour diner where she and Ruby had worked. They had worked many a graveyard shift together catering to the drunk college students in the wee hours of the night.

“What are you doing here so early?” Emma asked. Ruby’s girlfriend, Dorothy usually walked Wolfie, their Alaskan Malamute/Samoyed mix, in the mornings. Ruby was less of a morning person than Emma was.

“She’s visiting relatives in Kansas for the week.” Ruby pouted, “Which means I have morning Wolfie duty this week. What’s so interesting on your phone this morning?”

Emma almost took the phone away, embarrassed that she already seemed so into a guy that she’d only read a profile for, but if anyone would give her an honest opinion about this, it was Ruby, as she was known for being as blunt as someone could be. Emma gave a sigh.

“So, I found a guy online, we haven’t even interacted yet except for a virtual kiss, which is basically like a nudge or poke on most dating sites, but I think he could be it.” Emma said as quickly as she could. Ruby raised a perfectly arched eyebrow.

“Look at you Emma, you’re blushing. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you blush over a guy. You’re usually a ‘one and done’ kind of girl. I mean, I know you were trying the whole online dating thing, but this is different.” She stared at her friend, “Let me see his profile.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Emma said, still a little embarrassed, the flush on her cheeks spreading further down her face, “I mean, like I said, we haven’t even spoken yet, it could be nothing.” but she reluctantly started pulling up the website to show to Ruby.

“Honey, that face is not nothing.” She greedily grabbed the phone from Emma the moment Killian’s profile loaded up.

“Oh, he’s cute!” Ruby gushed. She quickly read over the profile and laughed at Jolly’s profile muttering ‘pirates and Peter Pan’ under her breath. Then she looked up at Emma with the most sincere look Emma had ever seen before.

“Emma, I have a feeling about this guy. I think he sounds perfect for you. Send him an email.”

“Oh, god!” Emma said worriedly, “I wouldn’t even know what to say. What the hell do you write in an email to a guy you think is hot and writes like a poet? This is way out of my depth.” She put her head in her hands.

“Here’s what I think you should express to him in the email,” Ruby started, but both Ditie and Wolfie barreled into them at that exact moment to get attention from their owners.

“I think that’s my cue.” Ruby stated. Both she and Emma got up and attached leashes to collars and harnesses. The women got up and gave each other hugs. Emma put her phone back in the hidden pocket of her workout pants and started to walk away when she suddenly turned back toward Ruby.

“What did you think I should I put in the email?” Emma asked as she had just remembered that Ruby had been interrupted before she finished telling her what to write. Ruby turned to Emma, gave her a wolfish grin with her big, red lips, then turned back around and walked away.

“Of course.” Emma said to herself. She was an adult, she would be able to figure this out herself. She and Ditie exited the park and headed back to her apartment to start getting ready for work.

EKEKEK

Killian was not a fidgety person by nature. He was usually very focused on the task at hand which left no room for fidgeting. And even though he was very focused on redesigning the website, he was constantly checking his email to see if Emma Swan had responded back yet.

And she hadn’t.

Hence the fidgeting.

Which meant tapping the fingers that weren’t on his trackpad on the table.

And annoying his co-worker.

Who also happened to be his brother.

And a big reason why Killian had wanted to work at this company.

“Little brother,” Liam started.

“Younger brother.” Killian corrected before getting out of his email and back to his work.

“Killian.” Liam said trying again.

“Yes.” Killian said not taking his eyes off his computer.

“What’s with the tapping?”

“Bloody hell!” Killian thought, immediately stopping the tapping and putting his hand around his coffee cup instead. Hopefully, having something physically in his hand would temper the impulse to tap his fingers on his desk.

“Killian.” Liam said almost menacingly.

“I’m just really engrossed in redesigning the website for the company you work for.” Killian said taking a sip of the now lukewarm coffee. “It’s the biggest project the company has let me undertake and I don’t want to bollocks it up.”

“Killian.” Liam said again, his arms now crossed, the pose that Killian knew meant he needed to tell him what was distracting him now. The pose that throughout his whole childhood, made him seem more like his father rather than his older brother.

“I…” Killian started, but realized it was much too soon to be telling his brother, or anyone for that matter, about someone online that he had only communicated with by virtual kiss. He knew he was acting a bit irrationally. He felt like a 13-year-old boy with his first crush. Like he had sent her a note in class and was waiting for a response to the question ‘Will you be my girlfriend? Tick Yes or No.’

“It’s nothing, Liam. I just have a lot on my mind. I realized it had been about a year since I started working here, and that reminded why I started here in the first place…” He trailed off. He supposed invoking the memory of his ex was worth it just to get Liam off his back. Liam knew it had taken Killian quite some time to get over Milah. And maybe Killian did feel a little bad bringing up Milah when he wasn’t really in that place anymore. He had thought Milah was it, the love of his life, but he had this invigorating feeling that he hadn’t felt in a long time…. He was positive, given the chance, he could fall in love with this Emma Swan.

Liam lifted an eyebrow. He didn’t believe his brother for a second. This distraction was not from memories of a broken heart. This distraction seemed like it was almost from… hope? But he wasn’t going to push. Killian would tell him what was going on when he was ready.

“I need to get back to…” An email popped up. An email from the MustLoveDogs website from one Emma Swan! Killian didn’t even think about the fact that Liam was still there. He immediately clicked to open the email.

Hi Killian,

I was so glad to get that virtual kiss back from you. I’ll admit, I felt really dumb doing that, but the website doesn’t have an instant messaging program to contact you in a better fashion. Anyway, I thought I’d tell you that I really liked your profile (which I’m sure you figured out from me contacting you) and I love the fact that we both have the same type of dogs. How long have you had Jolly? I just recently got Aphrodite a few months ago. She’s been a great addition to my life. I don’t know how I survived before her. And luckily, she doesn’t mind my weird work hours. I said in my profile that I work in bail bonds. It is definitely not your normal 9-5 job. In fact, there are really no set hours. It just depends on how dumb the scumbags I go after are sometimes. And because of that I have to keep in good shape. I hope you don’t mind the fact that I can usually manhandle a guy that’s at least 220lbs, otherwise I wouldn’t be that good at my job. And, like my profile said, I’m working toward my degree in Criminal Justice and looking to get into the police academy. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for awhile now, and I’ve finally got to a point where I can do it. It’s been tough trying to do everything, but I really don’t want to be in bail bonds for the rest of my life. I’d rather have a regular paycheck and backup if I need it. Not that I can’t take care of myself, but if you knew some of the situations I’ve gotten myself into and out of, well....

Graphic Design sounds really fun. I’ve never been that artistic. And you’re working at a company that also includes your love of boats. That’s sounds great! I've never really worked a regular job. I waitressed a lot before I got into bail bonds. But I see that you graduated from BU where I am currently going, so there’s something else we have in common.

I don’t want to talk (write?) your ear off, so I’ll just leave it there.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Emma

“I mean, there isn’t much here, but she seems like she could be a good match for you.” Liam said from behind Killian.

“Bloody hell, Liam!” Killian roared, his heart, which had just been soaring now dropping into his stomach. He quickly shut his laptop and turned to face his scoundrel of a brother.

Liam barked out a laugh when he saw Killian’s flushed cheeks. It was just like his little brother to fall hard for a woman so fast.

“Were you seriously just reading my personal email over my shoulder?” Killian fumed.

“Well, you stopped talking mid-sentence…” Liam began and then changed tactics, “You kind of spaced out there and you just got this twinkle in your eye and started grinning, so I got curious. Sorry.” He paused, “Would you like to tell me about the email?”

Killian glanced at his now closed laptop, then back at his older brother who seemed to really have taken a keen interest in the situation. He sighed as he opened up the laptop again.

“Well,” he said, nervously scratching the back of his neck, “there’s this girl.”

EKEKEK

It was 9 o’clock at night and Emma was bored out of her mind. She was sitting across from her skips ex-girlfriend’s apartment hoping beyond hope that she would see him either entering or exiting the building. And it was the beginning of fall, so her yellow bug did not do much to keep out the chill that had started in the air over the past few days as summer waned.

Normally she would text with Mary Margaret or Ruby while on a stakeout, but Mary Margaret and David were taking a very needed date night, and Ruby had a Facetime date with Dorothy, which basically meant they were having video sex.

“Candy Crush it is.” Emma said pulling out her phone. She paused briefly to look at the lockscreen photo of Ditie when she had first brought her home. The picture showed her looking at Emma warily while she inspected the house. Once Emma had brought the dog bed out, Ditie had decided that this place was okay, had curled up and conked out.

She was about to open her phone when a notification popped up. It was from the Mustlovedogs website.

“Oh, god!” she thought to herself. “Oh, god! Oh, god! Oh, god!”

He’d written back.

Killian Jones had emailed her back.

She didn’t know why she was so nervous. She was not a nervous person. She wouldn’t last two seconds as a bail bonds person if she was nervous about everything. If there was one thing Emma’s friends could count on with Emma it was that she didn’t get nervous about anything. And here she was, butterflies fluttering around in her stomach, because of an email from a cute guy online.

A guy that she already really liked.

A guy that she thought sounded perfect for her.

For a girl with no family, a string of bad dates, and no real relationships, she thought this was a miracle. Could she really fall for someone just from a brief synopsis of themselves and their cute dog? What if he had emailed back to say he wasn’t really interested? It had been a slip of his hand to send back that virtual kiss.

“Ugh!” she screamed, hitting her steering wheel. “You are not some damsel waiting to be saved, just open the damn email!”

She briefly checked up at the apartment building she was watching to make sure there was no movement coming from there before she swiped the email notification to read it.

Emma,

I was so glad to see your email in my inbox today. I am supposed to be redesigning a website for my company, but I was too distracted hoping that I would hear from the beautiful Emma Swan. I hope that comes off more dashing rapscallion rather than deplorable. Some of that pirate charm my profile talked about.

I saw that in both your profile and your email you mentioned that you are going back to school to get your degree plus planning on going to the police academy. I have to admit, that is a huge turn on. A girl who knows what she wants and can take care of herself, that is definitely someone I would like to get to know better. My brother and I used to box when were in the Royal Navy (did I mention a brother in my profile? Did I mention I was once in the Navy?), but now we just occasionally spar with one another.

I have had Jolly since she was 7 months old. I got her after a bad time in my life and she made it infinitely better. Who doesn’t like coming home to dog kisses after a bad day?

Look, I hope this isn’t too brazen, but I’d really like to have your direct email, and maybe your phone number. I don’t really like having to go through the site to contact you and I prefer talking to people in person. So here is my number and email. I am fervently awaiting your response.

Killian

@profdanglaisstuff @thisonesatellite @mariakov81 @hollyethecurious

#cs ff au #cs online dating #cs pet dating

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whirlybirdwhat · 5 years

Text

East Sea of Monsters - Chapter 5

Franky starts. to notice some weird shit about his crew.

Read the entire series on Ao3 for better quality and authors notes! Gen, creepy, featuring all of the Straw Hats, multi-chapter story.

“The East Blue has a different nickname to those in the Grand Line, and those who hail it as home have a few… unique traits.”

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Creepy - Franky

Now, Franky had seen some weird stuff. The Franky Family’s weird, Water 7’s weird, hell, he’s weird.

But he has to say, the Straw Hat’s take the cake on how weird, how crazyyou can get.

And he’s not just talking about the way the Captain’s made of rubber, their doctor’s a reindeer, their swordsman wields three katanas (one of them is supposedly cursed), and the latest member of their crew is a talking skeleton.

Nah.

That stuffs pretty SUPER if you ask him, the kind he can roll with.

It’s the other things that get to him.

The creepy things.

He first notices these creepythings when he goes into the kitchen to restock his cola and grab a midnight stack after working all night, and finds two pairs of glowing eyes staring at him from a top the counter, accented by a sharp-toothed mouth and far too much glistening red wet stuff for him to handle.

Like a man, he assumes he’s gone far too long without sleep and back tracks out of the room as quickly as he dares before his mind can fool him further.

The eyes follow him every step of the way, and even the thing starts shifting unnaturally to follow him out of the room before Franky gives up on acting SUPER and just sprints away.

The next day he thinks it’s just a nightmare, before realizing he was most definitely awake, his eyes are alwaysperfectly functional, and Luffy just thanked him at breakfast for not ratting his midnight snack out to Sanji.

Hell.

What the fu-

Thriller Bark was creepy for a number of reasons, most of them relating to the island itself and its inhabitants – zombies, shadows, ghosts and SUPER talking skeleton dudes – but Franky can handle that.

It’s the othercreepiness that really stands out to Franky, makes him feel like that time before on the ship – the kind that he thinks isn’t real but knows later it most definitely was.

He first notices it as Brook boards the ship. He seems positively delighted to be there, to be among human souls again, but all the same he appears to… lean awayfrom certain members of the crew. Franky would dismiss it if he didn’t know that A) Brook leans towardother members of the crew and B) Luffy, the most welcoming to the skeleton, is the one that makes the skeleton the most nervous.

(Franky is sure that if he asked the man, he would say something along the lines of They make my hair stand on ends – not that I have any hair – Oh wait! I do! Yohohoho!

He doesn’t ask though. He isn’t sure he wants to know what he thinks Brook knows.

But he’s a builder, a shipwright, however. It’s in his nature to poke around for a potential problem.

Not that his crew is a problem, of course.)

The next creepy things he notices are more Zoro related. It’s subtle, wouldn’t really be an eye catcher if Franky hadn’t been looking for it already.

You see – ever since he met the swordsman, he feels as if he isn’t actually seeing all of him at once. There’s always been a haze, sitting about him, as subtle as they come, like a cloud on a misty day.

Seemingly normal, but with a closer look, it’s like it doesn’t match the rest of the world.

So, he keeps recalibrating and recalibrating his eyes, keeps looking for the odd moments when Zoro seems to just – fadefrom existence, like he slips out of sight and just doesn’t come back until one the crew drags him to where he’s supposed to be.

(Franky entertains the thought that maybe this is why he’s always lost but dismisses it almost immediately.)

And here – on Thriller Bark, when life itself is being torn asunder by humans playing devils and gods – that chain tethering him to thisrealm seems to solidify, and the cloud resting about his shoulders fades away…

Leaving Franky to catch glimpses of limbs coated in shiny green scales, and eyes that flicker red from the back of a green head. They wink at him when Franky stares too long, and fade away the next moment, as if there was only ever cropped mossy hair on the man’s head.

The cyborg would think it was Robin’s handiwork if the eye wasn’t distinctly beast like, and Robin concentrating on using a hundred other summoned limbs to defeat an enemy.

The fading veil like thingover Zoro is even pointed out by the monster that has Luffy shadow of all things and that’s when Franky knowsthis stuff isn’t justin his head.

Because if that idiot can say Hey you guys are little demons (meaning it literally, Franky thinks) and why are you so foggy green sword guyand make Robin smile that scary knowing smile of hers, Franky is definitelysane.

He hopes.

However, the creepiest thing by faris Zoro’s smile, toothy, bloody, and with more thirst and death than Franky has ever seen before.

But maybe that’s just Zoro. He can never tell with the guy.

(So yes, Zoro is creepy. And Franky doesn’t like the way when he shouts Three Thousand Worlds!The world seems to split for just a second, as if a man just stepped and sliced through three thousand places at once and still managed to dissect an enemy with three clear strokes of sharp (cursed, haunted) blades.

No - Franky doesn’t like it at all – because, on stormy nights at Water 7, Tom would give in to Franky’s pleas for the scariest stories Tom knew of, as it fit the mood and would be SUPER during the storm, c’mon Tom! and those stories would oft feature tales of a man – a monster – with a dark hole for a heart, and a pitch of tar for a soul.

The man had a penchant for flashing across seas with a single step, havoc in his wake, as if the barrier between realms had no hold on him, as if space bent to his will and not the other way around.

It reminds him of Zoro, sometimes, when he casts a look at the swordsman in battle.)

The third incident is, funnily enough, with the third member of the ‘monster trio’, Sanji.

Franky thinks he finally knows why they’re called the monster trio, beyond them being simply ridiculously powerful.

The incident occurs when they are in the New World, after two years of training and a heartbreak so deep it cuts all of them to their soul.

(Franky does not like the rumors of Marineford. They say it was the War of the Best, that only the most powerful walked its bloody path, but Franky has heard that there was more than men fighting there –

And that there was a suspicious plume of fire at Ace’s grave, three days after Luffy rang the bell, a horrific mimicry of the fire that was said to have warred over the dead man’s father’s grave three days after his execution.)

Franky’s finally back in his workshop, with the sound of his crew, his family, surrounding him with a cacophonous yet beautiful noise and a new idea under his hands, and he couldn’t be happier.

But the next bit requires a bit of balancing if he wants to make it work – he has to lift the glass panel into the eye of the ring, but he can only reach it if he uses one hand, leans on his tiptoes, and stretches the other arm out for balance.

In hindsight, he should have added this bit first.

Oh well.

Almost there…. Almost got it – easy, easy alri-

“Franky?”

“AH!”

CRASH!

With a thunderous sound, Franky whacks his had around, turning his head as he does, letting the glass shatter to the floor and nearly hitting the tray of Cola out of Sanji’s hands.

And that wouldn’t normally be odd, Franky can be clumsy especially when he’s focused and someone startles him (he supposes he needs to retrain himself in that regard, before their little… break … Luffy had taken to jumping up on Franky’s shoulders while he was working to see the new creation, and Franky had learned not to startle – Luffy will probably continue to do that again (at least some things stay the same…)) however it’s what happens in that second of chaos that freaks Franky out.

Franky’s hand, big and metal as it is, should have grazed Sanji’s side. But it didn’t – and not because Sanji dodged away either.

Instead, it is as if there was a giant hole in his side, gaping and wide yet perfectly ordinary, so that Franky only touched a black silk suit instead of the skin underneath.

That’s not all – in the flashing second, with as focused as Franky’s eyes were, he could see a wisp of smoke and something sparking flickering from the cook’s pointy mouth, as swirly eyebrows stood out against literal ash-gray skin.

He doesn’t know how to react, doesn’t even know if what he saw was real, only gives a small, high pitched laugh and ‘yeah, what about you? You startled me!’ when Sanji asks if he’s okay.

He sits in a kind of stupor, cold cola held in a metal (shaking) hand as Sanji takes his leave.

What did I just see?

Franky casts a glance at the shattered piece of glass on the ground, and the empty space in the machine it was supposed to go in.

Guess I’ll know soon enough.

Thankfully, beyond shadows in the corner of his eyes, weird hazy visions, spooky feelings and flashing eyes in the middle of the night, Franky only has one more major …. freakyevent before he gets the (terrifying) answer he’s looking for.

Nami’s yelling at him for bringing the Watcher (named by Chopper for its big eyepiece after he came down to see if any glass had gotten in his foot after the accident with Sanji) up on deck, as its apparently ‘Too big! I can’t get a proper tan with that in the way!’ and ‘What does it even do’but he doesn’t particularly care.

After all – she’s one of the five reasons he brought the thing up here.

(Brook had been uneasy around her and Usopp too – despite the fact that Usopp was more scared of him, and Nami was a woman (damn bony pervert.) Both were relatively weak and lacking any freaky power like the Monster Trio had, so it had buggedFranky for ages why Brook was tense around them andthe Monster Trio, but not the cyborg or the talking reindeer.)

He turns the machine on just as a dark cloud passes over the sun.

Suddenly – the world is cold, and dark, and dreary, and Franky knows his eyes look far away as he peers through the lens at his comrades.

Wait, what… what?

They aren’t there – only Robin, sitting on her lawn chair, is.

Instead of the others, Franky views a shapeless form of wind and cloud and bursting yellow eyes, and something crouching in the corner of the deck, feathery, shadowed and whimsical.

It has far too many joints to be human.

Franky pulls away as a smashing, sparking noise emits from his left, and a crashing from his right.

The suns shining on them again, and the chilling song Franky swears he must have heard is already nothing but a distant memory.

Nami’s hand rests on the right side of the machine (is Franky imagining the little claw-like scrapes just before her nails?), denting it gently, while faint smoking (a bullet?– no, it smells far too much like Usopp’s Stars to be that) wisps from the cracks of the mention to his left.

“Franky,” Nami smiles, all knowing and terrifying, as her eyes seem to glow a particular shade of molten gold (weren’t her eyes brown?) “I suggest you stop.”

Usopp looks over and cocks his head like a bird, as if his place hadn’t been filled with feathers a second ago. He doesn’t say anything, and that is somehow scarier than Nami’s words.

“Okay?” She prods.

“Okay,” Franky agrees, and promptly begins to dismantle the machine.

“Good.”

The spare parts find a home in the bowels of the ship where only Luffy treads normally, as Franky can’t stand the sight of them, even if it was good metal (can’t bear to throw them out either, something tells him they’ll cause more trouble in the ocean depths than on the ship).

He feels all cold and empty when he looks at them.

He shouldn’t feel that way on his ship of dreams, surrounding by loving crew members.

Robin is the one to finally give him the answer to all the freakiness his crew has going on. He thinks she was amused by it before the Watcher mishap.

(She too avoids the metal when she can. It isn’t like her at all, and it’s the final tipping point in her observation of his interactions with their less… human campanions.)

It’s the day after said mishap and Franky’s still all jittery, feeling like he’s seen something taboo, when Robin glides up to him in the aquarium, where Franky’s relaxing with some Cola Floats (Who knew cola could taste so good with ice cream?).

“Did you know that five of our crew hail from the East Blue? The Going Merry did as well.” She says simply, and hands him an old but cared for book, with pieces of paper – newspaper clippings? And some notes? – sticking out of it. “Read that. Make sure it comes back to me in good condition” She finishes with some grabbing motions, taking Franky back to the time he first joined the crew which results in him nodding vigorously, and the woman disappearing into the hall with a satisfied smile.

The title is East Sea: Devil Waters, and Franky gulps.

Inside, the freakiness is explained, and something in him relaxes with it. At least he knows whythey’re all freaky now, and that all the rumors he’s heard are true.

(His questions are answered and somethings he didn’t even know were strange had an explanation.

He had heard of Klabautermann before, he knew Merry had one, and he knows Sunny does as well. But – this explains the extra presence he felt in Sunny’s hull some days.

He’s glad he created the Mini Merry – who knew ships could have restless ghosts? He’s happy the lamb has a final resting – haunting –place, safe in the cradle of her comrades and out of the ocean’s depths.)

#whirlywrites #whirlywhat #op #one piece #franky #fanfiction #drabbles #roronoa zoro #monkey d. luffy #cat burglar nami #usopp #nami #robin #sanji #going merry #thousand sunny #thriller bark

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