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shebeafancyflapjack · 6 months ago

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Run, Little Witch (Epilogue)

(Ft @idiotwithanipad 's oc Amy)

"And that concludes our tale of how the magnificent Mary Guppy defeated the monster in the mirror." The pink haired girl rounded off her story, finishing with a twirl of her wrists and a bow; "The End."

As she sat back down, the ghosts gave her a half-hearted applause, barely tapping their hands together more so then clapping.

Pat forced his trademark welcoming grin.

"Er...thank you, Silver, pet. For regailing us with a story we're already very familiar with, having...y'know, lived through it. In a sense."

A grim murmur vibrated around the group gathered in Higham Suite for Story Club.

The witch crossed her legs; "Amy didn't."

Their newest dead resident who sat on her right widened her eyes, "Wait...That all actually happened?!" She looked to the others, to Humphrey in particular, for confirmation.

Everyone nodded, guilt-ridden lips downturned.

"Sadly yes, Poppet." Humphrey said, his head and body connected in his seat on this rare occasion.

"Not one of my prouder moments." Captain cleared his throat, looking down at the stick on his lap.

To this day, Silver still flinched whenever he waved it too close to her face. He tried his best to avoid doing so in her presence.

"Quite." Agreed Fanny, fingers of the hand she'd used to strike the young woman's cheek twitching.

"Guys. Come on." Silver addressed to them, feeling a little bad for making them all relive it. But it felt like it was finally time; "It's been years now. We can talk about it. It's good not to bottle things up, remember?"

They all seemed to give a mumble of vague agreement but none of them looked keen to think about that night anymore than she did.

Had they asked her to stop at any time during the story, she'd have done so.

But, just like Mary's trial and execution, she had been the one to suffer the most from the Witchfinders spirit. It was her story to tell.

It had taken hours of sobbing in Mary's arms for her to calm down. She'd let the larger woman lead her to her bedroom and then lay with her until the sun rose, rocking her close and stroking her hair.

She still desperately needed to sleep. But the panic was gone. As the sunlight crept into the cramped room, she'd begun to accept that the danger was behind them now.

"I saw him pass from the Captain's body into the mirror. He won't harms you now, lovey." She'd reassured, her lap functioning as Silver's pillow while Mary petted her head. "And the others all be back to their old selves. You is safe."

Safe.

She wanted to believe that. She wanted to trust that she could leave this room, leave Mary's side, and she'd have nothing to worry about. That she could approach her friends and everything would be back to normal. But it wasn't that easy.

"Don't worry, sweetheart. They understands. You can stay here as long as you need."

Would forever be okay?

Of course she doesn't need forever. At lunchtime, Alison knocks upon the door, making Silver jump and reach for Mary before her familiar voice announced her.

She let the living woman enter. Despite being partly, mostly even, at fault for the night's events, Alison hadn't directly assaulted her like the others.

The guilt in her eyes shone true all the same.

"I am so, so sorry, hon." Her fellow millennial spoke cautiously, a respectable distance away; "Mary warned me something bad would happen and I ignored her. Please don't be mad at the others. I've spoken to them and, not to downplay what happened to you, but they went through Hell as well. That...monster, Pius, basically violated them. They were aware the whole time and tried hard as they could to fight back but...They weren't in control. They never wanted to say and do those things. But they feel awful, all the same."

Part of her already knew that. She'd witnessed the struggle on Humphrey's face as he'd tried to communicate truly to her. For all that went through this night, she can't imagine how it feels to not have control over your own body.

"I'm not angry with any of them. Please tell them that." She said to Alison, "I'm not even that angry with you though, yeah, you do need to listen to Mary better. She knows her shit."

"T'is true. Cow, mostly, but also horse." The older woman commented from the side.

That brought the first smile to Silver's lips since the incident.

"I'm just...not ready to face them yet. Is that okay?" She asked, sheepishly, rubbing at her arm. "I really need to sleep it off, you know."

"Of course. They get that. We all do." Alison assured her, "We'll all be here for you when you wake up, and when you're ready."

The only other ghost she agreed to see before her final night was Kitty. Everyone else, she suspected, would understand her need for space, whereas Kitty would be left with the uncertainty of their relationship for a whole month.

Alison left to fetch the young Georgian woman and lead her inside before leaving them to it. Silver sat on Mary's bed, the woman herself giving Kitty a smile and gesturing her to come sit at the foot. Silver had already told her it would be okay. But she struggled to look her friend in the eye just yet.

The accusation of having...forced herself upon Kitty continued to echo in her ears, making her skin crawl.

"I don't expect you to forgive me. Even though I never meant those awful words, not a single one." Kitty explained with surprising maturity in her tone.

It wasn't about forgiveness. But how could she attempt to explain that?

"You and Alison are the sisters I always wanted. I would never say or do anything to hurt you. And I hate that horrible man for making me act that way!" She'd never thought she'd hear Kitty proclaim hating anyone, but Silver felt the bitter sincerity in her words; "Alison said you still needed to sleep it off and I respect that. Just...when you're ready, could you please let me know when...if we can be friends again?"

A tear leaked from Silver's exhausted eyes at such an innocent request.

She edged her fingers towards Kitty's hand on the divan.

"When the world...leaves you feeling blue," She softly sang, "You can count on me....I will be there for you."

Kitty smiled as she sobbed, wiping her face.

"When it seems, all your hopes and dreams, are a million miles away, I will reassure you." She joined in.

"We've got to all stick together. Good friends are there for each other. Never ever forget that,"

"I got you and you got me..."

Their fingers interlocked. Silver tugged her friend across the gap and over to her. Kitty whimpered in relief as they embraced each other, all the awful events of the night before seeming to be crushed and dissolved by the hug, at least between the both of them.

Silver rested her head on the Georgian's shoulder, still cursing her for making her so uncool with her catchy pop songs.

When her last night came to its close, Mary offered to walk her back to her bed in the forest, assuming that she wouldn't want Robin to do his usual duty for the time being.

"Actually..." Silver began, timidly, "C-can I stay here? In your room?"

"For the month entire?"

She rubbed at her own elbow; "Is that okay?"

"Of course, darlin' girl." Mary seemed honoured by the request. She helped Silver lay down comfortably, wishing she could tuck her in as a true mother would for her child, "You have a good long rest and plenty of sweet dreams."

"And you'll be here when I wake up?"

Mary smiled, patting her hand, "As my Lord is my witness." She'd leaned in to kiss her forehead as the first rays of dawn began to appear in the sky; "Goodnights, little'en."

The kiss had tingled on her brow as she finally, at long fucking last, drifted off to sleep.

"Well, I didn't think it was possible for this Mary woman to sound even more awesome. But I was wrong." Amy smiled; "She sounds like the GOAT."

Confused stares were shared around the group, even from Silver.

"No, Stompy, Mary human lady." Robin corrected.

"What? No, guys, I mean..." Amy rolled her eyes, exasperated once again at being surrounded by oldies, "Greatest Of All Time."

"Ah!" They all chorused.

"Oooh, I like that. I'm a bit of a goat myself in some areas, if I do say so." Julian boasted.

"Think you mean 'git'." Humphrey cleared his throat.

"Well there can't be too many GOATS or surely it loses its meaning." Said Fanny.

"How does one refer to a herd of GOATS then?" Pondered Kitty.

Silver sighed, leaning towards Amy; "See, this is why we don't try to teach them new slang."

Her friend giggled, seeing that she'd opened up a whole new can of worms.

"To get back on topic, you're right...Mary was the best." Silver said with an air of love and loss.

Everyone seemed to nod in equal agreement.

"Certainly an unforgettable character, to say the least." Said Fanny.

"Remarkable woman. She'd have put many of the men in my cabinet in their place, that's for certain. Not myself, of course, I've always respected strong, powerful females such as Mary." The disgraced MP spoke.

"Sure you have, Julian." Said Silver.

Robin reached to tap Amy's arm; "Remind me to take you outside tonight. Me show you Mary's star. You meet her, say hello. She very quiet but me think she be happy to see friend of Moonah girl."

"Thanks. I'd like that." Amy looked back at Silver, neither of them mentioning that her friend had already shown her which star belonged to her mother figure.

There was a more pressing and disturbing matter on her mind though.

"Uhmm...this Pius prick?" Amy ventured, tucking her hands inside the sleeves of her hoodie; "Where is he now?"

"Still in the mirror. In an old trunk Alison found in the attic." Julian explained.

"It belong to pirate friend of mine who die here. Built to last." Robin added; "Alison and Mike throw to bottom of lake."

"She arranged something with the hotel guys when they left, asking them to make sure it was securely sealed so it wouldn't be disturbed by divers or treasure hunters." Silver explained, spotting the goosebumps on her friend's neck; "Don't worry. He ain't getting out. Not in a thousand lifetimes, gods willing."

They had been tempted to send the chest away, but there was always that possibility his spirit had to remain within the boundaries of the land, the same as the other ghosts. It wasn't worth the risk to try to carry it past the boarder if it somehow broke the enchantment.

Silver was content to think of him rotting in the murky depths, locked away from hurting anyone again, the misogynistic shitbag.

"And....you're okay?" Amy asked her, lowering her voice; "I mean...that sounds like a fucking shit night. For all of you, I know, but..."

The Wiccan nodded; "Not gonna lie, it creeps up on me now and then but...I felt a lot better after I woke up. I won't bore you all with the dreams I had-"

The group all sighed in relief, aside from Kitty who had already heard them.

"Dickheads. Anyway, the dreams helped. And I just wanted everything to be back to normal."

Rather than facing the gang as a whole, she'd asked for each of them to come to her, one on one.

Cap had been the first, which made sense. It had been difficult to resist the urge to recoil as he entered the room, flashbacks hitting her of being punched and flogged at his hand. But then he'd explained to her the significance of his stick, of who had given to him, what it was supposed to symbolise. And now it felt corrupted by the pain it had caused. She'd watched the stern patriarch get brought to tears by his own confession. Not even the others knew the story of how he died and yet he'd shared it with her. His most intimate secret. She'd thown her arms around his neck and, to her surprise, he'd patted her back.

That was the only hug they'd ever shared.

Everyone else's apologies had been less dramatic. Pat, as usual, had done the least wrong but still gave a hundred sorries, along with suggestions for some woodland activities that might appeal to her pagan lifestyle. Fanny was curt and formal as usual, but no less sincere. Julian prepared some waffling speech but then cut himself off and went "sod this, let's cut to the chase. Soz. We cool?" The git somehow made her laugh with that and it was all she needed. Thomas also prepared a three hour long apology sonnet, as he called it, but she made him trim it down to twenty minutes. Humphrey had babbled awkwardly, Mary having passed his head to her. But Silver just hugged him close. He'd tried. She'd seen that.

All that remained now was...

"He's not in the house?" Silver frowned at the revelation.

"He said that traitors in his tribe were dealt with by death or exile. And as he's already dead, well..." Julian shrugged.

"So he exiled himself? Where?"

Where else?

The caveman was sat, cross-legged, on her bed in the forest, among the trees and the flowers in full Summer bloom, when she went out to find him. He looked up at her approach and jumped off immediately.

"Me just look after bed for Moonah girl. Me not try to steal, honest." He said, shakily, hands raised up.

Silver walked towards him.

He shrank back, rubbing at the front of his pelt. Never before had he appeared so much like a scalded puppy.

"Robin hurt Moonah girl. Robin trick. Break trust. Me so sorry. Robin understand if Moonah girl never-."

"Shut up, you great floof." She said, wrapping her arms around him, tight.

"So...you forgive us all then? Just to make things clear." Captain asked her, back in the present day.

"Of course I do, guys. I mean, sure, it might have taken me ten years, but I'm over it." Silver smiled.

Some looked greatly relieved while a few frowned.

"Hang on...It's only been eight years? Hasn't it?" Pat asked.

Fanny and Robin seemed to be working it out in their heads before confirming.

"Ah yeah, that's right. Two more years to go then." The pagan folded her arms, "Hey, Cap? I've got this load of tension aching me between my shoulders. D'you mind?"

"Oh. No! Of course not, my dear." The soldier sprung to his feet and moved around to place himself behind the young woman, massaging her beneath the base of her neck with his surprisingly skilled fingers. "How is that?"

"Mmm. Yes, that's lovely, ta." She moaned, rolling her neck back in pleasure.

Robin quickly got onto his knees before her.

"You want foot rub too?"

"Oh please, Robin, if you wouldn't mind." She accepted with false humility, before winking at Amy to her side; "You know how uncomfy these big boots can get."

The two young friends struggled to contain their laughter.

If Mary had taught her anything, it was how to keep men in their proper place.

#bbc ghosts #bbc ghosts fanfic #ghosts oc #oc: silver #others oc #mary guppy #robin the caveman #captain ghosts #run little witch

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tricktster · 5 years ago

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the twilight series suddenly makes 100% more sense if you read them under a specific premise that, i contend, is heavily supported by the text:

Much like Amy’s diary in Gone Girl, the books in the Twilight Saga are verbatim reproductions of in-universe diary entries carefully and deliberately created and curated by badass unreliable narrator Bella Swan as a means to achieve immortality.

Prerequisite assumptions:

1) Bella actively and persistently wants to become a vampire, both diagetically and (I contend) non-diagetically. The average vampire novel format often fails to capture realistic human behavior in one highly specific area: the protagonists are frequently mortals who grapple with the choice of whether to become a vampire. This is stupid, because being a vampire would obviously be dope as hell; particularly in the Twilight Universe, where vampires are not required to take a human life to survive, and indeed, have the capacity to live full and rewarding lives while integrated* into the human community.

(*integrated-ish; see Assumption 6)

2. There are too many coincidences for Bella to have encountered the Cullens by sheer chance, only to be the ONE person that Edward can’t live without (due largely to the novelty factor of not being able to read her ding-dang thoughts.)

3. Diagetically, the Volturi don’t even know Bella’s psyonic gifts until New Moon, but we also know that the Volturi scour the globe for recruits to enlist into the protection of their governing body.

4. Nobody wants to be a voiceless cog in a bureaucracy.

5. Nobody, and especially nobody in high school, wants to be a high school student forever.

6. Vampires in twilight are, as a group, cartoonishly terrible at disguising their true nature.

7. Forks is a backwater town approximately 3.5 hours away from the biotech hub of Seattle.

7. George W. Bush and Dick Cheney can eat my farts and they deserve to be preserved in this snapshot of an innocent author’s mind slowly unraveling.

Proposed timeline:

In 1993, there is a key system meltdown at a improvised biohacking startup in Seattle, rendering all innovative genetic modification experiments into a puddle of brown sludge that nobody can figure out how to dispose of per Federal regs, since they don’t even know what it is.

The broke founder of the startup, who for the purposes of this timeline I will call Jeff Bezos because that’s who it was, eventually grows tired of all the discussion about what to do, and just pops it in a barrel, drives a few hours out of town, and dumps it in a pond.

Bella Swan, a small child, is hanging out at a park with her family friend Jacob Black (and a ton of his friends) when they all decide to wade in a slightly murky pond. Thereafter, they are transformed.

Bella grows up as a normal, highly powerful mutant with a +20 to deception checks and wisdom saves. She lives in Arizona, but up until 2002, summers in Forks. While in Forks, she picks up on the local lore about a family of vampires who don’t eat people.

Because Forks (population: 17 + Charlie’s mustache) is boring, Bella bones up on the only interesting thing about it, i.e. Vampire Hometown baybeeeee.

In 2000, George W. Bush gets elected president, and his evangelical politics and general bumbling ineptitude informs Bella’s opinions on authoritative governmental entities.

In 2001, the Cullens make their intention to move back to Forks known, but they take a while because they need to pack all their stupid graduation hats and volvos, etc.

Later in 2001, a psychic Volturi scout rolls through Forks to ensure that nobody within living memory recalls the Cullens, and notices an anomaly in the psychic field.

The scout goes to confront Bella about joining the Volturi, and Bella immediately clocks him as a vampire, because vampires in the Twilight Universe fucking suck at looking/acting human. This leaves the scout in a bind: she’s too valuable to kill, but she’s a pre-teen, and therefore too young to be transformed per Volturi authority.

The scout warns her he’ll have to kill her if she discusses the existence of vampires with any human. He then tells her he’ll be back in five years, and begins to sweet talk her on how good life will be when she’s a vampire, beautiful, immortal, powerful, etc. Bella asks if she has to kill, and dude says “nah, actually there’s a bunch of vegetarian vampires who are moving back here soon. Fucking nerds, but otherwise they’re doing well.” Bella is all about becoming a vampire, because Bella is a rational actor.

Bella moves to Arizona, and as the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are unjustifiedly initiated, she recognizes that while she DOES want to be a vampire, she does NOT want to be a foot soldier in any war that she can’t support. She needs a plan.

In 2004, Bella is watching her step-dad’s minor league baseball game when it occurs to her. On her own, she’s a target for the Volturi, but if she had some people to watch her back, she might be okay. Of course, nobody fucks with the Volturi on behalf of some rando human. She’ll need to con her way into a coven who’ll have her back and also give her that +10 to constitution via vampiric transformation, which she desperately wants because she’s a rational actor. And where are the non-volturi vampires that might have her back? Fucking Forks.

Bella moves to Forks in 2004, and upon seeing the Cullens, she immediately clocks them as vampires even though they left their “we’re all vampires” booty shorts at home, because, as previously discussed, vampires in the Twilight Universe fucking suck at looking/acting human.

Bella notes that all the vampires but one are paired off in heterosexual bliss, and takes note of the straggler as a potential vehicle to vampyrdom.

Bella figures out that Eddie can read everyone’s mind but hers, because Edward Cullen fucking sucks at looking/acting like a human who can’t read minds. Bella further observes that Eddie has a huge undead boner for her.

She’s found her mark. Now she just needs to convince him that she’s better off as part of the coven than on her own. Problem: Eddie’s a self-pitying insufferably guilt-striken perpetual adolescent who keeps himself busy by feeling sorry for himself because he’s a vampire, angst angst angst etc etc. Also, I think he’s Catholic, so add some more guilt in. She’ll have to win him over by convincing him that they’re destined to be soulmates.

What does a vampire used to having complete insight into everyone’s mind but his crush’s want? A method to know what she really thinks of him. Bella begins writing a “diary” knowing that there’s no way in hell Eddie won’t sneak in and read it. So she Gone Girls it, and begins to lay a trap to lure him in. That first diary? Twilight.

This was just in the movie but a stoner chases her around with a worm on a stick. Nothing to do with this theory, I just like that part of the movie. Where’s my spinoff about that guy?

Eddie won’t give Bella what she wants (eternal life) by the end of book 1, even though she asks him to EXTREMELY POLITELY. Time to hit the diary with some more promises of undying love.

Bella reconnects with her old friend Jacob and the rest of the Mutated By Jeff Bezos Boys. Alas, they cannot turn her into a physically powerful sexy immortal with a bite, so she’s still stuck with plan A) win over a whole family of vampires with big Mormon energy. It’s the long con.

Edward’s angst abruptly takes a swing towards terminal. He’s absolutely your classic sadboy, perhaps because Bella now has one (1) friend that he knows about.

When Eddie begins to drift away on account of Angst, Bella conjurs up a secondary love interest who, coincidentally, is ALSO a sexy supernatural entity, and is much less coincidentally just Jacob.

We should establish here that Edward is like a 107 year old white dude and so even though Diary!Bella pretends not to see it, Metatextual Frame Story!Bella knows that dude is super racist.

Jacob Black is three things: 1. Like Bella, a mutant (although one with shapeshifting abilities), 2.one of Bella’s oldest and most trusted confidants, and 3. down to clown on an elderly teenage vampire who keeps stereotyping him. Sure, says Jacob, I’ll take the form of a werewolf. He seriously thinks we’re all just beastmen, huh? Hey look at me now, I’m Regis Philbin because this is 2005 and Who Wants to be a Millionaire is still sort of relevant. Sick.

Edward does not like that Bella has one (1) other friend. Bella and Jacob plot to use this to their advantage and lure Edward back on the wings of jealousy.

Eddie gets himself into trouble on account of Angst and poor communication, so Bella has to go rescue him from himself/the Volturi.

Aro finally meets her and gets to test her powers, which impress him. Now she’s back on the fucking radar.

I forget everything that happens in Eclipse, so i have chosen to omit that part.

Eventually she extracts a quid pro quo from Eddie; i’ll marry you if you turn me into a dracula.

We don’t really call ourselves that, Wet Blanket Cullen replies, entirely earnestly.

Bella gets married at 18 in 2006, and Eddie starts to backtrack his promise about changing her. This won’t stand.

Well, look, he’s an elderly guilty catholic/mormon teen who probably still uses super racist terms, but she’s stuck on honeymoon island, he has certain angles that work for him, and seriously what are they gonna do but fuck? Bella’s alternative is listening to her “husband” drone on about his interests, which are almost certainly Car, How Do I Post a Minion Picture on Facebook, and Licorice Used To Be a Lot Cheaper in the Good Old Days.

Whoops a fetus.

Bella recognizes that she’s GOT to have this baby: time’s running out, and Bella knows that at least two of the Vamps in her coven will cut ties if she terminates or otherwise fails to carry this baby to term because of the conservative religious subtext. She’s going to have to stick it out for 9 months, even though it’s a risky call.

Bella gets what she wants after giving birth. “My time as a human is over, but I've never felt more alive. I was born to be a vampire.” That’s a direct quote. Except now she’s got a (pretty cute and easy) baby that she desperately wants to protect from Turning Into A Vaguely Religious Cullen Dressed Head To Toe In Cream Colored Wool.

Bella decides to fake her own death and escape with the kid and Jake so they can form i guess a detective agency. Bella will get “killed” by the Volturi, move to Sydney, and open up shop, and Jake will take the kid after her a few months later.

They’re gonna need a reason why Jake gets the kid though, and there’s only one reason to do anything amongst the Cullens: a heterosexual love interest with a super problematic age gap.

Jesus, Jake sighs, is Eddie really going to believe I’m in romantic love with your actual infant? Does he really think that little of me?

Yup.

Bella tries to draw the Volturi’s attention.

Works too well.

The Cullens call up all their vague acquaintances, who are at least kind of fun. Particularly that one dude who keeps getting angry about British conduct during the American Revolution.

Well, fuck, now the Volturi are bringing an army to fight their ragtag army of Vampires Who Are Cool And Interesting Enough That We Can Safely Presume They Are All Definitely Gay. Bella can’t let those guys die, they’re the first actually compelling vampires she’s ever talked to.

Bella saves the day because she’s OP.

All the Cool Vamps start packing up to leave and Bellz almost goes with them, but the Cullens would just keep sending missionaries after her if they knew.

Bella finishes her fourth journal with the vague warning that the Volturi are still out there somewhere and they miiiight just try and get her.

Two days later, she stages a scuffle and gets the fork out of Fucks. Her journals are the only clue.

Sirius Black and baby nessie follow once edward has stopped sobbing into his cream colored sweater and moved on to Extended Power Pouting.

Bella recruits her own army of fledglings.

Bella stages a coup against the Volturi and succeeds.

Bella sits on the iron throne with a hot lady vampire on each knee and they all kiss and stuff.

Nessie I guess forms a post punk band?

Edward dies from aspiration of a brussel sprout that he ate because he just wanted to feel something.

Charlie and Billy get married.

Charlie’s mustache develops a cult instagram following, providing them with a modest retirement income.

Jacob shapeshifts into Bill Murray and is always crashing weddings.

Bella’s stepdad is off in the B plot this whole time winning the world series with the help of a kooky angel.

There. Fixed. My soul is at rest.

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teamxdark · 3 years ago

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The sun beat down from overhead, and the scent of salt carried over as the breeze guided the waves to the shore. Below his feet, the captain felt the soft rocking of the ship sway him from side to side, back and forth, a sensation so familiar that he had to concentrate if he ever wanted to notice it.

And, well... He wanted to notice it right then. Anything to keep his troubled thoughts at bay.

Shadow was no captain. He had never considered himself good for the role. He could govern himself just fine, but when it came to a group, the weight of responsibility for others pushed him to his worst.

The problem was that no one noticed it.

The hedgehog lifted his head, keeping a hand on his hat to prevent it from flying away, and looked up at the clear skies, dotted by a few seagulls gliding on the currents up above. A perfect day to set sail, as the navigator had told him; Knuckles had an exceptional sense of direction and the strength of body to carry out duties as the helmsman or at the rudder, even when weathering a storm.

Even though he still sometimes drank himself to sleep to handle the guilt of refusing to accompany her.

A flash of yellow swooped by his periphery, and the captain turned to see Tails hard at work, checking the rigging and assessing the sails. The lad was young but brave, and had exceptional knowledge about the structural integrity of the ship. He could spot issues that most would gloss over, even with years of experience. A prodigy, an asset, an invaluable member of the crew.

Shadow still saw the boy's hands shake as he retied the knots, and he knew he still slept in the same hammock as his brother, worried that he might meet the same fate as her.

"Here you go, Captain!"

Amy's cheerful voice interrupted Shadow's brooding, and she pressed a large sandwich into his hand. "It's the last day we can have bread, unsalted meat and fresh vegetables, so I decided to make everyone something special."

The cook was her own force of nature, with a bright and friendly disposition that made those around her feel calmer and happier, and she made meals so good, even with a limited pantry, that the crew swore she was capable of magic. Yet, Shadow had seen her at the cannons, firing mercilessly at those who threatened them. She never missed a shot.

She still cried into their stew, sometimes.

Amy carried on, bringing the next sandwich to Silver, who thanked her with a kind smile. The cabin boy was the newest addition, a stowaway-turned-crewmate that they couldn't manage to turn away. He was an odd one, optimistic and thoughtful, yet impulsive and filled with a rage that brought the worst storms to shame. His telekinetic abilities helped him keep the ship spick and span all over, and when obstacles couldn't be avoided, it was often he who held the ship together... quite literally.

Shadow knew she would have found him to be priceless.

"Ready to set sail, Captain?"

Shadow held back a sigh and looked over to his first mate. Sonic was leaning over the side of the ship, feeling the breeze hit his face, his eyes serenely closed as he noticeably avoided looking at the water. For someone who didn't know how to swim, Sonic still fit in the crew like a hand in a glove tailor made for it. A jack of all trades, he was quick, decisive, courageous, fearless...

She should have picked him.

Shadow's hand rose to his chest, feeling the bumps and indents of the necklace hidden underneath his shirt, until it stopped over his heart, where the jewel lied.

Pink. Heart-shaped. Not worth much by a jeweller's appraisal, but absolutely priceless to any and everyone on that ship. The true symbol of the captain.

"Sometimes you have to make the value yourself," she had told him as she slipped the stone back under her shirt, safe from view.

"Just about," he finally responded to Sonic, noticing how the other hedgehog's ear dropped a tad before lifting back up.

"Sorry Cap, but it doesn't really sound like it."

Shadow hated that he was right. He hated that he still didn't feel ready. He hated that he had such a fantastic crew that he didn't feel worthy of inheriting.

When he was only responsible for himself, it was one story, but he didn't know if he could stand being responsible for anything that could happen to the rest of them. Shadow knew himself; after so many years of following her orders, so many instances of breaking away from her plans because he needed to figure out something for himself, he had come to a conclusion:

He was selfish, self-centred, and unfit to be the one calling the shots for people who needed someone with a strong mind and a constant focus on the big picture.

Why did you give this to me, Rouge?

Any of them could do a better job. Sonic, though he seemed carefree, commanded attention and loyalty and inspired trust and morale. Amy was a natural leader, responsible and resourceful. Even Knuckles, who still fell for Sonic's dumb pranks, had shown that he could step up to the plate and lead when he needed to.

Shadow had been the wildcard, a mix of a lone wolf and a follower, a gun to be aimed and fired by someone with enough clarity of mind to know what she needed to shoot for in the long run.

Rouge had been the perfect captain, except for one thing.

For some reason, she had named Shadow as her second in command.

"Still comparing yourself to her?"

Shadow's hand fell from his chest. He refused to respond.

Sonic leaned back from the railing, opening his eyes to the sky. "I guess I get it. Big shoes to fill and all that. But no one's a perfect captain, you know. Captain Rouge might have been one of the best there was, but the instant she saw a pretty gem..."

"... we'd get sidetracked," Shadow finished, pressing his lips together. It was true; as great as Rouge had been, she had a weakness, and that weakness was why she wasn't with them now.

"I just wish she had told us where she was going..."

It was a question the crew often asked themselves. Why had their captain run off to find a treasure reputed to have a curse so terrible that the map was torn apart and scattered. Why they had spent the better part of a year sailing around to find the pieces. Why Rouge had put together the map in secret and left to find it alone, leaving Shadow her necklace with the announcement that he was in charge. Why she hadn't taken anyone with her, save for the joking offer to Knuckles to accompany her, which the echidna still managed to convince himself was a true offer as a way to find something concrete to blame for the guilt and fear that he felt. That they all felt.

Shadow had nothing like that. He envied Knuckles in a way for it.

"Think of it this way," Sonic said, once again pulling Shadow from his thoughts. "It's an adventure of our own, and the prize is finding her again."

Shadow clenched his fists, crushing his sandwich in the process. "If she's still alive," he muttered, saying what so many of them were afraid to even think about.

"Hey now, come on--"

"Six months!" Shadow snapped. "It's been half a year and there's been no sign of her at any of the rendezvous points!"

You left us. You left me here, with your crew, and now I have to do what I could never do.

"And that's why we're looking for her, right?" Sonic asked, remaining calm even as Shadow felt his world split apart, yet again, as it did far too frequently when he was left with his thoughts. "That's why you ordered this search. Because you know that giving up on her when there's still a chance is the worst thing you could do for her."

Shadow breathed in heavily through his nose, forcing his hands to unclench. Sonic was right. There was a stupid, dumb, idiotic, pathetic part of him that couldn't accept what he knew should be the truth.

Rouge, if we find you and you're still alive, I'm throwing you overboard myself.

"We set off in two minutes," he ordered, stuffing what was left of his sandwich into his mouth. Next to him, Sonic grinned and gave him a salute.

"Aye aye, Captain."

With that, he was off, no doubt relaying Shadow's order to the rest of them. Shadow, meanwhile, walked to the bow of the ship, looking out to the horizon as he drew the necklace out from under his shirt.

They had no leads. They had a great many countries and vessels after them thanks to their history of heists. The odds of finding anything helpful were so astronomically slim that they might as well be sailing to their deaths.

But if any crew could do it, it was this one.

And Shadow, no matter how little he believed in himself, no matter how much fear he held, had to lead them.

"Sit tight, Captain," he whispered to the necklace's heart-shaped gem. Behind him, he heard the sound of Silver raising the anchor and Knuckles calling out directions to Tails at the helm while he pushed the rudder.

It was time to begin their adventure.

#Smash speaks.#I wanted to see if I could write a short thing and decided pirates.#Turns out writing short things is very hard.#This feels like a Chapter 1.#Luckily I have none ideas on how to continue so 🎉#Also I did not edit this. I am very tired and I can't tell if hungry or unhappy stomach.#Either way I wrote pirates I hope you enjoy.

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drmmyrs · 4 years ago

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ok so i had this idea.. after kamilah and amy being married for quite a time they grow a bit distant and one day kamilah finds amy in a bar serenading someone or flirting - the thing is she’s cheating- however kamilah doesn’t leash out -at first at least- but get that amy is very young compared to her, and while kamilah had many partners, amy didn’t. so they talk about “having an open marriage”. however, they agree to not discuss any info about their affairs, until someday amy walks into a bar and finds kamilah with aiko (it’s a business thing but amy doesn’t know that). anyhow, after getting into a fight, where kamilah enjoys teasing Amy cuz that was her idea and letting her think that yes she was with aiko, Amy then realises that maaaybe an open marriage wasn’t a good idea after all

Sorry for the delay anon, kinda had a block the past few days 😕 Hope you like it! 💕

Shoutout to @samanthadalton for the title 🧡

tag list: @samanthadalton @crazzyplays @uselesslesbianfr @baexpoppy @alexroyard @alexlabhont @veenast @noixngn @sillyandcutewizardstuffs @noah6m55-blog @itszdavenport (If you wanna be added or removed or just prefer a certain ship just let me know ❤️)

Another Woman (Kamilah x MC)

Amy and Kamilah had been married for nearly 40 years, and life couldn't have been more perfect–or at least that's what Amy kept repeating to herself. She looked at her wife, happily tending her garden, a smile of pure contentment on her lips. Ever since Rheya had been defeated, there were no longer any major threats that terrorized both vampires and humans alike on a global scale. Sure, some fanatics would try and mobilize against the other kind, but it was never threatening enough that Amy and her friends had to intervene. There was no impending death. No running. No fighting. They were safe. She should be happy. Then why wasn't she?

Ever since Adrian became the Chairman of the Vampire-Human Relations Committee, he barely had time for his company, which was why he had left Amy in charge of most business dealings. Amy quickly jumped at the chance, of course. Even when she was human, it had always been her dream to lead a company, especially a multi-billion dollar company like Raines Corp. What Amy didn't foresee, however, was how quickly she would lose her passion for it. She knew that if she quit her job, Adrian really wouldn't mind. But then what? It wasn't like there was another profession she was passionate about. And most importantly, Kamilah was already happy, content with the way things were. And Amy could never take that away from her.

One night, when Amy felt more downcast than usual, she decided to go to a bar for a drink or two, just enough to get a buzz after a crummy day. She was in the middle of her first drink when she was pulled out of her thoughts by the sight of the bartender placing a new drink on the counter in front of her.

"For you, Miss."

"But I didn't–" Amy started, but the bartender had already walked away.

She looked around until she met the gaze of a gorgeous young woman sitting a few seats beside her. The woman raised her drink and smiled at her.

"You look like you needed a stronger drink."

Amy blushed when she realized that she was staring. "Oh, uh, thanks."

The woman stood up and sat beside her, outreaching her hand. "Josie, by the way."

Amy shook her hand. "Amy."

The night went on with the two of them chatting and drinking. And before she knew it, Amy had forgotten all about her day, her sorrows, and the woman she was supposed to come home to.

***

At home, Amy could barely look at her wife in the eyes, the shame of her affair eating at her heart. It wasn't enough, however, for her to stop as the exhilaration of her newfound intimacy overpowered any existing guilt.

One night, Amy was at a booth in a bar with Josie, cuddling with her, when suddenly, the hair at the back of her neck stood up. She felt a familiar presence–her scent, the beating of her heart, it was all remarkably distinct from any other. Amy swept her eye around the bar and immediately saw her. Kamilah was looking at them, her gaze shifting from Amy's eye to her hand, which was on Josie's thigh. Amy quickly excused herself and strode to follow Kamilah, who was now walking towards a quieter part of the bar.

"I'm sorry." Amy didn't bother lying.

Amy fully expected Kamilah to be mad–who wouldn't be after catching her wife cheat on her. But Kamilah just stood there silent, no emotions betraying her.

"You're not mad," Amy stated as a fact.

"No." Kamilah gave Amy a tight smile. "I've been with countless partners, Amy, and denying you of that same experience would be... hypocritical on my part."

Amy just stood there silently for a while, not knowing what to say. She then took a deep breath and decided to break the silence. "An open relationship. We could have one of those." The idea left a bitter taste on her tongue, but it was the only thing she could think of that would be fair to both of them.

Kamilah nodded. "I suppose there are rules?"

Amy chewed on her bottom lip, thinking. "No feelings, just sex."

"All right. I also suggest that we don't discuss the details about our affairs."

"That's fair." Amy narrowed her eyes. "Kamilah, are you sure you're okay with this?

Kamilah smiled and placed a kiss on Amy's forehead. "Anything for you, my Dear," she whispered.

It wasn't an answer. In fact, it was a love declaration as it always was with Kamilah. And it didn't do anything to quell the guilt that Amy felt.

***

Amy sat at the edge of the rooftop of Raines Corps–something she usually did when she wanted to be alone with her thoughts–and watched as a group of young vampires jump from roof to roof. A smile escaped from her lips, remembering a similar memory from the past with her friends. Suddenly, her eye caught a familiar figure getting out of a car below, followed by another figure. Amy's anger and jealousy instantly spiked as she watched Kamilah and Aiko make way to a bar, her mind racing with all the possibilities. The devil then took over her body as she raced towards them, her eyes glowing red and her fangs exposed. When she reached the bar, Kamilah and Aiko were on their way to a booth, and before anyone had a chance to react, Amy dashed to Kamilah, grabbed her hand, and led her outside to a nearby alley.

Kamilah's eyes were wide, shocked by Amy's outburst. "Amy, what–"

"Aiko?! Really? Of all people?"

Kamilah stared at Amy, looking genuinely confused. "What's wrong with Aiko?"

"What do you mean what's–" Amy rubbed her temples. "Well, for starters, she's only madly in love with you, and you have all this history–

All of a sudden, Kamilah started laughing.

"–are you seriously laughing right now?!"

"Sorry. You're just too cute when you're jealous."

"It's not funny!"

Kamilah raised her eyebrow. "If I remember correctly, you're the one who suggested an open relationship."

"But we had a rule! No feelings remember?!"

"I don't have any feelings for Aiko."

"But she obviously has feelings for you!"

"And how can I be sure that the girls you're seeing doesn't have feelings for you?"

"I..." Amy didn't know how to answer that, so instead, she let her head hang down. "I don't know," she murmured.

A few seconds later, she felt Kamilah wrapped her arms around her, pulling her into a hug.

Amy melted into the hug as hot tears prickled her eyes. "I don't want this anymore, Kamilah. Let's go back to the way things were. Just you and me."

When Amy pulled away, Kamilah's eyes were filled with desire, with hunger. And when their lips touched, it arose something between them. The passion that was once lost was flowing in waves–each touch, each moan, each sensation filling every inch of their bodies until the world dissolved around them; it was just her and Kamilah at that moment. Kamilah pushed Amy roughly against the wall, her fangs digging into Amy's lower lip until she tasted blood, earning a deep moan from her. In response, Amy slipped her hands inside Kamilah's shirt, digging her nails against her back until they bruised–the pain intensifying all other sensations until it became too much for both of them.

"Wow, that was..." Amy said between breaths when they pulled apart.

When they recovered, Kamilah looked at Amy intently and then said something so unexpected that Amy wasn't sure if she heard it right.

"When we get home, let's start packing our bags."

Amy blinked in confusion. "W–what? Where are we going?"

"Somewhere. Everywhere." Kamilah's brown eyes glowed with eagerness replacing the calm glint that Amy had been accustomed to for the past decades. "There are still so many places I want you to see, experiences I want you to have." Kamilah's voice then grew softer, almost shy. "After all the running around, building a home with someone I love, it was like a dream that I never thought could ever be fulfilled, even in an eternity. So when I had that with you, I became comfortable, too comfortable, that I deprived you of the worldly pleasures that you could have enjoyed. And I'm sorry for that."

"You didn't do–"

"No, let me finish." Kamilah took Amy's hand in hers. "You're my home, Amy. No matter where we are, that dream had already come true." Kamilah raised Amy's hand to her lips and kissed her knuckle. "So... what do you say?" Kamilah was smiling hopefully at Amy, the corner of her eyes crinkling in adoration.

Amy nodded enthusiastically, beaming, and pulled her wife into a bone-crushing hug. "Yes! I'd love to."

Kamilah buried her face against Amy's hair and hummed in appreciation. "You deserve the world, my Queen. And I intend to give it to you."

#kamilah #kamilah sayeed #kamilah x mc #choices #playchoices #play choices #my work #my fanfics #my writing #request

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bechloeislegit · 3 years ago

Text

My Spy - Chapter 4

The Bellas had just returned from a meeting with the Dean and members of the Collegiate A Cappella Committee regarding the "vagina-gate" fiasco that had occurred during a performance for President Obama's birthday. They were sitting about the kitchen counter, discussing what they needed to do to fix things.

"What are we going to do?" Stacie asked, looking around at the rest of the Bellas. "We can't be responsible for the Bellas being disbanded."

"We'll just have to win the World A Cappella Championship," Beca said with a shrug.

"It's not going to be easy," Jessica said.

"You're right. It's not going to be easy," Beca said. "But we've been ICCA Champs for three years in a row. That should play in our favor, right?"

"I agree," Ashley said. "And I think we should start by checking out Das Sound Machine to see what we're up against."

"That's a good idea," Stacie said. "I bet we can find some videos of them on YouTube or something."

Stacie pulled her laptop to her and started searching for videos of Das Sound Machine.

"Wow," Stacie said. "There are a lot of videos of them."

"Click the first one," Ashley said.

Beca watched as the girls surrounded Stacie to watch the videos. She looked at Lily and nodded her head to the door. Lily nodded and walked out of the kitchen; Beca followed.

"Can we talk on the porch?" Beca asked, looking back toward the kitchen to be sure none of the Bellas noticed her and Lily leave the kitchen.

Lily nodded and went out the front door of the house. Beca followed and quietly closed the door after stepping outside.

"I know this is random, but have you heard anything from Chloe?" Beca asked as she faced Lily.

"No," Lily said. "Not since that time she texted me her number to give to you. And, that was almost three years ago."

"I thought that might be the case," Beca said. "And I did try to call her once I got back from Spring Break that year, but the number was no longer in service. I can't get her out of my mind. I miss her so much and every time someone even appears interested in me, I blow them off. I feel like I'm cheating on her or something. I can't get past what we had to even think about being with someone else. I just wish I could talk to her, to see if there was a possibility of rekindling our relationship."

"Even after all this time, you'd take her back?" Lily asked.

"I know it sounds pathetic," Beca said. "But, I would take her back in a heartbeat. She's it for me."

Beca could hear her name being called from inside the house. She thanked Lily and opened the front door.

"Beca, there you are!" CR said, seeing Beca and Lily entering the house. "Stacie is looking for you."

"Thanks, CR," Beca said, as she and Lily walked back to the kitchen. "What's up, Stacie?"

"We found out that DSM will be at the Metro Mall in downtown Atlanta next week," Stacie said. "I think we should take a road trip and check out their show. The videos we found of them look too perfect. We think they must have been edited, and seeing them in person will give us a more realistic idea of what they can do."

"We can do that," Beca said. "It will give us a better idea of what we'll need to do to beat them at Worlds."

~~ My Spy ~~

The next morning, Beca was up early. She walked into the kitchen to find Jessica and Ashley each with their laptops in front of them.

"Hey, Beca," Jessica said. "We're all signed up for the Worlds. It's in Copenhagen, Denmark, so we need everyone to check their passports so anyone who has to get theirs renewed has time to do that."

"We also made airline and hotel reservations," Ashley said. "The airfare was a bit higher than we expected, so we could only afford to reserve four rooms. That means we'll be doubling up."

"That's good," Beca said. "Thank you both for doing all that."

"No problem," Jessica said. "I have to call my mom and ask her to check my passport."

"Me, too," Beca said. "I think mine's still good, but I want to be sure."

"Don't forget some of the others may have to do the same thing," Jessica said.

"I'll mention it at rehearsals today," Beca said.

"I'd also suggest they ask their folks to express mail their passports, whether they need them renewed or not," Jessica said. "We have two months before our first break when most of us go home, so having them mailed to us now will help get the renewal process started for anyone who needs the time."

"That's a good idea," Beca said. "Thanks, Jess. I'll mention that as well."

Beca left the kitchen and went back to her room.

"You're up early," Amy said as Beca entered. "Where have you been?"

"I was talking to Jessica and Ashley," Beca said. "We were talking about Worlds and what we need to do over the next several months. You'll need to check your passport to be sure it's still valid."

"I know mine's still good," Fat Amy said. "I had to renew it four years ago to come to the U.S. for school and they're usually valid for ten years."

Fat Amy grabbed her phone and put on a light jacket.

"I'm going out for a while," she said, leaving Beca alone in her room. "I'll see you later at practice."

After Amy was gone, Beca pulled out her phone and called her mother.

"Beca?" Sarah's raspy voice said into the phone. "What's wrong?"

Beca winced as she looked at the time and realized it was only five-thirty in the morning in Seattle.

"Everything's fine," Beca said quickly. "I didn't realize how early it was for you."

"That's okay, I'm up now," Sarah said, yawning into the phone. "Sorry. So, why did you call me at such an early hour?"

"The Bellas are going to Copenhagen in May to compete in the A Capella World Championship," Beca said, rushing to get everything out quickly. "I need you to get my passport and express mail it to me. I have to make sure I have time to get it renewed if I need to. I'm sorry I woke you."

"I'll get it and take it to the post office later today," Sarah said. "What else is going on? I can tell by your voice there's something else you want to say. And don't tell me everything's fine because I'm your mother and I'd know if you were lying."

"I was hoping we could talk," Beca said.

"Hold on," Sarah said, putting her pillows behind her back and sitting up against the headboard. "Okay, I'm comfy now, what did you want to talk about?"

"Um, Chloe," Beca said hesitantly.

Sarah sighed into the phone. "I thought you were done with her."

"I can't help it, mom," Beca said. "I still love her. I know you don't want to hear that, but it's true."

"It's been three years, Beca," Sarah said. "She listened to me and has stayed away from you, why can't you listen to me and forget about her?"

"What?!"

Sarah sighed again. "Nothing."

"What do you mean by she listened to you?" Beca asked tersely. "When did you even talk to her?"

"I guess enough time has passed, I can tell you now," Sarah said, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. "She came by the house when you were here during Spring Break after your father was arrested."

"What did you say to her?"

"Beca," Sarah said, pleadingly.

"Answer the fucking question!"

"Watch your tone, young lady," Sarah admonished. "I'm still your mother and was only doing what I thought was best for you."

Beca laughed. "What was best for me? You mean, like when you shuttled me off to college so I could spend some time with my father? You know, the guy who is in Federal prison for the next fifteen years for being a drug smuggler and dealer?" Beca scoffed. "You know nothing about what is best for me."

"Your father said it was all a mistake," Sarah said. "He was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Wrong place at the wrong time?" Beca sneered before taking a breath and saying, "I didn't call you to talk about my father. But, I now want to talk about what you said to Chloe when she came to the house."

Sarah leaned back and closed her eyes. Sarah sighed again and took a deep breath, knowing in her heart what she was about to tell Beca may well be the thing that sends Beca running away from her and straight to Chloe. She took another moment before replying.

"I told her I didn't know what she hoped to accomplish by showing up here uninvited," Sarah said. "Then she had the nerve to ask me to have you call her because she really wanted to talk to you. As she was leaving I yelled at her to leave you alone; that she was no good for you. I told her that you were over her because you were out with an old girlfriend from High School. And calling her was the first thing you did when you got home."

"Un-fucking-believable," Beca muttered. "Do you realize what you've done? The pain and heartache you've caused me? I could have been with Chloe all this time if you hadn't stuck your nose where it didn't belong."

"I'm your mother," Sarah said. "I only-"

"Oh, for the love of God," Beca interrupted. "Give it a rest! You don't care about what is best for me, you only care about the fact that Chloe was part of the group that arrested dad. If you really want to do what's best for me, then stay out of my life!"

Beca ended the call without waiting for a response. She turned the phone off and threw it and herself down on the bed.

~~ My Spy ~~

"It's awfully quiet up there," Stacie said, looking up the stairs. "Do you think we should go check on her?"

"I think we should leave her be for now," Jessica said. "She sounded upset and may need a minute."

"Jessica's right," CR said. "Let's give her a few minutes, and then we can check on her."

Stacie nodded and remained standing at the bottom of the stairs. Just then, Emily and Flo walked into the house and immediately sensed something was off.

"What's going on?" Emily asked, looking around at the Bellas that were congregated at the bottom of the stairs.

"We just heard Beca yelling at her mom about Chloe," Jessica said.

"Chloe? Is that the girl who was a cop and arrested Beca's dad?" Flo asked.

"That's right," CR said. "Beca and Chloe were a thing when it all went down."

"A thing?" Ashley said. "Chloe was more than a 'thing' to Beca. She's the love of Beca's life. Beca loved her then, and she loves her now."

"From what we heard Beca saying," Stacie said. "Her mother said something to Chloe that made Chloe leave Beca alone. Beca didn't like whatever it was she heard from her mother."

"Is she okay?" Emily asked. "Should we check on her?"

"We were giving her some space," Jessica said and looked up the stairs. "But, it's still quiet; too quiet. I think we should go up."

"We can't all go up there," CR said. "She'll freak out on us. Stacie, you and Jessica know her best. I think you two should go up."

"I agree with CR," Flo said.

"Okay," Jessica said. "Come on, Stacie, let's do this."

~~ My Spy ~~

Stacie and Jessica stood outside Beca's door. Stacie put her ear to the door and listened.

"I think she's crying," Stacie whispered.

Jessica knocked lightly on the door.

"Beca?" Jessica said, opening the door. "It's Jessica and Stacie. We just want to make sure everything is okay."

"Come in," Beca's muffled voice called out.

Jessica and Stacie looked at each other. Stacie opened the door and the two went up the stairs. Stacie peeked around the corner when she reached the top. Beca was sitting up on her bed, staring at her.

"Hey," Stacie said, stepping closer to Beca.

"Are you okay?" Jessica asked from behind Stacie.

"I'm so pissed at my mother," Beca said, sniffling.

"We gathered that," Stacie said. "We could hear you yelling at her all the way downstairs."

"Oh," Beca said. "Sorry about that."

"Meh," Stacie said, dismissing the apology with a wave of her hand.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Jessica asked.

"No," Beca said, sighing as she ran a hand through her hair. "Yes. I didn't know it, but Chloe came to see me in Seattle and my mom never told me until now that she was there. Chloe wanted to talk to me but my mother told her I was seeing an old girlfriend and to stay away from me."

"Why did your mother do that?" Jessica asked.

"She said she was doing what she thought was best for me," Beca said.

"But you don't think that's the real reason?" Stacie asked.

"No," Beca said. "I think she was mad because she believed it was Chloe's fault that my dad was arrested. He hasn't taken any responsibility for his own actions and my mom thinks he is innocent and they got the wrong guy."

Beca sighed and looked down at her fingers, twisting her thumb ring.

"I know you girls are all still mad about Chloe lying to everyone," Beca said softly. "But, I want you to know that I'm still in love with her."

Stacie and Jessica both smiled at Beca.

"Beca, I think I can speak for all of us when I tell you," Jessica said. "We've forgiven Chloe. It didn't take long for us to realize she was just doing her job. If she had told us what she was doing, it would have compromised the investigation."

"Jessica's right," Stacie said. "We are all proud of how Chloe helped bring down a huge part of a major drug ring. That's pretty badass stuff."

"Really?" Beca asked, her brows furrowed. "You all forgive her?"

"Yep," Jessica said.

"You don't have to be afraid to talk about Chloe to us," Stacie said. "We all know how much you love her."

"Are you going to try and find her?" Jessica asked.

"I would love to," Beca said. "But I have no idea where to even start."

"I do," Jessica said, grinning at Beca.

"Really?" Beca asked. "Where?"

"Start with Lily," Jessica said. "I have a feeling she has some tricks up her sleeve and can help you."

"That's a great idea," Stacie said.

"I don't know," Beca said. "I've been talking to Lily and she hasn't mentioned anything about being able to find Chloe for me."

"She wouldn't just come out and tell you she could do it," Jessica said. "You'd have to ask her if she could find Chloe."

Beca chewed her bottom lip until she came to a decision.

"What the Hell?" Beca said. "It couldn't hurt to ask."

"That's the spirit," Stacie said. "Let's go see if everyone's ready for rehearsal."

~~ My Spy ~~

Later that night, after the Bellas had finished dinner and were settling down to watch a movie, Beca asked Lily if they could talk.

"Kitchen or front porch?" Lily asked with a smile.

"Kitchen," Beca said and started in that direction.

Lily followed and both sat at the counter.

"Is this about Chloe?" Lily asked, surprising Beca.

"Yes," Beca replied. "I was wondering if you, maybe, had any way of finding where she is? I just want to find out if she's one, okay, and two, if she still has any interest in me whatsoever."

Lily looked down at the counter and back up at Beca.

"I'll do what I can," Lily said. "I can't make any guarantees, but I'll do my best."

"Really?" Beca squealed. "Thank you. Let me know if I can do anything to help."

"I'll start looking now," Lily said, standing.

"I really appreciate this, Lily," Beca said. "If there is anything I could ever do for you, just name it."

Lily nodded and left Beca sitting alone in the kitchen.

After a few minutes, Beca got up and rejoined the girls in the living room.

"Well?" Jessica whispered as Beca sat next to her.

"She's going to see what she can do," Beca whispered.

Jessica threw an arm around Beca's shoulders and gave her a side hug. Stacie saw this and looked at them with raised eyebrows.

"Lily's going to look for Chloe," Jessica mouthed to Stacie.

Stacie smiled and gave Beca a thumbs up. Beca sat back, smiling and nodding her head. She just knew Lily was going to find Chloe.

~~ My Spy ~~

A few days later, Beca had bid everyone goodnight and went up to her room. Fat Amy was out, so Beca was alone. She was surprised by a knock on the door.

"Come in," Beca called out.

Lily came up the stairs, waving some papers as she came into Beca's view.

"I found something," Lily said.

"What did you find?" Beca asked eyes widened in surprise. "Do you know where she is?"

"It took some digging," Lily said. "I had to follow her trail around the U.S. and a few other countries. She's been busy."

"Okay," Beca said. "Do you know where she is now?"

"As of today, Chloe was in," Lily said as she looked through the papers in her hand. "Atlanta."

"Chloe's in Atlanta," Beca said, excitedly. "Oh, my God! I can't believe she's that close. Do you know where she is in Atlanta?"

"I can't pinpoint an exact location," Lily said. "I can keep trying, but I'm not confident we will know more than she is somewhere in Atlanta."

"Thank you for doing this," Beca said. "I feel so much better since I think it's safe to assume she's still alive and okay. If you find out anything more, please let me know."

"I will," Lily said, handing the papers with her notes to Beca. "Goodnight, Beca."

"Goodnight," Beca said as Lily made her way down the attic stairs.

Beca looked through the papers Lily left with her. The list of places Chloe had been was fairly extensive. Over the past three years, she has been to New York, Oregon, California, Germany, and Australia. And now, Atlanta.

"She must still be working as an undercover agent," Beca muttered. "I wonder what she's working on in Atlanta."

Beca continued reading until tiredness took over. She put the papers on the nightstand and climbed under the covers. She laid down and was asleep within minutes.

Chloe flopped back on the bed, laughing as Beca crawled her way up Chloe's body. Beca kissed every inch of Chloe's bare skin as she made her way up, finally landing on Chloe's lips. The kiss was full of passion and want.

"Ready for another round?" Beca asked in between kisses.

"I'm ready for round 3," Chloe responded, in between more kisses. "And round 4, and round 5,-"

"God, I love you," Beca whispered before fully capturing Chloe's lips.

"Wait, what?" Chloe murmured, gently pushing Beca back to look at her face. "You love me?"

"Yeah," Beca said, moving to sit on the bed and look down at Chloe. "Of course, I love you."

Tears came to Chloe's eyes as she stared at Beca.

"I love you, too," Chloe finally whispered.

A big smile came to Beca's lips as she slid back on top of Chloe and kissed her. Her smile suddenly fell when Chloe was no longer under her.

"Chloe? Come back!" Beca cried out. "I love you!"

Beca sat up with a start and looked around. She wiped both hands down her face and mumbled into the darkness, "Where exactly are you, Chloe Beale?"

----------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N (actually just a friendly reminder): Next week is BeChloe Week 2021 and I will be participating. I may or may not have the next chapter finished in time to post on Thursday. I'll have to see how the week goes.

#bechloe fanfiction #beca mitchell #chloe beale #bechloeislegit

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sailingintothenight · 4 years ago

Text

“Put your head on my Shoulder.” T.H. Imagine.

Summary: And what if after years of chasing each other like a cat and mouse, on a magical night where you two have to pretend to be a couple, you are finally able to say how you really feel about each other?

A/N: Hello everyone, after a while, and because a couple of people asked me, I wrote the second part of this story, "WANNABE", but you don't have to read it to understand this one. Anyway, I really hope you like it. Please give this story a lot of love. Thank you - V.

Tom Holland hates not being able to hate you.

The secret of his hate is because of your vanity, your selfish and free heart, your tender smile, the dimple that forms on your left cheek and your dreamy eyes that look at your grandfather as if he were the first man that you have ever loved — because you did.

Tom hates you because under a starry night, in the midst of a crowd of people and soothing music, you make your way through the mortals wearing a velvety wine red strapless dress that is lust itself on your body, black boots (velvet too) that cover you up to the knees and are as hot as hell, and your chocker - a gift from your father - from which a cross hangs, that is a tempting invitation for a sinner like him.

You are his angel with a devilish smile: but tonight, Tom Holland hates that, despite possessing all those qualities, and many more, he can only see the tenderness in your eyes when you look at your grandfather, or when you talk about him, and your smile that becomes as adorable as the face you were born with.

“You are like… staring much. Don't you think?" Harrison chuckles beside him, making Tom look away from you and your way of receiving the guests scattered around the place.

"Shit, Tom, if you turned a little faster you would look like the exorcist." Harry continues with the bland jokes, the same ones that make Sam, Harry and Tuwaine smile.

"Shut up." Tom hisses, taking a sip of his beer as he looks back at his group of friends.

But this story is not about you, but about Tom Holland, your lifelong neighbor, who you never had a conversation with other than to annoy each other, who you used to call idiot when nobody but him heard you, who used to laugh at you while filming Avengers: infinity war, endgame and finally, Spider-man: Far From Home, who used to hold your hand when you were kids because your parents were best friends, the same Tom who now drinks and look at you while you warmly greet each guest who has come to celebrate the birthday of the second man you know loved you.

“How is possible that you and he are the only two famous people at this party? What a waste of fame. Sigh." Danielle, your best friend whispers dramatically, just as you both stop at the bar to pick up more drinks.

"I'd feel sorry for you if you actually sighed." You give her a know-it-all smile, one that invites you to earn a playful slap on the butt from her.

"Please baby, I need to get something out of our friendship, otherwise this isn't working." She makes a gesture between her and you, the same sign that a boyfriend would make before breaking up.

"Tom Holland is here, why don't you go meet him?" You joke as you take the tray and walk with her by your side talking about Tom, although he was not news to you two.

"No thanks. But you can't deny that he looks sooo good. Only HE can look adorable and sexy at the same time. With those good boy eyes and wild muscles under his plain white T-shirt. Like Wow." She makes an expression of surprise, and the sound of an explosion as if her head cannot bear so much information that causes you so much laughter. "Seriously, please take that hottie. I'm sure your grandmother sent it to you as a gift."

You giggle, but your heart races at the thought of his breaking, because even though he and Hanna Johnson were never official, maybe he thought they were so. And after breaking up with her, he was back in London.

You suspected that was the reason behind his break.

"I would, but I don't love you as much as you think." You joke, just the moment you get to the table where your dear grandfather and your grandmother's friends, are, talking about you.

With just your young age, the world was a bright place for you, but here you are now, feeling how your best hits in movies escape from your hands like sand thanks to the endless words that spring from between the wrinkled lips of your grandmother's best friends, in the garden of your own house, adorned with crowded wooden tables and Christmas lights shining on you.

"Life goes by so fast, honey, you won't have that hot body for life." Says Mrs. Lee, who, at 89, still plays to be a 20-year-old from time to time. "You are... 24? 25? And you haven't had a single boyfriend yet."

"What do achievements matter if you don't have the most important thing, cutie?" Mrs. Russell asks, clicking her tongue in approval at her own words. “There are so many beautiful boys out there. My granddaughters want to be like you, but what will I tell them if you've never had a taste of real life? You are very innocent and that can work against you. You can have a little more fun while still being a lady, you know?"

Although in your cheeks bloom a crimson glow, you are aware that her words are offensive.

"You could tell the twins that you can be successful without fucking every chocolate-covered hottie that makes you an unseemly proposition." You murmur between tight lips, knowing well that the women in front of you need more than a whisper to hear certain truths. “I mean, you could tell Amy and Anne to work hard if they want to be actresses. The world is sexist, but, hey, here I am - besides, who says I don't have a boyfriend?"

You raise an eyebrow at your own question, winning several curious glances that seem to pierce you, even your grandfather, who stares at you more astonished than anyone.

"Really?" Mrs. Russell smiles, and her red lips gleam in the night. "And who is he?"

"Uh... well... I..." You giggle in a trance thanks to the bitter taste of the liquor that has your mind under a spell, leaving you completely blank and without a coherent response. "He is…"

"Hello, love." Tom presses his body against yours, suddenly, out of nowhere, wrapping his arm around your waist, so firm that you feel the pressure of his rolex in his left hand. "Hello, ladies. I heard you talking about me and I couldn't help but come and save my girl from this sea of questions about who her boyfriend is. You thought I wasn't real, huh? I know my angel here is a little shy about our relationship, but there is no problem, love, you know you can show off what a good boyfriend I am with whoever you want…"

Tom smiles and enchants the older women who smile back at him, as if they are in love with his youth and his face that has it all: his cloud-fluffy brown hair that is combed to the side and back, the sparkle in his gaze and the way he smiles, making the corners of his eyes crinkle, right down to that funny eyebrow that everyone finds adorable.

From his lovely face and well-defined jaw to his personality and strong English accent: Tom looked like an angel from heaven, perhaps the devil himself because how dangerous his charm could be.

"Oh honey, I didn't know you and Tom were dating." Mrs. Lee says, with an expression between happy and sad. "My granddaughters thought they might have a chance with you, darling."

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Lee." Tom answers, with a hint of happiness and pride in his voice. "I'm already taken and I like it that way."

"Yes!" You say with surprise when Tom gives you a squeeze with the hand that is holding you, shooting you a loving look to encourage you to speak. "I mean... He is."

You smile at the audience, especially at your grandfather and Danielle, who seem to have their suspicions.

"Tom..." Says Roy, your grandfather, who averts his narrowed eyes from your gaze to his, just to become the happiest person in the world as he clasps his hands in a sign of prayer. “I didn't know that you and my darling (Y/N) were together. I'm so happy! I'm sure my beloved Jules is happy too. Couldn't have asked for a better grandson."

"Thank you very much, Roy." Tom says, and it's so natural that he seems sincere. "I wanted to tell you, but we wanted to wait for our relationship to grow stronger."

"Yeah, you know that there are many actresses, blondes and blue eyes actresses who want to eat this hottie." You say and Tom laughs, nervous.

"Well, if you'll excuse us, I'd like to speak to my girlfriend in private for a moment."

Guiding you all the way, you and Tom turn around in the direction of the glass doors of your house that connect to the kitchen, breathing in the warm air from the warm walls the moment you two walk in.

"Good acting, Tom." You smile as you take a grape from the kitchen counter. "Not enough to win an EMMY but-"

"Ha. You are funny. But now I want to talk to you about something…” Tom smiles, too, giving you a devilish look, as if he never rests from it. "You owe me a favor, love."

"Of course not!" You defend yourself, nervous of the sudden change in the conversation. “You came alone like a prince on a horse. I did not call you. I do not owe you anything."

"Are you sure about that?" Tom laughs, as if he really enjoyed the moment. “Because I can go there and tell them the truth. I told you it's pathetic that you've never had a boyfriend. Besides, I wouldn't want to break Roy's heart, he looked so happy to know that his dearest granddaughter is with a good man."

You cross your arms, uneasy with the fact that you've never really fallen in love with someone, while seriously thinking about how happy, and probably relieved, your granddfather is to see that his granddaughter is with someone like Tom, who, despite of everything, yes, was a good boy.

"Okay. What do you want?"

"I want you to pretend to be my girlfriend in front of my parents."

You laugh inadvertently, although deep down you want to know if what was being said about Hannah and him was true.

"Why?"

"Everyone thinks Hannah dumped me and I don't want to see myself as a loser in front of my family and have them keep asking questions about her, it's exhausting."

"Eh, too late for that." You sigh, and Tom looks at you hopefully. "You were a loser long time ago, Tom, sorry."

"I hate you." Tom laughs.

"The feeling is mutual." You look away, and in a second you decide to contemplate why agreeing to be his fake girlfriend would be a bad decision, and why you would do it anyway. “Okay, but you know you can't call me darling. And stop looking at my chest, perv."

Tom laughs, looking up your chest into your eyes.

"It's not my fault you have worn that dress, but it seems that despite everything you didn't have a boy's body all this time. Congrats."

"Idiot."

Tom and his dreamy eyes smile as he opens the glass door for you, stepping aside so you can go out onto the field and do the performance of your life, which you discover would be more difficult than you thought as both of you approach the table on the left side of the place, where your family - made up of your mom, your dad and your older brother - are with his. So, in silence, and to let them be the ones to carry out the conversation of your supposed relationship, Tom remains standing next to you, leaving a space between Harry and him for you.

"Oh, yeah. Last night I got the iPad with the script of the Devil all the time." You say, to continue the conversation that your brother Ethan started, smiling at you. "My character falls in love with the poor and broken Arvin Russell."

Tom chuckles.

“And (Y/N) is a cold and rich bi—… girl who treats me like shit until I save her from her dad, the reverend and the crazy couple of rapists. I think you will play that role very well, love." And again and against your will, Tom brings you closer to him placing his arm around your waist, so close that his proximity makes you red.

So much so that you must place a hand on your exposed chest so that his gaze does not fall on that specific place.

“Bet your pretty ass I will. And then we will flee together into the sunset with a happy ending after killing 4 people."

His family and yours are too stunned to say a word, but just at the moment when you think they will shout hallelujah to the sky or to mention you are Frenemies, Dom makes a fist and a victory gesture with a loud yes!

“I told you they would be together before they were 25! pay me!" He yells happily at your dad, who, next to him, grunts as he searches for his wallet in his pants.

“Couldn't you wait until you turned 25, honey? It was only a few months away."

"What the hell?" Tom says, watching your father leave a $100 bill in Dom's hand.

"It's a silly thing they did when they were drunk." Nikki says, as she joins her hands in prayer just like your grandfather, just as happy as he. "It was about time you decided to be together."

"I didn't know that Tom could love someone other than Tessa." Your brother jokes.

"I didn't know anyone could love Tom more than Tessa." Harry jokes, but in his eyes you can see that part of him means it.

"Is this serious?" Your mom says, raising an eyebrow.

"It is." Tom says, and his voice is as solemn as his expression. "Mom, Dad, everyone, I want to marry this woman... someday."

Along with the expressions of happiness and surprise, theirs and yours, your brother breaks the silent while looking like a hawk at Tom.

"Her favorite color?"

"Blue." He answers, without missing a second.

"Favorite book?"

"Jane Austin's Pride & Prejudice."

"Coffee, hot or cold?"

"It depends on the season."

"Seafood?"

"Banned forever."

"Very well, you have my blessing to marry my sister." Your brother nods, like a wise old man, while you, foolishly, think of two things, how quickly he responded, and how well he knew you.

"Just that?" You question, partly offended. "Why better not give him 2 cows for my honor?"

"That's a good idea." Tom responds. "We already have a chicken so..."

You snort just like the idea of Tom buying a chicken just because there were no eggs in the store is spinning in your head, but at that very moment, your words die on your lips as Rose, your aunt and your grandfather's eldest daughter, has taken the command of the party to indicate that the most important thing of the night has arrived: the dance that your grandfather and grandmother used to have, when she was still alive.

Like a fairy tale, every couple in love gathers in the center of the garden while the song “Put your head on my shoulder” by Paul Anka begins to float in the London air that is suddenly flooded with love, to such an extent point that threatens to drown you in it.

"Would you like...?" Tom is nervous, and lets the question hang in the air.

Your breathing becomes agitated, it becomes irregular as your parents and his join the other couples, wild as your heart that beats with the fierceness of a caged animal seeking freedom.

You want to say no, but the crystallized look and happiness that you achieve in your grandfather's eyes are the impulse you need to avoid breaking his heart with the truth.

"Okay."

Tom takes your hand gently and guides you to the makeshift dance floor, placing his hands on your waist to imitate the elders.

Inside and out, (Y/N) (Y/L/N) was still as beautiful as the first one he saw you when you were children; but of course, now as adults, everything was different: you were stronger, more mature, more self-confident, wilder and indomitable. But Tom didn't judge your insecurity, he never did, because you had trouble trusting in a future love that could be so real that it seemed a fairy tale - like the ones your father had read to you before bed - as deep as Roy's pain at losing his beloved Jules.

And it is then that Tom realized everything.

That's why you didn't want to be called darling, just because your grandfather used to call his great love that way. Why you never had a boyfriend. Of why you had never wasted your love giving it to someone you knew you would never have a future with, just the way he did with Hannah. Of why you have never been able to give your sincere love to someone else.

Because we're so hopeful at the beginning of things, it seems that there is only one world to gain, nothing to lose, and suddenly, we lose someone whom God knew we deeply love, leaving us with nothing but a void where there must be a beating heart.

And that's when the applause dies down, the silence overwhelms you two, time runs out and life forces you to look into each other's eyes to wonder, without words, why you did the things you did and the things you didn't.

"I'm in love with you."

"Don't."

You say the words at the same time, although they are not the words you expect to hear from the other.

And then you smile sadly, slightly because you no longer have the strength, because your body seems numb from the little alcohol you have drunk and because it seems that the world is leaning to one side with his love confession, but you also smile because Tom still has that adorable face, and a funny eyebrow that you were dying to fix. Just for fun. Just to touch him.

"You're not in love with me, you're just sad about Hannah." You whisper, desperately waiting for the song you have loved for so long to come to an end so you can flee from his arms.

"No, you don't understand, now I can see that it's you, it's always been you." Tom hates himself because he can't put his feelings and his memories into words, but his hands secure you in your place so that you don't leave, not before he can tell you a little of what he was hiding in his mind. “Since we were children I held your hand: in kindergarten, on the way home, to the park around the corner. I don't know why it is now that I can see you, always there in every step of my life, being my best friend even when we said words to annoy each other. I don't know much about love, but I know that it should make you feel good, give you peace, and that's what I feel with you. I feel at home with you, no matter where we are. And we have been in several countries away from home, but you feel like my home. And I am in love with you, and I only ask that you give me the opportunity to love the way you deserve to be loved."

You have a world of words, sharp as a knife, that could kill his confession, but against all, and because this is the first time you feel in love, you lift your hand from his shoulder, a little shaky, to brush your thumb against his brow, soft, delicate and loving, as a lover should be when loving someone for the first time.

"I still hate you."

Tom smiles and you both share a look of hope, staying in the foreground, just to be a participant in the main scene of this beautiful love story that would only be the beginning of a long night in the bright sky of your lives, the one that is like a painting made of watercolors, colors that spill over each other just to create a perfect combination, just like you two together in the eyes of any art lover.

"Not me, no. I love you."

And after that, Tom leans down a bit, feeling the softness of your lips in a real kiss, the first of many to come.

@averyfosterthoughts @galaxies-of-the-heart @heartofholland

#tom holland imagine #tom holland #tom holland x reader #tom holland x you #tom holland x actress!reader

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fuckyeahwomenfilmdirectors · 4 years ago

Note

Not sure if you’ve posted about this already - just wondering if you’ve watched Cuties (Mignonnes) on Netflix and what your thoughts are on the controversy surrounding it?

Sorry anon! You asked me this a million years ago and then by the time I got around to watching Cuties I forgot about your question for awhile.

I first heard of Cuties when the director Maïmouna Doucouré won a directing award at Sundance. This was months before the now infamous Netflix cover photo that drew accusations of pedophilia. I was expecting the movie to be good because of the Sundance award and it was.

For an idea of what Cuties is about it’s sort of like a mashup of Thirteen, Clip and Wadjda, and is about an 11 year old French girl who begins acting out when she learns her father, who is part of a polygamist culture, is about to marry a second wife. She joins a group of cool girls who dance under the name “Cuties” and the further she falls in with them the more she seeks to emulate pop stars and pop dance with increasingly sexual moves and skin baring clothing. A lot has been made of the dance part of the film but large swaths of the movie are really tender and are about friendship and what it’s like to finally fit in with a group and how addictive that can be. Fathia Youssouf who plays the lead character, Amy, is just a total star. One of those rare child performances that are just so touching and soulful.

Thirteen and Clip, which follow similar lines but with slightly older girls (13 and 14 respectively) also drew controversy and I think even if it hadn’t become such an explosively big controversy (more on that in a sec) Cuties always would have followed the same route and had people denouncing it for using young girls bodies to tell this story this way. Doucouré does not shy away AT ALL from her character’s actions and the actors’ bodies and this makes it disturbing to watch at times. All this is part of her intention, you’re clearly meant to be disturbed, but it’s also inevitable that people are going to be appalled because even if she’s condemning the images she’s showing she’s still creating them and they’re still out there. I read interviews with her where she talks about having social workers on set and talking with the young actresses and their parents about what she’s doing but at the same time how can a young 11 year old really understand the long term consequences of what they’re being asked to portray?

This is an extreme and unpopular opinion but I’ve long felt that children shouldn’t be involved in the film industry at all. It’s too rife for exploitation, there are too many children whose parents don’t have their best interests at heart, and there are too many opportunities for adults to manipulate and abuse the kids who are working on these sets. I’m not even talking about sexual abuse, I’ve literally watched DVD extras where directors scream at children and this is not only okay but considered good studio sponsored extra content. I do believe Doucouré had good intentions with this film and she tells a tough story unflinchingly but like.. I don’t think the ends justify the result.

Anyway going back to the huge controversy, is now a good time to finally talk about the fact that a lot of the original anger was driven by insane Qanon conspiracy theorists? These people are a racist, crazy cult and tried to label Doucouré a pedophile and the film child porn (it is clearly not and there is zero nudity portrayed on camera). I’m not talking about people who argued in good faith that the movie was potentially harmful. I am quite willing to engage with those people and I agree with their viewpoint actually. But there were insane extremists who targeted this movie precisely because Doucouré is a Black Muslim woman talking about her culture and the pressures of being a two culture kid. She literally received death threats over this movie. I hope whatever she’s doing she’s safe and well right now.

#Cuties #Maïmouna Doucouré #2020 #France

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flufflepuffle296 · 4 years ago

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B99 x MIRACULOUS

Ok this is one of the dumbest ideas I’ve ever had but shut up. Also I’m not American so sorry if I get the geography wrong. Also I’m sorry but I’m on mobile so can’t add the “keep reading” tag and this is a long post so sorry if you don’t like b99 xxx.

So there are a lot of “class goes to Gotham and leaves Marinette behind and she gets adopted by the Wayne’s” Fics. I was thinking about Brooklyn 99 and was thinking if a similar thing could happen?

Soooo......

Bustier’s Class goes to NY and tours around the cities, seeing sights and meeting people (Lila bragging about knowing everyone oh so humbly in the background).

On the day that they’re supposed to leave from Brooklyn, Lila makes Marinette miss their flight, and Bustier just accepts that everyone’s there and leaves without her.

Marinette wakes up and PANICS because SHE’S ALONE IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY WITH NO WAY OF GETTING BACK.

She calms down and after consulting the hotel staff, heads towards the nearby police station to get some help.

CROSSOVER TIME

She meets the squad, and Santiago starts gushing over how sweet she is.

Rosa even smiles...

She explains the situation, and Santiago is quickly on the phone screaming at some poor man about how Flight 749675 to Paris should legally turn around!!!!!

In the meantime....

Marinette starts talking about Lila and the class, which leads to Rosa teaching her how to throw knives (“SHE NEEDS TO LEARN TERRY”) and Holt teaching her how to be an ice queen towards her class as they converse in French.

Boyle and Marinette exchange recipes and critique each other’s paella.

At some point Gina gets called in because there is a young girl who needs to think better of herself and be told she’s a Britney Spears equivalent and should act like one a few times.

Jake gets her to set up pranks with him on Santiago, who’s reciting part B subsection D of Brooklyn aviation protocol angrily to a TSA Agent now.

At the end of the night, she still has no way of getting back home any time soon, or anywhere to stay, so Terry and Sharron take her in for the night. She is really good with the kids, and they are all quiet.

Terry nearly cries with joy at the silence.

About a week later, she’s learnt how to throw knives, axes, use nunchucks, how to shoot a gun, stab someone AND get away with it from Rosa, as well as improved her English, learnt a little Flemish and learnt how to become an Ice Queen from Holt.

She’s made $150 just from keeping Terry’s kids quiet, and from helping Boyle create a new sexy cat costume.

Santiago makes sure she and Jake don’t eat too much sugar, and she officially knows how to walk down a runway for when she reveals herself as MDC thanks to Gina.

She becomes best friends with Hitchcock and Scully because a) she and Scully both speak French and b) she lives in a bakery and promised them free treats if they visit, at one point even challenging them to an eating contest...

...and it ended in a tie....

Ladybug helps them as a vigilante now and again (Jake nearly passed out at the thought of a superhero bug helping them).

They finally manage to take Marinette back home, and escort her back to school.

When they finally reach Bustier’s class, they overhear Lila ranting about how Marinette is clearly skiving off school and should be suspended to the teacher (or rather Holt, Scully and Marinette translate for the group.)

Terry breaks down the door at this, closely followed by Rosa holding SEVERAL DAGGERS (which Holt was not pleased about!)

Bustier’s shocked to say the least, but needs to make a good impression on these people, so starts reprimanding her problem student Marinette for lying and truancy.

Santiago starts smugly ranting in French to the teacher, listing what she’s done wrong and how she could be tríaled under both French and American law (and yes, she did learn as much French as possible specifically for this rant).

Bustier tries to excuse herself by blaming Marinette, but Gina comes swooping in, criticising Bustier’s fashion sense and exposing her with stuff she found out about her from when she was 7 (of course Bustier is terrified).

When they arrive back at the bakery, Jake gets adopted by Tom immediately and Sabine helps Boyle with his cooking blog, as well as discussing Martial arts with Rosa and being given all the tips on how to sue Bustier from Santiago.

Years later Marinette becomes a fashion designer in New York, and is advertised on Gina’s blog. Jake and Amy find out she’s Ladybug (Holt figured it out immediately) and she helps them all with cases, and helps out the kids that come in.

#lila salt #marinette dupain cheng #miraculous #mlb #miraculous ladybug #miraculoustalesofladybugandcatnoir #bustier salt #bustiers class #class salt #b99 x mlb #ladybug #miraculous tales of ladybug and chat noir #miraculous lila #ml lila #brooklyn 99 x miraculous #mlb crossover #miraculous crossover #marinette deserves better #ml prompt

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obsidiancreates · 3 years ago

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Freezer Duty (Part One)

(This was going to be a one-shot but then it reached 4,000 words so now it’s split up)

----------------------------

Amy parks her car and lays her head on the steering wheel. "You can do this. Christmas shopping is already slowing down, you can do this."

She grabs her coffee thermos, a special blend Emma came up with just for the holiday rush days (it had made Amy almost cry with thankful joy, and had made Emma shrink into her sweater and mutter "Whatever," five times straight), and gets out of her car.

The parking lot is mostly empty. Either most of her coworkers took the bus, or Amy is one of the only people on time... again. Not that she blames anyone. The weather is so cold that getting out of bed feels like a death sentence.

As she walks to the doors, she glances at the other cars. Glenn, obviously. As long as she's been working there, he's always been early. Carol, too. Probably planning to mess with Sandra somehow, this kind of stuff is why corporate shouldn't have shut down the in-store HR department. And then...

Jonah's car? He's usually at least a couple of minutes later than her... weird.

She walks past, and pauses. Why are the inside lights on? That means it's unlocked, and she knows Jonah locks his car obsessively. She once saw him lock it five times through the doors of the store.

Curiosity claims her, and she peeks inside.

And drops her thermos.

“Oh my go- JONAH!”

The scream is loud enough to summon Glenn. “Amy, what is- AHHHH!” he holds his hands up to his head as he shrieks.

Jonah is laying inside his car, bleeding from the neck.

Amy yanks open the car door and shakes Jonah’s shoulders. “Jonah, Jonah wake up!” As she shakes and calls out, Glenn stands behind her with his hands clasped, frantically praying to both Jesus and the Jewish God in a highly confusing yet heartfelt prayer.

“Jonah!” Amy slaps him in the face in a moment of complete desperation.

Jonah startles awake and puts his hand up to his cheek. “O-ow! What was that for! And...” he looks behind Amy. “... Why is Glenn turning purple.”

“Wh- oh, my god, Glenn, take a breath. Okay, um, Jonah, are you alright?”

“I-I think so... why?”

“Well, because you’re sitting in your turned-off unlocked car, in the middle of winter, passed out with blood on your neck.”

“WHAT?!” Jonah feels his neck. “OH- oh, god this is- this is not good, how did-”

“Our insurance is so bad,” Glenn sobs, “You’re not gonna make it!”

“Glenn, don’t- okay, let’s get you inside and- you’re not still bleeding, right?”

“I don’t think so, but what does critical blood loss feel like? Like would I be able to tell? I need to Google this, just-”

“Yeah, you’re going to be okay. Okay, into the store, Glenn help us out.”

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“Ow.” Jonah winces and flinches away as Amy dabs his neck with a wipe.

“Pretty dramatic start to the work day, gosh. I hope nothing else happens.” Glenn shakes his hands by his sides and looks around nervously. He leans in and whispers, “Do you think they’ll find another foot? Jonah, what sneakers do you wear?”

“Again, still have both off my feet.” Jonah winces again, and Amy sets down the towel.

“Okay, it’s all clean, so now we can-”

“Hey guys! Whoa...” Cheyenne stops in her tracks as she enters the breakroom, spreading her arms and stopping everyone else from entering too. There’s an annoyed clamoring for a minute before Garrett just rolls in under her arm. Everyone stoops down to follow, except Marcus, who tries (and fails) to turn it into a game of Limbo.

Garrett looks at the bloody wipes on the table Jonah and Amy are at. “Whoa, dude, what the hell happened?”

Amy sighs. “Jonah was-”

“We found Jonah dying in his car!” Glenn exclaims.

“Not dying!” Jonah and Amy say quickly.

“He was passed out and bleeding a little,” Amy says to cut any rumors off preemptively, moving the collar of his shirt to get a better look at the wounds.

“In your car? In the middle of winter?”

Glenn nods, his face screwed up with worry. “And no scarf!”

“Oh, you’re for sure gonna die,” Cheyenne says, Mateo nodding in agreement. “It’s like, super cold outside.”

“Honestly I didn’t even feel that cold,” Jonah says, putting his hands up. “I guess my car stayed warm. ... Some-somehow.”

“What were you even doing in there? Are you homeless again? You could always crash at my place. Unless the birds don’t like you, then you’re gone. Nothing personal.” Dina sips her coffee.

“Thank you, for that... generous offer, um, I don’t actually remember.”

Amy pauses her checking. “You don’t?”

“No, I um, I just remember realizing I forgot something and going back into the store to get it, and then coming out and everyone was gone. And then there’s just sort of, nothing. ... That-that actually is more worrying, now that I say it aloud, am-am I dying?”

“Your brain probably froze up and is just taking time to de-thaw,” Marcus says with a flippant gesture. “Happened to my cousin once when we ate too many beer-pops.”

“... Okay, then, what’s a- no, nevermind, I can just guess. I don’t actually think that’s how brain freezes work, but thanks, I think.”

Marcus smiles and raises his hands in an attempt at a gracious gesture.

“So you don’t remember anything?” Amy asks, bringing the subject back to the alarming and somewhat urgent situation.

“Maybe someone came up behind him and hit him over the head. Blunt force trauma, put him back in his car to make it look like he froze to death, do you know of anyone who wants to kill you? Maybe a disgruntled ex-classmate, customer you bored out of their skull with a pointless story, maybe-”

“That- no. No, I don’t think anyone wants to kill me for telling an invigorating story. And I’d rather not think about that, actually.”

Dina shrugs. “You don’t want to solve the mystery, fine. But don’t blame me when someone you screwed over in a group project cuts off your junk.”

Jonah and Amy stare at Dina for a second, and then Amy shakes her head. “Anyway... I checked, and I don’t think he has anything wrong with his head. Just his neck.”

Mateo glances over, unperturbed but curious. His expression becomes horrified. “Oh, my god! There’s two giant holes in your neck!”

Jonah slaps his hand over the wounds. “WHAT?!”

“They are not giant holes!” Amy shouts as everyone starts chattering. “They’re tiny ones! And-and they’re more like cuts, anyway!”

“Maybe someone injected him with drugs.”

“Why would they do that, Dina?”

“Yeah, who wastes drugs like that?” Cheyenne looks around at everyone else, who have gone silent. “What?”

“And, wait, with two needles?” Garrett points to Jonah’s neck.

“Maybe they missed a vein the first time.” Dina snorts like it’s an obvious conclusion.

Marcus snaps his fingers. “Maybe it’s some kind of new fancy needle.”

Dina shakes her head. “I keep up to date on drug needle trends. We find too many in the customer bathrooms for me to be out of the loop.”

Glenn startles slightly. “We do?”

“Guys!” Amy gestures at Jonah.

Everyone murmurs some form of “Right!” or “Sorry Jonah.”

“Really, I’m-I’m fine.” Jonah keeps a hand over the holes. “It’s just a little sore, and um, I don’t know, I guess I’m a little chilly and tired, but I’m generally okay.”

“Okay, great!” Dina claps her hands. “You can have an easy assignment today because of the whole ‘attacked for revenge’ thing-”

“That’s not what-”

“Well, no-one knows what happened, so for now my theory is valid. Anyway, I’ll assign you to grocery. Slow over there today, bakery is having a big sale and uh, huh, we had an overstock of powered donuts so it might get wild.”

“Well... thank you, Dina. A slow day sounds good, actually, because I’m starting to get a headache.” Jonah rubs his eyes. “Really bright in here.”

“It’s the standard fluorescents.” Glenn looks up. “Unless corporate had it changed overnight, but I don’t think so...”

Cheyenne tilts her head with a small frown, and looks at Jonah’s neck throughout the rest of the meeting.

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“No way,” Mateo scoffs. “That’s far-fetched gossip, even for us.”

“No, but it would make sense, right?” Cheyenne looks around, and then whispers. “Didn’t notice the cold, lights too bright, two holes in his neck. Jonah totally got bitten by a vampire.” She leans back and nods, eyes wide at her own revelation.

“Vampires aren’t even real though! As much as we might wish they were.”

They glance over at Grocery. Jonah is yawning, leaning against the freezer section.

“He looks pale, right?” Cheyenne whispers.

“He always looks pale. He could wear non-tinted sunscreen as foundation,” Mateo says with a dismissive wave of his hand.

“Yeah, I guess. ... Should we try to get a look at his eyes?”

“Chy, I love you, but we’ve got a ton of restocking to do and I don’t want to be all panicked before lunch.”

“Right. Right. Yeah. Probably just like, letting my imagination get the best of me, right? Yeah...”

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“Excuse me?”

Jonah startles, jumping away from the freezer door. “Hi! Yes, sorry! Um, what-what can I... help you with?”

“Could you please show me where the frozen pizzas are?”

“Sure, ma’am, right this way.” Jonah rubs his eyes, leading her to a different section of the freezer area.

“Oh, thank you! Could you grab it for me?”

“Wh-why?”

“I don’t like the cold.”

Well, neither does he, and he’s already chilly. But this is his job. Somehow. How did he get here again? His head feel a little foggy, he can’t quite gather his thoughts.

He reaches in and grabs the pizza. “Okay, here you-”

“No, the ones from the very back.”

“... I-I’m sorry?”

“The back ones are always better.”

“... Alright, I will... reach all the way into the back of the freezer.”

Jonah leans into the freezer, bracing himself for chills and shivers. And...

... Nothing.

It’s cold, but it’s... not bothering him that much. he leans in, grabs the pizza, and leans back out without feeling any more cold than he did prior to the task.

“Thank you, young man. You should grab yourself one too, it’ll put some color into those cheeks.”

The old woman walks away, and Jonah pulls out his phone to look up symptoms of frostbite and hypothermia.

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Justine shakes her head. “I’ve read Twilight a million times, if he was a vampire I would be able to tell.”

“What if we give him some garlic bread, and tell him it’s normal bread?” Sandra suggests.

“Because if he’s just allergic to garlic, we won’t know the difference. Doy.” Marcus scoff-laughs at Sandra and points at her mockingly with his thumb.

“What are you guys talking about?” Garrett asks, rolling up to the group. “Marcus, aren’t you supposed to be unloading a truck right now?”

“Eh, didn’t feel like it. Anyway, we’re trying to figure out if Jonah is a vampire now.”

“Are you serious?”

They all nod. Garrett grins. He folds his hands in his lap. “So what have you tried so far?”

“Nothing yet,” Justine admits.

“We might give him garlic bread,” Sandra says with a shrug. “Is he allergic to garlic?”

“No.”

Sandra lights up. “So it would work!” Her smiles fades. “Oh. But then it might kill him.”

“We can’t do that! The Horsemen stick together, I could never hurt my best friend.” Marcus shakes his head. “What if we just drop something really heavy on him and see if he catches it?”

“That won’t hurt him?” Garrett checks.

“Not if he’s a vampire.”

“Right, right. How about instead of splattering him across the Wheaties boxes, you just ask Glenn to go pester him with Bible stuff?” Garrett would love to see that, Jonah gets to flustered over trying not to offend while trying to get away. It’s hilarious.

Marcus points at Garrett with a smile. “That- yes! Perfect! Thanks man!”

The small group runs off, and Garrett laughs a little to himself as he heads on back to customer service.

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“Oh, this one is one of my favorite verses, so here we go, ahem-”

“Hey, Glenn? Isn’t there a-a rule, against doing this kind of thing at work?”

“Well... technically... but Marcus told me you wanted to know my favorite parts of the Bible, so I just sort of thought why wait.”

“He- really? Because I’m not... known, for being very curious about... the Bible...”

“But you are known for being curious about your friends,” Glenn says with a point and a smile.

Jonah plasters on a smile himself. “Yeah. Yeah, I do tend to-”

“Get a little nosy.”

“... I was going to say get involved, but... I-I guess nosy works too. But um, I’m restocking the ice cream right now, so kind of have to act fast,” Jonah motions at the freezeer.

“Oh, then I’ll make this quick! Okay, this verse says-”

Jonah sighs, rubbing his head. His headache is just getting worse and worse. He’s pretty sure it’s the lights, or maybe the dry-cold freezer air, but Glenn’s babbling is not helping.

And his voice is really grating right now. It’s not exactly soothing at even the best of times, but Jonah is pretty sure he’d rather listen to nails on a chalkboard than another round of ‘Top Bible Verses’ from Glenn.

“Okay!” he snaps. “That’s good, that is- that is very much enough! Thank you for sharing something you enjoy with me, now please let me do my job!”

Glenn startles, and then hugs his Bible to his chest. “Fine. Then I guess you don’t get to hear me sing the top five best Psalms. Which is too bad for you, because Jerusha says I do them well enough to be on radio.”

Glenn walks away, and Jonah sighs. He hadn’t meant to snap, it was just really getting on his nerves. ... At least his headache is a little better already without the extra noise.

He watches Glenn walk away, and then catches sight of Justine and Sandra quickly ducking behind another isle. He looks on in confusion for a moment more, and then gets back to work.

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“Okay, we need a real plan,” Justine sighs.

“For what?” Dina pauses on her way to the coffee pot. “More raccoons? Did they find a snake in the bananas again?”

“We think Jonah night be a vampire,” Sandra says.

Cheyenne stops eating her lunch. “Oh my god, you told them?”

“I couldn’t think of anything else to say!” Mateo defends. “It’s been a boring day! Other than, you know, Jonah almost dying.”

“Wait, you guys think Jonah is a vampire? No way, have you seen him? That’d be too cliche.” Dina scoffs at the idea. And then looks at the ground, a thoughtful frown appearing on her face. “Although the cliche would also mean it makes sense...”

Garrett eats a chip. “Come on, he’d be a terrible vampire. Vampires are supposed to be confidant and suave. Jonah can’t even explain his cookie choices without a five-minute tirade.”

“And he’d cut himself off at least six times in those five minute,” Dina says with a slight wince. “Yeah, he’d be a terrible vampire.”

“I don’t know. Sometimes he’s really confident, and he does that smirk thing?” Sandra says, gesturing to her own mouth for emphasis. “Plus, he always stands like a politician.”

“And he puts way too much product in his hair! That’s a total vampire thing,” Cheyenne says with a definitive shrug.

“He does already have that black-hair-pale-skin thing going for him...” Mateo admits. “If he could be a villain on CW he could be a vampire.”

“And how would he drink blood?” Garrett asks. “Just talk until the person passes out? Ask overly politely in a way that really sounds like he’s trying to ask for sex?”

Everyone murmurs in agreement.

“He would starve,” Cheyenne declares. “Because he’d be picky, too, right?”

“Picky like, about the person’s health?” Mateo asks with a doubtful frown. “He’d probably freak out about not wanting to discriminate though.”

“That would be the starvation,” Dina says with a nod. “He’d be too worried about the socio-political crap of whoever he picks so he’d just debate himself until it was too late.”

“... That’d be kind of funny,” Mateo says quietly.

Everyone thinks for a moment, and then agrees.

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“Hey, Jonah.” Dina snaps her fingers in front of Jonah’s face, jarring him out of his standing sleep. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Sorry, Dina.” Jonah rubs his face. “I feel exhausted.”

“It’s the middle of the day.”

“Yeah! Yeah, I know. Um, what did you need?”

“I need you to go help Brett move some of the exercise equipment, the dolly broke.”

“Wh- so-so we have to move it by hand?”

“You’ve got a little muscle on your noodle arms, you can handle it.” Dina slaps him on the back and walks away. Jonah huffs, hands on his hips. After a moment he shakes his head and moves over to exercise.

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“Okay, now we find out for sure,” Dina says smugly. “No way a Human Jonah could handle the weight of that stuff.”

Everyone is crammed into the surveillance office, watching Jonah on the monitors.

“Should one of us tell Amy about this?” Cheyenne asks. “I feel like we’re leaving her out.”

“It is weird that I’m in on this and not her,” Marcus agrees. “But she’d probably tell us this is ‘dangerous’ or something.”

“She wouldn’t like it at all,” Dina confirms. “Best to just tell her about it later, or let her find out on her own. Later.”

They watch Jonah and Brett work together surprisingly smoothly, moving the heavy equipment with a perfectly human amount of struggling. Dina leans back in her chair with a disappointed sigh. “Dammit. I almost let myself believe in magic...”

“Wait, look!” Cheyenne points to the monitor.

Everyone looks, excited and hopeful. And they collectively sigh and grumble.

“He’s just talking to a customer,” Mateo says.

“A super rude one! I’ve dealt with him before, he’s a total asshole. Let’s turn on the audio and listen to Jonah freak out.”

“I do love a good Jonah freakout.” Dina turns on the audio.

“Yeah, I-I’m sorry, sir, we just don’t carry that here anymore.”

“This store has carried it for over ten years.”

“Yeah, it’s a bummer! I know I hate when store stop carrying stuff I like. But maybe! Maybe we can view this as a-a chance for personal growth, for you! A chance at... at evolution, at moving forward-”

“Are you mocking me, little bitch boy?”

Everyone gasps. “Oh no he didn’t,” Cheyenne whispers. On the camera, Jonah is clearly taken aback, leaning away from the customer and staring with wide eyes.

“Some... very strong language, sir. Um, no, I just meant that maybe, you know, instead of-of viewing this in the negative-”

“So I’m a negative person?”

“No! No, I can’t- I don’t know you! I can’t make judgements about people that fast! Just- I hope this doesn’t ruin your day, right? And-and I want to see if we can find you a-a replacement, so that you can still have what you want!”

“How important do you think this is to me? You think I’m pathetic? Can’t be happy without my specific little brand?”

“No, I just-”

“I’m gonna need to speak with your bitch of a floor manager or whatever she’s called.”

“... I’m sorry?”

“Your bitch of a floor manager. The loud Latina lady.”

Dina stands up, ready to go beat the man with a bat for talking about her best friend that way. Cheyenne pushes her back down, jaw dropped. “I think Jonah is about to stand up to him,” she says.

Jonah is indeed, looking quite pissed off. He steps closer, and looks the much taller man right in the eyes. Jonah’s a good head shorter, his hair barely coming up to the other man’s chin, yet for some reason unknown the black-and-white monitor shows the customer being the one who leans back.

“You, sir, are a very unpleasant person,” Jonah says in a calm, measured voice. “And I think you need to do some self-reflection. I think you should leave the store, and learn how to talk about people without using the word ‘bitch’, alright?”

It’s so overly polite it’s almost comical. Yet somehow... it works.

The customer stands there for a second, then just... walks away. Jonah watches after him, the calm and collection expression on his face quickly giving way to confusion. He looks around as though wondering if someone else had done something to scare the customer off.

“Confidence boost,” Sandra says softly.

Cheyenne pulls out a notebook and ticks something off. “That counts as evidence.”

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Jonah has no clue what just happened.

One moment he was speaking with a rude customer, the next the customer was walking away and Jonah has no clue why. What he does know was that his headache was slightly better, and that he really wishes his lunch break was sooner because he is famished.

Someone taps him on the shoulder, and he nearly jumps out of his skin. He turns around to see Amy looking at him with slight concern. “You okay? You’re just sort of... staring off into space.”

“Hmm? Oh, yeah. Uh... yeah, I’m fine. Totally fine.”

“... I don’t believe you.”

“Well, then you... have trust issues, because I am. I’m fine.”

“... Sure... can I see your neck again, real quick?”

“Why?”

“Because you’re acting weird and I want to make sure you’re not developing an infection that’s getting to your brain?”

“... Yeah, check away.”

Amy checks, and winces. “Youch. Yeah, let’s get some more antibiotics on those.” She starts leading him towards the breakroom. “So, what happened with that customer? I came over right at the tail end, missed the whole thing.”

“Oh. Um... I guess I just, really got through to him.”

“You?”

“Yes, me, why- what is that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing! It’s just, usually when you try to calm down a customer you don’t get very far.”

“Well, you know, sometimes people just listen if you hit the right cords-”

“Mmm-hmm, yeah.”

“-I guess I just found the right words to resonate with him, is all I’m saying.” If only he knew what those words were...

Creak

Jonah pauses. “Did-did you just hear that?”

“Hear what?”

Creaaak

Jonah looks up. “I think the ceiling is about to collapse.”

“Why?”

CREAAAAK!

A mass of merch falls from the ceiling! Amy and Jonah both scream, brace themselves, Amy still holding onto Jonah and Jonah still holding onto Amy-!

...

And... they’re a safe distance from it all as it crashes down.

A multitude of raccoons scamper out and scatter, their Nest Of Stolen Goods now revealed. Jonah and Amy watch from the sidelines.

The sidelines!

“How did we get over here?” Amy is staring at the pile.

“... I don’t know,” Jonah replies, staring as well. Oh, what an adrenaline rush, his heart is racing- ... it... should... be racing...

Amy’s hand is still around Jonah’s wrist. She looks at him for a moment, and then shakes off the shock. “Okay, um, let’s get a team to clean this up, and get some antibiotic on your neck.”

“Will that part take a whole team, too?”

“Ha-ha, Jonah. ... I’m just glad neither of us got hurt.”

“Yeah. Me too.”

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“OH MY GOD OH MY GOD!” Cheyenne grabs Mateo and starts shaking him. “DID YOU SEE WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!”

“WE ALL SAW!” Mateo shouts, pushing Cheyenne away. He huffs and brushes off his sweater. “All three of us left, anyway.”

Dina taps the monitor. “That’s why you never leave the surveillance room after something mildly interesting happens! Something big always follows!”

“He’s actually a vampire,” Mateo says in disbelief. “He vampire-ran away from that junk, he’s actually a vampire!”

Dina scoff-laughs. “The little guy pulled off one hell of a ruse, huh? Pretty clever, faking amnesia.”

Cheyenne stops her mini victory celebration. “Whoa, why do you think he’s faking?”

“Because why wouldn’t I? He’s a vampire now, even if he actually doesn’t remember what happened it’s got to be pretty obvious to him that he’s undead. ... Right?”

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“What’re you googling?” Amy dabs at the neck wounds gently with a damp cloth as she prepares to put on the antibiotic cream.

“Symptoms of frostbite and hypothermia. I guess everyone got into my head this morning, and I’ve had some weird stuff happen to me...”

“Well... anything about last night coming back? Could help you figure out whatever symptoms you’ve got.”

“Still nothing.” Jonah rubs his neck when Amy is done dabbing it with the cloth. “I still feel like the day just started, honestly.”

“Oh yeah,” Amy agrees. “Today’s going to be a long day.”

#Superstore #superstore jonah #superstore amy #superstore nbc #superstore tv #jonah simms #Amy Sosa #Dina Fox #garrett mcneil #glenn sturgis #sandra kaluiokalani #vampire #vampires #Vampire!Jonah AU #blood tw #death mention #fanfic #my attempts at fanfic

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herstrayskies · 3 years ago

Text

Matching Crowns

Yatori Week 2021 Day 4 - Moving Forward

Ao3 Link or read below~

Thanks to @asin-ka for being my beta <3

Matching Crowns

It had been four years since Hiyori was in the city inhabited by a wishful thinking God and his ever devoted shinki. She was only there to meet up with her childhood friends seeing that they had to beg her up and down for weeks to come and enjoy a weekend with them. The only thing that held her back was the possibility of running into him. So when she finally broke down and decided to come back home, the memories of her teenage years flooded back in like a tsunami the moment she stepped off that train. The temptation to visit her once favorite shrines tugged at the back of her mind like a fishing rod every time she passed them. The bait was ever so tempting but her pride was stronger.

That is until she heard his voice, smelled her favorite scent. Something that was a mix of cherry blossoms and honey.

-More under the cut-

The bustling of the city wasn’t enough to keep her eyes from finding him in a second. He was passing out business cards on the street to unkind people who passed him by without a hint of attention. But then again, she knew a lot of those people couldn’t see or hear him as he shouted his name into the unending crowd. She wanted to reach out and grab a card out of his hands for the sake of his happiness but she had to remind herself that they hadn’t talked to each other in years. Knowing well that he was the one that vanished from her life.

She readjusted the bag on her shoulder and turned away from her once friend; holding back the need to have her fate twined with his once again.

One Day Later

The bar was packed and Hiyori wasn’t much of a drinker but couldn’t resist her friends' smiling faces and pleading eyes when they asked her to go to their favorite hang out. It was dark and lit by colored ambient light like any other place. A mix of young and old people filled the booths and bar stools. It was loud but what bar wasn’t on a Saturday night? The three friends found an empty table in the middle of all the bustle and patiently waited to be served their first drink.

It wasn’t long before the round of drinks kept coming with each emptied glass. As the liquor started to calm her down, creating a light and bubbly atmosphere, Hiyori began to enjoy herself and forgot all about a certain boyish God.

The group of friends laughed over their high school adventures and talked about the new people they’ve come across in college. The two of them kept bugging her about any potential suitors but she waved them off each time, attempting to make them believe that school was more important to her. Which wasn’t entirely a lie but not entirely true either.

Hiyori got up out of her seat to use the restroom and swayed her way down the dimly lit hall. She almost ran into a woman leaving the bathroom but was quickly able to avoid her only to tumble into someone close behind. She laughed and apologized without looking back and slipped into the restroom before the door closed. She could have sworn she heard her name whispered through the crack.

When she returned to the main part of the bar, she scouted out the area for her table. It was getting later into the evening which dissipated the huge crowds. What was left were the small groups of friends catching up, couples sharing secrets over drinks, businessmen being shaken awake by the bartenders, and the few regulars sipping their way through their favorite liquor. Eventually, people’s faces began to blur in with one another and the room started to spin. It wasn’t until a lock of dark violet hair passing her by that made her eyes go into focus again.

She really didn’t know he would be there. He wasn’t known to go to bars, not while she knew him. He was more into stealing beer out of her father’s or Daikoku’s fridge.

But the sight of him made the movement of everyone else stop. His name played on her tongue like the strong alcohol she had downed not even ten minutes ago. She wouldn’t let it spill but the temptation was a strong tug on her heart. Its beat sped up with each step she took towards him. It had been three years. Three years of silence and unanswered messages. Three years of desire and grief.

She grabbed onto his wrist without a care in the world and when his heavenly blue eyes met hers she felt that tight bond weaving through her fingertips again. She held on tightly to that feeling and spoke before he could even get a word out.

“I’m Hiyori Iki, and I was wondering if you’d like to have a drink with me.”

His laughter rang throughout the bar and into her heart. That was the smile she missed so much.

“Nice to meet you, Iki-san,” he wiped tears from the corners of his eyes, “Sorry about that but I’ve never had a girl, save for you, be so bold to flirt with me.”

She felt her face heat up and tried to convince herself that it was only the alcohol, “I’m very upfront about what I want.”

“Only when you’re drunk, right?

“Yes, ah wait,” what was she saying?

“As you should be,” he reached for her hand and pulled it up to his lips, leaving a brushed kiss on her knuckles, “please, call me Yato.”

Slightly annoyed that he knew how to appease her, with her lips quivering of the thought of those lips on hers instead, she smiled and took her hand away. Did he believe that she didn’t remember him or was he playing along?

“Nice to meet you, Yato.”

A blush crept across his face before turning away from her, “to the bar, shall we?”

She followed behind him and nodded towards her friends as she passed by their table. They seemed as shocked as she was that she was getting a drink with some random stranger. She noticed how he hadn’t changed at all, that none of her teenage years was a lie and she really was best friends with a God and his shinki. He asked her what she wanted to drink as they approached the bar. She told him to surprise her. He grinned that conniving grin and turned back to the bartender, ordering each of them a mixed drink she’d never heard of before.

“So what brings you here, Iki-san?” Yato passed her a glass and motioned for her to take a seat.

She shook her head, “call me Hiyori.” They sat down at a secluded booth near the back end of the bar. She watched as he stirred the contents with his finger before licking it clean. She tried her best not to stare but her eyes couldn’t help but gravitate towards his lips. She remembered them fleetingly, how soft and desperate they were the night before they last saw each other. She lowered her head, staring at her untouched drink. “I was meeting with my childhood friends. We happened to pass by this bar and decided to get a few drinks.”

Yato took a swig of his drink and grinned slyly, “happened to pass by, huh?”

The hairs on the back of her neck rose at his accusatory voice. It’s not like she knew he would be here but she could see how it would seem suspicious. She thought she hid it pretty well, acting like these past few years had wiped her memory clean of any evidence that he was real. She knew better than that, she could never get him off her mind. No matter how many boys glanced her way or tried to catch her after classes ended. She feared getting involved with anyone else would make her memory start to fade. And he was a memory she never wanted to forget.

“Ami and Yama said this is their favorite bar so they invited me to come check it out,” she admitted, taking a hesitant sip of her drink. It was a bit strong but nothing she couldn’t handle.

“Ah, and where are these friends of yours?”

Hiyori turned her head to find her friends sitting at the table she left not too long ago. They happened to both be staring at her, of course. They were always nosey when it came to Hiyori’s boy endeavors. She hesitantly waved at them as they returned more triumphant, attention-grabbing waves. Yama winked while Ami had a thumbs up. God, why were they like this?

She turned around to Yato’s big smile, a bit too overconfident for her liking.

“Looks like they’re cheering you on.”

Hiyori took another nervous sip of her drink, “they like to embarrass me.”

Yato laughed, making her wish more and more that she could just tell him the truth. That she in fact remembered him to the core. That she just wanted to reach across the table, grab the collar of his shirt and bring those idiotic lips to hers. She pushed the feeling deep down to the pit of her stomach.

“So what do you do, Hiyori?”

She set her drink down and continued with her facade, “well I’m studying medicine. My family has their own practice, a hospital actually, and I’ve always wanted to carry on the family trade.”

“Always?”

She stared at the ice slowly melting in her drink, diluting the alcohol. “I think at one point, when I was in high school, I didn’t really know what I wanted.” She noticed the silence between them carried on a little longer than she would have liked. She looked up from her drink and found a curious expression on his face. Almost hurt but uncertain.

“I guess most high school students are like that, huh?”

She couldn’t help but notice the wrinkles on his brow, the unspoken words on his lips.

“I guess so,” she was desperate to change the subject, “and you? What do you do.”

He shrugged and finished his drink, “I’m a man of many trades. I do what I can to make a living to support my family.”

“Sounds like your heart is in the right place,” she thought about Yukine and Nora and how well Yato got them accustomed to each other over the course of two years. How they slowly developed into this small, weird-found family. She took another sip, she hoped they were still happy.

“I wouldn’t be who I am without them, without-“

Hiyori raised her brows at him, wondering where his words were leading. He had covered his mouth to stop them from overflowing something not meant for her ears. She took a final long swig of her drink and tilted her head.

“What are they like? You’re family?”

Yato slowly dropped his hand from his mouth, a forced smile playing on his lips. He reached for his drink, “it’s gonna take a couple more of these to talk about my loved ones, Hiyori.”

For some reason that made her blush and she opted out to get up and order them more drinks from the bar. The rational thinking was completely wiped from her mind and she blamed the booze.

2 hours later

Her jaw started to hurt from the laughter and never-ending smile he continued to put on her face. She had missed his quirkiness and outright stupidity but she didn’t truly realize it until it hurt to smile. Over and over again.

He talked about his “kid” and how smart he was, how he studied every day even though he really didn’t need to. He praised his sister for overcoming her fears and guilt. He talked about the scuffles he’d get in with a certain glasses-wearing pervert and his long-haired skanky woman. He laughed about a certain clumsy girl with her rigid but loving partner. He talked about the family he found in them and how much he enjoyed their everyday adventures.

She couldn’t help but notice he never mentioned missing a certain girl who so terribly missed him. She put it to the back of her mind and continued to listen to his heartwarming and idiotic stories. It was as if she never left his side.

The snow was getting heavier as they trudged along the city's edge, walking over a bridge that seemed to be very familiar. He stumbled a bit due to a rock hidden among the blanketed snow or possibly the multiple drinks he downed before they left the bar and her friends behind. Luckily for her, the cold was able to sober her up just enough to keep an attentive eye on her friend.

“Be careful, Yato,” she said as she grabbed his arm to steady his balance. He turned his head and gave his usual silly lopsided grin. Oh, he was definitely drunk.

“Hiyori, you’re very kind, you know that?”

She felt a sudden feeling of dread course through her body. She didn’t feel kind, not at all. Not when she’d been lying to him this whole time. Until she reminded herself that without the lies, she wouldn’t be very kind to him at all. Not when he just up and left-

He slipped and fell to his back; sprawled out in the snow, he started laughing. She crouched next to him and wondered what could ever be so funny. Her eyes traveled to his lips, admiring his smile, brighter than a full moon on a clear night. To his eyes, bright pools of hope, joy, and love.

“Are you okay?” She asked as she reached out to help him back on his drunken feet.

He turned his head to the side to look at her, his blue eyes pleading for something she didn’t quite understand. His hand clasped around hers and he held onto it, making no sign of getting up from the snow-dusted bridge. He slowly brought her hand to his cheek and rested it there. Her hand rushed with heat along with her own cheeks. He chuckled and closed his eyes at her soft touch.

“I think this is the happiest I’ve been in years.”

“Years?” She played along, trying to not let her heart burst out of her chest for feeling the same way. “You just talked about how much you loved your friends and family.”

He slowly blinked at her, “I was a lot happier when my best friend was at my side.”

She tried her hardest not to reveal anything from her expression but she was sure she let a beat of sorrow slip, “What happened with them?”

“How long are you staying in town?” He asked, dismissing her question.

She smiled softly and shook her head, “I’ll be returning to school tomorrow afternoon.”

His smile faltered for a split second, “Ever so fleeting, Hiyori Iki.”

“As is life.”

He laughed, deep from his chest and his heart, her hand still resting against his warming cheek. He closed his eyes and breathed out a heavy sigh, his breath visible in the cold, late-night air. “Will we meet again?”

Hiyori felt like a jolt of lightning struck her, she stood up quickly, ripping her hand from his, and began to walk away from the drunken God. Her mind was whirling with never-ending thoughts, his words from so long ago hammering her brain. We shall meet again.

How horrible of him, she thought. The anger and sadness she felt that day when she realized he had stopped visiting her. Tears tried to break free but her desperate lie kept the mask on her face, hiding so desperately what she didn’t want him to find out.

She didn’t hear his steadfast footsteps and almost fell back onto him as he grabbed her wrist. She stopped, her feet almost crossing the line of the wooden bridge. She begged herself to keep on going, to forget this ever happened, forget the stupidity of her own decision of approaching him again tonight. She had let the alcohol get the best of her, after three years of forcing herself to stray from the person she loved most in this world.

But his hand was so warm, wrapped around her wrist, his fingers soft and tender as the night those very same hands caressed the back of her neck, kissing her with all the love he had stored away in his heart. She remembered the way he murmured I love you’s against her lips as she nervously chuckled, repeating it back to him.

“Please don’t go, Hiyori,” he pleaded.

She continued to stare down at her own two feet, wondering if he’d continue to come after her if she pulled away again. He said something under his breath, too low for her to hear and she forced herself to look back at him. His eyes sorrowful and lost, a look of desperation splayed across his face.

“What did you say?” She asked, scared to hear his answer.

“I’ve missed you.”

Four Years Ago

The party had quieted down by evening. Kofuku was passed out drunk under the table while Daikoku took care to clean up the leftover food and drinks without waking her. Yukine and Nora sat on the back porch in lightweight coats, watching the sunset behind the clouds. Hiyori sat at the table looking at her and Kofuku’s unfinished game of Onigiri roulette. She was happy for the small graduation party her friends had thrown for her and even happier that Yato was the one to organize it. After missing her birthday the first time around, he always made sure to never forget it or other important events again.

She reminisced a few hours back when she walked in and everyone cheered “Congratulations'' to her. Food was hot and ready to be eaten, a few graduation gifts in the corner of the room begging to be ripped open. They ate, played games, and re-lived events that had long come and gone.

She smiled as her fingertips brushed against the notebook Yukine had gotten for her. “Don’t Give Up,” was sprawled across the top. He told her that as long as she’d write her class notes in there, she would never fail a test. A blessing from a God’s Guidepost in the form of a lucky charm.

Hiyori looked up at Daikoku as he lifted Kofuku in his arms, staring lovingly at his Goddess before realizing he was being watched. She almost felt jealous, wishing she had someone to look at her like that.

He cleared his throat. “I’m gonna take the missus to bed, why don’t you go see what Yato is doing?”

She wondered if he could tell she was thinking about him, “where did he go?”

He shrugged, “he probably slunk back to his room after realizing he’s the only one who didn’t get you a present.”

Hiyori laughed, “I don’t need him sulking like he did when he found out about my birthday that first year,” she got up and dusted off her skirt, “guess I’ll go see what he’s up to.”

She watched as he took away Kofuku before heading up the stairs. Odd metallic noises could be heard from the hallway but she couldn’t quite figure out what it was. She made her way to the top and opened the doorway to his room.

She found him there, sitting at the small desk against the wall, working on something. She quietly made her way over to him, hoping not to alert him, and stopped as she was close enough to peer over his shoulder. She couldn’t see what he was working on.

“So this is where you disappeared to?”

Startled, Yato put his hands over something on the table and looked up at her, “H-hiyori! What are you doing here?”

She laughed, “Well I was wondering where the organizer of my party went and had to come looking,” she tilted her head, “what are you working on?”

He looked back to his hands, “um well, I’m kinda working on,” he paused before looking back to her, “a gift for you.”

“For me?” Her voice hitched up with anticipation, “what is it?”

“Well, it’s not done yet. I meant to finish it up last night but Yukine and I got a job and it was very tiring you know,” he looked at her with desperate eyes, “I got back home, immediately crashed on the floor and didn’t have time so I thought…” he trailed off. She could tell he felt bad for not getting her gift done in time for the party but it made her heart flutter knowing he was making something special for her. She sat down cross-legged and turned her back to his, slightly leaning against him.

“Can I keep you company while you finish it? I promise I won’t look.” She listened as he readjusted his position to uncover her unfinished gift.

“That would be nice,” he admitted. He started working away again, his back shifting against hers once in a while. It was warm, he felt warm. She brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, resting her head on top.

“Thank you for the party, Yato. I had a lot of fun.”

“O-of course. You graduated High School! It only happens once in life you know.”

She laughed, “I do have to say though, I can’t believe you left me to play Onigiri Roulette alone with Kofuku.”

“I’ve played way too many times, I don’t need a mouth full of toothpaste again, no thanks.”

Hiyori straightened up and turned just enough to see the side of his smiling face, “still, I expected you to be there but you crawled away without even a word.”

He bit his lip, his eye-catching hers, “I’m sorry, I just really wanted to give you this.”

Hiyori ever so casually placed her chin on his shoulder, their faces mere inches apart, “this gift must be extra special then.” Without realizing it she took in his calming and sweet scent. How she wished it was her own.

His face flushed and he turned away from her eyes, “y-you promised you wouldn’t look.”

She peeled away and readjusted herself, pressing her back into his once again, “sorry, I couldn’t help myself.”

He mumbled something under his breath but continued to work. The silence pressed on and anticipation slowly scratched at her heart.

“Have you heard back from any colleges yet?”

Her heart sank with the deep weight of a folded-up letter in her skirt pocket. She had planned on telling him. She really did. But every day it seemed harder and harder. Being accepted to a prestigious medicine school that was hours away from her best friend was a hard pill to swallow. She had no idea when she’d find the time to visit him and she didn’t want him to forget his duties, put them on the sideline for her. With him on the way to becoming a God of Fortune, she couldn’t let him give that up for her. He also had his responsibility to be there for Yukine more than her. She could never deny that. Not after everything that they had been through.

She just had to tell him, grab the letter out of her pocket and show him the good news-

“Not yet, but I’m pretty positive I’ll get into the place I want,” she hated lying.

“Definitely! You’re so smart, I know you’ll do great.”

She smiled at his compliment. She kind of knew it herself but hearing it from the person you like is a completely different story.

“Okay, It’s all done,” his voice was chipper, “Hiyori, close your eyes, please.”

She did. She felt him shift behind her, felt the brush of his knees against her lower back as he knelt down behind her. Then, ever so cautiously, his hands collected her long hair to move over her right shoulder. His fingertips brushed against the nape of her neck and a small shiver ran through her back, more aware of his fleeting touch. She felt nothing for a few breaths until something light and small tapped the center of her upper chest. Instinctively she moved her hand to check it out but Yato’s own hand caught hers before she could.

“Not yet, just one more second,” he released her hand and she put it back into her lap while he went back to work. She tried her best to keep her mind off his timid and floating touches but every nerve in her body wanted to focus solely on where his hands were.

“Okay, you can open your eyes now,” he said as his hands disappeared from her senses, “Congrats on graduating, Hiyori.”

When she opened her eyes and looked down at the golden necklace hanging from her neck she almost gasped. She picked up the charm between two fingers and admired the handiwork made by the hands of a god. By her friend, Yato.

It was a crown, small and golden. One that matched his own. May our fates intertwine engraved neatly on the back. She fought the tears building up behind her eyes as she turned on him. His face was flushed, an embarrassed smile playing on his lips.

“I love it.” She said, still holding onto the small crown in her hand.

“I’m glad. I hope you don’t think it’s weird I just thought-“ he stopped as she rested her hand on his chest, her fingertips brushing against the crown embroidered on his tracksuit.

She smiled, earnestly as ever, “we match.” She kept her eyes level with the crown, too shy to make eye contact, too embarrassed to see what kind of expression he would make next.

To her surprise, he reached for the very hand placed on his chest and rested it on top of hers. She felt his heartbeat start to pick up a fast and steady tempo. What was this feeling that pulsated under her palm? What was his heart trying to say? Surely he didn’t feel the same...

She hesitantly looked up and met his burning eyes. Her own heart started to fluctuate as she noticed the heavy blush across his cheeks and at the tip of his ears.

Oh.

“Does it make you happy that it matches?”

“Y-yeah. It’s like I always have a part of you with me,” she bit her tongue from saying anything more.

She felt his hair brush against her cheek as he fell forward a bit. His breath inching closer to her ear.

“May I say something?” He asked, barely above a whisper.

She nodded her head, unable to get an unshaken word past her lips.

He rested his forehead on her shoulder, breathing an unsteady breath down her collarbone. His heart wasn’t letting up now nor anytime soon.

“I’ve been wanting to tell you this for a very long time but I just didn’t know when the right time would be.” With his head back up, he took her hand in his before bringing it to his lips, mimicking that first night at Capybara Land. The hair on the back of her neck rose with the certainty that her heart was in sync if not faster than his now. He smiled nervously but lovingly all the same behind their hands, “Forgive me if I’m out of line but, Hiyori...”

She sucked in a hesitant breath. No, he couldn’t, there’s no way he-

“I love you,” he let out a relieved sigh, “I love you and it's something I’ve been sure of for a long time now,” he briefly kissed her shaking fingers before letting the hold on her go, returning her hand to his chest where she once felt his heart's beating. It fluttered beneath her hand like a scared little bird.

She was scared too. She parted her lips to reply but closed them soon after. She wanted to say so many things with the first thing being I love you too . She wondered if it was okay to love him at all, a God.

He smiled nervously at her silence and chuckled. “You don’t need to reply now or even ever if you don’t want to. I’ll understand if you don’t want to-“ he stopped at the feeling of her hand trailing its way up past his heart, to the side of his neck to his cheek. She felt the heat beneath it, his true feelings. She met his eyes and returned a nervous smile.

“Actually, I uh,” she bit her bottom lip before parting them once more, “I feel the same.”

His mouth was agape and she had to suppress a laugh at his shocked expression.

“R-really? Are you sure you don’t mean something else?”

“Yato, be more confident in yourself. I’ve told you this multiple times.”

“Yeah but I just want to make sure it's the same way I feel,” he grumbled.

She sighed and swallowed her nervousness. “Yato, I love you,” she tilted her head, “I’ve known for quite a while myself.”

He smiled, “when was this?”

Hiyori pursed her lips, “when you left to find your father and I came after you. Kazuma stopped me and told me that a God can never love a human.”

It felt good to get it off her chest but she immediately had to talk Yato out of beating up his former shinki.

“It’s fine, right? He was wrong,” she reassured him.

He reached for both her hands and brought them towards his lips, he kissed them and looked at her with unwavering eyes. “He was very wrong. I’ve never loved anything more in my life than you.”

She swallowed hard as her whole body heated up at his words. She watched as he lowered her hands to fit in the space between them. He inched closer, his eyelashes fluttering.

“Hiyori, can I try something new?”

“W-what?” She had an idea as she saw him quickly lick his lips. Oh man was the room getting hotter or was it the verge of springtime flowing in from the window?

All of a sudden his hand was caressing her warm cheek, her embarrassment reflected upon them with a shade of pink.

“I think you know,” he chuckled nervously.

“I d-don’t unless you clearly s-say it.”

“May I kiss you?” It came out as a soft and careful question and it warmed her heart that he asked. He knew what heartbreak and suffering the last one caused her. She squeezed his other hand that was still holding onto hers. She couldn’t get any words out so instead she nodded.

First, she felt his hair tickle her forehead and the side of her cheek. Next was the warmth of his exhaled breath before taking one in. Last was his hesitant lips hovering over hers before she pushed herself to steal away the last remaining space between them.

She didn’t know the full extent of what a real kiss could feel like. She didn’t know it would make her stomach flutter, her fingertips tingle, her heart burst into a tiny flame. His lips were soft and warm and so gentle. He began to pull her in more and more with each sparing breath they took. When his hands took roost on her hips it felt like nothing she’s ever experienced before. It felt electrifying. It felt right.

She had to keep telling herself that this wasn’t sudden in the slightest. It wasn’t as if they hadn’t seen this coming. Not when soon after defeating his father they started to confide in each other more and more. It wasn’t as if after that first accidental handhold under the kotatsu, that his hands just so happened to entangle themselves with hers on occasion. He would never take a hold of her hand after walking her back to her house, kissing the inside of her palm before their goodnight farewells. She definitely didn’t find excuses to give him hug after hug. As if she wanted to feel the warmth and closeness of his body, to get a secret whiff of her favorite scent. She wouldn’t even admit the fact of him kissing her forehead a total of eight times.

And no she certainly was not keeping count, but she would admit that most of them were when their lips had almost met each other’s, but one would reel back in realization. He’d give her a kiss above her brow for forgiveness.

But now he was murmuring I love you over and over again against her heated lips. She had her shaky hands wrapped around his neck, pulling him in closer and closer like an uncontrollable need. She had wanted this for so long; since the moment he appeared to her with his broken shrine in hand but instead of looking at the damage her eyes couldn’t stray away from those lips.

The early spring was cold but Hiyori wasn’t lacking in warmth. Yato helped with that.

“Shouldn’t you be heading home soon?” He said in a soft, warm voice, his fingers brushing hair behind her ear.

“Probably,” was all that she could muster. He laughed as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. He sat behind her now, with enough room between his legs for her to sit perfectly, her back against his chest. She liked the feeling of his heart pounding behind her, his breath tickling the side of her neck, his hand reaching for hers. She grabbed on and squeezed, realizing she really didn’t want to go home.

“I’ll walk you home if you want,” he suggested.

“Are you trying to get rid of me?” She teased.

“Believe me, Hiyori, I don’t want you to leave, not ever. But I also don’t want your family to panic when they realize you aren’t home.”

A hum escaped her lips. He was right but there was one thing she had to do before she left.

Yato seemed surprised as she turned around on her knees to fish something out of her skirt pocket. His eyes never left the rummaging of her hands even as they pulled out a folded piece of paper. He looked up at her and cocked his head as she tried to hand it to him.

“Go ahead, read it,” she said in a soft voice.

He did and it didn’t take him long to realize what it meant, well partly. He crashed into her, almost knocking her back onto the floor. He held onto her tightly and an excited laugh rang in her ear.

“I knew you’d make it in, Hiyori! I just knew!”

She hugged him back and buried her face in the crook of his neck. She was happy but the pit in her stomach was still there.

“You’re going to be amazing! Dr. Iki. Doesn’t that sound perfect?”

She pulled back and smiled lightly, “I’m excited,” she admitted, “but it’s far away, Yato.”

His happy face only faltered for a split second before he was able to put it back on. “I’ll come visit you every day.”

Hiyori laughed, “I’d love that, but please don’t forget about your first priority. Yukine will always need you.”

“Of course, I’ll be there whenever you want. I’m just a wish away.”

“Is that your new slogan?”

He placed a kiss on her forehead, “only for you, Hiyori.”

And he was right. He visited every day she wished him to. In between classes when quick kisses were stolen in empty hallways, on weekends when she had caught up on school work, and nights when the winter chill was just too much for her to bear alone. Some days they’d get lost in meaningless conversations or games while others they’d bask in silence and kisses.

On occasion Yukine would tag along, the three of them doing everything but also nothing in particular. It was like nothing really changed.

Not until he caught her with a failed test result.

“Are you sure you’re doing okay, Hiyori? Am I coming here too often?”

She jumped up at the question and stared down at him, lying next to her on her dorm room bed, “I’m doing fine! I just,” she paused trying to come up with an excuse, she sighed when she couldn’t, “forgot about it.”

He reached up and cupped her cheek, “remember when you said Yukine is my main priority? School is yours, don’t neglect it because of me.”

“I promise, I won’t.”

It was the only promise she managed to let slip from her hands. The last night they spent together was full of affection and words of love. He had gently taken her crown necklace that she wore every day between his two fingers and smiled at her.

“I’ll always love you, Hiyori.”

Present Day

Hiyori gripped onto the end of her sleeve like it was a lifeline. He had known all this time and hadn't said a word to her. He had known she was lying this whole time, acting as if she had forgotten him.

"You knew?"

"Of course I knew.”

“Did you follow me today, to the bar?”

His eyes flicked away and he shrugged.

“What was your plan? To avoid me the whole time I was there and hope I didn’t see you? Did you plan to approach me at all?”

“I don’t know I-“

"Why haven't you said anything? Why did you play along? All these years..."

He scratched the back of his head. “You were failing your classes, Hiyori. I saw your scores on essays and exams. I was a distraction, I’m not that naive to realize it wasn’t good to have me around all the time.”

“You didn’t say a word to me. You just stopped responding to me. Do you know what I went through?”

He watched the snowfall melt into the pond below them, below the bridge. “I do. Do you think I could go years without checking up on you?”

She clenched her teeth, “of course you did, you’re a high-class stalker.”

He chuckled and she almost had the nerve to push him over the bridge into the cold water below.

“Then why,” she pleaded, “if you knew how broken I was after you left without a single word, why did you never tell me why you left.”

“Because,” he paused, meeting her angry gaze, “I knew if I went to see you again, I wouldn’t be able to leave a second time.”

She ripped her hand from his and walked off the bridge. She wanted to yell at him, to call him selfish for all that he has done. But she couldn’t deny that he was right. After he disappeared, her grades skyrocketed, her focus shifting back to schoolwork. It was something to keep her mind off him. She also knew if he did come back to visit her, she would have found a way to make him stay.

“Do you know how hard it was to keep away from you, Hiyori? Every day I had to convince myself to not approach you, no matter how desperate I was.” She heard him sigh. “It took all my willpower to not let you see me again after that night.”

She stopped and spun around on him. "That night…"

“I knew it would be the last, that’s why I told you-”

“Shut up.”

He reached out for her, “Hiyori-“

“I said shut up!” Her hands were balled into fists against her side, her eyes never straying from the snow-covered ground.

He dropped his outstretched hand, hiding them deep within his pockets. “I’m sorry. I realize now I probably should have approached the situation differently.”

“It was inconsiderate.”

“I know.”

“Selfish and so stupid.” She couldn’t hold back her tears any longer and she flinched when his hand touched her cheek. She looked at him timidly, letting his thumb wipe the tears from her eyes.

“I’m an ass, that’s for sure,” he admitted.

“Most idiotic God for a boyfriend.”

“Hiyori, please-”

Her lips met his again, this time drowned by the saltiness of her tears. He accepted it with eagerness and pulled her in tight. There was sadness and desperateness behind her kiss. Something so raw and powerful that it almost made him falter at the knees.

She pulled away to only have him pull her in again. Keeping her lips and body hostage to his demand. She didn’t mind it but the longer this went on the harder it would be for her to walk away.

When they did, his arm lingered on her shoulder and down to her fingertips. They tingled and shook at the thought of not being able to see him again for God knows how long. They met eyes and she smiled first, her makeup running down her face.

“Will you come see me again?” She was almost afraid to ask.

He closed the distance once more, leaving a feathered kiss on her brow before tapping her forehead with his.

“Only if you keep your grades up. How many more years do you have until I start calling you Dr. Iki?”

She laughed and sniffled, her feelings all over the place. “Too many.” Looking up to his eyes she noticed he was staring down at her chest, at her necklace. “I wear it every day, you know.”

“I know, I’d sometimes watch you put it on.”

She shoved him playfully and he put up his hands in defense, “please forgive me my beautiful and ever so devoted girlfriend.”

“You’re gonna have to kiss up to me better than that for all the years you left me alone.”

He grinned, “Shall I start with your lips?”

“Hmm,” she hummed, “how about you start by walking me back to my hotel room?”

He grabbed her hand, “as you wish.”

#noragami #yatoriweek2021 #fanfic #my writing #yatori #matching crowns #moving forward #that was a long boy #it was originally very angsty but went against it

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silverisbestboy · 4 years ago

Text

Sonic Boom x Reader

Requested by @blackace1993: Conversation was accidentally deleted but from what I remeber of it, they wanted hc for the Sonic Boom characters who has a partner who frequently gets into trouble and/or captured by Eggman. They didn't specify which character they wanted so I just did all of them minus Tails. Hope you enjoy!

Sonic:

There's no denying it

Sonic was smitten

The moment you set foot on the island Sonic was taken aback by you

To him, you were drop dead gorgeous with a great personality so I guess you could say it was love at first sight for him

This boy is a fool for you

It's actually quite funny watching him zip across the island at the slightest remark that you need something

"Man, you what? I'm feeling kind of hungry"

"Say no more!" He'll say as he zooms away and reappears seconds later with a chili dog in hand

"Uhhhh"

But, unfortunately for you, being in any sort of relationship with Sonic is not wothout complication

Eggman sees you as a new oppurtunity to best Sonic and ends up taking you hostage on a regular basis

The first time it happens, Sonic all but destroys Eggman's fortress looking for you

But after it continuously happening, it starts getting kinda old

"Greeting Sonic! I see you've come to rescue your little girlfriend"

"Yeah, yeah. Can we just we just get to the part where I clobber you?"

It gets to the point where Sonic starts teaching you how to defend yourself so you can hold your own against Eggman

Not that he doesn't mind rescuing, it's just he can't always be there to protect

With the amount of times they've had to save you, the team are already very familiar with you and consider you apart of their friend group

But as you get better is self-defence, Sonic officially announces you as part of the team and you start joining them on missions

While Sonic does tend to stick to your side more than his other teammates during battle, he's glad to have you fighting alongside them

After all, he's happy to spend as much time with you as possible, even if that means having to bash Eggman's robots to do so

Knuckles:

You're not a bad person

So what if you have anger issues

So what if you get into fights from time to time

So what if you've been in trouble with the cops before

Doesn't mean you're a bad person, it just means you've.... got some issues

One day you're not in the best mood and have already had a pretty shitty day, and you're just a ticking time bomb waiting to explode

So it's no wonder that when a big guy bumps into you and causes you to drop the tray of food you're holding, you go off on him

Unfortunately for you, this guy is huge, a tall red echidna with bulking arms that looks like he could punch you into next week

But you're not one to back down from a fight, you've beaten up guys twice your size before and you're not afraid to do it again

"Woah, hey, sorry about that, didn't see you there."

What, is he dense?! Who does this guy think he is barrelling into anyone he pleases just because he's big? You bet he was just gonna walk off without even helping you. Well, you'd show him!

Without warning, you lunged at the echidna with the intent of knocking him over the same way he almost did to you

But you underestimated his initial strength and reflexes and he caught you midair with your legs kicking and your hands clawing for his face

"Woah, dude chill! I said I was sorry!"

He just kinda holds you up in air at arms length with you kicking and screaming until you eventually tire yourself out

The echidna stares at you cautiously

"Are you good now?"

After a moment, you reluctantly nod, and he gently sets you back on your feet

He then carefully leans down without takong his eyes off you and grabs your burger which is still wrapped in foil and reaches it out to you

"How about we start over? I'm Knuckles."

You thought after that encounter, that was the last you'd see of him

But one day, you've gotten yourself into another fight, and to say you're losing would be an understatement

It's once again, a guy twice your size and he's absolutely beating the crap out of you

But by some miracle, Knuckles happens to be walking by and immediately notices you

He steps in to save you, and the guy you're fighting knows about Knuckles being part of Sonic's team and doesn't even bother attempting to fight him

Knuckles takes your half conscious body to Tails's work shop where they fix you up

After that, Knuckles refuses to leave you alone

Even if you try to leave, he always ends finding you to make sure you don't get into more trouble

He helps you find outlets for your anger by sparring and working out with him

You grow a soft spot for Knuckles that you'd never thought you'd have for anyone

He's your big goofball that somehow always manages to calm you down and get you out of whatever trouble your in

Though it's beyond you why anyone would want to put up with you, eespecially a lovable ray of sunshine like Knuckles, you're so grateful that you have someone like himin your life to keep you in check

A/N: Might make more hcs for that because I absolutely love the idea of big, strong goofball Knuckles having a little ball of pure rage as a partner.

Amy Rose:

Some would say you're a pacifist

Some would say you care too much

Some would say you're too nice

But you like to think that you're just trying to do good in the world

You're definitely the type of person that hates conflict and wants everyone to get along, and you're more often than not a bit of a pushover

You like to give people benefit of the doubt and prefer to see the good in people, although sometimes, this affects you negatively

A kindly looking (or at least in your opinion) wolf with a showman's top hat and a certain glint his eyes one day stops you in your tracks and asks you ever so politely if you would kindly lend him some money to help feed his family

Of course, you're quick to help, but little do you know that this is none other than T.W. Barker himself, and he's been watching you carefully for some time

He notices the way you jump at the oppurtunity to help someone in need, and he being a con man at heart, decides to take advantage of that

But before you can lend the man all the money you have in your pocket, a certain pink hedgehog decides to interfere

"Hey, you leave her alone Barker! Go find your own ATM machine!"

Amy Rose herself stands not far behind you, hammer in hand and ready for trouble

"N-now, now, let's not be too hasty. I was simply accepting a generous donation from this unsuspecting-- I mean self-less young lady."

"Yeah right. Beat it before I hammer you into next Tuesday, punk!"

You're in utter shock as the seeming wolf in sheep's clothing (pun intended) makes his escape

"Gotta look out for scumbags. Seems this village is getting more and more of them everyday. Anyways, I'm Amy, what's your name?"

Since then, Amy keeps a close eye on you to make sure you don't become prey to anymore scam artists

Now Amy will never admit she has anger issues, but she does get... irritated from time to time

On more than one occasion, you're there to help her calm down and have a sleepover planned or a spa day for when things get particularly rough for her

Whenever she needs help choosing which paint to redo her wall with, or which dress she should wear to a party, she calls you up, because no matter what you're interests are or how inconvenient the timing might seem, you're ready to help a friend, even with mundane things

Amy has you become a part of the Sonic family, and while you never do join them in battles, you help keep the peace between the team whenever there's an argument

And Amy always makes sure your overly caring attitude isn't being taken advantage of

No matter the time or the place, Amy knows she can always count on you, and you know she's always got your back

Sticks:

Well this is quite the predicament you've gotten yourself into

A lot of people would descibe you as clumsy, but you knew you just bad luck

And to prove just that, here you were dangling upside from a rope trap after deciding to take a liesure stroll through the forest

What are we, nomads? Who sets out traps in the middle of the woods anymore?!

After about 20 minutes, the blood is rushing to your head and you're starting to feel faint

But just as you think that your bad luck will finally be the end of you, figure bursts from the bushes with a fierce battle cry

It's a badger girl with a boomerang clutched in her paw, ready for a fight

But after a moment she realizes just who's gotten caught up in her trap

"Hey, what's the big idea?! Why're you in my snare?"

"Why am I in your snare? Why did you put out a snare you loon?!"

After about 5 minutes of arguing, Sticks reluctantly cuts you down, begrudgingly explaining that she set out a trap for any woodland monsters

You run into her again on another walk, crossing a small stream before tripping on one of the stepping stones and almost falling in before a furry arm wraps around your waist

"You outta be more careful out here. The wilderness is no place to be a klutz."

"Hey, I'm not a klutz. I just have bad luck is all."

And what more to gain the attention of a superstitious badger than the possibility of supernatural forces at play

"You could've been hexed by a witch. Or worse, there could be a vengeful spirit after you! We gotta get you an exorcist!"

"I'm fine, I'm just unlucky. Always have been always will be."

"We should still burn some sage in your home just to be sure."

You let Sticks do what she wants with you, after all, her superstitious perspective is a nice change from everyone just thinking your clumsy

You think her attempts to "cleanse" you are endearing, she tries something new everyday, and you end up learning a thing or two about survival and the corruptedness of politics from her

Weeks later, her attempts slowly dwindle down, and she just comes to accept she's just gonna have to keep an extra close eye on you, especially when she sets out booby traps

The time y'all have spent together, although it was somewhat motivated by Sticks not wanting to get whatever curse you exposed her to, lead to y'all having a close bond

Everyone has their quirks, she's paranoid and you're clumsy, but you two always manage to work things out

And that's the beauty of a relationship

A/N: Sorry I haven't been that active lately, so take this as an apology. Four hcs for the price of one!

#sonic headcanons #sonic the hedgehog x reader #sonic x reader #sonic boom #amy rose x reader #sticks the badger x reader #knuckles the echidna x reader

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walkerwords · 4 years ago

Text

“The Unimaginable” - Shane Walsh x F!Reader

GIF CREDIT: http://gph.is/2dJNy3i

Summary: Follows the after and before of when you and Shane lost your only son to the cruelness of the new world and how anger turns to forgiveness.

Word Count: 5246

Warning: Death of a child, gore, description of death of a child, blood, angst

Song I Wrote To: “It’s Quiet Uptown” by Hamilton Original Cast

Note: Okay, so this idea came to me after I was thinking of some kind of imagine with Shane. I just so happened to hear this song from Hamilton and I got...sucked in. I have never lost a child, but this is how I see the reaction from both parents. Please don’t read if this is something too difficult. Thank you.

--------

After

When the world ended, you weren't alone.

Running through the fire-lit streets, your family was there beside you. Your husband Shane, and your son, Logan. Instinct had taken over and all you thought about was protecting your boys.

Then, you had found the quarry. You were finally safe, Logan was out of the line of fire, and Shane had gotten both Lori and Carl out of the terror that was the city. The Walkers were sparse and when they did show, they were usually alone, maybe three at the most, and they would be taken care of quickly.

Logan was older than Carl by a couple of years but still, the boys were the best of friends and looked out for each other. Just as their fathers were, they were partners through and through. And just like Lori was to Carl, you were Logan's protector and nothing was going to take your baby away.

At least that is what you told yourself before the Dead began to rise.

Nothing was certain anymore. Not safety, not life, not even having enough to eat. You had to be alert every second of every day. Logan was in your sight, or Shane's, at all times of the day. When you and Shane went for water, Logan was to stay with Lori while Dale and the Dixons watched for Walkers. It was a clear system. One that worked.

Until it didn’t.

Everything around you seemed too...cold. You wondered if what you were feeling was how the Dead now felt. If they could feel anything at all, that is. The world around you was dull, lifeless, and nothing seemed to want the sun to shine again.

Rain clouds rolled in the distance as you crouched in the damp dirt next to the camp. People, your new family, wandered throughout your homestead, carefully watching you as if they were waiting for you to crumble into dust and bones.

The only thing you could hear was a muffle of voices and the occasional branch that rustled in the cold wind. You couldn’t remember the last time you slept, let alone ate and you were starting to wonder if anyone could still see you. Or had you truly become a part of a dying world, too lost to see and understand?

Looking up at the sky, you were thrown back into the memory of the worst day of your life. One that changed your world forever and one that you never thought you would see.

———-

Before

Logan was adjusting to the world as well as could be expected.

He played with the other kids, helped out when he was asked, and never once complained about living in the woods. He had grown closer to Carl in the time since the first Dead began lumbering through the streets. They were as close as two young boys could get while not being brothers.

He played in the water with Shane, laughing as his father dunked him over and over, trying to get all the dirt and mud out of his hair. Sometimes, when you watched the two of them you could try and imagine that you were on some odd vacation. Maybe there wasn’t actually a virus spreading like wildfire and one day you would be safe again.

However, the fantasy never lasted very long.

It was late in the afternoon one day when you couldn’t find your son. You had been with Daryl Dixon, helping him clean the game he had brought back for the group. Daryl was a quiet one, but you preferred that. He didn’t expect you to talk and you were grateful for his silent company when he offered it.

Once you had finished with the deer, you went in search of Logan. The last time you had seen him, he had been with Carol and Andrea down by the water, helping with the laundry. Amy had been showing him how to skip rocks unsuccessfully. You have called his name and he had waved back, grinning broadly.

That was the last time you had seen your boy smile.

Walking through the camp, you checked every tent and in the RV, looking for Logan. “Dale?” You called up to the man on watch.

“What can I do you for, (Y/N)?” Dale asked.

“You seen Logan lately?” You asked and Dale shook his head. From his spot on top of the RV, he put his head on a swivel, searching the area, but he couldn’t spot the dark curls of your son. The same curls his daddy had.

“Sorry, girl, don’t see him,” Dale said and something twitched in your chest. You kept searching for him, but still, he was nowhere to be seen.

“I think he’s with Shane,” Jacqui said as she folded a couple of shirts.

“What?” You asked.

“I saw him following after his daddy when Shane went to go get more water,” she explained, but you were already shaking your head.

“No, he knows he’s not allowed to leave the camp. Not even with one of us,” you said, looking around, starting to panic. Logan knew the rules. There wasn’t much that you had to explain to him in the new world, but one thing always remained the same: stay at the camp. “Logan!” You yelled as you did another turn around the camp.

“Logan!” You yelled again, but his voice never returned. It was only a few more minutes that the sound of Shane’s car reached your ears. You ran to him as he got out. He looked at you confused.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, reaching for you.

“Where’s Logan? Is he with you?” You asked, leaning over to look in the car, but it was empty.

“Baby, what are you talking about?”

“I can’t find him and Jacqui said he went with you to get the water,” you explained in a rush. Shane’s face changed then from confusion to instant worry. His eyes flicked around the campsite and then he began shaking his head.

“He….he…” Shane stuttered.

“What?” You asked, trying to get him to focus.

“He tried to come with me, but I told him no. I told him to go back to you. He was only a few yards from the camp, (Y/N). He was supposed to go right back,” Shane explained. You stepped away from him, your hands shaking.

“He didn’t,” you told him, “I was with Daryl and he was supposed to stay put. I thought he was with Carl or Amy this whole time...oh my god.”

“He was supposed to come right back,” Shane repeated.

“Then where the hell is my son!” You screamed at him. Shane just kept shaking his head as you yelled at him. Just then, you felt arms wrap around you as Lori appeared and tried to get you to calm down.

“Shh, it’s okay, we’re gonna find him,” Lori said in your ear, but you pushed away from her. Carl was standing a few feet away and he looked just as worried as you felt. Shane looked at Lori and she at him and something felt...wrong.

“I can’t...I can’t breathe,” you said, your hands going into your hair. “Logan!” You yelled, but again, only the wind answered. Andrea, who stood by the fire, watched on with worry. She then looked over at Daryl and then nodded her head towards the woods.

Without being asked, Daryl picked up his crossbow and then unceremoniously grabbed his brother by his collar and dragged him towards the woods. Merle cursed at his younger brother, but followed him nonetheless. Whether he admitted it or not, Merle liked Logan and Logan liked him.

You turned back to your husband, staring up at him with wide eyes. “Find him.” He didn’t answer you and instead grabbed his gun and quickly went in the opposite direction the Dixons had gone in, Glenn followed quickly after, holding a baseball bat.

Feeling frozen in your own body, you collapsed by the fire. You knew you needed to get up and do something, but your legs wouldn’t cooperate. You tried to remember the last thing you had said to your son. Was it, “I love you” or did you just simply say his name? It was all a blur in your mind.

You felt the eyes of the rest of the camp on you as you sat there. Carol sat not too far from you with Sophia in her arms and Lori kept Carl close to her as well. Watching the mothers with their children had you snap out of whatever trance you had been in.

Before the Turn you had been a Park Ranger. You knew how to navigate woods and you damn well knew how to kill Walkers and track. Getting to your feet, you went to your tent and grabbed the gun Shane had given you, his backup service weapon. Clicking off the safety, you grabbed a knife and slipped it through your belt.

You ignored the looks from the others as you followed the path the Dixons had gone down. Daryl was the better tracker, but you could track almost as well and it didn’t take long for you to find their trail. Growing up in the woods of Georgia, the brothers knew how to stay hidden so you didn’t expect them to show themselves.

Walking among the trees, you kept your knife at the ready. Everyone had quickly learned that sound attracted the Dead like a moth to a flame. You rarely used the bullets when it was just a couple of Walkers.

Stepping around another corner, a slow-moving corpse appeared through the trees, stumbling towards you. You didn’t hesitate as you rammed your blade into its skull, kicking it away from you. Looking down at the monster, bile rose in your throat.

There was fresh blood on its mouth.

“Could be a deer,” you said softly to yourself, but then you saw something sticking out of its rotting ribs. Kneeling down, you grasped the handle of the knife that jutted from the Walker’s torso. Pulling it out, a silent scream came from your mouth.

It was Logan’s knife.

You and Shane weren’t comfortable with letting Logan handle a firearm just yet. Rick and Shane had always said once the boys turned fifteen and they wanted to learn, then they would teach them in a controlled setting. You had given the knife to Logan shortly after you reached the quarry. It was the one you always carried as a ranger.

He never let it go. He said it was as if you were always there to keep him safe.

Gripping it tightly in your hand, you struggled to your feet. “Logan?” You rasped out, unable to call for him. Every word seemed to die in your throat. Looking past the monster on the ground, you could see a blood trail.

If you weren’t looking for it, it wouldn’t look like anything, but you knew what blood looked like. Especially when it was from a wounded animal. “It’s a deer, it’s a deer, it’s a deer,” you repeated as you pushed on through the trees.

Blood was speckled through the leaves on the ground and smeared on a nearby tree trunk. Placing your hand against the stain, it was still warm and not yet congealed. Your hand fell to your side as you walked on.

Ahead of you, a fallen tree lay between two dying oaks. Blood was splashed across the top of it and as you moved closer, something was behind the trunk and it wasn’t moving.

“A deer,” you said again, your feet moving on autopilot. “It’s...it’s a…” your voice petered out as you reached the trunk and looked down.

There was Logan, your baby boy, covered in blood, and his chest was torn open.

Wailing echoed around you as if Banshees had come to take your soul. It took you a few moments to realize that you were the one screaming. Falling towards your son, blood coated your hands and your clothes. The sound called the Dead near, but you couldn’t care about them as your baby’s vacant eyes stared up at the canopy, his right hand still curled as if he was holding his knife.

“No, no, no, no,” you repeated over and over, trying to reach for him, but you didn’t know where to touch. Low growls echoed around you as two Walkers staggered toward you. You looked at them through the blur of your tears.

Suddenly, the first one dropped, a bolt protruding from its head. It didn't take long for the next one to fall the same way. Out of the trees came the Dixon brothers and when they saw what was before them, Daryl turned to his brother in shock.

“Get Walsh,” Daryl said to Merle who turned and ran, calling for the deputy. Daryl approached you slowly as if trying not to startle a mother bear with her cub. His eyes were on Logan’s body, carefully monitoring it. Some people changed within minutes, others took longer. “(Y/N),” Daryl began, kneeling down to you.

“I found his knife,” you said, staring at nothing in particular. “He tried to kill it, Daryl. He missed the head, Why wouldn’t he go for the head? We all taught him to go for the head, right?”

“We did,” Daryl assured you, trying to take the blade from your hands, but you pulled it against your chest.

“What are you doing? This is Logan’s,” you said, defensively. “This is Logan’s, you can’t have it.”

“Alright,” Daryl said, putting his hands up. “We need to step back, alright? Just a bit, girl.” You looked at him, confused.

“Why?”

“Because Logan is…he’s hurt and we don’t want him to hurt anyone else,” Daryl tried.

“My son would never hurt anyone,” you said, staring back down at his face. “He’s an angel.” Reaching out slowly, you gently pushed his hair back. “My soft, beautiful, angel.” Daryl watched on with concern, but also ready to pull you back at a moment's notice.

“(Y/N)!” Shane’s voice called through the woods as he and Lori ran towards you, Merle just behind them.

“Walsh!” Daryl yelled as he stood. Shane stumbled as he approached, his eyes widening at the sight. Shane looked at Daryl and then back at you and then down at his child. His knees buckled and Daryl caught him before he could hit the ground. “I need ya to listen,” Daryl said, trying to get the deputy’s attention. “We gotta move him away from her.”

“That’s my boy…” Shane said.

“I know,” said Daryl. Shane pushed away from him, walking towards you.

“I found him,” you whispered as Shane knelt next to you. “I knew I could find him.” Shane reached out lay his hand over his boy’s face and then he was sobbing.

“Oh god,” he cried, falling over his child, his only son. “My boy…” Lori was crying too and Merle and Daryl were watching the whole thing, not knowing what to do. “I’m so sorry, Logan,” Shane cried.

“Why wasn’t he with you?” You whispered and Shane looked at you in surprise. “Why didn’t you protect him? Shane? Why didn’t you protect him! Why is he….why was he here and not with you? Why? Why!” Shane tried to grab onto you, but you shoved him back. “No!”

“I’m sorry, baby,” he cried, his tears still flowing off his chin. “I thought… He was supposed to come right back.”

“You killed my baby!” You yelled, pushing him back again and Shane took the hit as he continued to cry.

“We have to move him,” Shane said, but you were shaking your head. You went to argue when movement caught your eye. Freezing, you looking down to see your baby looking back at you but without those warm brown eyes of his.

Instead, they were milky white.

A ghostly hand moved towards you as Logan reached out, but before you could take his hand, Shane had wrapped you in his arms. “No!” You screamed as he hauled you away. “No, no! That’s my baby! Logan! Logan!”

“It’s not him anymore, baby, it’s not him,” Shane said as he gripped you tight. You screamed in his arms, trying to fight back, but no fight was left in your bones. Shane kept pulling you away as you watched Merle lean over your boy.

“No!” You yelled as the older Dixon pulled his knife. Lori followed the two of you, keeping your view of Logan blocked. Shane sobbed in your neck as he lifted you up into his arms and walked you away from your child who was being put to rest for the final time.

————

Nobody spoke to you as you sat on the edge of camp.

Shane sat next to you, unable to move, let alone speak. Everything in his world had just gone out like a light. The way Logan had looked so...broken on the floor of the forest. He felt hatred rise in him, all of it directed at himself. How could he have let this happen? Logan was gone because of him.

Sitting there, you could hear the quiet sobs of your husband, but they did not fully resonate with you.

Why was crying? Had something happened? Was someone hurt?

It took your mind a while to catch up to your body as you too, were sobbing silent tears. You followed the path of your tears as they rolled off your face and onto the material of your pants, leaving small dark spots behind.

You began to wonder if a person could ever run out of tears. Was that possible? You couldn’t be sure. You did know, however, that when a person cried a lot, it was important to stay hydrated. Looking down at your waist, you searched for your canteen, but it wasn’t there.

Dried blood was stuck to the side of your shirt and you gently grasped the ruin fabric in your fingers. It felt like a strange paint, one you weren’t sure you would choose to paint with.

Looking back over at the camp, you could see the others glancing over at you and Shane who sat with his back towards your companions. You didn’t know much longer the two of you sat there before you heard the familiar tread of Daryl and Merle’s boots.

Daryl entered the camp and approached you. In his arms was your son. His face was covered, but you could see the tuft of dark hair sticking out of the blanket Daryl had wrapped him in. The younger Dixon gently walked towards you and Shane and placed Logan before you.

“I’m sorry,” Daryl said gently before turning away to go wash the blood from his hands.

Your son’s blood.

You couldn’t bring yourself to look at him, only staring at the space right above him. Shane, however, moved closer to the body, laying his hands over the wool blanket as if he could feel the life that was no longer there. Shane’s cries turned from silent to hoarse chokes of emotion.

Keeping your eyes on the same spot above Logan, you couldn’t look at him or your husband. You didn’t know if it was anger you felt or guilt, but right then it was too overwhelming to bear. Logan’s knife was still in your hand as your thumb worried at the handle, feeling the smooth wood against your calloused skin.

The sun began to dip over the hills and Shane got up. “I’m going to walk the perimeter. Make sure no more Walkers get through,” he said, though you weren’t sure you actually heard him or whether he knew that he had said anything at all.

Shane walked away, picking up his gun and you stayed put, still keeping your eyes on the horizon. The cold set in rather quickly and shook your bones. Your breath was visible before you, but you couldn’t move and anytime you shut your eyes for more than two seconds, all you could see were the milky white eyes of the creature that had become your son.

It was well into the night when Glenn approached you, a blanket in his hands. He gently placed it around your shoulders, making sure you were wrapped up tight before leaving you alone.

You knew you should eat something, but you couldn’t feel the hunger either. You couldn’t feel anything.

When Shane returned, he sat down across from you on the other side of Logan. “(Y/N),” he called, but you remained frozen. “Please, (Y/N), look at me.”

This time you did and what you saw confused you. You blinked multiple times, but the man in front of you did not look like your husband. This Shane was a shell, something had gone out in those eyes of his. A flame that could never fully burn again.

The two of you stared at each other for a moment, hearing the crackling of the fire in the background. “Shane,” you whispered, your throat dry as a bone.

“Logan,” Shane began, sending a rush of ice to your chest, “he needs to be buried, sweetheart.” Finally looking down, you stared at the bundle that was your child. You reached a hand out, but pulled it back at the last second. It didn’t feel right to touch him.

Not like this.

“He’s supposed to be in a cemetery,” you whispered into the night.

“I know, Darlin’,” Shane said.

“He’s not supposed to be buried in some unmarked grave,” you said. “He’s not supposed to be buried at all.” Shane crawled over to where you sat and pulled you into his side. You barely felt the weight of his body as he pressed a kiss to the side of your head.

“This is all my fault,” Shane said into your hair. “I am so sorry.” Dropping your head, you once again couldn’t look him in the face. Why hadn’t he walked Logan back to the camp? Why was he alone? Why had he gone off without telling anyone? Was he looking for you?

“If…” Shane continued, “if I could switch places with him…” he trailed off again and then was silent. You didn’t want to hear anymore. Not after today, today was too much already.

Though, you did agree on one thing. Logan needed to be laid to rest.

———-

Dawn brought light and neither of you had moved, but you knew it was time to get up. You knew you would mourn for the rest of your life, but Logan deserved better than being wrapped in a makeshift shroud before his crying parents.

You found a quiet place far from where the incident had occurred. Close enough to the water, but not too close that someone would accidently ruin the ground.

Shane dug the grave alone. Lori had offered to help, as did Glenn and Morales, but Shane had said no. He had to do this on his own. You sat next to Logan’s body, listening to the breeze, his knife still in your hands as you used it to cut away at a piece of wood to keep your hands busy.

As soon as Shane had finished, you rose to your feet. The others from the camp approached you both, offering a moment of silence as Shane bent down and lifted Logan into his arms. Carefully, he placed your son in the ground, adjusting the blanket to keep his face covered.

Looking down at him like this, you were reminded of when he would play in the blanket forts you and Shane use to build with him. The one time he had gotten trapped under the roof of one and claimed to be a ghost, chasing the both of you around the house.

You could imagine the smile on his face when you had tackled him on the couch, laughing. Shane had followed up with jumping on both of you as he used his best impression of a “scary monster”. Logan had laughed, slipping off the couch and telling Monster-Shane that his daddy was a cop and he fought monsters.

You had watched on with a grin from the couch as your boys wrestled on the ground. Shane as the monster and Logan as the cop. The moment had ended with a massive pillow fight that you had successfully won, and the prize? Hearing Logan’s laugh echo throughout the house.

It had been music to your ears.

Tears flowed again as you turned your face to the heavens, letting the memory wash over you with warmth. Slowly, you picked up a handful of dirt and sprinkled it over the grave.

Soon after, Shane did the same. “Goodbye my sweet boy,” you whispered to him and then one by one, the rest of the camp began filling in the grave to say goodbye to the laughing boy with the dark curly hair and the goofy grin.

You and Shane sat nearby, not speaking and not touching. The Walsh family was now fractured and nobody knew what to do about it. The others had pity and any time they would look at you and your husband, they were reminded that the new world would not stop taking until it had stolen all the light in the world.

As the dirt was smoothed over and the shovels were put down, you stood from your spot next to your husband, passing your new friends in silent. You ignored everyone as you kneeled down on the soft soil, pressing your hands into the ground.

Logan was finally at rest.

———-

After

Coming back into yourself, you shook your head as the memory once again settled in the back of your mind.

Logan had been buried for some time now and whether you chose to acknowledge it or not, you and Shane were still not quite...whole.

There were days when you never left his grave. Grass has slowly grown through the surface and the rain has made it the color of emeralds and while there was no marker, you knew exactly where your boy was.

Lori was kind as always, bringing you water if you needed it or offering to help Daryl with the hunts, but you continued to shake your head. You had always helped Daryl clean his game and you weren’t going to stop now.

Logan wouldn’t have wanted that.

Carl Grimes was the one, however, that constantly checked on you. You could see how much he missed his friend. He had many nightmares that would wake you up in the next tent over and then you would hear Lori’s soft voice coaxing him back to sleep.

Carl would sit with you by the grave and draw or just listen to the birds and the wind. When it was time to eat, he would convince you to finally take some food and wouldn’t leave until you proved to him that you were full enough. You had always liked the kid, but now? He was one of the only things that kept you together most days.

Shane was trying to give you space as he was still mourning in his own way. Shortly after the makeshift funeral, he had drowned himself in responsibility. He took on more watch shifts than before and went on more water runs too. He had become the group’s main protector, next to the Dixon brothers, and it was clear to everyone that he was doing it to keep his mind busy.

As for Daryl, he had just gone on a hunt that would last at least until tomorrow. He was going to see if he could find any larger game and decided to go alone. He did, however, ask if you were going to be okay while he was gone. You had assured your friend that you could handle his absence for a day or so. He had rolled his eyes and offered a small smile and then left with his bow on his back.

Looking out over the quarry, you heard footsteps and you didn’t need to turn around to see who it was.

Shane joined you on the ground, leaning back on his forearms. “Glenn is heading out with some others for a run,” Shane said.

“In the city?” You asked, keeping your eyes forward.

“Yeah, I guess they’re takin’ Merle this time. T-Dog isn’t thrilled,” Shane sighed.

“Are you going with them?” You asked.

“No,” Shane said and then paused. “Did you want me to?” It was silent for a moment before you shook your head.

“No, we need you here,” you whispered. Shane sat up straighter, folding his legs beneath him. You could see him out of the corner of your eye as he looked over at you, trying to see your face.

“I don’t know how many more times I can apologize, (Y/N),” Shane said after a moment, his eyes void of tears now. “I can’t stop thinking about that day and if I had just let him come with me or taken him back myself… I don’t know how to stop wondering about what I should have done.”

“He was stubborn,” you said. “He would have found a way to follow you anyways.” Shane’s mouth fell slightly open at your words, not expecting you to defend his actions.

“It should’ve been me. I should be the one lying in the ground and if I was, then he would be here next to you and you would be smiling.”

“No,” you shook your head, finally looking at him. “I would have Logan, but I wouldn’t have you. Do you honestly think I would be happy about that?”

“He was your baby,” Shane reasoned.

“And you are my...you are my person, Shane. I would never wish you to die, no matter how angry or sad I am. Never.” Shane let out a breath, letting your words sink in. He nodded silently.

“I had thought about joining in on the run,” he admitted, “but I’m staying right here. I’m not going anywhere.” You returned the gesture and looked out at the grave again.

“He’s gone, Shane,” you whispered, your fingers playing with the grass.

“I know.”

“He would have liked it here, don’t you think? It’s so quiet.”

“Yeah, he would have,” said Shane. “Baby, I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness, but I need you to know that I never…” he once again let the words fizzle out, staring down at his hands.

Slowly, your reached over and placed your hand on top of his, touching him for the first time in a long time. Shane froze beneath your touch and then just as slow, laced your fingers with his.

“Please don’t leave me,” you choked out and looked back at him, a desperation in your eyes. Shane shook his head and then leaned in, kissing you softly. You let it happen, finding peace in the feel of his lips on yours.

“Never, Darlin’,” Shane whispered. “I’m never leavin’ you.”

Curling up in his arms, the two of you sat there in the shadow of Logan’s grave, trying to feel the presence of your boy. Looking down at your boots, you noticed a small stem pushing its way through the emerald-green grass. The beginnings of a wildflower.

Staring at the start of new life, you leaned against your person and you smiled.

Tags:

@thanossexual @yes-sir-hotchner @felicisimor @amaroho

#shane walsh x reader #shane walsh imagine #shane walsh #daryl dixon #merle dixon #lori grimes #carl grimes #glenn rhee #season 1 #twd imagines #the walking dead fanfiction #the walking dead imagines #the walking dead #reader insert #angst #sad #walkerwords

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rrickgrrimes8 · 4 years ago

Text

Normality is Death

Chapter Thirteen ~ Philippians 1:29

masterlist

"C'mon baby lets go back to our room," Lori said to Jacey, Carl already holding her hand. Jacey nodded following a part of her family down the halls.

"What's happening, mom?" Carl asked as he watched Lori go to the air vent feeling no air come out, "Mom? Something wrong?"

Jacey watched her apprehensive mother, "Uh, nothing. It's just... just the air conditioning stopped."

Lights went out soon after that too which agitated Lori more as did the disappearance of her husband. Sitting at the foot of her parents' bed, she watched as she left the room to talk to Doctor Jenner as he passed quickly. "What's wrong, Jacey?" She heard Addie call to her.

"Please leave me alone," her hands found their ways to her ears once again seeking to block out any noise.

"Jacey? You're scaring me... what's wrong?" Addie called to her again, causing her to look up only to see her younger brother worried, "What's wrong, Jacey?"

"Uh... nothing, squirt. I'm fine," She stuttered, paralyzed by her shock, "Where's mom?"

"Went after that Doctor. Sent me back to get you," Carl smiled, still perturbed, "You coming?"

"Yep, Let's go, squirt."

The two younger Grimes' entered the hysterical room, passing their frightful mother on the way out, "Mom what's happening?" Lori didn't respond though, as she continued to run down the corridor and back to the room. Jacey caught wind of Jenner's words about how the French were the last ones to hold out. Well, that was until the fuel ran out. It sunk in deep with the child, there was no cure and there never will be - everything is gone.

Jacey, grabbing the hand of her brother, ran into the room eyeing the now sealed doors. "No. Did you just lock us in?" Glenn panicked, "He just locked us in!" Carl held her hand tighter, the loud noises and consternation becoming at once too much for him. Jacey saw Edwin take a seat at his desk and begin to talk to a camera.

Bold lettering violated her eyes as the screen switched to black with the red-lettered words of '30 minutes to decontamination'. "Carl! Jacey!" she heard her mom bellow, quickly finding them. Dropping her bags, she wrapped her arms around the two children, kissing both of their heads.

Daryl endeavoured over to the man in a fit of rage, yelling at him something Jacey couldn't quite catch but was quickly stopped by Shane. She watched as her father pleaded with the stubborn man to open the door, to which he refused. "What happens in 28 minutes?" Rick yelled to the man after he had ignored him the first time.

"Come on!" Daryl encouraged threatening him with a glass bottle.

"You know what this place is?!" He snapped, "We protected the public from very nasty stuff! Weaponized smallpox! Ebola strains that could wipe out half the country! Stuff you don't want getting out! Ever!" Jenner stops to breathe slowly, "In the event of a catastrophic power failure - in a terrorist attack, for example - H.I.T are deployed to prevent any organisms from getting out."

"H.I.T's?" Rick asked.

"VI, define," he ordered.

"H.I.T's - high impulse thermobaric fuel-air explosives consist," VI continued but Jacey just blocked it out. They were going to die. They were all going to die. Rick walks over to his family joining in on their hug, mortified by the news. Jacey, however, felt okay, fine really. It didn't bother her that she was about to die - her death never seemed to scare her. What did bother her though was that her family would die too. Carl was too young to die she thought to herself.

"It sets the air on fire. No pain," Jenner told them after VI had finished, "an end to sorrow, grief... regret. Everything." Jacey smiled through her tears, she was almost looking forward to it as dark as that sounded but she just wanted some peace, a rest. She watched as many grew angry - and in Daryl's case - violent with the doctor.

Shane and T-dog stayed by the door throwing any and everything they had at it, but none of it making a dent. "You should've left well enough alone... it would have been so much easier," Jenner lent back in his chair, unbothered by the chaos he had created.

"Easier for who?" Lori spat, clearly angry with the man's decision yet still a great amount of sadness in her words, knowing her children were about to die when they're lives really had just begun.

"All of you. You know what's out there. A short brutal life and agonizing death," Jacey understood this and observed as he looked to her, "The people you lost, what was their names?"

"Mitch and Addie," she replied not entirely sure on how he knew, while Rick looked to the man threateningly not wanting her daughter to have any part in his manipulation.

"And you? Your sister?" he asked now to Andrea, the following was a quiet 'Amy'. "Addie, Mitch and Amy," He looked between Andrea and the girl, "You know what this does. You've seen it. Is that what you really want for your wife, daughter and son?"

Now looking at Rick. "I don't want this," He almost cried emphatically.

"Can't make a dent," Shane shouted to Rick, alarmed.

"Those doors are designed to withstand a rocket launcher," Jenner said almost comedically.

"Well, your head ain't!" Daryl screamed, making his way over to the doctor, axe ready. Dale, Rick and Shane come together once more to hold Daryl and his clear anger issues back, "Daryl! Daryl!"

T-dog soon wrestled the weapon off of him as Jenner continued to Rick, "You do want this. Last night you said you knew it was just a matter of time before everybody you loved was dead." Lori's face drops at his words, while Jacey detaches herself from her mother and brother, planting herself on one of the many identical tables.

"What? You really said that? After all your big talk?" Shane expectorated, almost betrayed at the doctor's words.

"I had to keep hope alive, didn't I?" He justified to Lori.

"There is no hope. There never was."

"There's always hope. Maybe it won't be you, maybe not here but somebody somewhere-"

"What part of 'everything is gone' do you not understand?" the younger girl interrupted her father, earning an approving nod from Andrea but a pained look from her family.

"Listen to your daughter," Jenner advised, "She gets it. This is what takes us down. This is our extinction event."

"This isn't right. You can't keep us here," Carol cried, "my daughter doesn't deserve to die like this."

"Wouldnt it be kinder, more compassionate just to hold your loved ones and wait for the clock to run out?" Carol still cries as she holds her daughter, but Jacqui nods her head slightly.

Much like what happened with Daryl, Shane came to the doctor pointing a shotgun right at his face, but this time Rick intervened, "Out of the way, Rick! Stay out of my way! Open that door, or I'm going to blow your head off. Do you hear me?" Jenner remained emotionless as the officer continued to aim for his head.

"Brother, brother, this is not the way you do this. We will never get out of here, " Rick reminded him. Instead, in a fit of anger, Shane begins to shoot at the computer screens randomly, everyone cowering away from the shots. "We all die, Shane!" he reminded before struggling to get the gun away from him, "Are you done now? Are you done?"

"Yeah, I guess we all are," Shane disputed.

"I think you're lying," Rick said to Edwin, "You're lying about no hope. If that were true, you'd have bolted with the rest or taken the easy way out. You didn't. You chose the hard path, why?"

"It doesn't matter," Jenner sheepishly said.

"It does matter. It always matters. You stayed when others ran. Why?"

"Not because I wanted to. I made a promise," he proceeded to point towards the screen, "To her. My wife."

"Test subject 19 was your wife?" Lori questioned sympathetically.

"She begged me to keep going as long as I could. How could I say no?" Jenner paused, looking to Daryl, who continued to use his axe against the door no matter how useless it was, "She was dying. It should've been me on that table. I wouldn't have mattered to anybody. She was a loss to the world. Hell, she ran this place. I just worked here. In our field, she was Einstein. Me? I'm just... Edwin Jenner. She could've done something about this. Not me." Jacey sighed, feeling the pain of his loss substantially.

Rick pleaded once more, "Your wife didn't have a choice. You do. That's... that's all we want a choice... a chance."

"You let us keep trying as long as we can," Lori added.

Jenner moves over to the desk picking up what looked like a security pad and said, "I told topside's locked down. I can't open those."

Seconds later, the doors open and everyone begins to rush out of them, "There's your chance. Take it"

"I'm grateful," Rick smiled, lifting his hand for him to shake.

"The day will come when you won't be," Jenner said before shaking Rick's hand and whispering something in his ear.

"You can't go, you know that, right?" Addie says, her voice kinder now, which Jacey was more grateful for.

"I know. I want to be with you again," Jacey looked to the girl reluctantly, hoping that the walker won't appear again.

Addie's face - her normal one - came into view, blooming a big smile on the younger girls face, "And you will, love. I'm never going to leave you again, I promise."

"I love you, Addie."

"I lov-" Addie's voice was interrupted by a male one "Jacey, c'mon, angel, grab your things. Let's go."

Jacey shook her head at the man she realised to be her father, "I-I'm not coming." Rick stopped, hoping his ears were deceiving him but then looked at her tear-covered face and realised.

"No, you're not, baby. Let's go," Lori shouted from behind Rick.

"Lori just go. Get the others out of here," he ordered his wife, "We're right behind you." The rest of the group stampeded out of the room, Lori and Carl lingering for a short minute, hoping Rick will be able to convince her to join them.

"Tell him you're sorry, Jace," Addie whispered, holding her hand.

"I'm sorry but I-I can't."

"Yes you can, Jacey, please. You're not thinking straight," Rick prayed that she'd see reason and join them, but his heart stopped when she shook her head.

"I can't anymore, dad. I'm so tired." Jacey looked around the room, seeing that not only Jenner was still here but so was Jacqui and Andrea.

An arm snaked over her shoulder, squeezing it gently, an arm, belonging to Mitchell, "Tell him to leave, babydoll, and then you'll be with us forever."

She smiled at his words and then returned her eyes to her father's blue ones, "You have to leave. I want to stay with them."

"I'm not leaving you here, angel," He cried, tightly holding the sides of her face.

"Addie was only 16, dad, Mitch was 25. We had children in our camp. I-I should've died with them. I don't deserve to live when they had to die."

"Listen to me, Jace, you survived for a reason, okay? You don't have to agree with me, but whoever is up there, whatever is in charge made it so you weren't there. So you wouldn't die. They wouldn't want you to die here and now. Your story is not over yet. I won't allow it," Rick wailed, heavier than earlier as he watched his daughter looked to her left and right as if looking at people that weren't there, "Your death isn't going to bring them back."

"I can't leave them, daddy," She paused, "I already hurt them enough."

"Who are you talking about, angel?" his voice breaking slightly.

"Addie and Mitchell," Jacey told him as if it was obvious, "I can't leave them alone again."

"Addie and Mitchell are dead, baby. They're not here anymore," the man pleaded with his deluded daughter.

"No," she argued, squeezing her eyes shut, "shut up. You're lying, they're here with me now, they want me to stay. She promised me she wouldn't leave again," Jacey cried, looking at Addie and Mitchell, slowly seeing them morph into their walker forms, "Oh god. No, not again, please, not again. They're going to hurt me, daddy. They're going to hurt me like I hurt them."

"Hey baby, look at me, only me, okay?" he stopped her from looking to where he assumed she saw them, "No one's gonna hurt you. Addie and Mitchell are gone. They can't hurt you, alright? Now we've got to go, angel, before it's too late." Jacey wanted to nod, to go with him, but the grip that Addie and Mitchell had on her tightened, making her let out a small cry.

At once, they both turned into their undead self's clawing at her skin instead of holding it, "You can't leave, Jacey. Not when you did this to us."

"No! Shut up! Leave me alone! I want to live! I don't want to die!" Rick watched the girl breakdown her hands beginning to claw away at any visible skin. The man grabbed her hands, stopping the movement before looking over to the timer seeing it hit the 5-minute mark.

"I'm sorry, Jacey. I'm so sorry baby," Jacey heard him cry before feeling him move away from her.

"Jacey, look at me, sweetheart," A kind, shaky voice begged of her. Jacey turned to meet their eyes, seeing a crying Jacqui, "You gotta go, darling, please."

"I can't, Jacqui. I can't keep going on like this," She paused, "I'm not strong enough."

"Yes you are, child. You are one of the strongest people I have ever met, don't ever trick yourself into thinking you're not," Jacqui apprised the younger girl.

"I'm not as strong as you think, Jacqui. Nowhere even close."

"That's where your wrong, sweetheart. You've got a lot of heart and if do say so myself a lot of balls," She smiled at her, "You're gonna survive this world, I'm sure of it." Jacqui stops speaking as she looked at the girl, aware of the mental state, "Look, sweetie, I'm not gonna force you outta that door, as much as I'd like too. I don't want you to die today, Jacey, but it seems like it's going that way so let me tell you something, okay?" Jacey nodded, "And you gotta promise me the moment you understand it you'll leave, you'll survive," she nodded once more, "Philippians 1:29; For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him but also to suffer for his sake." Jacey stayed silent not quite comprehending the meaning of the passage.

"I don't understand, I don't get it, Jacqui," She cried into her palms.

"That's okay, sweetie, just breathe..." Jacqui refrained, "It means your pain has a purpose, whatever that purpose may be."

"Do you understand now?"

Jacey shook her head sadly, "That's okay, take your rest. I will see you once more in another life." Jacey watched as the older woman rejoined Jenner at his computer and observed as she wished that their conversation had gone another way and in some way Jenner also did.

"You have to stay Jace. You said you understood that. Everything will be better if you do," Addie warned, "If you go you will kill every single one of them out there. Do you want that? Do you want them dead? Your dad? Your mom? Carl?" Jacey shook her head manically, her mind flashing unforgiving images of their bodies eaten and unmoving, "So stay with me, my love. Stay, and I'll love you forever."

Jacey nodded at her before muttering, "I'll love you forever too," causing Addie to smile. Jacey began to move closer to the dark-skinned girl, her face returning back to her natural one.

"I wanna kiss you, Jace," Addie parted her lips inching towards Jace's.

"Me too," She replied, shyness shrouding her confidence.

But before their lips could touch, the masculine voice returned, "I'm sorry, Jacey," following a sharp twinge in her neck. Immediately, she felt a rush of dizziness hit her, Addie and Mitchell disappearing shortly afterwards, "no." She fell off her chair and into a pair of muscular arms, "I'm sorry, angel."

"Addie," she cried before the darkness took over her.

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bechloeislegit · 3 years ago

Text

Save a Horse, Ride a Cowgirl - Chapter 3

Chloe was surprised when Stacie opened the door to Beca's cabin. She stepped inside after Stacie waved her in. Beca was on the phone, pacing back and forth as she spoke quietly.

"Is everything okay?" Chloe asked Stacie.

"CR's wife had her baby," Stacie replied. "It's a boy!"

"That's wonderful," Chloe said, smiling as she waved at Beca. "Maybe I should go. Would you tell Beca we can talk more tomorrow?"

"Stay," Stacie said. "Give her another minute. She should be about done."

"Okay, I'll wait," Chloe said. "Would you like a brownie?"

"No, thanks," Stacie said.

"Give Denise our best," Beca said. "And make sure you send a photo of your little guy."

Stacie took the phone from Beca and told CR, "Ditto to what Beca said. I want to see a pic, too."

"How's everything going with Beca?" CR asked. "Is she behaving herself?"

Stacie looked over at Beca, who was pulling a brownie out of the plastic baggie Chloe held in front of her. Stacie waited until Beca started chatting quietly with Chloe to respond to CR.

Stacie nodded her head, even though CR couldn't see her. "Yes," she said, keeping her voice low. "We've only been here for one day and she's already acting more like her old self. I think part of it is because she met a childhood friend and they're reconnecting. So, unless you provide information to say otherwise, we'll be staying for the entire three weeks. And, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if Beca comes back with a girlfriend."

"Seriously?" CR said, chuckling. "I hope it works out for her. Having someone to focus her attention on, would do her good."

"Sorry about all this," Beca told Chloe. "Thanks for the brownie."

"You're welcome," Chloe said. "Do you want me to go? We can talk more tomorrow."

"You don't have to," Beca said. "I'm enjoying talking with you."

"I've been enjoying talking to you, too."

"I agree," Stacie said, turning to look at Beca. "Talk to you soon. Goodnight, CR."

Stacie ended the call and put her phone in her pocket.

"So," Stacie said, looking at Chloe and Beca. "What are you two up to?"

"We were just going to talk some more," Beca said.

"Well, I'm tired," Stacie said. "So, I'll leave you to it. Oh, before I forget, Becs, I placed a request for an eight a.m. wake-up call for the both of us so we have time for breakfast before your riding lesson."

"Okay," Beca said. "Thanks, Stacie. I'll see you in the morning."

"Goodnight, Chloe," Stacie said as she made her way to the door.

"Goodnight, Stacie," Chloe said.

Stacie stopped and looked at Beca.

"Don't stay up too late," Stacie said.

"Don't worry, mom," Beca said, laughing. "We won't."

~~ Save a Horse, Ride a Cowgirl ~~

At some point later that evening, Beca and Chloe had laid on the bed, facing each other as they continued to talk. Chloe had fallen asleep and Beca got up to retrieve the blanket at the foot of the bed. She covered Chloe with the blanket and then laid down as she had been before. She fell asleep while watching Chloe sleep.

The next morning, Beca and Chloe both jerked awake at the sound of the phone ringing. Beca sat up and reached to answer the phone.

"Hello," Beca rasped out, before clearing her throat.

"Good morning, Miss Mitchell," a voice said through the phone. "This is your eight a.m. wake-up call."

"Thank you," Beca said and hung up the phone.

"Good morning," Chloe said as she stretched and sat up in bed.

"Good morning," Beca responded.

"Sorry, I fell asleep," Chloe said, smiling at Beca.

"That's okay," Beca said. "I wasn't too far behind you. So, um, would you like to have breakfast with me and Stacie?"

"I'd love to," Chloe said. "I'll go back to my room and meet you guys in the dining hall in an hour. Does that give you enough time to get ready?"

"That's plenty of time," Beca said, getting off the bed as Chloe did the same.

"Okay, then," Chloe said, making her way to the door. "I'll see you at breakfast."

Beca walked over to Chloe and opened the door for her. Chloe leaned in and kissed Beca's cheek.

"Thank you," Chloe said, stepping just outside the door. "I had a wonderful night."

"What's this?" Stacie's voice called out when she saw Chloe standing outside Beca's door. "Chloe, are you doing the walk of shame?"

Hearing Stacie, Beca stepped out and stood next to Chloe as Stacie reached them.

"We weren't. . . we didn't. . .um," Beca stammered. She looked at Chloe. "A little help here, Chloe."

Stacie stopped and looked first at Beca and then at Chloe.

"There is no shame in my game," Chloe said and laughed. "But, alas, all we did was talk and fall asleep."

"So, what I'm hearing is that you two slept together," Stacie said, grinning at Beca.

"What?" Beca screeched, her cheeks red. "No. I mean, yes, we slept together but we didn't sleep together. Um, I mean, we were laying in the bed together, and we were actually sleeping. Together. But not like sleeping together in a sexual way."

Chloe and Stacie were both smiling as they looked at how flustered Beca had become.

"You're so adorable," Chloe said, causing Beca's face to become even redder.

"Not adorable," Beca mumbled.

"Most definitely adorable," Chloe said, kissing Beca's cheek. "I have to go get showered and changed. I'll see you both at breakfast."

With that, Chloe walked off toward her cabin, leaving Beca and Stacie alone.

Stacie turned toward Beca, her mouth opening as if to say something.

"Don't start," Beca said, holding up a hand toward Stacie.

"I wasn't going to start anything," Stacie said innocently. "I was just going to suggest that we should get ready for the day."

Beca scoffed, causing Stacie to laugh. "I'll see you in a little bit, Beca."

Stacie was still laughing as she turned and walked back toward her cabin. Beca shook her head and went back into her room.

~~ Save a Horse, Ride a Cowgirl ~~

After breakfast, and Stacie's relentless teasing of Beca, Chloe took the girls to the stables for Beca's riding lesson. There were two teenage boys waiting by the stable's entrance when they arrived.

"Did you boys sign up for the riding lesson?" Chloe stopped and asked them.

"Yep," one of the boys responded, while the other just nodded his head.

"I'm Chloe, and I'll be leading this lesson."

"I'm Brad," the boy who nodded said. "And this is my brother Chad."

"I'm Stacie and this is Beca," Stacie told the two boys.

Chad leered at both women; Brad smacked him on the arm and whispered, "Be cool."

"We know who you are," Brad said, looking at Beca. "Our older sister loves your music. Could we get an autograph for her?"

"Sure," Beca said. "I'd be happy to sign something after we're done here."

"If you four would follow me, I'll get everyone set up with a horse," Chloe said, walking into the barn. She looked at the two boys. "Have either of you ridden before?"

"I have," Chad said. "This will be my brother's first time."

"Hey, Red," Fat Amy called out when she saw Chloe.

"Hey, Amy," Chloe said. "Are the horses ready?"

"Yep," Fat Amy said. "All saddled and ready to go."

"Thanks, Amy," Chloe said. She turned to the four riders. "I'm going to go over a few basic safety issues before we actually get on the horses. Okay?"

All four nodded in agreement.

Chloe went through a few things as Beca smiled and stared at her. Stacie bumped Beca's shoulder and smirked when Beca turned to look at her.

"What?" Beca whispered.

"You have a boner for your riding instructor," Stacie whispered, chuckling when Beca's face turned red.

"So?" Beca responded, turning to watch and listen to Chloe.

"Any questions?" Chloe concluded.

"I have one," Chad said. "Do you have a boyfriend?"

Beca snapped around and glared at him. "That has nothing to do with riding lessons or anything Chloe just said."

"I'm just curious," Chad said. "Because I'd like to ride her instead of one of these things."

"Shut up, Chad!" Brad said.

"Yeah, Chad," Beca sneered. "Shut up!"

"It's okay, Beca," Chloe said. "I've got this. Jesse!?"

"Yeah, Chloe?" Jesse said, suddenly appearing at her side.

"Would you mind escorting this young man away from the stable?" Chloe asked, waving her arm toward Chad. "He won't be riding with us today."

"No problem," Jesse said, walking over to Chad and taking his arm. "Let's go!"

"You can't do this!" Chad yelled as Jesse dragged him away. "Brad! Help me!"

"Nope!" Brad yelled, shaking his head. "He's always got to be a dick about everything."

Once Chad and Jesse were out of sight, Chloe turned to the group.

"Now that's taken care of," Chloe said, getting everyone's attention back on her. "Let's get our horses."

Beca, Stacie, and Brad followed as Chloe made her way to where Amy and Bumper were holding the reins of four horses.

"Tom took Chestnut back to his stall since you are down one rider," Bumper told Chloe.

"Thanks, Bumper," Chloe said as she stopped in front of one of the horses. She took the reins as she ran a hand down its forehead.

"This is Cinnamon," Chloe said. "She's mine."

Chloe looked over at the group. "Beca, since you're a beginner, you get Rosemary; I promise she's very gentle. Brad, since you're also a beginner, you take Sage, and Stacie, you get. . ."

"Let me guess," Stacie interrupted. "My horse's name is Thyme or some other herb?"

"Actually, it's Pepper," Chloe said, chuckling. "He's a bit feistier. Think you can handle him?"

"I'm sure I can handle him," Stacie said, winking at Chloe.

"Show off," Beca muttered.

~~ Save a Horse, Ride a Cowgirl ~~

Stacie had no trouble getting on her horse. Bumper had to help Brad, and after a bit of a struggle, finally managed to get him seated.

Chloe walked over to Beca and led her to a stump in the yard.

"Use this stump to get on Rosemary," Chloe told Beca. "It will be easier."

"Thanks," Beca said, stepping up onto the stump.

Amy brought Rosemary over and held the reins to keep Rosemary steady. Beca put both hands on the pommel and placed her left foot in the stirrup. She bounced once or twice before throwing her right leg over the back of the horse, sitting firmly in the saddle.

"Great job, Becs," Chloe said, patting Beca's leg. She turned and walked over to Cinnamon.

Suddenly, a pop-pop-pop sounded. Stacie's horse bucked but she held on and got him under control. Brad wasn't so lucky; Sage bucked and Brad fell off, landing on his back.

"Ahhhh," Beca yelled as her horse also tried to buck her off.

Beca somehow managed to stay hold on as Chloe rushed to try and grab onto Rosemary's reins. Chloe failed at grabbing the reins and Rosemary took off like a bat out of Hell, with Beca holding onto the pommel for dear life.

"Beca!" Choe yelled.

Chloe ran and jumped onto Cinnamon, immediately spurring the horse to chase after Beca and Rosemary.

"Oh, my God!" Stacie cried out, sliding off Pepper and rushing over to Brad who was lying still on the ground where he fell.

Jesse and Bumper came running from inside the stable and looked around to see what had happened.

"It was that kid that Jesse threw out of here," Fat Amy said. "I saw him toss some firecrackers behind Sage."

"We need an ambulance," Stacie yelled from where she was kneeling next to Brad.

Jesse saw Chad peeking around the corner of the stable.

"There he is!" Jesse yelled, running toward Chad.

Chad saw Jesse coming after him and ran off.

"Amy, go help Stacie with the kid," Bumper said. "I'm going to tell Chicago and Jessica what happened and call for an ambulance."

Amy nodded her head and Bumper ran off. Amy hurried over to Stacie and looked down at Brad. Brad was moaning and tried to sit up. Stacie put a hand on his chest.

"Stay down," Stacie told him, pushing him back down gently.

"Bumper went to call an ambulance," Amy told Stacie.

Just then Jesse came back with a struggling Chad.

"Stop it!" Jesse yelled at Chad. "Or I swear to God, I will knock you out."

Chad ceased struggling and looked at Brad.

"Is he going to be okay?"

~~ Save a Horse, Ride a Cowgirl ~~

Chloe pushed Cinnamon as hard as she could; she was gaining ground and was within a few feet of Beca and Rosemary.

"Beca!" Chloe yelled, causing Beca to look over her shoulder at Chloe. "Gently pull back on the reins. That will slow her down."

"I can't!" Beca yelled back. "Oh, my God! I'm gonna die!"

"No, you're not," Chloe yelled. "Just gently pull back on the reins."

"I really can't," Beca said, holding onto the pommel of the saddle. "I dropped them when she. . .Ahhhh. . . when she started to run."

This spurred Chloe to push Cinnamon a bit more until Cinnamon was running side-by-side with Rosemary.

Chloe reached toward Beca with her left arm; she leaned over slightly and yelled, "Lean toward me."

"What are you doing?" Beca screamed. "You're going to kill us both!"

"Trust me," Chloe shouted.

Beca looked into Chloe's eyes and it calmed her; she knew she could trust Chloe. Beca leaned slightly and Chloe caught her around the waist, pulling her off of Rosemary. Beca screamed and grabbed onto Chloe's arm; Chloe used her free hand to slow down and stop Cinnamon. Once they stopped, she gently lowered Beca to the ground. Beca stumbled back slightly but stayed on her feet.

Chloe jumped off Cinnamon and rushed over to Beca, pulling her into a hug. Beca hugged Chloe back, pulling her tighter to her.

"I thought I was going to die," Beca mumbled into Chloe's shoulder.

"I was never going to let that happen," Chloe whispered into Beca's ear.

Beca pulled back from the hug and stared into Chloe's eyes. Chloe stared back and the next thing they knew, their lips were smashed together.

~~ Save a Horse, Ride a Cowgirl ~~

Rosemary had stopped a few feet away as soon as Beca was no longer on her back. Chloe grabbed Rosemary's reins and then Cinnamon's; she slowly walked both horses over to where Beca stood.

"I'm not getting back on that thing," Beca said.

"You don't have to," Chloe said. "You can sit behind me on Cinnamon to get you back to the stable."

It took a bit of cajoling and another kiss, as well as the thought of walking all the way back to the stable before Beca agreed to ride behind Chloe on Cinnamon.

The two were now on their way back to the stable. Beca was sitting behind Chloe with her arms around Chloe's waist, and her hands clutching Chloe's shirt.

"I can't believe you got me back on one of these things," Beca said, leaning her chin on Chloe's shoulder.

Chloe chuckled. "My kisses have a way of getting people to do things they wouldn't normally do."

"Huh," Beca said, grinning into Chloe's shoulder. "Good to know."

It only took Chloe about fifteen minutes to make it back to the stables.

"There's Chloe!" Stacie yelled, seeing the redhead leading one horse while riding the other. "I don't see Beca."

"She's sitting behind Chloe," Jesse said.

Just then Beca poked her head over Chloe's shoulder. She saw an ambulance and a police car; a few feet away, she saw Chicago and Jessica speaking to someone she assumed was an EMT. To her left, she noticed Stacie standing next to Jesse, each had one hand shielding their eyes as they watched Chloe lead Cinnamon into the paddock. There were other people around that Beca recognized as some of the Ranch guests.

"Why is there an ambulance here?" Beca asked.

"That kid, Brad, was thrown off his horse," Chloe said. "He landed on his back. I guess it's for him."

"Oh," Beca said. "I hope he's okay."

Chloe was leading Cinnamon over to the stump Beca used to help get onto Rosemary. Stacie came rushing over and grabbed Beca's arm.

"Beca!" Stacie squealed, pulling Beca from the horse.

"Ahhh," Beca screamed as she tumbled onto Stacie, knocking her on her back.

Chloe dismounted safely as Beca attempted to get to her feet, but Stacie held onto her, squeezing her tight.

"Geez, Stace, are you trying to kill me?"

"I'm sorry," Stacie said. "I'm just glad to see you're alive."

Stacie let Beca go and Chloe helped them both to their feet. Chicago and Jessica ran over to them; Chicago pulled Chloe into a hug.

"Are you two alright?" Chicago asked, looking from Chloe to Beca.

"We're fine," Chloe said, returning the hug.

"Is the kid okay?" Beca asked.

"Mr. Walp?" One of the police officers called out to Chicago.

"Excuse me," Chicago said and walked away without answering.

"They think he just had the wind knocked out of him," Jessica said. "They're taking him to the hospital to get checked out."

"That's good to hear," Beca said.

"Chloe!" Aubrey yelled as she ran to her best friend.

Aubrey grabbed Chloe in a hug and squeezed her tight. "I was so worried."

"I'm fine, Brey," Chloe said, pulling away from Aubrey.

The air around them was suddenly filled with expletives being shouted. Everyone looked to see Chad in handcuffs, being dragged to a police car; it appeared his parents were arguing with the officer.

"Amy saw him throw firecrackers behind Sage, which caused the horses to spook," Jessica told Chloe. "They're arresting him for reckless endangerment. He could have killed any one of you and he's not even the least bit sorry about it."

Beca squinted and watched as the officer was finally able to wrestle Chad into the back of the police car.

"Shouldn't the parents be with their other kid?" Beca asked. "You know, the one who's actually hurt."

"You would think," Stacie said.

"Can I go to my room?" Beca asked. "I'd like a shower and change into some clean clothes. I smell like a horse."

"I could use a shower myself," Chloe said.

"I think the cops want to talk to you two," Jessica said. "They've talked to everyone else who was here when it happened."

"Oh, okay," Beca said.

~~ Save a Horse, Ride a Cowgirl ~~

Beca's body was aching all over from the bouncing and jarring it received as Rosemary galloped at full speed away from danger. Beca couldn't really blame the horse. She felt a kinship to it and understood the fear that would cause the horse to run as it did; she had done the same herself on several occasions when something frightened her.

"I hope Chloe's okay," Beca mumbled as she stood in the shower with her hands on the wall in front of her as the hot water flowed down over her back and shoulders.

Beca had noticed Chloe wincing when Jessica hugged her. Beca figured that if she was hurting from all that happened, then Chloe's adrenaline rush must have worn off as well.

The next thought Beca had was of the kiss or kisses she shared with Chloe. They were both so relieved that she was safe after Chloe scooped her off the horse, their emotions took over and they kissed. Beca put her fingers to her lips; they were still tingling from kissing Chloe. She couldn't stop the smile that came to her lips. She also couldn't help wanting to kiss Chloe again.

"Are you sure you're okay, Chloe?" Aubrey asked as Chloe gathered a change of clothes after her shower. "You're moving a little slow."

"Just a bit sore," Chloe said. "I'll be out in a minute and then we can get lunch."

"Take your time," Aubrey said. "I have Ashley handling lunch today."

"Wow," Chloe said, stopping to look at Aubrey. "You must really be worried about me if you're letting Ashley take over your kitchen."

"You know I let Ashley handle lunch on her own quite often," Aubrey said. She looked at Chloe standing in the middle of the room. "Aren't you supposed to be getting dressed?"

Chloe laughed and went into the bathroom to change. She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled.

"I can't believe Beca and I kissed," she thought as she dropped her towel. Her brows furrowed and a frown replaced the smile. "I hope she doesn't regret it happening."

Chloe was dressed and walked out of the bathroom. Aubrey saw the pensive look on her face.

"Is something wrong?"

"Beca and I kissed," Chloe blurted out.

Aubrey's eyes widened as she digested this new piece of information. She smiled and asked, "You kissed?"

"We did," Chloe said.

"So, did she kiss you? Or did you kiss her?"

"I think it was a mutual thing," Chloe said, sitting on the bed and starting to put on her socks. "I mean, I hugged her once she was back on solid ground and when I pulled back, we were suddenly kissing. I think we both just leaned in and it happened."

"Okay," Aubrey said. "So, how was it?"

"It was amazing," Chloe said. "You know I already had a crush on her. Now, I think I might actually be falling in love with her."

Aubrey didn't say anything and Chloe finished putting on her shoes and socks.

"Wow!" Aubrey finally said. "I was not expecting that. Are you going to tell her?"

"I don't know," Chloe said. "I want to, but I'm afraid of how she'll react. She hasn't had a real relationship to speak of since she became famous. At least, none that I've read about; she usually has flings and one-night stands. I don't want to be another notch on her bedpost."

Aubrey sat on the bed next to Chloe. "I don't think that will be the case. In the short time that she's been here, I've seen how she looks at you. And, I think she has feelings for you, too."

Chloe was saved from responding by a knock on her door. She got up and was surprised to find Beca standing outside.

"Hey," Beca said.

"Hey," Chloe said.

"Um, can we talk?"

"I should get back to the kitchen," Aubrey said.

"Sorry, Aubrey, I didn't see you there," Beca said. "You don't have to go. I can talk to Chloe later."

"You're here now," Aubrey said. "You two should talk."

"Oh. Okay. You're right," Beca said. "Thanks."

"Don't be late for lunch," Aubrey called over her shoulder to Chloe as she brushed past Beca.

"Um, you want to come in?" Chloe asked, stepping aside for Beca to enter.

"Yeah, thanks," Beca said and entered Chloe's room.

~~ Save a Horse, Ride a Cowgirl ~~

"Hey, Aubrey," Stacie said, seeing the woman as soon as she walked into the dining room. "Have you seen Beca?"

"I left her with Chloe about ten minutes ago," Aubrey said. "She came by Chloe's room to talk. I'm guessing they'll be here for lunch shortly."

"Thanks, I'll just wait for her here," Stacie said, taking a seat at a table. "I just want to make sure Beca is okay. If she's able to go talk to Chloe, I guess she's fine."

"She looked okay when I left them," Aubrey said. "Would you mind if I join you?"

"Please do," Stacie said, motioning to the chair across from her. "Who's making lunch if you're out here with me?"

"Ashley," Aubrey said. "We all wear many hats around here and she helps me with all the meals. I usually let her take care of lunch alone if I'm needed elsewhere. Chloe is my best friend, so when I heard about what happened, I left Ashley in charge and ran right over there."

"It was quite scary," Stacie said. "Especially when Beca's horse took off. I think my heart actually skipped a few beats when I saw her bouncing around on that horse, holding on for dear life."

"I'm glad everyone is okay," Aubrey said. "It could have been so much worse. Although, I think it worked out well for Chloe and Beca."

"How so?" Stacie asked.

"Well, I'm sure Beca will tell you this herself," Aubrey said, leaning across the table as if she was going to share a secret. "They kissed."

"No," Stacie said. "If something like that happens, Beca usually comes looking for me to tell me about it."

Stacie looked up when she heard the door to the outside open. Beca and Chloe walked in together.

"So, you're driving to LA once you leave here?" Beca asked Chloe.

"I'm sorry, Beca," Chloe said. "I know I said I'd fly to LA with you and Stacie, but I totally forgot about my car because we don't use them here on the ranch. I'll need my car in LA and driving it there seems like the cheapest way to do it."

"That's over a thousand miles and something like sixteen hours of driving," Beca said. "I can pay someone to get your car to LA for you so you can fly to LA with me and Stacie. You can spend a few more days here and still be in LA in time to start your new job."

"I can't ask you to do that, Beca," Chloe said.

"You're not asking," Beca said. "I'm offering. I don't want to have to worry about you breaking down somewhere or something happening to you."

"Awww, you do care about me," Chloe said, kissing Beca.

Beca chuckled as she pulled back from the kiss.

"Um, Chloe," Beca whispered. "I thought we were going to keep this a secret until we were ready to go to LA?"

"I'm sorry," Chloe said, not looking sorry at all. "I couldn't help myself. I just really wanted to kiss you again."

"Beca, is there something you want to tell me?" Stacie asked, smirking.

"What are you talking about?" Beca asked, stepping away from Chloe. "Tell you what?"

"Let's start with that kiss," Stacie said. "And, then we can talk about the other kisses you and Chloe shared this morning."

Beca looked at Chloe who shrugged and smiled at Beca.

"Fine," Beca said, smiling at Chloe. "Chloe and I are going to start dating. We wanted to keep it quiet to see how things would go before we told anyone."

"How's that working out for you?" Aubrey asked, laughing at Beca.

"Not too well," Beca said, laughing as well. "My new girlfriend can't keep her lips off me, so I guess we can tell everyone now."

"Did you hear that, Brey?" Chloe said, pulling Beca to her with a big smile on her face. "I'm Beca Mitchell's girlfriend."

"I can't wait to tell CR about this," Stacie said. "I know she'll be as happy to hear this as I am."

"So, you're okay with how fast this happened?" Beca asked.

"I am," Stacie said. "I think the media will have a field day with it though. But don't worry, CR and I will get ahead of it so we should be able to quash any negative news that may come your way."

"Good," Beca said, sounding relieved. "I don't want anything to scare Chloe away. I plan on her being a part of my life for a very, very long time."

"I am unsurprisingly okay with that," Chloe said with a beaming smile.

_______________________________________________________

A/N: BeChloe is together and that's it for this part of the story. The final chapter will be an epilogue picking things up one year later.

#bechloe fanfiction #beca mitchell #chloe beale

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