#((i wanted to explain why she didnt reach out yet when the ooc reason is no spoons fjsgjsgs)) | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

lemondoodledee · 6 years ago

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Reaching For You

I found some old sketches that reminded me of a comic I wanted to do for Cordelia and Mercury from @mortalheroseries so I figured that I might as well type it out before I forget. Sorry if it sucks, I haven’t written in a very long time. (WARNING: cursing, injuries, possibility of ooc characters, along with bad punctuation and structure) (finished edit: gosh this was a mess so beware)

Cordelia liked to think that she was smarter than the average person. She had gotten good grades and survived this long, so she obviously wasn’t a complete idiot. Yet still, here she sat, in the office of her patron, for once not there to do his paperwork. No, now she sat in a chair opposite his, its cold wood and hard cushioning burning at her skin, and it was all because she lost her temper.

She cursed under her breath. Cordelia was so, so stupid. And now she had to face her patron for it.

“As the patron of this... this delinquent, I expect you to take responsibility for her actions and act accordingly.” A man stood next to Cordelia, crossing his arms as he huffed in fury.

Mercury’s eyes scanned over the two, taking in their injuries. The outsider’s face was swollen and bleeding, accompanied by a huge bump at his temple, which he held as he grunted out his demands. Cordelia, on the other hand, seemed relatively untouched, sporting only a blackened eye and a busted lip as any evidence of the skirmish which had recently occurred. Behind the two, positioned to guard the doorway, were a man and a woman in uniforms similar to that of the injured man.

Despite the glares sent her way, Cordelia’s head was held high, posture stiff, and face stony with a guarded look in her eyes, yet Mercury was still able to notice how her fist clenched at her gut a little too tightly to brush off as normal. He knew his hero, and collected as she was, if there was anyone who could see past her act of indifference, it was him. Now, as he looked closer, her frame trembled ever so slightly, struggling to support her confident facade.

The god sighed, and fixed the two with an annoyed expression. He hated having to deal with work, sitting in a stiff chair as opposed to the lap of his hero.

Honestly, he needed her to be the responsible one who dragged him out of shit, not the other way around.

“Well,” he started, “I’d like to know what the hell happened before I do anything about this.”

The man huffed, before pointing his finger at Cordelia.

“Your supposed hero assaulted me! That’s what happened.” He paused, coughing, “You see this bump? I got this when she threw her gun at me!”

Mercury turned to Cordelia, waiting for a rebuttal, but received only a blank stare in return.

Well if his hero wasn’t going to defend herself, there wasn’t much he could do except prod further.

“I find it hard to believe that my sunshine would ever attack a perfectly innocent person out of nowhere, especially if she knew that I would have to deal with it, so I’m going to need you to be specific as to what she did and why she might have done it.” Mercury emphasized his hero’s nickname, giving the man who had broken his peace a smirk, as if he was daring him to go against his precious hero.

The man stiffened, if only for a moment, but met the god with a haughty look, confidently stating, “I was minding my own business with my buddies when she happened to pass by. I greeted her and made a passing joke as she walked by. I was just trying to lighten up the mood, but before I knew it, she had pounced on me. I was still reeling from the shock of her flipping out that I didnt have enough time to dodge. Without thinking I defended myself and started hitting back.”

Mercury narrowed his eyes, leaning back in his chair.

“What could you even say to get my sunshine to attack you? As far as I know, something like this would never happen.”

The man scoffed, eyes rolling as her peered at Cordelia.

“Well,” he began, “I certainly didn’t say anything worthy of this-“ he motioned at his bloody face to emphasize the point, “All I did was ask if she was having a tough day, and my friends can vouch for that”

Mercury leaned to the side, looking at the man and woman who stood at the doorway. Remembering the strange sight of the two dragging Cordelia through his door minutes ago, he gave them a questioning stare, silently asking for confirmation.

“It’s true.” They grunted in unison, giving Cordelia dirty looks.

“Well you’re going to have to forgive me for being a bit doubtful, but do you have any other witnesses?” Mercury smiled at them coldly, “it’s just that it seems a bit skewed in your favor, what with your only present witnesses being your friends.”

“Alexander was there.” This time the woman spoke, stepping forward to address the god. “He had been coming over to practice when it happened.”

“Well then why isn’t he here? Mr. Perfect doesn’t seem the type to walk away from a fight being the chivalrous ass he is.” Mercury was now beyond skeptical, knowing that his hero’s fucking shield of all people wouldn’t abandon her.

“She told him to go get her brother and that she had everything ‘handled.’” The man in the back answered next.

“Why the FUCK would he need to get Caleb?”

If Cordelia was really going to get into a fight, couldn’t she at least handle it herself???

“I think your hero’s the only one that could answer that.”

“Well,” Mercury turned towards said female, “care to explain?”

Just as Cordelia was about to speak, Alexander burst through the door, panting as he looked towards the shocked group. His cheeks flushed, realizing his abrupt entrance.

“Uh... sorry.” His eyes shifted towards Cordelia, “I... um.. I got Caleb like you asked. He’s with Taylor right now.”

“Well Arthur-“ Mercury started,

“Alexander” the blond corrected.

“Ugh whatever... Well, ALEXANDER,” The god continued, annoyed. “What exactly happened between my sunshine and these three?”

“I had been on my way to train when I passed by these four. I heard one of them ask Cordelia something about her day, and a few moments later I heard screaming. When I turned around, she was on him and the other two were trying to pull her off. Just as I was about to run in to break off the fighting, she yelled at me to go get Caleb. Naturally I was hesitant, but they had already almost subdued her, and I trusted my seniors to take care of the situation.” Alexander then turned back to Cordelia with a guilty look, “I’m sorry Cordelia, I want to believe that there was something more to what happened, but I won’t lie about what I saw.”

Cordelia seemed unmoved, with no hint of anger in her eyes, and merely nodded.

“As much as I’ve loved this drama, I’d really like to get back to my nap, so what do you say Sunshine? Anything you’d like to add on?”

Cordelia didn’t meet her patron’s eyes, instead opting to focus on the wall just behind him.

“He said something else.”

Simple, blunt, and annoyingly vague. Mercury groaned in exasperation.

He was a god, not a babysitter.

“Well sunshine, I kind of need to know what he said.” His smile didn’t reach his eyes this time. Even Mercury had his limits when it came to bullshit.

“When I didn’t reply he cursed at me under his breath and insulted my brother.”

Mercury turned to the others in the room.

“Is this true? Thunder boy, did you hear this?”

“Um,” Alexander hesitated, “well I didn’t hear it, but... I can’t be sure he never said it...” Though the boy had tried to assist his friend, Mercury could already see his doubt instantly crushing any attempt at help.

“We didn’t hear him say that, and we were there next to him.” Both friends said, looking towards the god.

“I’d hate to say it but are you sure he said that Sunshine? So far three of your seniors along with your one companion have all vouched for the same story, and it’s not looking good for you. Why should I believe you?” Mercury leaned forward, propping his elbows on his desk as he gave Cordelia one last chance at clearing her name.

“You shouldn’t,” she whispered.

“Wait what?” Out of all the possible responses, Mercury had not been expecting this.

“You have no reason to believe me.” Cordelia repeated, “You’ve known me for a short amount of time so my word against three seniors is meaningless. My own companion can’t vouch for me, and I have no evidence other than the memory of what this man had said to me. Logic dictates that I shouldn’t be believed, so do what you will. I know anything I have to say will not hold any merit to you, so what’s the point of fighting the inevitable? I’ll get punished no matter what I do.” Her shoulders sagged ever so slightly, defeat entering her body as her eyes clouded with resignation.

Mercury stilled, a look of contemplation entering his face. Everything she said was logical enough in regards to who seemed to be the believable one, and any normal person would agree.

But this was Mercury, and for all he cared logic could go fuck itself.

He knew his sunshine wasn’t guilty, and the proof was sitting in front of him.

“I believe you.” He stated as simply as if he were reciting a basic fact.

“Excuse me?” Now it was Cordelia’s turn to be confused.

This wasn’t supposed to happen. This never happened.

“I saaaaaiiid I believe you sunshine. Honestly I’m offended you have such little faith in your god.” Mercury exclaimed holding his hand to his chest in mock hurt, “However, I do need to know what he said to get my sunshine so grumpy!”

As this exchange went on, the rest of the occupants stared in shock. The injured man finally spoke up,

“That doesn’t make any sense! She even admitted to not being trustworthy! That girl might be your hero but that doesn’t mean she can get special treatment.”

“Okay, number one: shut the fuck up. Number two: I’m a god and I’ll do whatever the fuck I want without having to deal with a lesser being bitching about it. And finally, number three: I know there’s more to this story and I won’t punish my hero for nothing.” Mercury turned back to his still silent hero, “Hey sunshine, it’s kind of hard to defend you when you aren’t defending yourself.”

Silence... and then-

“Get off your high horse you brother-fucking-bitch. Is that little cunt the reason why you’re acting like a haughty piece of shit, or is it because you also fuck your patron?”

Everyone in the room quieted as Cordelia’s voice rose. It took Mercury a second to process what came out of his hero’s mouth, before a cold chill swept through his body into the room. The three accusers were quiet... too quiet, and the god did not miss the recognition that flared in their eyes.

“...Cordelia, what did you say? I... I think I might have misheard you.” Alexander was completely dumbfounded, looking at his friend in surprise, yet no doubt nor recognition occupied his eyes, only genuine confusion.

“He insulted both my brother and my patron under his breath when I didn’t say anything, so you wouldn’t have heard him from where you were. This wasn’t the first time he’s harassed me, so I at first ignored him. But I just couldn’t control myself when he said those things and I punched him before he started attacking me with his friend’s help. I was scared one of them would go for Caleb so I managed to get up and tell you to go find him before they overtook me.”

The god had been observing Cordelia as she spoke, and unlike the other three involved, her gaze was clear of lies and she spoke without hesitance or fear.

This girl was telling the truth.

“Well I think that settles it. You three are full of bullshit, Mr.Shield has no idea what the fuck is going on, and my sunshine is the only victim here. Now, let’s get to the punishment-“ but before Mercury could get to his next point, he noticed his hero with her head down shaking.

“... Actually, let’s take a break for now. Alex, watch these three and bring them outside for a bit while I decide what to do with them.” Mercury’s smile was anything but pleasant, and all four people exiting felt a harsh gust of wind push them from the room.

“Now that those idiots are gone, maybe you can help me decide what to do with them? Caleb seems like the type of kid to ask for a pony for Christmas. Maybe the little squirt would like to ride his own human-centipede!” Mercury’s attempt to lighten up the mood failed horribly as no answer came. “...Okay, maybe the centipede was a bad idea. Ooh I know! We’ll make them eat peppers until they barf. Too messy? Well maybe-“

But before Mercury could finish his train of thought, he heard something coming from his hero.

...Was... was she crying?

Mercury turned himself towards the girl, and sure enough she was curled up in her chair, knees pulled up as her arms wrapped around herself.

“Why didn’t you believe me?”

The words echoed in her head, shaking and distorting as Cordelia was once again a child. She was young, so very young, yet there she sat, curled around her brother who sobbed in pain, with a look of pure despair, making her seem so much older than she already was. Her father hung outside the car door, hand still in the air after his failed attempt to reconnect ended only with his children flinching away from his touch as if it were an iron brand. He sighed, defeated, before looking at his daughter.

“I don’t know.”

That wasn’t an answer, and they both knew it.

“I don’t know” didn’t heal the scars covering his children.

“I don’t know” didn’t stop his youngest from screaming in fear.

“I don’t know” didn’t prevent his eldest from looking at him with more than just fear in her eyes.

The tears that poured down, drowning her as her breathing shallowed, did not stop. They covered her, mixing with the rain, dirt, and blood. Staining her skin, and branding her with the undeniable fact that her father wasn’t there for her when he should have been.

He was never there, and he would never be there.

While her father’s failure smothered her on the outside, the void of her mother’s absence consumed her from within.

At least her father had rejected her face-to-face.

Her mother didn’t even have the nerve to look her in the eye, rejecting her the only way she knew how to, by leaving her there, cold, alone, and confused.

Cordelia collapsed into herself, unable to hold the weight of the world any longer.

Cordelia was alone. She always would be.

And tonight had been the last piece of evidence that she needed. The final brick to seal the void which she left inside herself.

“You didn’t believe me.”

“Y O U D I D N ‘ T B E L I E V E M E.”

She screamed into the void, yet no answer came.

And as she screamed, her voice grew coarse, until it finally died. Sound evaded her, her mouth opening, yet nothing coming out. But soon she learned it was for the best, for what was the point of reaching out when all those who noticed shrank away? There was no need to yearn for words that would never come.

“I believe you.”

So simple, so direct, yet so foreign to the girl. She flinched, gazing up only to be met by the mischievous eyes of her patron.

That was right, it was a joke. It was always a joke when Mercury was involved.

Yet, as he stared back, Cordelia saw no lies in his clear gaze. All that sat there was trust, a look exclusively given to her by her brother and no one else. Yet here she was, looking into the eyes of someone who wasn’t afraid to look back.

Those three single words burned into her memory, unforgettable in their sincerity.

For the first time in twenty years, the void spoke back. It reached for her. Begging for her to reach back.

And she did.

Mercury hovered over his hero, confusion turning to complete internal panic.

Cordelia didn’t cry. She never cried.

Did he do something wrong? Maybe she was holding back her pain from the injuries during their whole confrontation. Oh gods when he got his hands on those little-

“You believed me.”

He froze, the sound of crying gone once again, as he looked down to see Cordelia staring straight ahead, a look of confusion, mixed with doubt evident on her face.

“... Of course I did, they were obviously lying.”

Mercury instantly flinched, his mask of indifference wavering as he saw a heartbroken look covering Cordelia’s features once again.

Stupid, stupid, stupid-

“Oh... I see.” Her mouth curled into a twisted smile, “My apologies, I was being foolish.”

“No wait-“ the god started, silently cursing himself for being so thoughtless, “I would have believed you anyway sunshine!”

“But... why? Why would you believe me? Why would you place your trust in someone you barely know?” She shook now, anger emerging to harden her softened heart. She was being too weak, too eager, too trusting with the trickster god and she knew it. “What do you really want Mercury?”

“Cordelia.”

Cordelia froze, her name spoken so concisely by her patron as he gave her a serious look. Their gray eyes connected, creating an unspoken link between the two.

The god leaned in, and, if only for a moment, his stare faltered, concern flashing in his eyes, and a mysterious melancholy clouding his vision.

“...My dear hero, I have known you for a short amount of time, and the moment I held you in my arms I treasured you. I treasured you for the power and chaos you held within you. For the benefits your mere presence offered, and the chance bestowed upon me. I saw you as a stepping stone. And yet-“ his mask fell and pure anguish washed his features, “And yet you proved me wrong. My lovely hero, you were so much more than what that stone indicated. You were true and much more worthy of whatever this hellish realm had to offer you. My hero, my Cordelia, you are good, I know you are. And you deserve only good in return.”

“...” Cordelia shuddered, before collapsing onto her patron as she sobbed.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, T H A N K Y O U.”

Mercury froze before he held her tightly, memories of the fateful night when he first held her flashing through his mind.

“Anything for you, my dear mortal hero.”

#mortal hero series #mortalheroseries #mercury #oc #angst #writing #fanfiction #Everything I write is shit but for some reason I still make the mistake of doing it

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