#(the draining spell one and the head ruffle in the finale) | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

fandomsandflyingstingrays · 1 year ago

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Stepping Stones: Chapter 14

And at last we reach the final chapter! I've had so much fun with this series, and I hope everyone who's read it has too. Every single comment I've gotten on it has, without exaggeration, made my day, so thank you thank you to everyone who left one-- and, of course, anyone who read any of the chapters at all. I hope you enjoy the last one!

“All right, kids,” Eda says, looking at them with a glimmer of malicious glee in her eyes. “Who’s going first?”

“Luz is,” Hunter says immediately.

Luz shoots him a look.

“This was your idea,” he points out.

And, okay, he’s not wrong. While Hunter was carving his new palisman, Luz had the idea to draw his old one, sketching out a stylized version of Flapjack next to the tattoo she wants to get for her dad. As she looked at it, she had the thought that maybe it could do for Hunter what she hopes the flowers will do for her, allow him to feel like he’s carrying part of Flapjack with him even as he grows. Hunter agreed as soon as she showed him— and then Willow offered to get one too, and the whole thing spiraled, and now everyone is standing in front of Eda ready for her to draw on their skin with magic. Well, everyone except Vee, who’s just here for moral support, since she can just shift the tattoo onto her skin.

Luz takes a deep, preparatory breath, and thinks of Flapjack. He helped Hunter most of all— but none of them would be where they are without him. Luz might not have entered the emperor’s mind, might not have found out about the draining spell until it was too late. Hunter wouldn’t have caught Willow’s attention with his flying skills, wouldn’t have been there to help Gus fight off the illusionist Coven Head at Hexside. They might have lost the war against Belos— and Gus and Amity wouldn’t have their friend, Willow wouldn’t have her boyfriend, and Vee and Luz wouldn’t have their brother. Flapjack brought them all together; it’s only fair that they honor him together.

So Luz steps forward and nods at Eda. “Okay.”

“I keep telling you, it won’t hurt,” she says, grabbing what looks like a training wand from a shelf beside the couch.

“In my experience, we have slightly different definitions of what hurts,” Luz notes.

Eda snorts. “Fair enough. But seriously, this won’t feel like anything.”

“Do you want me to hold your hand?” Amity asks, seeing that Luz’s expression hasn’t changed.

“Yes please.”

Amity slips her hand into hers and squeezes.

Hunter hands Eda the tattoo design, and she waves the wand over it, then turns to Luz. “Where do you want it?”

Luz points out a spot on the side of her left arm, just above her elbow. Eda waves the wand over it, and she tenses, squeezing Amity’s hand, and feels— nothing. She glances over, expecting the wand not to have worked, but no: an image of a red bird stares back at her.

“You were right!” she exclaims, looking up at Eda. “I didn’t feel anything!”

Eda ruffles her hair. “Were you doubting your wise and infinitely talented mentor?”

“Who always taught me to question authority? Yes.”

“That’s my girl.”

“I can go next,” Amity offers, and Luz gets up, the two of them switching places on the couch.

The door opens as Luz sits back down, letting Raine and Darius into the room.

“We heard you were back,” Raine says, “and— are you getting tattoos?”

Luz proudly shows them her arm. “They’re for Flapjack,” she says, and Raine gives her and Hunter a sad smile

Darius reaches out to ruffle Hunter’s hair, only to jerk back as a little blue bird leaps from his shoulder and onto Darius’s arm. He flinches, then stiffens, visibly using all his strength not to pull away as the bird hops along his arm and comes to perch on his head. Raine’s grin widens.

“That’s your palisman, aren’t they?”

Hunter nods, a smile of his own tugging at his lips. “Her name is Waffles,” he says, and Raine actually hops up and down on the spot in delight.

Fiddlesticks comes out of staff form and Waffles flies down to greet them, the two of them circling each other and chittering happily. It’s so cute that Luz does a hop of her own, clasping her hands together to keep herself from gathering them into her arms and cooing over them at a pitch that would break every window in the house. When she manages to tear her eyes from them, her gaze falls on Hunter, who watches the two palismen with tears in his eyes. Luz reaches out to wrap an arm around him, and Amity does the same on his other side, a red bird now visible on her forearm.

It doesn’t take Eda long to do the others, each of whom come to join the little group hug when they’re finished, until finally it’s Hunter's turn. Gus rests his hands on his shoulders when he sits down, and Willow perches on the couch beside him.

“Where would you like it?” Eda asks him, an extra-gentle note in her voice.

“Could you… is there any way of putting it over my sigil?”

Eda claps once, her expression gleeful. “Now there’s good thinking. We might not know how to remove those blasted things yet, but there’s no reason why we can’t cover them up.”

Hunter lets out a breath and nods. He closes his eyes as Eda waves the wand over his sigil, and when he opens them, the emperor’s symbol is replaced by Flapjack.

Hunter exhales again, only this time, it’s a long, deep sound that seems to echo in the room. When he breathes in again, he straightens, and Luz can see in the set of his shoulders that a weight has been lifted. Willow kisses his cheek, and Hunter smiles, wiping at his eyes.

“Thanks, Eda,” he says, and she ruffles his hair.

“Don’t mention it, kid.”

The door bursts open again, and Hooty comes rocketing through it, sending Luz, Amity, and Vee stumbling backwards to join Willow, Hunter, and Eda on the couch, clinging to each other and making various noises of alarm.

“Hello, Hooty,” Eda says. “Do I want to know where Lily and your backpack are?”

“On the other side of town!” Hooty replies gleefully, and Eda shudders.

“And to what do the people of Bonesborough owe the trauma you’re currently putting them through with your length?”

“The carnival is open for business! And it looks great! Plus I checked on our floats this morning, and they are undisturbed! I even polished mine.”

“Do we really have to have him on our float?” Amity whispers to Luz through gritted teeth.

“Well, he is a savior of the Isles. In his own way.”

It was Raine’s idea to take the idea of the Coven Day Parade and turn it into a way of celebrating the island’s liberation. All of the new institutions put into place over the last year will have floats, including the Council and Eda’s university. And, Raine insisted, they would need to celebrate the people who were responsible for the island’s liberation in the first place, so Luz, her friends, King, Lilith, and Hooty are getting a float of their own.

Hooty will be driving.

Luz has had more than one nightmare about it.

“Let’s just enjoy the carnival while we can,” Willow says with a pained smile. “Camila’s meeting us there, right?”

Vee nods. “She said she’d be by the dunk tank with the Emperor Belos impersonator at noon.”

“It’s quarter to,” Raine says. “We’d better get moving.”

“If you all hop on my back, I could let you ride through the town on me while I retract into the backpack—“ Hooty starts, but the simultaneous refusals that follow are emphatic enough that they don’t allow him another word.

…

By the time the sun dips below the horizon, Luz’s throat is raw from screaming and laughing and her stomach is bursting with what’s probably half her body weight in fried food. She didn’t think anything could top the carnival that comes to the island every so often, but this knocked it out of the park. King got the Collector to weigh in on the planning, and the result was a mix of every kind of game Luz could imagine with a few death-defying rides thrown in. Nothing like celebrating the time she actually died with a roller coaster wild enogh to make her stomach feel like it was about to repeat the experience.

And she knows the others enjoyed it as much as she did. King walks with a bounce in his step— he never talks about it, but she knows he misses the Collector, and thinks that playing some of their games has been good for him. Camila looks around with bright eyes, the festival so far beyond the realm of anything she's used to. Gus and Vee happily compare the photos they took at various booths, while Willow helps Hunter carry some of the small army of stuffed animals she won him. Eda, at some point, turned into harpy form, and flies above them with Raine in her arms despite their laughing protests.

Lilith and Hooty are waiting by the floats, having had what appears to be a picnic at the base of them. Luz takes them in for the first time in all their finished glory, grinning. The Council’s float is shaped like the Titan, of course, with one councilor on each of the limbs and Darius, who will be giving the speech, in the middle. Behind it is the float for the University of Wild Magic, bearing the logo on a proud banner, with a place for each of the faculty to stand. And then there’s the float for the rest of the saviors of the Isles, which is modeled after Hooty’s face, despite the fact that he was a puppet the entire time. If he was going to build the float, he argued, he was going to make sure it “reflected his true glory”.

“Do you think it has the teeth?” King whispers to Luz.

“Shhhhhh.”

Raine gives Eda a kiss, and she sets them down. “I’ll see you after this mortifying ordeal,” they mutter.

“You’ll be fine, Rainestorm. You haven’t tripped in front of a crowd since you were elected.”

“There’s a first time for everything.”

“You’ll be great, Raine,” Luz says, pulling them into a hug.

“You’re the parent of a Titan!” King adds, climbing up to their shoulder. “Glory runs in your veins!”

“That’s not how it works—" Lilith starts, but Eda elbows her into silence.

She boards the University float as Raine joins Darius and the other councilors. Lilith walks over to Luz’s group.

“Are you sure you don’t want to ride with us?” she asks Vee. “From what I’ve been told, the others might not have been able to go after Belos without your help. Just because you weren’t part of the final battle, it doesn’t mean you weren’t important.”

Vee shakes her head. “No, thank you. I still don’t really like being stared at. Besides, I’ll enjoy sitting with Masha. You know how fascinated they are by magic; they’ll love this.”

“Well, if you’re sure.”

“I am. But I should probably get a move on if I want to meet up with them before the parade starts.”

She hugs Camila and waves goodbye to the others before setting off into the streets.

Luz, Camila, Lilith, Hooty, Amity, Hunter, Willow, and Gus climb onto their float and Lilith directs them to their positions. About five minutes into her lecture on how to wave and smile properly— leftover posturing from her Coven Head days— the Council’s float mercifully begins to move.

Luz has been in and out of Bonesborough for almost a year and a half, and she’s never seen it as crowded as it is today. Every inch of the street is packed with witches and demons shoulder-to-shoulder against the barricades, and plenty have stolen Eda’s idea of perching on the roofs as well. They pass Perry, Harvey, and Gilbert on a balcony, all blowing kisses, and Dell and Gwen below, beaming with pride. Steve, who neglected to join the others on the float in order to keep an eye on Matt, jumps up and down and waves as they pass, while Matt stands with his arms crossed and tries to hide his smile.

And— there’s Vee on the next rooftop over, perched with her siblings and Masha, the latter of who is leaning forward so far Luz is legitimately worried they might fall. Luz lifts a hand to wave— only to find herself flailing it wildly for balance as the float swerves sharply.

“What—“ she gasps, whirling around and finding herself face-to-face with Terra Snapdragon.

“Sorry, sapling,” she hisses, and flicks Luz over the edge of the float with a vine.

Luz fumbles for a levitation glyph in her pocket before she remembers, a scream ripping from her throat even as she curses her own stupidity, and crashes face first into… a puddle of goo?

The abomination lifts Luz back up, setting her into Amity’s arms. “Thanks,” she pants, grabbing her staff and whirling around to assess the situation.

The parade has turned into an out-and-out battle with what looks like fifty coven scouts. “Where did they all come from?!” Luz shouts.

A scout swings their fist at her, and she ducks— only for them to disappear before her eyes. She glances around to find Gus swirling his fingers, his face intense with concentration. Another scout disappears, then another, and then one reappears. Luz scans the crowd and her gaze lands on Adrian Graye, ducked behind a float, concentrating just as hard as Gus is.

“The scouts aren’t real!” she yells. “They’re illusions!”

“Hunter, did you hear that?” Willow asks, and Luz looks over to find her crouched beside Hunter, who had his hands over his ears. He just shakes his head.

“They’re coming to take me away, Belos wants me back…”

“No, they’re not, you’re not part of his coven anymore!” Willow takes his arm in her hands, gently pressing his tattoo. Hunter takes a gasping breath, his expression clearing, and then his eyes fix onto something over Willow’s shoulder and he lets out a warning cry.

Before Willow can turn around, Luz is there, stopping the Construction Coven Head’s hammer with her staff. He lifts it, preparing to strike again, and she stabs at his eye with the back end of her staff, making him reel backwards. Luz draws a spell circle in the air, preparing to blast him with a jet of fire, only to feel something cold wrap around her stomach, squeezing the breath from her lungs as it yanks her backwards.

“No,” she wheezes, “let go—“

The pressure around her middle is relieved so quickly she wonders if the Coven Head actually listened. But no— she looks up to see Eda grabbing the Oracle Coven Head from above and unceremoniously dropping him off the float.

“Stay away from my kid!” she yells.

Another harpy joins her in the sky: Lilith, with Hooty still attached to her and biting as many Coven Heads as he can reach. They give Luz enough breathing room to scan the area again. The Coven Heads shouldn’t be winning, and yet Willow and Hunter are nearly doubled over from the exertion of fighting off the Construction Head, and Gus and Amity lie in a heap at the base of the float, and Raine is firing note after note at Adrian without any of it seeming to touch him, and Camila is punching vine after vine with Terra just creating more and more to take their place.

Why isn’t this working? Luz thinks, and then, why isn’t anyone doing anything? Where is the crowd that was packed so tightly? Why aren’t they helping? Have they run?

Some of them have, she sees. But enough of them remain, only— they’re frozen. And that, she realizes, is where the Coven Heads’ power is coming from. It’s not that they are powerful; the terror of what they represent is.

Luz fears it too. And without her glyphs, she can’t bring herself to believe she’s strong enough to defeat it.

At least: not alone.

She raises her staff and fires a jet of light up into the sky, so brilliant and piercing that for a single second the fighting stops.

“This isn’t their world anymore!” she yells. “This whole night, this whole celebration, the whole reason we’re here is to acknowledge that we are more powerful than them! I know you’re afraid, I know your minds want you to believe this attack means we’re going back to the old way of doing things, but we’re not! This isn’t the start of a war, this is their last stand!”

The Oracle Coven grabs Luz again, but this time, she doesn’t fight it. She’s said her piece. She’s done what she can. She closes her eyes, praying that someone heard-- no, listened.

And oh, thank you, thank you, the hand around her stomach releases. Luz looks up to find a blue mist trailing over her head, and she follows it from the Coven Head to Vee, who’s draining his magic with a defiant light dancing in her eyes.

A strangled gasp draws Luz’s attention to the Construction Coven Head, who’s frozen above Willow, his magic trailing away from him in a steady stream towards Wynne. Terra falls to Gemini next, then Adrian to Rhee, and then the Potions Coven Head to Ivy.

Eda lets out a piercing cheer. “Those are my students!” she yells.

And this— this first act of true defiance by the beings Belos used and discarded, the ones the covens mistreated and hid from the world— is enough to empower the people that Luz’s words couldn’t. With a rallying cry, the crowd storms the floats, and in no time at all, the Coven Heads are in chains and being escorted by Eda and Lilith into a cart that will take them to the Conformatorium to await trial.

Darius folds his arms, shaking his head. “Fools,” he says. “We couldn’t prosecute them without evidence, and now they’ve staged an attack with the whole island as witness.”

“Except for Hettie,” Raine points out. “She was smart enough to stay out of it, and you know she’ll do everything in her power to talk them out of trouble.”

Eda snorts. “She’ll have a pretty tough time of that.”

Darius heaves a long-suffering sigh. “Either way, I should probably get up there and thank the crowd.” He takes a step towards the Council’s newly-righted float, only to stop as Raine puts a hand on his arm.

“I’ll do it.”

And they start up the stairs without a backward glance, summoning a microphone as they go.

“People of the Isles,” they call. “Could, uh, could I please have your attention?”

Their voice is soft, but it carries power, and a wave of silence falls over the crowd. Raine takes a breath, and Luz can hear how it trembles. They glance back at her, and she beams, giving them two thumbs up. Eda blows them a kiss, and Darius gives them an encouraging nod. Raine turns back to face the crowd with a small smile on their lips.

“Thank you for your help in averting this threat,” they say, their voice still shaking but their words clear. “I know the shadow of the covens still looms over our island. We are still afraid of exploring magic beyond the boxes we were taught to keep it in. We are still weak and drained from the strain of fighting to break free of the confines of what we were taught. But Luz Noceda is right. We planned today’s celebration to acknowledge a year in which we re-shaped our government, our system of learning, our way of being into one that is tolerant, curious, and safe. With every day that passes, we face our fears of the old regime, and we take a step beyond them. Seeing what all of you just did tells me that those steps have taken us very far indeed. This new world would not be possible without the bravery of each and every one of you. I want to thank you for that. I want to thank the last basilisks on the Isles, who showed that bravery to a degree I can't imagine, and to the witches and demons who fought for their— and all of our— freedom in the first place. And—" Raine turns to Luz again and smiles at them, the love in their eyes eroding any leftover fear— “I want to thank the very special human who has, at one point or another, inspired all of us to be more than we thought we could. I— and the Council, and the Isles— thank you, and celebrate you.”

And then, as though it was planned, the fireworks that were meant to be launched after Darius’s speech at the end of the parade burst into the sky, and the crowd erupts into cheers so loud they drown out the crackling.

Luz feels someone’s hand in hers and turns to see Amity stepping up next to her. She squeezes her hands and looks back at the fireworks, and as she does, a memory comes to her: sitting with Amity on a rooftop during the Coven Day Parade, both of their hands ice cold, trying not to shiver as they watched the crowd cheer for Belos and the sick game he had in motion. It’s hard to believe that was just over a year ago. It feels impossible to be in such a similar position, but with the context so completely different. Not so long ago, it would have been impossible to imagine that change took place because of her.

But it did. She set the draining spell into motion, yes— but she set all of this into motion, too. Eda and Lilith standing with their wings spread, Eda’s hand in Raine’s. Vee with her siblings and her mom and her partner, all of them leaning over each other to point out their favorite fireworks. Hunter with his arms around Willow and Gus, Darius and Eber beaming at him from behind. Amity, her smile unrestrained, her hand in Luz’s. All possible because she loves these people and they love her, and they take what they’ve given each other and paid it forwards, taking steps and pulling each other along. And if this is what they’ve accomplished in a year, who can say what they will in two, three, five?

Luz presses a kiss against Amity’s cheek and leans her head against hers, turning her gaze up to the fireworks and letting the bursts of light make imprints on her vision, and she feels herself glow just as brightly with the possibilities.

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sarahpetersonruiz · 1 year ago

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Sarah's diagnosis | Discord thread with @galexpeterson

tw: discussion of serious illness & hospitals

Sarah: Sarah sighed as she came through the front door, carrying a shopping bag in one hand and the bag of books she had tried hard to resist in the other. She kicked the door shut with her foot, making her way into the kitchen to drop off both bags. “Hey, hot stuff,” she smiled as she spotted Gale in the living room, moving behind the couch to wrap her arms around his neck and place a kiss on his cheek. “Did you have a good day?”

Gale: Gale sat in the corner of their couch, propped up reading a book that Sarah had been reading a few days before. Klaus sat on the floor, playing one of his videogames. He’d not heard the door open and close, too deep into the story that when he heard her voice, he smiled. “Hey you.” He spoke, quickly finishing the page before she got there. He placed it upside down on his lap, hands placed on her arms when she bent down. He smiled at the kiss against his cheek, turning his head to face her, resting his head against her shoulder. “I did. Went for a run, did some errands, fixed the kitchen cabinet and went to see Nicole. Then picked our little rascal up from school.” He told her, sliding his hand to hers. “How was yours?”

Sarah: Sarah smiled as she squeezed Gale’s hand before moving to ruffle Klaus’s hair in the way she knew annoyed him, earning a groan from him as he continued to play his game. She laughed before making her way back into the kitchen to start putting away the food she bought in the store. “It was fine,” she called out as she put her Diet Coke into the refrigerator. “Nothing strange or startling.” She had experienced another dizzy spell during work, but convinced herself it was because she hadn’t yet had lunch. She lifted out a packet of her son’s favourite snack. “I got cookies for- um…” She frowned, looking down at the pack in her hand as she pictured her son’s face in her head, but the name had completely escaped her. “Um…” How could she forget his name? Sure, something as simple as a salt shaker or the name of the book she was reading, but her son’s name?

Gale: "When do you have your administration night?" He asked after she had confirmed nothing much had happened, using a bookmark to indicate where he had ended and closed the book. He asked, since it was the last week of the month. Unless he was mistaken, that's where most companies counted their stock and till, was it not? He got up to help her with the groceries she had done when she began talking about the cookies. When however she froze halfway her sentence, Gale slowed his walk, looking at her with a frown pushing his brows downwards. "Sarah?" He followed her gaze to the packet in her hand then looked behind him at Klaus, and then it dawned on him that she had forgotten. The colour drained from his face as he took the final steps towards the counter, blue eyes fixated on her face. He'd accepted her previous mishaps, had agreed that the salt shaker ordeal was because she was tired, that she called him Dean out of sheer mistake. But he wasn't helping her with this only for them to cover it up again. "Sarah, what's his name." He asked, in barely a whisper so Klaus wouldn't hear.

Sarah: “Thursday night,” she groaned. “I’m just going to load up on Red Bull and candy to get through the night and then sleep for three days straight. That’s healthy, right?” she joked, knowing exactly what Gale would think of that idea. She felt panicked that Gale was in the kitchen with her, feeling somewhat guilty that he was witnessing her forgetting their child’s name. There had been the embarrassing moment when she had called him Dean in a conversation, but had been able to play it off. He was understanding about a lot of things, but this? She looked up at him as he asked her what his name was, her eyes brimming with tears as she desperately tried to think of what it was. It was buried deep at the back of her brain, but it was like a shadow that she couldn’t grasp in her fingers. “I don’t know,” she said thickly, a tear spilling onto her cheek.

Gale: "I can keep you company if you'd like. I have a morning shift, I can ask Nicky to stay here. That way she isn't alone." He tried to keep his opinion about that to himself, having more than one thought about Ricky leaving her by herself again. But that thought soon faded when he watched Sarah, watching the panic on her face. He felt bad for hurting her like this, by forcing her to come clean about the fact she wasn't okay. The panic across her face, joined by the tears brimming until they fell. He felt his entire face twitch when she confessed that she didn't know. He thought he'd been going crazy, that he was being too overprotective by thinking something was wrong where she assured him there wasn't. He looked down to where his hands were leaning on the counter before he turned to Klaus. "Klaus, buddy, how about you go to your room and do your homework, okay?" He told him, which earned him a groan and while Klaus opened his mouth to protest, Gale already beat him to it. "Now, buddy. You can continue after."

Sarah: “You’d really spend a whole night watching me count books and move displays?” she asked, smiling at the idea of spending the night with him there. “It’s a lovely thought, but you’ll be exhausted. “Last time I wasn’t home until 4am.” She looked back down at the ground when he said Klaus’s name, feeling like she could throw up from the guilt of momentarily forgetting. A silence arose in the room as Klaus did what he was told and reluctantly made his way to his bedroom. “Please don’t be mad,” she muttered softly, still avoiding his eye. How could he not be? She had known there was something wrong for a while and had let it fester until it became so much worse.

Gale: "I could spend days. I could also help you, spend the last hours doing something else." He winked, though honestly he would help, a shift until four am counting seemed horrible. But not as horrible as this. His hands were by his sides, not having the energy to lift them to cross his arms or even place them on his hips. He waited for Klaus to leave and hearing his bedroom door close. He wasn't angry, he thought he would be but the only thing he felt was fear and the crippling weight of truth on his shoulders. "How long?" He asked, not yet turning back to face her because he didn't want her to see how he couldn't hide the terror on his face. "How long since this started?"

Sarah: “Officer Peterson, are you suggesting we fornicate in a public space?” she teased with a smirk. She hated when Gale was mad at her. He never yelled or made her feel bad, but she could see the look on his face that told her that she had upset him. That was worse than any yelling. Her stomach dropped at his question, realising he was just going to become more disappointed in her. “The names? Not long. The salt shaker was the first time.” She sighed, realising there was no use pretending anymore. “I’ve, um…I’ve been getting headaches for a while now.” A pause. “For around six months.”

Gale: He didn't comment on her first answer, knowing that this was her stalling. He focused on a family photo, the three of them on Klaus' birthday party before all had gone to shit in their lives. Was this how it was going to be? Whenever they were doing great, life pulled the rug from under their feet. He was just waiting for the shoe to drop when she admitted it lasted for about six months. "Jesus Christ." He sobbed, catching himself by pressing his hand against his mouth. He was grateful his back was turned to her, as he lowered his gaze to the ground before closing his eyes. "Please tell me you're seeing someone. I don't care if you didn't tell me, just.."

Sarah: Despite his back being turned, Sarah could see the effect her words had on him. She wished she could go back in time and force herself to go see a doctor the second she knew things weren’t right. She had so many reasons why she didn’t, but none seemed good enough now she had to explain herself. “I’m sorry,” she said weakly, trying to think of a way to justify her previous decisions. “I just…Things were going so well. The adoption, the engagement, Nicky’s baby…I didn’t want to ruin it. I didn’t want to believe it was anything serious.” She knew her reasonings were pathetic, and if the tables were turned she would have let him know that. “We still don’t know. It might not be what we think it is.”

Gale: Composing himself as well as he could. He lowered his hand and turned to face her again, shaking his head when she apologised. "Don't, come here." Making his way around the counter, he pulled her in for an embrace, one he much needed for himself. His arms circled around her shoulders, cheek resting on top of her head. He listened to her, and he would have sworn that he understood. That he would have wanted to live in happier times rather than having it overshadow everything that happened. His second proposal seemed stupid now, knowing he should've spent that time paying more attention to her and her health when he had already been doubting. "Maybe.. But we both know you're smart enough to have a good theory." He mumbled, feeling his heart race in his chest against his will, all the ideas of what it could be spreading through his mind and taking a hold of him. His doomsday scenario. He couldn't lose her. "Call one of your sisters if they can look after Klaus tonight." He said, lifting his head and looking down at her offering her the best smile he could muster. "We'll go see a doctor tonight. I'll call Callum, ask him to run tests. It's best to know now." Maybe he was freaking a little, or not thinking clearly, but could she blame him? All it took was one day for it to go wrong.

Sarah: Sarah gladly accepted his embrace, trying her hardest not to cry as she rested her head against his chest, hearing his heart thudding because of her. He was right, she was smart enough to know that whatever was going on was never going to resolve itself on its own. She looked up at him as he spoke again, nodding as she moved away from him. “I’ll call Nel. I don’t think she’s working late in the salon tonight.” As he continued, she paused before shaking her head. “Not Callum. I want this to stay between us as long as it can. The only people who know are you and Drew, and I intend to keep it that way.” She had always disliked people knowing too much about her personal life, and this seemed as personal as it could get.

Gale: He didn’t appreciate the sick joke that was being played on them. If he hadn’t waited that long, or if he had never broken up in the first place, would they have caught it when it started? He always thought by now he knew her like the back of his hand, but he hadn’t caught the sincerity of the issue, hadn’t noticed she’d been struggling with headaches that long. “Okay. Nel is good.” He nodded, honestly every sister would have been okay, he just couldn’t ask his highly pregnant sister to come over on such a short notice. “Andrew knows?” What did it say that her ex found out sooner than him. Had he noticed when he had not? He swallowed down the lump in his throat, deciding to focus on the other gale of her sentence. “He’s the chief of surgery. He has pull to get you to see a doctor. But let’s try the emergency room and see how far we get. But if they want to send us home, I’m calling Callum, okay?”

Sarah: She knew she wasn’t on the best terms with Nel at the current moment, but she hoped that despite their argument she would still show up when she was needed. She grabbed her phone from the counter and sent her a quick text, being as elusive as possible with the reasoning but also highlighting how it was an emergency. She nodded as he focused on Andrew knowing. “He commented on how I looked like shit one day and I told him. He tried to convince me to go see a doctor and I…put it off,” she sighed. “Fine. We’ll try the emergency room first, though.” Her phone buzzed and she immediately grabbed it, letting out a sigh of relief. “Nel’s coming over now.”

Gale: He had to appreciate the man’s loyalty to her, not having uttered a single word his direction about it all. Though somewhere, he was glad she had someone else other than him who knew. If there were things she didn’t feel comfortable telling him, hopefully she would with Andrew. “Emergency room first.” He agreed, watching how she grabbed her phone at the buzz and sighing when she confirmed Nel was coming over. “Okay. I’ll tell Klaus.” Yet he didn’t move, staring at her features until he lifted his hands and cupped her face in between his hands. “I know I wasn’t in your life because of what I did, but I want you to know that you can tell me everything. Your secrets are safe with me, honey. I could never be angry with you, you know that right?” He told her, his brows furrowed and a weak smile on his lips. “I love you too much to ever be angry with you.”

Sarah: She wondered if he was hurt that she told Andrew and not him. It didn’t seem like the time to bring that up, but she hoped he knew that he knew things about her that no one knew - not even Andrew. Her brown eyes met his blue as he cupped her face, wishing she wasn’t the reason for the worry in his eyes. “I know,” she said softly, managing the faintest of smiles before it disappeared again. “I just want to make you happy, and I’m not doing that right now.”

Gale: “I’m happy when I have you.” He confessed, lightly brushing his thumb over her cheek before he pressed his lips against her forehead for a few long seconds and then stepped away from her. “Right. Family emergency, in case nel asks. I’ll let klaus know, set his bed time, all of it.” He spoke, clearing his throat before he turned and walked out of the kitchen. There was nothing to be concerned about, he told himself, nothing until a test result might tell otherwise. the thought alone helped him talk to klaus as if nothing was wrong, giving him the same story they would cook up for nel.

Sarah: — flash forward to hospital — Sarah couldn’t sit still in the waiting room, her leg bouncing erratically as she looked all around her. There were people who looked a lot sicker than she did, and she felt bad that she was going to take time away from then. When she had explained her symptoms to the nurse, she had seemed concerned and had told her to wait to see the on-call doctor. “Maybe we should just go and come back later,” she blurted out, her eyes finally falling back on Gale. “It’s late. By the time we’re out of here it’ll be morning.”

Gale: Gale seemed to mirror Sarah’s movements, his leg bouncing, arms crossed as he watched one of the tvs with information about the doctors, wondering which one they would get. He had expected Sarah to suggest to come back later, but she’d taken longer than he had initially given her credit for. He took a deep breath, untangling his arms and instead held her hand, as if that was an answer on its own. If they were to come another time they’d have to wait too. “I can always call Callum. I saw his car, he is here.” He suggested, knowing they’d be helped a lot faster that way. “Just a little more patience.”

Sarah: Sarah opened her mouth to argue with him when a nurse appeared with a clipboard in hand. “Miss Sarah Ruíz? Doctor Hartmann is ready to see you.” She squeezed Gale’s hand tightly before standing. “You’re coming with me, right?” she asked, never letting go of him. She made her way into the room where a woman who looked to be in her mid-fifties with graying hair sat behind a desk. She gave Sarah a small smile as she gestured for her to sit. “Hello, Miss Ruíz. Is this your partner?” she asked, looking briefly over at Gale. “Just to confirm you don’t mind saying anything confidential in front of both of us.” Sarah shook her head in response, squeezing Gale’s hand tighter. Dr. Hartmann nodded, grabbing a pencil. “Okay, could you describe your symptoms?” Sarah cleared her throat before nodding, avoiding both Gale and the doctor’s eyes. “I, um…Six months ago I started getting headaches, but they’re not like anything I’d ever experienced before. It’s such a severe pain that I lose my vision for a few seconds.” She knew she hadn’t told Gale that part, trying her best not to look to see his reaction. “They started becoming more frequent and the pain became so bad that I was throwing up. Recently, I…I’ve started to forget things. It started off with some mundane household items, but I forgot my son’s name tonight, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t think of what it was.” Dr. Hartmann made some notes whilst Sarah spoke, setting down her pencil and looking back up at the pair. “Okay. Thank you, Miss Ruíz. I…Yes. I’m going to make the decision to admit you to the hospital immediately pending further tests. Would that be a problem?”

Gale: “Of course I am.” Gale comforted her, holding onto her hand as they made their way towards the doctors office. He had no idea if he was imagining the fact that either his hand or hers felt sweaty, their grip clammy. Or perhaps it was the both of them. He felt more nervous the moment they stepped inside the office, taking in the woman at her desk. He briefly introduced himself after she asked if he was her partner, remaining silent for the rest of it. Offering insight from his perspective would most likely not be appreciated, as what Sarah had to say was what was most important. And also afterwards it seemed he barely knew half of what was going on. He was stunned by hearing how intense it had been. Losing vision, throwing up. Sure she had mentioned she didn’t feel well in the last few months, or that she had a migraine. But how had he not noticed? He was better at masking his expressions now than when they were at home. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze as she spoke, his eyes moving toward the doctor to see her eyes, her body language. The drastic decision to immediately admit her startled him, and he looked at Sarah before turning back to dr Hartmann. Didn’t she want to do a scan first, take a blood sample? Yet he didn’t question it, there was a part of him that was relieved, relieved that it was being taken seriously. Terrified, because it was worse than he had hoped it would be. “How long would she be here? What kind of tests?” He carefully asked, hoping Sarah didn’t mind he did.

Sarah: “The first thing we need to do is a MRI scan. That may seem frightening, but they’re much more accurate for brain imaging than a CT scan. I would then like to go into more detail about your range of symptoms and monitor them closely while you are here. We also need to do some memory and recognition tests. Overall, it is much simpler to admit you as an inpatient to do all of these things.” She paused, as if she was holding herself back from saying something else. “I am not in the habit of diagnosing patients before having data to back up my diagnosis, but Miss Ruíz…Prepare yourself.”

Gale: Gale listened. He had no idea what exactly the difference between an MRI and CT was but that wasn’t important at that time. He tried to remember all that she said, slowly nodding once in every while. The short silence was unbearable, because he knew the doctor was debating saying something, and that was never good. When she finally did however, he felt his heart drop. He had the urge to ask if they had waited too long, but he didn’t want to put Sarah in the position of knowing. He swallowed, unclenching his jaw before he breathed out, shifting in his seat and reaffirming his hand around hers while he looked at her. “Let’s do that then, yeah? Get admitted.” He wasn’t going to mention the doctors warning, nor acknowledge it. He was his mothers son, he was going to have to channel her positivity and believe it was all going to be okay.

Sarah: Sarah simply nodded, fearing that if she opened her mouth to speak she may cry or throw up. Gale was being so supportive when he could have been incredibly angry at her for covering it up for so long, and on some level she wanted him to be angry. She didn’t think she deserved how kind he was being. They were dismissed back into the waiting room to wait for a nurse, and Sarah was still mute. — time skip — It had both felt like a lifetime and mere minutes since she had been sitting in the same waiting room, waiting for Dr. Hartmann to discuss the results of the various different tests they ran. She was exhausted, barely sleeping in the hospital bed. “How is Klaus?” she asked, wanting to discuss some sort of normality while they waited. “Is he okay?”

Gale: Gale hated hospitals. Ever since he had been in one of these very rooms, clinging to life and having his entire life flipped upside down, he wouldn't have come back unless he had to. And here they were, about to have their lives uprooted again. He'd barely said a word, still playing the words in his head of what the doctor had said, waiting for her when they did their tests and once she was back, instantly held onto her hand. He was exhausted, and he was sure she was too. He'd gotten her a diet coke as soon as they had been given the headsup and some of the vending machine, it ws better than nothing at this point. "Nel said he was anxious when he woke up and we weren't there. But she brought him to school and said he was laughing with his friends when she left." He shared, squeezing her hand. Nel had asked what was going on, and he had given her the same answer as before they had left. "I also made sure to call your boss and mine, we're both off for the day."

Sarah: Sarah nodded as he spoke, feeling that familiar guilt rise up again as she thought of Klaus waking up without either of them. The hospital had fit in as many tests as they possibly could in the twenty-four hours they had been in the hospital, and she was sure Callum’s name had been used to push her to the front of all the lists. She rested her head on his shoulder with a sigh, grateful that he was there for everything. “Thank you. I’m sorry you had to take the day off.” “Sarah Ruíz? Dr. Hartmann is ready for you,” the nurse at the desk said with a small smile as Sarah stood, reaching for Gale’s hand and clasping it in hers as she turned to look at him. “No matter what happens, we can get through it, okay?”

Gale: "I have a lot of overtime I'm able to use, don't you worry about a thing." He assured her, pressing a kiss on the top of her head. He would quit his job if that was what it took. No matter his passions and goals, she would always come first, no matter what. "Nicole sent me a video though, I forgot to tell you, it's the baby kicking." He told her, already reaching for his voice when he heard her name being called out. He took a breathe, suddenly feeling a sense of dread wash over him. He'd been positive ever since they started the testing, he had to be for both their sakes. Yet now he couldn't shake it. He took Sarah's hand, getting up from his seat. He didn't yet make an attempt to walk away, needing this last moment with her. At her words he nodded, his free hand lifting to pluck a piece of fluff from her shoulder. "Together, no matter what." He nodded, before heaving in another breath and following her into that dreaded office.

Sarah: Sarah's eyes momentarily lit up as Gale mentioned the video of Nicky's baby kicking. She wanted to see it so she could experience a brief moment of joy, but it was of course cut short by the nurse calling her name. "Show me later," she sighed. As they entered the room, Dr. Hartmann was sitting at her desk, looking as infallible as before. She peered over her glasses at the two as they entered, gesturing for them to sit down. She opened Sarah's file, briefly scanning over her notes once more before letting out a shallow sigh. "I'm not going to keep you waiting much longer, Miss Ruíz. Unfortunately, our results have confirmed our suspicions." She cleared her throat before turning the file so Sarah and Gale could see. It was a scan of Sarah's brain, which seemed to be mostly dark space besides a white round shape on the left side. Sarah knew exactly what it was as soon as she spotted it and let out something between a gasp and a sob as she pushed the scan away. "You have a benign tumour in your left temporal lobe. This is the part of your brain that is responsible for your verbal responses and your memory related to your speech. This is why you have been having issues remembering certain words and names. The, erm...How did you put it? Deja vu you say you have experienced that led you to vomit were actually what we call a simple partial seizure. It's a seizure one can experience while still being conscious and functioning. Dr. Hartmann paused, giving both Sarah and Gale a moment to process her words before continuing. This may seem like doomsday, but it's actually a better outcome than I had first believed. The placement and size of this tumor can be removed by surgery. It would requite minimal radiation and, if we're lucky, no chemotherapy at all. I apologise for using the word 'lucky', but...We can do something about this."

Gale: And just like that, the world fell to pieces. Gale hardly knew what he was looking at, but the doctors words and the sounds that came from Sarah were enough to make his body rigid and cold, his heart slowing down as if he was in trance. He felt like he was moving in slow motion. Slow blinks, slow breathing. The doctors voice sounded like echos bouncing in between the four walls. It was at the moment she mentioned seizures that he sucked in a breathe as if desperate for air but kept himself collected, barely noticeable for the doctors eyes. A tumour, seizures, surgery, radiation, chemo. He could only focus on the bad words, the bad news. He kept staring at the dossier, looking at that magnificent brain of hers, with that blasted white stain. A smudge. It seemed like nothing on paper, but in reality. “Will she be the same?” He asked, dread soaking in his voice. He looked up to meet the doctors eyes. “She’s wicked smart, doctor. She’s funny and…” he paused, looking at Sarah instead. “Will she be the same after?”

Sarah: Sarah looked over at Gale as he spoke, squeezing his hand. She knew it was irrational and she would never tell him, but she felt like she was letting him down somehow. He didn't deserve to have to go through something like that; not after everything he had been through with the accident. "Unfortunately, no-one can answer that until after the surgery and after Sarah has recovered. There is a likelihood that the seizures may occur for the rest of your life, but we can give you medication to help with that. There is also the possibility that your memory continues to deteriorate. On the other hand, there have been patients that appear to make a full recovery, but it takes a lot of time and rest. I just don't want to fill you with the false sense of hope that as soon as it is removed, things will immediately go back to normal." Dr. Hartmann took back the file, flicking over the page but being a little more secretive about the contents of it. "Mr. Peterson, if you don't mind, there are a few confidential details of the diagnosis I need to discuss with Sarah privately. Would you mind stepping outside?" Sarah squeezed Gale's hand again, unsure if she was going to be able to do it without him. She had barely uttered a word since yesterday, and definitely didn't want to speak now, but she knew from the look on the doctor's face that it wasn't a negotiation. "I'll be okay," she finally said, her voice a mere whisper. "I love you."

Gale: The doctors answer hadn’t been what he had hoped. He looked back at the woman, wishing that she had sugarcoated it, even if just for his sake. At least he would have that. If he had to give himself a silver lining, it was that this wasn’t worst case scenario. That would’ve been her telling them there was nothing they could do. At least there was comfort in that. He was still reeling, knowing that if he had been standing rather than sitting it wouldn’t have been a pretty picture. He was pulled from his thoughts when the doctor asked him to leave. Brows furrowed and his shock made way for anger. He understood privacy and confidentiality but they were to get married. He was about to tell her facts when he felt the squeeze in his hand and he turned his head to face Sarah again, and his brows relaxed. Or perhaps he had misinterpreted. Had Sarah asked for privacy when they were doing tests? The thought made him decide to nod instead. If she had it would hurt, but she could hurt him a lot of times in order to ever get even with him. He nodded, kissing the back of her hand before he slowly stood, letting go of her hand and reluctantly exiting the room.

Sarah: Dr. Hartmann waited until the door had closed behind Gale to begin speaking again. Sarah was in the room for around ten more minutes before she eventually emerged, looking pale and shell-shocked as she made her way back to the waiting room to where Gale was. "She, um...She wants me to stay one more night so I can have the treatments explained to me and to sign a bunch of forms and shit," she said, her voice sounding almost as if she was half-asleep. "I'm getting the surgery soon, Gale. Like, really, really soon." Of course, she knew things would move quickly, but not as quickly as that. And there was the added concern of what Dr. Hartmann had talked to her about. She hadn't decided whether or not she was going to tell Gale, but seeing how devastated he seemed, she couldn't break his heart again if things didn't work out. It probably wouldn't work out. "If you want to go home to be with Klaus, I totally understand."

Gale: Those ten minutes felt like an eternity. He sat in the waiting room, staring at the same bloody screen again he knew like the back of his hand by now. At the sight of dr Hartmann on the screen his stomach turned. He hated her already and he wasn’t sure where that even came from. He hated hospitals. He hated them. Sarah’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts and he jumped up to his feet immediately, instantly reaching for her hand again. He didn’t ask, simply letting her say what she wanted to say. Last thing he wanted was for her to feel pressured. “You have to stay here for that? Can’t you just… go home and .. we’ll come back first thing in the morning.” She needed her sleep, and if she despised this place as much as he did he knew she wasn’t going to get a lot of it tonight. “Okay… what’s soon? This week or?” A month? Months plural? It made no sense he wasn’t allowed to be inside for this, what was so sensitive about this he couldn’t hear. Yet again, he didn’t press, even though it was eating him up on the inside. “No. I’m with you, always. I’ll get my parents to get klaus for the weekend, but…” he hesitated. “Sarah, we should tell people. Family. We can’t keep this to ourselves. Keeping this from them would be bad. It’s big.”

Sarah: She shook her head at his questions, trying to push through the sea of thoughts that roamed at the forefront of her brain. "No, I have to stay. They want me to start radiotherapy tomorrow for a full week to shrink the tumour down as much as they can and then they're doing the surgery next week if all goes well." She wanted to break down and cry, but she feared if she started she'd never stop. Instead, there was almost like a numbness that took over. "I know," she sighed, knowing that they couldn't keep it a secret. "Can we just have one more night where it's just us? We can tell people tomorrow. I just don't want to do the whole sympathy thing right now." She paused, biting her lower lip momentarily. "How the hell are we going to tell Klaus?"

Gale: “It’s all going so fast.. I’m sorry I put you through this.” It was good that they found out, it was bad news, and waiting any longer would’ve made it worse, but he hadn’t expected her to be submitted to tests for a full day and spending two nights in a hospital with all the information being dumped on her. He felt guilty, he hadn’t exactly given her a choice in going. “Tomorrow, this weekend. As soon as your head is in the game for it…. Shit I didn’t-“ he sighed, rubbing his eyes. Dropping puns hadn’t been his intention. “He’s clever like you… I’m sure he will understand when we tell him the truth. We just… will be positive about it, hopeful, hopefully he’ll catch on.” He suggested, brushing her hair from her face and over her shoulders. “I love you. And I’m with you through it all, you know that right?”

Sarah: Sarah furrowed her eyebrows in confusion at Gale’s apology. “What on earth do you need to apologise for? I’m the one who waited too long to see a doctor. If I had went as soon as I knew something was wrong, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.” She knew the whole time. The T-word had been swimming around in her head the moment she had stopped to do some research, but she wanted to prevent the inevitable. Of course, that only made things worse. “I can’t tell my sisters. And Klaus. Can you imagine his face? How the hell do I tell them?” she was panicking now, feeling sick to her stomach. She closed her eyes as he brushed her hair out of the way. “What if they have to shave it off?”

Gale: “I should’ve noticed sooner.” He had, but he had believed her excuses. Perhaps it said something that he took her word for it, that he trusted her. But on the other hand, maybe if he had insisted before. He shook his head, looking up at the ceiling, tracing the lights with his eyes until he looked back at her again. “It’s okay, we’ll figure something out.” He honestly had no idea. All day he had the urge to call Nicole, but didn’t. She knew something would be up. She was already in a fragile state, with her pregnancy and Ricky in the halfway house. “I don’t know if we should tell Nicole. Do you want her to know?” He sighed. “We can talk about this later. It can wait.” They didn’t need to stress over it already. “Oh multitude of things. We can both rock a shaved head, or we’ll get you those scarfs, or Nel will get you a wig that looks natural. Don’t worry about that, okay?” He told her, kissing her forehead before pulling her in for a hug, placing his hand gently on the back of her head. Was this how she had felt when he had been hospitalised? Not knowing what was around the corner? He was terrified yet his heart grew two more sizes for her.

Gale: "This isn't on you, Gale," Sarah sighed. "How were you supposed to know when I was downplaying it so much? I didn't want you to worry and it's ended up in a bigger mess." She rested her head on his shoulder and momentarily shut her eyes, both the physical and mental tiredness washing over her. "She has enough to deal with, with Ricky and the baby. I mean, she has to know, but maybe wait a few days. I don't know. This is going to fuck up everything." Her eyes slowly opened again, looking up at him. She wasn't sure why it was the thought of losing her hair that did it - much a minute aspect of the whole situation - but she felt tears prickle at her eyes and before she could stop herself, she was crying, hiding her face in Gale's shoulder. "This isn't fucking fair".

Gale: He refrained from answering, though he had a lot to say. He knew it wasn't on him, but it felt like it. Still felt horrible the doctor had sent him out of the room too, but he wasn't going to tell her that. If anything, he had to collect himself and be there for her. When she wanted people to know, he'd allow himself to confide in his best friend and bawl his eyes out, but not before, not in front of her. And God was that hard to do. "We'll tell her after the baby is born, maybe... I don't know." He sighed, looking down at her just in time to see the tears well. Instinctively, he held his arms tighter around her, lips pressed against the top of her head and he closed her eyes, slightly swaying them from side to side. "It's not.. But you've made it this far, we've made it this far. We will make it through this too."He whispered, fingers running through her hair. They were going to have to be positive about it, actively positive, if not for Sarah's sake, then also for Klaus', find private moments to keep it in between them, like they used to underneath the sheets and just speak their minds with no judgement from the other. That was something to suggest later however. "I believe in you."

Sarah: Sarah's head was filled with so many thoughts, questions and worries that it became a constant stream of white noise. She felt like she was drowning, completely overwhelmed with the implications of everything she'd heard from the doctor that day. "She's going to know something is wrong, and I don't want you to have to lie to her." She was good at that, but she didn't want to make Gale have to pretend to his loved ones as well. She sniffled against him as he held her, wanting desperately to go back to the bliss they had been feeling only mere months ago. "I'm terrified, Gale." The words held so much more meaning than he would yet realise, and she so wished she could be completely honest with him, but she didn't want to see his heart break all over again. She wouldn't be the cause of even more pain.

Gale: “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.” He stated, not wanting to worry about that now. There were plenty of things they had to focus about first. Triage was important in situations like these, he’d make sure they would. “I know.. you can lean on me.” He murmured, pressing a kiss on the top of her head. He really did think there were no more surprises and knew what to focus on. They would be okay. They had to be. “Let’s go. The sooner we have this behind us the sooner you can go home.

-- END --

#c: gale #tw: discussion of serious illness #hospitals #diagnosis

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hocus-pocus-crocus · 1 year ago

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Episode √13: Jukebox Riot We find out that Louis and Victor are regular volunteers at Mossvale FM, the local community radio station. Its manager, the seemingly affable Mr. Slaugh, is actually a mean-spirited old cuss in private, haranguing the station's hosts for the drop in listenership. Riya, a recent Mossvale graduate, is singled out for some especially venomous words about her choices in music. He tells her that he wants the station playing what everyone actually wants to sing. In frustration, she invokes a demon to ensure that happens. In an entirely expected twist, the demon instead makes it so whatever music Riya plays, people are compelled to sing, transforming Mossvale into a rock-adjacent 90s jukebox musical. It's up to the Scoobies to figure out what's up and help Riya break the infernal spell -- because a still very much un-souled Sarah Ellis is feeling some particularly human stirrings from what the music is doing to her, and she'll cut the spell off at the source, even if it means draining Riya dry. Notable numbers include: Under the Bridge by Red Hot Chili Peppers Ruairidh goes through his early morning routine: coffee and gym, walking through the streets of Mossvale before anyone else is up. Each time the song gets to "I don't ever wanna feel / like I did that day," the mirror at the gym shows him at a different low point: In a coma after the first attack, waking up disoriented, difficulty rehab, and finally standing over the demon covered in its gore. Sheep Go to Heaven by Cake Mossvale College wakes up with this song defining a particularly uninspiring and drizzly Thursday morning where no one really feels like going to classes. At the refrain "goats go to hell," the Mossvale student body makes it clear that they know they're already there.

Rock n' Roll Lifestyle by Cake Quentin, Victor, and Ruairidh get real nasty to Laurent when he tries to impress people with his expensive rock memorabilia and a new bad boy persona, capitalizing on the musical world to try and get unearned cred.

Dreams by The Cranberries Reese sings a slightly punchier cover between brawls in the sewers as he and Ruairidh rough up local demonic bottom feeders for info on who's behind the music. He's immeasurably glad that his singing wasn't fully diegetic so Ruairidh didn't hear him call him a dream.

Who Will Save Your Soul by Jewel Quentin gets weirdly in his own head about not being able to find anything about this particular kind of musical demon in the Restricted Section. It's clear to everyone that when he says "Who will save your souls," he's actually talking about his own with one meaningful look towards Darkest Magic.

Come Out and Play by The Offspring Victor and Ruairidh take turns singing this one as tempers flare during a particularly failed planning session. All three other Scoobies take turns singing "You gotta keep 'em separated" as they try and fail to intervene between the two of them.

Flagpole Sitta by Harvey Danger Victor sings this when he finally breaks from the group to meet with Imogene, using his psychometric gifts and musical magic to show how his visions screw with him. "Paranoia, paranoia, everybody's coming to get me" -- and of course, we see Ruairidh still in peak demon hunter form.

Walkin' on the Sun by Smash Mouth Louis sings in a highly stylized montage as we see him smooth ruffled feathers with the Scoobies, check in with other important NPCs, and schmooze at Club Acheron for info that leads them back to the radio station.

Just a Girl by No Doubt Sung contrastingly by Riya and Sarah as the Scoobies help Riya confront Mr. Slaugh about his misogynistic horseshit while Sarah beats the ass of one of her lieutenants to bring her minions back into line as they prepare to storm the radio station. The catharsis finally breaks the demon's spell, just before the vamps can break their way through.

Closing Time by Semisonic The whole cast sing this as they pile into the back of the Jeep after saving Riya from a lifetime of damnation and a very fatal beating from Sarah. It's the last song as the magic finally starts to fade. During refrains of "I know who I want to take me home," meaningful looks to and from various Scoobies affirm who trusts whom and where there's still tension.

#mossvale #shadows over mossvale #hypothetical jukebox musicals #episodes that don't exist #mossvale apocrypha

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artanddaddyissues · 3 years ago

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Here's my request an Mc who has floating magic so like M6 be like in a close of edge and someone shouts to MC to jump and they literally do it and the M6 reaction to finding out they can float. I hope that's clear cuz to me it isn't lmao😆

I got you bestie <3

The M6 realizing you can fly / float

Heads up: Fluff, a little bit of crack, spoilers for Asra's route, gender neutral pronouns for M/C, M/C text is yellow

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- "what even-"

- completely in awe, stopping mid-fight to look at u floating over the edge of the cliff

- "Did this happen pre or post revival?" "Post." "You realized this power, when?" "When I started learning magic." "Hm."

- Uses all the strength in their brain to come up with a spell to let them float as well. But it doesn’t last longer than 5ish minutes.

- Asra loves your strange ability and wonders if it drains any of your magic, tires you out at all, affects your magic… are you stronger when you fly? Do you have to get a running start?

- Asra 100% tells you to “do a flip!” Every time you float

- One time, you picked him up and let him feel wind flying through his hair while you flew. He asks you to do it all the time now, and he never gets tired of it.

- EVER.

- "WHAT SPELL IS THAT?!" "It's not a spell-" "WHEN DID THIS START?!" "Stop yelling-“

- He's in awe of you EVEN MORE, with SO many questions

- Asks you multiple times to carry him. Or to fly with him. You agree every time <3

- “Can we go for a ride!”

- one time, he “bought” you a gorgeous flowy dress that blew in the wind beautifully and asked you to float around in it. He had a field day trying to draw you in it.

- Julian considers studying magic a little more now, seeing that you can float (even though you told him it’s not a spell-)

- “please don’t hurt yourself!”

- One time, you had a beautiful outfit on that flowed in the wind as you floated around a wheat field. Your hands grazed the tall wheat as you hovered over the ground.

- Pure love pouring from his gaze at this ethereal looking being, just touching some wheat.

- "May I ask why you're on the ceiling?" "Oh- sorry I didn’t notice”

- finds it extremely and entertaining and fascinating

- “Can you grab me that book?”

- She loves watching how gracefully you navigate through the air. She compliments you all the time and you still blush.

- You and Chandra race, regularly. At first its kept secret to Nadia but one time, she caught you both.

- "Chandra?! Where are y- is that?" *Shocked face* She laughs hysterically as the bird wins the race to her arm. "I really did try but damn... she's fast."

- "I dare you to try and float away when we spar." with that smirking face. ;)

- "HOLY #@#%%#*%&#!@$!!!"

- You are the coolest person ever in his mind now. You went from first place to unbeatable.

- one time on Halloween, you scared Lucio shitless. You put a white sheet over you, cut the eye holes and floated around his wing until he noticed you.

- He screamed so loud, the dogs covered their ears. One would think that being a ghost for years prepared him for this moment. WRONG.

- When sparing with him, you often float and use your ability to your advantage. He hates it.

- One time, you surprise him by carrying him while you floated around. He LOVED IT

- "Can we do it again?!"

- Lucio loves to see how graceful and powerful you look when you float and fight.

- "Teach me right now!!" "I don't think that's possible-" "well shit..."

- Brags about your cool power to everybody she knows. She's super proud of your abilities

- “finally, someone who can reach the top shelf!” has become an inside joke now

- She 100% has a small dance routine coordinated with your ability

- On adventures, she sometimes sits on your back and talks in pirate gibberish

- Pepi is scared of nothing. This cat jumps on your shoulders and paws you until you fly around with her. Paws all ruffled in your hair, back legs kind of scratching your shoulders but her happy little peeps are good enough for you to keep going.

- "You are the coolest person ever..."

- "Now you can be taller than me-" 'WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?"

- you rescue all the animals Inanna scares up a tree. It happens a lot-

- Muriel is fascinated. He often gazes lovingly at you whenever you use your ability, even if its mid fight.

- He remembers while you were facing off some demon in a fight, you floated up to tower over his shoulder. He marvels at your powerful stance, even though he doesn't see it, he could just FEEL the power radiating off you from behind him

- He always makes sure your protection charms are potent and fresh, just in case.

- "You're beautiful when you float around" His face always goes beet red when he compliments you. this is no different.

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m0n0-l0s3r · 3 years ago

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Mammon head canon #6

How long has it been seen the Devildom has fallen to ruin? Since the angels and demons went to war? How long had it been since his brothers and himself had a good nights rest without the anxious worry gnawing at their throats and heart? The worry of being killed at any second by the same once holy beings they used to be? The worry of having to protect his younger brothers from impending doom should they ever be caught by the angels? He couldn’t tell anymore. When was the last time he had seen all his brothers? When was the last time they had sat down together as a family, not fearing for their lives but together enjoying the moment they ever do rarely received? He could feel everything yet nothing at all. From the pulsing of his feet to the numbness of his finger tips.

Finally having been given a break, Mammon makes his way back home. If it could even still be called that. The house of Lamination, what once was a large home full of maybe not life and laughter but damn near close was now nothing but an empty husk of what it used to be. Windows boarded and closed, encased in protective charms and curses, and surrounded by ancient ruins in hopes of keeping out the angels. Swiftly and carefully as to not attract any wayward attention, Mammon makes his way inside before carefully closing the door and replacing the protective spells again. And if he happens to use a bit more magic in making them even stronger then there no ones around to be non the wiser. Finally being able to relax slightly he lets his shoulders slump and lets out a puff of air, making his way to the kitchen he passes a mirror.

He looks horrible. Worn and torn from all the fighting, so so so very tired from the constant battles and from being the front lines so often. He could feel his body ache and pain. Bones and muscles screaming out in pain and protest from over use, even with his enhanced healing abilities. Looking back once more he rubs at his eyes, in hope and in vain in making the dark circles under his disappear. He looks away and sighs before ruffling his hair into an even more disastrous mess than before. Not paying attention Mammon didn’t notice when his brothers had come out of their rooms, taking notice of his disheveled appearance and lack of proper sleep. Asmo, always the one to preach about self-care comes up to him, gently placing his hand on his shoulder. Though that seemed to be a mistake, as before he could even begin to process the floor beneath him disappeared and he was slammed against the wall an arm pressed up against his throat.

Mammon knew that he was home, knew that there was no danger to come to him here but some instincts are harder to control when having been in constant battle. So it wouldn’t, shouldn’t have come as a shock to anyone if he was a bit disgruntled when he felt a sudden weight on his should with his back turned. After all angels weren’t all pure and holy as the humans made them out to seem.

Breathing heavy and eyes wild, mammon can barely process as to what just happened. Only to be snapped out of it by the soft whimpering of his little brother. Quickly mammon removes his arm from his brothers throat, before stammering out apologies and reaching for his brother. Gasping and recoiling out of shock, Asmo flinches away from his touch. His brothers surround Asmo, asking him if he’s alright and checking on him. Mammon feels out of place, he feels horrified by what he’s just done. He can’t stop looking at his hands, hands that he swore to only use to protect his brothers and never to harm them. Mammon is once again snapped out of his stupor by a hand at his shoulder, though this time there’s someone stronger than him to stop him from flinging this brother away, it’s Lucifer.

“Mammon.” That’s all he says but he understands. He knows. He knows alright? That he’s no longer on the battle field but at home, with his brothers. But he’s just so tired. His body has become so accustomed to the hardships of the battle field, adapted like no other. After all he wasn’t known as a warrior back in the celestial realm for nothing. He sighs softly before rubbing at his face, tiredness more than evident.

“M’ sorry bout that..” he mumbles out an apology. He can feel all their eyes on him. Wether it’s in anxiousness or something else completely he can’t tell. Finally having the courage to look up he can now get a good look at his brothers since he’s come home. He notes that some look worse than others while others look a bit better off, not surprising since none of them are on the front lines like him. Expect for maybe Beel but even then he’s never kept out there for too long as he needs to stay and protect the youngest of them here.

The room was suffocating.

Asmo is the first one to break the silence and atmosphere, reassuring them that he’s fine, even if faint finger marks begin to purple on his neck. The rest soon begin to follow suit, albeit slower, still throwing a few cautious looks toward Mammon. Lucifer, with his hand still on Mammon’s shoulder, leads him away from the rest of them. In the next room, Lucifer begins to question him. Tired and too drained to be able to focus Mammon can’t make out what he’s saying, what he can make out though is the strong yet caring grip his elder brother has on him. Not being able to hold out for much longer, Mammon allows exhaustion to take him over and slumps against him. Only a single thought going through his mind before he let slumber and darkness over take him.

when was the last time he had rest?

I have been seeing a lot of Armageddon obey me stories and really wanted to try my hand out on this. I may add on more in the future since I seem to like this concept very much.

#obey me asmodeus #obey me beelzebub #obey me belphie #obey me characters #obey me leviathan #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me satan #obey me headcanons #obey me fanfic #obey me! shall we date?#mammon angst #sorta anyway

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jekde04 · 4 years ago

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Cuddle Buddies

For Gruvia Week 2021: Day 2 - Warmth

Day 1 | Day 3 | Day 4

Pairing: Gruvia (Gray Fullbuster & Juvia Lockser)

Fandom: Fairy Tail

Genre: Romance

Word Count: 2,355 words

Summary: Gray doesn’t cuddle. But special circumstances *cough-Juvia-cough* might change his mind.

You may also read it on FanFiction.net and AO3! Check out my master list for other Gruvia fics.

Gray Fullbuster does not cuddle.

He'd like to say it was because he was an ice mage – he had a low tolerance for heat, regardless of whether it was coming from the blazing sun or another's warm embrace. It was just how he was made.

But the truth was, even if he weren't an ice mage, he still couldn't see the appeal of having someone's sticky, sweaty body squashed against him. How it can even be remotely considered comforting was beyond him.

He could pat you on the back, ruffle the hair on your head, and even sit beside you – but definitely no hugs.

Except if he absolutely had to.

Like, if it was a matter of life and, well, severe hypothermia.

And so, it was because of this that Gray found himself in one of the beds in the infirmary, cuddling with Juvia Lockser.

Whether he wanted to or not was already out of the question. After all, it was his fault that it had come to this, and he had no choice but to provide her with his body heat until her temperature rose back to normal.

"Feeling better?" Gray asked, absently stroking the soft locks of Juvia's hair as he held her close.

"Y-yes, Gray-sama. Thank you," she mumbled, her breath tickling the crook of his neck, sending shivers down his bare back.

Despite this, Gray didn't budge from his position. It wasn't because he was actually enjoying this. In fact, he could feel beads of sticky sweat forming on his forehead, neck, and chest. He was just worried that Juvia still hadn't fully recovered, that was all. After all, Juvia could be so stupidly selfless a lot of times, saying she was okay even when she clearly wasn't. He knew her enough by now to see right through her.

"Are you sure? You're still shivering," he whispered. Instinctively, he pressed her body closer to him, willing his warmth to transfer to her.

He felt Juvia push against him a little so she could look up at him. Her face was still pale, although he could see a little pink blooming on her cheeks. She also managed to give him one of her bright smiles without her teeth chattering.

"Yes. Juvia's really fine now." She moved her hands from his chest to his face, cupping his cheeks. Instantly, he felt warmth course up his face, though he wasn't sure if it was because of Juvia's hands or... something else. "See? Juvia's hands are warm now, thanks to Gray-sama."

He averted his eyes from her, feeling both bashful and guilty. "Don't be stupid. It's also because of me that you almost froze to death."

Juvia laughed softly. "Gray-sama is so dramatic! It was just part of training. Juvia will get used to it, don't worry."

After Gray discovered that he could actually use Juvia's water body as his weapon of ice destruction, the two of them wasted no time training their newfound spells. At first, everything worked the way they wanted it to, until Juvia started experiencing hypothermic bouts right after training. They eventually figured out that frequent use of Gray's ice magic on Juvia's water body made it difficult for her to control her body temperature.

They were already practicing the new spells for three days straight when Juvia had her first hypothermic episode. Gray could still remember how proud he felt after flawlessly executing Juvia Hammer when he noticed that it took some time for Juvia to reform her physical body. And when she finally did, all color drained from his face as a deathly pale Juvia reached out to him before collapsing, his reflexes activating just in time to catch her before her solid body hit the ground. His heart drummed wildly as he saw icicles clinging to her blue hair, her usual red lips now devoid of any color, her body shivering uncontrollably.

For a moment, Gray was transported back to that chilling snowstorm all over again, holding a lifeless Juvia in his arms. His blood ran cold.

He shook off the memory and carried Juvia to the guild's infirmary as fast as he could. The moment he placed Juvia on the bed, Wendy was already by their side, doing everything she could to raise the water mage's dangerously low temperature. Wendy mentioned something about using body heat to defrost Juvia quickly, and Gray wasted no time taking off the freezing woman's coat and enveloping her corseted body in his embrace.

Looking back, he thought he probably wasn't the best choice to provide body heat, but the thought of someone else holding Juvia was... well, he'd rather not think about it.

Someone must have called for Porlyusica because the next thing Gray remembered was the old lady checking up on Juvia, lauding Wendy's efforts, and telling him to continue what he was doing.

"Her water body is slowly heating her up, so she's going to be fine," the healer had said. "You can continue training your new spells so her body gets used to it, but don't be stupid and overdo it," she added, glaring at Gray.

After that incident, Gray was extremely hesitant to continue training the new spells. But Juvia was adamant about pushing through, claiming that it would be good for her to develop a resistance to cold as well.

Gray eventually relented, on one condition: that he would help her raise her temperature quickly with his body heat.

At first, Juvia couldn't believe her ears. Did Gray-sama just offer to hug Juvia of his own free will? But when Gray repeated his request while looking straight into her eyes and without blushing the tiniest bit, Juvia's confusion turned to bubbling happiness. She launched herself at Gray, muttering, "Gray-sama can cuddle with Juvia all he wants. We can start now!" It was only then that it hit Gray how incredibly embarrassing his request was, and he instantly turned a bright shade of red as Juvia continued clinging to him.

And so, cuddling after training became a routine for them, the afternoons spent sharing a bed at the infirmary becoming a common occurrence. All reluctance Gray had at the beginning was instantly erased every time Juvia would transform back to her physical body, trembling from the cold and seeking the warmth of his body. It wasn't as bad as that first time when Juvia looked as pale as a ghost – they were careful not to overtrain – but it still alarmed Gray enough to make him not want to let Juvia stray from his embrace for at least an hour until he could feel her body's warmth mixing with his.

"Still, you know you can always ask me to stop the training anytime, right?" Gray asked, staring at her intently. "I'm serious, Juvia. I don't want you overdoing things, saying you're okay when you're not. Promise me you won't lie to me about these things."

He was ready for her to tease him about how worried he was for her, but Juvia just gave him a sweet smile. She pinched his cheeks, earning a groan from the ice mage. "Juvia promises. Now, stop worrying so much. She's really fine now."

Gray sighed and loosened his hold on Juvia. She extracted herself from his grip, and Gray felt the loss of her body right away.

Juvia sat up from the bed and straightened her clothes. She looked back at Gray.

"Let's try again tomorrow?"

"As long as you're fine."

He would always be there to help her, anyway.

*~*~*~*~*~*

"Juvia Geyser!"

Activating her Sierra form, Juvia absorbed Gray's magic, causing her water body to shoot up like a geyser. Sharp spikes hit the tree branch they were targeting, breaking it in a clean sweep. Juvia then melted into a puddle and reformed her normal body.

"Nice, Juvia!" Gray grinned, running towards her. He was about to hug her like he usually did when she stopped him with a firm hand on his bare chest.

"Juvia's okay now, Gray-sama. It took her a while, but she can normalize her body temperature quickly now." She smiled from ear to ear.

Gray frowned, studying her for any sign of hypothermia. "Are you sure?" He touched her forehead underneath her bangs. "If you're cold, then –"

"Juvia appreciates Gray-sama's kindness, but really, she's fine," she reassured him.

"But Porlyusica said we should –"

" – keep training so Juvia can get used to it," she finished for him. "And now, Juvia has gotten used to it, so Gray-sama has nothing to worry about!"

After a pause, he answered, "Alright. Whatever." He started walking back to the guild when Juvia called out to him.

"Gray-sama?"

"What?" It came out harsher than he intended, and he caught the concern in Juvia's expression.

"Is Gray-sama mad at Juvia?"

No, he wanted to reply, because really, his mind was relieved that Juvia was fine. They could finally train using their full powers and without that cloud of worry hovering over him. He could stop going easy on her and go back to the way it was. They no longer had to waste hours of precious time just staying in bed, holding each other.

It was all good.

But why does he feel... angry? Why couldn't he stop himself from balling his fists and gritting his teeth from frustration?

Why did it feel so wrong?

Juvia's warm hand on his tensed shoulders shook Gray out of his reverie.

"Gray-sama shouldn't be mad at himself for freezing Juvia. It wasn't your fault," Juvia said softly. "You didn't have to go out of your way to help Juvia –"

"That's the problem!" Gray snapped, realization hitting him like a ton of bricks. "You always think you're a bother when you're not. You always think about others first without thinking about yourself and your needs! Tell me, have I ever complained about helping you, Juvia?"

She stared at him, confusion written all over her face. Finally, she spoke. "You didn't, Gray-sama. But Juvia didn't want to impose herself because she knew that Gray-sama's not the cuddling type –"

"The hell I'm not, but I want to!" he exclaimed before he could even think of his words. "It's not that I feel responsible for what happened to you, but either way, I want to take care of you. I want you to rely on me when you need to – no, not just when you need to, but whenever you want to. All the time if that's what you want. Do you get me?"

Juvia opened her mouth to speak, only to close it again. Gray's words finally caught up with him, and he felt blood rush to his cheeks. He fought the urge to freeze Juvia and run away to where his feelings won't catch up with him.

After a few moments of wishing that the earth would swallow him whole, Juvia broke the awkward silence. "Is this Gray-sama's way of telling Juvia that he's okay with being cuddle buddies?"

"Cuddle... buddies? That's not... that's... what?" Things just kept getting more and more embarrassing.

Juvia stepped closer to him so that they were mere inches away from each other. Unlike Gray, she didn't seem the least bit bashful when she explained, "Juvia feels like it's Gray-sama's way of saying he'd like to continue hugging Juvia, frozen or not. Is Juvia right?"

"Ye – no," Gray stuttered.

"No? Gray-sama doesn't want to hug Juvia?"

"No – I mean, yes! Uhm, what I want to say is, I don't mind it... if you want... not that I want to, but you – it's up to you! Whatever you want!" Gray finished, losing his cool every second. Tsk, he thought, why did she have to be so blunt about it?

Juvia just stared at him, obviously trying to decipher his jumble of words. Gray took the opportunity to redeem himself. "But you're okay now, right? You're not bluffing?"

Juvia shook her head.

"Okay, in that case..." Gray let himself trail off as he motioned back to the guild. He couldn't wait to go home, have a nice, cold shower, and just forget all the cheesy things he said today. Tomorrow was another day.

He turned around, picked up his discarded shirt, and wore it. He was about to walk off when he felt Juvia's arms circle him from behind, her warm and curvy body pressed against his back.

"Juvia... wants to hug Gray-sama," she whispered, every word a warm breath against his shoulder blade. "She's no longer freezing, but if Gray-sama meant what he said... she wants to rely on Gray-sama even when she doesn't need to. Just because she wants to."

Sometimes, he couldn't help but marvel at how Juvia could totally get him, even when he couldn't properly put his feelings into words. He smiled as he felt warmth spread all over his body.

Gray loosened Juvia's hands so that he could turn around and hug her properly. One of his arms wrapped around her head and the other one around her waist. He buried his head on her hair.

"I meant what I said," he said softly, inhaling the sweet scent of petrichor in Juvia's hair. He felt Juvia's arms tighten around him.

They stayed like that for a few beats before Juvia looked up with a smirk and said, "If Gray-sama wants a hug from Juvia so badly, he should just have said so."

Gray turned red and was about to deny it when he stopped himself. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but their after-training cuddling sessions had become a routine he wasn't willing to let go of yet.

"Shut up."

Juvia gasped as Gray swiftly carried her, bridal style, and walked to a nearby shade. He set her down with her back against the tree trunk and sat beside her. He put his arms around her and held her close to him.

"Gray-sama?"

"Hm?"

"Cuddling is nice, isn't it?"

For the record, Gray still hated cuddling. But if Juvia was his cuddle buddy...

"I guess... it's not that bad," he whispered as he rested his head on top of hers, hiding his flaming cheeks.

A/N: I honestly had a hard time thinking of a story for this prompt because I just wrote Winter Warmth a couple of months ago, but I’m glad I was able to come up with another (fluffy) idea for literally the same prompt. Just so you know, it might take a while for me to post the next update, but I’ll complete Gruvia Week 2021, I promise. 😊

#gruvia week #gruvia #gruvia fanfic #gruvia fanfiction #Gray X Juvia #gray fullbuster #juvia lockser #fairy tail

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chaseatinydream · 4 years ago

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pirate king (3) || atz

The first three days pass as uneventfully as the sea you are sailing on. Every three hours or so, the man who you now know to the quartermaster, Mingi, unties the ropes around your arms and allows you to take a short walk around the deck to stretch your limbs.

You appreciate the thought, but you feel like a piece of meat in a sea of piranhas. Your ankle screams in pain every time you step on it, but you force your mouth shut. It's definitely twisted, but you can't afford to show weakness now. It throbs red and has swollen to twice its normal size, so you hide it with the hem of your trousers and pray that no one sees it.

What makes you even more worried than the twisted ankle is the musket wound on your arm. Even though the bleeding has scabbed over, much to your relief, the flesh around it is swollen and the surrounding skin is tight, angry red. Yellow pus is oozing from the wound and even though you’ve tried to wipe it away as discreetly as possible with your meagre water rations, the area feels tender and you feel your lips cracking faster than what should be normal.

Your vision of the horizon sometimes splits into two and your head swims, but you cover the wound with the coat the best you can and will the pain away.

Thrice, Mingi has caught you stumbling, but he obviously thinks you’re simply unused to being on a seagoing vessel or that you simply haven’t had the chance to stand in a long time. Lucky for you, he doesn’t suspect a thing.

Who knows what they might do to you if they see any sign of frailty?

Even after Mingi has explicitly instructed no one to harm you, the crew obviously hold a very deep grudge against you for the broken nose you gave their quartermaster. Their faces sour whenever you so much as glance in their direction and some even flash bared teeth at you. When Mingi deems that you've taken enough of a walk, he ties you back to the main mast, and the next three hours are spent gazing at the endless stretch of sea, wondering when is the next time Mingi will return.

Seonghwa, the cook, comes to feed you every meal. He is kind at heart, you can see, when he does not strip away your dignity by offering to feed you, instead undoing your bonds and allowing you to feed yourself with a spoon. His voice is soft and polite, if a little guarded, and his hands warm and gentle. While you eat, he moves among the crewmen and distributes food and rum, listens to their troubles and rowdy jokes, laughs along with them and they're so happy together it makes your chest ache.

You can't join them. The voyage is long and your dizzy spells are getting longer, but you can’t give up now.

Meanwhile, you watch the crew at work.

The captain is rarely on deck. If he has orders to relay, his quartermaster and first mate does it for him, not that you mind (the sight of him terrifies you). You take the time to notice their little nuances, what they do on board.

Anything to distract you from your missing memories and the mounting pain your body is in.

The deck is never really empty, so at least you have a constant source of entertainment and distraction. They seem to still be recovering from the aftermath of their raid of the town, some pirates carrying out their duties with bandages tied over their arms or legs. They perform lighter duties, such as cleaning out the cannon barrels and sifting the gunpowder into bags, while their brethren pack heavy cannonshot and heave on the sails. At times, the lookout descends from his perch in the crow’s nest to lead them into a silly jig or song.

You recognise him.

Tall and lean with a mop of soft brown curls that match his lively, vibrant eyes, his smile is infectious, irresistible, almost. There’s a childlike nature to him, in the playful way he messes with the crew and they can only give him fond smiles, joking alongside him and teasing him back.

Yunho, you hear his name is.

He’s the one who met your eyes back in the town as you were fleeing to the harbor, the one with the massive oak spear in his hand. He mainly stays in the rigging, only coming down to stretch his legs and make conversation with the rest of the crew, but you feel his curious eyes on you even when he’s in his usual spot in the crow’s nest. You wish he would talk to you, that anyone would acknowledge your presence, but he has orders from his captain. No one would be foolish enough to disobey Hongjoong.

On the third evening, it rains.

When the first drops land on your cheeks, you immediately turn your face up to catch the precipitation falling from the sky. They feel so good against your burning cheeks, sliding down your body and dampening your clothes. You might just be having another dizzy spell again, but you swear you see the raindrops turn to steam after they touch your bare skin.

It’s not storming yet, even though the waves are slightly more choppy than usual. Seonghwa glances up at the rain in the middle of dinner and frowns, getting to his feet. From the quarterdeck you hear Mingi shout.

“Men, to sails! We’re heading to shore!”

There’s an unhappy mumbling as the crew drain the last drops of rum and shove the remaining scraps of salted fish into their mouths, but they rise to their feet and take their stations quickly. You hear a long, drawn out creak of wood as the water pushing against the rudder forces the ship to the left, heading towards a small cove in the stretch of sandy beach they have been travelling along since dawn broke this morning. The rocky cliffs will provide protection from the coming storm and the colour of the water is a deep blue, indicating that the cove is deep enough for the ship to lower the anchor without fear of getting beached.

The opening into the cove is a little narrow but the captain seems unfazed, steering the ship straight into the cove without fear or hesitation. The Treasure glides smoothly into the little cove, and Mingi relays his next orders.

“Furl the sails and drop the anchor!” You catch sight of the quartermaster descending the stairs of the quarterdeck. His nose is looking better already, but he wears a wooden splint on his nose bridge to realign the cartilage. “We have a free night of rest today, crew.”

There are cheers echoing all about you. When docked in a small cove such as this one, the constant pitching and rolling of the ship has slowed to a gentle rock, making it much easier for the crew to get deep, uninterrupted sleep below deck. It’s no wonder that they are overjoyed… but you’ll be left alone on the main deck.

The men secure the sails, coiling excess sheets and shrouds before bundling them with heavy wooden cleats. The yardarms on the three masts are lowered and the ship finally slows to a stop, bobbing up and down on the waves.

And not a moment too late, because all of a sudden, the sky splits open and a torrential storm strikes. For a moment, you wonder if you can drown from the amount of rainwater falling, the droplets the size of beans and the wind howls past your ear. You curl into yourself, grateful to the thick ropes that are keeping you warm but wishing you had something to cover your freezing feet. Once again, as if the heavens have heard you, Seonghwa approaches you with a piece of heavy sacking.

“Here.” Is the first word someone has said to you since Mingi tied you to the mast, and his hands are warm and impossibly gentle against you as he tucks the thick, coarse sacking around your shoulders and feet. You manage not to flinch as his fingers brush your ankle, and he straightens up with a frown on his face.

Please don’t leave me alone, you want to say.

He opens his mouth as if he wants to say something, but doesn’t. Instead, Seonghwa turns and strides away, following the rest of the crew who are descending below deck into the bunks. There’s a final thunk as the hatch slams closed with a resounding finality, and then you’re all alone.

It’s dark on the deck. The only light comes from behind you, where the captain’s cabin is located beneath the quarterdeck. It barely reaches you, faint and wavering, and the rain limits your visibility to just a few feet in front of you.

Seonghwa stops at the captain’s cabin for a moment, staring back in your direction, teeth worrying his bottom lip. While he’s lost in thought for a moment, the door swings open and someone pulls him inside.

“Dry yourself off.” Their navigator, Yeosang, passes him a towel, eyes soft and worried. “You don’t want to fall ill.”

“Thank you.” Seonghwa replies, ruffling his hair dry. The slightly built man returns to study the maps on the table in the middle of the cabin.

“If the storm stops by tomorrow afternoon, we’ll be able to reach Tortuga in another few days or so.” He declares, poring over the navigational maps. “But we should be careful, Hongjoong-hyung, the Royal Navy might ambush us the closer we get to the port.”

Seonghwa turns to see his captain lying back and swinging side to side in his hammock, strung up in the corner of the cabin next to an eyehole overlooking the ocean outside. But there’s nothing to be seen, it’s completely dark out there.

“I’m well aware of that.” Hongjoong replies, absentmindedly tossing one of his daggers in hand. Seonghwa bites back a fond smile.

“Captain, if you keep up that bad habit you might lose your fingers.” He chides and Hongjoong snorts in amusement, finally sitting up in the hammock to look straight at Seonghwa.

“And you need to stop calling me captain when we’re in close company, or I might use my authority to order you to.”

Yeosang lets out a chuckle as he jots down a few notes down in his rutter. “The two of you never change. Seonghwa-hyung, you should go to sleep and get as well rested as you can. It’s straight sailing for the next three days or so.”

At that Seonghwa pauses. He opens his mouth to say something, but hesitates. It doesn’t go unnoticed by Hongjoong.

“Speak your mind, Seonghwa.” His captain’s gaze is serious and unwavering as the first day he met him. “You know I will not ignore what you say.”

At that, Seonghwa relaxes slightly. They’ve been a crew, a family for years, but Seonghwa still has worries about how Hongjoong might react to certain things. Especially the one he’s about to bring up.

“The prisoner we have on board…” He begins, and Yeosang makes a noise of recognition.

“Ah yes, the stowaway you found in the cargo hold who broke Mingi’s nose.” He comments as he starts to roll up the maps once more, stowing them in their tubes. “I’ve been charting our course for the next few days, so I haven’t seen him yet. Did he cause some kind of trouble?”

Seonghwa shakes his head. “No, he hasn’t. In fact, he’s been surprisingly well behaved. There’s no rebellious behaviour in him, he doesn’t react to the crew antagonizing him, and he lets himself be tied up without a fight. He hasn’t even asked for more water or anything to cover himself with at night. Yunho says he remains quiet at all times and doesn’t speak a word.”

He remembers when he put the sackcloth around him earlier, how small and thin the young boy was, how sallow his cheeks were. But his eyes were sad, so sad and mournful, just like Wooyoung’s when he had first stepped aboard this ship trailing chains onto the deck. Eyes that had known only loneliness their whole lives.

A dark shadow flashes across his captain’s face.

“Might be a ploy to get us to lower our guard.” Hongjoong replies, his voice firm but Seonghwa can hear the mistrust in his words. “Things might be different the second we get close to Tortuga and he has a chance to escape.”

“I know.” Seonghwa swallows uncomfortably and exhales. “But didn’t he already mention that he can’t remember why he was at Raguza?” Raguza was the town they had raided just three days before.

“If that story was supposed to win my favor, it was sorely lacking.” Hongjoong leans back in his hammock, resuming fidgeting with his knife. His eye is dark, expression cold. “How unlucky can a person be, waking up without any recollection of how he came to be dressed in a Royal Navy coat, bound for the gallows when he should be an officer of high prestige and managing to escape onto the one ship in the harbor whose captain bears the most hatred towards the Royal Navy?”

“Him?” Seonghwa offers weakly, but Hongjoong gives him an exasperated glance and he shakes his head. “Your hatred towards the Navy might be clouding your judgement.”

“And your kindness yours.” His captain retorts, but there’s no real bite behind it. “If he does turn out to be a Royal Navy officer who thought this would be an opportune time to steal back their maps and escape at Tortuga, his suffering will be a lot worse than merely being tied to a mast.”

“But you cannot deny that there is a chance that he might be telling the truth.” Yeosang pipes up from shelving the very maps they were talking about, glancing at the two of them. When they don’t speak, he continues. “Temporary short term amnesia is a common symptom among those who have suffered blunt head injuries and the Royal Navy doesn’t treat its prisoners kindly.”

There’s a thoughtful pause, then Hongjoong laughs.

“Always the voice of reason, Yeosang-ie.” The captain sighs in amusement, shaking his head. “You’ve been spending too much time listening to San ramble on.”

Yeosang chuckles, but doesn’t deny it.

“I’ll think about it, Seonghwa.” Hongjoong reassures the cook, who reluctantly nods his head. “You should go to sleep. Worry about your own health instead of our stowaway's.”

That’s the most Seonghwa can do for the prisoner. “I trust you, captain. Goodnight, the two of you.”

Seonghwa turns to leave, and Hongjoong calls after him jokingly.

“Call me Hongjoong!”

Seonghwa steps out of the cabin with a chuckle. Yeosang pulls off his boots and lies down on the bed, putting his hands behind his head as he stares up at the ceiling. Maybe he should take a look at the new prisoner soon.

He sees Hongjoong stand at the door that Seonghwa has just left, one eye staring out of the glass window onto the deck, where the prisoner is.

Yeosang gives a knowing smile and closes his eyes.

Your body slackens all at once. For three days, you’ve been hiding the throbbing tenderness of the wound on your shoulder, the agonizing pain in your ankle and the pounding in your head. You feel as if someone is knocking you repeatedly on the inside of your skull with a heavy stick, and all at once your stomach heaves.

You bite your cracked lips and force the food down. No, you can’t throw up. That is the only form of sustenance you have to last you, and the captain will surely be displeased if he catches you puking over his deck. Luckily, the nausea subsides and you rest the back of your head against the solid wood of the main mast.

It’s cold and hot all at once. Your body burns impossibly hot and your tongue is heavy, as if you haven’t drank a mouthful of water for weeks. But it’s cold, so frighteningly cold, ice creeping up your veins and the once comforting feeling of rainwater on your body is like torture. You burrow beneath the wet sackcloth, the only barrier between you and the elements, and let out a tiny whimper.

There’s no one here to see you break down. You are alone, you’re in pain, your memories are lost. You’re on a hostile pirate ship and even if they don’t kill you on suspicion of being a officer of the Royal Navy, what will you do once you reach Tortuga? You have nowhere to turn, no one to help you. You are alone all over again.

A tiny sob leaves your throat and you hiccup, pressing closer against the main mast. You try again, try to remember something, anything, but all you see is a sheet of white, the sound of ocean waves in your ears. Then pain lances down your head and the back of your neck and you give up your attempt on trying to remember. Remembering is about as easy as trying to catch smoke.

Before you can catch them, tears slip down your face and you bow your head, trying to hide it. But you can’t. It spills out of you again and again in waves of soft sobs and muffled whimpers, wracking your body.

The world sways beneath you. Is the sea getting too choppy? Will the waves rise over the sides of the ship? Are you going to die, here, before any life you have truly begins?

I will be with you every step of the way.

Your eyes finally fall shut, unable to bear the weight of the pain you carry.

But you don’t hear the footsteps behind you.

Hongjoong steps forward, unflinching against the rain that pelts his body and the wind that bites at his skin. He walks around the main mast, to where Mingi has tied you up.

He observes you silently. You’re small, compared to even him, tucked up in sackcloth and held upright only by the ropes that bind you to the mast. He doesn’t bother checking the knots, Mingi is more than capable of doing a perfect job.

Your eyes are closed, head lolling forward slightly, mouth a little ajar. You look so peaceful, so harmless that Hongjoong can almost bring himself to believe your story, but then he catches himself.

No. All too easy to fool him into letting his guard down around one of the Royal Navy. Looks are deceiving. You may seem harmless, but even the most adorable of animals have fangs.

The howling wind pulls away the corner of the sackcloth that was tucked behind your shoulder and you shiver in your sleep, curling up on yourself. Hongjoong frowns, and before he can stop himself, reaches out a hand to put it back.

And immediately jerks his hand away.

Hot. You’re boiling hot. You should be freezing cold from the rain, he was intending to allow you a warm bed the next day if you just told him the truth about your identity. He touches your neck once more and feels as if he’s just placed a hand on one of Seonghwa’s pots right after cooking.

He tears the sackcloth away from you with deft hands, noting how dry and cracked your lips are even though he’s instructed Seonghwa to give you water rations equal of that to the crew. His eye scans your body for any sign of what could be causing this, when he sees a bloody patch right beneath the rose emblem of the Royal Navy. He pauses in his tracks.

Does he really care if one of the Royal Navy lives or dies?

“But you cannot deny that there is a chance that he might be telling the truth.”

Hongjoong grunts at his indecisiveness. If you’re a Royal Navy officer, he can always kill you later. Focusing on the task at hand, he tugs the coat from your shoulder, revealing your black undershirt and an ugly gash on your upper arm. The skin around it is obviously swollen and thick, yellow pus is still oozing from the wound, but what is the most worrying are the tiny, red streaks he sees moving up from the wound.

It’s infection. He doesn’t even need San to tell him that. And from the distance the streaks have moved, it’s been infected the day you were tied up on board. A scowl tugs on his lips.

And you said nothing?

He hates that he admires your grit for one so young. Shaking the damp hair out of his eye, he raises a hand and lightly slaps the side of your face.

“Oi, officer, wake up.”

You groan a little, eyebrows furrowing, but by the slack muscles of your arms and legs, you’re as dead to the world as Yunho. Hongjoong curses under his breath and moves to the knots, undoing them with practiced ease. The ropes loosen and there’s a thump as you collapse to the deck in a heap. Hongjoong grabs you from under the shoulders.

“Get up, will you?” He mutters under his breath, supporting all your weight on your feet so he can drag you to the sickbay, but you let out a cry of agony and bury your face in the crook of his neck, much to his shock. He jumps at the contact and almost drops you, but catches you at the last moment, a longer, more vulgar curse leaving his lips when he catches sight of your ankle.

It’s swollen.

Hongjoong groans. Is he blind? Yunho’s never going to let him live this down if he finds out about this. How did he not notice?

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

He cracks his knuckles and in one smooth motion lifts you up in his arms. You’re surprisingly light, as if you haven’t been eating enough for a few weeks already. He should get Seonghwa to cook you a hot meal after you recover.

Then he almost pulls away the hand under your shoulders to slap himself in the face. What is he saying? After you recover, it’s back to the main mast for you. He still can’t trust you, even if he grudgingly admires that you’re as tough as his crew members despite being the smallest person on board.

Why did you have to pick his ship?

Shaking away his thoughts, he turns towards to sickbay, feet thudding on wood as he sprints across the deck. Your breathing is shaky and uneven against his throat, and he grunts as he stops in front of the wooden door next to his cabin.

He raises a booted foot to kick on the door as hard as he can.

“San!

#ateez #ateez fanfic #ateez fanfiction #ateez hongjoong #ateez seonghwa #ateez yunho #ateez yeosang #ateez san #ateez mingi #ateez wooyoung #ateez jongho #ateez pirate king #w; pirate king #w; ot8 #w; fanfiction

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silence-burns · 4 years ago

Text

Please Hate Me //part 49

Fandom: Marvel

Summary: Based on: “Imagine having a love/hate relationship with Loki.” by @thefandomimagine Who would have thought that babysitting a god could be so much fun?

Genre: slow-burn, enemies to lovers, banter, smut

"How did we end up in here?"

The god of mischief didn't answer. Barbara, bound with thick rope on the other side of the cell, screeched, but you didn't speak owlish, so her opinion went unnoticed.

It took her a long time to calm down again, and even then the owl kept glaring at you. Whichever guard had been assigned to catching and binding her, must've had his hands torn into ribbons judging by the amount of fresh blood on her feathers and the ferocity in her eyes every time any guard passed by your cell.

"I might've miscalculated something along the road," Loki finally muttered, working on the restraints around his wrists. They'd been changed since the last time he'd had the pleasure of being thrown into that dungeon.

"There was no road. You've literally been smashed through the wall—"

"How was I supposed to know the lady was a shapeshifter!"

"You're a shifter too!"

Loki took a deep breath that did nothing to calm him down. He felt you fidgeting behind his back, trying to free yourself too.

"Listen," he said. "It's not like shifters wear a special little badge or wave a huge flag over their heads. Had I known she could turn into a celestial—"

"...and mop the floor with you…"

"—and make the extraction of the pin difficult, I'd have definitely approached things differently. Still, I'm rather proud of how well I handled the situation and we got what we came for in the end."

"We had to run. You told me to jump off of a terrace!"

Loki rolled his eyes. The handcuffs finally snapped open. "It was the quickest way down."

"But was it a good way down, Loki? Was it worth it??"

Loki grimaced. He tried to stand up, but even while moving very slowly, his thoroughly bitten bottom hurt. "No, I don't believe it was. But in my defense, I had no idea there would be fish in the pond."

"I'm pretty sure those were piranhas, but I wouldn't know since I wasn't stupid enough to jump after you."

"That's fair."

Loki freed your hands and pocketed the handcuffs. His clothes were in a bad shape, with plenty of rips that left little to the imagination about what had welcomed him in the water. It was a shame that the shields around the casino prevented him from running away on wind currents, but it was an understandable security concern that he had already exploited once.

"Why do we end up in a cell at least once a month?"

"It must be because the world cannot contain our might, darling."

You thought back to Loki's face when he got thrown through that wall. "Yeah, must be it. Should we get out?"

Loki thought back to his last visit on the Moon and a certain captain of security he might have slightly offended. "That would be wise."

While you went to check for any guards in the vicinity of your cell, Loki slung Barbara over his shoulder, not daring to loosen up her bindings. The bird writhed and wriggled within the ropes, but she didn't manage to bite him.

You took a deep breath and took the sword out of your pocket. It was a small miracle the guards didn't take it away, and it was a mistake you'd gladly exploit. The door hinges gave out quickly. Loki peeked his head out—the corridor was empty. The few torches lined along the thick stone walls did little to vanish the darkness completely, but it was enough to see.

Your footsteps kept silent, you followed Loki along the row of cells, not all of them empty.

"Listen," Loki whispered, "we have to be quick. The current captain of the guard and I had a little misunderstanding in the past, which made him unreasonably prejudiced against my humble persona and I don't really feel like facing my past today or any day, for that matter—"

He was cut off by the darkness swelling in front of him. You didn't manage to stop in time, so you slammed into Loki's back just as he beheld a man rising out of the shadows.

"I believe you have something that belongs to me," said the Hoarder.

Loki slammed the handcuffs against the Hoarder’s arm and the nearby iron torch holder. "I don't think so."

The cuffs snapped instantly. You'd never ran faster than when the roar of pure hatred echoed in the narrow corridor, successfully ruining yet another of Loki's plans.

Barbara continued to scream as you cut another corner. The alarm blared through the prison and drowned Loki's curses. Even though you were getting closer to the way out, each passing second—

A man stepped out from the shadows, but Loki never would have mistaken him for a Hoarder. It was not someone who'd ever lower himself to such pitiful, little thefts. No, Loki knew the man would rather cut off his own hand than use his skills for such pathetic matters. And use his magic-shredding sword to do it.

A deep part of Loki recoiled at the presence of the man, or rather the blade he held. The cold presence was that of an ancient thing designed to rip through all glamour, all spells the prisoners might've used to free themselves.

The captain of the guard. The very man who had banished him from the Moon, and rather rightfully so.

The man's thin lips spread in what could've turned into a smile if only Loki hadn’t thrown the furious, bloodlusted owl into his face. And loosened her bonds while doing so.

Loki pushed you forward, right under the swinging arm of the captain. Barbara tore into his face with the claws, beak, and infernal rage of the undead. The god of mischief couldn't contain his grin. Maybe getting the bird wasn't such a bad idea after all.

"Left!" Loki shouted when you neared another bend. Guards spilled into the corridor behind his back from the endless maze of the prison corridors, made narrow and chaotic specifically to prevent escaping.

But the god of chaos, the frequent visitor to the Moon before his ban and an even more frequent one afterwards, always had an ace hidden up his sleeve even when the world was tumbling down around him.

The stinging smell of sewers filled your nose as you ran in the direction he shouted.

"Wait, there's a—..."

"I know," Loki said. And pushed you headfirst into an open drain.

He followed right after you, his shoulders scraping on the tight walls and for one dreadful moment, Loki imagined getting stuck in the middle of the long, and rather disgusting, slide. His skin burned and his blood thrummed in his ears, louder than the yelling he left behind. Even if any of the guards dared to follow, they'd need to shed their spiky, iron armor first if they wanted to squeeze in.

His thoughts scattered as the slide ended abruptly, launching him directly into the wet, muddy puddle of something he'd rather not think about in too much detail.

Fists closed around his neck as you pulled him upwards with murder bright in your eyes. "Sewers?!"

"May I suggest killing me once we make it out?"

The noises of pursuit were getting louder in the disgusting, cramped space of the labyrinthine tunnels under the surface of the Moon. There were many purposes for them, and just as many entrances, so it shouldn't be a surprise the guards found another one so quickly. Still, it was a nuisance.

"Change of plans," Loki hauled you up and ran.

The thick, greenish mud splattered beneath your feet and soon you were covered in a layer of putrefying gunk.

"Do you even have a plan anymore?" You asked between breaths that burned your lungs.

"I'd prefer not to answer that question."

There was no way you'd let that slip, but before you managed to continue, you ran into a larger, open space, where water—finally not mud—was up to your knees. But the most welcome change of your current situation came in the form of slim, narrow vessels standing by one of the walls.

If you didn't know any better, you'd say they were perfect for racing in the sewers.

Loki hauled you into one of them before quickly destroying the others. The wooden planks they were made of were incredibly thin and fragile. You couldn't help but imagine them breaking during contact with a wall.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" You asked when Loki jumped back and started it.

"No," he grinned.

The vessel launched forward, pushing you back into the wood. The acceleration kicked you hard, and for a moment you forgot how to breathe. Loki maneuvered the boat in the tight spaces and turned with a wicked smile on his face and little recognition for your troubles as you slammed into the sides.

"I hate you!" You yelled over the noises of the machinery even as the light finally shone through the end of a tunnel.

Loki only laughed - a pure, lighthearted sound so at odds with all that had happened that day. But it made you smile too, even if just a little.

The exit was nearing, and the sudden light felt blinding after the dim darkness of the sewers. But even through the buzzing of the engine and the blast of air watering his eyes, Loki knew pursuit was hot on their heels.

So he took your sword, the shiny, marvelous thing, and cut through the supporting pillar just as your vessel passed by it. The sword that could cut through all did its job perfectly well.

You watched in awe as the pillar collapsed, and then the drain it was supporting gave out too, sending the stones crumbling down in a cloud of dust that only rose higher as the upper parts of the wall took damage too. Loki steered the vessel away from the casino, but even as the distance grew, you could still see the entire side of the golden building collapse, taking down two of the large balconies with their cushioned sofas and lounges. You were too far away to hear the screams and curses, but something in your guts told you your grand escape just became grander than you expected.

"Can you get double banned from the Moon?" You asked.

"...I suppose we'll soon find out."

Barbara joined your ranks after a few moments, flying with all the grace she could muster from her ruffled and rather thinned out feathers.

Loki had no idea how the short, broad-shouldered and completely silent owner of the bar knew what you needed, but the god of mischief welcomed the warm meal brought to them without a question, even in the dead of night. The only downside was the silent order for them to eat outside the bar itself, but given the state the three of them were in, it was only justified.

Barbara gurgled one fry after another as she perched on the back of one of the cheap, plastic chairs crowded around equally plastic tables. Loki and you focused on the deliciously warm meal varying from meat to spicy meat with equal hunger. New York's lights flashed all around you, making the night seem as bright as the day.

You slipped your completely drenched shoes off without stopping your eating. You dreaded the moment you'd have to put them back on. There was no point in trying to save them - no amount of washing would make you forget what you've walked on. You had a thought that had never occurred to anyone before: it would be cleaner to walk New York streets barefoot.

"That was a terrible idea," you managed to say after a few minutes of devouring the food in silence.

Loki didn't deny it. "But it worked."

You gulped the water. You'd never had something as refreshing, or at least it felt like it in your state of utter exhaustion. Loki didn't look much better. You were both filthy, although you tried not to dwell on that too much, full of scratches and bruises, and smelling worse than even Barbara with her half-rotten body. It was no wonder any and all people daring a walk in the middle of the night gave your little table a wide berth.

"I'm not doing that again," you sighed, slumping into your chair only once your plate was empty.

"Do what?"

It was not the voice you'd like to hear at that moment. Or any other, to be precise.

You pried one eye open. Thor took a free chair opposite you, dwarfing the plastic frame easily.

"Wouldn't you like to know, weather boy?" You drawled. Barbara puffed the remains of her feathers and put one clawed paw on her fries.

"It would certainly make me less suspicious and worried about my brother and his betrothed."

Loki sneered.

"Rats," you lied with a shrug.

"I didn't know you were qualified for such a noble job."

"I've been dealing with pests my whole life,' Loki gave his brother a pointed look.

Thor nodded with a small smile that did little to lift the graveness from his face. "I assume that means neither of you had anything to do with an attempted assassination of a Niflheim's ambassador? The one taking a reprieve on the Moon, and whose visit there was kept under complete secrecy?"

"How could I know if it was a secret?" Loki frowned.

Thor pointed a finger at him, as if he was very close to starting a long and incredibly tiresome rant about what precisely made all the secrets always cling to Loki, but he gave up at the last moment. Instead, he rose from his seat, making the plastic sigh in relief.

"This conversation is not over," he said by a way of goodbye. "But I need a clear head and you two need a bath first."

You waved him goodbye with the sweetest smile you could muster. Loki and you watched him swing Mjolnir and fly away.

"I think we might actually need a bath," you admitted after you made sure he was gone.

"I hate to agree with my brother, but I can't deny his words some semblance of truth."

#please hate me #loki x reader #loki x you #loki laufeyson x reader #loki laufeyson x you #loki #loki laufeyson #loki imagine #marvel loki #mcu loki #loki laufeyson imagine #loki series #loki fanfiction

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andshedoesitagain · 4 years ago

Text

How can you stare into the double of a dead man, without seeing a ghost?

George Weasley x Reader Words - 1,178

Warnings - Angst, Grief, Fred’s death, Hurt, Comfort

Plot - Even when the war is over, there are many inner battles to be fought, especially when grief settles so heavy over everyone’s minds.

The sky had exploded into colour, sparks flying through the air with such pointed precision you couldn’t help but inhale with a hiss, your breath sharply caught between your teeth. No matter how many times you blinked, the blur that hazed your vision became no clearer, caused by the dust that gently cascaded from the roof above you, or confusion caused tears that you hadn’t even noticed were building, you couldn’t tell.

You had become disoriented not long after the chaos had erupted throughout the school, having been hit by a rogue spell and left knocked out for an amount of time you hadn’t quite figured out yet, and while waking up in the midst of a war was startling enough, what had caught you off guard the most was how alone you were in the hallway; you could hear and see the mess of war just outside behind the windows that lined the narrow room, but not another soul was to be seen alongside you.

Standing up, you tried to ignore the unwilling tremble of your legs, and screaming fear that gnawed at your head, instead clambering towards the doors that stood forebodingly at the end of the hall, trying not sway any more than you already were.

Hesitantly you pushed them open, met with many familiar faces of former teachers and peers, some paler than others.

Twisting at the delicate gold band on your ring finger, your head screamed one name, George. You needed to find George, you had left him and Fred at the beginning to go help Harry, much to George’s dismay, who could only look at you with pleading eyes, a look that now felt permanently burned into the back of your eyelids.

“I’ll be right back, I promise,” You whispered, staring up at him, your face held softly in between George’s palms.

“You better be.” Eyes now glassy, the taller man pressed his lips to the top of your head, “I still have to marry you,” he mumbled as he pulled back, causing a tearful chuckle to bubble from your throat, as you leaned up to kiss him, trying not to let out a sob held tightly in your chest.

“C’mon lovebirds, we have a war to win,” a voice from behind the pair of you caused you to both look over, Fred stood, arms crossed, his expression very much matching your own, fear hidden behind feigned hope.

Glancing back to George, you pulled him down to kiss his forehead, before turning away and throwing yourself into Freds arms, holding him tight before pulling back, hands lightly placed on his shoulders, “don’t do anything dumb, and don’t let my fiancée do anything dumber,” you smiled through the frown that tried to stretch over your face.

Ruffling your hair, Fred nodded, “same goes to you, dummy.” Pulling him into your arms once again, you took a deep breath.

Footsteps echoing as you walked, your eyes ran over the room, that had been set up as a makeshift infirmary, and the many faces surrounding. Some sat sobbing into lifeless bodies, while others were left to sit and stare into empty space, eyes completely vacant, hope abandoned. It caused a chill to course through your body, as you hugged your arms closer, trying to remember to breathe as you walked.

You couldn’t help the grin that spread across your face when you caught sight of a familiar group of red heads, your found family all gathered into one place.

Running over, your pulse quickened, excitement tossing around in your stomach, although as quick as it appeared, that excitement fizzled out in a matter of seconds.

Molly was hunched over, pained cries passing her lips, as Arthur tried desperately to keep her on her feet. From over her shoulder, you could see George bent over on his knees, clutching desperately at his twin, Fred’s face drained of any colour and life that it once held.

Even as you tried to move forward, you couldn’t, your feet firmly stuck to the floor, eyes wide and lips pursed closed. Arthur, glanced back, catching your own gaze, he shook his head, tears slipping down his cheeks.

Looking to the floor, you finally closed your eyes, placing a hand over your mouth, as a nauseous wave hit you so suddenly, you swear you could’ve fainted right there.

Pulling your feet from the ground, you took a few more shaky steps towards George, kneeling down by his side, trying not to look at who he held so dearly in his arms. His sobs rang out through the eerily silent room, and you couldn’t help but let your own slip out.

You had spent your entire childhood, arms linked with the twins, having met them the first day, of your first year at Hogwarts, and even when you and George’s childhood friendship slowly turned into something more, and right down to your engagement, you weren’t any less close with his brother, you could whole-heartedly say Fred was your best friend, although now that was, was spiralling around in your head.

Time passed, in what felt like hours, and eventually Arthur and Ron gently guided Fred out of Georges arms, to have him laid flat on the floor. George then crouched into your arms, the usually taller man, now small and fragile in your embrace, you cried together for as long as you could before you both were pulled from your grievance, back into the ongoing war.

The day after the war had ended was quiet, you had all piled into the burrow, everyone dotted around the house as they tried to deal with the day before. Molly hadn’t stopped cleaning and organising, cooking meals for anyone who looked even remotely hungry, although you had caught her a few times slipping into the bathroom, the tap running louder than need, followed by aching whimpers, every time she looked out of the front window, and caught sight of George, her eyes followed him for longer than anybody else, confusion pulled into the lines on her face.

Arthur on the other hand, had been sat in the living room, with most of the others, just staring blankly. While he listened to everybody else trying to make conversation, he had kept silent himself, even when you had passed a cup of tea, he had looked up to you for just a second, a pained smile sent your way, before he took a sip, and his faraway look returned.

Ginny and Harry sat at the kitchen table, hand in hand, both offering to help Mrs Weasley multiple times, only to be shot swiftly down, instead just going back to talking quietly, Ginny seemingly catching herself every time she went to mention Fred, physically shaking her head, as if to filter the words from her mind.

You hadn’t even seen Ron since you had all returned home, he had walked upstairs, and crawled into bed almost immediately, and only came down for dinner before slouching back up to his room, Hermione had followed him, and when you had peeked your head in, you saw her sat in the bed, as Ron’s head was rested on her chest, between her gentle shushing and strokes of his hair, she sent you a soft eyed smile.

Bill and Fleur had stayed firmly put in the living room, the blonde having napped most of the day, her head rested in the crook of her husband's shoulder, her hands wrapped tightly around the man's arm, squeezing a little too hard for it to be passed off as just a habit of sleep. Bill could only send concerned glances over to his father every time he tried to ask something, or even observe his father's inventions lined around the living room, to only be met with silence, after a while he seemed to have given up, instead dozing off alongside Fleur, his face contorted in anguish even as he slept.

Shrugging on your jacket, you slowly pulled back the front door. George hadn’t yet entered the house, even as everybody else breathed out sighs of relief, as they finally arrived home, George had sat on the front step, claiming he was just taking a minute to catch his breath, and yet he still hadn’t crossed the welcome mat, even hours later.

The warm mug in your hands, soothed the cold nip that spread across your fingers, as you sat down beside the tall man, looking up at him in attempt to read his expression, which was nothing short of empty. “I got you this,” you whispered, trying to pass him the mug.

His hands trembled as he reached over, unable to meet your eyes, as he looked into the drink, whispering back, “thanks, love.”

It wasn’t yet the time to talk, so instead you just sat there, staring off into the hills beside the love of your life, hearing porcelain clicked against stone, you didn’t look over as George’s hand slowly intertwined with yours, the fragile notion, causing a lump in your throat.

Night had fallen quicker than anybody would’ve liked, childhood fears of the dark brought back with an even greater weight, one that nobody could shake off as easy. Pair by pair, everyone broke off into their rooms, George had shaken his head when you had tried to guide him to his bedroom, and you understood instantly.

Instead, you both had settled into the couch in the living room, wrapped up in too many blankets to count, yet still you couldn’t deny the chill in the air, like Fred not being there had suddenly set the atmosphere off balance, and everything just now felt cold and vacant.

Laying there, the lighting dim, you couldn’t help but pour over Georges face, you could understand what everybody else was thinking, how can you stare into the double of a dead man, without seeing a ghost?

You knew George thought it too, hence why he had taken so much liberty to avoid any room with mirror, even opting to brush his teeth in the kitchen, and even you, who had spent so much time seeing how different the twins were, to the point where you could tell them apart with your eyes closed, couldn’t deny how strange it was.

Snapped out of your daze, George placed his hand on your face, “you’re not looking at me, are you?” His voice was toneless, and yet dripping with ache.

“I am looking at you, George.” Even though you understood what he meant, you could never place Fred’s face over his own, such subtle differences pulling them completely separate. Eyes softening, you placed your hand over his own, “I’m always looking at you.”

//I took a little hiatus, so I’m sorry for not posting in a while, but I had an idea for this one, and got totally wrapped up in it, and so I’m going to try to get more out soon, I’m interested in doing a part two to this, which would be more about the Weasley family all healing, so let me know what you think :) //

#Harry Potter #harry potter imagine #harry potter x reader #harry potter x you #george weasley #george wealsey x reader #fred weasley #fred weasley imagine #ron weasley #bill weasley #molly weasley #ginny weasley #ron x hermione #harry x ginny #bill x fleur #arthur weasley #angst #hermione granger

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theroomofreq · 4 years ago

Text

“Are we on a date right now?” Chapter 2

So I had planned on this being a one-time tumblr prompt, but @whiffingbooks left me a kind comment that gave me the creative love I needed to keep going. Thank you so much!! This isn’t exactly what I planned it to be, but I ended up really liking where it went, I hope you do too.

And a special shout out to @narukoibito who is a treasure trove of writing advice, and was so kind to give me some guidance on this fic. I couldn’t have done it without you :’)

AO3

Ginny held the door open for Harry, a small smile on her lips as she looked back at him. As he walked through the door he wrapped his scarf tighter around his face, whether he did so because of the January cold or to hide his excessive grin was up for debate.

It isn’t like he could help it really, he’d just spent the entire afternoon with Ginny. The thought of her brought his eyes to her form, she was keeping a steady pace beside him while Demelza, Luna, and Adeline walked ahead laughing.

They fell into a steady rhythm together, hanging back from the others as they walked to the castle. It felt so natural to be alongside her and their silence felt comfortable. There was something about her quiet confidence that made him feel at ease, maybe even made him feel -

“You know Harry, I would’ve thought that the boy who lived would be better at getting out of a tight spot.” Ginny started to dig into him with her signature smirk.

“Well Voldemort’s usually casting spells at me, not giving me cheek.” Harry retorted quickly, “Honestly, Gin. I didn’t think you were going to give me a break back there.”

“Actually, I went pretty easy on you. I could’ve been a lot worse.” She sent a wink his way, and Harry felt something flip inside his stomach.

“Merlin,” his voice came out choked, “Remind me to always stay in your good graces then.”

Ginny laughed, “Aye aye Cap’n.” She said as they started up the castle steps.

Harry followed closely behind her as she reached the doors and made her way into the entrance hall. They’d made it back to the castle a bit too quickly for his liking, he wondered if he should invite her to sit with him at dinner or if she would just follow him anyway.

“Oi! Harry, Ginny!” Ron’s yelling pulled Harry back to reality. Ron was walking toward the two of them with Hermione in tow.

“You two get everything sorted then?” Harry asked as the four gryffindors converged in the center of the hall.

Ron scoffed as Hermione began to explain, “Well, it all seemed to be in order until we got back to the castle, and then Jacobsen tore off running-”

“And Hermione wouldn’t let me levicorpus his arse-”

“Ronald!”

“Would an offendo trip jinx have been more appropriate?” Harry tried to phrase it as an honest question, but Hermione still sent him a look that made him wither.

“You two are incorrigible children, I don’t know how-”

“See you three around then,” Ginny cut in on Hermione's tirade, for which Harry felt grateful for, he didn’t exactly feel in the mood to be lectured before dinner. Then, Ginny turned her sparkling eyes on him, “And do let me know when our next date is Harry.”

As Harry felt the color drain from his face he decided he wasn’t so grateful she’d cut in any longer.

“What did she just say?” Ron’s words rushed out all too quickly.

Harry turned ever so slowly to his best friends, he had only moments to look at them before the assault started. Hermione had what seemed to be a mix of smugness and surprise across her face, while Ron’s mouth was just a gaping hole .

“It’s about time honestly.” Hermione seemed to recover quicker than Ron did, “Although I thought it would be another couple of months, still I am very-”

“A date? With Ginny?” Ron looked positively gobsmacked.

“Err, not really,” Harry ruffled his hair, “See the thing is, after you lot deserted me-”

“We were doing our civic duty, Harry!”

“Yes, that. Well when you left me to fend for myself,” Harry chose to ignore Hermione’s scoff and just continue on, “Romilda found me and I panicked. But well Ginny was there, So I err, pretended to be on a date with her to get Romilda off my back.”

Hermione’s eyes narrowed, “And what exactly did Ginny do?”

Harry thought back to the way Ginny’s eyebrows flew up as he begged her to save him. The way she smirked as he struggled to find an excuse and the way her lips-

“Harry! This is crucial information here.”

“Sorry right, She err didn’t let me get off that easy. Shot down every excuse I lined up, and even went so far as to say we snogged. And that’s what really buggered Romilda-”

“SNOGGING. If I catch you with your hands on her like Dean-”

“Oh finally Harry! Did the two of you really kiss?”

Ron and Hermione had both reacted very differently but with equal enthusiasm and at the same time. The two of them whipped their heads around to glare at the other, Harry felt the storm coming before it even started.

“What do you mean finally?” Ron said fiercely, “Ginny gave up on Harry ages ago.”

“I wasn’t talking about Ginny,” Hermione rolled her eyes, “I was talking about Harry.”

Ron’s eyes grew large, “Harry? Harry doesn’t fancy Ginny? Are you daft?”

Hermione’s laugh was nothing compared to the pitiful look she sent at Harry. “I’m daft? Ron, don’t tell me you haven’t seen it.” She pointed a finger and Harry, “He has been pining after her for months now.

So this was his life now? He, Harry Potter, the chosen one, who was tasked with recovering important information about Voldemort, and uncovering Draco’s secret plot, was standing here watching his best mates bicker over his feelings. Surely this could not be happening, but indeed, it was.

“I would’ve noticed if my best mate had taken a fancy to my little sister.” Ron barked.

“You’re about 7 months late! Haven’t you noticed the way his eyes follow her, or how he perks up when she walks into the room?”

Perked up? Was he really perky around Ginny, that didn’t seem the right word.

“They are friends ‘Mione.” Ron rolled his eyes, “Don’t you think I know Harry well enough to know when he’s after a girl?”

“Friends don’t get hit by bludgers at quidditch practice because they are too busy staring at one another, and friends don’t sit nearly on one another’s laps at your mother’s house over the Holidays.”

Alright that was a step too far. “OI” Harry shouted, pushing between his friends who had been standing awfully close during their bickering, “Do we really need to have a round table about my love life?”

His outburst seemed to snap the two back to their senses. Ron’s ears burned red, and Hermione started to twirl a section of her hair. The two muttered their apologies while Harry shook his head at them.

“Excellent, now that’s over with can we eat now?” Harry gestured toward the doors to the Great Hall and the three of them set off.

Unbelievable, he was hit one time by a bludger during practice, and it was only because he was coaching. He was meant to be watching Ginny’s play, he wasn’t distracted by her. And there were a lot of people at the Burrow this Christmas, he had to sit close to Ginny so there was enough room for everyone else. And what was Hermione talking about, 7 months? He shook his head at himself as he sat down on the bench next to Ron, had he truly been so obvious?

“Harry?”

“Yeah, mate?”

“If you need to ogle Ginny at all, she’s just up there.” Ron pointed directly at Ginny before dissolving into a cackling fit.

“Oh bugger off” Harry muttered while shoving Ron.

----

Harry assumed that his days would get back to normal rather quickly after the previous day, true to form, it did not. It seemed Ron and Hermione’s reaction was a direct indication of how the rest of the school would behave.

Despite having broken up with Ginny 2 months prior, Dean was now sending him glares every chance he could. A pair of younger gryffindor boys asked him if Ginny was a better kisser than Cho on his way to breakfast, while Ron buckled over laughing. As he walked to potions a charmed note informed him that he was leaving a trail of broken hearts by taking Ginny as his lover.

It was at dinner, around the fifth time someone congratulated him on finally asking Ginny out, that the the grin on Hermione’s face was just too much for Harry to handle.

“That’s it.” Harry slammed his fist on the table, “I’ve got to find her.”

“At least give us the map!” Ron shouted, “We’d hate to walk in on the two of you!”

Harry threw him a rude gesture over his shoulder as he marched out, which only seemed to make Ron laugh harder.

As he stormed away from the Great Hall, Harry whipped out the Marauders Map to locate Ginny walking out of potions. Harry increased his pace, only focused on Ginny as he made his way to the lower levels of the castle. Finally, he rounded a corner and came face to face with the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor 5th years.

Immediately his eyes zeroed in on Ginny and her glinting copper hair, he pushed through the crowd and stopped in front of her. She had been in the middle of a conversation with Demelza, before quirking an eyebrow at his sudden appearance.

And dammit, he was really starting to like that look on her.

“We need to talk,” Harry’s voice came out heavy and low, which pulled Ginny’s eyebrow up higher on her freckled face.

A chorus of wolf whistles sounded as her peers walked around them.

“Go easy on her Cap.” Demelza said, patting his shoulder as she walked away with the crowd.

Harry gestured to an empty classroom on his left, Ginny gave a small bow and headed through the door. Once Harry walked through the door he flicked his wand and the door slammed shut.

“A bit eager this evening, aren’t we Mr. Potter?” Ginny was leaning up against a desk with a smirk and that damn eyebrow up again.

“Now is not the time, Gin.” Harry shook his head, they were in a right mess.

“Can we reschedule then?”

Harry felt his jaw slacken at her words, did she just? He searched her face and found her eyes dark and deep on him, his mouth fell a little further. A bit of a strangled noise came from his throat, Harry quickly shook his head again.

“Ginny, I..

“What is it you wanted to talk about?” Her arms crossed over her chest as her eyes took on a guarded glint.

Harry looked at the floor before willing the courage to talk to her again. “The whole school is gone barmy! I’ve been accosted all day, blokes want to know what it’s like to kiss you. I’ve been asked maybe a hundred times how I asked you to be my girlfriend, and the whole team is on me about it too. I feel like I’m going mad.”

Ginny laughed, an actual laugh that started deep in her stomach and radiated out through her lungs and mouth. Harry felt like he missed the joke.

“Sorry, It’s just” Ginny said between fits of laughter, “You’ve gotten yourself into a real predicament Harry.”

“Me? You’re the one who told her we’d snogged for ages” Harry felt his neck flush as he alluded to kissing Ginny.

“True, but you are the one nearly knocked me over for a fake date.” Her eyes were still full of mirth as she turned the blame on him again.

“Okay fine, it’s both of us. But what are we going to do now?”

“What do you mean?”

“I just,” Harry rubbed the back of his neck, “I dunno, haven’t people been asking you things to?” She nodded. “What did you tell them?”

“I haven’t told anyone anything, have you?” She asked him, Harry shook his head in response. “Well then, what is there to do?”

Harry looked at her for a moment, his head spinning. The whole school thought he was dating Ginny Weasley, which on the one hand was brilliant. Wasn’t this what he’d wanted? To be closer to her, to have someone mention their names together, to be someone she would want to snog?

“What if we just carried on,” He began tentatively, “Just let them think we are together, and we could act the part?”

“Are you saying we should pretend to be in a relationship?” Her brows furrowed and her arms came to rest at her sides.

“Well what’s the other option? Just ignore them? Come on they’re relentless.” Harry pleaded with his brain to not let any true feelings slip. “Stage a break up? They would talk about it for ages, it would be almost worse?”

Ginny watched him explain with a collected expression on her face, Harry felt nervous all over again under her gaze. She took a step closer to him, bringing her close enough to embrace.

“Maybe it’s the only way, to erm, pretend?”

Ginny’s eyes roved along his face, but her expression was completely blank, the moment began to last too long. Harry shifted uncomfortably on his feet.

“Could you really do that?” Her eyes pierced him as she posed the question. “Do you really think you could fake being in a relationship with me?”

Harry opened his mouth to reply but stopped at the sight of Ginny shaking her head. “You couldn’t, it’s not like you.”

Harry felt his brow furrow, of course he could, it’s what he wanted? To be around her constantly, to be the one went to Hogsmeade with, to walk hand in hand around the castle, and run his fingers through her deep red locks.

She took a half a step forward before looking him carefully in the eyes. “The Harry I know, would never. He is either all in or all out. This fake dating scheme? That's only half in, it would kill you.” He felt her eyes scan his face again.

“You know that right? You have to know that it wouldn’t be good,” her eyes fell quickly to her hands before coming back up to his eyes, “not for either of us.”

Harry took in her gaze, the way she was staring at him was paralyzing his body. He could barely breathe with her this close to him, her flowery scent was overpowering as she continued to search his face. He knew she was right, he couldn’t do it. How could he be with her unless it was 100% Ginny? Putting on a face in front of everyone else, and then what? Nothing probably, it would be torture. How was it she knew him better than he knew himself?

He must have taken too long to respond because she started to back away from him, her eyes down cast.

“Ginny, wait.” Harry took three large strides toward her again, easily bringing them back to their previous closeness. “Could you do it? Would you be able to pretend to be with me?” It was his turn to survey her face for anything, any semblance of emotion.

Her face was calm and cool as she looked back at him, ever so slightly she shook her head. “No, I couldn’t. You mean too much to me to even, It’s just, you’re one of my best friends, I can’t…” Her words slowly drifted off.

Harry nodded slowly too, now hyper aware of how close they were to each other. Ginny’s eyes took on a steely glint as she turned around and walked to the door. Her hand touched the door before she turned around.

“If anyone asks, I’ll tell them it was just a one time thing. We’re friends.” Her words were calculated.

Harry nodded, “Friends” he murmured as the door closed softly behind her.

#hinny #hinny fic #harry potter #ginny weasley #fake dating fic #sort of #hogwarts au #harry x ginny #are we on a date right now?#read-a-hinny-fic #hinny fluff #but also a small bit of #hinny angst #roomie writes #my writing

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a-simple-imagine · 4 years ago

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Griffy

Synopsis: Charlie has a surprise for you

Pairing: Charlie Weasley x fem!reader

Words: 1.8k

A/N - Another story featuring my favourite dragon boi!! It’s just fluff but I enjoyed writing it.

Warnings - mentions of danger

The sun beamed brightly in the clear blue sky casting a brilliant warm glow over the two of you. Your eyes hidden behind Charlie Weasley's hands as he leads you forward as carefully as possible; you'd almost fallen many times but you appreciated that he had managed to save you each time. "Where are we going?" You request. The sound of leaves and twigs crunch under your feet, giving away your location.

"It's a surprise," he says ever so softly into your ear. You don't like surprises; not from Charlie anyway they were always... a little too much.

"This doesn't have anything to do with dragons does it?" An uneasy groan emits from your throat as you slow to a halt. You had a very bad feeling about this.

Are you ready?" No, but you nod anyway just wanting to get this over with. "Are you sure-"

Taking hold of his wrists, you remove his hands bringing you face to face with a terrible size. With wide eyes, you scramble backwards only to fall into Charlie. He always seemed to be there to catch you. "That's a..." It had the front legs, wings, and head of an eagle paired with the hind legs and tail of a horse. It was mahogany brown and very big. You swallow hard, you've never been too good with animals. You've read many books about them but they could never prepare you for the real thing. "A Hippogriff."

"So what do you think?" Charlie runs a reassuring hand up and down your arm in a slow but steady rhythm. "Pretty cool right? His name is Griffy the Hippogriff."

"Griffy?"

Charlie chuckles lowly, "don't judge- I let Ginny pick the name."

"Ah," it was only now, you realised you were still in his warm embrace and heat immediately rushed to your cheeks. Standing up a little straighter, you brush yourself off. "I... I don't know what to say."

"Do you wanna pet him?"

You shake your head rapidly. He was joking, right? "Absolutely not! I'm not going anywhere near that beast."

"He's really quite gentle."

Your eyes drift to the razor-sharp talons on its front legs; they could definitely do some major damage and you wanted absolutely nothing to do with them. "That thing could kill me." You turn to look at him as his smile begins to fade. Well now you felt kind of bad; he seemed so excited before. With a heavy sigh, you turn back to the Hippogriff. "So what do I have to do?"

"Hmm?"

"I wanna pet him," it was rather hard to ignore the claws though. "I just don't want to offend him."

With a giddy smile on full display, he strides over to the half-bird creature. "I'll show you okay? It's really simple and he likes me." He declares proudly. Charlie may be obsessed with Dragons but he was also good with other animals too. You found his charming smile and passionate personality rather easy to warm up to so you don't find it difficult to imagine that animals are drawn to him. "Hippogriffs are very proud-"

"Charlie, I've read books. I know all this just show me." You urge. Hippogriffs were very proud creatures and easily offended. You didn't want to get on the bad side of one for obvious reasons. It was also considered polite to let the Hippogriff make the first move.

"You just bow like so," his right arm rested against his stomach and he bowed towards the creature. It seemed rather silly but he knew more than you did. "If he bows back then you can pet him. If not? well, then I'll fix you right up. I know a lot of healing spells."

That didn't instil a lot of confidence. "Are you sure about this?"

"Of course."

The redhead stepped aside to give you some space. With a deep breath, you walk a little closer. It was huge and all your confidence drained out of your body as you mind wandered to the deep golden beak and the talons. It also had massive wings that could knock you over. And powerful back legs to kick you with. Charlie gives you a thumbs up as you look to him and then back. Lips curling into an unsure smile, you very slowly lower your head and bow towards the creature. It wasn't the most comfortable of positions and if you were being honest, it felt ridiculous to do but now you were almost too scared to move. It feels like you've been bowing forever but that could just be your nerves. You sneak a peak sharply, startling Griffy into a buck. He had looked big before but now he was like ten times worse. A high pitched screech filled the clearing. "Back away- now." But you remain completely frozen still bowing. The large thump of its front legs returning to the ground was a good sign, right? It had not attacked you. You find yourself too anxious to look up again until you hear Charlie's voice. "He can be a little grumpy."

"So he likes me?" Stealing a glance, the animal had now lowered its head in an elegant bow; one leg lifted into the air. He truly was a magnificent creature but still very intimidating. Standing up straight, you smile softly as you look to Charlie who is smiling ear to ear.

"You can stroke him now."

With shaky hands, you reach out cautiously until you feel soft feathers against your skin. It looked so small compared to the beast who now nuzzled against your palm. "He feels soft." You glance towards the boy that was now beside you, he offered a warm smile. The lightest shade of pink dusting his freckled cheeks as he looked upon you.

"They like to keep themselves well-groomed," He explains, brushing his hand through the feathers; accidentally bumping into you, he pulls his hand away. "So... he uh... should be willing to let you ride him now."

"What? No." You back away a little with wide eyes. "I think this is close enough."

"Come on, it'll be fun." His expression softened as he met your Y/E/C eyes. There was. Puppy dog charm to each of the Weasley's but Charlie had a way of just looking at you until you gave in.

"Charlie," You groan; attention returned to the hippogriff so you didn't have to look into those big pleading eyes anymore. "It's- I- cant! What if something happens?"

"Nothing will happen," His attempt to calm your nerves fell on death ears. This was insane. Charlie was insane. He climbs onto the back of the hippogriff, careful not to hit his massive wings; one hand held out just for you. "I promise." You hated the fact you were considering this but you want to keep him happy. You want to see his cheesy smile. Taking his hand, he helps you up onto the back of the animal. "Just hold on tight to me, okay? Griffy will not be happy if you pull out any of his feathers."

It wasn't so bad up here once you realised it was relatively safe. You didn't know exactly where to place your hands, it felt awkward grabbing onto him. The half-bird stepped forward and all awkwardness was thrown out the window as you latch onto the boy. "Maybe we shouldn't do this? It's safer on the ground."

"It'll be fine,"

Wings spread out wide startling you as it flaps a few times before beginning to run. You tighten your grip. The wind picks up; feeling brisk against your face which you bury into his shoulder. The running had stopped, that much you could tell and the sound of flapping wings indicated you were in the air however, you couldn't bring yourself to look. "I don't like this," it's a whisper to yourself more than anyone else.

"Open your eyes,"

You shake your head against him. "They're open. It's great. Can... we land now?"

"No, they're not," How could he possibly know that? "Just trust me, okay?"

"Trust you," you repeat slowly. With a deep breath, you slowly open your eyes and your mouth drops. You were so high up that if you fell, you'd not be getting can up but it was spectacular. You dared not to let go of Charlie but you looked around yourself admiring the lush green fields and rolling hills. Massive lakes of water that shone a deep blue against the sunlight. You felt both sick with glee and fear of an untimely demise.

"This is... beautiful," you mumble quietly, grip tightening around Charlie as the Hippogriff turned sharply. "Utterly breathtaking."

"I told you," The happiness laced in his voice was pleasing to the ear. "I can take us back down if you still want to?"

"No," You reply sharply, your smile growing at the tiny buildings you spot below. "Can we stay up here a little longer."

"Of course," His laughter drifting with the wind.

"Do you do this a lot?" You wonder, finally relaxing around him; there was a hint of embarrassment behind your actions. Your grip must have felt like a vice.

"Not too often," He muses. "But it's not my first time. It's kinda like riding a broom."

It was nothing like riding a broom at least not in your experience then again you didn't like flying on a broom either.

"Explains why your head is always up in the clouds," You tease. You'd ruffle his hair if you weren't terrified of letting go. "It's... cute."

"Cute?"

"Mhmm," You hum. "We should head back,"

"Alright," The Hippogriffs wings stretch up and the next thing you know, your stomach drops as Griffy dives straight down. It almost felt like you were about to throw up and it's instinct to grab onto Charlie; hiding your embarrassment and fear literally behind his back. It felt like forever before you realised you'd finally returned to land and you couldn't get down fast enough. It felt so good to be on solid ground again even if you were feeling a little wobbly.

"Did you like my surprise?" Charlie asks as he slides down off Griffy's back.

"You're something else Charlie Weasley," It had been unexpected, you had to give the boy points for trying. It was a very unique surprise and in the end, it had been rather interesting. "but yeah it was pretty cool."

"I knew you'd like it," He takes your hand in his and while his next words had been spoken with as much confidence as he could muster, you couldn't help but notice he was blushing. "let's go eat- I'm starving."

Squeezing his hand gently, you nod a little. "Let's."

#charlie weasley #Charlie Weasley x reader #Harry potter #hogwarts mystery #charlie weasley imagine #harry potter imagine #harry potter fanfiction

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huntective-kyeo · 4 years ago

Text

❗Warning❗ TYPOS, SPELLING, AND GRAMMAR. And English is not my first language. Kinda angry hehehe

This is my first time to post it here and I hope you like it. Feel free to criticize my writing so I can improve.

So enjoy.

FIRST FANFIC

My Father is Dean Winchester

Dean POV

I sat down on the chair and open the lid of the beer. It's been hectic two weeks. Sam and I hunt a witch in Colorado and it took us a week to find the witch and killed it. That witch got Sam to bruise his ankle, and a concussion but thankfully nothing major injuries that needed stitches and so. Most of all the sonavabitch wore witch almost touch and probably hex my Baby which I did make her pay for it.

All in all, it took us a few days to get back at the bunker and now I'm sitting on the chair, probably wanted to eat some pies and get drunk.

My thoughts interrupt when the door opened and I looked up wonder who that person is. My instinct is to grab my trustful gun and aim it towards that intruder. However instead of getting alert, and hunting instinct it exactly quite opposite to what I feel right now.

Third POV.

A girl took a deep breath and with her shaky hand, she holds the handle and she pauses before she opened the door.

She didn't know what to do or what to say. She felt nervous to face them all. She wants to keep it secret however it keeps harder and harder to hide all the symptoms she felt during the last few months.

with heavy heart and soul, she opened the door and wish that bunker is well as empty as when she leaves it a few hours ago.

She didn't notice that the Impala, her first love park on her usual spot, she didn't notice a man sit on the chair seem like thinking something, she didn't notice her dad.

Dean POV

" y/n? " I blurted out. I didn't notice that my daughter y/n leave the bunker without telling us, or wasn't I?

Y/n my precious daughter, my little sunshine, and the only reason aside from my little brother who keeps me alive. 16 years ago Her mother and I met at the bar and happened to have one night stand. I was drunk to forget us condoms. I didn't realize it until, nine months later, Kylia found me and she shove the newly baby born into arms. I didn't hear her rants about not wanting kids because I was so fallen to my baby girl. I swear y/n is the most beautiful baby girl that I've ever seen. From that fateful night, I swore that I protect and love her no matter what.

With the help of my brother and my family, we did a good job raising a finest and yet mini-me y/n which kinda bit frustrated when she becomes a rebellious teenager and seeking for a new way to hunt.

I know that being a father and hunter ain't hood to raise a child in a world full of darkness but I did try my best to become a father that she deserved and not the father that I used to grow up

I again clear up my throat and by the time that I saw her, I know something is terrible up. Called it father instinct. My stomach began to feel something that I don't know if it's about the food or the worriedness about my daughter.

"Where have you been, I told you not to go outside not unless if you needed something but should-" I stumble and am shocked by a sudden hug coming from my daughter. My eyebrows meet and speculate more thoughts about what happened to her during a few weeks.

Then suddenly y/n cried up and my heart broke up thousand of pieces. Through I used to her cry of nonsense but this is different. I can feel it.

I began to think of a different reason why she cried like this. Is she on her period? Did a boy break her heart? If it is, then who? Oh god, my baby girl is heartbroken?! No-no-no.

" Hey, baby girl what's wrong? " I managed to ask a few words as I stroke her hair.

I didn't get her reply as she continues sobbing and sniffing on my chest. I continuously stroke her hair and rubbed a small circle on her back. With her tears I heard, I began to tear up which probably I got hurt when my baby girl gets hurt.

I saw Sam holding a can and some books and gave me confused look. I know he was confused about what is going on and the same as me. I only gave her shrug off before concentrate on keeping her calm down.

I sigh and sing a song that makes her calm down. It's a song that I always sing to her whenever she feels scared and upset. it her lullaby and till now I always sing to her when she felt like this. And now even though she's growing up ain't stopping this.

'Hey Jude, don't make it bad

Take a sad song and make it better

Remember to let her into your heart

Then you can start to make it better'

I sang softly and smile. I heard her sobs subside and her shoulder is no longer tensed. I kissed her head and quietly sing the rest of the song

By the song ends, y/n look up to me and hate to see her red-rimmed eyes and red nose face at me.

" Daddy... "

Y/n POV

After the song finish, I felt quite comfortable and my heart no longer pains me.

" daddy" I called up again. I hate seeing my dad worried glances and I wanted to back down but I know it's too late, now that I cried to his chest, and makes my father worried.

" what's wrong, princess " I nearly chuckle to hear the old nickname that I used to love but hate now. I should give my father annoying and death glares to him but I'm drained and tired to argue with my father.

Instead of the reply to his question, I took a piece of paper inside my leather jacket. With my shaky hand, I hesitate to give it to him. I saw my father unfold the paper and read it.

I know he reads it as I saw his face turn to a worried and horrifying face. I bit my lip as teardrops start to stream to his face and suddenly it aches my heart.

I didn't realize that my uncle Sam was there and he took the paper that my dad read it. My dad was frozen and saw Sam has the same reaction but he stumbled a bit and luckily sat on the chair or else he would hurt more.

The air was tense and several minutes seemed like a century to me as I was forced to see my dad and uncle of their horrifying reaction.

I was about to leave them and lock them up in my room but my dad grabs my wrist and put pressure on it, so I couldn't shove it off, I hesitate to look at his now red-rimmed eyes just like mine.

" Is this true? "

My heart broke as I nod

" when... When did it start? "

I flinched to hear a tone when my dad wanted a straight answer but I could see the difference of it. Instead of deadly and threatened, it's a broken and saddened tone that probably haunt me the rest of my life.

" honey, when did start... " I look up to him as a surprise to hear the familiar fatherly sweet tone that only me can know.

"a few months ago. When you just back from purgatory dad... " I mumble but I know that dad heard it because he mumbles coherent words that I know he's cursing, I wish it's not from me.

Then suddenly my dad sat down on the chair and then he hugged tightly couldn't breathe but slightly loose the tightness but still hugging me

" We can pull this up alright, we will. N/n we will fight this together okay, we'll find ways to rid this shit. We will be on your battle. " I then look up at my father and saw the tense and urging look " we will fight this out but you'll do your job ok, you'll kick this shit out, and keep fighting. Don't give up okay please, little n/n. " I heard him crack as didn't say anything considering, I was crying again and the inky response I can get is nodding.

Then I hug my father again and I feel another wrapped strong arms. I smile softly that uncle Sam joined the party. Now we are Complete, I feel like I'm ready to fight this shut out.

" Winchester is hard to kill, not even cancer. " I chuckle to hear uncle Sammy spoke.

"Yeah right, so you gonna do your part little princess, aright. Don't give up. " My father kiss my forehead. We parted away and wipes the tears we have. We laugh as we sniffle then finally our tears died down.

My father, Dean wipe the remaining tears and I look up to him confused. I saw him sad and regret my eyes and my heart sank.

" I love you N/Niepie, " then he kisses my forehead.

----AND CUT!!! ---

" Nice work J2 and Jodi damn there are no dried tears here " Robert yelled as all the staff and crew wipe their tears. " okay thirty minutes break, Jared, come to me I gotta asked you something" he added.

A group of assistants swarms the actors and did their task. Some wipe their sweats, do makeup, fixing their hair, and so on.

Jensen chuckles a little bit and wipes the remaining tears from his eyes.

" nice job dude, seem like the Days of our Lives gig paid off huh" A sixteen years old, young actress Jodi Smith tease him.

He rolled his eyes and ruffle her hair. " nice try but no you not riding my Baby" Jodi groan and about to reply when her assistant came and whisper to her ear "You're lucky, Mr. Ackles. Robert needs me now but I won't stop bothering you not until I sat on the driver seat and ride the impala".

When Jodi is out of sight, Jensen Ackles began to walk through his trailer. The thirty minutes of break is not enough of yearning for his daughter.

By the time he got inside. He locks it and sits on the couch. He rubbed his tired face as he grabs the old filthy Cinderella wallet. Today scene was emotional to him, not because of the scene itself but because he truly did miss his daughter y/n

In the finale of season 12, alongside Jack Kline played Alexander Calvert, and y/n Winchester played Jodi Smith we're both introduced and a new cast of Supernatural. Jensen was supposed to be glad that there are two new members of their family, but instead, it replaces guilt and dreadful feelings.

It's not the new cast members but the fact that Jodi Smith portrays is seem a great punch to his heart that he starts to realize he still has a daughter that should be taken care of.

No one knows not even Jared. Danneel and the kids, the crew nor the fans knew that the great Jensen Ackles has a secret daughter and only his close family knew about this truth.

" I'm sorry princess, How I wish I was there for you but you know I can't."

Jensen stroke a faded picture of an eight-year-old girl holding a doll whilst hugging the twenty-year-old Jensen Ackles.

" I'm sorry, I love you" he kisses the picture with so much love and tears began to stream down his cheeks

Hope you like it keep safe everyone. Reblog and like will yah.

#winchester x daughter reader #supernatural #jensen x daughter reader #jensen ackles #x daughter reader #dean x Reader #dean x daughter reader

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snowe-zolynn-rogers · 4 years ago

Text

Pairings: None Yet

Word Count: 1,560 Words

Summary: Brunswick Farms isn't as safe as it seemed at first.

Warnings: Food Mention, Screaming Mention, Alcohol Mention, Drunk Mention Fighting Mention, Death mention, Nightmare Mention, let me know if I should tag anything else.

Shadows Are Made Of Light: Chapter 2

The house was quiet as everyone was there. Mercury had Oscar asleep against him, Yang, Blake, and Weiss sat in front of the fire and Ruby and Qrow were talking in the other room while Maria was reading still.

"It's like a diary. From the head of this household, Bartleby. Apparently, he and several other families founded this little settlement to try and live on their own. It sounds like it worked, at least for a spell." Maria explained.

"Grimm?" Mercury asked.

"Just one of many hardships. Slowed down their farming, made everything harder. It's a shame, really. He seemed like quite the ambitious fellow, always thinking of new schemes to overcome the odds." Maria smiled.

"Guys, Qrow said we should get some sleep. We're gonna head out early tomorrow." Ruby told them. Mercury motioned to Oscar currently asleep on him.

"Some of us already are on that." Mercury told her.

"Thank goodness." Yang muttered as everyone disregarded his statement and the three girls by the fire got up to walk elsewhere, Mercury didn't quite know where, probably to get blankets or something. Maria was muttering, getting up and moving to the chair next to a lamp, which she stubbornly turned on to continue reading.

Mercury wasn't sure when he fell asleep, only that he woke up holding Oscar, who was curled up to him like a little kid. It made him feel far too protective over this little farm boy, especially when he looked even younger while he was asleep.

"Good morning, silver boy." Maria greeted him, smirking as she shook Oscar a bit. "Time to wake up, little boy." Maria told Oscar.

"Auntie, ten more minutes." Oscar mumbled.

"I'm not your aunt and it's time to wake up, farm boy." Maria told him.

"Oz, gimme ten minutes." Oscar whined and Mercury laughed at the thought of Ozpin trying valiantly to wake a stubbornly tired farmhand to no avail.

"Hm?" Oscar looked up at him with sleepy eyes still. "Oh, sorry." Oscar let him go and let him up.

"You're fine." Mercury ruffled through the kid's hair. "Actually, I don't think we've really truly met yet." Mercury realized.

"I'm Oscar Pine, Ozpin's newest reincarnation." The kid told him.

"Mercury Black." He smiled at the kid as the girls seemed to filter awake after Ruby woke up and scolded her hungover uncle about their oversleeping.

Everyone seemed tired, Mercury quickly caught on that he and Ruby seemed to be the only ones retaining the majority of their energy. It was weird being in a position where he and Ruby were agreeing as they pushed the team to move forward.

"If we're all so tired, maybe we should make breakfast?" Blake suggested.

"You wanna make it?" Oscar asked.

"Not really." Blake answered.

"I'll make it." Mercury told them, fed up and marching into the house and into the pantry, grabbing a few cans and making an easy breakfast from the cans of spam and pre-cut veggies he found, bringing the pot, bowls, and silverware outside to practically force everyone's energies up.

"I'm not as good a cook as Neo but if you don't eat and stop bickering like three year olds for like five minutes, I will go insane and just start waking to Argus by myself and I will take Oscar and Maria with me." He snapped, handing a bowl to Oscar before moving on until everyone was eating and quiet.

"This is actually good." Yang remarked.

"Just spam and vegetables I found." He told her, eating his own breakfast.

"Make this again in Argus." Yang told him.

"Sure." He agreed, taking in the silence between the argument and happily enjoying that silence, where he could practically hear the soft snow hitting the ground lightly. He also enjoyed the fact that they apparently liked his cooking enough to consider keeping him around their group for it.

"You guys got the bike ready?" Ruby asked, sounding tired.

Mercury sighed as he gathered the finished bowls and took them back to clean in the house while they got ready to leave, he didn't want to hear this fight. he didn't want Ruby to succumb like the others but she was starting to sound exhausted too.

But, inevitably, he found himself back outside with Oscar and Maria, watching the fight over whether they were really going to go to Atlas or not unfold. The lamp, that lamp he knew absolutely nothing about. Ruby was dangling it over he well and he felt a surge of fear in his throat.

She screamed and dropped the lamp inside at something, which prompted Mercury to scream 'NO' at the action, coming to the well and looking over the edge of it and giving a groan when all he saw was darkness.

"No, no, no! I didn't mean to!" Ruby cried out, holding her head.

"Ruby, it's okay." Weiss tried.

"No! No, there's something down there, I saw its eyes, it was looking at me!" Ruby told them. Mercury looked for anything that could be eyes but came up with nothing.

"It's okay, you said you're tired. It's probably nothing. Now, let's go." Yang told her sister.

"What's wrong with you!? We can't just leave! We have to go down there! We have to get the lamp back! What was I thinking?" Ruby insisted.

"All we have to do is fix this trailer." Qrow drunkenly slurred. "Hey farm boy, check the shed for a spare." Qrow insisted. Mercury growled but ignored him.

"I'm not leaving without the lamp!" Ruby insisted.

"I'll go down with you." Mercury offered.

"We'll go down together." Weiss agreed.

"Fine, get the stupid lamp. Oscar, fix the stupid tire." Qrow began walking toward the house, past everyone.

"Where are you going?" Maria asked.

"Where do you think?" Qrow asked.

"Stupid." Maria remarked as Qrow went off to get even more drunk before she sat down to begin to read again.

Water was around him when he got down, Mercury very much didn't like. Water messed with his legs but he wasn't letting Ruby go down alone with her bunch of pessimistic friends. Ruby was leading the way with her flashlight, Mercury following her and ready to fight when Blake pointed out the glowing of the lamp a few feet away.

Ruby ran to get it only to come back screaming, with the lamp thankfully, and followed by the most frightening Grimm he'd ever seen before they let out a piercing shriek and Mercury felt his ears and eyes burn at it. His legs felt too heavy to move suddenly and he had no way of fighting.

"Run! Now!" Maria called, leading them, Mercury following his best, hearding the girls away and keeping them together, flinching when the inevitable next group of Grimm let out that shriek while Ruby and him began leading the team out and to hopeful safety but only ended up in the basement of the house again.

Maria was trying to get them to the exit, or at least usher Mercury and Ruby to it to free everyone of this nightmare, but he could barely get up onto his hands and knees. Blake was passing out, he heard Ruby trying to talk to her. He felt the room light up and he felt their influence dampen as Ruby got Blake away from them and Yang and Weiss went to break open the doors.

But the next shriek incapacitated even Ruby, but he was still standing, stubbornly standing. He wasn't scared of these things, even if they were nightmare fuel. He finally had people to lose again and he refused to lose them all in a day.

"Don't think about them." Maria told him, dragging his focus away from those exhausting monsters. "Think about the people who love you. Focus on the thought of them and the way they make you feel." She encouraged. Emerald. Neo. Maria. Yang. Oscar. Chrome.

"Life is beautiful. It is precious. And it must be protected." Maria recited like an ominous chant. He felt his eyes burn as he opened them, the room becoming alight with the brightest white light he'd ever seen.

Suddenly the Grimm were controlled, were dead. And Yang could bust out the door and they all went rushing from the basement, Ruby dragging Qrow along kicking and screaming as Yang ran to get the bike started and Weiss set the basement on fire.

Ruby and Weiss were dragging Qrow while Mercury hurriedly got Oscar onto the cart, protecting him from those horrible things. He didn't need to see them, this kid didn't need any nightmares of them.

They were a good yard away when Maria explained what they were, the Apathy. A Grimm that drained your energy to go on, explained how they came to be there. It made him shiver, but this time it wasn't from the cold.

Then the apologies began rolling in. Mercury didn't pay attention to that, he didn't care for them apologizing to each other because he wasn't involved so he chose to ignore it in favor of trying to figure out what happened in that basement still.

"Miss Calavera? How do you know so much about the Grimm? And in the tunnels, you knew exactly what to say. How?" Ruby asked her.

"Well, wasn't it obvious from the start, girl?" Maria laughed. "I had silver eyes."

#rwby #mercury black #oscar pine #yang xiao long #blake belladonna #weiss schnee #ruby rose #qrow branwen #maria calavera #snoweywrites #tw food mention #tw screaming mention #tw alcohol mention #tw drunk mention #tw fighting mention #tw death mention #tw nightmare mention #shadows are made of light au

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alolowrites · 4 years ago

Text

Gold Coins and a Gold Heart

Summary: Bakugou is forced to help give out candy at your factory’s annual Halloween trick-or-treating event—costume included.

Author’s Note: Hello everyone! I’m back with another story and this time it’s for Bakugou (yay!!). It is a sequel to Everyone’s Got a Sweet Tooth! I had fun writing this, so hopefully you all enjoy it too :D

Word Count: 1.6K+

Bakugou collapsed on the chair.

His afternoon patrol was crazier than usual today, which meant only one thing—it was Halloween. The early dumbasses roamed the streets like brainless hooligans disturbing the peace. As always, Bakugou reined them in with a simple blast to the face. It was fun at first, but Bakugou’s patience was wearing thin after dealing with the twentieth fool that day.

He ripped the mask off and closed his eyes. All he wanted was some peace and quiet—

“Knock, knock!”

He spoke too soon.

Bakugou’s irritated eyes watched as you gleefully skipped toward his desk with a large garment bag. Your beaming smile never wavered despite feeling the hero’s heated glare; you were practically immune to it. An exasperated sigh left his lips. Bakugou knew better not to ignore you whenever you visited him. You were persistent, and he wasn’t in the mood to deal with your childish pestering afterward.

“What do you want?”

“I don’t even get a ‘hello’? My heart, babe,” you pouted, gripping the bag in your hands. Bakugou mumbled a half-assed greeting in return. A shit-eating grin stretched across your face; he was so whipped. “Thank you. So, are you excited for tonight?”

“What’s tonight?” Bakugou rested his chin above his hand, barely paying attention to you.

“The annual trick-or-treating festivities at my factory!”

“And?”

“Don’t tell me you forgot,” you huffed, slamming the garment bag on his desk. Bakugou jumped, mouth ready to bark. You wagged a finger at him like a parent scolding a child. “Ah, ah, ah! You promised me you were going to help give out candy tonight for Halloween.”

“Since when!?”

“Glad you asked!” you clasped your hands together, standing up straight. Bakugou wouldn’t be surprised if you whipped out a detailed PowerPoint to support your case. “On September 18th at exactly 10:48pm, you agreed to help me out. As a matter of fact, your exact words were ‘Yeah, I’ll do the damn thing’ in between our passionate make-out session—”

“Oh, for fucksakes!”

“You still promised!” Seconds later, you added: “Besides, you can’t back out of this. Kioshi officially added it to your schedule, and your PR team approved it, so you’re going!”

“I’m gonna kill Small Head.”

You rolled your eyes. “No, you’re not. Stop being such a drama-hoe.”

“Fine, I’ll do this stupid event,” Bakugou’s finger lifted the bag before letting it fall again. “What’s this?”

“Your costume, silly!”

“I’m not wearing a fucking costume!”

“Oh, don’t be such a sour puss,” you chastised him, walking around his desk and planting yourself on his lap. Bakugou made no move to push you off, but he also refused to look at you. Your soft, lovable kisses peppering along his cheek proved otherwise. “I know wearing a costume sounds stupid for you, but it’s Halloween, Katsuki.”

“Can’t I just go as Ground Zero?”

“You’re Ground Zero every day! Halloween means dressing up as someone you’re not.”

“This is stupid…”

“No, it’s not,” you slapped his chest lightly. As Bakugou continued to brood, you lifted his chin and bopped his warm nose. “C’mon—your fans will love it, the kids will love, and, most importantly, I will love it. Won’t you do it for me?”

Bakugou’s throat tightened at the sound of your melodic voice; it was like pure honey. On the surface, it sounded innocent, but Bakugou knew this voice well. You only played this card when you wanted something from him. At first, the hero refused to succumb to your wicked spell. Except it was hard when your delicate fingers danced across his hero costume. A shudder ran down his spine, and he squirmed slightly—you drove him over the edge.

You shot Bakugou a smug smile when he gripped your waist. His intimidating glare proved useless against you. Especially since you both knew who won this battle. Bakugou banged his head on the leather chair, grumbling a curt ‘fine’ shortly after. You squealed and delivered a quick peck on his lips.

“I knew you would understand,” you perked up, ruffling his soft mane before checking your watch. “Well, I gotta skedaddle. There are still some last-minute preparations to get done before the kids come. Ooh, this is so exciting!”

You hopped off Bakugou’s lap much to his displeasure; he wanted you back. Your steps fall in tune with a Halloween song you heard this morning. His eyes silently follow you toward the door, and you called over your shoulder, “See you later, babe! And don’t be late!”

Bakugou gruffed just as the door closed. He slumped back against the chair while pinching his nose. Why does he always get dragged into your ridiculous shenanigans? Damn your infuriating but cute personality. Red eyes narrowed at the garment bag sitting patiently on his desk. He unzipped it halfway to take a peek at the costume…

…and exploded.

“Fuck!”

༛༛ ༛ ༛༺༻༛ ༛ ༛༛

Bakugou gritted his teeth.

“I can’t believe I’m wearing this shit.”

“Oh, it’s not so bad,” you chimed behind him, smoothing out the costume’s wrinkles. Bakugou huffed and grudgingly turned around. Your Cheshire cat-like smile grew as you stepped back to admire the final outcome. “You look so handsome!”

“Shut up.”

“My handsome pirate—”

“I told you to shut up!”

Your giddy laughs bounced off the walls; Bakugou snapped his head away with a growl. However, he was betrayed when a slight blush dusted his cheeks. He felt absolutely ridiculous in this outfit that belonged in the dumpster. Except for the jacket—Bakugou secretly liked how it emphasized his broad shoulders.

“Was this why you attacked me with that damn measuring tape last time?”

“Honestly, it was more fun than just asking Kioshi for your measurements.”

“Unbelievable.”

“Sorry, not sorry,” you shrugged, smirking as Bakugou’s eyes raked up and down your own pirate costume. It was seductive yet tasteful for tonight. Only your bare shoulders were exposed and Bakugou’s clenched his mouth—they were his weakness. “Behave tonight, and I’ll make sure to reward you well, captain.”

“Tch, damn tease.”

“I know,” you winked, tugging his hand as you both walked out the door. It was almost time to start tonight’s event. Bakugou grumbled as he followed your lead. “But seriously, behave. That means not making any child cry tonight.”

“Let me blast any idiot who tries to pull some shit on you, and we got ourselves a deal.”

”Fine, but not the kids.”

“Deal.”

༛༛ ༛ ༛༺༻༛ ༛ ༛༛

Tonight was harder than Bakugou thought.

No one flirted with you, much to his relief. However, the hoard of kids screaming at the gates drained his energy and tested his limited—or nonexistent—patience. Security guards safely managed the crowds while staff members let in a few groups of kids at a time.

You hopped on your tippy-toes every time a new batch approached the steps. Bakugou, on the other hand, showed disdain and tried—unsuccessfully—to keep his distance from them; the kids stupidly disagreed. Bakugou scowled, but it wasn’t enough to scare away the waves of mini vampires or superheroes. Instead, they rushed up to him with goofy smiles.

“Trick-or-treat!”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, here’s your candy.”

Bakugou reached inside the large treasure chest for the black pirate pouches. A friendly-looking skull graced the front and contained delicious goodies inside—chocolate gold coins and colorful sugar jewels. You spent weeks designing the Halloween candy so they fit with the pirate theme this year. It was a lot of trial and error, but you never settled for anything less.

That was something Bakugou noticed and silently admired.

A small tug pulled his attention away from you. Crimson eyes peered down at a little girl wearing a butterfly costume. Fuzzy red antennas bounced in the air as her innocent eyes glanced up at the pro hero.

“Are you really a pirate?”

Bakugou froze and blinked at the question. You softly laughed while handing out the pouches to the other kids. Before Bakugou could answer, a young boy blurted out: “Of course he’s not a pirate! That’s Ground Zero, dummy!”

“I’m not a dummy!”

“Yes, you are!”

“No, I’m not!”

The young girl was on the verge of tears. You were about to step in to defuse the situation, but Bakugou quickly beat you to the punch.

“Hey!” Everyone stood at attention after Bakugou’s rugged bark. All eyes were on him as he pointed a stern finger at the robot boy clutching his candy bag. “Does Ground Zero wear a pirate hat and carry a plastic sword?”

“N-no.”

“Then I’m not Ground Zero today, I’m a pirate,” he raised his head up high while adding, “and a captain pirate, too. Do you understand, kid?”

“Yes-s, sir.”

“Good, now apologize to the butterfly for calling her dumb.”

Mr. Robot did, and surprisingly, Bakugou dropped a pirate pouch into his bag. Muttering a curt ‘Go,’ he watched the young boy waddle away. Faint sniffles interrupted the silence shortly afterward. Bakugou averted his gaze to the little girl again.

“Hey,” he called out with a gruff but soft voice and crouched down. Round, puffy eyes stared in disbelief when Bakugou dumped two candy pouches inside her Halloween basket. “Don’t let anyone call you dumb, got it?”

“Okay.”

“Good.”

“Thank you, Mr. Pirate!”

The girl happily skipped away. Bakugou stood up and bristled at the sight of your shit-eating grin. He forgot you were still here, which meant you saw everything. You sauntered toward him with amused eyes and teased, “You’re such a softie!”

“Eh?! Quit spewing bullshit,” he barked weakly, folding his arms over his chest. “You said no kid should cry, right? I did just that, so slap that stupid grin off your face.”

“Technically, I said you shouldn’t make any kid cry.”

“Whatever.”

“Softie,” you whispered before pecking Bakugou’s cheek; he grumbled an insult to save face. You poked his forehead while laughing, “Frown all you want, but you can’t hide that gold heart of yours. At least not around me.”

Bakugou’s lips twitched into a genuine smile reserved only for you.

“Yeah, you’re right.”

A pirate who managed to steal his gold heart? Yeah, it all made sense now.

Thanks for reading!!

Spooky Season 2020 Masterlist

#bakugou x reader #bakugou katsuki x reader #bnha x reader #bnha imagines #bakugou katsuki #bnha halloween #spooky-season-2020

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