#And then five kids that NEITHER of them knew existed

[shu-box-puns]

I don’t know if you’ve ever played/seen the game Frontiers of Pandora, but can I just say I love the idea of Tsu’tey and Reader taking in the little Sarentu kids? Or at least Teylan if not all of them, considering he was the youngest of them when they were all taken and has no memory of his family before the RDA. Spider would be such a good brother to him, familiar enough with human stuff and physically being human himself to make Teylan feel comfortable, he’d be good at easing him into Navi culture along with Tsu’tey.

I am definitely planning to play Frontiers of Pandora the minute I can get my hands on it, but I do know a little bit of what goes on just because I'm a sucker at keeping myself spoiler free.

And from what I do know, I would definitely agree that the little Sarentu children would have a loving home amongst the Omaticayan clan. I can just see Tsu'tey setting eyes on them for the first time and immediately being like, "you're too small to be on your own out here." He does a little glance round and is like, "who managed to lose five children at once?" And of course he makes eye contact with his mate and immediately sees his own plan reflecting back at him in their expression. Whereas Spider looks intrigued by the little ones, and Tsu'tey already knows he's good with younger kids since he's so patient with Jake's little ankle biters.

SO, of course the solution is simple. Finders keepers.

Tsu'tey: "oh well, we all have two hands to spare, and surely five Na'vi children can't be more work than Spider was all on his own."

He takes two kids in hand. His mate takes two kids in hand. And because you mentioned him, I'm going to get Spider to help guide little Teylan out.

(Mo'at would be over the moon to have even MORE grandkids to love and spoil.)

Of course, I don't know a lot about the game, so if anyone has any ideas or wants to add to this little scenario, please feel free too! The more kids Tsu'tey ends up having to look after, the better I say :D

[kyri45]

✨ShadowPeach Bio Parents Bio AU Q&A! 28/10✨

I'll be streaming on my Twitch page TOMORROW at 1PM ET!

Welcome to the Q&A! A space where I can answer related or similar question about the Shadowpeach Bio Parents AU! If you submitted your ask anonimously, then you’ll have to check the whole post if it’s answered here, if it’s not, worry not! Your asks might have been used for a future comic or just in the queue~

Anonimo ha chiesto: Will MK have a power neither Wukong nor Macaque have ?

Probably something that is a mix of each parent power, creating something new. Like- He can hear the past, but can also use his gold vision. SO maybe he learns not only to hear to past, but also see it (but maybe instead of being gold the vision is purple)

Anonimo ha chiesto: Does MK have nightmares about LBD or Azures death or something? @the-ninja-girl-in-blue ha chiesto: I swear for some reason, even after returning back to his normal age, I still can’t help but picture MK having a nightmare in the middle of the night and just starts chirping in his sleep because of it and that ends up getting the attention of his two monkey dads. I can’t help but picture them either waking him up and asking him about the nightmare into his bed to cuddle with him to hopefully calm him down. I also kind of like the idea of them offering to let him stay in their bed with them for the night. basically, I just wanna see them comforting MK after he has a nightmare. For some reason, I could see the nightmare being about either LBD or about the ending of season five when he attempts suicide.

Yes he does have nightmares about that. He usually does, most times he's at Pigsy's, and Freenoodle is there to help him. He hasn't had a LBD nightmare at FFM yet, but even as an adult he would totally chirp without noticing it.

Anonimo ha chiesto: Angst idea what if heaven was scared of MK being the "harbinger of chaos" and took him away as a baby locking him away instead. It's up to you if wukong knew of his existence before he was taken. Eventually someone or something releases him. MK Finds out why he was locked away and just goes on a rampage through heaven bonus angst wukong has to stop him

Do heaven even knew he was the harbinger of chaos? Like seriously I don't remember if it was ever stated in the show. Honestly is crazy no one picked up that kid aurea. Makes you wonder who te fuck put such a powerful glamour on him when he was found by Pigsy.

Anonimo ha chiesto: Hi :D i wanted to say that i LOOOVE the bioparents au, it's so lovely 💖 and, i must ask, will we get more cliché scenes with our little monkeys? like accidental fall or something on this lines? i need my clichés back 😭😭

eeehhhhh maybe? I'm not too much of a fan of clichè I'll be honest, mostly bc I see them around all the time and I prefer to do something new.

Anonimo ha chiesto: I think it would be funny if MK started subconsciously mimicking things from his friends and family. little things like putting his shoes the same way Teng does. Standing in the same posture as Mei. Ext. Monkeys often will mimic each other as a sign of fondness and affection. Monkey see monkey do.

I think he already does that in the show with Wukong sometimes! It's super cute!

Anonimo ha chiesto: Okay hear me out, since mk kinda saw their past and everything. Does mk possibly have small abandonment issues (not that he doesn’t already) and does he hear little moments in the past of macaque and Wukong’s pain. By the way I absolutely love your art!!! I check your page everyday. 💕

I think if he ever said that to Wukong he'll make sure that every.single.day. he reminds him that he'll never leave his side.

@tinyplanetss ha chiesto: regarding the latest biodads update, did wukong ever know that macaque panicked and lashed out way back then due to seeing his "betrayal" in his future vision? i can't imagine it would've come up before he mentioned it to mk, unless they had a talk about it after their rooftop apology.....

I think they talked about it during the night Wukong apologized to Macaque. The comic I did stops after a certain point but they talked all night about what happened.

Anonimo ha chiesto: (Macaque on some late night mission): I've got to get back before Wukong realizes I'm not in bed. (Wukong who woke up and had a nightmare): Macaque.. MACAQUE

They can't stand being apart anymore now.

@eerieqloss ha chiesto: Wait I got a question, at the beginning of the Shadowpeach bio parent AU When they found out MK was their son biologically through Nuwa of course. But how did they get to her and ask her? I don't know why this question just randomly appeared in my head

Now that MK "opened the gate" access to other deities is much more easier.

@bottyshaker-900o ha chiesto: Wait! Does MK know they sleep together now!?

He did 2+2.

@youroriku ha chiesto: If MK monkey form is showing more or will there be a comic where he lost Control over it ?Recently, fewer people talk about it. Btw i love your art ❤️🌸🫶

mmm... Maybe not in my current timeline. Maybe more in the future. I don't think MK himself wants to loose control again like with Azure

Anonimo ha chiesto: Hii love your art! Wouldn't it be funny if someone was trying to have a serious conversation with Wukong and Macaque and baby MK is just climbing all over their shoulders and they're completely unfaced by it cuz it's like 'yeah this is normal just let him play' but whoever they're talking with can't focus on anything but MK's shinanigans.

hehehe baby shenanigans my beloved

Anonimo ha chiesto: I'll admit I'm more into the chubby, dad bod gang for Wukong but the way you draw buff wukong also makes me happy too! ^-^

Thank you!

@ketsuruithekiller ha chiesto: I like to suffer. So I would like to know if Wukong still has thoughts of guilt. If he fully accepted Mk's decision not to be his successor, without having the idea that like others he would hate it and leave at some point.

ye he does sometimes have the paranoia. But MK is there also to remind him that he'll always be in his life.

Anonimo ha chiesto: Are Wukong and Macaque, in your bio parents au, back together? Or is it a situationship? I'm sorry if it's already been stated in the story or if you've already answered something like this. I'm just a brain-dead potato who loves your comic.

Nah they still are in the progress of having to forgive each other but they are very much in a situationship.

Anonimo ha chiesto: Ello Ello, do you think any of the three monkeys would know how to take care of a sick person? Or would they just have to go to sandy or pigsy or someone?

I think yes. Canonically by JTTW, Wukong is an expert in many fields, including medicine. But I do wonder if sometimes he forget after so many years of reclusion that people can get sick.

Anonimo ha chiesto: So Wukong was stuck in the memory of MK sacrificing himself ? Was it identical to the scene in season 5 or was his dream different ? Poor Wukong looked so traumatized

It was the same as S5

Anonimo ha chiesto: I love, LOVE your bio au! I enjoy a lot!!!! Question! Wukong and Macaque have any chance to go to a date?

mmm maybe in the future

Anonimo ha chiesto: I know Is not the case but At some point, hasn't Pigsy felt a little jealous or strange of how MK goes directly to Wukong or Macacke when he has a problem?

I think Freenoodle is taking the opportunity of having the second set of parents to annoy the heck out of them and redirect all the akward questions and advices the kid ask them because "we had to do it for 21 years now you get to have the annoying part of parenting as well"

@azureandcrimson ha chiesto: Hello!! I absolutely love your art and I am currently watching your twitch (Which I can't log into and type in chat for some reason😭) but anyways. I also have a question if you ship Mei with anyone? Like a side character or Spindrax or someone else or if you make her Aroace or just don't generally ship her or smth! :) But besides that I love your art style and the way you draw everything!! Thank you for drawing this stuff and feeding my LMK hyperfixation!!

I do also ship Dragon fruit. Just in my comic I kind of had to choose one ship for now.

wolfsonic ha chiesto: Since we know WuKong is the bottom of ShadowPeach. Who's the bottom in SpiceyNoodles?

MMMMMMMMM TOO SOON TO SAY.

@draxeanlxia ha chiesto: Bio!Parents AU question, who does the laundry and who’s not allowed to touch the laundry because he’ll ruin your clothes without meaning to? For me, I think Wukong would be the one doing laundry while Macaque isn’t allowed near the washing machine. But that’s just me, what’s yours?

yeah seems fitting!

Anonimo ha chiesto: If MK started blushing when he saw Red Son in his true form I wonder how he would react to seeing Red Son shirtless with muscles and abs in that form XD

I headcanon MK as demisexual so probably he would notice and appreciate the aesthetic attraction but wouldn't be TOO flustered. In this case, it's RedSon who's the Wukong of the two of them (being flustered by like, seeing 2% of MK back or smt.)

Anonimo ha chiesto: So I wondered if Xiaotian's powers were like Steven's, since they responded to his emotions

yep.

Anonimo ha chiesto: If they decide to have a baby who will be pregnant macaque or wukong!?

I think I said it already once but I don't think that's how baby Stone Monkeys are born??? Like how would carry a stone inside your body work that's the thing. There's is to say they are demons who knows how they work honestly.

Anonimo ha chiesto:Will the calabash return ?

nope

Anonimo ha chiesto: Does Mei have a true form? Doesn’t seem fair that MK and Red Son have super forms and Mei doesn’t. I think she should be able to be a straight up dragon.

Doesn't she already goes straight up dragon in the show?

@phantom-premeir ha chiesto: Okay this is a pretty dumb question but I gotta know, out of the monkey trio whose the biggest crash out,just an absolute mess of a person?

I think Wukong

Anonimo ha chiesto: Are we gonna see a wedding of these gay monkeys?

Who knows.

@azureandcrimson ha chiesto:Oh my gosh, the new chapter is amazing, now we defiantly know Macaque has probably courtnapped Wukong >:3 I also have another question! Perhaps in the future will Macaques sacrifice be brought up? Like, yeah, he came back. But the guy was gone for days and who knows what he saw in there and/or what memories he saw because he was probably stuck in those for days. But just wondering if you might bring that up in the future? :) Make sure to take breaks, drink water and eat something!! >:(

Oh yeah that ahah. Maybe?

Anonimo ha chiesto: Imagine MK's sacrifice in season 5 would happen AFTER Macaque and Wukong found out that he is their son. This would make it even more heartbreaking

Bruh... Xiaotian wouldn't have been able to move an inch again from Wukong after he came back.

@autism-autobot ha chiesto: Wait... Is Wukong going to have to find a new successor now that MK won't be it?

Maybe what he will look for wont be a successor.... but an heir.

Anonimo ha chiesto: Is the monkey's tail sensitive or smt!? I mean what will happen if u pull it ?

We r getting into NSFW territory here...

Anonimo ha chiesto:who do u think is the fluffiest monkey? Also what happens if said monkey got towel dried and poofed up?

MK, becasue he's a cub by stone monkey standard. He would become a fur ball.

arrow-artzz ha chiesto: Hello! I just wanna say, I love your art style and this whole ShadowPeach parent au ur making and I get so hyped and excited when I see a new part/ep come out!! I hope ur having fun with it and keep up the great work, you do a fantastic job, and you also inspire me to keep trying small art projects at home!! I truly hope you’re having a wonderful night, after noon or night! also think it would be cute if the whole gang did a movie night (Halloween movie) at FFM and one scene comes up and macaque used Wukong as a shield as if the movie was real :3 sorry this was long I tap a lot “^^

I think Wukong would be the one scared. Macaque is literally has sleep paralysis monsters has pets

[saerins]

°୨୧ MORAL OF THE STORY

+ sae x f!reader | wc 2k | content: both of them are just kinda selfish in their own ways, angst, mentions of alcohol

notes: haha hi guys …. i’m totally not in love with sae . totallyyyyyy … ( kidding i need help sos ) (∘⁼̴⃙̀˘︷˘⁼̴⃙́∘)

summary: you and sae have been in love with each other since high school. during your special day, he throws you a curveball.

everything’s in full swing.

dinner is ongoing, the meat station being particularly popular, as you expected. all your old friends from different schools are mingling along so well, just like you imagined they would. everyone’s excited for the big day tomorrow, and so are you.

as you watch everything unfolding from the balcony, you can’t help but smile. one step closer to tomorrow, one step closer to forever.

unlike everyone else, you abstain from drinking yourself silly. they can afford to be hungover tomorrow, but not you. won’t be good to see the bride throw up all over her wedding dress.

“you look pretty like this.”

turning around at the man who has your full attention, you smirk. “just like this, itoshi sae?”

there’s a pink flush on his cheeks and you have a hard time gathering whether it’s from your words or the liquor. sae’s only a little tipsy—not enough to consider him drunk. but he chuckles though, and it has your heart beating faster; he still has the same hold over you like he did way back then.

nothing much has changed since you first knew him. he’d always been special to you, and you, to him.

“all the time,” he corrects himself, both elbows leaning on the railing, looking at the sea view before the two of you.

giggling, you mirror his position, bare arm brushing the sleeves of his expensive suit. “i’m sure you know i feel the same,” you tease him back.

sae laughs a little harder, and it’s refreshing to see his usual stoic expression turn soft. “of course i know,” he says before turning to look you in the eyes, those teal tones forever magic when they stare at you. “i’ve known since you started having that crush on me back in high school.”

you groan, covering your face. “see, i knew you’d bring that up!” you complain, embarrassed. it’s kind of humiliating whenever he brings that up—it’s his worst blackmail material. “shush—i don’t want anyone to know. no mentioning it in any toasts or anything, okay?” your cheeks are heating up by now, and you have to pout.

the man beside you only continues laughing, both of you enjoying just existing in the moment, and even though he doesn’t say anything, you know he won’t say shit about that. because he always listens to you.

everyone else is still inside, preoccupied by the games hosted by the emcee.

“hey, y/n?” sae speaks up as your laughter drowns out.

you turn to him, narrowing your gaze and smiling, wondering what to expect from him—as you always are, because sae’s good at surprising you and you love that. “yes, mr itoshi sae?”

there’s a small pause as he swallows the lump in his throat, his eyes still gazing at you, from your hair to your nose to your chin and back at your eyes. “i’m in love with you.”

at that moment, time stands still and there’s a ringing drowning your ears, a silence swallowing you whole. it has you doubting whether it’s really him in front of you, saying the words you’d always wanted to hear from him.

“what—”

“i love you, y/n.”

and by all means, it should’ve been a happy occasion. you’ve dreamt of this moment happening over and over and over again. back then, you envisioned something different.

you and sae, twenty-three, finding out where your life paths are going, converging together and deciding to fuck what everyone thinks and go for it anyway. you and sae, twenty-four and making it past the one-year mark and defying everyone else’s expectations (including your own). twenty-five and thinking why neither of you thought to try sooner. twenty-six and knowing you’re set for the rest of your life.

that’s how it was supposed to be.

but at eighteen, sae had left without a word after your confession, a selfish choice. at nineteen, your friendship was reduced to one-sided texts while sae was off trying to piece his future. at twenty, you’d given up and let sae turn his full attention to soccer, while you’d hold no grudges and finish your studies. by twenty-two, you’d met someone who always put you first, someone who always knew what to do to make you feel better. someone who’s good for you.

“what are you doing, sae?” you ask him, nostrils flared from all the emotions threatening to spill out of you. it was easy to convince yourself that you no longer felt anything for him when he wasn’t here to tempt you, wasn’t here to taunt you for giving up. but since he’s been back for the past year, it proves to be difficult to suppress all the old feelings you’d tucked away.

sae takes his time to answer, because he doesn’t know either. he doesn’t fucking know why he’s only telling you this now, when he’s felt this way since you were both sixteen. when you’re both ten years older and living very different lives. when you’re about to marry someone else that isn’t him and it’s driving him crazy.

“i don’t know,” he answers honestly, suddenly realising the gravity of what he did and looking away ashamed. “i just… i love you. ever since we were younger, i- i’ve always felt the same.”

he did, and he still loves you. he was stupid when he was younger. he left and made stupid decisions like not even trying to talk to you because he didn’t know what the fuck he should do and now no excuse would be good enough to convince you to choose him. there’s no reason for you to. you’re about to marry someone who’s so obviously in love with you. someone who shows you off everywhere, someone who treats you the way sae wish he did since all those years ago.

what is he even doing? he doesn’t even know.

whenever he thought about how you’d react if he ever told you those words, he didn’t think you’d be like this; silent, tears flowing out your eyes, the cold creeping up your cheeks and bare arms and making you shiver.

“i wish…” you pause, looking him in the eyes. “i wish you’d said that before it was too late.”

he’d seen that coming. of course there wouldn’t be anything different to this story, not even with his confession. except, maybe, the nostalgia of getting a chance to say everything he never did, to the girl who always deserved it the most.

despite every single part of him that is screaming at him that whatever he’s thinking about is wrong, that people shouldn’t do this to the bride the night before the wedding, that little volume of alcohol inside him provides all the rush he needs. a swift sweep of the surrounding scenery is all he needs to know nobody’s watching, and before either of you really know it, sae’s lips are on yours and you’re so conflicted it’s criminal.

of course, you’re the one who pulls away—but there’s never disdain in your eyes when you look at him. a mercy he shouldn’t be able to afford but he does, only because you’re a saint compared to him.

it’s selfish; he’d always loved you, always wanted you, always never knew what to do with himself but now he’s dragged you down this rabbit hole and the aftermath isn’t particularly sweet. you’re sweet, though, the taste of cake that lingered on your tongue.

“i’m sorry,” he settles for, and the perplexed expression behind your eyes just serve to make him hate himself for this. he should.

you clear your throat, sniffling down your emotions before straightening yourself up and offering him a smile—one laced with ten years of melancholy and a lifetime of sae’s regrets.

“i’m sorry too,” you tell him, and part of you doesn’t know what you’re apologising for. is it because he realised his feelings too late and doesn’t stand a chance right now? is it because you’re consoling him for his loss? or is it because you’re thinking that if he had done this even just a few weeks earlier, maybe you would’ve changed your mind? that’s something to be sorry to your fiancé at the time for, right?

there’s a dull ache in your heart that’ll be hard to extinguish. it’s a sorry state to be in especially when tomorrow should be one of the biggest days of your life, but you’ll manage, just like you always have. the little girl inside of you is happy, even if just a little, even if this situation is a little questionable. but the boy she’s loved her whole life finally has the guts to say that he feels the same way.

all too little too late; now he’s just the lingering feelings of what should’ve been that you need to say goodbye to no matter how much your selfishness never wants to let go.

taking a step back, you purse your lips into a thin smile and reach your hand out. sae shakes it, the sad deformation of your friendship turning into plain formalities. “thank you,” you say, trying your best not to let any more of the pain show, “for everything.”

for being the first person you ever really considered a friend. for being the first person who always protected you from the storms. for being the guy who became most of your firsts. for loving you too, this whole time. there’s a lot you want to thank itoshi sae for—but where you’re about to go, the phase of life that you’re going to enter, it’ll know no peace if you allow sae in it.

this might be one of the last few times you ever speak to the love of your life.

sae chuckles weakly, the strength in his grip fading. “i should be the one telling you that.” you were an integral part of his youth after all. you’re the only one for him, and that’s all that has to be said. only person outside of family he truly cares for. only person he’d ever give his heart to. only person that can demand anything of him and he’ll follow through. only person that can possibly ruin him.

only person that he wonders what it’d feel like if he ever heard you say it back.

but he knows he’ll never get it.

“maybe… in another life,” and a small smile is all you can offer before you have to pull away, the tenderness with which sae holds you rivaling that of your fiancée’s.

in another life, he’ll definitely find you. he’ll find you and keep you and make sure he isn’t as stupid as he was back then.

but as he lets your fingers slip through his hand, as he watches you retreat to your future husband—he knows that this life is what matters now, and this life is where he’ll never be happy. and as the groom slowly looks away from you, to sae, and nods like he now knows yet does nothing about it, sae hates him even more.

he’s perfect for you. with you. both of you seem like you’re cut from the same cloth. everything sae could probably never measure up to.

so he gets ready. gets ready to go back and have an early night. gets ready to watch you vow yourself away to another man right in front of his face. gets ready to sideline himself and say goodbye to the one person he ever loved.

on your wedding day, that’s when the two of you see the last of each other; the remnants of your friendship being kept in the form of a photo in your form—groom on one side, sae on the other. even years after the fact, even when your phone’s been changed twice, thrice, how many ever times—it’s still there, stagnant in your album, never discarded.

on another side of the world, the same happens with sae. it’s there, as though it’s engraved in the album, favourited and kept hidden. petty as it is, the version of the picture in sae’s phone has your husband cropped out.

through all these years, sae keeps staring at it whenever he thinks of you, wondering what could’ve been.

[fictionandescapism]

Reasons why TUA S4 is not canon to me

(spoilers obviously)

You're telling me that Lila held on to her resentment for so long in her marriage without saying a word?? She would have told Diego a long long time ago about the behaviour that was bothering her.

She does make fun of him sure, but never in front of people and she definitely doesn't allow other people to make fun of him ( remember when she called Ben a shitty little squid because he was mean to her boyfriend) so honestly what was up with all those fat jokes???

I've seen other people mention this too but like despite having three children, it really seemed like they only cared about Grace, I never even knew they had twins till it was actually mentioned on screen.

The five and Lila thing was just so weird??? Like I get the whole only people on the planet thing but honestly there was zero romantic chemistry between them ever and now suddenly because they're alone, they're hooking up?? Not to mention, later five acts like he's in love with her??? Like what was that??? He was literally acting like a lovestruck teenager which he never did even when he was stuck in an actual teenage hormonal body.

Again this has been mentioned before by other fans but like five's deal has always been about protecting his family and now he's just chill with leaving them behind and starting a life with Lila?? He's always butted heads with Diego but there was never a doubt that he genuinely cared about him like he cared about all his siblings and now he's ready to fight him over a girl??? You're telling me that makes sense?

Not to mention neither of them looked particularly remorseful about what they had done. Even towards the end, none of this actually got resolved, the insane love triangle still existed, at some point it felt like Lila was never in love with her husband at all, Diego never actually said goodbye to his kids, Claire and Allison were the only ones who got some kind of closure, Klaus was on bizzare side quests the entire time, the whole plot of luther and Diego finding out the CIA boss was involved also kind of didn't really matter in the end?? Like it was some half ass attempt to make them relevant to the plot, even him deciding that he would rather spend time with his kids didn't matter because he lost them like idk three hours later? Don't even get me started on the numerous glaring plot holes in that ending because I wouldn't even know where to begin.

TUA S4 was truly character assassination at it's finest.

[justmystyles]

I need some angst with happy ending please. Am a sucker for angst and jelly harry or yn

Veiled Insecurities

read my other work here!

pairing: Harry Styles x plus size reader

word count: 1.7k

summary: Harry has some insecurities about your relationship, but instead of talking to you about them, they end up coming out in the wrong way.

warnings: a couple of curse words, but other than that, it's tame.

a/n: thank you so much for this ask! i don't know where this idea came from, but it was a lot of fun to work through. including yelling at myself for an entire commute home trying to work out dialogue. my apologies to anyone that happened to be stuck in traffic next to me on the highway friday night. 😂

tags: @allthelovehes @ameerakane20 @ash-craze @bethanysnow @blue-ballad @blueraspberryreader @brightlightsinlife @creativelyeva @cute-as-ducks420 @deannaard @fanficismydrug @gem1712 @golden-hoax @gothmingguk @groovychaosavenue @hillzrry @iceebabies @indierockgirrl @jerseygirlinca @jng4kook @jooniesbabie @kaverichauhan @laurxn-robinson @lexiecamposv @mrs-anna-styles211994 @n0vaj3an @potterheadandsherlocked @rach2699 @ravenclawdirectioner @stylesfeverr @superchrystaldrug @tenaciousperfectionunknown @tiaamberxx @thechaoticjoy @theekyliepage @walkingintheheartbreaksatellite @youknowwhaaat

The air in the car was thick with tension as you kept your eyes locked on the passing scenery, refusing to give Harry the satisfaction of glancing over at him. Neither of you had spoken a word, you were waiting for an apology. You had no idea what he could possibly be waiting for. 

Harry pulled the car into the driveway, and you hopped out before he even had a chance to put it in park, slamming the door behind you.

“You didn’t let me get your door,” he commented as you made your way to the house. 

You turned to him, rage burning in your eyes. “You haven’t been a gentleman all day. Why start now?” 

He winces slightly at the heart wrenching combination of your words, and the disdain they were spoken with. 

Today was the day of your company picnic, and Harry was actually going to be in town and was excited to go with you. He had heard so many stories about your job, and your coworkers, that he was looking forward to putting faces to all the names. One face in particular changed all of that. 

The department you worked in was small, only about five or six coworkers and your boss. While you all worked closely together, your job was particularly intertwined with your coworker, Roger. You had told Harry about Roger before, his existence wasn’t a surprise to him. What was a surprise were his good looks, and how close the two of you were.

He had heard the term ‘work husband’ before, but he had never heard it more than he did at that picnic, and everyone that used it had been referring to you and Roger. He knew it was a platonic thing, that it didn’t mean anything, and he was glad that you had a support system at work. But that combined with the slight touches throughout the day had Harry seeing red. 

You had noticed a shift in Harry shortly after Roger’s arrival, and it just kept getting worse, coming to a crescendo after you and Roger won the three legged race. You were so embarrassed by his behavior that you made some excuse about your limited time with Harry and left early. Much earlier than you had wanted. 

Harry knew you well enough to know you were upset, so he didn’t say anything on the ride home. He knew you’d want to collect your thoughts before talking, he would let you start the conversation. And you decided to do so as soon as you were in the house.

“What the actual fuck, Harry?” You spat, finally meeting his gaze. 

“Princ-”

“No,” you interrupted. “No pet names.”

Harry pinched the bridge of his nose with a deep sigh. “Y/N, I think you’re overreacting.” 

Your eyes went wide. “Are you kidding? I’ve never seen you so rude before!”

“Only to him,” Harry mumbled. “I was fine with everyone else.” 

“And there it is!” You throw your hands out in frustration. “Please tell me what is so wrong about my closest work friend.”

“Don’t you mean your work husband?” He snapped back.

“Oh my god, Harry. Seriously? You have like four work husbands!” 

“Maybe,” he started. “But they aren’t all over me like he was with you!”

Your eyes went wide at his accusation. “No shit, because you’re all over them!” You run your hand down your face, trying to keep your composure. “Harry, you are the most physically affectionate person I have ever met, it’s one of the things I love about you. It also makes it incredibly hypocritical of you to have an issue with other people doing it on a significantly smaller scale.”

“But you’re my girlfriend, I didn’t like seeing another man’s hands on you.” 

You stared at him in disbelief. “Who are you? This is not you. You’re not possessive like this.” 

“I thought you liked when I was possessive of you?” He asked with an arched brow, trying to diffuse the situation. 

“When we’re alone, and in the heat of the moment? Absolutely. But when you’re like that around other people, you come off as a toxic asshole.” A quick flicker of sadness flashed across your face. You hoped Harry didn’t notice. “Roger was excited to meet you, he’s heard so much about you.” You crossed your arms over your chest. “Because I love you and I talk about you all the time.” 

“Okay, well I just don’t think it’s very professional for him to be so flirty with you.” Harry shrugged. 

You buried your face in your hands and took a deep breath. “You want to talk about professionalism? Part of your job is literally your sex appeal. You have women throwing themselves at you on a regular basis. You’re basically one step above stripper the way you dress and dance around on stage.”

He opened his mouth to respond, but you held up your hand as you continued on. “Every fan hug that lingers a little longer than it should, every girl that calls you daddy, or tries to shoot their shot with you at a show, every bra thrown in your face; I take it all in stride and I don’t let it get to me. Do you want to know why? Because I love you, and I trust you completely. I know you would never do anything. It absolutely breaks my heart that you think so little of me and my commitment to you that you don’t extend me the same courtesy.” Before he could fully process your words, you turned your back to him and stormed away, slamming the door to your bedroom shut. 

The tears had barely begun to fall before Harry was knocking on the door. “Y/N?”

“Go away, Harry.” You couldn’t help the waiver in your voice. 

You prayed that Harry didn’t hear it, but he did. And it felt as though his heart had shattered, he had made you cry. He had made you cry, and you were trying to hide it from him. He knew that you would often mask your pain as anger, not wanting to give people the satisfaction of seeing your tears. Because of his actions, you had put up a wall with him. You didn’t want to be vulnerable, and it was his own fault. He couldn’t blame you, this whole thing had blown so far out of proportion and he needed to make it right. 

He opened the bedroom door and entered slowly. You were sitting on the side of the bed, elbows on knees, you looked over to Harry, and his breath hitched. Your cheeks were already tearstained, your eyes red-rimmed. 

“Y/N,” he said softly, taking a seat beside you and raising his arms. Before he could get them around you, you slid out of his reach. He looked up at you with pain in his eyes. 

“No,” you said sternly. “You don’t get to do that. You don’t get to comfort me right now. You’re the reason this happened, you don’t get to ride in here on your white horse and hold me and tell me it’s going to be okay.” 

He nodded silently and looked down at the floor. “I do trust you,” Harry finally broke the awkward silence. “This was never about me not trusting you. I know that you love me, and I trust you implicitly.” He turned his head to look at you. “It’s not even about not trusting Roger. I just…” He let out a deep breath. “I saw how close the two of you are, and it reminded me that you have this whole life that I’m just on the outside of because I’m always away.” 

He turned, sitting with his legs crossed on the bed so that he could face you. “I wasn’t jealous because I thought he was going to try something, I was jealous because he gets to see you everyday, because you two have a closeness that I’m afraid you and I can’t have.” 

You finally look up at Harry, the frustration in his eyes now replaced with concern. “Harry,” you turned, mirroring the way he was sitting. “I’m closer to you than I’ve ever been with anyone.” 

“I know, I believe that. And it means the world to me.” He reached out tentatively to take your hand. Letting out a relieved breath when you didn’t pull away. “You’ve been so incredible, you’ve completely thrown yourself into my world. My family loves you, you’re practically a member of the tour staff. I want to be that for you, but I’m never able to be here long enough.” 

“Why haven’t you ever told me this before?” You squeezed his hand gently. 

He lifted your joined hands to his lips. “I guess I never really realized how much it bothered me until today.” 

“Well first of all,” you started. “The tour isn’t going to last forever. It’s going to end, and then you’ll have some time off. I would like to think that you’ll come and spend some of that time with me.” 

“Definitely,” he agreed. “As much as I can.”

“So that’s when you’ll be able to mix in with my life more.” You explained. “We just have to take turns being in each other’s lives. Right now, you’re all over the world, so I have to make a little more of an effort to meet you halfway. When you’re on break, it will be your turn. By the time you go back on the road, or whatever you do next, it will be more of an even playing field. It just seems imbalanced now because we haven’t had time to even it out.” 

“I’m so sorry, angel.” He apologized. “Are we okay?” 

“We’re okay,” you nodded. “But next time, if you’re feeling insecure, just pull me aside and talk to me.” You sat up on your knees, wrapping your arms around his neck. “I love you, Harry.” 

“I love you too,” he replied, burying his face in your neck. “Princess?” You hummed in reply as you ran your fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck. “Do you really think I’m one step above stripper?” 

You chuckled, pulling back to look him in the eyes. “Maybe two.” 

[the-girl-wh0-cries-w0lf]

You're waiting for a train...(16) - Epilogue

I Dreamed We'd Grow Old Together...

Robert Fischer x reader

description - Robert and Y/n's life over the next five years

word count - 2k

warnings - pregnancy, and an insane amount of fluff

a/n - and so it ends! This fic has been very important to me and has given me such a great outlet. I want to thank you all for your continued love and support for this fic! If it hadnt been for you guys I probably wouldnt have had enough confidence to continue it!

Please like/comment/reblog/follow!!!

a/n pt2 - Also seeing as I have fallen in love with this relationship I will be accepting questions and headcanons on their relationship!

Previous Part Series Master list Master list

Questions and Headcanons on Robert x y/n - here

And so we came together. It felt like the culmination of a thousand dreams.

We went out on many dates. Robert would plan these luxurious and expensive expressions of affection: dinner at the fanciest restaurants, cinemas bought out for our private viewing experience. But we alternated who planned the dates, so when it came to my turn I went for the simplest. Walks on the beach, picnics in the park. One day I even found a crafting class for us, and I could’ve cried on the spot when I saw his eyes light up at the handmade windmills. Of course, he saw it as a happy coincidence when in reality I enjoyed feeling like I was healing his childhood self, one step at a time.

Days turned to weeks. Weeks turned to months. We were out on a hike which I had chosen. He had grumbled about the idea of getting up early, but I could see the stress leave his body at the first gulp of forest air. I carried on ahead as he went to tie his shoe but when I turned back I gasped. Robert was down on one knee, holding a beautiful diamond ring.

“Y/n Cobb, I have loved you since that first moment I laid eyes on you, and I think even before that.” I walked closer to him so I could hold his other outstretched hand. Tears were streaming down my face and my smile was holding back an extremely loud yes. “I know how much you believe in dreams and so on. And last night I had a dream that we grew old together. When I woke up I knew it had to be my reality. Y/n Cobb, will you…”

I threw my arms around him.

“Yes, yes, a thousand times yes!” I placed a loud kiss right on his lips.

“You could have at least let me finish!” He teasingly whined.

“Well I could see where you were going!” I argued back but was halted when he kissed me once more. We pulled away long enough so Robert could slide the ring onto my finger.

Safe to say, we did not finish the hike that day as we quickly went home to celebrate.

I had moved in with Robert before so we visited Dad and the kids for lunch the day after to give them the news. Dad had always been weary around Robert, not knowing if he would recognise him. But it was fine as, in my Dad’s words, ‘when Robert is around Y/n, it’s like the world doesn’t exist.’. Dad still couldn’t stop himself pulling Robert aside whilst Philippa was asking me a million questions about the wedding and if she could be a bridesmaid. All he did was roughly grab his hand and pulled him close and merely whispered

“She’s my precious girl. And I have a gun.”

Safe to say Robert was healthily shocked.

We got married weeks later as neither of us could wait. I told Robert I didn’t care about a big expensive wedding, but he couldn’t seem to accept that.

I got my wish for a small wedding in the garden of my childhood home, with just my closest friends. But everything else about it was still ridiculously posh. Right down to the flower arch we were married under.

James and Philippa were my brides’girl’ and brides’boy’. My father walked me down the makeshift aisle. Arthur and Eames were there as well as Yusuf and Ariadne. They were all worried about the risk of the inceptors being so close to the mark after the heist.

“There’s no telling what could trigger his memory.”

“Well, y/n spent the most time with him out of all of us and she’s marrying him.”

“We can’t all sleep with him!”

“ENOUGH!”

I then put a rule that there was to be no dream talk at my wedding. My father even gave his own little speech explaining that if anyone ruined my wedding, he would kill them. We all laughed but his continued silence quickly shut us all up.

Robert did not want any family there. And he also didn’t have friends he felt were close enough to warrant an invitation.

One night, whilst planning, I cautiously asked him about inviting his godfather. He tensed up and lowered his eyes. He brushed it off saying it would be too many people. I reluctantly agreed with him whilst looking at the sparsity of his side of the guests.

The wedding was beautiful, and we finished with dancing on the grass well into the early hours of the morning. I got my first dance with my father, a day I thought would never come. Philippa asked Robert to dance, and he graciously accepted, lifting her up onto his feet and they swayed alongside us.

The morning after we were curled up together in bed. My back leaned on his chest as he played with my fingers. The morning sun bleeding into my childhood bedroom.

“Where do you want to live?” His morning voice broke the quiet.

“I thought we were going to move into your house.” I tilted my head to look into his eyes which were trained on a picture of me, my dad and my mum.

“I don’t wanna go back. Being here, in this house, with all the love in it. I just don’t want to go back there.”

“Okay.” I leaned up and planted a soft kiss to his cheek.

“So if you could live in any house, anywhere in the world, where would you live?”

I snuggled myself back into his chest and closed my eyes as I imagined.

“Somewhere in the countryside, with a big sprawling garden that backs onto fields and forests with plenty of walks. The house should be cozy, with a big kitchen with an old fashioned stove that keeps us warm in winter. Wooden tables where I can cook and bake all day long till my hearts content. The house should have big windows so the sunlight can dictate our day. Small bedrooms but big comfy beds, fluffy rugs, open fires. And maybe even an extra room...with a cot.” I met his eyes for the last word.

“Yes.”

“To which bit?”

“To all of it.” We kissed passionately.

A few days later and Robert woke me up and told me we were going on a trip. We bundled into his car and drove for hours until we came to a stop outside a house that seeped with familiarity. I got out, transfixed by what stood before me. It was as real from my mind as if I had created it in my dream. Robert moved to unlock the little gate which led to the front door. He turned to me and held out a set of keys with a little windmill keychain.

“It needs a bit of work and I know I shouldn’t have bought it without showing you—”

“I love it.”

We didn’t need a honeymoon, the two weeks to ourselves spent decorating and filling the house with our love was enough. I drew designs for each room and Robert would do the heavy lifting. I could see how much he enjoyed working with his hands after dismantling his business a week into our relationship. I also was unable to help much as my hand found softly stroked a barely noticeable bump.

We relished in the days of decorating, where trying to paint a single wall would turn into silly games or dancing round to music, intermittent with many kisses and hugs.

Eventually we had built our home out of our house and we relaxed into our sofa, a bottle of red between us. We sealed the night with a kiss and it definitely didn’t end there.

Five Years Later

I stand at the sink washing our dishes from lunch and look out of the window onto our expansive garden. Robert runs about the grass, clad in soft jeans and a ratty knitted jumper. Our three darling children chase around him at varying speeds. Our eldest, Isla, holds her baby sister Aspen’s hand, and Nicholas, the youngest, toddles behind his sisters, excited to be involved.

Arthur runs up from behind and scoops Nicholas up into his arms through the giggling shrieks of the three. He bounces Nicholas up into the air. Isla and Aspen then run over and begin shouting up at their uncle for their turn.

I don’t hear Robert make his way into the house, I just feel a pair of arms wrap around my waist and soft kisses being ladened up and down my neck. I sink back into his body which is warm from the sun. His arms snake down and his hands lay on mine.

“Leave those now. I’ll do them later.” I agree by turning in his arms so we can meet in a proper kiss. His fingers grip my waist and stroke my sides.

Our moment is interrupted by a loud opening of the door. I roll my eyes at the familiar sound and break apart to greet Eames at the door.

“Right! Where are my darling godchildren?”

“I give you a good time to come round, and you insist on coming just before their tea and bath time.”

He laughs and knocks my chin with his knuckle.

“Motherhood suits you.” I bat his hand away and gesture out the door. “Make it quick.”

I turn back to a still laughing Robert who quickly stops once he sees my stern face.

“I’ll ask Eames if he wants to stay for tea with Arthur.” He goes to go back into the garden.

“What you thinking for tea?” I ask his retreating form.

“Chicken and potatoes?”

“Delicious.” He smiles and leaves.

I begin sorting through the mail which still sat on the side. I smiled once I reached a postcard from Dad. He’d taken the kids to Disneyland for a week and sent a picture of them with Goofy. I pinned it up on our cork board.

My peaceful moment is soon interrupted.

“Y/n! Tell Arthur that I’m the favourite uncle!”

“Y/n! Tell Eames that fun does not have to mean dangerous!”

“Mama, mama, Uncle Eames turned me upside down and span me around!”

“See! Dangerous!”

“Honey, where’s the disinfectant? Aspen scraped her knee.”

“Mummy it really hurts!”

“Mama! Uppies! Uppies!”

I picked Nicholas up into my arms and simply giggled, perfectly happy with my life.

It was now night. Arthur and Eames had left after insisting on reading the kids stories which meant they were roped into reading 3 stories per child. Nicholas had gone down first. Then Aspen and even though Isla had loved staying up with mummy and daddy, tiredness had overcome her quickly. So Robert carried her up and tucked her into bed.

We now lay in bed together, curled up. Simply relishing in the silence that was so foreign in our big house.

“Do you wanna know something strange?” He broke the silence. “That day we met, I had a dream about a girl who I fell in love with. I like to think it was you.”

I bit my lip to stop myself uncontrollably grinning.

“And since then, my dreams have been consumed by you and our little family.”

I tried to meet his eyes, but he was locked in thought and I knew I couldn’t interrupt his thoughtfulness.

“The moment I met you I realised that I wanted to create my own family rather than continue working for one that never loved me.”

I hugged him tighter as his voice shook slightly.

“Well, that’s good. Because your family is about to get a little bigger.” I took his hand and drifted it down until it landed on a subtle bump.

“Perfect.” He kissed my hairline as his hand stroked up and down my stomach.

The silence resumed and we both fell deeper into the stillness of the night. But as I drifted off one thought plagued my mind.

Perhaps the idea never actually took hold.

Perhaps it was me and him.

Us together, that changed his life.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Thank you so much for reading!!

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[zzznnnq]

★ Chapter Ten: The Beach Trip

The school trip to the beach was something we’d all been looking forward to. It was supposed to be one of those carefree days—sun, sand, and a break from the usual school routine. When we all piled into the bus, the excitement was palpable, everyone buzzing with energy. Minji and her friends claimed the back seats, as usual, while I ended up sitting with Rei and Leeseo somewhere in the middle.

The banter started right away. Ryujin was already challenging Hanni to see who could make the biggest splash in the ocean, while Karina teased Minji about wearing sunscreen like a mom. I overheard Rei and Leeseo making jokes about building the biggest sandcastle ever, even though I knew neither of them had any serious plans to do it.

And then there was Wonyoung.

She was sitting a few rows ahead of me with Yujin, their heads close together as they whispered and giggled about something. I tried not to stare, tried to focus on the conversation going on around me, but it was like I had this internal radar for her—always knowing exactly where she was, even without meaning to.

“Hey, Y/N!” Rei nudged me, bringing me back to the present. “You gonna join us in the water, or are you gonna mope on the beach like some kind of seaweed?”

I laughed, forcing myself to shake off the mood. “You kidding? I’m going to out-splash all of you.”

-————-

When we finally arrived at the beach, the sun was already high, the sky a perfect, cloudless blue. The second our feet hit the sand, the chaos began. Minji and Karina set up a volleyball net, calling out to everyone for a match. Hanni and Ryujin were already racing to the water, screaming like banshees, while Rei and Leeseo dragged me toward the shoreline, determined to make good on their promise to splash everyone.

For a while, it was easy to forget everything else. The cold water hitting my skin jolted me into the moment, the laughter and the feel of the sun on my back chasing away the tension that had been hanging over me for weeks.

But, of course, it didn’t last.

After some time, Wonyoung and Yujin strolled down to the water, their hands intertwined. Wonyoung was in a flowy sundress over her swimsuit, her hair tied up in a loose bun, looking effortlessly perfect. I caught myself staring again, the familiar ache creeping into my chest.

"Hey, Y/N!" Wonyoung’s voice jolted me. She was smiling, that warm, easy smile that always made me feel both excited and hollow at the same time. "Wanna join our team for volleyball?"

I blinked, trying to process the question. "Uh, sure. Who’s on your team?"

"Me, Yujin, and Minji. You in?"

The combination of being on the same team as both Wonyoung and my sister made my brain short-circuit for a second, but I nodded. "Yeah, why not?"

As we started playing, things got competitive fast. Minji’s spikes were brutal, and Ryujin and Hanni weren’t holding back on the opposite team. I found myself caught between trying to win and being hyper-aware of Wonyoung’s presence beside me. Every time we high-fived after a good play, my heart did that stupid flutter thing, and I hated how much it affected me.

But it was Yujin who seemed to notice the tension first. Between points, she glanced between me and Wonyoung, her expression unreadable, but I could tell she was picking up on something. I kept my head down, focusing on the game, but it was hard to ignore the way her gaze lingered on me.

-————-

After the game, the group split up. Some people went back to the water, others lounged on the sand, and I ended up wandering alone along the shoreline. The sound of the waves crashing against the shore was calming, and for a moment, I let myself just exist in that space, free of the whirlwind of thoughts that usually plagued me when I was around Wonyoung.

But, as if on cue, I heard her voice again.

“Y/N! Wait up!”

I turned to see Wonyoung jogging toward me, her sundress fluttering in the breeze. I tried to prepare myself for another casual conversation, but there was something different in the way she was looking at me now. Something serious.

“Mind if I walk with you?” she asked, already falling into step beside me.

“Sure,” I said, my throat tightening.

We walked in silence for a few minutes, the sand cool under our feet as the waves lapped at the shore. I could feel the tension building between us, like we were both avoiding something we didn’t want to confront.

Finally, Wonyoung spoke. “You’ve been... distant again.”

There it was. I couldn’t avoid it anymore.

I swallowed hard, my mind racing for a response. “I’ve just had a lot going on.”

Wonyoung stopped walking, turning to face me. “You keep saying that, but... I don’t believe you.”

I froze, my heart pounding. “What do you mean?”

She took a step closer, her eyes searching mine. “You’re pulling away from me, Y/N. And I don’t get why.”

I wanted to tell her everything—to spill all the messy feelings I’d been hiding for so long. But the words wouldn’t come. Instead, I looked away, out at the ocean, my chest tight with the weight of everything unsaid.

“It’s complicated,” I muttered, hating how weak it sounded.

“Then explain it to me,” she said softly. “I want to understand.”

I could feel her eyes on me, waiting for me to open up, but I couldn’t. Not like this, not when I knew how impossible it all was. Wonyoung was with Yujin, and even if she wasn’t, there was no way she felt the same way about me. I was just... stuck.

“I can’t,” I whispered.

For a long moment, neither of us said anything. The only sound was the waves crashing against the shore, the distant laughter of our friends somewhere down the beach.

“Wonyoung,” I began, I could feel the breath catch in my throat, “So… do you like her that much?”

Wonyoung looked at me, her gaze was steady, almost expectant. My silence spoke volumes, but I had to know.

“I love her, Y/N,” Wonyoung said, her voice quiet, but certain.

I felt the words sink in, twisting the knot tighter in my chest. A bitter laugh escaped my lips before I could stop it. “Right. Of course you do. Silly me for asking.”

She didn’t respond immediately, but there was a sadness in her eyes, one that made me feel like she understood more than I realized.

“I’m sorry,” I added quickly, forcing a smile that didn’t reach my eyes. “I shouldn’t have—”

“You don’t need to apologize,” she interrupted gently. “Just... don’t shut me out, okay?”

I nodded, but the weight in my chest didn’t lighten. Not really.

-————-

Later that evening, after the sun had set, the teachers organized a small fireworks show to wrap up the day. We all gathered on the beach, sitting in small groups, watching as the first bursts of color lit up the night sky.

I sat with Rei and Leeseo, but my eyes kept drifting to Wonyoung and Yujin, who were sitting close together a few feet away. Wonyoung’s head rested on Yujin’s shoulder, their hands intertwined. I tried to look away, but it was like a magnet pulling me in.

The fireworks exploded overhead, vibrant reds and blues and golds, but all I could feel was the sinking weight in my chest. I glanced at Wonyoung again, and for a brief second, our eyes met.

She smiled, but there was a hint of sadness there, like she understood more than she was letting on.

The fireworks continued, filling the sky with light and sound, but all I could think about was how far away Wonyoung felt, even though she was right there.

And in that moment, I knew things would never be the same between us.

[piedpiperart]

Phantom of Gotham 15

Chapter 14

When the five of them met back in the kitchen, they were all wearing swim trunks with t-shirts and towels around their shoulders or under their arm. Danny took the chance to look around the manor as they made their way to the pool. The place was huge, and he couldn’t help but think Sam would have loved it. His core ached at the reminder, but he was soon pulled into the group’s teasing with ease.

“I can’t believe neither of you knew there was a pool here,”Tim was saying. 

“It’s not like you knew it existed either Timberly,”Jason scoffed. Dick made some guestures Danny assumed meant he agreed with Jason. Tim rolled his eyes. 

“Yeah, but you guys were here a lot longer than anyone else,”Tim pointed out.

“You are all just ashamed that the person who discovered it was the last one to move into the manor,”Damian sniffed. 

“Yeah right,”Jason protested and attempted to put Damian into a headlock, but the kid swiftly darted to the side to avoid him. 

“Hey look, we’re here!” Dick chimed in before things could get more violent. The five of them, minus Damian, crowded around the door to get a good look. “Huh, guess we do have a pool.”

“Duh,”Tim muttered, and Danny nudged him, masking the fact that he took Tim’s new coffee cup and phased it into the wall while everyone was looking at the pool.

“Alright! I think there’s some floaties in the locker room,”Dick said, throwing the door open. The other four trailed after him like ducklings, taking in the frankly ginormous pool and small hot tub in the corner. Near the windows were a few sets of tables and lawn chairs, which Jason quickly commandeered, sitting down with a book Danny didn’t realize he had before. 

 After helping Dick take out some ridiculous floaties, a giant duck, a unicorn, a dinosaur, a donut, and a flamingo, they brought out some pool toys consisting of rubber balls and some frisbees. They spent ten minutes blowing up the floaties, Dick making it into a competition so the first one who blew up the floatie got to choose which one they wanted first. Damian won, much to Tim’s displeasure. Danny was pretty sure it was only because the others, including himself, were too busy distracting each other or purposefully letting air out of each others floaties. 

“Don’t leave your shoes around,”Dick reminded them, and they went to the locker to put their shoes and shirts into cubbies before coming out and jumping into the pool. Or in Tim;s case, pushed into the pool by Dick. He’d complain if he hadn’t seen Dick also push Damian in after him. 

“Betrayal!” Damian was sputtering, when Tim noticed someone missing. 

“Jason, aren’t you coming?” Dick called, but Jason waved him off, not taking his attention off his book. 

“Where’s Danny?” Tim called, and the other two in the pool glanced around before shrugging. Tim bit his lip, wondering if he was okay. Did Danny not know how to swim? He suddenly felt bad for not asking what his friend wanted to do. Maybe Danny was afraid of water, or he had some aversion to water because he’s a halfa. Tim shook his head before he started catastrophizing and started moving to the side of the pool. 

“I’ll get him,”Jason called, sitting up and making his way to the locker room. 

“You sure?” Tim asked, nervous. He felt like a bad friend staying in the pool while his friend was having trouble. 

“Yeah, just give him a minute,”Jason waved them off, before disappearing into the locker room. 

“Danny? You in here?” Jason called. He took a few steps in after no response, only to see Danny sitting on a bench, clenching the bottom of his shirt nervously. Frowning, Jason came over and sat next to him. “You alright kiddo?” “...Yeah,”Danny murmured, still tense. “I just.. Have a lot of.. Scars.”

Ah. Jason could understand that. He himself still had an autopsy scar from when he’d died. Sure, the lazarus pits healed most of his wounds and scars, but the Y was so deep it still left a pretty mark on him even now. It’s why he was sitting on the side reading. He figured the scar would bring down the mood, and he knew Dick would want to talk about feelings afterwards. Jason wanted to avoid that, because f Dick wanted to talk about feelings, then Bruce wasn’t far behind. 

“Listen, I’m sure it’s not as bad as you think,”Jason offered. “We’re all pretty used to scars around here. Hell, mines worse than anything you got, I promise.”

“Is that why you’re not swimming either?” Danny asked, glancing at Jason’s own maroon shirt. 

“Yeah, you caught me. But I promise those guys out there will be fine with your scars,”Jason said. “Mine are just… kinda gruesome and bring back some bad memories.”

“Your scars can’t be that bad,”Danny sighed. “I… I don’t like looking at them. My scars, I mean. I don’t think anyone does.”

“Kid, none of us are gonna judge you on your scars,”Jason comforted, trying to not feel like a hypocrite. 

“But they judge you for yours?” Danny raised an eyebrow. Point taken, Jason supposed. 

“No, they..”Jason sighed. Maybe this kid just needed some self esteem. Whatever, he could deal with Dick’s feelings for one day for this. Then he clapped his hands together. “Alright, if I go out there without my shirt you have to too, alright?” 

“I don’t know, you don’t really want to see this,”Danny gestured to his shirt. Jason snorted.

“Trust me, nothing you got is worse than mine,”Jason smirked.

“Wanna bet?” Danny retorted, but Jason could see the stiffness in his shoulders, and the way he gripped the hem of his shirt. 

“I’ll take that bet,”Jason said, and without fanfare, he shrugged his shirt off. There was a pause in the room, and Jason turned to see Danny with wide eyes. Jason wasn’t sure the kid was even breathing as he stared at the Y on Jason’s chest. 

“See?’ Jason laughed without humor. “Told you…” Jason trailed off when Danny threw his shirt off to reveal a matching, if not worse autopsy scar on Danny’s own chest. 

“You-” Jason started. How had this kid- why, Jason wondered. He wished that he’d asked more questions about halfas when they’d met with Phantom. Looking closer, Jason could track what looked like faint lichtenberg scars spreading out from Danny’s heart, across his shoulders, but barely reaching his neck. 

“Guess we both win that bet,”Danny joked quietly. Jason swallowed, throat suddenly dry. “Were you… awake? When it uh..” Danny mumbled, still looking at Jason’s scar, and that snapped Jason out of his thoughts. 

“No, I…”Jason responded, only to realize why he’d asked the question. “You were-?” Jason cut himself off. Whoever did this to the kid was definitely going to die, Jason promised. No kid deserved to be vivisected, even if they were a meta. “Who?” He asked, a bit more harshly than he wanted.

“My uh..”Danny started, looking down at his feet and fidgeting with his shirt. “It’s kinda why I ran away to Gotham,”Danny shrugged. “I-it’s fine now, I’m fine.” He reassured, despite it doing the opposite to Jason. It was then that Jason remembered that the kids parents were ghost hunters, and that the kid had run away from home not even a year ago. 

Which meant the kid’s scars were new. Or newer than Jasons, for sure. He took a breath, then stood up, offering a hand to Danny. Reluctantly, Danny took his hand and was pulled to his feet. 

“Listen, you can put your shirt back on if you want, but I’ll go with you either way,”Jason offered. Danny glanced between their scars for a moment, then apparently steeled his nerves. 

“Sure, let’s go,”Danny said determinedly, but Jason could see the tension in his shoulders and the waver in his voice. Damn, this kid is brave, Jason thought. 

“There they are!” Dick cheered when not only Danny but Jason came out of the locker room with their swim trunks on. Tim squinted, doing a double take when he realized-

Letting out a shout, Jason suddenly leaped into a cannon ball into the pool, splashing everyone in the face before they could say anything. Tim sputtered, only to be hit by another, seemingly colder wave when Danny jumped in behind him. Resurfacing, Jason had pulled Danny and Damian into a splash war that had them all smiling. 

Tim shared a look with Dick, and he saw Dick’s expression of concern and abject horror on his face. Dick seemed to want to talk to Jason, but before the man could get close, Jason splashed him in the face. Message received, Tim thought. As unsettling as it was, he figured Jason was a good fit to take the lead on this one. Bringing up their scars wouldn’t be very cool if Danny’s still self-conscious about it. Tim made a note to ask Phantom more about halfas before he was promptly sprayed in the face by Danny. Tim spluttered, looking to the playful smirk on Danny’s face that was obviously hiding nervousness and grinned, splashing back. 

That was how the afternoon was spent, with Jason or Danny splashing anyone who seemed like they were about to bring up the scars until they all got the message to not mention it. Much to Tim’s amusement, Damian and Dick were splashed the most out of them all. Tim was happy to say he got to splash Damian a few times in warning too, even if it resulted in mild bruising. 

Overall, They had a blast. Each of them had their own giant floatie, and raced along the pool a bunch of times until it developed into more of a pirate boat situation, with each other trying to pull the others into the water. A few of them ended up popped, so they’d switched to pool volleyball and frisbee before Alfred came in to call them for a late lunch. 

Getting out of the pool, Tim refrained from mentioning the scars, but he could tell Dick and Damian were just moments away from bringing it up. Dick just had a look reminiscent of a kicked puppy, and Damian was scowling every time he caught sight of Danny’s autopsy scar. While Danny and Tim were chatting, he caught sight of Dick and Jason talking in the corner before he turned back to Danny. 

Danny seemed… happy. Or as happy as he’d been so far. Tim could see he was grateful for the distraction. It had been a while since he’d seen Danny truly relaxed when he wasn’t sleeping in class. It was nice. He hoped they’d be able to keep Danny safe from the GIW so he’d stay like this. 

Tim assumed Dick had taken Damian aside to explain somethings, because during lunch Damian didn’t even change expressions when glancing towards Danny’s now covered chest. On Danny’s part, he just seemed grateful no one was bringing it up. 

After lunch, however, Dick and Jason left for ‘work’ purposes, leaving Tim, Danny and Damian to hole up in the game room for a mario kart tournament. Though, not long after they’d started, Danny’d fallen asleep on the couch, resting his head softly on Tim’s shoulder. 

It took Tim by surprise for a moment, but he found it didn’t bother him. Damian on the other hand, was frowning at the two of them from his chair. “What?” Tim whispered. 

“Are you aware of how Danny acquired his.. Scar?” Damian asked quietly. Tim glanced down to Danny, still finding him breathing softly. 

“I can guess,”Tim nodded. “What did Dick say?”

Damian pursed his lips, looking to Danny before saying,”His parents. They had attempted to vivisect him before he managed to escape to Gotham.” Damian scowled, and Tim’s heart dropped. He was sure his parents had something to do with it but.. Vivisection was cruel. 

“We will not allow any such experiments to happen further,”Damian stated, staring down Tim as if he didn’t want the same thing. 

“Yeah,”Tim whispered. “He’s gonna be okay, Dami.”

Damian scoffed. “Of course he will. He’s with us now.” 

Tim fought back a smile at the statement. He was not that successful given the way Damian scowled and then got up to leave the room. He was on his way out when a sudden soft rumbling filled the room. Damian froze, turning back to Tim with narrowed eyes. 

“I was unaware that Alfred the cat was in here,”Damian stated, eyes darting to likely hiding places, and Tim fought a laugh. 

“Uh,”Tim started, suddenly afraid to move. “It’s not Alfred.”

Damian’s eyes narrowed further. “What do you mean?” 

“I mean uh, Danny’s sort of.. Purring?” Tim whispered exasperatedly. He exchanged bewildered glances with Damian where he was sitting, trying to stay still despite the weight on his shoulder that vibrated like a cat. “I didn’t know he could do that. Phantom didn’t say he purred,”Tim said. He looked over to Damian, who looked like he was fighting back a smile. 

Having a great idea, Tim took out his phone with the hand not connected to the shoulder Danny was laying on and pulled up the sibling group chat with Dick, Jason and Damian. Damian had sat back into his chair, staring at where Danny was purring in his sleep while Tim pressed record. 

He resisted the urge to coo as Danny purred loud enough to be picked up on the camera, and Tim dutifully sent it to the group chat to watch the chaos unfold. 

AcroBat: Oh my god is he purring??

DeadorAlive: Did we know he could do that? 

AcroBat: That is the cutest thing ever! He’s like a cat ;u;

Dameown: He started purring when he fell asleep on Timothy. 

DeadorAlive: I wonder if Phantom purrs

AcroBat: Do all ghosts purr??

Timtam: Assuming halfas purr, I’m pretty sure most or all ghosts purr as well. Phantom mentioned a core, and from what I can tell that’s probably where the noise is coming from. 

AcroBat: Have you tried petting him?!

Timtam: No??

DeadorAlive: He is a human boy Dickhead

Dameown: Petting him may make him feel more relaxed. If he is purring he must be comfortable around you. 

Timtam: I am not petting Danny

AcroBat: You’re in the game room? I’ll pet him

Timtam: You better not

Dameown: If you wake him I will kill you

Tim sighed, already done with his siblings. Part of him was curious though, but he didn’t want to risk waking Danny up. He’d already been having a hard time sleeping from what they’d observed. Tim figured he must be tired after the emotional talk with Jason and the mess of games they played in the pool. He had to admit, it had been fun, and sitting with Danny was… nice. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had this much positive contact with someone. 

Not even an hour later Tim found himself lulled to sleep by the pleasant rumbling. And if Damian happened to cover them with blankets, well, no one needed to know. 

Chapter 16

[thekingofwinterblog]

Sasha's Parents

Allright, so thanks to the diary we finally got some definite info on Sasha's parents. Let's dissect it, and analyze how the divorce might have turned her into the person she is today.

According to Anne, Sasha's parents divorced when she was around four- or five-years-old. Her father remarried and doesn't seem to have had any other kids, while her mother has a long-term boyfriend who has kids of his own.

So what does this tell us? Well, the first thing we have to do is speculate which of Sasha's parents has custody of her, because knowing that, we can draw a lot of conclusions.

Personally, I am almost certain that it's her father, for reason i'll go into below.

Firstly, let's analyze the events of the divorce, before trying to figure out how the events of the series relates to the original plan the creators had to have an episode where Sasha reveals the full details of her backstory to Anne.

Mr and Mrs Waybright divorced when Sasha was 5 years old, but the implication we get from what little we know about the two people involved suggests that this wasn't simply a case of two people realizing things weren't working out... Because the implications seems to be that Mrs Waybright left her husband for another man... Who already had kids of his own, and who she very explicitly did not marry.

Why is this important? Because it explains everything we ever needed to know about Sasha's seething, burning desire to always be in control, and more importantly, on top.

Because in Sasha's 5 year old mind, seeing her mom leave her dad for another man, who already had a bunch of kids, while abandoning her, is tantamount to saying that she was worthless in her mother's eyes. She didn't measure up. Clearly her mom cared more about these kids than her... When in reality, it was the new boyfriend she actually cared about, not the kids. Neither the new ones... Or her own flesh and blood.

It also explains perfectly why Sasha's reaction to the Plantars "Stealing" Anne from her turned her downright murderous. In her mind it was basically history repeating itself again. Her losing someone she loved to another family she knew nothing about.

No wonder this girl hated the very concept of family.

Meanwhile, her dad married another woman, which which can safely assume was not a warm, loving relationship. More likely than not, whether this woman wanted to try and be a mother to Sasha, it's abundantly clear that that wasn't gonna happen. After the divorce, Sasha would have rejected any and all attempts at replacing her mother, and that stuck.

Her eternal quest to make Anne and Marcy happy is also explained by this. Sasha wants to make the people she loves happy. She wants them to like her, to appreciate her, to be rewarded with love and attention by people she loves and cares about.

But while this does explain a lot(Her control issues, her disdain for family, her non existent love for said family) there is still some things it does not explain, or at least there seems to be something more we aren't told.

So, let's put forth another question, to explain the things that a simple, if ugly divorce does not explain.

Was Sasha abused by her parents?

Throughout the series, Sasha continously says some extremely heavy lines, that though they fit perfectly with what is happening in the moment, all seem to be as a response to something else that happened previously in Sasha's life, that we just don't have the context for.

When Sasha hits her absolute lowest point, after having seemingly destroyed the only thing she truly cared about for Good and all, Sasha very deliberately refers to herself as belonging in the Trash, and that it's all someone like her deserves, in a tone that suggests she is accepting something she felt deep in her heart was innevitable.

That could be her being overly dramatic... But it could be something else.

Like she had been told that this was all she amounted to, a worthless brat who no one would love, who belonged in the trash.

Not while Anne and Marcy are getting by withouth me.

This line is pretty clear in it's meaning, but again, the way it's said and worded suggests it's referencing something someone else said at some point.

Hey anne... Maybe you're better off without me.

Sasha's famous line when she decides to kill herself is an important one, and one where she proves that she is willing to lay down her life for anne if it comes to that.

But knowing the circumstances with her parents divorce, it's hard not to read more into it. That Sasha had a genuine fear that her mother didn't just leave her, but that she was better off withouth her.

That could be projecting... but it doesn't have to be. Sasha could have heard it straight from the horse's mouth.

End of discussion

This one is absolutely referencing a line. This is a line Sasha uses to shut down any arguments Anne has when Sasha wants the discussion to end.

But that isn't something kids tend to learn on their own. They learn that by example. By mimicking others.

So before going into speculation of how Sasha may or may not have been abused, lets finish by pointing out the biggest argument for it.

The incredibly unsettling, and unnatural way Sasha does not care about her Parents in any way.

Sasha makes it abundantly clear throughout the entire series that she does not care about her parents. At all. Her relationship with them isn't a complicated one. It's nonexistent. As far as she cares, it does not exist.

That is incredibly unnatural behavior from a child. Even the most abused, or neglected of children will usually have some form of natural attachment to their parents, or parental figures. It's simply the way human beings are made.

It takes A LOT to break that bond completely, even for an adult.

But Sasha isn't an adult. She is a child. And yet her bond to her parents is as far as she is concerned for most of the series, broken beyond any repair.

And she doesn't care to try and fix it. That all on it's own speaks volumes of just how BAD her relationship with her folks are.

So, let's get to speculating on what exactly the kind of abuse Sasha might have gone through with her parents, because there is probably two very distinct kinds from each of her parents.

Of the two, I would guess that if she was abused, the most visceral part came from her mom.

Most of Sasha's biggest issues are clearly a result of her mother leaving her, and so this would make sense.

So, what sort of abuse might Sasha have suffered at the hands of her mother that broke her down so badly, given the woman left her behind, and so probably didn't interact with her much beyond this?

If i had to guess, all of it probably stems for what happened during the divorce, where her mom essentially put all her cards on the table, and let her real feelings be put on full display.

And there are several reasons her mom might have had to lash out at her own child. It could be as simple as the fact she used Sasha to hurt her now ex-husband. Rubbing in that he was stuck with her now.

It could be that sasha was an unplanned child that she didn't want, and had secretly resented for all five years of her life.

She may have been pressured into having her by her Mr Waybright, and now that she no longer had to even try to make him happy, she made it abundantly clear how much she never wanted the damned child he put in her.

Or she could flat out not have liked Sasha, based solely on her personality.

Whatever the reasons, it's clear that the events of the divorce shattered Sasha to her core, and would be essential into forming her into the person she was at the start of the series.

Having one of the people that Sasha(Who is a person who forms STRONG attachments) loves more than any other, turn on her completely, and reveal she always hated her would probably have done the trick.

Now, let's move on to Mr Waybright.

I am very certain that Sasha probably learned the "End. Of. Discussion." From him, as their relationship seems to have been a different kind of breakdown.

Namely that he seems to have given up on Sasha, giving her a level of personal control over her life that is downright irresponsible, letting her throw parties on the regular, seemingly giving her free access to cash as she needs it, and having failed to instill any discipline into his kid.

These are all classic symptoms of a relationship where the parent has given up, and simply gives the kid what they want so they don't have to deal with them.

But was this always the case?

The simple fact is, that with what we know of Mrs Waybright, the extreme destruction of her relationship with Sasha makes sense. There are details one has to speculate on, but there is a clear line to follow from point A to B.

Not so with Mr Waybright.

We know where they ended up, the turning point, but not the steps between.

The only thing we have to go on, Is that amongst her many, many unusual traits for someone so young, Sasha has a much older person's view on discipline. Namely she does not respond to it, because she does not respect the person delivering it, be they teachers or Grime.

It does not take a genius to figure out that this probably stems from her relationship with her father.

The simplest, and most likely explanation is that Mr Waybright attempts at parenting probably involved a lot of discipline, and attempts to instill Sasha with a sense dread at a phrace with the meaning of "This conversation is over".

In this he obviously failed, Because for whatever reason(probably something that happened during the divorce) Sasha does not respect him... But Sasha in turn seems to have learned this very kind of tactic herself from him.

Mr Waybright thusly seems to have had more of a sense of familial obligation to Sasha... At least trying to instill her with something resembling discipline... Until finally just giving up on her all together and just letting her do as she pleased.

All in all whether there was actual abuse involved, or just a child's entire world crumbling due to a very ugly divorce, I really, really wish we'd gotten Sasha's backstory episode.

[bethanydelleman]

Northanger Abbey Readthrough Ch 25

Catherine might have missed like 99% of Henry Tilney's flirting, but she has an inkling it has happened, maybe, "He had—she thought he had, once or twice before this fatal morning, shown something like affection for her."

Which is why I love this meme so much:

Again, Catherine touches upon Marianne Dashwood behaviour but she just can't really commit, "But now—in short, she made herself as miserable as possible for about half an hour, went down when the clock struck five, with a broken heart, and could scarcely give an intelligible answer to Eleanor’s inquiry if she was well." However, by the end of the evening and with Henry being kinder than ever, she has recovered. she had nothing to do but to forgive herself and be happier than ever; and the lenient hand of time did much for her by insensible gradations in the course of another day. She does indeed bounce back quickly!

Catherine reflects that in England at least, the type of villains described by Mrs. Radcliff must not exist. She doesn't go so far as to pardon France and Switzerland from containing such evil, but she's pretty sure about her own country. She also believes that while Henry and Eleanor may not be perfect (never!), she's certain that General Tilney has some "specks" in his character. Well you've come a long way girl, we won't ask for more just yet.

Murder was not tolerated, servants were not slaves, and neither poison nor sleeping potions to be procured, like rhubarb, from every druggist.

Quick, someone tell Shakespeare!

Now Catherine's thoughts return to Bath, but she has no news. Her faithful friend has proved unfaithful again: But Isabella had promised and promised again; and when she promised a thing, she was so scrupulous in performing it! Oh Catherine...

Not as bad as her brother though! Poor Thorpe is in town: I dread the sight of him; his honest heart would feel so much. Honest heart! That man doesn't have an honest cell in his entire body! I would have more hope for James if we knew he finally figured out John, but the only hint we have is this: the failure of a very recent endeavour to accomplish a reconciliation between Morland and Isabella. So James and John met again and John tried to get them back together, but whether James rejected both siblings or just one is unknown.

I really feel for Catherine here, she has to sit through breakfast trying not to cry, then cannot return to her room because it is being cleaned (bedrooms in this era were mostly for dressing and sleeping, so she wouldn't be expected to use her room again until 4pm*), tries the drawing room only to discover the Tilney siblings, but then they kindly leave her to herself. Catherine needs another half hour (her magical sad-feeling time) before she can face them.

This line from Catherine is so very Jane Bennet:

"Could you have believed there had been such inconstancy and fickleness, and everything that is bad in the world?”

What a stroke was this for poor Jane, who would willingly have gone through the world without believing that so much wickedness existed in the whole race of mankind as was here collected in one individual! -Pride & Prejudice, of Wickham

The poor girls, having their eyes opened to the wickedness of the world.

Then this part:

This post by Fira Wren playing in my head. His kids know the General is full of it. Eleanor is surprised her older brother has fallen in love, since it seems he never has been before, which again has Henry Crawford vibes.

No, not very. I do not believe Isabella has any fortune at all: but that will not signify in your family. Your father is so very liberal! He told me the other day that he only valued money as it allowed him to promote the happiness of his children.” The brother and sister looked at each other.

Now the reason that Isabella Thorpe would lose in a battle to the death against Lucy Steele and Lady Susan is that she didn't keep her first man secure until she had the next engagement entirely locked down. Rookie movie Izzy! I have too good an opinion of Miss Thorpe’s prudence to suppose that she would part with one gentleman before the other was secured. Isabella just could not manage two men at once.

I love this interaction:

This line from Catherine too, "I never was so deceived in anyone’s character in my life before.” and Henry's response: “Among all the great variety that you have known and studied.” has so much in common with this interaction in Pride & Prejudice:

“But perhaps,” observed Catherine, “though she has behaved so ill by our family, she may behave better by yours. Now she has really got the man she likes, she may be constant.” “Indeed I am afraid she will,” replied Henry; “I am afraid she will be very constant, unless a baronet should come in her way; that is Frederick’s only chance. I will get the Bath paper, and look over the arrivals.”

“I did not know before,” continued Bingley, immediately, “that you were a studier of character. It must be an amusing study.” “Yes; but intricate characters are the most amusing. They have at least that advantage.” “The country,” said Darcy, “can in general supply but few subjects for such a study. In a country neighbourhood you move in a very confined and unvarying society.” “But people themselves alter so much, that there is something new to be observed in them for ever.”

Henry also manages to tip us off about his intentions to marry Catherine right under Catherine's oblivious nose!

"Prepare for your sister-in-law, Eleanor, and such a sister-in-law as you must delight in! Open, candid, artless, guileless, with affections strong but simple, forming no pretensions, and knowing no disguise.”

“Such a sister-in-law, Henry, I should delight in,” said Eleanor with a smile.

Catherine also realizes that she feels much less sad about losing Isabella than she thought she would, which Henry tells her to think about. The falseness of Isabella's friendship is dawning on Catherine, perhaps now just unconsciously.

*Quote illuminating this point from Wives & Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell, spoke by a character who would have been young during the Regency era: 'No, no, Cromer: bedrooms are for sleeping in, and sitting-rooms are for sitting in. Keep everything to its right purpose, and don't try and delude me into nonsense.' Why, my mother would have given us a fine scolding if she had ever caught us in our bedrooms in the daytime. We kept our out-door things in a closet downstairs; and there was a very tidy place for washing our hands, which is as much as one wants in the daytime.

[muse-write]

Verlady Week Day 6

Prompt: Poems and Petals

@verladyweek

In the wake of the Qliphoth, there were few truly green areas around Red Grave City, and Lady could tell that the loss hurt Vergil in more ways than the simple guilt of being the one to cause it. When Nico drove them through forests that had flourished beyond the reaches of Urizen’s destruction, Lady had seen something like longing in his eyes as he’d stared out the window, quickly covered by a veneer of disinterest. He’d turned to cleaning the Yamato or reading a poetry book or polishing the buttons on his coat or whatever it was he did to seem uninterested in anything going on around him.

But Lady had noticed, and she’d asked Dante about it. He had only shrugged. “The guy’s been through a lot. When we were kids he wasn’t an outdoor guy or anything, but he always liked walking through the forest around our house.” He’d smiled briefly. “We were maybe five, but he had this book on trees and he’d tell me what every single one was called when we passed them. Every single one. And if he didn’t know it he spent ten minutes flipping through that book trying to decide. I think I slammed him into the ground to get him to stop, not like it worked.” The nostalgia had fled, and Dante had stared at his brother with that deep sorrow that always made Lady just a little afraid. She had seen him in those days after Vergil had fallen. She knew the depths of grief he was liable to fall into, even with his brother sitting across the room. He spoke up again after a second, the easy tone of his voice not reaching his eyes. “It’s probably been a while since he’s seen any trees that weren’t…you know, made of human blood and smothering the world with human-killing roots.”

Lady had to admit that Vergil, with his neat hair and elegant coat and cutting precision, did not strike her as a tree-hugger. Neither had V, for that matter. It wasn’t as though she knew him (either of him) that well. The weight of their past hung heavy between them, and if he was content to ignore her for the time being, Lady was content to ignore him, and even Dante seemed to recognize that was the best-case solution. But she did know that Vergil spent a lot of time shut away in his room upstairs, or, if not, then pretended to be shut away while he tricked around the city with Yamato.

And Lady had seen that room, and the bedroom fit for human life that it pretended to be. It was little more than a box with a bed and a tiny window. It was a sad place to spend all your time, and even if he deserved it, she couldn’t help but feel like it was a cheerless existence.

He can live in a cheerless existence, she told herself firmly. Does Vergil even know what cheer is? Maybe he’s perfectly happy living in a box. It’s better than whatever existence he had as Nero Angelo.

Try as she might to ignore it, it was that thought—that reminder of what Dante had told her so many years ago, that memory that she now shared as a vessel for Artemis—which lodged in her brain for a week straight.

Lady was pragmatic. She liked to think that she did nothing out of sheer sentiment. She had hung around Dante this long because he refused to fully pay off his ever-increasing debt, and she protected him and worried about him because he would rejoice at the fact that being dead meant he’d never have to. She had urged Nero not to kill his own father because she hated to see a kind young man forced to make the decision she had once made. So when she stopped by the greenhouse and surveyed its sparse selection of seasonal flowers, she picked one at random, because if she didn’t think about it, she could pretend she wasn’t doing this out of pity. Or sympathy. Or empathy.

It was a few sprigs of budding larkspur.

She chose it because it rose up above the others and it was blue, like Vergil.

Lady endured the somewhat mortifying ordeal of shoving open the shop door, crossing over to the stairs, ignoring Dante’s startled look, and stomping up the stairs with her hands full of flowerpot. Before her nerve could fail her, she rapped on Vergil’s door. “Vergil, open up, I have something I need to give you.”

The silence dragged on long enough that she wondered if this was one of those times he had used Yamato to go who-knew-where, but eventually there was the sound of footsteps and the door cracked open. “I have no reason to think that I need anything at all that you—“ Vergil began, but the irritation in his voice faded as his eyes fell on the pot in her hands. He stood motionless and silent for a moment, his hand clenching restlessly on the doorframe. “Is that a flowerpot?”

She shoved it at his chest. “Call it a housewarming gift or something, whatever you want.” She began to turn away.

He grabbed the pot before it could fall. “You’re about two months too late for that. Try again.” There was a bit of mocking humor in his voice, but he stared at her intently without a hint of a glare. He seemed genuinely curious, if bewildered.

Lady sighed. The best-case scenario here, she had thought, was that he would throw the pot out the window and laugh at the concept of ever needing anything as feeble as a plant. The worst-case was having to explain herself. Lady wasn’t sure if she could put her thought process into words, since she had done her best not to think about any of it too deeply. She plowed ahead anyway. “Your room’s awful. When I emerged from Artemis, plants helped me. They’re all dead now, I don’t have a green thumb, but Dante said that you liked trees when you were a kid, and I’ve seen the way you stare at the forests whenever we drive through them, and I thought a plant might…might help,” she finished lamely.

Vergil leaned more heavily on the door for a second. He stared down at the larkspur. One finger came up to lightly touch one of the petals. “Larkspur,” he said suddenly. “It’s poisonous.” His eyes gleamed at her, and suddenly something mischievous entered his expression, not unlike his brother’s. “Did you have ulterior motives in giving me this plant?”

She shrugged. “It’s tall and blue. I thought you two would get along well.”

“Ah. I forgot, you don’t have an instinct for ulterior motives, do you? You prefer to shoot first and ask questions later.” He sighed, but there was something exaggerated about it that told her he wasn’t completely being serious. “Quite an inelegant way of handing your problems.”

“Look who’s talking,” she shot back. “You’re not much of a plans guy either. You pretend to be, but if Dante does one single thing better than you, you’ll kill yourself to outrank him.” And maybe a couple thousand people in the process, she thought, but withheld that comment. It wasn’t often that she found herself bantering with him without wanting to fire a bullet through his head just to get him to shut up. She was even enjoying it.

“We’re twins,” Vergil said flatly. “It’s what we must do.” One index finger ran up the stem of the larkspur. Vergil cocked his head and glanced down at Lady. “Thank you,” he said. “The gift is much appreciated. It will certainly liven the place up a little.”

He carried it across to the window, where he set the pot down on the rug. Lady lingered in the doorway and cast a glance around. It was almost exactly as she remembered it: a tiny closet with a tiny bed that barely looked large enough to hold Vergil’s tall frame, and just enough room for a dresser. He had placed a warm lamp on the dresser, shoved a tiny bookcase into the corner, and put a blue rug down. With the plant in a spot of sunlight cast by the tiny window, the effect was almost homey.

The part of Lady inclined to be nosy wanted to look at the books he’d stuffed into the bookshelf, but she pulled back as he turned around. “Very pretty.” Now he actually did glare at her. She raised her hands in an expression of innocence. “You’ve made it look way better than it’s been in the past.”

“Yes, well, Dante wasn’t exactly interested in upkeep. I, however, was not about to live in a dark box with no personality.”

“If you need any more plants for your windowbox, you have my number.” Now that she’d done what she’d come to do, Lady wanted to get out of there as soon as possible, uncertain what she thought of this unfamiliar, bantering duel across the threshold of Vergil’s bedroom door. She backed away and stepped onto the stairs, trying not to consider it a retreat.

The larkspur went unmentioned for weeks, until one day, Lady returned to her apartment to find a pot of blue-and-gold pansies sitting outside her door. She raised her eyebrow at the note attached. One line was scrawled in neat, small, old-fashioned handwriting:

Don’t let this one die.

[aealrizen]

After bidding Benjamin and his family farewell for now, and Berko giving Ian a huge hug after waking up just in time to see them leave, Ian led them back to the eastern gate. They would have to pick up their own transport vehicles before taking the outer tunnel connecting to the south eastern gate, emerging back above ground a short distance away. There was already a group gathered in the street leading to the exit, three massive open top trucks and a scattering of motorcycles of various quality and repair. The people gathered there wore a smattering of partial soldier uniforms as well as attire common for wasteland mercenaries. It wasn’t hard to find Zeera, standing among the workers with practiced and overly familiar watch, barking orders as needed. It only took her seconds to notice the trio of newcomers to her party, and she cracked a snide grin as they approached, Ian holding the paper authorization in his hand, ready to give her.

“Heh. Secretary Morna must think we have platinum in our trucks if he’s sending a bunch of cyborg mercenaries to help guard it,” Zeera’s greeting came as a scoffed sneer as she looked over her assigned assistants. She didn’t look impressed, but she also didn’t look hostile. More like she was dealing with a bunch of pets that needed proper handling.

“Got a problem with it?” Whip asked in return, his eyes narrowing in unamused distaste saturated with boredom from having heard the same complaint too many times.

“What makes you think we’re cyborgs?” Ian cut in, giving one last chance for Zeera to retract her position and start again in a more amicable manner.

She didn’t take the offer though, just huffing and giving Whip a sideways glance before looking back to Ian. “Please. All three of you have the halo eyes. And it’s not like bluebell here even tries to hide anything on his back,” she scoffed, nodding her head towards Whip. “I ain’t gonna pick a fight though. More just surprised your kind even exists anymore. Thought you’d all gone berserk and gotten put down by now. But, I can’t deny you’ll be useful. Just don’t do anything crazy and I won’t have to put you down myself,” she offered as a scathing withdrawal, shifting the rather bulky plasma submachine gun to her shoulder and turning back to her team. “Alright kids, let’s head out in five. Those who don’t make it by then don’t get paid. The puppies can drive themselves, and I better not see anyone provoking them. We don’t need to give them a reason to bite.”

Midas had to sneer at her disregard of gun safety, even if the power cell had been removed for now, and had a half consideration that he might just accidentally forget to protect her if she ended up being a target. As Whip wordlessly ushered him to his bike, Midas obediently followed, noting how Whip’s protective shielding arm around him was also acting as a sort of cover.

‘Remove the bullets from your pistols,’ Whip directed Midas silently, flicking his eyes to meet one of the truck drivers that was staring at them and getting him to flinch and return to his task of starting the engine.

‘Why?’ Midas returned, irritable because of their treatment as well as the idea of not being able to use the more effective metal beads. Plasma did nothing against the larger wildlife around here.

‘Don’t give them a reason to blame us if one of them ends up dead,’ Whip returned. He already knew Ian had the same idea, the pack of bullets for his rifle being subtly removed from his pouch and stowed deep in his bike’s compartment. Physical bullets were illegal in all three cities, but they all knew the further away from the cities people got, the more loose laws became. Neither Whip or Ian was going to give these soldiers or mercenaries a reason to use them as scapegoats.

As the others started mounting their bikes, Whip swung onto the back of Midas’ bike, taking the bullet case Midas passed to him and storing it as well. Midas still seemed grumpy, but he took his usual position at the front, looping his fingers into the rings that made up one of the controls.

“Nice Cerah loot. Where’d you steal that from?” a gruff mercenary asked, staying a few feet away from them but still nodding at Midas’ bike.

Giving him a half glance, Midas huffed. “Garbage heap,” he answered shortly.

The mercenary grunted in amused disbelief. “Sure. Let me just look up the serial number registry and see where it’s supposed to be in service,” he pressed, seeing if threatening to report Midas would get him to talk.

“Sure. The bulk of it is from model S7-24-12-11, but the shocks I had to pull from model SC24-72,” Midas shot back, unfazed. “And I had to construct the interface from various parts of an old high wire transport compartment, a neural link motherboard manufacturing device, and a broken vending machine. Do you want the serial numbers for those too?”

The mercenary ended up twitching his head back in surprise at Midas actually talking back to him instead of stammering under the hazing. But he recovered quickly and half forced a short laugh. “Damn kid, that’s a lot. Bit of a handyman there, I see. Might actually be useful to have ya around then,” he chuckled, waving his hand dismissively as he casually left to join his own riding buddy.

Midas could only squint in annoyance after him, giving an unimpressed breath at the return comment and shifting to get comfortable while they waited for the direction to leave. Whip couldn’t help adding his own genuine chuckle though, leaning over to mutter quietly. “Nice one. Just don’t get too feisty, or they’ll stop playing fair,” he cautioned, giving Midas an approving pat on the upper back.

“Then they better be ready for me to meet them on the playing field they set,” Midas scoffed back, reaching his free hand into the other controls as Zeera shouted and gestured for the group to proceed.

“HA. We’ll see if you can keep that claim. Mister ‘I can’t tell the difference between coffee and mud’,” Whip teased back, adjusting his weight to his usual position for a long ride.

Midas’ mildly flustered protest was half lost to the roar of slightly over twenty engines, and Whip ended up just flashing him a toothy smile before quickly raising a brow and nodding his head towards their departing group. The response he earned was just Midas punching too much power into the bike’s gears to cause it to jerk both of them to harass Whip, then smooth out into a steady ride to keep in line with the others. Whip could only laugh again, being more than used to this method of attempted torment from the lad. And just like always, Ian slid in diagonally behind them, rolling his eyes at their antics even as their tires scuffed up clouds of dirt that forced them to keep a bit more distance.

____________________________

First

____________________________

I enjoy designing the extra characters for this sometimes =u=

[braveclementine]

Extra Bonus Chapter

Warnings: None

Copyright: I do not own any Marvel characters or locations. However, I do own my OC Elizabeth Lightwood. I do not condone any copying of this.

*This is not part of the actual book. The book ended two chapters ago and that's the true ending. However. . . ever since I fell in love with. . . well a certain book theme. . . I feel like I sort've have to include it in every book I write. So you can think of this as the 'real' ending, but it's really more like. . . ending 2. You can choose depending on which you like better: Realistic or Non-realistic*

🎃 :::::  🧡  ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━  🧡  ::::: 🎃

The Stark house was full of laughter and talking. You, Tony, Steve, Bucky, and Elizabeth had a dinner together almost every Sunday night. So the five of you were sitting around the rectangular table.

It had been about five more years ever since things had ended with Thanos and such. Elizabeth and Bucky no longer wore jackets or gloves over their Vibranium arms. Everleigh was heading off to college the next school term. You'd had another son three years ago named Blyke.

Elizabeth had another set of twins, a boy from Steve, a girl from Bucky. She'd named them after Harry Potter characters, which she was able to get away from because they were both head over heels with her and neither had any idea where their names originated.

Luna and Remus.

Tony had to hide his laughs from the super soldiers whenever Remus' name was said.

At the moment, you had all just finished a fried chicken dinner that Elizabeth and you had worked on together. Your children were all playing in the room next door, shouting as they played some sort of card game.

You were eating a chocolate muffin while Elizabeth ate vanilla cake. The three men drank beers.

"Oh yeah." Elizabeth said excitedly, more to you than the other three, but they trailed off to hear her. "I'm expecting."

"Again." You snorted teasingly.

"Yeah how many are you going to have?" Tony asked, sounding exhausted just with the idea of more kids.

"As many as God wants to give us." Elizabeth grinned. "Besides, it's not that bad. You have only four."

"Only four." Tony muttered.

"My stomach hurts just thinking about carrying another child." You sighed, although you wouldn't be opposed to another kid in reality.

"Pretty sure that's the chocolate muffin speaking." Elizabeth rolled her eyes.

You snickered. "Yes, that's probably true."

"So whose kid?" Tony asked, motioning between the two super soldiers.

"Neither." All three of them answered together. And then as though that wasn't enough, Bucky added, "He's Sams'. We're going to name him Heimdall if he's a boy or Frigga if she's a girl."

It took you a moment to realize what they were saying. You inhaled your soda, crying out as the bubbles rushed to your nose, making you flinch and your eyes start watering. Tony choked on his mouthful of beer.

Tony coughed, pointing wildly between Steve and Bucky, "How did- What? How? I don't-"

"It's very simple Stark." Bucky drawled, "Sam fucked our girl and got her pregnant."

Tony just gaped, but you were sort of wondering how neither Bucky nor Steve seemed upset about it.

"You're blushing." Elizabeth teased and your cheeks burned more.

"I-"

"How could you?" Tony asked, but more in a curious way. "How did it not burn when. . . I mean you know. . . cheating. . ."

"Oh," Elizabeth said brightly. "Well, you see, when both parties consent on all sides, the pain doesn't exist."

"Wait." You looked at Steve and Bucky, "So what you're saying is-"

"All five of us fucked?" Bucky finished for you.

"Language." Tony said.

Steve shot him a glare.

"Oh." You said, looking at Tony and then Elizabeth, "Well, um, congrats? I think."

Tony tossed his beer back, trying to drain it in one gulp.

"Want to join in?" Elizabeth asked.

Tony spit his beer upwards so that it sprayed all over his face and he choked on it again. When his throat cleared he near shouted, "You have terrible timing!"

"Y/N." Elizabeth and you knew you were burning as you looked over at her. "What would you think if I went ahead and sat on Tony's lap?"

You bit your bottom lip and Elizabeth didn't give you a chance to answer before she said, "And of course, Steve's lap is a possible seat along with Bucky's for you."

You saw Tony's eyes darken just a little bit and you decided to tease. "Well. . ." You said slowly, starting to smile. "We are sisters. We probably should share everything."

"Especially our toys." Elizabeth nodded seriously, getting up from her seat, sauntering around to stand in front of Tony. Tony's expression turned a little uncertain, but also curious. You slowly half rose from your seat, but couldn't muster the courage to actually approach Steve.

So you watched, lips twitching into an amused smile as Elizabeth ran a finger across Tony's cheek. He seemed stunned and suddenly Steve said in his Captain voice, "Y/N. Come here sweetheart."

You moved to stand in front of Steve, who was smirking, looking very relaxed in his chair.

"So," Elizabeth said, "May I?"

"Uh- Y/N?" Tony asked quickly. "I mean, I'm excited but it's up to you Pumpkin."

"We can try it out." Steve said, looking up at you. "If you hate it, we stop. We never talk about it again. This isn't something that if we don't do it, we're not still going to be friends. It's just a lifestyle we have and we're offering it."

You looked at Tony, "I would like to try it."

"Steve?" Elizabeth asked, glancing at him, biting her bottom lip.

"Go ahead doll." Bucky chuckled and held his flesh hand out for you. You smiled, crossing your arms over your chest.

"I think that's the wrong hand." You said.

Bucky blushed a little, slowly extending his metal hand. You hadn't touched it before, really. You placed your hand in the palm, finding it as cold as expected, but also warm. You slid your hand up his arm and loved as he closed his eyes, breathing in deeply.

Then slowly, you sat in his lap. His metal arm came around your hip and the two of you looked at each other for a moment, before you blushed. You busied yourself with looking at his arm, seeing that Stephen's name had been added right under Elizabeth's.

You touched it. "Wait, you're soulmated to them too?"

"Yeah." Steve nodded while Elizabeth rested her head on Tony's shoulder. "We've been together for about a year now. Just trying it out. We decided to be soulmates about two weeks ago. We've been waiting to see how you guys would react, but you both seem to be taking it well."

"We're not asking you two to soulmate to us." Bucky said quickly. "It was a choice on Sam's side that we do it and we thought it sounded good. But even if you guys just wanted to be with us occasionally, like we wouldn't expect you to soulmate with us as well."

"Wait. . ." You said slowly. "So would Tony and I interact with Stephen and Sam as well since you're all technically soulmated?"

"You could. But they would understand if not." Steve answered easily.

You looked at Tony and then grinned, "Well if Sam is involved, I'm in."

"Now wait a damn minute. . ." Bucky mumbled darkly. "What's so good about that little bird?"

Elizabeth laughed and Tony rolled his eyes. "Yeah right." Tony smirked, "You're thinking of the wrong one Y/N. I think you were actually thinking of that sexy wizard being the reason you want to jump into this."

You laughed, the tension in the room that had been there while trying this out was gone now. It felt amazing, the air in the room now. "You're probably right. The sexy wizard does have good appeal."

Steve chuckled at that.

"I agree." Elizabeth said brightly, sitting up a little more on Tony's lap. "The sexy-"

"If one of you call me a wizard one more time, I'm portaling you to Mars." Stephen threatened, walking into the dining room right then and there, Sam next to him. Sam was grinning and Stephen was smiling just a little bit.

You blushed darkly as the two of them came to stand near the rest of you. Stephen smirked at your husband, "So. . . Stark? You think I'm sexy?"

You looked and saw that Tony was blushing darkly, looking extremely flustered. Elizabeth flounced off his lap to go over and hug Sam, who wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head.

Tony cleared his throat, "Well, I mean. . . You are very um- good looking. I mean, anyone can see that-" Tony's words died as Stephen leaned over him, their lips inches apart. You could see Tony's adam apple bob hard. Then Stephen kissed him.

Your arousal spiked immediately and you rubbed your thighs together, forgetting where you were. But you remembered as Bucky chuckled, placing a hand on your thigh. "Oh doll. . ."

You blushed darkly, but couldn't tear your eyes away from where Tony was now clutching the front of Stephen's dress shirt, the two of them kissing deeply. Your heart actually skipped a beat, watching Stephen's tongue dip into Tony's mouth.

Suddenly, a completely different voice cleared their throat. You turned in Bucky's lap to see Everleigh standing in the doorway, arms crossed over her chest. Her headphones were around her neck now and she raised her eyebrows.

"Everly!" Tony yelped, falling out of his chair, while you tensed on Bucky's lap. "Knock!"

Everleigh sighed, rolling her eyes, "Please take the kinky stuff to the bedroom. Preferably at someone elses house."

"Right." Tony said while Sam and Steve smirked. Stephen only put his thumb at his own lip.

"Sorry." Elizabeth apologized sincerely.

Everleigh sighed, walking out of the room, muttering darkly about her parents.

You put a hand over your face, remembering all of the kids were in the other room.

"Was that the first guy you've ever kissed?" Elizabeth teased Tony and you watched in amusement as Tony turned red again.

"Ah- well- um-" Tony stuttered, getting off the floor, grabbing the empty beer bottles. "More beer anyone?" And he nearly sprinted for the kitchen.

Elizabeth giggled, dancing over to where Stephen as still standing, kissing his cheek. He wrapped his arms around her now.

"Well?" Sam asked you. "Gonna join in?"

You waited a moment, thinking about all of it, before tilting your head up, catching Bucky by surprise as you kissed him on the lips. He responded quickly though and you loved the way his lips felt against yours.

"Oh yeah." Tony said, coming back into the room. "I'm liking this idea. Sweetheart?"

"Let's do it." You breathed as you pulled away.

And you did.

[shion-yu]

I Still Think Of You

Whatever proceeded or followed this moment was worth it, if only just to hear Elliot's voice one more time. Cliff and Elliot reconnect nearly three years after their breakup. A complete rewrite of an older story that I wasn't content with and deleted. Also my fill for my @badthingshappenbingo space "I Will Only Slow You Down." 2,351 words, original writing, no TWs, CW depression, chronic illness whump.

The song hit Cliff like a stray bolt of lightning. He was sitting in the outpatient infusion center getting his monthly infliximab when it came on the regional variety station.

Sometimes I'm driving 

Down ninety-five in your car

I imagine it still smells like you

But that was so long ago

And you're gone

Like dust in the wind

Like the tide pulled you in

Like you're never coming back

To me again

To whisper in my ear

"You're my whole life"

And I'm yours

I'm still yours

It was Elliot. The voice was unmistakably Elliot's because nobody else's voice sounded like that: that perfect mix of confident yet wavering and gentle. Cliff knew it immediately because it was the voice that he fell in love with. He also realized quite quickly that the song was about him. All those other love songs that Elliot had written could be excused away as generic, the classic ballad about a faceless lover. Maybe a few coincidences, but never anything like this one that pulled so directly from the time that he and Elliot spent together. 

Cliff had told Elliot so many times: "You're my whole life." At first it seemed romantic. Later it seemed possessive. "I can't be your whole life, not all of it," Elliot had told him the day they broke up. "You need to keep some for you, too."

Cliff wished he had understood what Elliot meant by that back then. Maybe if he had, things would have turned out different. Maybe Cliff would have been more honest, braver. But they were victims of the age old cliche: you can't love another person until you love yourself. It hadn't just been Cliff though. Neither of them had loved themselves, they'd only loved each other. They'd relied on each other too much before the other was ready to carry the burden of another.

That was almost three years ago. A lot had changed since then. Cliff was diagnosed with sarcoidosis. He started law school and then made the difficult decision not to return after the first year. He dated Phoenix, who broke up with him when he dropped out. He never loved Phoenix though. Cliff wasn’t even sure if he ever even really liked him. It was just another poor attempt at hoping that if he pretended to be someone he wasn't, he'd stop being the real, pathetic version of himself that actually existed.

Cliff had been trying to ignore Elliot's steep rise to fame for a while now for his own self-preservation, but after I Still Think Of You hit the billboard 100 it became impossible. Elliot was everywhere: on talk shows and TV performances and magazine covers. The other half of his act, some guy named Alex, always hovered behind him providing bass and backup vocals. Cliff thought he looked like a little kid. He rarely smiled, as opposed to Elliot who couldn’t stop except for when he was crooning so passionately into the microphone that it gave Cliff chills to see. Everyone seemed to think Elliot's permanant smile when speaking was adorable, but Cliff knew it was just a nervous habit.

He watched Elliot sing his heart out on a YouTube clip of Good Morning America. Elliot was always incredibly talented, but his voice had gotten much better with age and confidence. He owned every word and his presence was immense. The announcer described him as a prodigy, but Cliff disagreed. He knew Elliot worked his ass off to get to that point, it didn't just come naturally. But Elliot laughed and thanked everybody profusely. It sounded like the audience was mostly girls based on the squealing every time Elliot said something sweet. Elliot had never denied his sexuality in interviews, but it seemed that didn’t matter.

Cliff didn’t know why he did it. Maybe because he thought there was no way Elliot wouldn't have changed his number by now and even if he hadn’t, he wouldn’t answer Cliff right? Maybe it was because he was lonely and figured he didn't have anything to lose. Or maybe it was because he thought he might die before he ever had a chance to address his single most burning regret in life. Nobody said he was dying, but Cliff wasn't sure. He didn’t leave the house anymore, too sick to have the energy and too self-conscious about his inability to control himself to try. He couldn’t get farther than the length of his apartment without his crutches and he couldn’t skip the oxygen if he wanted to walk further than a single block without his lips turning blue. It felt pitiful, and he spent many nights thinking that if someone offered him a magic pill that would let him never wake up again, he'd take it. 

The text was tapped out, deleted, then rewritten and sent before Cliff could change his mind again.

'I still think of you too.'

He told himself not to wait for a response. Even if Elliot did receive the text, he might not respond. It had been three years since they'd talked after all. Three very long years in which both of them had undergone a tremendous amount of change. Elliot was now successful and brilliant, shining for the world to see like Cliff always knew he would. And Cliff… He was the opposite. He was dull and empty. He had nothing left but a broken body and the bones of all the things he'd ruined over the years. Elliot shouldn't talk to him anyways, Cliff thought to himself - he’d only bring Elliot down. 

Cliff nearly dropped his phone when it rang almost immediately after he pushed send. It was Elliot. Cliff answered in shock. "Hello?"

"Cliff!"

And that was it. Whatever proceeded or followed this moment was worth it, if only just to hear Elliot's voice one more time. 

"Yeah, it's me."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Cliff was sitting in Barney's waiting for Elliot to show up. It was their old stomping grounds, the café that they used to visit during late night study sessions when they went to NYU. Elliot asked him to sit in the back, presumably so he could avoid being recognized by any fans while he met with Cliff. Cliff thought maybe if Elliot knew what he looked like now, he wouldn't have even taken that chance.

Cliff tried to clean up nicely, but he was so pale now from a mix of illness and never leaving the house. He wore his oxygen to get here, but he arrived early so he’d have time to catch his breath and hopefully get away with stashing it in his bag while they talked. His crutches weren't something he could hide though, and neither was how thin and brittle his hair was from the methotrexate (although at least it hadn’t fallen out). He was starting to decide this was a terrible idea, that he ought to just go home before Elliot ever had the chance to arrive, but then suddenly Elliot was standing right there in front of the table - in front of Cliff - and it was too late to turn back.

Elliot looked older. More mature. His dark curls were shorter and tamer than they ever were when they dated. “Hi Cliff,” Elliot said with a nervous smile. 

Cliff thought he looked incredible. He wondered if he should stand and give Elliot a hug, Elliot always was a hugger. But instead he just smiled back and motioned for Elliot to sit. “Hello Elliot,” he replied, equally as nervous. Elliot took off his black leather jacket that fit him astonishingly well and hung it on the back of his chair before sitting.

“So,” Elliot said. “It’s been… what, two years?” Almost three, Cliff thought to himself as he nodded in agreement. Surely Elliot had to know it'd almost been three years since Cliff messed what they had up so immeasurably. "Wow."

"Wow," Cliff repeated. "You look great, by the way."

Elliot's flustered face made Cliff worry he'd already messed up. But Elliot just said, "Thanks. You don't look so bad yourself." Cliff was sure that was a lie. "How have you been? I heard you got diagnosed with an autoimmune disease."

Cliff wondered where the hell Elliot possibly heard that. Then again, they had still gone to the same school for their final year of undergrad even if they hadn't been dating anymore. Their majors had no crossover at all though, and any friends they'd shared had obviously ended up staying friends with Elliot, not Cliff. 

"Yeah," Cliff confirmed uncomfortably. "Sarcoidosis." So awkward.

"I'm sorry," Elliot said.

"Sorry for what?" Cliff said.

Elliot rubbed his hands together, glancing down. "Well, I never called after I heard you got sick. That wasn't very nice of me. I wanted to, but we were... You know."

"Yeah. I know," Cliff said. This is so not how he'd hoped this meeting would go, although he had tried not to have any expectations at all about it. "It's okay. Don't worry about it. Tell me about you."

"Me?" Elliot asked with such innocence that Cliff had to laugh. He barely ever laughed this days, but he couldn't help it.

"Yes you," Cliff said. "Like you're not totally famous now."

Elliot blushed and looked flustered. "Stop, I'm not that famous," he said quickly. "I mean I've been so lucky and so fortunate but, famous is a little..."

"Sure," Cliff smiled. "Okay. Successful. You're so successful now. You really earned it."

"Really? Thanks, Cliff," Elliot said, smiling back. "It means a lot to hear you say that."

It was Cliff's turn to be surprised. He wasn't sure why Elliot would value his opinion much. He cleared his throat, coughing a little. "Well, yeah, of course."

They were silent for several awkward beats until Cliff interrupted it by coughing again. Was sitting at a table in a coffee shop seriously too much for him, he thought in annoyance? But it was also the first time he'd left the house for anything but a doctor's appointment in... Weeks? Surely not months. 

"Do you have a cold?" Elliot asked worriedly. 

Shit, five minutes reunited and Cliff was already making Elliot worry again? Cliff had to get the situation under control. He shook his head, pulling a napkin from the dispenser on the table and covering his mouth with it while he continued to cough. He could feel his lungs twitching, protesting in annoyance that they weren't being treated like the main attraction as usual. Cliff closed his eyes and tried to pretend Elliot wasn't right across from him for a second while he weighed his options. He ultimately decided it was less embarassing to wear oxygen than have a full on asthma attack right in front of everyone. "Sorry," Cliff said hoarsely. "Don't think that... I just don't want you to worry."

Elliot looked confused until Cliff pulled his oxygen tubing from the bag slung across the back of his chair and looped it over his ears. "Oh," Elliot said softly. Cliff couldn't read his expression. Pity? Disappointment? "Cliff, you didn't have to not wear that for my sake. I know it's... Things are different now." 

Cliff took several deep breaths through his nose, trying to control his cough. He could feel his head getting a little clearer. "I'm not saying you should care," Cliff said when he caught his breath. "I'm not saying I deserve you to. But I don't want you to think I'm not trying. I am."

Elliot nodded as if he understood. His face was so tender, so gentle and delicate... Cliff pushed away the desire to reach out and brush Elliot's cheek with his fingers. "Like I said. Things are different." 

Cliff relaxed a little, his shoulders falling from their tense position. He rested his chin in his hands and said, "Thank you."

The long minute of silence that followed was still awkward, but not as awkward as the first one. Elliot shifted in his chair and said, "Why did you text me?"

"What?" Cliff asked, startled. 

"You must have had something in mind. After all this time. Why'd you text me?" 

Cliff had asked himself that a million times in the week since he'd sent that message. At first he really didn't know, but now he realized two things. One, his life without Elliot had never been as happy as when Elliot was in it. And two, if he wanted Elliot back in his life, he had to be honest, not like the first time. So, he was honest. "I just missed you." 

"Oh," Elliot said. Cliff half expected him to run away, slap a hand on the table and say he knew Cliff hadn't changed. But instead he smiled shyly and said, "I missed you too."

Now they both looked surprised and a little embarrassed. Cliff had wondered for years what it would be like if he ever saw Elliot in person again. He'd at times wanted to apologize, beg for their relationship back, to convince Elliot he'd changed. But as time went on, he'd gotten more tired. He was still that anxious, guilty person he was before, but he'd had the time to think about what had gone wrong and learned to appreciate what had gone right. Elliot had agreed to meet him, and this was his chance to do things right this time. Even if it was never the same and Elliot wasn't his, Cliff's main desire was to make it up to him now. 

"I was wondering if I could text you sometimes," Cliff said. "I know you're really busy. Just, talk to you every once and a while."

"You mean like friends?" Elliot asked.

Cliff nodded. "Yeah. Like friends." 

He waited for the answer feeling like this was judgement day. There was no other question he was dying to know the answer to more. He only had to wait a second.

"Okay," Elliot said. "I'd like that. Friends." God, that nervous smile, Cliff thought to himself as he melted in relief. No wonder all those teen girls fell in love so quickly.

[foxhopfics]

First off thank u SO MUCH to everyone in that post going "tag me too pls!" Im writing this for u i love u :) it makes me happy that so many people were interested in this concept.

This fic will be available on AO3, but whenever a new chapter comes out I will post the new ao3 link with the chapter under a readmore cut.

Hope you guys enjoy the prologue!

Strontium Nitrate and a Colt .45 prologue

Warnings: family death

A violent, cracking storm whirls in Eddie as he watches his ex-wife be lowered into the earth by 4 men on either side of her coffin. The flowers on the top shift precariously white, blue, yellow and red popping out against the dark wood grain, but they remain on as it clunks onto the ground. It shouldn't be so bright. The sun wasn't supposed to be shining the day he had to put his wife into the ground.

It's all he can do to just keep his hand firm on Christopher's shoulder to not cry, and scream, and run towards that fucking hole and dig her back up, begging her to come back to life in his arms. There were a million and one ways Eddie had expected Shannon to die one day. An accident by a stranger's hand hadn't been one of them. There were so many dangers he had to account for in his every day life, he was bound to slip up at one point. Bound to lose someone he cared about to a stupid mistake.

He's numb through the reception, fingers gripping the sides of his own sleeves so hard he has to peel them off from stiffness, and he's vacant through his family asking him question after question. He doesn't know how to answer if he's ok in front of people who are expecting him to be strong, expecting him to be the man of the house when his son just lost his mother, when he wishes more than anything he was lying in that coffin next to her.

When he can't stomach the pleasantries any longer, he takes Chris home. It's obvious the kid's had enough poking and prodding, and the silence is blessed. He checks the rearview mirror, and not five minutes after they pull out of the reception hall, Chris is drooling with his head against the window. The brunette smiles forlornly. He can see so much of Shannon in him, always had been able to, but now it felt like every trait of hers on him is more pronounced.

He wakes Chris up when they reach home, and Eddie has to stand in the doorway for a second to wait for his ears to adjust to the ringing quiet, when he's been around so much noise all day. Who knew funerals could be so loud. It definitely wasn't helped by the static rushing so loud in Eddie's ears he had to strain to hear other people talking at him. But now neither of them can bother to bring their voices above a whisper.

"Go get ready for bed, kiddo. I'll be there in a minute." He ushers Chris off to do his nightly chores and steps in to flick the kitchen light on. He sighs, leaning his elbows on the counter and his face into his hands. He musses his hair, and rubs down his face in an attempt to wipe the stress away. He doesn't know how long he'll continue to feel like he's floating, tether-less in space until the emotions of what happened catch up to him. He hopes Chris isn't in the vicinity when it happens.

There's time to figure this all out. Tomorrow. He hears the bathroom door open and close again as Chris shuffles off to his room. He takes his turn in the bathroom, not having enough energy for a full shower even though he feels like he needs it. Instead, he lets the water from the sink run so hot it scalds his finger when he tests it. He pulls out a washcloth from the drawer, soaks it and wrings it out, then wipes his face down of all the grime that doesn't exist. Nevertheless he feels cleaner and a tiny, minuscule weight slides off his shoulders. He finishes his business and shuffles his lead-weighted feet off to his son's bedroom.

Chris is already in his pyjamas and under the covers, his face red and puffy and struggling to keep his eyes open. Eddie sits himself by his legs on the edge of the bed, running a soothing hand through his boy's curls. Neither of them say anything, a lump forming in Eddie's throat and leaving no thoughts in his head when he tries to get something out.

Chris takes the first initiative. "Why did she have to go, daddy?" At first, Eddie doesn't have an answer that's acceptable to a 5 year old. Because bad things happen to good people. Because fuck him, apparently. Fuck him and her and everything he was trying to build for them and fuck God for taking it all away from him. He swallows hard, trying not to gag on his own tear-filled spit as he tries not to let it show on his face.

"Sometimes people do dumb things. And when people do dumb things, others get hurt because of their actions. And this time, someone did something dumb, and mommy was the one who got hurt by their actions." Chris nods sleepily, exhausted and upset. Eddie leans down to give him a kiss on his temple. "Get some sleep kiddo. Come and wake me up if you need anything, but we can figure out more tomorrow, ok?"

"Ok, love you daddy. Night night."

"Night night, buddy."

Tag list: @aniilaff @watchyourbuck @diazlilgirl @weballingsad @whambamthankyousir @passthe5sauceplease @mrslectermoriarty @jeffthekilled

[gerec]

Gerec’s Favorite Fics - 2022

It's that time of year again = go read these lovely fics and ring in the New Year!!!

Reminded Me of Brighter Days by emperors_girl 

There on his welcome mat is a brown long-handled basket with a bundle of blankets inside. The basket gurgles at him. Then it begins to cry.

No Three-to-Five, You’re Doing Life by brawlingdiscontent

Charles gets revenge. The third and final installment (though it should also stand on its own). Charles and Erik take their kinky and dysfunctional sex life to an all new level. 

twilight by ikeracity, specficslut (homosociality)

"Volatility was a chemical property. Erik remembered Mrs. Berkowitz saying, with the rhythm of a chant, volatility was how likely a substance was to mist into air, and that was how he felt now, like he could dissolve into nothing at any moment, unless he fucked Charles so hard his eyes spun back in his head."

For someone who kills monsters for a living, Erik is irrationally conflicted about the monster in his bed.

Mr & Mr Eisenhardt by faerie_ground

Charles Haller and Erik Eisenhardt meet at a bar, fall in love, and get married. Neither of them know that the other is an assassin working for a rival agency- but they're about to find out real soon.

a traditional courtship by Helenish

Maybe it’s even a game between them; he catches Charles often enough, watching him, curious, bemused. He lets it go further than he would, otherwise.

i worry that love is violence by intentation (WIP)

Seven years ago, Erik Lehnsherr vanished from a college bar after a night out. The investigation into his disappearance was brief and inconclusive, and his file was eventually shelved as a cold case.

Seven years later, an MIS raid on the home of one Sebastian Shaw reveals the truth: Erik Lehnsherr had been kidnapped, imprisoned in a cellar, and kept as a sex slave for seven years.

Now, in the aftermath of Shaw's arrest, Erik is confronted with the cold reality of his freedom. His burgeoning relationship with MIS agent Charles Xavier may save him--or destroy them both.

Feeding the idea of you, leaving me starving by hllfire

Apocalypse won, and Charles Xavier's body and power is his to take over the world and build a new one from its ashes, but Erik isn't sure if Charles is completely gone or not.

What We Inherit by populuxe

Ever since David came to live with his father, their relationship has been polite but distant: his father is always working, and David still sort of thinks of him as Charles Xavier, The World’s Most Famous Telepath, a larger-than-life figure he first saw on television five years ago.

But when the grandmother David never knew existed calls and demands to meet her grandson, a harrowing weekend trip reveals how much he and his father don’t know about each other—and alters things between them in ways he never would have predicted.

Unlived Histories (The Double Vision Remix) by populuxe

When he was a boy, a man visited Erik and his mother and helped them escape before the war. Years later, Erik finally learns the man’s identity—but the truth is far more complicated than he ever could have imagined.

Erik’s Flawless Minivan (Terrible Hanukkah Sweaters and Other Life Challenges Remix) by winter_hiems

Erik has two main goals when it comes to his kids’ school: making other parents jealous with how smooth his car runs, and teaming up with Gabrielle Haller to yell at teachers for not respecting their kids’ mutant and Jewish identities.

And then Gabrielle’s ex comes to town. And he’s very attractive.

unconventional by ikeracity

Ten years ago, Charles and Erik co-starred on the explosively popular animated show Greenkeep, where they first earned their big breaks — and where they fell in love. Now, at a cast reunion a decade later, they've made careful, PR-vetted plans to reveal their relationship to the fans with minimal fuss.

Of course — easier said than done.

pale, then enkindled (The Don't Read the Retweets Remix) by midrashic

The animated kids' show that brought Charles and Erik together gets a live-action reboot.

On the CW.

some like it sweet by ikeracity

He's just your sugar daddy, Erik reminds himself every day. You can't be in love with him.

Erik's got it all figured out—a delightful roommate, regular sex, his textbooks paid for. Except for the way his heart goes haywire whenever his sugar daddy is around.

scandal of the century by joshriku

The headline reads:

STEAMY SEX TAPE BETWEEN MAGNETO AND PROFESSOR X LEAKED!

“All right,” Charles says. “I wouldn’t call it steamy, you know, that’s an exaggeration.”

“That is seriously not the point, Professor,” Jean answers.

(A sex tape is leaked. PR crisis ensues).

how near to fairyland by ikeracity for hllfire

Since childhood, Charles has kept all the things he can't let go of in a beautiful room in his head. Cuba brings his precarious balancing act crashing down.

to put the world between us by populuxe

Erik Lehnsherr is one of the hottest actors in Hollywood: fresh off an Academy Award nomination, he’s about to star in HBO’s most anticipated show of the year. And even though online chatter about his recent string of queer roles keeps getting louder, his personal life remains personal—just as it always has, and just as his manager and publicist continue to advise.

But when he winds up at the same wedding as his college best friend, Charles Xavier—and when they quickly fall into bed together—he’s forced to revisit the past he’s been trying to get away from for years. The pull between them has always been magnetic, but so has the weight of secrecy. Can they keep from repeating the same mistakes, or will the price of the truth be too high?