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ruh--roh-raggy · 5 months ago

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Alone With You (William Afton x Fem! Reader) - Part 2

Hello hello! Welcome to part 2 of Alone With You! This chapter we have more sweet Will, lots of flirting, and even some video games and pizza. I hope you enjoy! If you would like to be added or removed from the tag list please let me know!

WARNINGS: Tooth rotting fluff, Boss! Will, age gap (Reader is in her late 20's, Will is in his early 50's), AU where Will isn't a murderer, mutual pining, flirting, dad jokes, Will being his usual awkward adorable self, Home Sweet Home adjacent, a love letter to the wonderful story "Bunny Ears" by @yellowbunnydreams that falls into a very similar vein as this, I think that's everything, if I missed any let me know!

You can find my Masterlist here! ~ AO3 Link! ~ Tip Jar!

Word Count: 5,236

Part 1 - Part 3 (TBA)

You smoothed your hands down the front of your work uniform, taking one final look at yourself in the mirror before heading out the door. You twirled your keys around your finger as you bounced down the steps, oddly excited to get to work today. You rounded the corner of your house only to find the spot where you normally parked your car completely empty. “Shit.” You curse, letting out an aggravated groan. You had neglected the fact that Will was the one who had driven you home the other night, and you had never ended up returning to Freddy’s to pick your car up afterwards. Normally, you wouldn’t mind walking to work. But, with the trek being over an hour long, you currently didn’t have the time to do so. You jogged back inside, picking up the phone and calling the first person to come to mind. “Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria, how can I help you?” You immediately recognized the chipper voice on the other end of the line.

“Mer, could you go grab W–” you caught yourself, “Mr. Afton from parts and services.” You grimaced, hoping she wouldn’t notice that you had almost called him by his first name.

“Mr. Afton?” She repeats back in a confused tone. “Yeah… Yeah, I’ll be right back.” You could hear the lively buzzing of the arcade in the background; the excited screams and shouts of children, the pings and whirrs of all your favorite game machines, you could just barely make out the song playing loudly from the stage, Freddy and the gang about half way through their set. Every second you sat with the receiver pressed to your ear only made you more anxious. Your heart jumped into your throat when you finally heard the phone get picked up off of the counter.

“Rabbit.” You couldn’t stop the immediate smile on your face at the sound of Will’s voice. “Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, I just completely forgot that I don’t have a car.” The deep rumble of his chuckle made butterflies erupt in your stomach.

“That was something we completely overlooked, wasn’t it?” He mutters into the receiver. “I’ll come pick you up, I’ll be there in about ten minutes.” You exchange your goodbyes before he hangs up, the dial tone ringing in your ears as you just stand there for a moment, unable to make yourself move. You knew that this was more than likely going to happen if you called him, and to be honest you were really hoping your hunch would be right. Will was very easily able to come and go as he pleased, it would be no trouble for him to come swing by and get you. But, the fact that he immediately dropped everything just to come pick you up, the fact that there was not an ounce of hesitation in his answer, it made your heart pound.

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“I have to run out for a few minutes, are you alright here?” Henry shot Will a perplexed look at the sudden statement.

“And just where are you off to in such a rush? Got a hot date?” Henry chuckles, not missing the momentary flash of panic that crossed his friends' features. Henry gasped, jutting an accusatory finger in Will’s direction. “What did you do?”

“Nothing!” He snaps back immediately.

“Nothing happened when the two of you had dinner the other night?” Will let out a strangled sound, sporadically gesturing with his hands, wondering why he was getting interrogated all of a sudden.

“She forgot to come back to get her car, that’s the only thing that happened.” He explains with a groan.

“William–”

“What? Are we going to sit around and gossip? Do you want me to make some tea? Do you want me to tell you about how smart and funny she is? Or about how we sat there and drank wine and just talked for hours and it was the happiest that I’ve been in the last twenty years? About how her eyes sparkle, or how nice her laugh is, or how she scrunches up her nose when she talks about something she doesn’t like, or how I’m in love with her–?” Will froze, the words leaving his lips before he had a chance to fully think them through.

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t quite hear you, what was that last part?” Will didn’t even have to look at Henry to hear the shit eating grin in his tone. He swallows thickly, burning holes into Henry’s nameplate. “Will, you’re gonna have to grow some balls and be honest with her.” Henry chuckles. “Don’t make me get my wife involved, she’ll have you married before the end of the month.” He jokingly threatens.

“Keep Sara out of this.” Will warns playfully. “I’ll be back.” He waves over his shoulder as he heads out.

“Don’t get into any trouble, remember having sex in a car is still indecent exposure!” Henry calls after him. Will flips Henry off before slamming the door shut behind him, grumbling to himself as he shakes his head. He dragged his palms down his jeans, his hands unusually clammy as he headed out the back. He slid into the driver’s seat of his car, smiling slightly to himself at the memory of your small form seated at his side. He didn’t want to waste any time getting to your place, wanting to see you again as soon as possible. Despite only having spent a couple days apart, Will would have sworn it was an eternity. He missed the warmth your smile spread through his chest, all of your shy glances, he drummed his fingers on the steering wheel as he pushed the thought from his mind. Will was still reluctant to believe that you could possibly harbor any type of deeper feelings for him. Having chalked up the kiss on his cheek the other night to nerves and feeling a bit emboldened by the wine. He knew it would probably be for the best if he just moved on, forgetting about the evening the two of you shared together. But, he couldn't deny the way his heart pounded and his lips instantly pulled into a smile the moment he saw you excitedly waving at him as he pulled up.

You jogged over to his car, sliding into his passenger seat effortlessly. “Thank you for picking me up.” You smile warmly at him. “You’re a lifesaver.”

“I’m only doing it cause you’re cute.” He teases you with a wink, making your cheeks grow warm. “Besides, I told you if you needed anything to call me…” You catch the sight of a faint smile lacing its way across his lips. “I’m glad you did.” You relax into the worn leather seats, letting the warm afternoon sun wash over you as it streamed through the car's window.

“What can I say? I knew my knight in shining armor would show up.” You share a coy smile.

He says your name softly, his grip on the steering wheel tightening slightly. “I just want you to know, you can call me anytime… even if you don’t have a reason to… and I’ll be there.”

“Don’t say that, I’ll call you just to talk your ear off.” You joke with a chuckle.

“And I would gladly drop everything just to hear your voice.” Your heart leapt into your throat at his statement. You smile, your attention dropping to your lap as you begin to fidget with your fingers. The ride to Freddy’s was a lot shorter than you would have liked, knowing that once you set foot through those doors the two of you were almost guaranteed to get swept apart in the chaos. Your eyes met his, freezing in place under the striking silver that studied your every movement, just as reluctant to leave the safe confines of his car as you were.

“Don’t work too hard.” You say with a sad smile. That same feeling had settled itself in your chest much like it had when the two of you parted ways the other night. That deep heavy ache of just wanting to stay in his company.

Will stuck close to your side as you walked up to the building, hands shoved in his pockets and his strides noticeably slower than usual. He holds the door open for you, making you giggle as he motions for you to walk in first with a lopsided grin. “Have a good day. If you need anything, you know where to find me.” He winks at you, making your cheeks grow warm as the two of you part ways. You made your way over to the prize counter, greeting your coworker before making a list of what still needed to be taken care of.

“Welcome back!” You look up to see a smiling Mr. Emily. “How are you feeling?”

“Just fine, Mr. Emily. Happy to be at work if anything.” You chuckle. “I really appreciate the weekend off, but I promise, I would have been just fine coming in.” You offer him a reassuring smile.

“I’m sure you would have. But, distance does make the heart grow fonder, doesn’t it?” He gives you a knowing grin in return. Your cheeks grow warm, your eyes briefly darting over to the door to parts and services. He slaps his hand on the counter, making you jump. “Right, I’ll be on my way then. I just wanted to swing by and check in.” He smiles kindly, turning on his heels to make his departure only to come screeching to a halt seconds later. “Oh, I almost forgot.” He turns back to you. “I have some new arcade machines getting delivered today, I was wondering if you would be willing to stay late with Will for a few test runs before we move them to the floor.”

“Yeah,” you answer a little too quickly, “Yeah that should be no problem.”

“Excellent!” He practically shouts back in response, making you jump slightly. “Just stick around after your shift, Will should come out and grab you when he makes his late evening coffee run.” He chuckles. You nod, watching him curiously as he hurries off.

“That was strange.” You remark to your coworker who agreed with a confused nod.

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“Will!” Henry’s voice booms from out the door making Will jump and the freshly lit cigarette tumble from his lips onto the floor.

“For Christ's sake, Henry!” Will curses under his breath as he snatches the smoke from off of the concrete.

“I need a favor.” Henry starts as he pushes through the door.

“What, do you need a body buried?” He asks in an annoyed tone, brushing the leftover ash from his lap.

“I just got a bunch of new arcade machines,” he grimaces slightly before continuing. “Think you could stay late and make sure they’re in working order for me?” Will stared at Henry with a deadpan expression, the question hanging heavy in the air before Will eventually groaned and gave in.

“Fine, but you owe me. I keep telling you, check the machines before you buy them. I get going after a bargain, but those things are useless to us unless they work.” He takes one long drag of his cigarette, blowing the smoke out of the corner of his mouth as he nods in the direction of the door. “Now get the hell out of here before I change my mind.” He flips down his welding mask, turning back to the project he was currently focusing on, allowing Henry to scurry off without any damage.

“Well, that was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be.” Henry straightens up with a bright smile before bouncing down the hall back towards the main pizzeria. Little did he know, despite his less than pleased demeanor, Will welcomed the distraction working on the arcade machines would bring. Maybe it would help get the thought of your smile out of his head.

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“Goddammit!” You curse, jumping to reach the top shelf only for your hand to slap metal once again. You sucked in a deep breath, massaging your temples with your fingers.

“Everything okay rabbit?” You turn to find Will standing in the doorway, strong arms crossed over his chest as he looks down at you with an amused smile.

It took you a moment to find your voice, despite his slightly slouched posture he still towered over you. “I was trying to get more crayons.” You speak softly, motioning to the shelf behind you.

“You know you could’ve asked, I gladly would’ve helped.” He chuckles.

“I didn’t want to bother you.” He pats your head as he walks past you, reaching up to the top shelf with ease to grab a couple fresh boxes of crayons.

“You're never a bother rabbit.” He states softly, your cheeks growing warm at his intimate tone. “I'm serious, anything you need at all just come get me.” He places the boxes into your hands as he continues walking. He paused in the doorway, shoving his hands into his pockets. “My girl shouldn't have to struggle.” He states flatly before continuing on his way. You stood there in shock for a moment, the sound of your pulse thundering in your ears. You breathe out a laugh, a smile tugging at your lips. You look at the exit he had just gone through, shaking your head slightly as you played back what he had said over and over again in your mind.

“His girl?” You giggle. You quickly shrugged off the thought, he probably just misspoke. There was no use in getting your hopes up. “Don't be stupid.” You head back into the bustling energy of the pizzeria as you try to rationalize with yourself. It didn't matter how the sound of his laugh made your heart race, or how his smile alone was enough to have warmth settling behind your cheeks. Will was an established businessman, he surely wouldn't want to waste his time on some twenty something year old restaurant worker with a less than vibrant future. While you were busy trying to convince yourself that you were being irrational, Will stumbled into his office on the opposite side of the building. He slammed the door shut behind him, collapsing into his chair as it felt like rocks had settled in his stomach.

Was he stupid? Here he was running around all day trying to repress the memory of your evening together only to immediately drop the ball. There was something about being around you that made whatever minimal filter he had to completely disappear. He picked up the lone picture that sat on his desk, smiling as his eyes immediately traveled to the same place they always did. The photo had been taken at a holiday party a couple years prior, even after looking at the picture nearly every day his throat still got tight at the sight of you in a slinky black cocktail dress. You looked so tiny tucked against Will’s side, his large hand very easily able to hug the curve of your waist as he pulled you in closer for the group photo. Both of you were emboldened by the alcohol you had consumed over the course of the evening, and you held Will just as closely as he held you. The two of you completely lost in your own world, your focus taken away from the camera as you happened to glance at each other. Will could never get over how you almost seemed to glow in front of him that night, the film not doing the sight nearly enough justice. You smiled as you gazed up at him, doey eyes glimmering in the harsh flash of the camera. Will looked down at you with a similar expression, a relaxed grin spread across his features as he held you close. He had almost kissed you that night, and he’s regretted the fact he hasn't ever since then. Will was starting to wonder just how much longer he was going to be able to keep his distance from you. But, would that really be such a bad thing? If anyone would be able to treat you right it would be him, if he ever musters the courage to finally tell you how he feels maybe he’ll get a chance to prove that to you.

One by one your coworkers slowly began to clock out and head home, leaving you alone inside the pizzeria. The quiet music that drifted out from the kitchen kept you company as you wiped away any remaining fingerprints on the prize counter glass. It was always a strange experience being in Freddy’s after hours. The room is illuminated by nothing but the neon lights of the arcade machines, the overhead lights having been turned off after the last customer had left for the evening. The well loved animatronics now sat silent behind their heavy red velvet curtain, leaving you completely alone in the normally bustling space. “Well isn’t this a pleasant surprise.” You straighten up at the sound of Will’s voice behind you. “What are you still doing here?” You turn to face him, a gentle smile lacing its way across his lips. One hand stuffed into his pocket, the other holding a steaming cup of what you could smell was strong, black coffee.

“Mr. Emily asked me to stay late to test the new arcade machines with you.” He pauses, obviously not expecting your response. Henry had set him up. “I mean, if you would rather I go–”

“No!” He snaps himself from his train of thought, taking a few long strides forward to close the distance between the two of you. You always seemed to forget how much Will towered over you until moments like this. He leans against the prize counter as he faces you, your gaze slowly trailing upwards until you eventually meet his eyes. “I just didn’t realize he had asked you to stay as well rabbit. I thought I was going to be stuck working alone all night, having you around is definitely welcomed company.” Your cheeks grow warm as he smiles down at you.

Will leads you to a storage room at the way back of the restaurant you had never been in before. A line of five new arcade machines were oriented neatly in a straight line across the middle of the room. You stuck close to his side, the room dark other than the glow of the games that sat in front of you. “Are you alright, you look nervous?” He asks with an amused grin.

“It’s just a little creepy back here.” You admit with a bashful chuckle.

“There’s nothing to worry about, rabbit, the scariest thing back here is me.” He jokes. “Anything that wants to get to you is going to have to go through me first.” You can’t help but giggle at his confidence, playfully swatting at his arm as he nudges into your shoulder. You glance at the machines and then back at him.

“You up for a little competition, boss man?” You challenge.

“Sweetheart, I’d absolutely wipe the floor with you at these games.” He chuckles in response, one large hand coming to rest on the top of your head. Your cheeks grow warm at the sudden contact, yet your confidence never waivered.

“I don’t know about that Will, I’ve got quite the trophy list when it comes to this place.” The playful sparkle in your eyes was just about enough to make Will melt. It took every ounce of restraint he had not to reach out to pull you closer. Your soft, pouty lips look even more alluring in the soft neon glow that surrounds you.

“You’re on, but I have to see if these things even work first.” Will spent a few minutes smacking loose a couple stuck buttons and oiling up one of the machine's squeaky joysticks, making quick work of pulling off the machine's brightly colored metal cover to reveal the internal mechanisms. Muttering off his mental checklist to himself as he went through it. “Wiring looks good, nothing’s snapped, no rodent damage… looks pretty good to me.” He turns to you with a smile, “as long as nothing got fucked up with the programming in them, they should run like a dream.” He can’t help but chuckle at your bewildered expression as you stared at the mess of wires and metal before you.

“I don’t know how you could figure any of that out, but, you’re the expert.” You giggle, turning to face him with a soft smile. There was an undeniable tenderness in his gaze as your eyes met his. The compliment fell effortlessly from your lips, “you’re really smart, Will.”

He breathes out a laugh, his attention turning back to the machine. “Thank you rabbit, you’re sweet.” He stuffs his hands in his pockets, nodding at the line of games. “How about we start that little competition you were so eager for?”

The corners of your lips tug into a playful grin. “You’re on.” Will walked over to one of the shelves that lined the walls, pulling down a red solo cup that you could tell from the loud jingling was filled with arcade tokens. He rattles the cup, shooting you a wink before holding it out to you.

“Ladies first.” He states with a slight bow.

“What a gentleman.” You scoff, rolling your eyes, unable to keep the smirk off your face. The two of you started off with the single player games, Will was interested in seeing just how much of your earlier trophy winner statement was all talk. He slips a token into your hand, you take the chance to line up your fingers with the buttons before dropping the worn brass coin into the slot.

First up on the roster: Robtron: 2084.

“Hope you're good at shooters, rabbit.” He teases with a chuckle.

“Going against the man who’s almost completely blind without his glasses, I think I'm all set.” You jab back.

“Brat.” He responds bluntly with a smirk. The game itself was simple enough, a multi-direction top down shooter. Will leaned against the side of the machine, arms crossed over his chest as he watched you beat level after level with an amused smile playing at his lips. He was impressed to see that you weren’t all talk, your eyes darting between each of the brightly colored enemies to see which direction you needed to flick the joystick in next. You curse as the evil robots finally overwhelm you, the bright red GAME OVER text flashing in front of your face. You put in your initials despite the fact your scores would be cleared when the machine was unplugged in order to move it into the pizzeria.

“What do I win when I beat you?” You joke with a laugh.

Will breathes out a chuckle, “I’ll tell you what, if you manage to beat me at any of these games you can have whatever you want, because it’s not gonna happen.”

“When I win, does that mean I can ask you to make me dinner again?” Will pauses for a moment at your question, unable to stop the flustered smile that quickly spread across his features. He clears his throat, quickly nodding his head as he forces himself to regain his composure.

“You can ask me to do that regardless of our little competition.” Your cheeks grow warm, both of you exchanging a coy expression. You held out the cup of tokens to Will, unable to tear your eyes away from his.

“I still like my chances.” You wink. He flips the coin between his fingers, staring at the screen with a contemplative expression on his face.

“Come here, let me show you how to really play this game.” He motions for you to come closer to him. You set down the cup, your heart pounding as you took your first step forward. A large hand wraps itself around your waist, guiding you in between the arcade machine and Will’s massive form. He moves your hands to the buttons and the joysticks, looking down at you for any sign of hesitation before covering them with his own. Your whole body felt like it was on fire, you glanced back over your shoulder only to find that Will was just as surprised by this whole interaction as you were.

“Well? I thought you were going to show me something?” You prod, Will’s nervous demeanor easily melting away as he shot you an exuberant smirk. He slips the token into the slot, pushing into you slightly in order to get closer to the screen. You swallowed thickly at the feeling of his strong body, powerful corded muscles that tensed at your smallest movements. You caught the sight of him smiling at you out of the corner of your eye as the starting theme of the game rang through the empty room. You found yourself leaning back into Will, watching his fighter move around the screen, fighting off the never ending hoards of robots. You jerk the joystick to the left as one of the enemies got a little too close for comfort.

“Good eye, rabbit.” He chuckles. It didn’t take you long to figure out that Will was much better at playing video games than you gave him credit for. He easily surpassed your score, playing on with ease for another few minutes before dying. You watched as he punched his initials into the machine ‘W.V.A.’ You whirl around, jabbing a finger into his chest.

“It’s you!” You exclaim. “You’re the asshole that’s beat my score on every machine in that arcade!” Will laughs at your realization.

“Like I said before, there’s no way you’re going to beat me.” He smirks down at you with a wink.

“You are unbelievable.” You playfully roll your eyes, crossing your arms over your chest.

“I don’t see the harm in a little friendly competition. Who knows, maybe one of these days you’ll manage to beat me.” He teases. Testing the rest of the machines quickly devolved into one on one matches. Henry managing to snag a few 2 player machines, you stood side by side with Will, both of you playfully shouldering the other out of the way to try and hopefully mess up one of your game play. You groaned as he beat you again, but this time you had almost managed to come out on top. “I guess some more practice is in order.” He chuckles, grinning contently down at you. “I’ll handle all the heavy lifting from here. How about you and I grab something to eat, I’m sure you must be starving by now.” You found yourself instinctually leaning into his side as the weight of his arm fell across your shoulders. You can’t help but laugh slightly at the sound of your stomach growling.

“Sounds like a plan to me.”

“I’m gonna go throw a pizza in the oven, why don’t you get some lights on.” You part ways with a nod, feeling your way around the wall in the otherwise pitch black room. Your hand finally bumps into the switch panel, you curse under your breath as you struggle to remember what switches went to what. You jumped slightly as the first heavy switch thwacked into place, a few lights over the booths closest to the kitchen flickering to life.

“Okay.” You squint, trying to read the faded scratchy handwriting on the labels. “What about this one?” You flick another switch, the purple and yellow party lights begin swirling in patterns across the empty dance floor.

“I like it, it really sets the mood.” Will chuckles as he leaves the kitchen.

“I can’t figure out which switches to flip.” You groan.

“This will work just fine, rabbit, don’t worry.” He motions for you to join him. He places a plastic soda cup in your hand, you smile coyly up at him as you catch the unmistakable scent of grenadine. “Shirley Temple for the lovely lady.”

“Thank you, Will.” you can't help but giggle at the sweet gesture. You took a long sip of the drink, absentmindedly bobbing your head along to the radio. “I love this song.” You remark as you finally recognize the melody.

“I never took you for a George Harrison fan.” He teases with a chuckle. He pushes himself upright from his position leaning against the wall, reaching up to raise to volume on the speakers. He watched you with an amused smirk as you sang along quietly to yourself, swaying slightly as you took another sip of your soda, the syrup already starting to stain your lips a dark pink that Will found adorable. “Would you like to dance, rabbit?” Your hand slips into his effortlessly, laughing as Will spun you around before tugging you towards the dance floor.

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Henry sighed as he pulled into the parking lot of Freddy’s. He noticed the lone beacon in the night on his drive home from date night with his wife, Sara. “He probably just forgot to turn the light off.” The waving anthropomorphic bear greeted them as Henry parked in front of the entrance. “Besides, Will always ends up staying late. I don’t see why tonight in particular is any cause for concern.” She jokes, trying to lighten her husband's mood

“This is Will we’re talking about, he hasn’t left the light on since we opened.” Henry groans. “Besides, today was… different. I just want to check in on him real quick, that’s all.”

Sara nods in the direction in the building, leaning in to give Henry a quick kiss. “I’ll wait here, go check on him.”

“I’ll be right back.” He promises as he quickly hops out of the car. He pulls the door open, his senses immediately getting assaulted with blaring music and the smell of pepperoni pizza wafting through the air. Henry stood frozen in place for a moment, blinking a few times as he allowed his eyes a moment to adjust to the darkened entryway. He peers into the main area of the pizzeria. Most of the lights in the room were off except for a single dim row of lights over a few booths and the colorful spinning lights that whirled around over the dancefloor. Henry froze, struggling to stifle a delighted chuckle as he watched Will take your hand and spin you around the floor, laughing as your dizzy state caused you to stumble into him. You slid your arms over his shoulders, smiling coyly at him as Will’s hands came to rest on your waist, both of you singing along loudly to the music as you swayed along with its rhythm. Henry shook his head with a smile, quietly heading outside before either of you had the chance to realize he was there. He would hate to interrupt what seemed to be such a wonderful evening.

“Everything alright in there?” Sara asks the moment Henry slides into the passenger seat.

“Everything’s perfect, he’s just… working late.” He smiles at his wife, wrapping an arm around her shoulders in order to pull her to him. “Come on, let's get home. We wouldn’t want to break his focus.” He laughs, glancing at the pizzeria in the rearview with a smile as they drive off.

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#fnaf #william afton #fnaf movie #five nights at freddy's #william afton x reader #steve raglan #springtrap #william afton fnaf #william afton x you #mathew lillard #fan fiction #x you #x reader #fnaf fluff #x reader fluff #skeleton writes

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nobody0805 · 1 year ago

Text

Hello Major

A Jasper Hale x Reader Oneshot

Someone force me to finish chapter 5 before I write more Oneshots god bless.

Warnings: a bit angsty? But also fluffy.

1334 Words

They had known each other for a long time.

He was still human when he got to know her. His eyes were still shining with his young innocence, his body was not ridden with scars.

But most importantly, his heart was still beating.

When he had to leave for the war, he felt terrible for leaving her behind.

He had promised her to write her letters whenever he can, to keep her informed on how he’s doing, if he’s alright, and most importantly to him, to let her know that he still loves her.

To prove his commitment, he had given her a ring. A ring as a promise he will return.

And once he’s back he’ll make her his wife.

And he kept that promise for two years.

His letters had mentioned how he focused his work on saving and evacuating women and children, leaving him riding across the state to make sure everyone was safe.

His letters had also told her about his progress, how he had become the youngest major in the army, even when considering how he had lied about his age to get into the army in the first place.

But it was one letter that broke her heart.

It had arrived in the evening, two weeks after his last letter.

She had been happy, until she saw the expression of the mail carrier.

The man looked sad, almost sorry for her.

And when she finally opened the letter and read through it, her world shattered. Her hand clutched the ring she wore on a necklace, the ring he gave her before he left.

He died.

At least, that’s what the letter told her.

The army expressed their condolences, telling her how sorry they were for having to tell her that Major Jasper Whitlock went missing and presumably died in the war.

Her reaction was conflicted.

She wanted to scream, cry, rip the letter apart, curse whoever was listening and caused this fate for them.

But she didn’t.

Instead she just kept clutching the ring and read the letter over and over again, hoping that this was just some sick joke. That someone just wanted to see her suffer, maybe the mail carrier, maybe someone else.

But even after two more weeks, no new letter arrived.

And she had to accept that it was true.

Jasper had died, the love of her life was dead.

And she was left alone. Unable to even visit a grave, unable to know where he went missing, what he felt, if he had been in pain before it was all over.

And it broke her.

The big unknown broke her.

And in her grief ridden state she decided that it couldn’t be true.

She was in denial, she was angry and in denial.

Her future with the man she loved was ripped away under her feet, and it made her incredibly angry.

So she decided to take her horse and ride to the last position his letters had told her he’d be.

But she couldn’t have expected what would happen to her.

Never in over a hundred years could she have seen this outcome.

——

Jasper Hale, formerly known as Jasper Whitlock, had been living with the Cullens for a few decades now.

He had gotten to know Alice, who turned out to be a great friend to him.

Thanks to her he managed to cope with the fact he never got to see her again, that she had probably died a long time ago.

And especially that he never got to keep his promise.

But it still hurt, of course it hurt.

In this immortal existence, knowing that he lost his love to time while he was stuck in this stupid army, forced to hurt people despite knowing how they felt, forced to follow the orders of the woman, the monster, who changed him and made him like her.

It all hurt so much.

And going to school over and over again, living amongst humans, pretending that he’s normal, that he’s fine and that he’s human, while having to constantly ignore just how everything hurt without her near.

His thirst was nothing compared to the constant pain of not having his love with him.

——

She wasn’t sure how much time had passed since everything changed, since she was told Jasper had died and she decided to search for him.

But she knew that something was drawing her to this small town, Forks.

She had quickly learned how to cope with her new… abilities. Especially with this near-constant burning in her throat that told her she needed to feed.

She had quickly learned that she could feed on animals and avoid hurting people. And she was glad it worked.

When she arrived in Forks, she felt lost. It was a new town for her, for someone who had been wandering on their own for years.

But she felt like something important was awaiting her.

And when she wandered through the forest, trying to avoid the weird smell of dog nearby, she found a house.

She hesitated, what if whoever lived in this surprisingly big and beautiful house in the middle of the forest wasn’t happy with spontaneous visitors.

But something was still drawing her near, as if something in her mind wanted her to enter and see who or what was inside.

Only when a man who looked like he had seen centuries of history stepped outside the house and welcomed her in was when she started moving again.

Reluctantly, she stepped closer, and finally saw a short, pixie-like girl standing behind the man.

”I‘m Alice! I knew you’d come here! Come inside, there is someone you should see!“

And if her heart was still beating, she was sure it would be racing right when she saw him.

When he saw her, his eyes widened and he felt like his words were stuck in his throat.

”D-Darlin‘…?“

”Hello Major.“

As soon as he heard her voice, sensed her emotions, and saw how she looked almost exactly like he remembered, he rushed to her side and pulled her into a tight hug.

”I thought I lost you… so long ago…“ the words were barely loud enough, but she was still able to hear them. And with how he sounded she was sure he’d be crying if it was physically possible.

And she wasn’t fooling anyone, she’d also be crying if she could.

Unable to restrain himself, Jasper pulled away from the embrace just enough to cup her face and pull her in a long overdue kiss.

And it felt like they hadn’t been apart at all, like the past decades of pain just started to disappear.

And he was so happy for the first time in years.

Once they pulled away and finally got to properly look at each other, Jasper’s eyes wandered and he saw the ring he had given her all those years ago. It was attached to a necklace and sat near her heart.

When she noticed where he looked, she smiled and gently cupped his cheek with her hand.

She chose to ignore the scars littered across his neck and jawline, deciding that there were better times to speak about what happened while they were apart, especially now that they have more than enough time together.

He practically melted into her touch, leaning against her hand as if he was afraid she would vanish before his eyes, like this was just an illusion and he was being tricked.

His own hand went to hers, holding it against his scarred cheek to keep her close, to keep enjoying her touch.

”you still have the ring“ he whispered, his golden eyes finding hers.

”and you still have a promise to keep,“ she smiled, ”but I think we have a lot to speak about first, before we take any big steps.“

And he was certain he would keep his promise, but at first they both had a lot of time to make up for.

#twilight #the twilight saga #twilight renessaince #twilight renaissance #jasper hale #jasper whitlock #jasper cullen #alice cullen #carlisle cullen #jasper hale x y/n #jasper hale x you #jasper hale x reader #jasper whitlock x reader #jasper whitlock hale

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sunflowerreid · 1 year ago

Note

Hey, I love your writing and I have an idea for a fic if you're interested:

Spencer and reader are in an established relationship and one day she and some other team members, maybe JJ are watching Reid playing with some kids (it may be Henry and Jack) and JJ makes a comment how Spencer will be the best father or something like that. Reader then feels worried that Spencer might want kids. She knows she doesn't want to have kids ever. So then she starts distancing herself from him and acting a bit cold. Then Spencer worries why is she like that and confronts her. And in the end after a lot of angst there is a happy ending where they want and chose to be child free.

Feel free to ignore this request if it's not something you'd want to write. Sorry for any mistakes English is not my first language.

Hope this is okay :) let me know if you’d like anything else written x

Forever yours - S.R

Warnings: angst

You knew from a young age that you never wanted to have children, the thought of raising a child scared you to death, the responsibility was too much. You hadn’t had a smooth childhood, every conversation between you and your parents ended in an argument, every night you were left alone with your siblings while they went down to the pub, you practically raised them by yourself. You couldn’t go through that again. The sleepless nights, the crying and screaming, the financial debt. None of it.

Spencer knew about your childhood, he knew you hadn’t had it easy and neither had he, the only difference between you and him was his ability to comfort and get along with the younger victims, he knew just what to say to calm them down while you watched uselessly from the sidelines. Your biggest fear was that he wouldn’t accept that you didn’t want a family, that he’d leave you after you told him so you kept quiet, too scared to ruin what you have with him. But right now you regretted not telling him, the insecurity that you aren’t good enough for him rose every time you saw him laughing with Henry, he couldn’t possibly be happy if he stuck with you he’d never have the chance to play with his own kid, a mini version of him instead of his godson. Henry was absolutely adorable with his shoulder length blonde hair, big green eyes and glistening smile, Spencer absolutely adored his godson and did everything he could to make him smile.

The whole team and their families had been invited round Rossi’s house for a dinner party, JJ and Hotch brought their kids along, both currently bored out of their minds so it wasn’t long before Spencer was crouched down at Henry’s and Jack’s level showing them a magic trick, you could hear a squeal of delight come from both of them when Spencer made a coin appear from behind Henry’s ear, Jack eagerly waiting for his turn. Everyone else was stood by the counter, glass of red wine in hand while they admired the interaction between the three of them. JJ made her way over to you while you giggled at the smile on Spencers face, “He’s going to make such a good parent one day, you’re both going to be” she said smiling, slightly tipsy. She didn’t notice your smile fading away slightly, “Thank you JJ” you replied calmly, your eye-line returning to the huge smile plastered on Spencers face. You couldn’t give him that, you couldn’t give him the one thing nature intended you to and you hated yourself for it, he’d be better off with someone who could. Someone like JJ.

You remembered how Spencer used to look at JJ, the same way he looks at you, the way his eyes lit up when she waked into a room, the way he threw his head back when he laughed as hard as he could when she told a joke. Who wouldn’t? She was absolutely gorgeous, so kind and nurturing even after everything she’d been through. You were the opposite, socially awkward and quiet, just average nothing special, you had no idea why Spencer had stuck himself with someone like you. Well it obviously had something to do with the fact that he couldn’t have JJ but still, he could’ve done so much better and you’re realising all of this now.

“You okay honey?” Spencer asked sweetly as he got into the car after saying goodbye to everyone, “Just tired” you replied softly as he started the car. Spencer placed his warm hand on his usual position on your thigh, started slightly as you tensed up, you’re never tense around him. He removed it slowly placing it onto the steering wheel instead. As you arrived back home you were quick to run up to the bedroom to change, not wanting to have to break the news to Spencer, you didn’t want to rip his dream away from him. You climbed into your side of the bed, pulling the covers up to your neck as you felt Spencer climb in the other side, shifting over to reach for your waist and pull you into him. You loved it when he did that, when he placed his head in the back of your neck and kissed you goodnight while holding you tightly, scared to let go, but you couldn’t tonight you had to get away before you said something you’d regret. “Too warm” you mumbled as an excuse, squirming away from him. “What’s wrong angel, please talk to me did I do something wrong” he whispered sadly when you didn’t take his hand in yours, like you normally would when you didn’t want to cuddle. “Go to sleep Spencer” you said in an annoyed tone, maybe if you acted in the way your parents did to you he’d realise how wrong you were for him, how much better off he’d be without you.

Three days. Three days without so much as a touch from Spencer. You could feel your heart breaking every time you saw him, every time you looked into those beautiful sad eyes, he didn’t know what he’d done wrong, he’d tried his best to communicate with you but you just shut down, walls back up to where they used to be. “Are you going to tell me what I did wrong” he asked sternly as you both got home after finishing a tough case, emotions running high. “Nothing wrong Spencer” you replied, turning away from him to avoid making eye contact. “No, no more of this, just stop it, stop acting like everything’s fine because I know somethings wrong so please enlighten me” he said raising his voice slightly. “Just leave it alone Spencer I don’t want to talk about it” you said trying to stay calm, still not facing him. “For fuck sake y/n, what’s wrong with you why are you acting this way!” he shouted his arms raising before falling back down to his sides “Come on are you going to say anything, I think I deserve an explanation, don’t you? Is this it angel is this the end of us, do you not love me anymore, is that it?!” He shouted again when you didn’t respond. “Will you please just look at me!”. You turned around, tears filling your eyes desperately trying to fall over the edge. “No angel no I’m sorry, I’m so sorry I forgot sweetheart, fuck I’m such an idiot” he whispered as he rushed over to you collecting you in his arms while you clung on for dear life, you hated shouting and confrontation and he knew that. “Not good for you m’sorry” you sobbed as your nails dug into his shoulder “Don’t say that angel you’re perfect for me you know that” he choked out, trying not to sob with you. “Can’t give you what you want, can’t be a mother can’t do it m’sorry, you deserve someone that can” you sobbed desperately as your grip tightened scared to let go. “Oh angel” he whispered as he gently encouraged your face to leave the safety of his neck, you looked up a him, tears spilling from his eyes as he wiped yours away, “You’re all I want honey, you’re all I will ever need”. You sobbed loudly, Spencer joining you as he wrapped his arms around you getting as close as possible, “I love you angel, I always will, I’ll never stop.” he sobbed. “You promise?”, “I promise sweetheart, I’ll love you forever”, “And ever?”, “And ever” he laughed softly, tears staining both of your cheeks red “I’m forever yours angel”. “Spence?”, “Yes honey”, “I love you too, forever and ever”.

#spencer reid angst #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x y/n #spencer reid x you #spencer reid fluff #spencer reid x reader smut

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tachiharastanacc · 4 months ago

Text

“Traitor! I’ll never forgive you for this!”

He could hardly believe that he was the one speaking the words, spitting them at the people he considered some of his closest friends. The man he considered a kind of father.

It was him that should be screamed at. That should be cursed out. He was in no place to accuse anyone of anything.

And yet.

“I trusted you! How could you do this to me?!”

The traitorous old bastard in question didn’t move, staring at him with a pitied gaze.

“Michizou-“

“Don’t fucking talk to me!”

“Can we wrap this up? I have an appointment to annoy Kunikida after this, and I can’t miss it.”

And then there was the damn detective. A far cry from the Port Mafia executive that he used to hear reports about, the obnoxious fucker had walked up behind him and cheerily cuffed their hands together.

If Tachihara hadn’t grown up around Jouno, he might’ve been impressed.

“Tachihara, it’s not that we want to hurt you or anything…”

Higuchi, in her ever-sensitive state was standing behind Hirotsu, holding onto the arm of a mildly annoyed Akutagawa. At least, that was how he wanted to come off.

Tachihara could practically smell the disappointment coming off him in waves.

“No. You just wanna get rid of me! This is revenge for betraying you!”

He considered lunging at them, but he doubted they’d fall for the bluff. And at the end of the day, he knew he wouldn’t actually hurt them.

Plus, he was dragging around about 67kg of dead weight.

“We don’t want to get rid of you. You know that.”

Hirtosu continued speaking in that same antagonizing tone of voice. As if Tachihara were some cornered animal he were trying to soothe. Or worse, a child throwing a temper tantrum.

“Do I?! Cuz you’re the ones who fucking ambushed me!”

It was supposed to be a simple picnic. That was all he wanted. The only request he’d made.

‘Before I die, I wanna do something. As a family.’

It’d been an embarrassing thought. And even more embarrassing to say. But after everything that had happened, spending his last two days with the them seemed like bliss.

“Tachihara.”

Gin’s voice was soft as always. Gentle in ways that the others couldn’t even fathom being. He’d refused to look at her, and he wasn’t planning on starting now. She of all people should know how he felt.

It was her that he’d told first.

‘Yeah. The Hunting Dogs are fucked like that. But hey, I wouldn’t trade this for the world. I’d rather die in a couple days than spend a life away from all of you.’

Gin hadn’t said anything at first. Just quietly ran her fingers through his hair as he talked.

The next day, the boss called him up.

He’d essentially taken one glance at the shadowed corner of his office and vehemently declared it was Tachihara’s choice and he wasn’t going to get involved.

Tachihara, meanwhile, had made his position very clear when he’d pulled a sword on his own commander.

And yet.

“Fool. To think you’d throw away your future for a bunch of lowlives.”

Tachihara gracefully didn’t mention the fact that Akutagawa had done the same thing for a man he claimed to hate not even a month prior.

“You’re one to fucking say shit! You spent years pining after praise from a man who tries to kill himself every other day.”

He turned to the bandaged man essentially holding hands with him.

“No offense.”

“None taken! Though, if you wanted to commit a double suicide, all you had to do was ask~”

“Is that some kinda joke to you?! My brother killed himself ya know! It’s not fucking funny!”

He paused.

“And I ain’t suicidal either!”

“Maybe not, but you don’t really value your own life~”

“Keep talking to me like that and I’ll grant your last wish and end you myself!”

“Enough. Both of you.”

Hirtosu, as always, was the voice of reason.

It was frustrating though, having the old man treat them like squabbling children. Even if they were. In a way.

And even if Dazai was right. In a way.

“It’s not…that I dislike bein’ alive or something. I just…”

He was a hunting dog. He’d been trained to always fight for justice. He was a weapon to be wielded. A soldier to be ordered around. A dog sent to catch its prey, no matter the cost of the hunt.

That was who he was. Who he was designed to be.

That was why he had tried to slit his throat without hesitation, if it meant not being turned against the world.

“Tachihara…”

Higuchi was still behind the others, but she took a step forward as she spoke. Her eyes were wet with unshed tears. Great.

“Nee-san, I didn’t mean…”

Curse the damn detective. No wonder Chuuya couldn’t stand him.

Thought to be honest, his instincts as a spy told him otherwise.

“That’s not the damn point! The point is that you ignored what I wanted! You lied to me and said we could spend today together! Why is that so hard to understand?! That I wanna spend the day with the…with the only family I got left.”

Higuchi turned away from him, but he could hear the sob she muffled behind her hand. Even Hirtosu, usually so calm, so stoic was looking at him with something akin to-

“Don’t ya dare pity me, gramps! I don’t need that! Not from you!”

If nothing else, he didn’t bother denying it. Tachihara had already seen the glint in his eyes. If he didn’t know better, he’d think he was about to start crying.

But he’d known the man for years. It wouldn’t make sense. Not for him.

The pity hurt. The fact that they didn’t see this as betraying him. They saw this as saving him. And it may have been the only way to save his life, but…

Images flashed through his mind.

A cheery young girl bragging about her latest successful torture method. One who, despite her constant joy derived from tormenting him, was always by his side. One who he viewed as a little sister.

A master of the blade whose accomplishments were only slightly less impressive than the food combinations he ate on a daily basis. A stoic pillar of support for the others.

A man who teased him, but was always the first to support him. Who could break the toughest of men and then come back and treat him just like a little brother.

The one who’d raised them. Who’d turned them into what they were.

The mafia was his family, but so were they.

And without them…

“I’m not goin’ back! You can’t make me!”

That wasn’t a threat or a challenge or anything. It was just true. Even they couldn’t manage to drag him all the way back to a top-secret military base. Not without abilities. Which they wouldn’t be able to use while Dazai was touching him.

And they all knew that the second he let go, Tachihara would be off like one of his bullets.

“That’s where you’re wrong, I’m afraid.”

That voice was one he’d only heard a few times. They’d never been particularly close. More of a distant, mutual respect for one another.

Which made sense, with the two of them being the only successful spies that infiltrated the mafia and survived.

“What? So you’re in on this too?! I guess that’s not shocking, considering your track record,” Tachihara spat.

The black-haired man stepped forward, adjusting his circular glasses.

“That’s enough. It’s time to go home.”

Agent Sakaguchi’s expression was schooled, neutral. Near unreadable, if not for Michizou’s prior knowledge of the man’s training and history.

Despite the faint regret, Tachihara knew better than to reason with him. While the Black Lizard only wanted to help him, Sakaguchi was just doing his job. There was nothing to be said that would persuade him.

“I thought this was my home.”

“The mafia isn’t a home.”

Though his words were harsh, the teenager knew that he was convincing himself more than anyone else. He may have had no loyalty to the Port Mafia anymore, but everyone with connections to his division knew that he took the same day off every year and came back smelling of whisky, curry, and flowers.

It wasn’t hard for a trained spy to connect the dots. Or even an untrained spy, if gossips were to be believed.

Tachihara understood though. He too wished things could’ve been different. But unlike Ango, he really believed he’d found his place.

Dazai threw his arms around him just as the man snapped his fingers. Though his reflexes were far beyond average thanks to the surgeries, even if his were lighter, the exhaustion of his body shutting down and being pushed passed its deadline slowed him down considerably.

He barely had time to react before he felt a sharp prick in his neck.

“Heyyyy Ango~! Do you think this stuff would kill me if I got injected with it?”

The parking lot was spinning, but the excitement in the detective’s voice was loud and clear.

“Absolutely, so don’t even try it. The Hunting Dogs are resistant to most poisons and drugs, so we need an extra strong dose. That’s enough to kill 30 men.”

“Aw, and you didn’t save any for me?”

Jeez, he didn’t have to sound so damn disappointed.

From beyond the haze of blacks and grays, Higuchi’s blonde head approached him.

Tachihara swayed a bit on his feet, allowing the deceptively-strong twig of a man still clinging to him to support his weight fully.

“Nee-san…”

He felt like he was speaking underwater. His limbs felt like jelly.

He’d had surgery over 70 times. He’d been under anesthesia a lot. But this was different. This felt like the world itself was fighting against him, trying to drag him down to hell with the rest of his missing unit.

“Shhh, I’m here. It’s okay. You’re okay.”

He closed his eyes, nodding slowly as cold hands came to rest upon his cheeks. “You’re not alone. We’re all here with you.”

He was faintly aware of the heavy hand on his shoulder. The stench of cigarettes easily overwhelmed him.

Gross.

“Hey…you should really…take better care of your lungs. You’re already…practically…a fossil.”

He yawned. He was so, so tired all of a sudden.

The old man in question gave him a sad chuckle before patting his head affectionately.

Tachihara may have been a mafioso, but he never was a fan of Gramps smoking. If nothing else, the lecture Jouno would give him when he came back to the base smelling of nicotine was bad enough.

Still, he allowed them to wrap around him.

He couldn’t quite remember why they were so worried, but he knew they were upset.

“Why…ya sound so…sad?”

“Shut up,” Akutagawa’s voice echoed over the ringing in his ears.

Tachihara Michizou was never one to refuse a direct order.

Except…

Ah, it was all too hazy.

“Think ‘m…gonna sleep…now…”

Words continued to be said, but he didn’t process any of them. Even Gin’s soft voice, whispering in his ear.

“I…ve…ou.”

—

Hirtosu didn’t know how long he’d been standing there.

His cigarette tasted bitter in his mouth. The sounds of the engines and Higuchi’s wails had all but faded now.

“It’s a shame.”

He had nothing to say beyond that. It wasn’t that he didn’t care. Far from it. It was just that despite his enjoyment of reminiscing, he didn’t want to think about this any more than he had already.

Perhaps once he, Chuuya, and Kajii were all a few beers deep.

The elderly mafioso took another drag of his cigarette.

“I wonder if I’ve made a mistake.”

It wasn’t a question he wanted to reflect on particularly. But his audience wouldn’t show itself until he invited conversation.

“You already know where I stand.”

The executive didn’t bother emerging from the shadows. He didn’t have to. The fact that he’d left his office was tell enough that he was invested.

“…I couldn’t let him die.”

“That doesn’t mean you let him live.”

“I know.”

Another breath. Another cloud of smoke.

“This isn’t over. Things won’t end like this.”

Hirtosu didn’t respond for a moment. Then, with a small smile, he spoke.

“You sound like you’re agreeing to help.”

“No. I’m not. However…I’ll see what information I can find. I have resources.”

As one should expect of perhaps the greatest assassin of all time.

“Why? I’d half expected you to wipe your hands of this.”

“I did too. Those soldiers…they may not be like my brother and I. But we’re the same in some ways.”

The man in the shadows smiled softly.

“Someone once saved me, despite how I betrayed him. He’s the reason I’m still here, though he is not. So, I’ll find what information I can.”

The man turned to leave.

“Perhaps one day, I can make up for everything I’ve done. Right, Arthur?”

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ikemenlibrary · 1 year ago

Text

Night and Light (Ikemen Prince)

Pairing: (mentions of) Licht Klein x MC (Emma) Summary: Nokto only wishes the best for his big brother on their birthday Word count: 1.3k A note from the author: Dusted the cobwebs off of an old fic I started over a year ago, just for a chance to share my love for the Klein boys on their special day. They really do just deserve the best.

Night and Light.

Nokto and Licht.

Two twins who lost their way at a young age. The push and pull between them impenetrable, no matter how hard the other tries.

And believe Nokto, he tried.

There used to be no use getting through to Licht. Nokto’d make a dumb joke at a meeting between the two factions and look to his other half, hoping to see a hint of a smile on his face. He was always met with an even gaze and downturned lips. If he tried to bribe Licht to have a brotherly chat with him with a plate full of sweets, Licht would accuse Nokto of having an agenda and walk away after grabbing a custard pie. Nokto did have an agenda, of course. But, he really just wanted to get through to his brother. When Nokto was around Licht for too long, he just wanted to grab his older brother by his shoulders and scream that He was hurting too. They should bask in the pain together, and help carry each other's pain. Nokto also knew that doing so was no good; forcing Licht to listen to anything he’s ever had to say only resulted in the black cloud of doom over Licht’s head to darken even more, the thunderstorm brewing more intimidating than any enemy Nokto has ever seen Licht off to face on the battlefield.

But with Emma, Licht was different. She embraced his darkness, she didn’t try to get him to snap out of it, instead offering to show him everyone who would miss him, if he chose to leave them. Show him the things he was missing, such as love and kindness and sunlight - all things Nokto knew his big brother deserved more than anything. It wasn’t as if Nokto hadn’t tried to offer Licht those things; Emma was just… special. She went about things in her own way.

Nokto adored his sister in law. She was everything both of the Klein boys needed and more. She showed them both patience while they both worked to rebuild their bond, clutching tightly at Licht’s clammy gloved hands and offering Nokto encouraging smiles when Licht wasn’t responding. Thanks to Emma, the relationship had slowly started to regrow between the twins. It wasn’t without problems though, since Licht knew Nokto loved Emma in his own way, there was tension there when Nokto would mention her unprovoked if they were alone. Licht would get pouty, and it was adorable, and Nokto would laugh carefree like he and Licht used to do when they were children and tease Licht about the fact that he was too easy to rile up. Licht would usually march off at that point, to find Emma and bury his pouty face into her chest, which only made Nokto’s heart swell with even more love for the both of them.

If the light in Licht's eyes went out on that day when they were kids, Emma flipped on the switch, once again bringing brightness to his blood-red eyes.

Nokto was currently being led down the hallway by Emma, Licht at his side. She was pulling them along, blindfolds secured tightly around their eyes as she told them how she planned something special for the both of them.

“It’s your birthday so you can’t tell me no.” She pouted, tying the blindfold around Nokto’s eyes. It was the late afternoon, Licht was also in the room, and Nokto could hear him shift his weight from one foot to the other.

“I think it’s the other way around, Ems.” Nokto noted, his signature lazy smile falling onto his lips. “It’s my birthday so you can’t tell me no.” And just to get a rise out of Licht, he added: “We’re already off to a pretty good start though. Never knew you were into blindfolding. Pretty kinky if you ask–” Licht smacked the back of Nokto’s head, earning a soft tut from Emma as she pulled herself on her tiptoes to press a kiss to her sweetheart's cheek. “No one asked you, Nokto.”

“Behave boys,” Emma giggled, pulling Nokto up off the side of his bed with one hand, enveloping Licht’s with the other as she pulled them out of the room and down into the formal dining hall.

Light filtered back into Nokto’s blinded vision as Emma’s gentle hands untied the makeshift blindfold. Sitting at the table along Yves, Jin, Luke, and Leon were all of the sweets and pastries either of the twins could imagine. Nokto glanced at Licht, and he looked torn between fleeing, and wanting to sit himself down and indulge in the confectionaries his beloved obviously put her heart and soul into making that night after Licht went to bed.

“So this is where you went last night,” Licht murmured into Emma’s ear, his arm wrapping around her waist as he led her over to sit at the table. Nokto’s brother was the perfect example of a gentleman, pulling out Emma’s chair and tucking her napkin onto her lap as she blushed. Nokto thought it was adorable that no matter how long they were together, they still made each other blush like it was their first date.

It made Nokto wish to have something like that someday.

“Well, happy birthday Licht and Nokto.” Leon mused after Nokto had taken his place at the table as well. “It’s been a while since we had a birthday party here for one of us, but Emma insisted.”

“Yeah, aren’t you two a little old for this?” Yves, haughty as ever remarked, and Emma snickered at his expression.

“You’re never too old to have a lady dote on you, in fact, the older you get, the better it usually becomes.” Nokto noted, nudging Emma with his elbow as Licht shot daggers at his brother and moved to pull her chair further away from Nokto.

“Does that mean you have evening plans tonight, Nokto? Because if you don’t, I was thinking we hit up that one tavern in town. You know, that one where I met that lady?” Jin put his hands in front of him, miming squishing, which made Leon and Nokto laugh. Luke was sitting quietly, pouring a little bit of tea into a cup full of honey.

“Sure, I’ll take you up on that. All my drinks are going on your tab though. Maybe you can find me a nice lady to bring back tonight.” Nokto bit into a dariole - Licht’s favorite - and the flavor exploded on his tongue. “These are really good.” “Thanks Nokto. I made them special for today since I know they’re Licht’s favorite.” Emma remarked, placing her hand over Licht’s bare one that was laying on the table. Idle chat from there ensued, everyone careful not to breach the topic of conversation of previous birthday, instead focusing on the present.

Finally, Licht wiped his face with his napkin, a satisfied look adorning his lips as he stood up. “Thank you all for coming to join me and Nokto for some tea today. It was nice. And... thank you for the birthday wishes.” A small smile crept up on his lips and Nokto had to stop himself from clutching at his heart and exclaiming how cute his little big brother looked at that moment. “And Nokto?” Nokto’s eyes met his mirror, and he felt a similar smile crawl onto his lips. “Happy birthday.”

“Happy birthday, Licht.” He raised his hand in a lazy wave and with their final goodbyes, Licht and Emma were gone. And as Nokto looked out the window of the dining hall, he realized that Licht really took the light with him when he left; the sun had set, and Nokto only hoped that the moon would glow bright enough tonight that there’d be enough light outside for Licht and Emma to make it wherever they planned on going. That thought was enough for him to shove back his chair, and meet Jin’s expectant gaze with his own as he nodded his head and followed their eldest brother out the door.

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donnalawliet · 2 months ago

Text

Chapter 3 of Coffee or Tea (Five x Derek)

After all of your suggestions, feedback and general encouragement, here it is! The third chapter of this story.

———————————

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

Five and Derek grow closer, through good and bad times.

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

Five had been trying to live a more normal life. He took vacation days, watched movies with Derek and sometimes got his morning dose of caffeine at a coffee shop instead of making it himself. It most definitely wasn’t easy to let go of his former life, where he constantly had to be on guard. But it was nice and his therapist had assured him that it would take practice, that healing from trauma couldn’t be rushed. Through all of it, Derek remained by his side, even when it became incredibly tough.

———————————

“Mr.Five, she’s turning six years old“, Derek insisted. They had spent almost an hour looking for a birthday present for Grace, Five’s favourite niece. The oldest Hargreeves sibling had joked once that she had the looks of Diego and the intellect of Lila, which was both a compliment and an insult.

“Yes?“, Five held up the book that he had been considering, “This is a quantum physics book for beginners. She’ll like it, I’m sure of it. You can get her another gift.“

He was stubborn and he insisted on his pick. For their birthdays, Reginald had always bought practical presents. Books, weapons, anything that he thought represented real value. So Five had never really received normal gifts. And even though he tried to step away from his father’s lessons, some of them stuck. But he also knew Grace. She was quite bright and already surpassed her reading levels.

Derek sighed heavily, soon enough returning with a board game. He didn’t have a lot to do with kids, but he knew enough to know that a gift like that was a safe bet.

“Alright, I’ll trust you on this. Let’s just get them both wrapped up“, he said, his tone softening again, “But this is the last time we do last minute gift shopping.“

Five chuckled, reaching out to take ahold of Derek’s elbow. He still wasn’t completely comfortable with unannounced romantic touching, but he had grown to enjoy small gestures of affection. Both with his partner and with his family. After so many tough years, he wanted to be a good uncle and brother, even if it meant attending birthday parties full of screaming children, most of which he couldn’t care less about.

“Are you sure that you want me to come with you?“, Derek asked him out of the blue once they got into the car, “I fully understand if you want to be alone with your family.“

Even though he had met Five’s family, he was still a bit nervous from last time. He couldn’t shake the feeling that they didn’t completely trust him yet. Along with that came the knowledge of how much his boyfriend loved his siblings.

“No, you’re coming with me“, Five insisted, though he kept his eyes fixated on the road ahead, “I’m not dealing with them by myself, you’re the only one who can stop me from murdering them.“

He loved his siblings, that was a well known fact. But they also annoyed him on a regular basis. Of course, Five would never intentionally kill them…though he had to hold himself back a few times. Sometimes he wondered if he really was a killer at heart, if the Handler had been right that the Commission hadn’t corrupted him, he had done it himself by just existing. His knuckles turned white from how hard he was gripping his steering wheel, his thoughts running wild.

Luckily, Derek pulled Five out of it before he could crash the car. The younger man had gotten better at recognising the signs that Five was experiencing an episode. The episodes themselves had turned milder as well, but they hadn’t stopped, even after all this time.

“Five, I’m here“, he said firmly, without touching his partner. Touches were still a complicated topic, so he used his voice. And it was almost always enough to get Five to snap out of his thoughts. Derek belonged to a time without the Handler, without the Commission or the apocalypse, so he symbolised safety for him.

“Yeah, I know“, Five mumbled, relaxing his grip a bit as he pulled up to the parking lot, taking a few deep breaths. He was grateful and Derek fortunately knew that, because he still had trouble saying it. Yet he smiled softly when Five whispered a quiet thank you, just before they walked inside together.

———————————

Derek stared at the situation in front of him in shock. He had already handed Grace his gift and she had politely said thank you, most likely taught by her Uncle Klaus. After him however, Five had insisted on handing over his gift, the book he had fought Derek over.

“Wow!“, Grace squealed with joy once she read the title, her eyes lighting up, “That’s so cool, Uncle Five! I love it!“

She didn’t even give her uncle a chance to say anything in response, all but lunging at him for a hug. Five’s eyes widened, before his expression settled into a wide grin. Very gently, he wrapped his arms around his niece, allowing himself to settle down into the moment. This was everything he had wanted for years and he wanted to enjoy it as much as he could.

“I’m glad you like it, you clever girl“, he whispered, so only he, Grace and maybe Derek could hear it, “You enjoy your birthday, alright?“

Never before had Five found any enjoyment in birthdays. Not in his childhood with Reginald, not in the apocalypse, not in the time that came afterwards. But he would do anything to make sure his nieces and nephew would have a chance at enjoying what he never truly had.

Grace nodded, still holding onto the book tightly as Five set her back down. Sometimes she reminded the family of their robot mother, who she had been named after. The same gentleness, mixed with the chaos that were the genes of Diego and Lila.

“Yeah, I will!“, she exclaimed with a wide smile, “You’re the best uncle ever!“

She took off shortly after, but that didn’t change the fact that Five’s heart was melting. Only people who knew him would notice, but his expression softened by quite a bit. Derek stepped up next to him about a minute later.

“Okay…“, he hummed and readjusted his glasses, “I guess I was wrong about her reaction.“

Five quickly caught himself again, though he couldn’t stop smiling at that point. For a few seconds, he had forgotten that Derek was even there. But he was glad that he was there with him, so he didn’t have to face the overwhelming feelings alone.

“Come on. I know you have to go home soon, but let’s at least grab some peanut butter muffins“, Five said before pulling him along to the tables that were designated for food. After all those years, he still enjoyed peanut butter and marshmallows quite a bit.

Derek chuckled and followed along. “Look, I know you plan on drinking with your siblings later“, he said once they sat down together, Five’s legs resting on his lap, “But please don’t overdo it, we both have work tomorrow.“

The older man rolled his eyes. Despite their age difference, their relationship was relatively evened out in terms of power. They both had to adapt to the other’s needs and most often, it worked. Not all the time though.

“Just because I threw up in your potted plant once?“, Five pouted, but looked away after Derek gave him a glare that could level mountains, “Fine. One drink, I won’t go overboard. You’re right, I don’t want to be hungover at work.“

That sentence seemed to satisfy his partner, who focused on watching Diego help his daughter break her piñata. Derek fully trusted Five’s promises, knowing that his boyfriend would keep his word.

———————————

He went home after the party was over, while Five headed to a restaurant with his siblings. Sometimes, Derek was teased for his perfectionism. But despite a few instances of staying up late to finish up a case, he did his best to get the recommended six to eight hours of sleep. Five had only joked about it once, quickly shutting up after hearing Derek’s answer: “You act like I choose to feel this way. But like this, I at least feel like I have a little bit of control over my life and it makes me feel better.“

———————————

Upon waking up after exactly seven hours and fifteen minutes, Derek felt betrayed for just a few seconds. His partner had promised to only have one drink. Yet upon looking at Five, he seemed to be suffering from a massive hangover. His skin was covered in a thin layer of sweat, he was shaking like a leaf, while at the same time seemingly fighting both nausea and a pounding headache. In short, Five felt absolutely miserable.

“You promised me to keep yourself under control“, Derek told him as he sat up from his own bed to walk over. Yet as he approached the other bed, he noticed how glassy Five’s eyes were and that despite the accusatory tone in his voice, his partner barely reacted. He even managed to place a hand on Five’s forehead, where he was immediately met with one revelation.

“Oh no…you’re burning up“, he mostly whispered to himself and went to walk into the bathroom to get supplies. However, Five stopped him from doing so by grabbing his wrist, effectively keeping his hand pressed against his hot forehead.

“Don’t leave…“, Five mumbled, the usual collected tone gone, “You feel so nice and…cold.“

If it weren’t for the fact that Derek was incredibly worried, he would have found the situation almost adorable. Never before had he seen Five lean into his touch like this, rubbing his forehead against Derek’s palm like a cat, though he didn’t purr. A clear sign that something wasn’t okay. Five only sought out touch when he wasn’t doing well at all, like after a particular bad nightmare or after getting injured. And his partner had experienced both, but he hadn’t seen him get sick before, that was a first.

Derek sighed heavily, allowing Five to use him as an icepack for another minute before he carefully pulled away.

“Mr.Five“, he used their nickname in an attempt to lighten the mood, “You’re sick. I’m just going to get up to gather some things, okay? I’ll be back before you know it.“

———————————

Instead of a proper response, Five groaned in discomfort. He decided to take that as a yes nonetheless, making his way towards their medicine cabinet. Derek had never experienced something like this before and if he was being honest with himself, he didn’t like having no real power to help Five. All he could do was fight the symptoms, hoping his partner would recover on his own. So for once, he decided to recruit some help, picking up his phone. Most of the siblings were out of the question, they all had work or their kids to worry about. However, there was one who should be around that time of day.

Derek: Hey, could you buy some soup and stop by my place? Five isn’t doing so well.

He expected to have to wait for a few minutes, but the answer came surprisingly fast.

Klaus: I’m on it!

Derek let out a small sigh of relief upon reading that response. At least he wouldn’t have to leave Five to make some soup or go to the store and buy some. He really admired how Klaus had turned his life around, according to his siblings at least. It must have taken quite a bit of will power and for that, he deserved respect in his opinion.

The younger man quickly shook off that thought, returning to Five’s bedside. His partner seemed to be a bit more awake, but still looked quite miserable. And yet, he hadn’t gotten up, which was a plus. He probably wouldn’t be able to keep himself upright.

“Open your mouth“, Derek gently encouraged him, sliding in a thermometer once Five followed the command. While they waited out the results, he began to wipe his sweaty and hot skin down with a damp towel. The coldness of the cloth caused Five to shiver, yet he leaned into it immediately. All while his glassy green eyes attempted to focus on Derek’s face, which was scrunched up with worry. Even though he had grown up a lot since arriving in the reset timeline, Five couldn’t help but feel like a child again. Back then, he had gotten sick more often, with Grace taking care of him in a very similar way. Whenever he had gotten sick in the apocalypse or Commission, he had tried to imagine that tender touch attempting to ease his pain. But in that instance, he didn’t have to use his imagination. Derek was there, gently brushing his damp hair into place. The beeping of the thermometer caused them both to flinch.

Derek bit his lip as he glanced at the numbers flashing back at him. The fever wasn’t incredibly high just yet, but it worried him nonetheless.

“Here, you should drink this“, he attempted to both distract himself and keep Five hydrated, helping him sit up before he grabbed the cup. And despite how utterly miserable, weak and sick the oldest Hargreeves felt, his nose scrunched up once he identified the liquid.

“I’m not drinking tea or any other hot leaf juice type“, Five mumbled and tried to turn away from him. He wanted coffee, but knew at the same time that his partner wouldn’t let him have it.

Derek groaned quietly and walked around the bed to face his partner once more. “You need to drink something. This should help you.“

Both of them were incredibly stubborn, though Five most often won when it came to a battle of will power. Yet now, absolutely exhausted, he didn’t have the energy to fight. So after a lot of pressure from Derek’s side, he began to take small sips of tea, until the mug was empty and his partner set it back down. Just as Five was starting to doze off a bit, the doorbell rang, causing him to flinch from the sudden noise.

“It’s okay, I’ll get it“, Derek quickly reassured him and walked down the hall to answer the door. As expected, Klaus was on the other side, wearing a face mask and holding a container with apparently homemade soup.

“Hi, Wesley“, Klaus smiled underneath his mask and gave him a small wave, “Not in a suit today? Wow, Fünf must really not be doing so swell.“

Derek chuckled at the nicknames, looking down at himself. With Five sick, he had no time to change out of his sleeping attire or properly style his hair, causing it to poof up. At least he was wearing his glasses.

“Good morning, Klaus“, he greeted him back, leaning against the doorframe to hide how nervous he felt, “Five is really not doing so well, not sure what he has. You didn’t have to make soup though, store bought would have been fine.“

Klaus hummed as he handed over the container, clearing his throat a bit. “Actually, Dave made that soup for dinner two days ago. Really soaked up all of that good flavour“, he grinned, which Derek was able to see from the way the skin by his eyes wrinkled, “Plus, our Mom used to make us chicken noodle soup when we were sick.“

While he was suffering from a mild germaphobia, Klaus mainly wore the mask because he sometimes volunteered at a hospital. And he really didn’t want to get sick people with comprimised immune systems even more sick.

“That’s…really kind of you“, Derek admitted, a lot of tension leaving his body as he held onto the container, “Thank you so much, it means a lot.“

Klaus nodded slowly, looking him over from the bottom of his house shoes to the top of his fluffy blonde hair. “No, I should be thanking you, Harry Potter. You’re the one taking care of Five and he obviously likes you quite a lot. I know the old man can be quite a lot sometimes. Speaking of…how do you deal with him?“

Derek blinked slowly as he processed that question. For a minute, he stayed silent, then looked back up at Klaus. “We just…complete eachother. Sure, sometimes we have to move a bit for the other so to speak, but I love him for who he is, just like he loves me. I’m used to an age difference. I fell in love with his soul, not his body, and so did he.“

To his surprise, Klaus didn’t seem amused by it or tried to make a joke about his words. Instead, he just seemed moved. “Awww…That’s good, I’m glad for you too. Tell Five that I hope he gets better soon and to keep you, okay? You really fit in well“, he winked before leaving again.

For a few moments after he had left, Derek stayed frozen, smiling a little bit. Those words meant more to him than he cared to admit. But before he could think about it further, he decided to warm up the soup and check on his partner again.

———————————

Five had dozed off again after the sound of the doorbell had echoed through their appartment, but woke up when the smell of chicken noodle soup entered his nostrils. “Mom?“, he mumbled, slightly delirious from the fever.

“Not quite“, Derek replied, a soft smile on his lips as he sat down, a steaming bowl of soup in his hands, “How are you feeling, Mr.Five?“

Five groaned as he sat up properly, pushing himself up himself instead of letting his partner help. Yet he couldn’t help it as he leaned against Derek’s chest as a makeshift pillow. It soothed his pounding headache a bit. “Like someone ran me over with a bulldozer“, he answered him quietly, opening his mouth for the first spoonful of soup. Picking up the spoon himself felt incredibly exhausting and for once, he didn’t mind how vulnerable he was.

Derek hummed, feeding him half of the bowl before he set it aside and shifted slightly, wanting Five to be as comfortable as possible.

“Whatever it is you have…you should probably get some rest. Just sleep a bit, I’ll stay right here with you. I already called out sick for both of us“, he whispered into his ears, even daring to kiss his partner‘s temple. After waiting for a response for a bit, he noticed that Five had fallen asleep, propped up against Derek’s chest and one arm loosely wrapped around him. For the sake of letting him sleep, he decided against moving.

———————————

About three hours later, Five’s temperature had dropped down to a less worrying level. When he woke up though, the feeling of sickness was replaced by something strange…yet familiar at the same time. After sitting up, Derek didn’t even get the chance to ask if he was feeling any better. Because with one sneeze, Five disappeared in a flash of blueish purple light.

He landed hard on the cold white floor of a subway station. His nausea and headache flared in a way that he had never before experienced in his entire life, making the time he lost his arm appear like a school trip.

“What the hell…“, Five mumbled upon spotting strange symbols written on the walls, only to get pulled through space yet again, landing on his bed once more. Derek had apparently stood up in the few seconds that had passed, staring at him in complete and utter shock, but also confusion.

“What the hell?!“, he echoed the earlier sentence, only much louder. He wasn’t exactly scared of Five, but he had no idea what was happening and humans generally didn’t react well to the unknown. A few times before, Five had mentioned time travel and teleportation, though it had never really raised Derek’s alarm bells. After all, his partner had graduated with a degree in quantum physics while he had still been a teenager. But he had never fully explained the story of his siblings and their powers, afraid of what Derek would think.

Five let out a groan of pain and discomfort, fighting down the upcoming nausea. His entire body felt drained from the telelport, in a way he hadn’t experienced in many years. Slowly, he opened his eyes to look at Derek, taking a shaky breath.

“Look…I don’t fully know what’s going on“, his hair fell into his eyes and he brushed it away without much care, “But I’ll do my best to explain.“

———————————

About thirty minutes later, Derek nodded slowly as he paced back and forth. He believed his partner, despite how crazy it sounded. Even though Five didn’t tell him everything, he always told him the truth. They had insisted on that rule, so he wasn’t angry, just overwhelmed.

“But if the universe reset“, Derek finally uttered his first words since his initial exclamation, “Why do you have your powers back?“

That question hit Five like a punch to the face. While explaining, he had been too focused on making sure Derek understood everything and that his sentences actually made sense. The headache made that last part a bit harder than expected.

“I…I…“, Five stuttered and pulled his knees up to his chest, a sign that the potential answer terrified him, “I don’t know…Maybe the reset didn’t fully work…Oh God…maybe that means the apocalypse is coming back! I’m not ready for that, I can’t go through that again! I can’t bear the sight of my dead family for the fifth time! I don’t want to loose you too, now that I finally found someone who completes me and makes me feel alive!“

He was spiraling so hard, Five didn’t even notice that he was screaming his thoughts aloud, tears running down his face. A panic attack was something his pounding head couldn’t fully handle and he was starting to hyperventilate.

Derek quickly sat down in front of him. “Five, listen to me“, he said firmly, attempting to get him to focus, “It’s going to be alright, we’ll figure this out together.“

Once he noticed that the normal strategy wasn’t working, he decided to change course. While he kept reassuring Five, he pulled him into a gentle hug, hoping that the contact would help. It was a 50/50 chance, but he was fully willing to take that risk. Shortly after his arms wrapped around him, Five hugged him back as if his life depended on it. His tears stained Derek’s sleeping shirt, yet neither of them particularly cared about that. They just kept holding on, both of their respective rants echoing through their minds like a melody.

I don’t want to loose you too, now that I finally found someone who completes me and makes me feel alive!

It’s going to be alright, we’ll figure this out together.

———————————

The next day, Five still didn’t feel too well. But he had recovered enough to leave his bed and visit his siblings with Derek by his side, where it was revealed that the world wasn’t ending. Which was both a relief and a cause of anger for Five.

“You stole from Dad and spiked our drinks?!“, he exclaimed and Derek had to actively hold him back so Five wouldn’t try to strangle Ben, who looked even worse for wear. And even though Derek didn’t have to use as much force as usual, it was still more than one would expect for someone as exhausted as Five.

“Please, Mr.Five“, he practically pleaded, “Relax a bit and sit down.“

To everyone’s surprise, Five did settle down a few seconds later, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Normally, he probably would have put up more of a fight.

Luther stared at Derek, then Five, his eyes wide open. He did look exhausted as well, but was able to keep Sloane from floating to the ceiling by holding onto her ankle. “Wow. You gotta teach us how to do that. He’s never done that with any of us.“

Diego nodded quickly as well, immediately regretting that decision when a wave of pain shot through his head. None of them felt good, except for Klaus maybe. “Yeah. I have three kids, who all got their stubbornness from me and Lila. How do you do that?“

In response, Derek blushed a bit, readjusting his glasses ever so slightly. He looked as unassuming as possible. “Well…he sometimes holds me back too, when it’s necessary, so it evens out.“

Before anyone could ask what he possibly meant by that, Five let out a groan next to him. A sign that the nausea was back at full force, disorientating him beyond measure. But as soon as Derek placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, everything went downhill.

———————————

Never before had the blonde teleported and it was a sensation that took some time to get used to. Suddenly, his world got turned upside down, so much so that he could no longer determine whether his feet were touching solid ground. As for his vision, for a small moment he couldn’t see anything, then for just a split second, he could see stars. Never before had he seen so many stars in the sky, he felt like he was facing the infinity of the universe as time seemed to have lost its meaning. Until, as suddenly as they had disappeared, the reappeared in the strange subway station.

While Derek still tried to come to grips with what happened, Five recovered a bit faster. After all, he had teleported before many times. No matter how much he tried though, he couldn’t bring himself to do it again.

“Shit…“, he cursed under his breath, just before helping his partner with sitting up, “We have a problem.“

———————————

After about ten minutes of recovery time and senseless walking around the station, Derek took a deep breath. He was close to having a panic attack and he refused to let himself get tipped over the edge. Not with Five already freaking out over everything.

“I say we get in the train, see where it takes us“, he announced and made his way towards the open doors. Derek could be extremely stubborn when he wanted to, just like his partner. And in that moment, his tone indicated that he was in no mood for protest. It was a tone that rarely ever came out.

Five groaned, but followed him onto the train. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t the least bit curious. Plus, he couldn’t leave Derek alone. “You have no idea where this will take us“, he mumbled, unaware that this would be a longer trip than expected.

As soon as they stepped out of the station, they were confronted with burning rubble and collapsed buildings. Five’s grip on Derek’s hand tightened a bit more as he did his best to stay in the present.

“This doesn’t look too good“, he whispered, kneeling down as he spotted an arm sticking out of a hill made out of metal pipes and concrete. And while there wasn’t an umbrella tattoo this time, he recognised the watch around the wrist as the one he was wearing every single day.

Meanwhile, Derek slowly looked around. A strange feeling began to wash over him, but he couldn’t quite place it. It was as if the entire world around him seemed out of place entirely. He reached up to scratch the back of his neck, grimacing as the itch refused to go away. No matter how hard he scratched at his skin, to the point that it turned red, it didn’t get better.

“Derek, are you alright?“, Five asked him, but didn’t really look up as he attempted to move the rubble aside. He was too focused to really split his attention.

“Yeah, of course“, his partner found himself saying almost instantly, even though he most definitely wasn’t feeling alright at all. His mouth had gone dry, his saliva no longer doing its job, so he was yearning for water. At the same time, sweat began to trickle down his neck and temple, even though he definitely didn’t feel hot at all.

Finally, Five looked up, his eyes widening ever so slightly. Even though not all of the signs were present, there were enough for him to recognise it. He had gone through it himself after all.

“We need to leave, now!“, he exclaimed, just as the first bullet cut through the air, hitting the wall behind him, “Before you shoot us!“

Derek took cover right next to Five, daring to glance around the corner. And between the rubble, he could spot…himself. Sure, he was no longer wearing his tie, his glasses were cracked and his face dirtied with ash, but it was definitely him. “How is this possible?!“, he exclaimed as they made their way back into the station, avoiding bullets as they did so.

Five took a few shaky breaths, pulling him back into the train as quickly as possible. He was still exhausted from the teleportation earlier. “If I had to guess, that was an alternate timeline. One in which I died, the apocalypse happened and you survived somehow.“

After hearing that, Derek stayed quiet for a few minutes. He knew about the existence of timelines, but knowing about something and seeing something was quite different. After about ten minutes though, he suddenly broke the silence again. “Oh no…We just passed our stop, the train just keeps going!“

Almost instantly, Five paled, trying anything to get the train to stop. But he couldn’t find anything, teleporting was still something his body couldn’t handle and the windows refused to break.

“Shit...“, they both said at the same time, just as the doors opened again and they entered a new station.

———————————

Despite working with files and complicated cases evey day, navigating the subway map took them a lot of time. Every time they thought they had cracked the code, they were proved wrong. And unlike Five, Derek had never fought for his own survival on such a primal level. So things like making a fire, building a shelter or preserving clean water were all things that he had to learn.

Fortunately though, Derek was good at hunting animals, either by building traps or with a weapon. So they were able to get some food, even if they landed in timelines that had long turned into worlds without any humans in it.

However, not all stations lead to those kind of timelines. After about two years of aimlessly wandering through the subway, they stepped out of the train once more. They hadn’t completely abandoned their suits just yet, but had been forced to put on some old coats, as it often got quite cold.

“This is seems promising“, Derek dared to say as they stepped out of the station. The buildings were still standing and the air was clear of ash. Not everything was as good as it seemed though.

“Look out!“, Five exclaimed and lunged at him, just as a gunshot echoed through the air. They were used to making a quick escape at that point, so they barely had to think about it as they fled down the stairs and back into the train. “Woah…That was a close one.“

Derek had stayed strangely quiet during their escape, the only sound that came from him was his heavy breathing. “Mister Five?“, he whispered, his voice barely above a whisper and quite strained. His upper arm was shaking beyond belief, a dark red patch slowly spreading across his sleeve.

Never before had two words affected Five that much. His vision tunnelled on the blood, as well as the gunshot wound on Derek’s right upper arm. “No…no, no, no, shit!“, he exclaimed, his fingers hastily pulling off his tie to use as a turniquet. He had never cared much when he himself had gotten injured, but when it came to people he cared about, he felt almost paralysed.

“Hey, hey, look at me“, he almost commanded, placing one hand on Derek’s cheek, “No going into shock, Mister. Here, drink this.“

He shakily pulled out a flask from his leather satchel, forcing his partner to take a swig before taking a sip himself.

Derek had previously been dissociating into a state of shock, the pain burning like a hot iron but it had still been not enough to keep him awake. However, as soon as his tastebuds registered what the liquid inside of the flask was, he found himself wide awake and disgusted.

“Ew!“, he exclaimed, not even noticing as his partner tightened the turniquet a bit, “Is that coffee?!“

Five nodded, leaning back and taking another sip. He still had to stop the bleeding and check whether the bullet had gone through or not, but for just a second, he could relax. “You need to stay awake, keep the adrenaline up. This was the best way.“

Just for a moment, both of them laughed. It wasn’t light laughter by any means, but it was a small break from the constant danger and hopelessness.

———————————

Keeping track of time inside of the subway was tough. There was no day and night cycle, Five’s watch had given up after about a year and their sleeping schedule wasn’t regular by any means. So they had to rely on Five’s sense of time, which he possessed due to the nature of his powers.

“How long has it been?“, Derek asked one day, his head leaned against his partner’s shoulder as they waited for the water to boil. The right lense of his glasses had cracked, though he desperately tried to keep it together. It was the only sense of normalcy he had retained.

“Six years, four months and twelve days“, Five mumbled, his eyes loosely closed. He barely had to think about it anymore, the numbers burned into his mind.

Derek hummed quietly and reached into the depth of his pockets, only to frown when he touched something he had long forgotten about. He had bought it before they had ended up in the subway system, which felt like an eternity ago.

“Mr.Five?“, he asked with a smile, which caused his partner to open his eyes and look at him, “Once we get out of here…I don’t want to spend a day without you. And I know you find it cheesy, but will you marry me?“

He carefully pulled out the box from his pocket, revealing the silver ring that held five emeralds, similar to Five’s deep green eyes. Even though he had thought about those words for six years, Derek couldn’t help but feel incredibly nervous.

Five’s eyes resembled saucers once he looked at the ring for the first time. He had been married before, but back then, he had been the one to propose. And even though he was a dangerous killer, he found himself blushing like a teenage girl getting asked out by her crush.

“I…“, he stuttered for a moment, then nodded quickly, trying to quickly wipe the tears away, “Yes, I will marry you. I’ll get us out of here, I promise, we will have a wedding.“

Normally, Derek was the one who mainly initiated the touches. But this time, Five pulled him in for a kiss as soon as the ring found its place on his finger. He almost seemed hungry for any sort of touch, holding onto his collar and only pulling away once they both needed to breathe. The sweet moment of affection was interrupted by a Eureka moment.

“I got it!“, Five exclaimed, grabbing Derek’s left arm as to not accidentally hurt him by digging his fingers into his old wound, “I know how to get back!“

Derek barely had time to ask him any questions. They were both overwhelmed by emotions and the thought of getting back far too overpowering. “Let’s go then!“, he grinned, something he hadn’t done in quite a while.

———————————

It took them a while to go through the combination of stations, but after about an hour, they made it. With one teleportation, they found themselves back in the academy. Five’s siblings seemed to have left, but not much time had passed at all, a few hours at the most.

“We did it…“, Derek whispered breathlessly, allowing himself to fall onto the couch next to his fiancé, “We made it back.“

Five nodded, taking a deep breath as the realisation hit him. For a while, he looked at the ring on his hand, a faint smile appearing on his face. “How about we go home, take a shower, change…have some coffee?“, he suggested and offered him his hand.

Derek nodded and readjusted his glasses before he took the offered hand.

“Or tea.“

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

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and story! This will most likely be the last one, since I'm not good at writing weddings and I quite like how this ended. If you have any sort of suggestions for other stories, oneshots, whatever, let me know. As always, leave some likes or comments, they make my day. Thank all of you so much for the love you gave this story of mine, it means so much to me. Until next time, -Donna Lawliet

#the umbrella academy #tua #umbrella academy #five hargreeves #tua finale #tua s4 spoilers #tua season 4 #tua fanfic #tua five #asexual five #tua fix it fic #umbrella academy season 4 #derek the umbrella academy #the umbrella academy s4 #fanfic #fanfiction

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olysmile · 2 months ago

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𝐌𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥📚

The past three years in high school were not the worst, but also not the best. You should all get ready because you will see me yapping a lot. Hope you make it untill the end :')

In high school i had only one real friend. It was the girl who was sitting next to me. We were getting along really well. We were also close with another girl, who wasn't always with us and she was associating with other students, which was not necessarily a bad thing. On the second year my ex bestfriend came to my highschool as well. There are many reasons she is my ex bestie but I am not going to get in further details, because they are out of today's topic.

Even if I did not have many friends, I can tell that I was not alone and I was happy with that. But.... There were many of my classmates who were trying to get my attention and hang out with me once in a blue moon. No, they were not showing pity and they did notwant me as their friend. The only think they wanted was the gossip. They knew pretty well that I am an extrovert, so they wanted to spend time with me and make me share some things that were happening in my life that time so they can mock me or gossip abou it,

Even when they did not use that method, they had their own ways to humiliate me and joke around. For instance, on Saturday nights, everyone from the school was out for drinks with their friends, or a casual work, like all teenagers do. Once, while I was on my second year in high school, I was out with a guy (currently boyfriend) and we bumped into one girl from my class. I guess we can all imagine what happened on Monday. We were casually chilling in class during breaktime and the girl had the nerve to say out loud: "Olyyyy!!! Would you like to tell the others with whom you were out on Saturday?!?!?!?!?!?" Everyone stared asking me questions and spreading the news about my new 'boyfriend'.... It was discussed every day for the rest of this school year. Someone mentioned some out loud about this during chemistry class. I still wonder how I didn’t throw a chair at him in front of everyone, but I showed pity for the teacher who was trying to do his job. He apologised right after class, but he only did because I screamed on his face that it bothered me. If this isn't torturous, then what is? The worst part is that even my friends were joking about it sometimes... And this wasn't happening just with this guy... It was happening with every person I was hanging out and wasn't going on the same high school as me. I don't know why it was so odd for them the fact that I have friends out of this shitty place...

Another issue that me and my friend had was that we were kinda treated as outcasts. What do I mean by that? I will explain. It was sports day. There were no classes and sports events were taking place all day at school. When these events were over, my friend and I went home, as any normal student would do. Twenty minutes later, I received some photos in my class's group chat. There were photos with all the children in the class. No one bothered to tell me and my friend: "Hey girls, don't leave yet, we want to take some photos with all the class!". And this did not happen just once.....

We had been on a school trip and everyone had arranged to go and sit in a restaurant together apart from us and without informing us with a phone call or a message. Even the girl who is supposed to be our 'friend' didn't inform us either. And you wanna know the funniest part? At the end of this trip, this girl and of the other clowns had the nerve to come and ask us: "Why didn't you join us? The whole class was there" I AM SORRY YOU BASTARDS, BUT NONE OF YOU MADE THE MOVE TO RAISE YOUR FILTHY HAND, GRAB YOUR PRECIOUS AND EXPENSIVE PHONE AND GIVE US A CALL! I think I replied well, don't you think?

For the record, even if it was just me and my friend alone, we had fun anyways. It was way better to explore the town rather than sitting on a restaurant and doing nothing.

So that is what was happening during the first and the second year on my high school. On the third year, which many of you might call “senior” year, things were somehow chill. No one cared about the others that much, because we were all focused at the upcoming final exams. I still was dealing with some boys who were treating me wrong. More specifically one guy who was sitting behind me in some classes. He was mocking me, stealing my stuff, my bag, ruining my stuff, like pens etc. He also stuffed my hoodie with many pieces of paper and some pens. Some of the classmates who were watching this situation were laughing and they were also supporting his actions against me. I was trying to ignore him as much as I could. But the situation was making me mad and most of the time I changed seat so I could avoid him.

Many of you might say that I am overreacting and that he could do worse. Well sure he could, but this year was important and I needed to focus on classes and my studies. I couldn’t deal with a jackass who didn’t care about school at all and wanted to spend his time messing around.

All in all, these are some stories about these years in high school. I graduated this summer and I am totally happy that I left from this circus. I am also happy that I won’t have to be obligated to see all these kids who I hate with my whole heart anymore.

I really wanted to write about all these, because I think it’s the best way to get a closure.

I don’t care if people call me dramatic after this and I surely couldn’t care less if anyone feels offended by reading all these things I wrote. So if any of my former classmates is reading this, I have this message for you: You are liars, manipulators, thieves and bastards too. Hope I never have to deal with your shit again. Toodles :)

#school drama #high school #my story #high school drama #short of bullied #teenagers #true story #total drama #drama #my backstory #backstory #long story short #deep feelings

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theflowerofthecommonwealth · 2 years ago

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How do you think the companions would react to stubbing their pinkie toe on something? Who cries? Who screams or swears (fuck, shite, etc)? Who just bite their lip and walks away, trying to walk it off? So on and so forth.

Gosh dangit, I hate this when it happens to me, it hurts way more than it should!

Nick Valentine: Bangs his foot quite often often on his desk or chair, but the pain never gets easier. He curses the Institute under his breath for programming him to feel pain and for the vivid memories of old Nick banging his toe while also working at his desk. It’s especially frustrating when he’s working intensely on case that’s been bugging him and this is what interrupts him.

Piper Wright: Was running around her office trying to get her latest paper printed out in time for the morning, but she passes a little too close to her printer press and there’s a bang loud enough to wake up Nat and all her neighbors. The reporter drops all her papers and lets them scatter on the floor, hopping to her chair while she hisses with the pain. She gets a now awake Nat to bring her an ice pack and a Nuka Cola to help distract her from her throbbing toe.

Codsworth: He doesn’t have feet. (Remembers that cursed YouTube video with Codsworth with legs) Oh God help me, I need to bleach my eyes.

Preston Garvey: Was helping around Sanctuary with little repairs when he gets too close to a workbench, resulting in him crouching over and grabbing his foot while trying to muffle his curses as there are children settlers around. It may hurt like hell, but he’s still gotta be a good role model for the kids to look up to. (I love this guy)

Curie: She was drooping with exhaustion and walking around half awake the clinic she was helping at, long overdue for a break. Just when she was about to walk off to finally have a rest, an evil wall corner makes contact with her toes and she falls over with a pained cry, shaking out her foot. Everyone within a mile radius is running over to offer their hands to help the poor overworked woman back up and onto a sofa for a much deserved nap.

Cait: She doesn't care who is around or where she currently is, every swear word in the book is leaving her mouth as Cait punches whatever happens to be nearby in frustration. Preston has to run over and help her hobble away so she’s no longer frightening the settlers and their children.

Deacon HAS to play it cool when he smashes his toe on a stone coffin the the Railroad HQ because he just finished bugging Carrington and this mistake will ruin the joke and give everyone a reason to poke fun at him. He waddles out of HQ like a penguin, waiting until he far away to start yowling like a wounded cat.

Danse: Bangs it on the corner of a wall almost immediately after exiting his Power Armor. His entire face goes all scrunchy and red as he bites back a yowl of pain, forcing himself to hobble to the nearest chair. If anyone is around to ask if he is alright, Danse will responded with a very strained “Yes.” and a nod.

Hancock: Straight up asks the table why they gotta do him dirty like that and attack his favorite toe. He’s pretty sure that he’s the one who purchased said table and gave it a good home when it was about to be turned into fire scrap, so for it to suddenly turn on him was completely uncalled for backstab.

MacCready: Does a silent scream while he cradled his injured foot and hops around on the other. He gets all tight faced and looks like he is just really constipated with how he waddles around tight cheeked, he’s really hoping no one walks by for awhile until he can regain himself. For the rest of the day, he has a little furrow to his brow.

X6: One would assume he didn’t feel any pain as he walks on without taking much notice to the fact that he just smashed his toe into a bed frame hard enough to break it. But he’s actually dying and screaming internally the whole time, and if you could see his eyes it would be a window straight into his pained stricken soul.

Strong: Was lumbering around a settlement and passing by a log. He glares intensely down at the log with pure rage and fury in his face, exclaiming “Strong smash puny wood!” The super mutant proceeds to kick said log until it’s a bunch of tiny splinters on the ground, then he has to go to Sole for help because he got a bunch of them logged into his fingers.

Moral Of The Story: Don’t EVER look up Codsworth with legs. (Seriously, don't)

#fallout #fallout 4 #fo4 #fallout companions #nick valentine #piper wright #strong #x6 88 #preston #paladin danse #maccready #robert joseph maccready #john hancock #danse #dogmeat #cait #curie #codsworth #fallout 4 companions

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manicpixxiedreambitch · 11 months ago

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I need a second opinion. So I’m writing a book, right? In the book, two young children are sent to live with their aunt and her wife after their own parents were deemed abusive and sent to jail for drug use. The children do not fully understand that their parents were abusive, nor do they understand their parents did drugs. I thought it would be a good running joke/essential part of the story that these children suspect that their aunt and her wife are fae. This originally started when their mother (who was homophobic) bitterly said that their aunt and her “roommate” (aka her wife) were fairies (in the derogatory term). The children, not understanding the concept of homophobia or the fact that their mother was using a slur, thought she was calling them fairies in the fairytale book kind of way. The older sibling, the boy, is skeptical of this and says that fairies don’t exist, while his sister has the opposite perspective. The children throughout the story seem to suspect their aunts are fairies and debate over this constantly. The aunts’ behaviors and lifestyle in this story also seems to reinforce their belief, because the children don’t quite understand that normal parents don’t abuse their kids. The aunts live in a beautiful cottage with a lovely garden (it has a sign planted near the mailbox that says “Welcome to the Fairy Cottage”) and it’s in a beautiful small town (one of those small towns where everyone knows everyone) with beautiful and unique people who are kind. The children are pushed to believe their aunts are magical fairies on accident.

Things their aunts do that are apparently “magical”:

One of them has a prosthetic leg

They are both good cooks (their parents only ever used microwave meals) and use herbs in their cooking to help the children’s health.

When the little girl wet herself one of the aunts ran her a bath at the temperature she wanted and put a “potion” in the bath that calmed her down (it was lavender soap) without yelling at her.

One of the aunts is an amazing singer. The other plays piano. They both love to dance. At one point the piano plays itself while they dance. (Its one of those pianos with a self-playing mode)

They understand when the little girl references her synesthesia.

They have a “witch shed” in the back yard. At one point when the little girl is sick, one makes her some tea that helps her feel a little better.

Their house has a bit of a Howls Moving Castle vibe.

They are patient with the children and don’t scream.

One has ADHD and shows symptoms

Upon realizing that the little girl has autism, they took her to a doctor/psychiatrist and got her diagnosed and medicated for it, which helped her. She thinks the pills are magic because they help her function better and she didn’t have too much access to medicine with her parents.

They sewed the leg back on a stuffed animal the older one ripped.

Anyway, last year when I said what the running joke is one of my friends got upset and said that it wasn’t something to joke about (even though this is not meant to be disrespectful or hurtful or offensive, but rather a piece of commentary on the world in the eyes of children) I of course, defended this because I myself am bisexual and thought it would be interesting and a little humorous. Keep in mind, the word fairy is only referenced to have been used as a slur once. The rest of the time it is used, it references the mythical creature with wings. I love the book I am writing so much and this piece of the story is a big part of why I started writing it in the first place, and I would hate for this storyline to have a negative effect on the readers. Should I change it? Is it considered offensive if it’s displayed like this? I’m not trying to make fun, or say that using slurs is funny and okay at all. I just think fairies are neat and children have wild imaginations and lesbians are cool.

#book writing #second opinion

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exactlypinkavenue · 8 months ago

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She has a sister P1

(James Potter has always been obsessed with Lily Evans. But what if Lily’s sister, Rose Evans, was obsessed with James)

angst and more angst. Please do not copy this

James POV:

I get up, I shower, change and head for the Great hall. Some people find the walk from the gryffindor dorms to the great hall boring. But I definitely do not. In fact, I frankly cant quite understand how people think the opportunity to plan and think of your next brilliant day, is boring. As I push open the great hall doors, which are quite heavy by the way, I can’t help but stare at my beautiful Lily flower. Today she’s wearing a lovely red jumper, embellished with the lion of Gryffindor. She is also rocking some sexy ripped jeans, I mean would you look at those knee caps. She’s absolutely stunning, it’s like her beauty is pulling me in, I must go talk to her. “Hello my gorgeous Lily flower, soon to be wife, soon to be mother of my children. How are you doing on this fine Tuesday morning” “well I was doing fine, before you showed up that is” “oh come on, Lily flower I can’t be that bad can I?” “No, worse” I walked away with a sigh, right now might not be the best time to woo her. I walked over to my usual seat and waited for the jokes. “When are you gonna realize that she’s just not that into you mate” “I agree with Sirius, James, you been chasing after her for like six years now, it’s time to call it quits” “I heard that Nancy Dill is interested in you James, maybe you can work on that for a while” suggested Peter. “No, I want Lily, only Lily I am not giving up” classes went by faster then I expected. Mostly Because I was thinking of how to woo my precious Lily. Soon enough it was dinner time and I had the most brilliant idea.

I had just filled myself up to the brim with treacle tarts, fisherman’s pies, turkey legs, and all of the above when it was finally time to execute my brilliant plan. It consisted of the choir singing “say you, say me” by Lionel Richie, doves shooting from out of thin air, chocolate and letters that say “Lily go on a date with me” falling from the sky like rain, and myself taking my Lily on a beautiful ride around the Great Hall on my broom. Where we’ll catch chocolates and listen to the music, and she’ll say yes while holding me tight. It’ll be magical. I got up, stood on my chair, and gave three taps to my goblet. Very thing started to happen so fast I almost got forgot I had a part in this epic show. I ran to grab my broom which was at the end of the great hall, where the giant doors are, hopped on and sped towards my future bride. She was screaming by the time I was closing in on her, perhaps she was afraid I was going to crash into her. Anyway, I picked her up with one swift motion and placed her onto the broom, from there we soared high into the air, slightly turning to get a full view of the hall. She was starting to get more comfortable during our third lap so I decided now would be the best time to pop the question. “ evans, would you like to go out with me” “are you serious” I was super confused, why is she so mad I’d thought she would like my surprise, evans is complicated. “You arranged this whole thing, that is completely embarrassing by the way, and you expected me to say yes” “yes?” “Ughh, I hate you” can you believe this, out of nowhere she started slapping me, full on slapping “ you say you love me but this is not love potter, love is not pestering and annoying so that one can not have five minutes without wanting to pull their fucking hair out. Did you even care that I have a boyfriend. Did you even care about what kind of stress this puts On our relationship” she has a boyfriend, this is new news to me. “ you didn’t even know did you, ughh just put me down potter” I take us down and she basically sprints to the safety of this random guy’s arms, he’s some Hufflepuff. The choir has stopped singing, the chocolates and letters have stopped falling, and the doves actually never appeared. Everyone has left and I now have detention for two weeks. Funny how life is, the love of my life is dating someone else and living her best life while I have detention. “Mr. Potter I would like you to apologize to Ms. Evans, she has received an injury due to your.. actually I do not know what to call it” “ Lily is injured?” “No, thankfully not it’s her sister, Rose Evans. For some reason the chocolates fell most in her section, she was brutally pummeled the poor girl” she has a sister, Oh my Merlin she has a sister. My luck has suddenly changed for the better. “Where can I find her”

#james potter angst #lily potter sister #jily angst #james potter fanfiction

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crypt-tids · 2 years ago

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A Gift Unto the King

Home, Sweet Home

It had been a long couple of days for Lucas, and he was fully ready to be done with his journey. He usually didn’t mind the smell of the horses, but he’d recently found that the barnyard scent had been hitting his nose rather offensively as of late. That, combined with the constant rocking, didn’t do his morning sickness any favors. More than once, he’d considered pushing the horse into a light trot to shave a few hours off of his trip, but each time he did, he heard Alistair’s voice screaming in the back of his mind not to.

Tsk! He thought as he attempted to push down another unwelcomed wave of nausea. Luckily, he’d only had to stop a few times to vomit; however, the fact that there wasn’t much of anything left in his stomach and he still felt the random urges to puke didn’t sit well with him.

“You better be worth the trouble, kid.” Lucas joked, hand gently stroking his tiny belly.

Coming around the bend, just beyond the path, came a break in the trees. There, wooden fences stood rigidly around livestock, and smoke billowed from the chimneys of small houses. Green grass swayed in the gentle breeze as oak leaves rustled softly. Chickens roamed as they pleased, and a few roosters perched themselves assertively atop fence posts.

Lucas took a deep breath and smiled.

Home. He leaned forward and gave the midnight-black horse’s neck a couple of affectionate pats.

“See, I told you we were almost there.” The horse huffed as Lucas returned his hand to the reins and gave her a gentle nudge with his heels to urge her into the village.

It had been many years since he set foot in Oakhill, but in a way, it felt like he’d never left. So much of it was just as he remembered. A couple more houses, and maybe a few more vegetable gardens, but otherwise, frozen in time. It even smelled the same.

Lucas tugged the reins lightly to stop the horse so he could dismount—which he did as gingerly as possible as per Alistair’s request. Once his feet had firmly planted themselves on the ground, he led the horse down the path towards a break between the fences.

“Just a little further, Epona. Then you can have a carrot, I promise.” He spoke calmly, coaxing her through the narrow passage. She hesitated briefly, before continuing after the sandy haired knight.

People were milling about the small village, dragging along carts full of hay and carrying baskets of fresh herbs and vegetables. Children chased after one another playfully. In the distance, Lucas could hear the familiar tinking of metal against metal. Clicking his tongue, he tugged Epona along, heading towards the blacksmith’s shop.

As he walked by the houses and shops, he felt nostalgia creeping up on him. He’d walked these roads thousands of times in his childhood, and here he was, walking them once again. The scent of fresh baked bread and hay bales triggered vivid memories of the past. The early mornings he and his sister would spend together waiting for the bakery to open just so they could have first pick of the breads—and pastries if they were lucky. The long afternoons spent dragging carts of hay and wood across the village for a few extra coppers. Lucas couldn’t help but smile as it all came flooding back to him. He never thought he’d miss this place, but he had to admit, it felt nice to be home again.

His mind began to drift into fantasies of returning to the modest life of his youth. Picking up where he left off, working in his parent’s smithy, tending to the vegetable garden, and milking the cows. The crisp, farm air filled his lungs, and as it did, his heart swelled.

Maybe raising a kid here wouldn’t be such a bad idea. Lucas pondered for a moment, taking in the sights, before he snapped out of his nostalgic daze, remembering what drove him from Oakhill in the first place.

Nothing ever changed here. It just got older. Most everyone in town lived on trades. Two chickens for three loaves of bread; a bale of hay for a slab of beef. Rarely did money ever come into Oakhill, and when it did, it wasn’t much—nor was it of much use. Oakhill became a community for those destined to live a life of isolation. A place where everyone understood each other because they all shared the same curse. A small cocoon of safety to cling to in a world that wasn’t built to accommodate them. No one ever left. The unfortunate truth was, if you were born in Oakhill, you’d die in Oakhill. Lucas was one of the very few who dared to leave the safety of their sheltered village in pursuit of the world beyond the forest, and not once did he ever bother to look back until now.

Before he’d realized, he was standing at the end of the pathway, staring at his fathers’ smithy. The forge burned furiously, casting a warm glow in the doorway. Boxes of fresh iron nails sat on the table against the outside wall. The smell of charred wood wafted from the kiln behind the shop. Everything was exactly how he remembered it.

“L…Lucas?!” A voice rang out, catching the knight’s attention. A young woman emerged from around the corner of the smithy carrying a basket of freshly harvested vegetables.

“Sarah?!”

“LUCAS!” Sarah shouted in excitement, dropping the basket and rushing towards him.

Her body slammed into his as she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. Lucas caught her mid leap, stumbling backwards briefly, before regaining his balance. A mixture of squeals and giggles erupted from Sarah as she nuzzled her head into his neck. Her body was warm and soft and her hair smelled faintly of hay.

After a few moments, Sarah loosened her grip, and Lucas gently lowered her to the ground. Leaning back, she gripped his arms tightly and studied his face, tears welling in her eyes.

“I can’t believe it.” She smiled. “You came home.”

As Lucas stared into his sister’s golden eyes, he found himself at a loss for words. So much had changed, but so much was still the same. Her round face was framed with disheveled, sandy colored hair, a smudge of garden dirt smeared on her nose.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it, Rabbit?” Lucas grinned.

“Lucas!” Sarah jokingly shoved her brother back. “You know I always hated that nickname.” She smiled back, revealing her slightly oversized front teeth. Though, they didn’t seem to stand out quite as much as they had when she was a child.

“I know.” Lucas laughed, wrapping an arm around his sister’s shoulders. “So, where are pops and dad?”

“You just missed them, actually. They needed more wood for the kiln. I’m sure they’ll be back soon, though.” Sarah excitedly jumped away from Lucas. “Oh, goodness, they’ll be so excited to see you! It’s been ages.”

“Dad will probably want to kill me.” Lucas half laughed, his smile fading slightly.

Suddenly, the mood became heavy, the giddy excitement now draining from the pair as Sarah’s attention fell to the field where the livestock grazed. While her heart was still filled with joy, the pit in her stomach grew regardless. She still vividly remembered the day Lucas left. Never in her life had another day passed that was more devastating than that one.

“It’s been ten years, Lucas.” She softly crossed her arms under her chest. “Ten years, and you couldn’t bring yourself to visit even once?”

“I’m here now.” Lucas replied. His tone was intentionally light, as if to brush away the dark gloom attempting to consume their reunion. However, Sarah was quiet for a moment, seemingly ignoring his playful retort.

“We didn’t know if you were dead or alive.” Sarah’s voice cracked. “Pops cried everyday for over a year. I’d have to help dad at the smithy because, some days, pops couldn’t even bear to get out of bed.” She clenched her jaw. “I love you, Lucas, but… I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forgive you for that.”

“I know,” Lucas replied with a sigh, “but… you know why I left. And I told you then I was never coming back.” His voice was somber.

“You didn’t have to mean it!” Sarah snapped, causing Lucas to jolt slightly.

He stared down at his older sister, studying her face. She sounded furious, but he knew it wasn’t anger that had gripped her. It was heartbreak. In that moment, he fully understood the gravity of what he had done. He had abandoned his family and left his sister to pick up the slack. And the worst part was, not once in ten years did he ever feel bad about it. But seeing his sister again, seeing what his selfishness had put her through—put his family through—he felt consumed with guilt.

“Sarah…”

Sarah watched as his face fell, tears welling in his eyes, and her expression softened. Gently, she gripped his sleeve, cupping his cheek with her other hand.

“Damnit, Lucas.” She whispered. “Don’t cry.” She wiped a tear away. “I didn’t mean it.”

“Yes, you did.” His voice was low.

“Yeah, but you didn’t have to cry over it. Now you’re making me feel bad.” Sarah smiled slightly, her brows still furrowed with concern. “And since when did you cry so easily? You got thrown from a horse and broke your arm when you were ten and you didn’t cry once. Well, not until the healer reset the bone, anyways.”

“Yeah, well, your sister pointing out how you ruined your family will do that.” Lucas joked.

“You didn’t ruin the family.” She sighed. “I always knew you were gonna leave here one day, I just… wish you hadn’t left so soon.”

Lucas let on a half-hearted smile, but couldn’t bring himself to respond. The pit forming in his chest wouldn’t let him, and the nausea brewing in his stomach begged him to keep his mouth shut.

“Are you alright?” Sarah asked, noticing the color draining from his face as his body stiffened. Gently, she brushed the hair from his face, noticing the dewy sweat forming on his forehead.

“I’m fine.” Lucas grunted out rigidly.

“You’re pale.”

“I’m fine.” Lucas insisted, nausea, thankfully, subsiding for the moment. “It’s been a long trip, is all.”

Concern still at the forefront of Sarah’s mind, she decided not to push him any further than she already had, and instead dropped it. Wrapping her arm around his, they continued to walk down the dirt road, Epona following close behind.

“So, what’s her name?” Sarah changed the subject.

“Who?”

“The horse, obviously. What’s her name?” Sarah asked.

“Oh. Epona.” He replied, giving a quick glance back at the black horse.

“After the horse that broke your arm?!” Sarah almost laughed.

“Hey, I loved that horse!” Lucas chuckled for a brief moment before continuing. “Actually, it’s just a coincidence. I’m not the one who named her.” He smiled sadly, which Sarah noticed right off.

“Who named her?” Her voice was soft and delicate, as if she was deliberately treading lightly.

Lucas was quiet for a moment, eyes focused ahead. “It doesn’t matter.” He finally responded, trying to brush it off with the best fake smile he could muster, which wasn’t very convincing. He’d just hoped it would be enough to keep his sister from prying further.

“You loved them, didn’t you? The person who named her.”

“Yeah.” Lucas’s smile was heavy. Sarah always had a sixth sense when it came to him. He was as good as an open book to her, and that’s what terrified him most. Just one slip up, and she would know his secret. His very tiny, ever growing, secret.

“What happened to them?” Sarah asked.

“Nothing. We just…” Lucas sighed. “Things don’t always work out. But what about you? Did you ever find anyone who could stand you long enough to stick around?” Lucas quickly shifted the focus off of himself.

“Ha-Ha.” Sarah sarcastically replied. “And for your information, many men have asked for my hand over the years.” Her tone, smug.

“Did any of them ever get it?”

Sarah tried to hold back a grin, a tinge of embarrassment dancing in her eyes.

“Do you remember Frederick?”

“Frederick?” Lucas inquired incredulously. “That boy that kept losing his family’s dairy goat?!” He snickered. “Don’t tell me you settled for him.”

“HEY! He’s a nice guy!” Sarah shot back, stifling a giggle of her own.

“He had one job in this village and half the time he couldn’t even do it!”

“I know!” Sarah chuckled, her hands covering her face. “It felt like everyday we were looking for that damn goat!”

“Because we were looking for that goat everyday!”

The two shared a good laugh, spending a moment reminiscing their childhood, before finally settling down.

“He grew into a great guy.” Sarah smiled, leaning into Lucas. “He’s an even better father.”

Lucas’s eyes went wide, processing what he’d just heard, not quite sure he’d heard her correctly.

“You… have kids?” He asked, his voice unsure.

“Yeah.” Sarah’s smile widened. “Two of ‘em. My daughter, Claire, just turned four, and Thomas is five months now.” She glanced up to meet her brother’s gaze, which was currently filled with blank shock. “What? You didn’t think I’d die alone as an old crone, did you?” She smirked, gently elbowing Lucas.

“I just can’t believe you’re a mom.”

“A lot can change in ten years, huh?”

“I guess so.” Lucas’s hand unconsciously gripped at the shirt fabric loosely hanging over his belly. He felt somewhat lost being faced with all of the things he’d missed. His sister’s wedding, the births of his niece and nephew, the look on his parent’s faces when they found out they would be grandparents. Suddenly, his heart was gripped with regret.

Having unintentionally let his guard down, the nausea he’d been trying to contain came creeping back, now resting in his throat, the jumble of emotions and nerves amplifying its intensity. He gulped hard, willing it to disappear. Much to his dismay, it didn’t. Breaking from his sister’s grip, he rushed to the side of the dirt road, as far as he could manage, and heaved, bitter bile burning his throat.

“LUCAS!” Sarah rushed over to her brother.

Lucas collected himself again, spitting out the last of the annoying saliva, and wiping his mouth, gaze still held firmly on the ground. He was hesitant to face his sister, knowing there was no way she would let this go.

“Lucas, are you alright?” Sarah reached towards him, but withdrew her hand, instead studying her brother closely.

“I’m fine.” Lucas coughed out, back still facing Sarah.

“Hardly!” She exclaimed. “What’s going on? Are you ill?” She grabbed his arm to spin him around to face her.

When their eyes met, Sarah felt a pit form in her stomach. The face she’d expected to see wasn’t the one she saw. She’d tended to him many times throughout their childhood, whenever he’d fallen ill, and his face always looked the same. But, this time, it was different. This time, she didn’t see illness, she saw fear.

“Lucas, what’s going on?” Sarah gripped his arm tightly, her face twisted with concern.

“I told you, I’m fine.” Lucas insisted, trying his best to sound convincing; however, his tone landed more sharply than anticipated.

“Please, Lucas,” she begged, “you clearly aren’t fine.”

“I assure you, I am.” His voice stern.

“Damnit, Lucas, what the hell is wrong with you?!” Her eyes darted across his features, looking for any break in his armor, but his expression held rigid. Finally, she sighed in defeat, and loosened her grip. “We used to tell each other everything.” Her voice was low.

Lucas stared down at the top of his sister’s head for a moment, before pulling her close and holding her tightly. He hated not being able to tell her things. Even as children, they had no secrets. But now, things were different—more complicated.

“You’d tell me if it was something serious, right?” Sarah’s voice was muffled by the fabric of his shirt.

Lucas didn’t respond, and instead just held her tighter, gently kissing the top of her head. He didn’t really know what to say. His heart ached for her. Being pushed away from someone you love is the worst feeling in the world, and to be the one to bring that feeling to her devastated him.

“At least tell me you aren’t dying.” She mumbled, her tone not entirely serious.

“I’m not dying.” Lucas smiled. “Can that just be good enough for now?”

Sarah pulled away to meet her brother’s gaze again, her brows slightly furrowed.

“No.” Sarah pulled herself away from Lucas and settled back to his side as they continued walking.

“Always so stubborn.” Lucas replied, shaking his head. “And you always worried about me too much. That's partly why I left.” He joked, giving his sister a sly grin, which she returned with a scoff and a gentle—albeit still slightly painful—elbow to the ribs.

“Well, someone has to worry about you. You certainly don’t spend nearly enough time worrying about yourself.” She tried to lighten her tone, but it still carried an air of worry.

“Trust me,” he laughed, “since leaving Oakhill, I’ve never worried so much.”

“What, the life of a knight didn’t turn out the way you thought it would?” Sarah smirked playfully, but Lucas remained quiet. “Well, I guess with anything in life, things don’t always go the way you plan.” She continued, her gaze pulling away from her brother.

If only you knew. Lucas thought.

“Ah! Here we are. Home, sweet home.”

The trio wandered up to Sarah’s modest cottage. It was a little shabby here and there. Definitely in need of some repair. The roof looked like it had been patched up a while back, but was holding firm now. The wooden shutters were swung open, revealing a couple of small, glassless, windows. Despite its flaws, it was still quite charming.

“Well, I see Frederick isn’t exactly great at household repairs.” Lucas jested.

“I would smack you if you weren’t a little right.” Sarah giggled. “Half the time I have to go behind him and repair his repairs.”

“What exactly can this husband of yours do?”

“So judgmental.” She rolled her eyes. “He does the best he can. He takes care of the animals, and the kids, and helps me in the garden.” She shrugged. “He’ll do anything I ask, really. But, I didn’t marry him because of what he can do.” A soft smile danced on her lips. “I married him because he makes me feel safe and… loved. You know what I mean?”

“Yeah.” Lucas found himself subconsciously agreeing, his mind wandering back to Vin and the life he’d tried to build with him. The more he thought of him, the more his heart ached. Vin was that person that made him feel safe, that made him feel loved. Ever since he was a teenager, he knew Vin was the one. Even now, his heart yearned to take him into his arms, to hold him and kiss him, to believe nothing had changed. But so many things had changed. He just had to accept that.

Lucas followed Sarah into the small house. A crackling fire burned in the kitchen fireplace where a large pot of boiling water hung. A slab of fresh pork rested on the kitchen table. There was a well-worn, handmade doll resting askew on the chair, which he assumed belonged to his niece. The concept of being an uncle was still a tough one for him to grasp.

“Ah, you’re home!” A tall man with curly red hair emerged from one of the bedrooms.

“And I’ve brought company!” Sarah announced with a wide grin.

“I’ll be damned.” Frederick’s eyes went wide. “Can it really be?”

“Alive and well.” Sarah gave her brother a quick glance.

“It’s been too long, Lucas.” Frederick rushed over to Lucas and shook his hand firmly, giving him a quick embrace and friendly pat on the back. “It’s good to see you, brother. Sarah has been waiting a long time for this day.” He lovingly eyed his wife.

“So she’s told me.” Lucas chuckled.

“I’m sure she has!” Frederick chimed in. “Always up front, that one.”

Sarah jokingly smacked her husband’s arm, which he responded to by pulling her close and burying a kiss in her blushing cheek. As the two shared playful giggles, Lucas saw in Frederick what Sarah saw in him. A loving, supportive man who’s world started and ended with her. A man who wasn’t afraid to love her, no matter who was around. Sarah didn’t need someone to fix broken things, or carry heavy farm equipment, or provide for her. She never needed to be taken care of, she was more than capable of taking care of herself. All she ever needed was someone to love her, and accept her exactly the way she was, and Frederick did.

“So, did you bring the vegetables for dinner?” Frederick asked.

“Dammit!” Sarah exclaimed, stamping her foot. “I dropped the basket out by the smithy. Seeing Lucas was such a shock, I just-”

“It’s alright, my love. I’ll go fetch it.” Frederick made his way to the door, but stopped short. “Ah! I finally got Thomas down for a nap, but Claire will probably be waking up from her’s soon. I tried to time it right, but Claire was a little fussy so I put her down early.”

“It’s alright, now, just go get the vegetables.” Sarah nudged her husband out the door, closing it behind him and turning back to Lucas.

She gestured to the chair in the living area for him to sit, and he did. Sarah took the seat opposite him as the pitter patter of tiny feet slowly emerged from the bedroom. A small girl with an untamed mop of curly, strawberry hair wandered into the room, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and dragging a worn plush bunny behind her.

“Aw, darling, did we wake you?” Sarah’s voice was light and cheery as her daughter approached her, and climbed into her lap.

Claire nodded groggily as her mother hugged her close, brushing the hair out of her face.

“I want you to meet someone.” Sarah whispered to Claire. “This is your Uncle Lucas.” She gestured to Lucas, who found himself a little overwhelmed at the moment.

“Hi, Claire. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Lucas smiled softly, a slight nervousness lining his voice.

Claire’s eyes went wide, as if she’d just seen a ghost—which, in Lucas’s case, wasn’t far off base. Pushing away from her mother, she slid off of her lap back onto the floor. Slowly, she approached her uncle—who still wasn’t quite sure how to go about this first meeting. Kneeling before the little girl, the two stared at each other for a moment. Lucas watched as Claire’s eyes meticulously studied him.

“Are you really the Unckie Lucas from mommy’s stories?” Claire asked, her brows knit.

“Yes, I really am.” Lucas giggled.

Claire’s expression lightened, and she grinned, jumping into Lucas’s arms.

“Unckie Lucas!”

Lucas was knocked slightly off balance by the surprising force of her hug, but steadied himself, Claire’s arms wrapped firmly around his neck. In that moment, he felt a love he could hardly have imagined before. A love deeper than any ocean, and if the world demanded it, he would die for this tiny, little girl. He would kill for her.

After a moment, Claire loosened her grip and pulled away from Lucas. She stared into his eyes, head slightly cocked, and brows furrowed in confusion. Lucas studied the girl, not quite sure what to make of this sudden shift.

“Unckie Lucas?”

“Yes?”

“Do you have a baby in your belly?”

Lucas gulped hard, the color draining from his face. Why would she ask that? His heart pounded in his chest so furiously, he was sure both Claire and Sarah could see it.

Sarah glanced back and forth between Claire and Lucas for a few moments, noting the prolonged silence. Eventually, Lucas broke his gaze with the child, giving Sarah an unintentionally shaken stare.

“Claire, darling,” Sarah calmly interrupted, “would you go check on your brother for me? I need a moment alone with Uncle Lucas.” She put on a soft smile to reassure her daughter, who then nodded, and scurried off into the bedroom, as Sarah closed the door behind her. She then turned and made her way over to her brother, who was still kneeling on the floor. Slowly, she crouched down to kneel in front of him.

Lucas’s eyes fell to the floor, his heart still pounding. He was afraid to look up. He knew what Sarah was going to ask, and he was terrified to tell her the truth. How could he ever explain the circumstances of his current predicament in a way that would keep her safe—that would keep his child safe? As much joy as his pregnancy had brought him, it was nearly overshadowed with an equal amount of fear. His world was dangerous, and the very notion that the king could have an illegitimate heir would put a target on the backs of all those who knew it.

“Lucas?” Sarah spoke softly, gently lifting his chin so their eyes would meet.

Her face was no longer soft and chipper. The smile she had given Claire had long since faded away, and her eyes pierced into Lucas in a way that shook him to his core.

“I’m going to ask you something,” Sarah continued, “and I want you to be honest with me. No more lies, no more avoidance, no more bullshit.” Her tone went flat, and Lucas clenched his jaw as he awaited the dreaded question. “Was Claire right?”

A chill ran up Lucas’s spine, but he couldn’t bring himself to speak. For just a few more minutes, he wanted to keep his secret, to just be her little brother, and not the knight carrying his country’s biggest scandal.

“Lucas,” Sarah spoke after the prolonged silence revealed no answers, “are you pregnant?”

Lucas drew a shaky breath, and bowed his head, desperately wishing to play the game a little longer, but knowing he had to fold.

“Yes.” He whispered timidly. Tears welled up in his eyes, and his chin started to quiver. All attempts to hold it together were failing him, but it didn’t stop him from trying.

“Why didn’t you just tell me?” Sarah reached out and gently grabbed his hand. Her voice was soft and calm, but Lucas could hear in it how broken she was. “Has too much time passed?” She spoke quietly, more to herself than to Lucas.

“I trust you more than anyone, Sarah, please don’t think otherwise.” His eyes firmly focused on their hands, lightly grasped together.

“I thought you’d be a lot happier about this than you are...” Sarah paused briefly before continuing. “It isn’t… a good thing, is it? The pregnancy.” Sarah’s voice was small and cautious. Lucas sighed.

“No.”

Sarah lifted her gaze, as did Lucas, and when their eyes met, they each saw the worry dancing around the other. In all the years Lucas had dreamed of starting a family of his own, he’d never once imagined that telling his family would feel so unsettling. He wanted the love, the joy, the excitement. He wanted his family and friends to hug him tight, and congratulate him. But most of all, he wanted the father of his child to be standing next to him, holding him close, as if he was the only person in the world. He wanted to bask in the warmth of their love, knowing that within him, their family grew. But he had none of that.

“Who’s the father?” Sarah’s tone was stern, as though her mind had already concocted some horrid scenario, and she was raising her guard.

“It’s not important.” Lucas tried to shake her off.

“The hell it isn’t.” Sarah shot back, trying to keep her voice low so as to not wake her son who was sleeping in the next room. “You’re obviously shaken about it.” She cupped his face in her hands. “What’s going on, Lucas? Is he dangerous? Did he hurt you?”

“Sarah, please.” Lucas pulled her hands away from his face. “I assure you, it’s nothing like that.”

“Then what is it? Is he being unsupportive?”

“No, Sarah, he-” Lucas stopped short, nervously rubbing the back of his neck and Sarah silently waited for him to finish. Gathering his nerves, he finally spoke. “He… doesn’t know.”

“You haven’t told him yet?!” Sarah grabbed his arm, giving it a lighthearted shake, her tone lightening, a reassuring smile on her face. “Is that what you’re so worried about? I’m sure it’ll be fine-”

“He can’t know.” Lucas interjected.

Sarah was taken aback by his abrupt response, her face falling into confusion.

“Why not?”

“It’s complicated-”

“Lucas!” Sarah’s voice was louder than she intended, and she quickly glanced over her shoulder to ensure she hadn’t disturbed her children. After a moment of silence, she relaxed slightly. “Who’s child is it?!” She forcefully whispered at him, tightly gripping his wrist.

“I can’t tell you.”

“What, is he married? Is he a knight? A noble?”

Lucas cringed at the word ‘noble’, which wasn’t lost on Sarah.

“So, he’s a noble.” She pried. Lucas was silent for a few moments before he opened his mouth to speak.

“No… Not exactly.” Lucas sighed, accepting that his sister wasn’t going to back down. “Please, don’t make me tell you.” He quietly begged, brows scrunched over desperate eyes.

Sarah studied her brother’s face, trying to make sense of it all. And then it hit her. Her eyes went wide and she drew a shaky gasp as her hand moved to cover her mouth.

“The king.” She whispered between her fingers. “Don’t tell me you’re pregnant with the king’s child?!” She shouted, shock now taking over.

Just then, a slight creak of the wooden floorboards by the door interrupted them.

“We’re… home…?” A somewhat inquisitive and unsure voice piped up from the doorway.

The pair looked over to see Frederick, carrying the dropped basket of vegetables, closely tailed by his father-in-laws, John and Richard. Sarah gasped with shock, and Lucas’s heart sank. They’d both been so consumed by their conversation that they hadn’t heard the door open, but there was no going back now. If only his sister hadn’t been so relentless, he might’ve been able to keep his secret the way he’d intended to in the first place, and his family would’ve been better off for it.

Sarah’s eyes nervously darted between her brother and her parents, before she reached for her brother’s hand and held it tight; however, Lucas was too fixated on the shocked expressions on his parent’s faces to notice.

“Lucas?”

Lucas drew a sharp breath as John addressed him, and the room fell deathly quiet. The void filled with the deafening sound of Lucas’s heart vigorously pounding in his ears.

“Lucas… is it true?” Richard’s voice was cautious, but firm. Sarah opened her mouth to speak, but couldn’t find the words, and instead waited for her brother to respond.

“I…” Lucas trailed off.

Before the conversation could continue, the bedroom door creaked open and Claire emerged, glancing around the room to see what was going on. Catching sight of her grandfathers, she excitedly darted towards them, jumping into her grandpa’s arms and hugging him tightly, before giving her grandpop a hug equally as enthusiastic. They both smiled, and kissed her forehead, exchanging a few cheerful pleasantries, before Frederick scooped her up, and rushed her back into the bedroom to give his wife’s family some privacy.

Sarah pushed herself up from the floor, extending a hand to help Lucas up. He sighed, grabbed her hand, and let his sister guide him up. Steadying himself, he realized that his legs had fallen asleep. As he waited for the tingling to subside, his parents slowly approached him.

“Lucas?” His pops asked gently. Lucas averted his eyes and sighed.

“Yes.”

“It’s true?” His dad pressed, partially hoping for a different answer, but instead, his son just nodded.

Lucas felt too ashamed to look up. Nervously, he gnawed at his bottom lip, still squeezing his sister’s hand tightly. Sarah could feel the slight tremble in his grasp. She felt like she needed to say something, anything, but the words wouldn’t come to her. Instead, they all stood in silence.

“Please, don’t be upset.” Lucas finally spoke, his voice barely more than a whisper.

All of a sudden, Lucas felt his body jerk forward, two muscular arms wrapping firmly around his shoulders. His father held him so tightly, he could hardly breathe. It was then that he truly realized just how long ten years really was, and how much he really missed this.

“We’d never be upset with you, especially not over this.” Richard’s voice was soft, but firm, just the way Lucas remembered it from his childhood.

Lucas felt his body relax for the first time in weeks, and, wrapping his arms around his dad, he sobbed. His father lightly stroked his hair, softly shushing him. For months, Lucas had securely tucked away his emotions, doing everything in his power to keep them in, but now, every feeling he’d tried to ignore poured out of him like a waterfall. He felt himself melting into the warmth of his father’s embrace, and he was home.

After a few minutes, Lucas calmed down, and pulled himself away from his father. Richard gave his son one of his signature, bearded smiles, and Lucas noticed the dewy tears gathering in his eyes. Glancing to his pop, he saw John was equally misty.

“We’re gonna have another grandchild?” John could hardly contain his widening grin.

“Yeah.” Lucas giggled shakily, hiccupping on the remnants of his sobs. Wiping the tears from his face, John pulled him close and gave him a quick hug of his own.

“How far along are you?” John asked, holding his son’s shoulders firmly.

“Not far, maybe twelve or thirteen weeks. Either way, there’s not much to show for it.” Lucas smiled, giving his belly a couple light taps.

“HA! Not for long, my boy!” John chuckled, wrapping an arm around his son’s shoulders and playfully poking at his belly. “Our family tends to carry big.”

Lucas nervously laughed, gripping at the shirt fabric draped over his tiny belly. That was what he was afraid of. Werewolves were known to birth large offspring anyways, but Lucas remembered stumbling across some of his pop’s pregnancy clothes many years ago, and they were a lot larger than he would’ve expected. He desperately prayed to be the family anomaly. He needed to keep this pregnancy hidden—for everyone’s sake. Especially the baby’s.

“So, did you come all this way just to tell us the good news?” Richard asked, giving his son a gentle nudge.

“Actually,” Lucas rubbed the back of his neck, “this isn’t why I’m here.”

“Especially since you weren’t even going to tell us.” Sarah muttered under her breath, which everyone ignored.

“I had a dream, well, a nightmare really.” Lucas tried to collect his thoughts into something coherent as everyone took a seat.

Frederick finally re-emerged from the bedroom, closing the door behind him, and leaning against the wall. As much as he tried not to eavesdrop, he couldn’t help that voices carried in such a small house, and he figured it was best to hear it first hand instead of from behind a wall.

“I wouldn’t have thought much of it at first except, well… it came on the full moon.” Lucas stated, unsure how his family would respond.

“A full moon dream?” Sarah glanced at John. “Those… they’re premonition dreams, aren’t they?”

“Well,” John sighed, “you have Seer’s blood in your veins, both of you.” He replied. “Little Claire inherited quite a bit more of that gift than us, bless her, but, regardless, a dream on the full moon isn’t something to take lightly.”

All eyes were now on Lucas, waiting for him to continue. Part of him was hesitant because he didn’t want to relive it, but the other part of him knew he didn’t have a choice. Taking a deep breath, he opened his mouth to speak.

“Something bad is going to happen.”

“How bad?” Sarah asked.

“Bad.” Lucas bit his lower lip. “Oakhill isn’t going to exist much longer.”

“What do you mean?” Frederick piped up from the back, his body tensing.

Lucas attempted to collect his nerves, the images of his nightmare flooding back to him, sending a shiver up his spine.

“Everything was gone.” Lucas clenched his fists against his knees. “The village was burning and…” He drew a deep breath, “everyone was dead.”

The room, once again, fell silent, the tension surrounding them like a thick fog. Lucas gulped hard, waiting for his family to process what he’d told them. Sarah and Frederick exchanged worried glances, as John tightly gripped Richard’s knee.

“How much time do we have?” Richard asked, his voice gruff. Lucas shook his head.

“I don’t know for sure. Not long though. Sometime before the first snow.” He replied.

“The first snow?!” Sarah exclaimed, jumping up from her chair. “It’s nearly Autumn!” She glanced back and forth between her husband and her brother, brows furrowed with panic.

“I know.” Lucas confirmed.

“Well, what are we supposed to do? We can’t just pick up and leave, our whole lives are here!” Sarah continued.

“I don’t see that you have a choice.”

Sarah glanced at her parents, hoping they’d have some solution she hadn’t yet thought of. After a few silent moments, she realized that answer wasn’t coming.

“Lucas is right.” John spoke matter of factly. Sarah sighed, looking back towards her brother.

“Where are we gonna go?” Sarah asked, somewhat defeated.

“I’ll arrange a ship to take you across the ocean from the west port. Valkevilla has allies there. I’ll ask the king to submit a formal request for sanctuary prior to your departure.”

“What if the king doesn’t submit the request?” Frederick asked firmly, with a hint of concern.

“He’ll submit the request, trust me.” Lucas affirmed.

“How long do we have before the ship will be ready?” John inquired.

“About two weeks from my return to Valkevilla.”

“And when are you planning to return?” Sarah asked, her voice low.

“I leave at first light.” Lucas responded flatly.

“But that’s so soon.” John said, gently gripping Richard’s arm. “You just got here.”

“I know, but we’re running short on time and the palace is on high alert. I’m needed there.”

“Lucas,” Sarah reached out and grabbed his hand, “I know you want to do the right thing but…” she glanced down at his belly briefly before returning her gaze, “you need to think about what’s best for you right now, too. I mean, it’s not just you anymore. You can’t just rush into harm’s way.”

Lucas clenched his jaw as Sarah’s words soaked into his mind. He’d been so focused on keeping his pregnancy a secret, that he hadn’t actually considered the logistics of it. He was a knight, whose kingdom was on the brink of war, and he was expected to be on the front lines defending it. How could he do that with a child in his womb?

Unconsciously, his hand drifted to his lower belly, resting softly on the tiny bump, and his eyes fell to the swell, his thumb lightly rocking back and forth across it. It was so small, almost as if it wasn’t even there, but it was. Nestled comfortably within him was his child, the king’s child, and he needed to consider that.

“Let me worry about that.” Lucas finally spoke, lifting his gaze. “For now, we just need to focus on getting everyone out of Oakhill.”

His family glanced back and forth to one another, each nodding in agreement.

Sarah sighed and her shoulders fell. “I guess we’ll start packing.”

#mpreg #male pregnancy #a gift unto the king #werewolf #vampire #writing

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xanadontit · 2 years ago

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Had a chance to catch up with D and quelle surprise: her husband made her cry ON Mother’s Day.

D has a rough relationship with her mom, who is very likely an undiagnosed narcissist. One of D’s longtime friends who is a therapist sent her a ton of articles and book recommendations and said “I don’t like to diagnose people I’m not treating but uhhhh... yeah.” She’s not a loving or involved grandmother either, and while D doesn’t actively limit exposure, she will not allow her kids to spend unsupervised time with her mom. Visits are usually just gatherings with her brother (the golden child) and his wife and son.

D and her husband took the kids to Target to buy Mother’s Day cards for the grandmas and D was making jokes about how a lot of them weren’t applicable to her mom. “Thanks for all you do? Nope!” The toddler wasn’t registering this and the baby is, well, a baby. D wasn’t actively talking shit, just kind of laughing about the reality of the situation. As she and I have joked “If we don’t laugh we might cry.” In the moment her husband was gently scolding her but didn’t seem that upset.

For some reason on Mother’s Day the husband decided to yell at D in the car in front of their children about how she’s a disrespectful daughter and needs to model being respectful of elders/family members.

Please take a moment and let the irony sink in. This was his pitch? Screaming at her to be kinder? K, bro.

Also bear in mind their big Mother’s Day plans involved 4 hours in the car to see HIS mommy and his family who at best ignore her and at worst say racist things about her and their children. D lets a lot slide in the name of maintaining peace and because she wants her kids to have grandparents in their lives (although I’d argue that grandparents who are racist should be cut off but no one asked my opinion). For Father’s Day he has a guys’ day planned with his buddies while all the wives tend to the children. So, you know, normal day.

I’m coming to terms with the fact that this guy isn’t just an oblivious ass and is actually abusing her. Who yells at their partner 1) in a space where she can’t walk away and 2) in front of their small children and 3) to the point where she’s reduced to tears and keeps going? An abusive asshole, right? And why does he think he gets to dictate the terms of her 40+ year relationship with her mother? She’s a mess and doesn’t deserve all this consideration beyond the basic decency you’d show an acquaintance! Shut up!

Guess it’s good I’m seeing my cousin the therapist this weekend because I need some help here.

#do not reblog

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achillean-archives · 2 years ago

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"Ironically, Kaye would sometimes lament that he himself was ‘no oil painting’, which explained, he said, why he didn’t have a partner: ‘I wouldn’t want somebody to be with me just because they wanted to be with Gorden Kaye the actor. I do believe in love, but it’s only happened to me three times . . . which is two times too many.’

He was born Gordon Kaye (the spelling ‘Gorden’ came much later) in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, in 1941, the only child of working-class parents who regarded him as their little miracle: his mother was 42 when he was born. His father, Harold, was an engineer, and an air raid warden.

A sensitive boy, he worried that his parents were so much older than other children’s. ‘I was sure that I would come home and find them dead,’ he admitted.

When he was three, he crept downstairs when his parents were having a Christmas party. He watched his mother, Gracie, talking and smoking a cigarette. When she put it down in an ashtray, young Gorden picked it up and took a drag.

Whether red-hot ash flew up from the tip, or he accidentally poked himself with the burning end, he was never sure. All he could remember was throwing himself on the floor, screaming and howling, and an agonising pain in his left eye. Next morning, the pupil was swollen, and he could barely see out of it. He later regained about 20 per cent of his vision in that eye, but for the rest of his life it stared off to the side.

At 16, he took a job as a salesman at a textiles firm, for £4 7s 6d a week. But he wanted to work in showbiz, and volunteered on Huddersfield’s hospital radio, playing rock ’n’ roll. When The Beatles performed at the town’s cinema in 1963, Gorden interviewed them. His instinctive humour brought out the best in the Fab Four, who showered him with silly jokes.

At 22, Kaye was engaged to be married, but he had known since his teens that he was gay. That was why he had proposed to his girlfriend: ‘I thought that’s how you made the feelings go away.’

But they did not go away and, feeling increasingly lonely, he sought out a pen-friend through the small ads. A sailor called Peter in the New Zealand merchant navy got in touch, and they exchanged long, confessional messages, recorded on cassettes.

When Peter visited Britain, Gorden took him to meet his parents. Afterwards, his mother guessed there was ‘something going on’ and though Gorden denied it at first, he eventually told her the truth.

‘Don’t tell your dad,’ she warned. ‘It’ll kill him.’ He never said anything to his father and, for a long time, thought if his secret was exposed he would have to kill himself.

He threw himself into amateur dramatics. Playwright Alan Ayckbourn, then a BBC radio producer, urged him to turn professional. He applied for a job with a Bolton repertory company: the audition was so successful that the director fell off his chair laughing and had to be helped up. But the company wanted him for character work, and his first role was as an 80-year-old man.

Bit parts on TV followed, and then he was cast as Elsie Tanner’s nephew, Bernard, in Coronation Street. By now his name was ‘Gorden’, thanks to a spelling error by the actors’ union, Equity. Before he could correct it, he was taken to hospital with kidney stones.

The registrar misspelled his name, too, so the clipboard at the end of his bed also said ‘Gorden’. ‘I took that as an omen,’ he said. ‘Or possibly an emon.’ Those sorts of mangled vowels were the mainstay of his role as Rene.

At the outset in 1982, the show by Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft was accused of mocking the heroes of the French Resistance. In fact, it was a send-up of BBC television wartime dramas such as Secret Army and Colditz. The show became hugely popular.

But in 1989, warned that a Sunday tabloid was about to reveal his sexuality, Gorden decided to come out as gay: ‘I was born this way and I’ve never pretended to be anything other than what I am.’

He was terrified of the public response but, when the news broke, he was in panto at the London Palladium, and got a standing ovation.

Other reaction was less kind. One MP, Geoffrey Dickens, demanded the BBC sack him, for impersonating a ladies’ man on prime-time TV.

‘That was a horrible time,’ Gorden remembered.

‘It was a bit like the Nuremberg trials. I don’t care what my greengrocer does in bed and I don’t see why the public should have to know what I do. But of all the letters I got from the public, only two of them were nasty.’

Worse was to come. During a storm in January 1990, part of a wooden advertising hoarding was blown through his car windscreen and a piece of wood nearly 11in long was embedded in his skull.

The injury left scars mental and physical from which he never fully recovered. He returned to record a final season of ’Allo ’Allo!, but rarely worked on TV again after that. The shock of the accident left him nervous and irritable, and clumsier than ever. ‘If I try to open a packet of biscuits,’ he admitted, ‘I spill them. And then I shout at them.’

He involved himself with charity work with the Grand Order of Water Rats, which supported entertainers and their families in hard times, and was proud to be elected Chief Rat in 1999.

But he took little joy in life, and said he didn’t want to live into old age. Invitations were declined on the excuse that he was expecting to go to a funeral — his own.

But he never regretted a day of his time on ’Allo ’Allo! If his ability to make people laugh was a gift from God, as he believed, then Rene was his greatest stroke of luck — one other actors would kill to have, ‘and might probably put ground glass in my Diet Coke,’ he laughed.

‘I loved playing Rene. ’Allo ’Allo! enabled me to work with some of the finest comic performers in Britain. We did it for ten years . . . and even Hitler only managed six.’ " Source:

"Retired college lecturer Raymond, 86, said Gorden, who grew up in Moldgreen , had become isolated and very lonely - despite being loved by millions of fans.

“He had no brothers or sisters, just a few cousins. He never married and was a lone survivor till the end.

"It was just a case of surviving and he was very lonely. That is all very sad.”

Raymond praised his famous relative as “a brilliant actor, a comic genius, who brought a lot of joy to many people. He is still making people laugh today.”

Kaye was best known for his role as Rene Artois in the 1980s BBC sitcom ‘Allo ‘Allo! which made light of the Nazi occupation of France.

BAFTA nominated, he also appeared in Last of the Summer Wine, Are You Being Served?, Coronation Street and Emmerdale.

Raymond added: “He always appreciated his fans saying ‘They’re my bread and butter’ and he always stopped to sign autographs in the street.”

Gorden, an only child, had described himself as a “shy, gay and overweight boy.”

[...]

Raymond, a father of two, said many of Gorden’s friends from London rarely visited him once he was in a care home.

He said: “Just one or two but not recently, they just seemed to forget about him.

“Me and my wife went up when we could but we’re too old to drive and it’s difficult by train and taxi.”

Raymond told how the teetotal star, who cheated death in a horrific car crash in 1990, “smoked a bit but never touched alcohol.”

He added: “I like to remember sitting and talking to him and what a brilliant actor he was.

“Allo ‘Allo was his best role. He was in 84 episodes which have been shown across the world.

[...]

Raymond fondly recalls being invited to screenings with Sheila: “We were in the audience a lot at one time. He did he make us laugh.

“He may have been forgotten by his acting friends but he’ll never be forgotten by us, his family, and his legions of fans." " Source:

#rest in peace #rip #gorden kaye #'allo 'allo #rene artois #rené artois #gordon kaye

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