#By Blue Eyes Yellow Will Die - Epilogue | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

cultleaderyoongi · 3 years ago

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Forever And A Day – epilogue | kth

☆ pairing: Taehyung x f. reader

☆ genre: ex2l, slow burn • fluff, angst (not so much in this part)

☆ word count: 3.3k

☆ warnings: mentions of pregnancy, one or two suggestive lines

☆ synopsis: You were never one for romance, let alone for weddings, so you were surprised to say the least when your best friend asked you to be her maid of honor. Little did you know that this journey would become your own road to love.

☆ navigation: moodboard + playlist | pt.1 | extras | pt. 2 | epilogue

☆ a/n: Here we are, folks – the final part. It's been a long ride with this one, and I feel weird now that it's finished, but I'm so happy this was my first series on this site. Thank you so much if you've stuck around since day one despite the long pause in between.

As always, I hope you enjoy reading. If you do – thank you! And feedback is always much welcome. I'll see you on the next journey ♡

☆ taglist: @leafyturtle @somewhereofftheglobe @bangtansjonas

This was the first time in forever you got to experience an actual winter, the frosty flakes outside dancing in the cold wind, the warm yellow of the living room lights in contrast to the hues of blue and white beyond the barrier of the windows. On top of that served the twinkling reflection of the decor adorned in twirly strokes of glitter, rendering the outdoors in even broader bleakness.

"Everybody!" Joohyun exclaimed, lifting her mug of hot chocolate into the air which was a weird sight to see, you concluded. "I wanna thank you all again for coming, for making the holidays so special and precious as always. We don't get together all that often, even more so lately with everyone settling down in one way or another"–her hand cupped the bump protruding underneath her burgundy knitted sweater–"but I'm glad you could all make it this time again."

Your eyes roamed around the room, the changes that have taken place as another year and a half had passed forcing a smile onto your features. Two expecting parents sitting across from you now, two more happy couples to your left and right – who would have thought? The warmth of the hand latched around yours reminded you of how your own life had turned around for the better.

The host continued, "I hope we still get to do this every year even with all the changes and oncoming challenges. I hold you all very dear to my heart, so I would hate for things to die down once..." A silent whimper escaped her, and then she wept with reckless abandon.

Her husband came straight to the rescue, wrapping her in a comforting hug until she regained composure.

"Sorry, it's the hormones. Damn hormones. Anyway," wiping underneath her tear-stained eyes, Joohyun finished, "you're always in our hearts. Wherever you are in the world. Now, to us and everything that's to come."

Everyone followed lead, repeating her final words and taking sips of their respective drinks.

With the help of Seokjin, she slumped back down onto the armchair, letting out a loud sigh in exhaustion. "So," she addressed you and the man beside you now, "do you have a date yet?"

Taehyung's thumb grazed across the diamond embedded band decorating your ring finger. "No," he answered, "we barely got back from our trip."

You recounted the past weeks in your head, one of Taehyung's work trips to Italy you had accompanied him to. It had been the perfect time to visit with all the festive decorations reaching from the grandest plazas to the tiniest alleyways – truly magical and fitting for a marriage proposal. The memory of Taehyung getting down to one knee during dinner on your hotel room balcony overlooking the scenery of Milan drew a smile on your face.

"Also"–he searched for eye contact with everyone in the room–"we wanted to ask some of you something." The room fell silent in anticipation, only the crackling of the burning wood in the fireplace to be heard. Turning to the male on his right, he finally questioned, "Jimin, would you be my best man?"

The now black-haired dancer watched his friend with wide eyes before he broke out into an equally wide grin. "Y-yeah! Of course, man."

As the two rose from their seats to pull each other into a tight hug, you peeled your eyes from the pair, inspecting the girls instead. "I had a harder time making up my mind, but I hope you guys are happy with my choice." Clearing your throat once, you made eye contact with the female next to the now vacant spot. "Seulgi, would you be my maid of honor?"

Your friend sent you a baffled look, wispy eyelashes fluttering in quick succession. "Me?"

"Yeah, you!" Letting out a small laugh, you explained, "It would've made sense asking Joo since I was her maid of honor at that time, but now that you're pregnant"–you turned to your best friend–"you're gonna have bigger tasks to tackle."

The woman in question answered with an affirmative nod, the corners of her mouth tugging upwards.

"It also would've been fair to ask Soo as she didn't get to be maid of honor last time, but with you two moving down south soon"–you turned to Jungkook and his girlfriend to your left–"you're gonna have enough on your plate."

Sooyoung's red-tinted lips curled into an approving smile, resembling that of her older sister's as she nodded her head.

"So," you directed your words at Seulgi again, "what do you say?"

She regarded you with a sheepish grin, cheeks rising into squishy globes. "Yes! I would love to."

You smiled from ear to ear at your friend's response, and as you embraced her, the rest of the girls gathered to engulf the two of you in a group hug.

"This is perfect," Sooyoung cooed, her voice muffled underneath the layers or interlocked limbs. "The next maid of honor and best man are a couple. Maybe we can do the same for your wedding."

As you broke off the hug in unison and returned to your respective seats, Seulgi scoffed at the younger girl's words. "Uh...we're not in a rush at all."

"That didn't look like not in a rush at all if I recall the shocking scene I had to walk in on after the wedding," Hoseok mentioned from the sideline, face scrunched up in slight disgust.

"La la la la la, I don't wanna hear again." Yerim clasped her hands above her ears in an attempt at drowning out the current topic.

You couldn't stifle a laugh at the utter chaos ensuing in the group again. It was endearing to see things had stayed the same over the years even with all the dynamic changes. Granted, it could become a little much at times, but you wouldn't change it for the world. Resting your head on your fiancé's shoulder, you watched your friends in amusement.

"But guys," Jungkook chimed in on the conversation now, "they've been pining on each other forever."

"Thanks, man. At least someone understands." Jimin sent the younger male an appreciative nod, thankful for his attempt at easing the tension.

"Doesn't mean we're gonna cut you some slack though," the former added, finishing off with a fake, evil laugh. "Dude, at a wedding? Come on."

The man in question retracted further into the cushion of the sofa, burying his face in the crook of Seulgi's neck as he flushed a shade of crimson similar to that of his girlfriend's.

"Okay, guys." You had barely paid any attention to Namjoon up until this point, but all eyes were on him now as he spoke. "She's here, so if you could dial down the crazy just a tad bit"–he rose from his seat, shoving his phone into his front pocket as he stalked over to the front door–"that'd be awesome."

"You invited her to the wrong place for that, brother," Yoongi yelled after him, earning a round of laughter from the other males.

"No," Seungwan drawled, "we can be civil. Right, guys?" She mustered the boys with a tight-lipped smile. When she received no answers – evidently to egg her on – she repeated, "Right?"

It was too late for a retort as Namjoon already entered the living room again – this time with his date in tow. "Guys, this is Chanmi," he happily announced. "Chanmi, these are my friends."

"Hi! It's nice to meet you all." The woman next to him sported a polite smile, waving at the group before bending forward into a slight bow.

She was gorgeous, you had a hard time taking your eyes off of her. With her dark, long hair and feline eyes she gave off this mysterious vibe, but her smile told an entirely different story. It read of sheer warmth, awarding her with this overall inviting persona. Her impeccable style caught your eye as well. Although dressed in black from head to toe, a number of accents in the form of golden accessories balanced out her look so expertly, you wanted to kick yourself in the shin at how well put together it was.

"Oh!" Taehyung exclaimed in astonishment, and you would have turned towards him in irritation if it wasn't for the new girl expressing herself in a similar manner as your fiancé.

"Taehyung-ssi!" she replied, mouth formed into an o-shape.

"You know each other?" you and Namjoon pointed out in almost perfect unison, exchanging confused looks between each other.

"Yeah," Chanmi explained, "we've met back in Paris. Same university, same dorms et cetera."

The group let out a round of Ohs and Ahs in acknowledgment whereas you and Namjoon remained in your initial state of perplexity.

"How small the world is," she added, her eyes crinkling at the sides as her smile stretched from ear to ear. "It's been a while."

Your fiancé let out a hum in agreement. "It's really been a while. How have you been?" he inquired, tugging at his earlobe with raised eyebrows. "I didn't know you were back in the country."

With the guidance of her date, Chanmi now settled down onto the couch, legs crossing over one another. "I've been well. Work brought me back here about a year ago."

"Are you also in photography?" Joohyun questioned the new guest with interest.

Shaking her head in denial, she clarified with a beaming grin, "I majored in fashion design."

"How nice," your best friend mused before dedicating her attention back to the slice of cake on her plate.

The sudden change in demeanor almost had you cackling when Chanmi's soft voice sounded again. "How have you been, by the way?" she turned to Taehyung this time. "When did you come back?"

Even though she exuded nothing but friendliness, you subconsciously shuffled closer to him, the grip of your arm around his tightening as if to assert dominance.

"I've been great," your fiancé responded, hand scratching at the back of his head. "I came back like two years ago, did my thing, got engaged"–proudly lifting up your interlocked hands, he finished–"so I've been good."

"Oh, congratulations!" The girl looked back at the two of you, eyes scrunched up as she sent you a genuine smile. "So, you finally found your happy ending."

With confusion evident on your features, you turned to your fiancé in hopes of an explanation. What did she mean by that?

"You know, this guy"–her finger pointed at Taehyung as she directly spoke to you–"was a tough case to crack. Some of our friends were trying to set us up together, but he made it very clear from the get-go that this wasn't going to happen. Later on, I found out that he had a girl at home he was trying to win back."

Watching the man beside you hide a hint of a smile behind his hand, he avoided your stare as his focus shifted heavenward, embarrassment written all over his face.

Chanmi's eyes narrowed in thought, her lips pulled into a thin line. "I'm assuming you're the girl. Otherwise, this is really awkward and I'm very sorry."

You were at a loss for words, unsure how to respond to this piece of information when she beat you to it.

"But you two seem so in tune with each other. There's no way I'm wrong." The girl shot you a wink when your conversation was cut short by her vibrating phone. A tired sigh escaped her. "I just got off work. What do they want from me now?" Excusing herself, she disappeared down the hallway, her tender voice contradicting with the exasperated word spill as she accepted the call.

Once Chanmi was out of sight, Joohyun leaned closer to Namjoon, scarfing down the final bite of her cake. "She's cute – spunky. I like her."

The man in question sported a timid smile, hand coming up to scratch at the nape of his neck.

"What a weird coincidence though," Sooyoung stated nonchalantly. "You"–her finger pointed towards Taehyung–"used to date–"

Your fiancé vigorously waved his hand in front of him. "We went on one date that was set up by our friends, and that was it."

"–and now you"–Sooyoung's outstretched finger switched over to Namjoon–"are dating."

"This is only our third date," Namjoon clarified, lips pulled into a tight line. "We're not dating."

"Yet?" Joohyun tested the waters.

The male only shrugged his shoulders.

Granted, if you were in Namjoon's shoes, you wouldn't be sure how to act either. With you and Taehyung having been back together for the past year and a half now, you were able to build up a proper foundation at last by trusting and confiding in each other – and you were beyond happy things went back to the way they were. Hearing from Chanmi how set Taehyung had been on you from the start solidified that. The realization made you instantly more relaxed.

"Hyung," the low growl of Taehyung's voice resonated again, his eyes resting on Namjoon, "I don't want this to be awkward in any way. Please don't let that change your mind and give her a chance."

You were somewhat stunned by his response. Sure, the sudden arrival of his old flame – if you could even call her that – was surprising to say the least. Not just for you, but also for Namjoon. Although the two haven't been friends for as long as you and Namjoon have, your heart soared at your lover trying to relieve the tension for him.

"Yeah no," the older male chuckled, "it's only awkward if you make it awkward. That was like what? Five years ago? Don't worry about it." He waved a hand in dismissal. "It's not like we haven't had our fair share of bizarre bondings in the group before."

Chuckles went around the room in awareness.

"Speaking of which," Hoseok piped, "don't forget we have names to draw. Four hours left until the countdown."

Seungwan let out a guttural groan at that. "Can we drop it this time around? Maybe it was fun while it lasted, but not now when the options are so limited." She drew a circle in the air with her outstretched hand, motioning towards Hoseok and Yoongi whose offended grimaces had everyone in giggles.

"I still think it's a weird tradition," your fiancé noted to no one in particular though his eyes were locked onto yours. When you granted him a grin in agreement, he planted a chaste kiss on your cheek.

"What's a weird tradition?" Chanmi returned from her phone call, plopping back down onto the couch next to Namjoon.

As her date relayed the rules to her, you leaned into the man beside you. "A girl at home, hm?" you teased him, a pleased smirk unable to scratch off your face.

"Shut up," Taehyung bantered back, a breathy chuckle passing his lips. "You're my girl now." Planting another peck on your cheek, he added, "And soon, you're gonna be my wife."

You were about to return the gesture when Chanmi's light laughter filled the air. "That is a weird tradition. I'm sure you're all lovely, but I don't think I can commit just yet."

"Good thing you're here with a date then," Jungkook reminded her with a click of his tongue and a finger gun, referring to the man beside her.

As soon as the pair stole glances at each other, they turned away again just as fast with flushed cheeks and meek smirks.

For the remainder of the night, you reminisced on old times, recounting endless stories – good and bad – to Chanmi who, in turn, had just as many to tell. It was easy taking a liking to her despite your initial minimal moment of shock. She turned out a perfect fit for the group, you concluded, and from what you could tell Namjoon was more than fond of her as well. Watching the two of them exchange small tidbits of affection here and there had you beaming a bright grin. You were glad to see your friend finally mingle.

"Ah, Taehyung-ssi," Chanmi turned to you and your fiancé again, "have you heard Seojoon opened his own bar?"

Taehyung hummed in affirmation, setting his glass down onto the table. "We actually went down to Rome for a couple days during my work trip to visit him."

"Oh, that's nice," she mused, her eyes set on you. "Was this your first time visiting Europe?"

You replied with a nod of your head.

"How'd you like it?"

"It was beautiful. Just as I imagined." A smile underlined your words. "I almost didn't wanna leave."

Chanmi let out a light chuckle at your response. "It does have that effect. I had a hard time leaving, too." Taking a sip of her champagne, she continued, "Could you imagine living there?"

Her question caught you a little off-guard. Having only been there once so far, you had fallen for its charm. It wasn't like you and Taehyung had discussed it in great detail, but you had brought it up in conversation here and there.

Looking over at Taehyung, you cleared your throat. "Maybe at some point, but–"

"Wait, what?" Joohyun screeched at an alarming volume. She mustered you with puppy eyes before breaking out into tears. "Not you, too!"

Everyone was stunned at her sudden outburst, sitting in silence except for Seokjin who made quick move of consoling his emotional wife. It wasn't until he offered her another slice of cake – to which she fended Make it two. I'm eating for two now – that she finally regained composure.

"Joo," you tended to your best friend now, "it was just an idea for the future. Nothing's gonna happen anytime soon."

"Exactly," your fiancé added. "You have nothing to worry about. We'll be here to annoy you for a lot longer." He finished off by flaunting her a mischievous smirk.

The woman scoffed in reply, but you could tell she was pleased with the answer. "Fine. Just don't be a stranger, okay?" Her eyes lingered on Taehyung, the space in between her brows creasing in concern. "The both of you."

You resorted to sending her a solemn nod.

It wasn't too long until the clock almost struck midnight. Looking around the space, your heart warmed at the sight, similar to the flame burning away in the fireplace. Soon, new life would be born. Soon, new love would bloom. And soon, you would marry the love of your life.

"What are you thinking about?" your husband-to-be inquired, resting his forehead onto yours as his arms wrapped around your waist.

A hum resonated from you in response. "Nothing in particular. Just about how happy I am." With a small smile stretched across your lips, you explained further, "And also about how tired I'm getting."

"Yeah, it's been fun, but I can't wait for bed." Cupping your cheek, he placed a chaste kiss on your lips. "And also get some alone time with you before that."

You chuckled at the insinuation behind his words, chasing another peck with puckered lips. "Not tired enough then?"

"I'm always awake enough for some alone time with you," he spoke in his low gravel, drawing out another amused laugh from you.

"Alright, hotshot. We'll see about that once we get home."

Pulling you closer by the hips, he engulfed you in another heartfelt kiss as if to seal the deal.

"Ah! Children present," Yerim's shrieky voice interrupted you as she thrusted your filled-up flutes of champagne into your hands. "Save it for later."

"You're barely a child," Yoongi teased the younger girl, earning a stuck-out tongue from her.

"Okay guys," Seungwan piped, "here we go. Ten!"

"Nine!" everyone started counting down in unison. "Eight! Seven!"

Wrapping your arms around his neck, you whispered into Taehyung's ear. "I love you."

"Six! Five!"

As his hand cradled your face, he murmured back, "I love you, too. Forever and a day."

"Four! Three! Two! One! Happy New Year!"

"My future Mrs. Kim."

#bts fanfic #taehyung fanfic #bts fluff #taehyung fluff #bts angst #taehyung angst #bts scenario #taehyung scenario #bts imagine #taehyung imagine #bts au #taehyung au #bts x reader #taehyung x reader #bts x yn #taehyung x yn #kim taehyung #bts #f: forever and a day

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guqin-and-flute · 4 years ago

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[You know how there’s a set of fics I promised to work on first? Apparently that was a lie! 😘 This is just epilogue, Post-Reconciliation fluff with teenage Jingyi--he’s probably 15-16 CW: Moderate descriptions of dead bodies and injuries in reference to a game they’re playing]

[3zun Raise Jingyi AU] [Main Fic][Ao3 Link]

“Are you you cold?”

“Oh yeah, very.”

“Are you animated?”

“No.”

“Do I know you?”

“Nope.”

“Hmm.” Yellow-Father flipped the page of the book he was examining, eyes still on his work. “Are there obvious wounds?”

“Yup, my organs are all chewed up, throat torn out, and...let’s say my nose is gone.” Jingyi thumped his chin into his hands, sticking his legs straight out under the low table in the middle of Yellow-Father’s office, idly waggling his feet.

Next to him at the table, Gray-Father looked like he was falling asleep, his cheek all smushed against his propped up fist, eyes mostly closed, but he still grunted, “Shape of the teeth marks?”

Jingyi squinted into space and wrinkled his nose, considering. “Oblong?”

Yellow-Father twitched a half smirk without looking up from what he was signing. “Oblong teeth?”

“No, oblong...jaw shape or whatever,” Jingyi waved his hand dismissively, wiping away his previous words before drawing a long, thin U-shape in the air with his index finger.

Gray-Father cracked one eye open to take in the sketch, then closed it again. “Not a fierce corpse, then.”

With an air of exaggerated mystery, Jingyi shrugged, then sprawled backward on the floor so he took up the rest of the walkway in front of the door. “Whoooo’s to say? Is that your guess?”

“Boy, I said it wasn’t a fierce corpse, why would that be my guess?”

“Well, you’re trying to fish for unauthorized information, Chifeng-zun, you gotta play by the rules,” Jingyi shot back sternly, jabbing a serious and admonishing finger in his direction.

Though his eyes were closed, it was very clear that Gray-Father rolled them.

Yellow-Father heaved a sigh and drummed his fingers idly on his desk, gaze roving over the piles of paper as he sucked on his teeth in thought--though, Jingyi had to admit, probably not just about their game. Yellow-Father seemed to operate on several levels at once at all times. “Are there deep puncture marks?”

“Uhhh...sort of?”

Finally, Yellow-Father looked up to shoot him an amused glance over his desk edge. “’Sort of?’ That’s hardly fair or specific.” Rising, he gathered a stack of scrolls and came around his desk, stepping easily over Jingyi’s supine form before rapping smartly on the door with his knuckles.

“Like...teeth marks are technically puncture marks.”

After a moment, the door slid open and a harried looking Jin courier took the pile without a word and disappeared down the hall. Yellow-Father closed the door and turned back. “Yes, I suppose. I’m asking specifically about fangs.”

Lolling his head over, Jingyi watched as he stepped back over him without even looking, robe hem brushing over his belly. He barely fought the sudden urge to grab his ankles as he might have when he was younger. He managed not to--but it was definitely a close thing. “It’s not a snake.”

“What?” Gray-Father demanded, sounding offended.

Jingyi lolled his head back to see his eyes open, glaring at him in mock reproach. “You’ll tell him it’s not a snake but you can’t confirm it’s not a fierce corpse without threatening to take away my guess? How is that playing by the rules?”

“Aha,” Jingyi raised his finger straight into the air again as he proclaimed, “But it is.” Then, he pointed back down at himself. “Because I make the rules.”

Gray-Father gave a derisive huff through his nose, but smiled. “Yeah, that was cute when you were 5. Not so much anymore.”

“Um, whatever, I’m adorable. Dieeee, are you done yet? I’m bored. When is Blue-die done with his meeting? I wanna gooo.”

“Patience, Jingyi, I need to clean up. And he’s coming.” Yellow-Father rustled about on his desk, neatly packing everything away into drawers and piles that Jingyi thought were a little excessive--like, why did it need to be that clean? “Where did we find you, again?”

With an exaggerated scoff, Jingyi shook his head slowly, feeling the hard floor beginning to dig into the knob at the back of his skull. He’d have to sit up soon. “Wooow, you find a dead body and you don’t even care enough to remember your surroundings. This must be just any other day to you.”

“In the woods, he said,” Gray-Father betrayed him easily, so Jingyi raised his head to shoot him a glare, but his eyes were closed again. Wriggling closer, he punched the side of his rock of a thigh, earning him a chuckle and Gray-Father leaning down to flip the ends of his fanned out hair over his face.

“Woods, thin, oblong jaws, deep tooth marks, throat torn out, organs and nose gone--or at least chewed on,” Yellow-Father ticked off precisely down an imaginary list as he turned from shelving to continue puttering around. “I’m guessing; wolves.”

Heaving himself upright, Jingyi crashed his hands together just as the gold, white, and blue painted door slid open once again and he bellowed. “GUAAAUAUAUANG!”

Framed in the doorway, Blue-Father stopped short and blinked at the sudden noise but smiled in amusement. “’Guaaaung?’” When Jingyi thrust out his hands demandingly, he stepped in and obligingly gave him custody of one of his arms. “Hello.”

“Almost done, Er-ge,” floated Yellow-Father’s voice from the closet.

“Clearly, it’s a gong noise.” Jingyi used his arm to haul himself to his feet--Blue-Father didn’t even sway. “They won; I was murdered by wolves.”

At this pronouncement, his blue father cocked his head down at him, smile turning quizzical as Jingyi dusted off the seat of his robes. “...Ah?”

Gray-Father blew out a breath and shook himself awake, unfolding slowly from the table. “We were playing Dead Body while we waited for you and A-Yao to be done,” he explained, then gave a hugely expansive stretch, scrunching his face up. “I was thinking it was wolves, but I was waiting for the usual twist.”

Yellow-Father emerged from the closet with a smug smile and murmured, “Mmm, of course you were,” to which Gray-Father leaned over the desk and swatted at his butt--he easily dodged.

“The twist was that there was no twist, this time,” Jingyi said sagely, hands on his hips. “Are we good to go? Finally?”

“I...yes.” Blue-Father still had on that ‘I still don’t know what’s going on here’ smile as Yellow-Father closed the shutters against the streaming sun and joined them. “How does one play Dead Body, exactly?” he asked curiously as he leaned down to let Yellow-Father kiss his cheek hello just before they made their way out into the hall.

Pretending to hold back barf was something Jingyi did less because he cared about them kissing and more because it was his job as annoying teenage son to do things like that. In any case, he was rewarded by Gray-Father wrapping him in a casual headlock, then ignoring him when he flailed to escape as Yellow-Father locked up his office. “You mean you’ve never played Dead Body with him?”

“Mm, not that I recall--and I feel like I would remember something like that.”

From his chaotic and squished vantage point, he saw Yellow-Father look down at him--all captured and partially strangled and sputtering under Gray-Father’s arm. He rolled his eyes, and fondly scolded, “Let him breathe, Da-ge.”

Easily, Gray-Father complied. Wonderful, blessed air flooded back into Jingyi’s lungs--which he immediately used for retaliation by leaping onto Gray-Father’s back like a monster spider and wrapping him in a headlock of his own. Yellow-Father winced and hissed, “Mind Baxia, Fufu, for gods’ sake--”

“Dead Body isn’t a Lan game,” Jingyi panted dismissively, tightening his grip and bracing himself when Gray-Father planted his feet to take stock of the situation.

His other 2 fathers continued to walk on, out of range of Such Antics. It was a good thing, too, because in a whirl of walls and ceiling, Gray-Father managed to very neatly flip him over his shoulder onto the ground. With a smack, all the breath stuck in his lungs for a few agonizing moments while his horrible, rotten Gray-Father grinned down at him and laughed, “You little ass. What did you think was going to happen?”

“Vengeance,” Jingyi wheezed back several seconds later when he could breathe again again. The ring in his ears hadn’t completely left, yet.

“--and then you have to diagnose what killed him. It was very popular back when he was around 7 years old,” Yellow-Father was explaining to Blue-Father ahead of them, ignoring the intense drama of betrayal and revenge happening just up the hall. “Though, what on earth makes it not a ‘Lan game’ is beyond me.”

Staggering to his feet with the grudgingly accepted hand of his gray father, Jingyi caught up to them 2 of them. “Right, like shu-gong would want me lying around shouting about my limbs being torn off. He doesn’t even like me yelling about normal things; I would get so many lines.” He flopped down onto his yellow Father’s shoulders and leaned as they walked, even though he was just a little taller, now (and oooh, didn’t Yellow-Father hate it).

Automatically, his father reached up and pet his head, even as he said, “You’re crushing me, Fufu.”

Transferring over to Blue-Father, he hung from his shoulders when he patiently slowed to allow him to do so. “You find a body,” Jingyi intoned, dramatically. “It’s Lianfang-zun.” He spread his other hand wide as if painting the scene. “He’s folded up like a letter in the halls of Koi Tower! Cause of death?”

“A ridiculous son,” Gray-Father chuckled from behind them, and Jingyi twisted to kick up a foot and stuck out his tongue.

“Wrong.”

“Usually, there was a lot more posing, as a child,” Yellow-Father informed Blue-Father in a heavy tone over Jingyi’s head. “And props. It was a whole ordeal. I’m forever grateful it’s now entirely theoretical.”

“Ahh, I see,” Blue-Father shook his head and put a steadying arm around his shoulder as Jingyi hopped along on one foot, waggling his other one behind him as bait for Gray-Father to take amused, cursory swipes at. “Is there a reason I never got to play Dead Body?”

With exaggerated patience, Jingyi put both feet on the ground and reached up to pat his blue father’s cheek, smiling sympathetically. “Die, whenever I wanted to play war, you always asked if there was a peaceful solution--and I just wanted to stab people.”

All 3 fathers burst out laughing as they rounded the corner of the hallway, the sun shining warmly over their sides from the garden windows. “Oh, so you decided that I just didn’t have the stomach for it, is that it?” Blue-Father asked with a grin.

Jingyi heaved himself off, spinning around to walk backward in front of all of them. “I mean, sort of? I think maybe I figured it would make you too sad to imagine me dead?”

At this, Gray-Father’s eyebrows shot up with a sharp, incredulous laugh and Yellow-Father reared his head back in offended bafflement, demanding, “Oh, and for some reason we wouldn’t be sad to imagine you dead?!”

Shrugging aggressively, Jingyi held up his hands in defense. “I dunno! He seemed like he would handle it worse! I was 7, what do you want from me? It doesn’t have to make sense, I was an idiot!”

“Oh, you were not an idiot,” Blue-Father protested, tilting his head and crinkling him a smile. “You were wonderful.”

“You were 7,” Yellow-Father agreed with Jingyi’s first statement, darkly. Apparently, he was still highly offended, because he muttered, “’Handle it worse’...” under his breath before saying, “You’re about to run into a vase, Jingyi, turn around.”

Instead of obeying, Jingyi just veered away from the obstacle and continued to shrug at him when he sighed and looked to his blue father for help. Before it could come, Gray-Father nudged Blue-Father with his shoulder, teasing, “Congratulations on being the only one to actually care about our son, apparently.”

“Holy hell, fine, if it’s going to be A Thing, we’ll all play and mourn my death together. Happy?” As he rolled his eyes, Jingyi nearly ran into the wall as the last corridor before the outside door ended, but Yellow-Father caught his sleeve and steered him right with feigned annoyance in his pursed lips.

Blue-Father laughed, the light sparking off his spikey guan when he shook his head fondly. “Alright, I’ll play if you turn around. What do we find?”

Obediently, Jingyi spun back around and waited to fall into step with them, pondering the details of his gruesome demise. Beside him, Yellow-Father rolled his eyes to the ceiling with one dimple showing and Gray-Father shook his head with a grin. Then, Jingyi snapped his fingers and spread his hands theatrically just as they all rounded the corner of the hallway. “Alright, so, I’m face down in a river and I’m covered in boils--”

#3zun raise jingyi au #3zun raise jingyi au content #I swear I am also working on the other things I promised #But this just jumped straight into my head and started writing itself so #3zun #my stuff #my fic #Oh yeah you know what's gonna happen ;) I'm gonna post this and find 10 things I hate about it ;) and wish I had proofread better.#RIP Future me but I'm different [presses post]

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wandsandwheezes · 4 years ago

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Fake It | Weasley Twins | CH8

one // two // three // four // five // six // seven

Warnings | 2.3k // 18+ SMUT (in other chapters), mature themes, fake relationships, secret relationships, love, sex, drama, angst, fluff, character death, murder???, unforgivable curses. Happy? ending

Summary // Fred Weasley has been set up to publicly date Y/N, London’s best Quidditch Seeker in order to drum up some publicity. Y/N however has a different ginger man on her mind; George Weasley.

A/N // well well well, we have come to a close. Writing this has been the best release for all of my feelings!! this really has been amazing and the support I've had has been unreal! a massive thank you goes out to every reader who made it possible and motivated me to get out! my special thanks goes out to the rose of my life @starlightweasley - possibly fake it’s biggest fan and the girl who has supported all of my breakdowns through this fic! This however isn’t a goodbye, just a see you later because I have a big announcement coming alongside the epilogue <33

‘I saw you and Fred just now.��

The words echoed through your head, trying to gauge what George could have possibly meant by his words. Fred must know, he must have some inclination as to what had set George over the edge so quickly. You were confused, George had refused to tell you what he saw. You knew that you hadn’t slept with Fred, hell you’d hardly spoken more than a few words to each other in at least a week. But now, you were walking up the concrete steps to the first floor flat, tapping softly on the pale yellow door. It swung open slowly, the whine of the hinges echoing through the stone stairwell, you were greeted by the tall, dishevelled man, he didn’t speak, choosing only to stare back at you blankly.

“Look Fred I don’t know what the fuck is going on with George, he says he saw us together but I was at practice and-” He still stared back at you with absolutely nothing behind his eyes. Normally Fred would’ve at least looked away or cracked a smile or something, but a deadpan look washed over his face, his eyes burning into the back of yours with a stare so intense you felt like he was medusa and you were turning to stone.

It was only then that you noticed a perfectly manicured hand snake over Fred’s shoulder to his chest, the nails were a long, glossy red to match the name of the person whose hand it was. Cherry’s face came into view as her chin rested on the opposite shoulder of the man in front of her. Red lip gloss leaves its mark on Fred’s skin as she presses a sensual kiss to his ear as her sinister breath fans over his neck. “Come, Freddie, let her in so that the girls can talk, hm?”

Fred simply nods, moving to the side to allow you in, shutting the door behind you before walking over to the corner and just standing there. Your eyes following him as his expression still runs blank, like he was a shell of a human. “What have you done to him, Cherry.”

She laughs, smirk hanging off her lips, every word breath and sound that breached her mouth was dripping with malice and hatred. "Don't you worry your pretty head about that, he wanted this just as much as I do."

You cocked your head to the side, watching as Cherry pulls out her wand, you go to do the same but she quickly disarms you, leaving you helpless, vulnerable and open. Confusion washed over you more than anything. What could possibly be going so wrong that she needed to take it out on you, on Fred even. "You know, Y/N, Polyjuice potion is a fantastic thing, I just wish i could've seen George's face as he caught his twin brother fucking his girl right in front of him."

You finally understood. It wasn't you George had seen earlier tonight, It was Cherry. You finally got why George called you all of those horrible words, why he kicked you out, why he was so furious. Because you felt exactly the same, anger bubbling over like hot iron, the blood and rage reaching your eyes as you lurched forward. "You fucking bitch, I can't believe you'd do tha-"

Your airways closed, you couldn't talk, nor breathe as you clutched at your neck, dropping to your knees as you felt what air you had in your lungs leave. Cherry released the magical grasp she had on you, causing you to exhale a deep breath, trying desperately to fill your lungs again, completely doubled over as the terrible pain crippled your lungs. Cherry's hand grasped roughly onto your hair, forcing you to look up at her, as she squatted down in front of you. "Cat got your tongue?"

"Why…" you pleaded, looking up at her desperately as she pointed her wand at your throat, you wished Fred would intervene, stop her from what she was doing or at the very least speak up. "Why me? What do you hate so much about George and I being together?"

"It's not about your stupid fucking boyfriend," the wood pressed against your throat a ittle harder as she got angrier, taking a deep breath. "You're a Murderer."

With the same breath you were protesting the ghastly accusation. You wouldn't hurt a fly, your anger reserved only for the quidditch pitch and when George had been particularly frustrating, but never in your life would you have thought about killing someone. "What are you talking about I haven't killed anyo-"

She cut you off with a sharp slap across the face. Sneering at you as she spat back her response, you looked deep into her eyes, clouded with anger and fury. "You are a cold blooded killer, the moment I found out it was YOU who killed my sister, I knew I was going to ruin your life."

"Your sister? I didn't even know you had a sister, please this must be some sort of mistake." You were begging her as you stared at her with pleading eyes before hanging your head in sorrow, causing her to scoff and pull away from you. “You don’t even realise the damage you did to my family when you killed The Bishop.”

Your mind flashed back to the war, a green storm swirling in your head as you’re brought back, watching from the side-lines, a ghost of the future as you watch your body contort in hideous ways and finally hear the spine-stiffening screams for yourself. You replayed the image of Maria Bishop’s body flying through the air and collapsing on the floor in a loud thump over and over again. Shock hitting you again as you realise that you’d taken a life, a life that wasn’t yours to take.

In Cherry’s mind she is taken back to the moment she found her sister’s cold body, splayed out across a pile of broken bricks and rubble, still wearing the expression she had been caught in; mouth open and eyebrows furrowed. Aveline Bishop was the youngest of her bloodline, with a surname destined to die, her mother never able to bear a son to her husband - that destiny loomed over the family of pureblood death eaters, making The Bishop, her sister, all the more of an inspiration to her. So now as the young girl was staring into her sister’s lifeless eyes, no longer shining a bright blue, but instead a cold grey, Aveline knew that she would avenge her sister’s death, no matter the cost. Aveline’s fingertips ghosted gently over her sister’s eyelids to shut them, embodying the new person she set out to become - Cheryl Jackson.

“And now, your family will know the pain that you put mine through.” Cherry had her wand out, the cruciatus curse falling from her lips with such ease and you felt that same surge of pain again. Like a thousand knives against your skin, twisting and turning. Her laugh rang the same as her sister’s, enjoying the look of pure torture etched upon your face. With every tear that spilled from your cheeks the pain grew harsher, you found yourself calling out for someone, anyone to help, realising that your pleading turned to Fred’s name, as it was grated through screams.

“He won’t help you. He’s going to watch the girl he loves die in front of him.” Fred heard it all, every blood curdling scream and every sob. He was internally yelling as he tried to force his legs to move, to help you, to be there for you and stop the tears from falling. Every minute that passed by you grew weaker, the screams turning to low sobs as you felt yourself fall in and out of consciousness. You thought that maybe death would come as the sweet release from your pain. “Freddie, if you can hear me in there, You tell George forever, you tell him I love him with all my heart, I’m sorry I brought you both into this.”

Fred slowly felt his fingertips start to move, from him willing them to be moved. His love for you was breaking him free of the curse veiled over him. His fingertips were finally able to reach for his wand, using every ounce of strength within him to push himself to save you. He couldn’t just stand by and watch you die, not without giving it every fibre of strength he had inside him. It was like eerie silence to Fred’s ears as he blanked out the words he didn’t want to use but words he would use to protect anyone he loved. A brilliant flash of green left his wand as he aimed it right at Cherry’s back, the power of his spell obliterated the woman he once knew into dust, leaving you to collapse to the floor.

In that moment, all panic washed over Fred, he was too late, too late to save you. He was scooping your body into his arms, as tears pricked the back of his eyes, threatening to spill from his eyes. He didn’t check to see your small shallow breaths, taking your lifeless body as the only sign, a sign that he hadn’t done enough. He took you to the only place he could think of, apperating in with a pop, before yelling through choked back sobs. “GEORGE!”

George runs In to see you being carried by Fred, your body limp and your arm hanging down. Thinking the worst already, he scoops you into his arms, but as he moves you he notices the soft rise and fall of your chest and realises that you are alive - you may be weak, unconscious and in pain, but you’re alive.

Fred had sunk down to curl his legs up to his chest, making himself as small as possible as he realised that what he had done was utterly unforgivable. George looks at him and sees the same shell of who you had been after the war attempting to piece together what had happened. George no longer cared about his feelings or what he had seen earlier that day. He saw the unconscious body of the girl he loved and his twin sat on the floor shaking. He walked over to sit next to his brother, back pressed against the wall. “Freddie what happened?”

Fred looked up, seeing the pleading eyes of his brother. He took a moment to compose himself, using what small voice he could to try and choke out his words. “Cherry- I she used Polyjuice to pretend to be Y/N and when she showed up at my house, she brought her in, she… was torturing Y/N and she had me under imperious… I tried to save her, Georgie, I really did.” George’s eyebrow’s furrowed, as his brother took another deep breath. “I killed Cherry, trying to save Y/N, and I was too late.”

George pulled Fred into a hug. It was something that they hadn’t done, not in years, not like this. Not a hug that really mattered, that comforted each other. Fred immediately burst into tears again, the salty, wet tears soaking through George’s shirt, feeling vulnerable and numb in that moment. “She’s okay, Freddie, You did save her.”

You take a sharp breath as you wake up, finding it hard to breathe, like you’d been hit with a bludger to the chest. The sound causes the boys to snap their heads to the direction of the sofa. Your weak voice calls out for George and he is immediately by your side, pressing a gentle kiss and soothing your hand as he takes it into his. Whispering a thousand apologies to you as he presses kisses to your palm and back of your hand.

He sees that same fear behind your eyes that he had helped you heal once before and by the grace of god, he wouldn’t dare leave your side until he had seen you heal again. Watching as the fragile heart of the girl he loved whispered softly, pressing your fingers against his cheek “‘I love you, Forever, Georgie.”

“I’ll never let you down again. I promised to protect you and I couldn't even do that.” he hung his head in shame, you tilted his chin up to look into his eyes, while you shook your head at him. The small smile that clung to your lips through the pain and the fear was for him, to show him that it didn’t matter. George being with you in that moment was enough for you, because there was nothing to hide anymore.

“Your love is enough for me, George.” his heart leapt at those words, watching as you pushed yourself up tentatively before slipping down onto the floor, your arms wrapped around him, begging to be held. The desire to be near him in that moment was satisfied when his hand stroked up and down your back, rubbing small circles. You pushed yourself up so that his lips could press softly against his, the kiss was like magic, with the ability to take you away from the pain, take you from the moment of sadness. He was your forever, for everyone to see. You no longer had to fake it.

/// TO BE CONTINUED ///

taglist // @starlightweasley @slytherinsunrise @gcdric @theweasleysredhair @whiz-bangs78 @weasleysflowr @vogueweasley @minty-malfoy @vivianweasley @feetoffthetablee @thisismynerdyself @rip-us @witch-and-a-half @sarcasticallywitty15 @pandaxnienke @loony-loopy-lupinn @pigwidgexn @mackaywhore @softlyqoos @colorfulprofessornickelangel @fandomscombine @satellitespidey @txtdreamss @aaannabbanana @starkidpotty @mollydarling-hphm @amwithers2001 @mrmoonyy @asthmax

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moonamite · 4 years ago

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The Rebels: Epilogue

Marx paced frantically in circles in an open field. Not nervous. TOTALLY NOT NERVOUS. NOT AT ALL. Everyone was saying that that oaf of a King had run off in a hurry to save his Knight in shining armor. All because that lime-sucking old man Meta Knight was in danger from a quest HE went on. TO HIS OWN PLANET, NO LESS, of all the stupidity! The King had temporarily put that dopey anxious meatball of a snail in charge while he left, which helped NOTHING. Every time the snail sighed, Marx wanted to poke him in the snout. What did he have to be tired about, anyways? Kirby said he’d be back soon but he was still gone and it’s been forEVER. Well- Ok, maybe not forever. But it still felt like it! It was so dreadfully insufferably BORING. THIS HAS BEEN A STUPID WEEK AND I HATE EVERYTHING. Marx kicked a pebble furiously. AARGH. Kirby told Marx- Well, everyone, actually- that he was going to meet his parents. Marx remembered it perfectly- especially how Kirby smiled at him and made him believe everything was going to be fine and ARGH SHUT UP, THOUGHTS! He wasn’t bored because Kirby was gone! The world just got boring as soon as he left! Yeah, that was TOTALLY ABSOLUTEY THE REASON. NOTHING ELSE. He’d almost had a heart attack when he heard there was danger- Because Kirby could be in danger! Meta Knight can go die in a ditch for all I care! Marx hoped Kirby would come back in one piece- He’d BETTER come back in one piece or I WILL SERIOUSLY DESTROY SOMETHING. I will PUNCH A HOLE IN THE MOON AND RIP THE SUN IN TWO. Then Marx heard something. A low humming noise. He flicked his ear, annoyed. Ugh, WHY DO I HAVE TO BE HEARING THINGS NOW? He whirled around to continue pacing when something shiny caught his eye in the sky. It was the Halberd. And that could only mean one thing... Kirby! He’s back! Hopefully maybe fully intact! Oh, and also Meta Knight, which was always a pain, but! Kirby! He thought, making his chest do that weird thumpy thing again. Marx launched himself into the air, doing a happy little backflip, then glided towards the Halberd. He hovered in the air for a while, watching to see where the Halberd was landing, then landing softly in a patch of grass in front of the airship’s door, waiting eagerly like a kid about to be served ice cream. And, surely enough, standing in the door was a pink ball of warmth, smiling brighter than the sun itself. Without a sliver of a thought in his head, Marx bounded to him as fast as lightning and scooped up Kirby in his claws. “You were gone forever! If you were away for even a SECOND longer I would have SERIOUSLY lost it!” He cried, trying to sound furious. But it didn’t work. His stomach was doing summersaults and it was so Aggravating! “Aw, Did you miss me? Was it so painstakingly awfully terribly lonely without me?” Kirby said teasingly, in a dramatic tone. Marx pulled away from him, suddenly feeling stupid, AS HE SHOULD. “Nope! No! Nuh-uh! TOTALLY no! I was 100% ABSOLUTELY FINE without you, thank you very much!” He said defensively, trying to make himself look and sound angry. But couldn’t. I am VERY ANGRY. At YOU! YES, GRR, VERY ANGRY AT KIRBY! Even when he tried to makes his thoughts angry it didn’t work. Which, first of all, was RIDICULOUS. He was Marx! He could be mad whenever he wanted to be mad! And secondly, it was, like, PHYSICALLY IMPOSSIBLE to be mad right now! He felt less angry and more like flying high into the skies and touching the moon. Gross dumb sappy feelings! YUCK! “I’m fine! THE FINEST I’VE EVER BEEN, actually!” He said. He could tell his efforts of looking infuriated were failing from the look on Kirby’s face- Which was trying not to laugh. “Hey! Don’t laugh at me! Nobody is allowed to laugh at me! Unless I want them to!” He added, remembering he was, in fact, a jester. This only caused Kirby to begin giggling warmly into his wing, and now his own face was threatening to melt into a dopey grin. It was SO WEIRD. Then a flash of orange darted past him- Then pink. And then red, green, blue, and before Marx could react, he was surrounded by a sea of rainbow- Wings of all different sizes, shapes and colors were all around him, and it was almost disorienting. Marx’s mouth flapped open and shut several times as his head swiveled around in confusion. WHAT. IS. HAPPENING? He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t even know what to think- as if he’d forgotten how to. Why do they all look Meta-Knight-shaped? Are they planning to invade and OH MY STARS THEY’RE EVERYWHERE. Finally, his attention snapped back to Kirby, who was still in front of him. He looked at him with whatever dumbfounded expression he was wearing, since he couldn’t find the words to ask the millions of questions overloading his brain. Kirby just shrugged and shot him a tired look of ‘sorry’ before his face became concerned. He looked into his eyes. “Marx? Are you ok?” He asked in the most gentle, caring, and soft voice anyone’s ever heard. NO I AM NOT I’M SURROUNDED BY HUNDREDS OF STRANGERS FROM SOME FARAWAY PLANET I DON’T KNOW! He screamed internally. But he said nothing. Suddenly, Kirby pulled him into a kind embrace. Only then did Marx realize he was hyperventilating and shaking. “Hey, relax... Deep breaths, remember?” Kirby reminded him patiently in a tone a teacher would use when explaining 2 plus 2 is always 4. Marx’s muscles relaxed. He hadn’t even realized they were tensed in the first place. “Just breathe...” If this were anyone else, Marx would have shoved them off for trying to tell him what to do. But he just couldn’t do that with Kirby. He’d said it in such a way, Marx wanted to listen to him. So he breathed... When Marx opened his eyes (He didn’t even notice he’d closed them in the first place) He was still there- and so were the dozens of other people. Ok, so maybe this isn’t just a dream. But Kirby was still here, with him, holding him. It was like all the fears he didn’t know he had had vanished into mist, an all he could think about was how he felt right now, with not a worry of the future to interrupt this perfect moment. His breathing and heartbeat slowed as he relaxed, and he embraced the otherwise obnoxious fluttery feeling in his chest. He bathed in this warm feeling, until he noticed Meta Knight, standing in the entrance to the Halberd along with the King and another person who looked ALARMINGLY SIMILAR to him, but just two shades of blue lighter, his piercing yellow gaze fixed on Marx, who was still being held by Kirby. Somehow, the old toad always found a way to interrupt his moments of pure bliss. Oh well. He’d just have to deal with it. Meta Knight can go kiss a cactus.

#The Rebels #Kirby fic #kirby marx #meta knight #marukabi

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leo-gold-hotchner · 4 years ago

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The Sinner -6

I had a bad cold and problem with my uni a bit. I hope you guys are all safe and stay healthy!

Last part til the epilogue, thanks for everyone who stayed with this series. I realised I’m not fit to write a long series with chapters lol

I admit I like to see Hotch suffer... but in the same time I want him to be happy

Criminal Minds BAU x Gender Neutral Reader

Word Count: 4k

Warning: Swearing, perceptions of suicide, blood, death, torture, UnSub Reader

“All warfare is based on deception.” – Sun Tzu

“You are the UnSub.”

“Am I now? There’s no concrete evidence to pinpoint me, is there Agent?”

“It’s all circumstantial, I know I can’t accuse you now.”

“So this is what, off the record?”

“Why did you give us the hints?”

“You know the answer, you know why I’m doing it.”

“He wants me to kill you on the spot.”

“Did he now. He’s the bigger fish. Why don’t you be the fisher?”

“And you be the bait?”

“He wants me, doesn’t he?”

“I don’t make a deal with criminals.”

“I’m not a criminal, yet. No charge no verdict yet. Well, Agent Hotchner, are you up for fishing? In the end, the fisher will be the only winner.”

-BAU-

“Detective!”

“Yes?”

“Could we talk privately?”

“Yes, what is it?”

“I’m going to gamble with my life, will you help me catch them?”

-BAU-

7th Day

With a throbbing head, Hotch finally returned the world of living. The light was too bright for his eyes, he frowned and groaned, hearing some voices. This wasn’t what he planned, being battered by something. He shook his head to shake drowsiness, instinctively he tried to use his arms, but they were tied behind. His memories played back what had happened before he lost his consciousness, and with widened eyes he scanned the room he was in.

There were other people too, who were just like him, tied on the chair. The other three were in the dark, while Hotch was just under the bright light. However, even in dark he still could see two women gagged, and one man limped over the chair lifelessly. He thought one of the women resembled the woman who was taunting him at the alley. A man under the dim light, he looked about to die with yellow liquid slowly flowing down from his skin. No, was he already dead? Hotch’s nostrils flared as he now detected the smell of burned flesh. He then looked over the other two, they were trying to untie the rope, wriggling and wresting but it was useless. Where the hell was he? With an echo of footstep, and sudden brightness blinded him.

“Finally, you’re ready to join the world of living, aren’t you Agent Hotchner?” The familiar voice, but unlike before there was madness in the voice. “Take your time, as you know you’re not on my list. I won’t hurt you.”

Hotch blinked a few times to adjust himself to the light, his ears perked up as he heard a sound of dragging. He saw L/N straddled on a wooden chair, comfortably placing arms on the back of the chair.

“I had to change my plan because you arrived. I’m just surprised Robertson contacted the BAU for help. I mean, he’s too prideful to ask for help from others. Especially you lots.” The scientist shook head a little with an amused yet sneering smile. “But then he called you to catch me, didn’t he? He wanted you to kill me.” Hotch didn’t answer, just gazing the orbs which amusement and madness mingled together. “Alright, silent treatment.”

L/N stood up, and the agent’s body tensed as he studied what the scientist was doing. His eyes followed the scientist’s whole move, not even glancing at the two women in the respective corner. L/N dragged the chair which the man who looked about to die in front of Hotch, ignoring the two women who were glaring daggers at the scientist.

“Meet José, José meet Agent Hotchner.” L/N introduced the men as if they were in a social gathering, Hotch shuddered inwardly. José couldn’t even open his eyes to see the agent, he was barely breathing. Hotch held his breath for a moment as the smell of burn flesh and blood surrounded him. “This is, Acedia, the Sloth, who is about to die.” L/N said cheerfully as if talking about a recent good movie to a friend. “They say a person who committed sin of sloth is put into a snake pit.” The scientist wrapped an olive-coloured long cloth on both hands.

“Don’t.” Hotch’s head shook lightly, looking at the scientist pleadingly. This isn’t what supposed to happen.

“Why not?”

“It’s not worth it. Is killing this man worth for your time in prison? Your death?”

“Tell me, agent. Have you killed before?” L/N asked with interest as the scientist wrapped the cloth around José’s neck delicately as if wrapping a fragile china. The man finally opened his tired eyes, looking frightened. Even if the man suffered horrendously, he wanted to survive, he wanted to live.

“Yes.” Hotch looked into the frightened man’s eyes, guilt washing over him for cannot helping the man. The man was screaming for help silently but he couldn��t do anything. His hands were tied, only allowing him to watch the man to suffocate.

“That’s as an agent isn’t it?” The scientist grabbed the cloth tightly, ready to pull, “what about as a man? Have you killed?”

Hotch’s jaw tightened, his mind replaying the day when he killed Foyet with his bare hands. This person was trying to convince Hotch, to justify the all murders.

The scientist rolled eyes as Hotch didn’t answer. “Then I’ll do the talking, you just listen.” With strength, L/N pulled the cloth to opposite directions to tighten the cloth around José. José let out a pitiful chocking sound, his feeble limbs struggling against the scientist powerlessly. “Look at him, Agent Hotchner.” L/N’s breath was a bit shortened from pulling the cloth, ignoring the agent’s plea for not to kill. “This man, is one of the reasons why my husband died.” José’s eyes soon rolled back, his limbs slowly falling. “I know your friends are coming for me.” The scientist finally released the grip on the cloth, kicking the man’s lifeless body along with the chair to the ground. “I’m sure you knew Robertson was going to kill you and he is involved.” L/N smiled thinly as Hotch looked up. “He’s the boss of this organisation. I want to bring him down.”

Without a warning the scientist pulled out a Glock and dragged one of the women. The woman had blonde hair with stunning blue eyes, but her eyes were filled with hatred and fear.

“I don’t want to kill him unlike others. However they thought, the scums I killed were afraid to die. But Robertson is more afraid of public knowing his crimes. Always worrying about this good reputation. I’m not going to make him a martyr who was killed by a killer for chasing me. I want people to know what he’d done and accuse him for everything he’d done. These two are Ira, Agent Hotchner. They’re assassins working for Robertson, killing many people who were in Robertson’s way.” L/N ungagged the woman who started to say something vehemently in a foreign language after spitting on L/N’s face who wiped it without anger. “I don’t understand what you’re saying, and, sadly, I don’t fucking care.” The scientist drawled in disinterest, then with loud bangs, a couple of bullets were embedded into the woman’s both knees, making her howl in pain. “We don’t have much time, Agent Hotchner. Help me, then you can arrest me.”

“I don’t make deals with criminals,” Hotch gritted his teeth. In the back of his mind, he was battling with himself. Will this be another Foyet? Will he lose another family because of him? He didn’t want to lose anyone because of his action. Hotch didn’t want Jack to suffer because of who his father was.

“Okay,” L/N shrugged as untying the woman, kicking her out from the chair who hissed in pain. “You had your chance, Agent. You kicked the two chances I gave you, you didn’t grab it. I’ll kill them, but their blood is also on your hand.”

“Liar! You said you would help us get rid of him!” The woman spat, trying to crawl and stand up.

“I said, if you lure Agent Hotchner, I’ll make Robertson pay. Not help you kill him.” The scientist rolled eyes while gesturing towards the woman to face Hotch. “I know it’s hurt but please do try to kneel in front of our honoured guest.” L/N sighed as the woman didn’t comply, so the forensic just kicked the back of her knee and grabbed her hair roughly, facing Hotch. “Look at her, Agent. This is the face of a killer. You insist I shouldn’t kill them and put them in the prison. You saw the list, she killed them along with her,” L/N pointed the back with a thumb.

“If I make a deal, will you not kill her?”

“It’s too late for that, isn’t it?” The scientist smiled lazily. “Don’t feel guilty about it, Agent. She’s just another killer just like me.” Blood splattered on Hotch’s face, silent wailing of a woman in the dark echoing the room. Blood slowly gurgling out from the head, her face probably ruined and won’t be recognised. “Are you disgusted because I killed her? Or are you disgusted because you’re powerless and couldn’t save her?”

-BAU-

Rossi clenched his teeth as he felt Robertson’s smug smile from behind. Everyone packed, and was following the veteran profiler outside the station. As if Rossi was going to let Hotch pay for what the Police Captain did and for his own foolishness to gamble with his life. He lost too many people dear to him, he was not about to let Aaron die. No one talked as Rossi drove and everyone followed silently, the younger profilers were curious when Rossi brought them to a hotel.

“Our lovely Captain might be listening to our conversation if we discuss anything in there,” Rossi said quietly as they were in the hotel lift.

“I thought you had to book to get a room?” Reid read the drink menu of the hotel roof café on the lift wall.

“Money, Spencer.” Rossi smiled smugly for the first time after Hotch’s disappearance. Prentiss and Morgan snorted, and JJ hid her smile from her friend.

As they arrived at the room, they quickly set up everything. Morgan turned on the laptop so they could communicate with Garcia who was asking them if they found their Unit Chief.

“For now, he’s fine, I believe.” Rossi replied, taking his jacket off. “If Robertson had Aaron, he would’ve showed us Aaron is captured.”

“Then who has Hotch?” Morgan asked in frustration, walking in a small circle like a caged angry animal. He already knew the answer, but he had to ask.

“The UnSub.” The older profiler shook his head. “Hotch suspected someone, but he kept it himself, saying it was dangerous for now to speculate. It’s my fault he’s not here with us, I should’ve asked him. I don’t know where he got the notion.” Rossi frowned deeply. Aaron was the leader of the team, but that didn’t mean he had to take all the burdens and responsibilities.

“JJ and I have a theory, and we think it’s one of the forensic team.” Prentiss quickly explained why they thought like that and picked a few names who’d been helped the investigation or attended the investigation. It was a rough theory, but right now, they needed everything even a smallest thing to save their leader.

“Hotch’s been awfully interested about F/N L/N, didn’t he? He’s been asking about L/N to Lee or others.” Morgan asked the team, though his eyes were on Reid who could remember everything.

“He did, whenever he was gone, he was usually talking to L/N.” Reid narrowed his eyes as he searched his memory of the past seven days.

Everyone looked at Morgan when his phone echoed, tensed up and wanting it to be their Unit Chief. “Morgan speaking,” the muscular agent answered the call.

He furrowed his brows and hastily turned on the TV. As he changed a few channels, there were news talking about Robertson being involved in an organised crime. Everyone couldn’t take their eyes off from the news as the news send out a photo of the police captain, a letter sent to the broadcasting station was being read off by the newsreader.

“Where’s Robertson now?” After silence, Morgan hung up the phone and banged the table with his palms. “That was Santangelo, he said Robertson rushed out before the news. He and Lee are on their way to catch up to Robertson, but I’m not sure if they’re close.”

“Pen, check the captain’s phone record!” JJ quickly asked her friend who yelled ‘on it’ over the phone. JJ pointed the television with her thumb. “Does it mean now the Internal Affairs will be involved?”

“Perhaps,” Rossi shrugged. “It was a matter of time really.”

Reid quickly skimmed the letter and a list on the screen before it could disappear from the screen. “Those are the list from the Kim’s journal. It’s just a copied version.”

“Anyone can access the journal if he or she works at the station.” Prentiss nibbled her nail. “It could be anyone, but it may be the UnSub, wanting to expose Robertson.”

“If it’s the UnSub who sent the letter, why not kill Robertson? The UnSub’s been killing others. Does the UnSub have an ulterior motive?” Morgan questioned.

The team was starting to mind mapping what they knew, the gears were slowly but efficiently starting to roll. Reid took out a large white paper and a marker to draw some information that could lead to their UnSub.

“If the UnSub sent the letter and the list to accuse the Captain, then they want to publicly denounce Robertson. They’re socially annihilating Robertson’s reputation.” Rossi crossed his leg while supporting his cheek with his fingers.

“This is clearly personal to the UnSub. The victims were killed in controlled anger, everything has been calculated and resulted in how the UnSub wanted. Denouncing the ‘good’ captain via media shows the UnSub loathes him enough to humiliate him publicly, perhaps including the police.” Reid glanced at the news which was still going about the respectable police captain and the alleged crimes.

“The UnSub is closed to Robertson, they planned to kill the victims to warn him that there’s no escape for him. They know Robertson would choose death rather than his crimes exposed to the public,” JJ added. “Do you think he will kill himself?”

“It’s possible, but right now, I think it’s more like Robertson went to kill the UnSub himself. By killing the UnSub, he’d say he was wrongfully accused by the UnSub.” Rossi shook his head a little. “But before that we’ve got to know…”

“I got the phone record! And it’s spooky.” Garcia’s loud voice cut Rossi’s sentence. “The call was from Nikola L/N, and he’s been dead for three months.”

The team looked at each other, recalling Detective Nick L/N being the forensic scientist’s husband. The said detective was shot dead, though they didn’t know the detail. But it seemed the puzzle could nearly be solved with that information.

“Tell us about the detective’s death, we need detail here. Go into the police database. We need to know everything to save Hotch.” Rossi urged the technical analysist knowing she’d hesitate about it for a second even though she’d hack CSI or other agencies for her team.

“Ur, yes, well, just give me a second.” As Rossi expected there was hesitancy in her voice, but for the Unit Chief, she’d do it in lightning speed. “He was found at his home, but it seems there had been a debate whether it was suicide or armed robbery.”

“So, they don’t know?” Morgan crossed his arms over his chest.

“No, the report later states it was robbery. But the state of the body looked like it was suicide. The detective was shot dead, but his body was in the bathtub in cold water. Let me send it to everyone’s tablet.” In a minute the screen of the tablets simultaneously turned on as the tablets received the report.

“How come that was concluded as robbery? It looks like suicide to me.” Prentiss raised her brow, tilting her head to the side.

“The house was totally in mess and according to L/N, some items were gone when it was reported.” Garcia replied helpfully, and JJ shot her head up from her tablet her eyes locked with the brunette’s.

“Did L/N have any alibi?”

“Yeah, was at the station when it happened and everyone who worked on that day saw L/N.”

“Wait,” Reid frowned as he drummed his right elbow with the other hand. “I think he was killed just like the others. It’s possible it’s neither suicide nor robbery.” pointed the photos of the victims with the marker. “Remember when I told you why they were killed in such manner?”

“It’s how the Seven Sins are punished in Catholic.” Prentiss replied matter-of-factly. “Yeah, and envy is punished by being drowned in freezing water.”

“Oh my.” Garcia gasped.

“So, you think L/N killed the detective, the husband.” Morgan mused as he raised his brows. “Making it look like a robbery by messing the house and tell them a few items are gone. Being a forensic scientist L/N might know a thing or two to confuse the investigation.”

“Maybe,” Reid’s eyes quickly scanned the report on his tablet. “The residue from his head does look like suicide. But, there had been dragging mark on the floor… And, no blood was found?”

Rossi finally said after hearing from his colleagues. “What if it’s been set to look like a robbery?”

“That’s what I said?” Morgan gave the older man a little frown.

Rossi gave a little huff of laugh at the younger man. “No, what I meant is, what if it has been a suicide and the UnSub or whoever it was, set the place looked like it was an armed robbery?”

“Why would anyone do that?” Garcia asked over the phone.

“There are many perceptions on suicide, some people see suicide as a sin, or some thinks it’s dishonourable and a coward’s way. But there’s also a view that suicide is a way to be freed.” Rossi filled the technical analyst with a shrug which she couldn’t see. “Let say L/N is the UnSub and Detective L/N killed himself. In that case, I think the suicide had been set up as an armed robbery to look like the detective didn’t die from ‘dishonourable’ death.” Rossi just nodded at the younger profilers. “I know it sounds strange but there’re lots of people with different perceptions and views.”

“Well, if that’s the case, L/N will know how to confuse the investigation.”

“But the only connection we know is that Robertson got a call from the detective’s phone.” Prentiss shook her head. “How does the detective’s death connect to this?”

“What if the detective had a connection with the organisation? It might explain why Robertson ran out after answering the call from that particular phone.” JJ frowned at her team.

“Do we have any other choice than talking to L/N?”

-BAU-

The front door of L/N’s house was wide open, and its doorknob was lifelessly loosed downward as if someone entered with force. It was Lee’s suggestion they check L/N’s house first when they lost the sight of Robertson’s car. His mentor gave him a strange look, but Lee just shrugged and said Agent Hotchner gave him a little tip before he’d gone missing. Santangelo and Lee looked at each other in alarm, and took out their respective gun and entered cautiously. With his gun in his hands, Lee moved stealthily around his friend’s house. He’s been in this house several times, but currently the house emitted ominous aura. It felt different from the last time he visited the house. No one was there.

The older man called Lee when he found an opened trapdoor leading to underground inside the garage. Lee never seen the trapdoor before even though he’d been to the garage before. A grey mat was lying next to the trapdoor as if the mat finally wanted to reveal the existence of the door to Lee. The two men nodded silently and headed down, trying not to make any sound. It was rather deep, and they were both surprised to find how one could dig such underground. His friend once mentioned about the renovation before, but he wasn’t sure if that when this underground was built. In distant they could hear several murmured voices including something like groaning. As they walked further, there was bright light where they could recognise the voices. They were still talking as if they didn’t notice the two men.

Santangelo and Lee hid themselves under the shadow of water tank and a dark shelf that were full of tinkering staff. Robertson was there as Lee said, and Santangelo couldn’t help but feel betrayed by the ‘good’ captain everyone believed to be. From the shock of seeing his friend with a gun pointing down at a woman on the floor, he couldn’t even blink or breath for a short moment. His friend, with a gun standing just like a killer. While the veteran detective readied himself with his gun and recording device behind the tank, Lee pointed his gun towards the captain and watched where this was going. Robertson was standing in front of L/N who was shielding a figure behind L/N. The source of groaning was from the woman under the L/N’s boot who was very much bloodied from assault. But Lee wasn’t sure if the woman would live or die soon from the state.

“It’s done, L/N. You’ll never win this game.” Robertson growled like a furious animal.

“This is all game to you isn’t it?” L/N spat while watching Robertson with a contempt look. “That’s why you called the BAU. Probably called them because you were curious who was killing your ‘associates’,” the scientist air quoted, “then as it kept escalating you were worried about being exposed of your deeds. Go on Captain.” L/N smirked and threw the gun to the far corner. “Kill me and say the world you were falsely accused, and everything was staged by me.”

“F/N L/N, Bill Robertson, you’re under arrest.”

Both Santangelo and Lee emerged from the shadow holding their guns towards Robertson. With a surprised look, the Captain whirled around and in that brief moment he chose to shoot Lee first. But before he could fire the gun, Lee didn’t miss that tiny movement of Robertson’s finger and the young detective fired his gun, aiming Robertson’s hand. Lee’s heart thumped loudly as the bullet grazed his cheek and Robertson howling with pain, crouching to ease the pain in his hands. L/N looked at the detectives with widened eyes, then laughed hollowly.

“Well, Agent Hotchner, the fisher wins. Rather anti-climactic if you say.”

Without a word Lee took out handcuffs and L/N simply held the hands. Santangelo kicked the gun and called the ambulance, looking down at the Captain in despise. Not long after several footsteps echoed the underground and soon the room filled with the other BAU agents.

Santangelo and Rossi talked while waiting for the ambulance for Robertson. Reid and Morgan quickly went to Agent Hotchner to help him on his feet, especially Morgan lending his shoulder to Hotch. JJ and Prentiss went to see the woman in front of Hotch and L/N but shook their heads to the others. There were two more bodies in the room, but just with the first glance, they all knew both of them were dead.

“I guess no dinner for me tomorrow,” L/N said to Lee who gritted his teeth. “Just a day longer and I would’ve made to the last dinner with you guys.”

“You could’ve told me what was going on.”

“What’s done is done. Nothing can change the past.” L/N looked back for a moment and with tired eyes Hotch looked back at the UnSub.

@evans-dejong

#aaron hotchner #bau x reader #bau #Criminal Minds #criminal minds fanfic #The Sinner Series #jj #emily prentiss #david rossi #derek morgan #spencer reid #Penelope Garcia

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imnotwolverine · 4 years ago

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The marriage pact - Epilogue

Henry Cavill x OC Alice - multi-chapter

< Part 25 | Part 26 Epilogue

Disclaimer: Fluffer the fluff

Author’s note: This is it. The final chapter of this lovely romcom long fic. It was such a joy to write, especially the little moments of banter between family, friends and Henry and Alice. And, this was also the first time ever that I posted a fic chapter EACH DAY, for nearly a month (which was intense, but..mission accomplished!!). I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it and please do check out my other works in my Masterlist. ❤️

Word count: 1.351

Dear diary,

Today Henry asked me to be his girlfriend. And I said yes. So I guess we’re boyfriend and girlfriend now. He also tried to kiss me. But it went absolutely terribly. I mean. The date was nice. We went to the zoo. We watched the otters, since they’re my favourite and Henry held my hand the entire time, just like otters do. Just so they don’t drift away from each other.

But yea..so we kissed. Sort of. There was wind, and hair, and my braces, and it all went so wrong I just had to leave. It was so bad. I couldn’t even hold his hand without feeling embarrassed. And then on the way home we also saw our primary school teacher, Mrs. Millie, and we had to talk to her. We were both still so embarrassed.

Ugh. Anyways. Now I’m not so sure anymore if we’re still really together. A first kiss should be perfect, right? It’s the pinnacle of love, the make or breaker. The…oh.. I think I screwed it up.

I didn’t even hold his hand on the way back.

Oh I am going to die alone now, am I?

It was late at night and I stood there flipping through that very old diary, holding back laughter. Henry looked up from his squatted down position in the corner, his hands carefully placing his book collection in boxes. We were right in the process of cleaning out the office, and part of that operation was clearing out our vast collection of books and administration work.

And, well..my diaries.

‘What are you laughing at?’ He inquired, looking up with a raised eyebrow.

‘Oh..it’s so silly. My diary from when I was young. The first kiss story.’ I grinned at him and he chuckled in turn. ‘I see.’

‘You can read it too if you want.’ I reached out my diary to him and he blinked, slightly surprised. ‘Isn’t that..a secret?’

‘Hahaha..Hen. I have no secrets from you. In fact I’m quite sure you know me better than I know myself by this point.’

‘Do I now?’ He winked, then stood up and took the diary from me. A small sky blue book with slightly yellowed pages, the front cover completely covered in stickers and labels with “inspiring quotes”. He grinned and turned open the book, flipping through it like I had just moments earlier.

‘Well I never knew you kept a diary.’ He hummed, stopping on a page from one summer later. Us meeting again after he got back from boarding school. Older, less chubby, more confident. He smiled as his eyes glided over the page, his finger caressing the thick paper. ‘Well, now you do.’ I sniffled and moved in behind him, wrapping my arms around his chest.

Quite a challenge as my belly was starting to grow pretty big now.

‘Mmm..this is so adorable.’ Henry sniffled, then started to quote: ‘I baked him a cake today. And I’m pleased to announce it was the best cake ever. At least, he said so..’ - ‘UGH that way too sugary cake? Oh my..I remember that one.’

We both laughed and Henry turned slightly, gesturing me to come lean into his arms instead - far easier as he did not sport a 7-month pregnant belly. Smiling at each other, our faces slowly melted together, lips locking in a familiar kiss, a..

‘Mommy..’ A mousy voice spoke from the doorway, little Sam standing there in his Star Wars pyjamas with a large pout on his face, his tumble of chocolate curls reminding me of his daddy when he was but a young bird. Me and Henry both turned, unlocking from our embrace to turn our attention to the sleepy-though-not-sleepy-enough toddler.

‘I can’t sleep.’ Sam mumbled, his hand rubbing over his eyes.

‘Oh were we being too loud baby?’ I squatted down and opened my arms for him to come closer, but all he did was shake his head, looking back to his bedroom door. ‘Can you..can you read me a ..’ He looked up at Henry. ‘..story?’

Henry sniffled and reached out a hand to pull me back up - a simple gesture that sure was appreciated - his voice warm and soft as he spoke: ‘But of course Samsam. And it’s your lucky night. Both mommy AND daddy are going to tuck you in, how about that, hm?’ With great ease he picked up Sam, pulling him safely in his chest as we all moved to the little boy’s room, a tiny night light the only thing we could see as we walked in.

—

Henry’s voice lulled through Sam’s bedroom as we all listened. Sam was stretched out beneath his duvet, with me sitting on top of the duvet next to him, propped up against the headboard, and Henry comfortable seated in the reading chair.

‘And..Children yet, the tale to hear, Eager eye and willing ear Lovingly shall nestle near.

In a Wonderland they lie, Dreaming as the days go by, Dreaming as the summers die:

Ever drifting down the stream - Lingering in the golden gleam - Life, what is it but a dream?

The End.’

Henry closed the red velvet bound book, a special rendering of Alice in Wonderland, and smiled at me as we both watched Sam happily snoozing beneath his spaceship themed duvet. The hour had grown quite late and I let out a large yawn, stretching myself slightly as I manoeuvred to the edge of Sam’s small bed, careful not to wake him, before my hazy eyes looked at Henry as he placed the book on the little night stand, sitting up as well.

‘Quite a dream indeed.’ I smiled, yawning again as we quietly tip toed out of Sam’s room, closing his door until it was only slightly ajar. Henry hummed and conjured my diary back from his sweater pocket. ‘Now I do have one question, dear wife of mine.’ We continued to walk to our bedroom as it was clear that emptying out the study would have to be continued another time. ‘Mmm..’ I hummed, looking at him over my shoulder.

‘How many of these damn copies have you made?’ He removed a piece of paper that was inserted in my diary.

The Marriage Pact.

I gasped in playful shock and quietly swatted his arm. ‘More than too many, Mr. Cavill.’ He laughed. ‘And why is that, Mrs. Cavill?’

‘Oh you know me, I didn’t want to risk losing you over something as silly as my forgetfulness.’ I winked, making him laugh just a touch too loud.

Quickly he pressed a hand over his mouth, before peering over his shoulder, a relieved sigh escaping his lips as he didn’t hear any movement from Sam’s room - our baby bear was a terribly light sleeper.

‘Would you EVER forget about me, hmm?’ He continued in an even more quiet voice, our feet now carrying us into our bedroom, the thick carpet silencing our steps.

I sniffled. ‘I don’t know. You better make sure I don’t.’ I winked, making his smile grow even wider. ‘Well, dear wife, did you know that otters hold each others hands when they sleep?’ He placed my diary on his night stand - reading entertainment for another time - and reached out my hand. I slowly shook my head and took his hand in mine. ‘Is that so?’

‘It is.’

‘And why is that, dear husband?’

‘Ah, it’s quite sweet actually.’

‘Mmm.’ I hummed as we slowly closed the distance between us. Closer and closer still, his hands turning us in something similar to a dance stance - albeit slightly more awkward with my large belly in between us.

‘They do so, so they do not drift apart.’

‘Haha..oh..I better hold on tight then, hmm?’

We both sniffled, our feet starting to shuffle on an imaginary tune, eyes locking in great tenderness.

This was it, dear readers. Everything I had ever wanted, and more. That darn pact, the original one, now hanging proudly on our bedroom wall. Because, despite us not ever truly using it for its original purpose, it did bring us something we both had been looking for, for far too long.

A family of our own.

The real end.

Ali

#henry cavill fanfiction #henry cavill fanfic #henry cavill x oc #henry cavill x author #longfic #romcom #the marriage pact #epilogue #henner #henry bear #otters #sam #reading #alice in wonderland

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mxvladdy · 4 years ago

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A Break- Prt. 4

Hey Hey. Here is part 4 (yay). I think this story is almost at the end. I'm thinking one more large part and an epilogue.

Hope y'all like!

To be caught so unaware was an embarrassment to his lineage. He had been trained since birth to never let his guard down. He was the eldest son, a target had been placed on his back since conception. No doubt his ancestors were laughing at him now as he bled out on the grimy floor.

His team had been hit during a lull between shifts. Such an amateur mistake. Talon struck just as he was winding down for the night. The warm buzz of alcohol and his girlfriend’s laughter promising to send him into a peaceful slumber. Hanzo’s good mood dissipated the moment his head hit the pillow and the sirens blared to life in his room. He should have never gotten this comfortable. The weeks at this compound had been boring, to say the least.

Begrudgingly, Hanzo had to admit that it had been a clever attack. The southern wall was this location’s weakest. The high winds and frozen spray from the ocean constantly wearing down the cement and weakening the steel. Sombra- the ever thorn in Winston’s side- had disabled Athena and her turrets for just enough time to sneak through and create a hole large enough for their team to infiltrate Overwatch’s halls. It had been sheer dumb luck that Reinhardt was early to his patrol spot that tonight. The first flood of talon operatives caught off guard just as much as he was. It was a quick and dirty fight. While Talon grunts had the advantage of numbers; the German giant was a seasoned fighter.

Hanzo’s room was lucky closest to the initial fight. Using Reinhardt’s boisterous fighting style to guild him down the maze-like corridors Hanzo entered the fray. Together they pushed back the seemingly endless waves of bodies being thrown at them. “Where is the rest of the team?” Wilhelm roars over his shoulder, a fresh gash from a fight with a talon assassin blinding his good eye. He swings out wildly, catching a few foot soldiers with his hammer.

“I cannot say,” Hanzo calls back, letting his arrow fly true around his german shield. “I was unable to reach them.” Damn it. He switches to melee, his quiver empty and useless on the floor. They were separated from the team and outplayed. Fine. Hanzo wipes the blood and sweat from his brow. These bastards may have divided them, but he would never let them be conquered.

“Move!” Hanzo shouts between a wild spray of bullets. Wilhelm grunts with the force of the projectiles bouncing off his shield. The sides of which begin to crack from the damage. Pulling an arrow from a fallen enemy’s chest the marksman readies himself.

Reinhardt looks back at him knowingly. He feels the hairs on his arms rise as the dragons awaken, the corridor filling with the scent of ozone. “With pleasure my friend!” He laughs, dropping his shield and jumping to the side. Hanzo’s dragons roar to life from his skin, maws wide and greedy for blood. They shoot down the hall, amplified by their master’s frustration. The psychic link he shared with them allowed him to feel the spill of his enemies' blood and splintering bone as they built momentum. It did little to soothe his pride, but it felt good all the same. Ignoring his fighting companions' shouts of victory, Hanzo cocks his head. Something about this whole encounter made him uneasy. Everything about this was too easy. The enemy fell back too easily, and for such a planned break-in. Talon would have checked which agents were here and would have planned accordingly to counter them. “Wilhelm, we must-”

Then the floor caves; a large metal hand breaking through. Unforgiving fingers wrap around his torso. Despite how loud hundreds of pounds of concrete and rebar being torn apart had to be. Hanzo heard nothing but the high pitch whine of fear and rush of wind as he was pulled down. Time froze for a moment. His gaze hyper fixated on Wilhelms' wide-eyed look of panic. One gargantuan hand reaching for the archer unsuccessfully as Hanzo plummets.

Hanzo wakes to the feeling of warmth all over. For a moment in a dazed illusion, he thought he had perhaps slipped in the shower. A hot liquid spread across the tattered remains of his sleepwear and coated his face. The coppery scent of it assaulting his nostrils and making him gag. He blinks up in a daze. The hole he fell though was all but a pinprick above him. What little light he had was dimmed by grey and deep crimson spots swimming in his vision. Kuso .

He tries to move but stops at a sharp pain shooting through his thighs and spine. He couldn’t feel his legs. Damn it, he can see the exposed wires of his crushed legs sparking dangerously in the dark. The rubble and metal debris crushing his lower half. Hanzo looks away swallowing down his growing sense of dread and presses a trembling hand to his open side resting back on to the slab of concrete, careful not to jostle himself too badly.

Hanzo gnashed his teeth together at the searing pain slowly waking up around his body. Each thump of his racing heart traveling around his body like lightning. He couldn’t reach the ruins of his legs to turn off the neurotransmitters, the phantom pains clawing at his psyche. It was like he had lost them all over again.

Breathing was utter agony. His rib cage protested against each shallow phlegmy breath. He felt so light-headed. His dragons come out slowly, their forms sluggish to take shape. It was worrisome how long it took them to manifest their bodies. They appear less opaque, the borders around them wispy and weak. He hadn’t much time left.

��Peace-” He wheezes at them. They ignore him in order to circle him. Their fear clouding his mind. Pinned. Danger. Rest when safe. They nuzzle him, muzzles and little tongues swiping at the drying blood on his face. Help. Help. What do? Their voices rise in unison. “Shh.” Hanzo tries again. He listens to them panic over his broken body. His heart sank as the list grew. Hanzo already knew his legs were bust and his spine worryingly unresponsive. But the growing tightness of his chest and limited visions raised alarms. “Akuma.” Hanzo breathes. He reaches out blindly with his free arm. The larger of his two dragons come closer, bumping his cool translucent nose against his hand. Hanzo strokes his ancient beast calmingly to regain his composure. “Find Genji-” He pauses, feeling light-headed with each word. “ quickly .” Hanzo hates how weak he sounded. He drops his hand then. The red streak left behind a stark contrast to the blue of his scales and large white mane.

The great beast rose, nodding its head once before blurring down the corridor. Hanzo looks to the slimmer dragon, her antlers scratching uselessly at the rubble around his legs. “Ibuki.” She ignores him scratching and pawing harder at a large chunk of concrete to no avail. “Ibuki,” He is softer this time, trying to reach out for her. He cries, pulling something in his side. He falls back as a coughing fit disorients him. Ibuki is there when he comes too wrapped around him gently. Her little blue tongue lapping at the grime on his purpling ribcage.

Hanzo shakes his head, even the slightest touch hurt. She stopped whimpering in distress. I’m scared . Her words are shared between them in the silence. “I know.” He murmurs back. She nuzzles at his limp arm, rubbing and licking at his open palm. Hanzo lets her, too afraid to admit that he couldn’t feel it. “Go.” Hanzo says. Ibuki starts, his hoarse command was absolute. “You are too bright my friend. It will draw attention to my position. Catch up with your brother, or better yet find Ana.” He smiles weakly, steeling his resolve. “I’ll be fine. I promise.” He lies.

It was better this way. At least they could bring the team to his body. Better than letting Talon get to him. He shudders at the thought. They no doubt would use what was left of him as a guinea pig. That scientist of theirs was the stuff of his nightmares. If she knew his thoughts she said nothing, giving him one last bump with her snout before speeding off herself. He shivers at the loss of her warmth.

Hanzo drifts alone for who knows how long; every slow blink felt like hours. He counted his breath to mark the time. Each slow pull of oxygen was like inhaling glass, the dusty air cutting his already tender throat. Yet, he focused on it. Focused on the pain of living, centering himself, feeling the myriad of wounds littering his body. The physical pain was nothing compared to the dread creeping into his head. The dark whispers of the countless bodies of his past coming to claim their due. They mocked him, laughing at the finality of his situation. He didn’t need the memories of the past to tell him the inevitable. This had always been a possibility. He knew that. He knew that it was more likely than not that he would die bleeding out in some grimy hole rather than at home or of old age. He thought he was ready for it when it came. But thinking and knowing were so different.

He regretted that it had to end this way. But, remorse was nothing new to him. It’s acrid taste was always there at the back of his throat.There was no chance of redemption now. A failure even in death. The knowledge that he was going to die down here, broken and alone, knocked what little breath he had left out of him. After all this time, he didn’t want to be alone anymore, not for this. He wanted his brother. To see him and make sure he was ok. He wanted one more chance to rebuild what he had destroyed all those years ago. He wanted to sit and meditate in the gardens with him one more time.

Hanzo choked, swearing he could smell the wild scents of Bastion’s garden. The overgrown honeysuckle bush would be blooming now. It’s pale yellow flowers climbing up the old munition house’s walls. He could almost taste the tomatoes they grew just for him; his favorite heirlooms would be a deep purple by now and ready to pick. Damn, he could taste them in his favorite dish. The salt and balsamic vinegar pungent, overpowering the taste of pennies on his tongue. Mind frantic for anything to keep him conscious latched onto the book still sitting on his nightstand. Mei had just given it to him; she was looking forward to his view on her favorite characters. Their little book circle had grown over the past few months. Lena and Ana join in, first for tea, then the company and book recommendations. How cruel . Hanzo chuckles humorlessly at the weak attempt his body put up to keep him alive. He could enjoy the irony though. Finally, for the first time in his life he had things to look forward to. People in his life wanted him for something more than his birthright. He had his family. He had true friends. He had you-

The hopeless pit in his stomach consumes him. Fresh tears streak down his face, leaving tracks in the dirt and cracking blood coating his face. The viscous liquid begging to matte in his disheveled beard. He couldn’t bear the fact that you were going to be yet another person he would hurt.

Hanzo drifts for who knows how long. Soul floating between realms. Every slow blink felt like hours. The clicking of his dry throat as he struggled for breath was his only reminder that he still lived. The dark void around him felt like a warm blanket. Would you miss him? A selfish part of him hoped so. But the other part of him hopes you will hate him. That you would wipe his face from your memory. Perhaps you would be hurt for a while, but it is for the best. Soft memories of you flint across his eyes. The hours alone in the back of your shop tasing new blend ideas and biscuits that complement them. Your soft fingers intertwined with his in bed. His rough fingers marveling at how smooth yours were. That blinding smile in the morning when you wake to see him still there, afraid he might have left in the night to go back to whence he came. How many times had you insinuated you would like him to live with you. He wished he had said yes. It would have been nice to have a proper home.

A sense of calm rolls over him thinking of you. His rattling breath becomes fainter in his ears as he slips away. At last, Hanzo succumbs with a sigh.

The first breath after death hurt like a bitch. Air barreling itself back into his lung, pushing his bruised and broken ribs to expand. Pushing the splintered bone out of the tender tissue with each staggered breath. His blood flowed sluggishly again ridding themselves of the dead cells and burning all the while. A weak pulse started up in his temple. Hanzo gasps, eyes rolling behind his lids. Who?

The bioemitter’s low light fills the cavernous space. The light bobs along with the steps of its owner. “ My how the mighty fall.” Hanzo’s lips twitch, pulling up instinctively into a sneer. That smarmy tone of superiority. It would put his late uncle to shame. “Come now. Is that any way to greet your savior?” Akande flashes the wounded man a predatory smile.

“You have saved me from nothing.” Hanzo spat still too weak to do much but glower up at the hulking fighter. “Leave.” He would rather die from the acid slowly seeping out of his stomach wound then hear anything the man had to say.

Akande ignores him, coming to crouch close to the archer. He tosses the emitter casual up in the air. “I came to see if you have thought on my offer a little bit more.” His sharp gaze looks over the fallen prince. “I believe we could- help each other.”

Hanzo scoffs, getting a sick sense of satisfaction from the flecks of blood that splatter on Akande’s pristinely smug face. “I would have thought my actions were clear enough. But, I’m glad you’re here.”

“Oh?” His smile falters for a moment before pulling tighter.

Hanzo nods weakly matching the other man's smile. “Your brazen tactics and foolhardiness on top of your lack of concern for your underlings shows me just how pathetic your organization actually is.” The strike was swift and expected. Stars erupt in his vision as his head cracked hard against the concrete behind him. His nose throbbed as it was broken again .

Akande’s grin was gone. His false mask of pleasantry was replaced with open hostility. “I see.” He looks at the healing device dwarfed in his large palm. “Very well,” He crushes it into dust with a flick of his hand. Hanzo hisses as the warm healing light was lost. “Your consent isn’t necessary. It was merely a formataly to ask.” Cold mechanical fingers latch into Hanzo’s matted hair. His cry of pain echoing as he is pulled out of the rubble. The metal of his knees catching on the beam that had pinned him. With a hearty pull, Akande separated the last few wires connecting the archer's prosthetics to his upper thighs. His legs connective sensors and wires sever with a snap. The noise of it lost as Hanzo’s screams jumped in pitch catching in the back of his throat. He grapples unsuccessfully against the hand dragging him. Akande smirks. “Rest assured Dragon. I will make you into perfection . You don’t even have to be breathing for me to do it.” He grabs at the small man’s throat with his free hand. Warm fingers as strong as iron cutting off what little air Hanzo could get.

Akande watches blankly as the archer struggles, blood spots erupting in his wide eyes. Fear cutting through his asinine attempt at bravery. Moira could fix the damage with ease. He cocks his head at the tiny pop of Hanzo’s trachea snapping under the strain. Well, tools don’t need to speak.

Preoccupied as he was with subduing his latest super-assassin Akande did not notice the streaks of blue and green barreling towards them. He was unprepared for the feel of teeth and claw ripping into his back and legs. With a roar of indignation, he threw the broken archer away, trying instead to grapple with the ancestral beasts.

Hanzo lands with a wet thud, sliding to a stop a few yards away. What little healing he had gotten from the emitter completely undone. He watches immobile, coldness seeping into his limbs. He accepts the darkness this time without a fight.

“Still nothing?” Tabby licks at the smear of icing on her thumb from her perch on your countertop. Man, it must be bad. You normally would be down her throat for putting her ass on a cooking surface. She watched you pace, your eyes never leaving the tiny screen of your phone.

“Am I overthinking this?” You ask swiping through your last few texts. Had you said something that offended? Hanzo was normally fine with telling you if something made him uncomfortable, so why would this time be different. Besides, your last couple days of messages had been completely innocent. He was helping you choose which dessert would be featured on your site for the holidays. You had it narrowed down to three before he had stopped responding. “He promised to call last night. He said he was off duty today so he could stay up late.” He sent you his schedule for the upcoming months. He was off, you had planned to stream a movie together to unwind.

Tabatha sighs loudly. “People forget BB.” She hops from the counter and wraps a strong hand around your waste. “It’s normal.” She leads you to your living room trying to console you. It didn’t help at all. People forgot sure. You forgot a lot. But Hanzo doesn’t. The man practically lived through his phone’s planner. It was one of the things you loved about him. He was predictable- reliable. “ Come on -” She takes your phone and tosses it somewhere over her shoulder to be lost in your couch cushions. “Tell ya what. You can call him tomorrow after work. Don’t act like you haven’t been blowing up the poor man’s phone.” Tabby drops down on top of where your phone landed. “Relax with me.” She flicks on Netflix, a new season of your favorite baking show had just dropped. It was the best show to get some new ideas from. Especially with the back to back holidays coming up. You had to stay fresh to keep up with the competitors.

With a sigh of defeat, you sink into your armchair, notebook in hand. He’ll get back to you when he could.

The weeks passed in a dizzying blur. Each day you found your hand inching closer and closer to your phone. Tabatha, bless her, had been keeping you busy. Bills waited for no man and salaries had to be paid. It wasn’t much, but it was enough for you to focus on. It was better than thinking of the dead weight in your pocket. Just be patient. You trust him right? So trust him. She would say each time she caught you staring holes into your phone. You trusted him. So you waited.

“You think he ghosted?” The words were barely over a whisper. A breath from one of your younger workers to another. They meant nothing by it, you knew that. They were both sweet kids, just concerned. You couldn’t deny that your mood and work attitude have been suffering from all this. But it still stung like a slap all the same. Doubly so because you were thinking it too. It was stupid to even think about that. Hanzo was too mature for such a cheap tactic. He always carried himself with such pose and talked so much about honor and duties. Leaving you like this would be beneath him.

Locking up after another day of silence you trudge home for the first time in a long time by yourself. You had had a revolving group of close friends that had taken it upon themselves to keep you company as you sulked. Tonight they had all planned a big blow-out bar hopping event, with you as the “guest of honor”. Sweet- but not what you needed. Besides, you couldn’t rely on them forever damn it. You were a big girl. This wasn’t your first break-up.

But this one hurt the most.

You sigh pocketing your phone as your friends blow up your phone for the third time that night. You just needed a night to yourself. Nothing some junk food and games couldn’t numb you for a bit. With the promise of pizza and your fuzzy blanket you trudge up the stairs to your home. Hmmm-perhaps some tea too, or was it a hot chocolate night?

Junk food and a steaming cup of chocolate in hand you ready yourself for a long night of adventure quests and shitty npc dialogue. Just as you were setting up your desk and booting up your pc you were distracted by the sharp percussion of knuckles on your door. “In a second!” You holler over your shoulder. You figured it was a friend coming to pester you. Expecting Tabby or her girlfriend you swing the door open ready to chastise them. You slam the door immediately, double latching it.

“Oi!”

“I’m calling security!” You shout behind you, running for your phone.

“Ah! Wait-” Not a chance in hell. You lunge for your phone. Of all the cherries on top of an already shitty situation.

“You have two seconds to leave or I’m serious!” Your voice shakes the phone pressed against your ear. The other side of your door is eerily quiet. Did he leave? Peering out to your entry hall you felt something smooth and warm plopped down onto your shoulder.

It was a wonder the entire block didn’t hear your scream. Flinging your phone away, the little green thing whizzed across the small room. It landed tangled around your phone hissing like a wet cat on your carpet. It’s little clawed feet wiggling up in the air in distress. “I told you Mizuki.” You watch dumbfounded as the omnic from months before bent down to pick up the spitting little-Was that a dragon?

“I apologize for her. She gets ahead of herself sometimes.” The omnic pays you little attention. Their slim fingers untangling their little friend from your phone. “Here,” They hand the device back to you. “Nice place you got here! I can see why my brother felt so comfortable here. We-well- he was never allowed to have nic-nacks and stuff.” They walk your place casually looking about. The little glowing snake nuzzles itself under their metal chin.

You watch befuddled as they make themselves at home. Poking and prodding at your decor. The chrome accents of their plating a stark contrast to your old world decorum. “Did he get you those?” You follow the raised finger over to your display case of trinkets. Key chains, shells, postcards, and all sorts of little items that sat innocently on your wall.

“Yeh?” You sputter dumbly. You clamber up your ottoman not taking your eyes off your- Kidnapper? Intruder? Guest? “I-wait brother?” The omnic nods giving you time to catch up with what in the world is happening.

“I admit, this wasn’t how I wanted to introduce myself. But I haven’t seen you at your store.”

“Oh! So you're stalking me now?” Your phone raises in a flash.

“What! No- put that down!” The omnic jumps up and snatches your phone from your ear before you could blink. “Gods, can you hear me out for a second?” You gape at the audacity of their statement. Even this little dragon was glaring at them now. A fluffy green brow raised. “Oh- yea Ok. I’m out of line.” They rub at their neck mulishly. “Let’s start this over. I’m Genji.” Genji. You knew that name. Hanzo had mentioned his troublesome brother once or twice in passing. But never that they were an omnic. Was it common for Japanese families to “adopt” omnics? “

You’re lying.” Hanzo’s “brother” groans flopping back down onto your couch.

“Who would lie about being related to Hanzo? You know him.” They wave their hands up exasperatedly. “You think anyone would willingly be related to that nerd?” Well, that sounded like something a younger sibling would say. “Here,” With a hiss of an unseen clasp they fiddle with their face place. “Genji Shimada in- what remains of my flesh.” Scared lips smile up at you as he patiently lets you look over his face. The similarities were striking.

You squint. “I guess the eyebrows are a family trait.”

“Ha! We both had caterpillar brows out the womb. Keep that in mind if you ever want kids. ” He winks in mirth. Just like that the tension in your body seems to dissipate. For some reason, you believed the very odd man that had just invited himself in. But really, who else besides Tabatha knew Hanzo’s name? Still didn’t explain everything- or anything- really. The questions tumble out of you. A month worth of insecurities and inner thoughts bubble over. Genji sits and listens to you ramble. Show him your text, his promise to watch stupid movies with you.

He doesn’t say anything while you vent your frustration. He only cuts you off when you began to tear up and ask the question you had dreaded all this time. “Did Hanzo send you to break up with me?” The coward, the absolute coward. He was supposed to be better than that.

“Never.” The raw emotion in his voice made you pause. He looked at you warm brown eyes, so familiar to Hanzo’s, pleading with you to listen. Everything about his screamed honesty, and that scared you even more. Genji rose hand raised as if trying to find a way to comfort you. “I-Hanzo did not ask me to come. I’m sure if it were up to him we would have never met.” He pulls away going to look out onto the dark city streets.

“Why?” You hadn’t really brought up meeting the relatives. Hanzo had met your closest friends and family in passing when they would drop by the shop for an afternoon pick me up. You wanted to meet his side but had always been too cowardly to ask. From what little you gathered from him his parents had passed and his brother was- complicated. Guess that wasn’t a lie.

Genji shrugs. “He has always been self-deprecating to the point of cruel. Perhaps he thought he was undeserving of being in a relationship. Or perhaps being happy around me. I’m sure that is at the top of his list. But, after…” He pauses. His throat clicks dryly, moisture beginning to brim under thick lashes. He puts his faceplate back on. “After this month- It was probably to protect you.” He can’t look at you and say what he needs to. All those days spent in the ICU ward of the base watching his brother slip, only to be brought back by the sheer power of his dragons or Angies pig-headedness. He was tired. He was tired and at a loss.

It wasn’t until last night did he think of you. A sudden jolt of a memory right when he was trying to get some rest after being dragged from Hanzo’s bedside again. You didn’t know what happened, or anything for that matter. Genji knew his brother well enough that he wouldn’t want loose ends like that. Not that he was dying. He was too stubborn to go like this, damn old goat.

Genji berated himself mentally for the mere thought of his brother just-just dying on him.

But it was those thoughts that lead him here. He didn’t know how deep in the relationship you were with Hanzo. But after that afternoon of him gushing over every little thing about you. He was at least confident that you meant the word to his brother. “Seriously?” Genji jumps, pulled back to the moment by you scoff. “Are you-what kind of sick joke.” You can’t even finish the sentence. This was like a plot out of a damn movie. A really bad movie. “Listen Genji,” You shoot him a scathing glare. “If Hanzo doesn’t have the balls to tell me himself it’s over fine. But don’t you dare insult my intelligence by-”

“Have you heard of Overwatch?” He cuts you off mid tirade.

“Of course I have- who-what does that have to do with anything?” You feel yourself getting heated. Maybe you should call security. Genji nods fishing for his com device. Pulling up some candid and posed photos of him and his brother up for you to see. He tosses the device to you. You catch it on reflex, flipping it around to look. Gingerly you begin scrolling through the sea of smiling faces, picking up on Hanzo immediately in each shot.

Seeing him like this made you smile in turn. One picture in particular making your heart clench. His arm was thrown around Genji, bridge piercings catching in the morning light. He was laughing at something someone must have said. His head thrown back, shoulders frozen in time near his ears. Genji was laughing too, his mask off, face scrunching cutely as he snickers.

The next picture must have been out of sequence. Hanzo looked older. Despite the date on the picture being before the other one. His hair wasn’t cut and his piercings were missing. He looked tired. Deep purple bags under his eyes, a frown you only saw when he was deep in concentration harassing his beautiful features. Both arms were crossed over his broad chest in agitations as the picture was taken. He was dressed differently too. Expensive looking robes hugged his muscular form. Another was of him stretched out on a ratty couch. A young man with dreads sleeping on his shoulder. By his feet on the floor was a young woman with glasses. She was distracted but a weird floating robot vying for her attention from the multitude of tablets littered about her. Hanzo looked relaxed. His reading glass perched on his crooked nose and a paperback resting on his crossed leg. You gut twisted. You never knew this side of him. He never talked about his friends, or co-workers in depth. Were you not worth it? To be included in this part of his life?

“My brother and I, we are members of the newly reformed Overwatch. He was out on base when attacked. It was-” He pauses catching himself on the memory of his brother's crumpled form. Had that been what it felt like when Hanzo watched the light leave his eyes on that cursed night? The wet gurgle of blood filling punctured lungs. His listless eyes swollen from damage, losing the few threads of life they still held. What was worse was his dragons, the hollow of pain and shock before they exploded in a flash blue and yellow scales. Their light snuffed out with their master. Having to take his brother's remains to the status units so Angie could have some still whole cells and tissue to work with when she arrived had almost killed him too. Others had offered, but it was his duty. He needed to do this. “An enemy tried to take him captive. It didn’t end well for either party.”

Akande- the coward had fled with what remained of his crew after watching the great dragon fall. His plan backfired as more reinforcements arrived then he had anticipated. Sombra blinking them out faster than Mei could freeze them. Genji had wanted to go after him. Get him while he was down. Attack with the same savagery. But now wasn’t the time. Zenyatta convinced him to stay with only a few words and a soft touch. In that time of self-reflection by his brother’s bed, he knew fighting wouldn’t help. He needed his brother back for that. He needed you for that.

“But,” He watches struggle. His words stunning you out of your anger. He could see his truths turning in your eyes. The sudden jerks and twitches of your gaze flitting about him then to the side. Looking into your memories, bring forth any civilian knowledge you had of the defunct organization. “The Petras Act.” You whispered covering your face. It made sense. In a weird way. Hanzo’s shifty nature when bringing up his work. The sudden departures in the middle of the night. Oh, Gods. Every trinket he ever got you. The news reported strange activities in those regions. It couldn’t be.

Genji scoffs, plopping down on the floor by your feet. “The Petras Act is bullshit. I-nor my brother could sit around and watch as Talon took over.” He stretches the truth a little. If you thought Hanzo was doing it for a higher purpose it couldn’t hurt. “I’m sure he would have told you in time. He just wants you safe.” Of that he was confident. Keeping you at arm's reach from his work was a logical thing to do. A very Hanzo thing to do. He never thought of the emotional aspects of things until it was too late.

You shake your head. Eyes peeking out from between your fingers. All this was coming so fast. “Wait. You said he was attacked? Is-is he ok?” Genji shifts under your gaze trying to find the right words.

“He is… finally stable. Mercy, our medic, put him into an induced coma.” You gasp. It felt like a sucker punch to the chest. The shock of it brings tears to your eyes. “That's why I came here.” Genji scoots closer seeing this as an opportunity to grasp at your hand. He squeezes it comfortingly. “She is going to wake him up soon, and I think you should be there.”

“Why?”

“As emotionally constipated as my brother is, I know he would want to see you when he wakes up.” Genji pulls away, raising to his full height. “I want you to know, you aren’t a dirty secret to Hanzo. When I found out about you, when he finally opened up about you. I’ve never seen him so happy.”

“I realize that. But I just- do I really even know him?” You look up at him pleadingly. This was all happening so fast. A one-two punch of revelations that you could have never anticipated.

“If you come with, you can ask him yourself.” Genji’s offer floats in the dead air of your living room. A thousand and one questions rushing through you. Was he really what he said? The photos, no way they were fake. Right? What would a man like Hanzo, an actual vigilante, want with a regular business owner. Were you a cover? No, not the way this stranger in your house explained it.

Damn him. There was only one way to get to the bottom of this. “Can I text my friend where I’m going?” It was a stupid question, but if you were going to end up in a ditch at least you’d make an attempt. You can feel the man’s exasperated expression through the metal covering his face. “Right. That whole ‘underground thing’.”

“You can’t for obvious reasons but, I understand the sentiment. We are heading to Illios, I cannot divulge where but would that be enough for you?” No. But it would have to do. Grabbing your phone you text Tabatha and her girlfriend telling them you made the brash decision to take a vacation to Greece like you had been wishing to do for ages. Seconds after you hit send your phone started ringing. You glance at the man.

“Oh for heaven’s sake,” He sighs. “I’m not kidnapping you. If you don’t want to go I’ll leave.” Genji makes his way to the door, intentionally dragging his feet with each step.

“No! Wait!” You round on him and press your phone to your ear. “Hey Tab.”

“Are you drunk?”

“No- just realizing that you were right. I booked the flight already anyway. Before my nerves could get the best of me.” You lie.

“Ah huh- what hotel you staying at?” Shit. Genji flashes his phone at you showing you a hotel and room already booked and paid for. You recite the address and room number. “Ok. Call me as soon as you step into that room.” She orders. “Make sure to take some pics. Maybe find a cute date? Get your mind off things for me please?”

“Ok.” You said. “Talk to you soon.”

“You can stay at that hotel you know,” Genji said once you were off the phone. “If you feel uncomfortable at all you can leave. I’ll pay for everything.”

“I’ll take that offer until I know this isn’t some elaborate con.” You sigh pocketing your phone and wallet. “If he really is in hospital then let’s leave now. I can buy stuff when I get there.”

“Thank you,” Genji smiles holding the door open for you. With one last look around you push your fear down and follow your surprise guest out the door.

#Overwatch #hanzo shimada x reader #long form fic #overwatch fanfic

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purplebass · 5 years ago

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@jedilicious Hi! Sorry if I’m tagging you, but I’ve just read your post and I wanted to corroborate on parts of your theory. LOL.

About James and Matthew and Cordelia triangle, I also see that Math is the Will of this triangle while James is the Jem of this triangle. James is also very similar to Tessa in some ways.

Anyway, I agree that the family tree could be wrong, but don’t forget that despite the Herondales have blue eyes as a dominant trait (in fact even Anna, Christopher and Max have blue eyes, even though Kit has lavender eyes, but it still is a shade close to blue), Cordelia has black eyes, which, in my opinion, could be a dominant trait in some unions, but only if she carries a dominant trait, I think. If Jordelia does end up together, it would be harder for their son to inherit James’ eyes, because that’s not dominant. And about Marcus, Stephen and Jace - their traits could come from “far”, since Edmund had blonde hair and blue eyes. These things tend to happen. I know people with red hair that inherited this trait from their great-grand parents. Maybe Owen (if he is the only child they will have) may have black hair (dominant) and blue eyes or black eyes too. And the woman the tree says he’ll marry may have other traits that will help the following generations of Herondales to be blonde, same goes for Marcus: Imogen Whitelaw (Jace’s grandmother) has blonde hair.

EDIT: To further add to the genetics argument, let me tell you about my personal experience. My grandfather had blue eyes while my grandma black eyes. Their first son has black eyes, while their second green eyes. They had 8 children and my father was the 7th. Ironically, he is THE only one out of the 8 of them who inherited my grandpa’s sapphire blue eyes (in fact he is the only son IDENTICAL to my grandpa, I’m not kidding). Which means that even if my grandpa had blue eyes, it probably wasn’t a dominant trait in fact my aunts and uncles have 50/50 of green eyes and black eyes. My mother had black eyes as well. In a combination of black eyes + blue eyes, you would expect that I would have a 50/50 chance of having either color, but nope. Even more ironically, my maternal grandmother also had sapphire blue eyes whereas my maternal grandpa black eyes (they also had 50/50 daughters with green eyes and brown eyes). I have pale green/grayish eyes with some small yellow and brown specs in them, and I have absolutely no idea where they came from (PIC). I only had blue eyes until I was 5-6, then my eye color settled to the one I have now. Even my hair were blonde, now they are chestnut brown. Two or three of my aunts from both sides have similar green eyes, but not the exact shade. My sister also has greenish/blue eyes, but it isn’t the same shade. This to prove that the results of eyes is not always predictable. Even if the parents have different traits. For the Herondales, even Lucie doesn’t have Will or Tessa’s eyes but a sort of cross color between their eyes.

But yes, technically we could be all wrong about Jordelia ending together like the tree says, and Cordelia ends up with Matthew. If this is the case, it would explain how red hair were inherited by that line of Fairchilds, since Cordelia herself has red hair. Clary and Jocelyn both have Matthew’s eye color, or close to it, after all. But I don’t know, even if I’m not opposed to the idea of Matthew and Cordelia together, I think that in this triangle he is going to suffer. Or maybe, like it often happens with CC, in CoI everyone will discover James and Cordelia’s marriage is blanc and they will break it. Perhaps Cordelia could get closer to Math and see him a new light, but eventually go back to James. I don’t know, because I can’t see any interest from Cordelia’s part (yet). And until the engagement is on, I guess Jordelia may try to be faithful to each other, especially her, since she is loyal... but then again we don’t know.

I could see Mardelia happen in the last book after Jordelia’s engagement is off (if it will be ever off) and James finally realizes that he is in love with her and not with Grace. Or with Matthew professing his love for Cordelia to her and proposing her to marry him to fix the engagement mess they created. If you think about it, it also mirrors the plot of Clockwork Prince, with Will finally declaring his feelings to Tessa but Tessa telling Will she is engaged to Jem (here James would be like Will, while in CoG he is like Jem, proposing to the girl first, while Math would be like Jem here). Even though we could also argue that when Graces asks James to run away, that was also a sort of an indirect marriage proposal to him. Or who knows, Jordelia does really get married! It is hard to tell, but considering the situation and the fact that they intend to marry but they don’t want to really marry (well, if James loved Cordelia back, she would gladly marry him), it is possible that in the end they don’t and they have to face the consequences of their lie.

About James dying, I don’t think so. In the epilogue of Clockwork Princess, it says that both James and Lucie were there when Will died, which means they don’t die in TLH, or this should assure us of this. I don’t think CC will contradict herself, lol. From the epilogue of CP:

Their oldest child, James, had spoken laughingly about Will’s unrelenting fear of ducks and his continual battle to keep them out of the pond at the family home in Yorkshire.

What you quoted about Tessa’s hardships with her children I think it has to do with the fact that supposedly, after Will’s death Tessa decided to run away and not see James and Lucie anymore, since she wouldn’t bear seeing them die as well. Still from the epilogue of CP:

It never had stopped hurting, remembering when Will had died. After he was gone, Tessa had fled. Her children were grown, had children of their own; she told herself they did not need her and hid in the back of her mind the thought that haunted her: She could not bear to remain and watch them grow older than she was. It had been one thing to survive the death of her husband. To survive the death of her children—she could not sit by and watch it. It would happen, must happen, but she would not be there.

Last but not last... is is still possible that in the end James marries Grace and not Cordelia, but I don’t think so. Grace is a semi-villain in certain ways, and besides this, the “love” or better, the infatuation between James and her, was clearly produced by the bracelet, which means he doesn’t really loves her (in fact all of the juicy stuff with Cordelia and the whispering room happened when James didn’t have the bracelet on). And I’m 99% convinced that the concept of James and Cordelia is fire and shadows or better, hot/cold, fire/ice... and the list goes on. It is clear that Cordelia is the fire that lights James’ alight, and she seems like a sort of soulmate to him, someone who could help him destroy their enemies - a pairing that is stronger only if together. I think Tatiana or Belial at the end of CoG said that Cordelia was protecting James. Surely they have a tight bond.

Besides this, I guess from a critical point of view it wouldn’t be a great plot if James went to marry a girl who not only probably enchanted him (as I’m also sure Grace might have fairy blood) but who also wanted him to leave everything behind to go to Gretna Green? Nope, it wouldn’t be interesting. And in these kind of stories it’s usual (but of course, there may be exceptions) that the first girl or boy a character likes, is usually the one he/she won’t get together with because they understand along the way how they idolized that boy/girl.

Plus, it wouldn’t have that angst and bitterness, passion, etc. that I would expect from a CC couple. CC couples are interesting because they have conflict, they are real. James and Grace look like they couldn’t be more different and the fact that, like I mentioned above, Grace wanted him to leave everything to get married with her - everything James loved to death - is a big red flag. James, run! lol. I don’t think CC would have one of the main characters of the series get married with a character like Grace. It would be anticlimactic. Unless Grace changes, which I don’t see happening.

James is with Grace like Matthew at the moment is with Cordelia and how Cordelia is with James at the moment (sorry for the wordplay): their love is unrequited. Or maybe not yet shaped like a great love. Grace and James’ “love” is obsession, silly love. Cordelia’s love for James may be a silly love as well until he loves her properly (and we know he’s capable of doing so, he showed it when he didn’t have the bracelet on. Jordelia are on fire, basically). Matthew’s love for Cordelia could be silly too, because it’s in the beginning phase (so when it can still change).

Anyway, I talk too much. lol.

#chain of gold #the last hours #james herondale #matthew fairchild #cordelia #jordelia #James and Cordelia #matthew and cordelia #grace blackthorn #james and grace #the infernal devices #my edits #Cordelia Carstairs

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crossroads-of-the-raven · 1 month ago

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Murder Drones Update for: In Remembrance of Unspoken Memories - Blue Eyes, Yellow Will Die

Hey all, I hope you've been enjoying the story so far.

Beau's Epilogue has now been posted.

However, that doesn't mean the story is coming to an end.

If you noticed, every chapter thus far has all been from Beau's perspective.

This series (because it is a series) will be following many different characters that didn't get as much screen time as I imagined most of you would have liked.

This first section was all about Beau, the next will be following Alice as we go from the day she was bought at the age of eight, to when she was taken by the labs at the age of thirteen to becoming a mother at twenty-five and what happened after the humans died.

So far the line up will be:

Beau

Alice

Nori

Yeva

After that we'll be delving into the life of several Outpost 3 worker drones and several members of the Elliott Mansion household.

This series is just a way for me to get out my headcanons built from outside observations, personal observation and combined analysis of Liam's epic show - however, I'm also debating on writing out these observations as their own post, we'll see how that goes.

Last bit of housekeeping, because I apparently misread my own notes, I have recently changed the over arching tag for this series.

The OFFICIAL tag for this series will be:

In Remembrance of Unspoken Memories

Beau's section of the the story is tagged:

By Blue Eyes Yellow Will Die

And finally, Alice's section of the story will be tagged:

Breaking the Broken Pattern

Last but not least, I have a fanfiction account where I'll be posting all the chapters for easy reading (with warnings as needed).

That version of the story will be updated once a week on Thursdays or Fridays - right now only the first three chapters are up but more will come in time.

Fanfiction link below:

As for everyone who hasn't had a chance to read my insane ramblings ...

Hi, the links below will take you to Beau's story from Prologue to Epilogue.

Happy Reading ...

#Murder Drones #Murder Drones fanfic #In Remembrance of Unspoken Memories #By Blue Eyes Yellow Will Die #Breaking the Broken Pattern #Murder Drones Beau #Beau Murder Drones #MD Beau #Beau MD #Murder Drones Alice #Alice Murder Drones #MD Alice #Alice MD #Alice 017 #This is a pinned post and will constantly be updated as we go forward

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wienerbarnes · 5 years ago

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Cheek to Cheek (4/5)

Pairing: Bucky x Criminal!Reader

Word Count: 1,066

Warnings: Hydra stuff? idk man just read it

A/N: happy new year! hope everyones as hungover as i am! epilogue is next! enjoy under the cut!

SERIES MASTERLIST

“Dude’s name is Lucas Henry. White male with blue eyes, age 28.”

Perfectly matches your description, Bucky thinks.

“He has a pretty dark history, an orphan for most of his life before being adopted by Dr. Alfred Camacho,” Sharon explains, a file full of his criminal charges laid out in front of her.

“Same doctor that was prosecuted like seven years ago for Hydra crimes.” Bucky interrupts.

“After Camacho was arrested, Henry resorted to crime; sexual assault, robbery, and there’s his unproven connection to last year’s kidnapping the nut case solved.” Sam finishes.

“What’s gonna happen to her, anyway?” Bucky asks at the thought of you.

“Bucky, sorry to break it to you, but there’s no way she’s getting out of that place. Even if she found a cure for cancer or solved world hunger or something, she’s a huge danger to herself and everyone around her. Not to mention she was Hydra, I mean look how they treated you.” Sharon speaks.

Look how they treated you. Yeah, that the exact reason his heart is breaking at the thought that you're going to die tomorrow. Your life, stolen from you at such a young age, all to go to waste tomorrow at the push of a needle.

“I’ll give the ward a call for you later, if you’d like.” Sharon interrupts his thoughts, hope pouring out of her eyes at him.

“Uh, nah, don’t worry about it. You’re right. There’s no way they’ll change her fate in a matter of twelve hours.” Bucky rationalizes.

“Why don’t you head home, man. Henry’s already in FBI custody and that trial will be a piece of cake, me and Sharon will handle the interrogation process tomorrow.” Sam pats Bucky on the shoulder, giving him a rough shake.

“Yeah, I think you’re due for your afternoon nap, old man.” Sharon teases.

“Hah, hah, hah.” Bucky replies before gathering his things and exiting the room towards the garage.

…

The next day is peaceful. Bucky wakes up to his kitten rubbing tiny furry cheeks against his own furry cheeks until the whiskers begin to tickle his eyelids. Birds are chirping outside and he can see a beautiful stream of yellow-white light poke through his blinds.

Bucky completes his morning routine in about thirty minutes: two or three hundred one-armed push-ups followed by a boiling hot shower. He pushes his wet hair back with a comb and does ten minutes of silent meditation and yoga. Or rather, until little paws rub on his toes begging for food. He goes into the kitchen and begins preparing breakfast for both of them, turning on the television for background noise.

As Bucky places the tiny cat food bowl on the ground, an alert on the TV catches his attention.

“We interrupt this broadcast to warn of a criminal on the loose. If you have any information regarding this woman, please contact the police immediately. Do not, under any circumstances, approach her. She is considered extremely dangerous and assumed to be armed.”

Bucky’s mouth hangs open as he stares at a picture of your mugshot on the screen. Your hair. Your eyes. Your skin. Your nose. Your mouth. How the fuck did you fucking get out of there?!

Bucky scurries back to his bedroom and scrambles for his cellphone.

“Are you seeing this shit?!” He yells into Sam’s ear as soon as the ringing ceases, running back to the TV to see if there were any other updates.

“Already contacted the FBI, but they said the chances of catching her are incredibly slim. They said they’d let us know if they need any help. Good morning, by the way. I don’t know if you know this, but it’s eight in the morning, man.”

Bucky rolls his eyes as his friend drones on in his ear, “Like, I don’t know if you got clocks in that little cushy, suburban apartment of yours, or maybe the other neighborhood moms got you up early to help with the bake sale…”

“Alright, alright, I get it. I’ll let you go.” Bucky finally gives up.

“Thank God.” The line clicks and Bucky tosses his phone on the bed.

He hears a distant meow from the kitchen and walks back out to see what kind of trouble his cat is getting into.

As he enters the big space he spots his little white kitten staring at his front door. Bucky’s brows furrow as he recognizes her behavior. Ears flattened, back arched, tail and fur puffed out, swatting at the air in front of the door. He’s terrified. Bucky scoops him up in one hand and feels his body shaking as he peeks through the peephole of his door. Nothing.

He places the cat back on the ground and watches her run off back to his bedroom.

Bucky slowly unlocks the four locks on his door and look up and down the hallway before his eyes land on a small envelope on the ground. Nothing written on the front or back of it, he realizes when he picks it up.

After locking up his door again, he leans his forearms on his kitchen counter and tears open the letter.

The only thing that falls out is a piece of baby blue string tied to be bracelet and a small folded up piece of paper.

The only person he’s ever seen with a baby blue piece of string tied around their wrist as a bracelet was you.

Your fucking bracelet.

After a moment of shock, Bucky drops the bracelet on the counter and opens up the small folded note.

“Come on and dance with me

I want my arm about you

The charm about you

Will carry me through to

Heaven, I’m in heaven”

He doesn’t need to analyze or test the handwriting to know it’s you. Bucky takes a deep breath before sliding the bracelet and note back into the envelope and taking it back to his bedroom to put it in the drawer of his nightstand.

He takes one more deep breath before returning back to the kitchen and taking out the rest of the supplies he needs to make breakfast.

“Hey, F.R.I.D.A.Y?”

“Yes, Sergeant Barnes?”

“Can you play Cheek to Cheek, by Fred Astaire, please?”

“Yes, Sergeant Barnes.”

Little horns and piano tunes fill his apartment as Bucky slowly sways and the words tumble from his mouth,

“Heaven, I’m in heaven…”

#bucky barnes #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky x reader #bucky barnes x criminal!reader #criminal!reader #marvel #marvel fanfiction #bucky barnes series #x files au

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suearthboundau · 5 years ago

Note

a summary of the plot points would be appreciated!

alright so here’s the whole story:

the end of the current bit would’ve been that yellow n steven just get some time to interact

skip to a day or two later. blue is still mopey and depressed, peridot is getting frustrated w her and then lapis steps in like “i’ll talk to her”. she gives her a speech like “i know what it’s like getting stuck here and never being able to go home, it sucks and it’s miserable, but you have to snap out of it. earth can actually be pretty cool if you give it a chance.”

she takes her out on a walk in the countryside where she shows her the sights of earth, animals and nature and stuff. at first blue is really apprehensive and nervous but she slowly warms up to things and has a good time. her and lapis become friends.

blue comes out of her shell more. she gets really interested in animals and starts observing/studying them, she basically wants to keep anything she sees as a pet. her and lapis get tadpoles from a pond to keep as pets and they all have names and stuff. blue also gets interested in earth fashion since it’s nothing like the uniforms theyre all stuck with on homeworld.

yellow mainly grows close to steven since everyone else ignores her and blue tries to avoid her. she acts pleasant but is secretly trying to figure out how to escape. she never gets anywhere but comes to like steven bc hes genuinely nice and tries to make sure she’s happy and stuff. he brings books to educate her on earth, which she finds interesting, and they also play boardgames together.

lapis leaves about a week after the zircons arrive. pretty much the same as in the show, except blue tries to debate her into staying. when lapis says they can take the barn into space, she points out that 1) the tadpoles will die and 2) the barn is obviously an earth structure and stands out so homeworlders will easily spot them. but instead of convincing lapis to stay, she just flies off without the barn. so everyone remaining continues to live in the barn.

more character development and stuff yada yada. smaller fillery arcs. then one day a homeworld ship arrives at the barn, filled with quartz soldiers. they spot yellow, and yellow’s terrified they’ve come to arrest her but then they reveal they’re trying to rescue her. some of them free her from her cell, while the other quartzes find and bubble peridot and blue. yellow realises from what they’re saying that she was never a wanted criminal and that sapphire must’ve lied to her.

she pretends to play along with the quartzes and act nice. they ask if she knows where the other rebels are and she says yes. something wouldve happened previously so she knows where the crystal gems house is, she leads them to it. however when they arrive and the quartzes disembark, ready to fight the cgs, yellow stabs them in the back by destabilising their leader. the other quartzes are so shocked that they let their guard down, giving the cgs time to form alexandrite and effortlessly defeat them. they bubble all the quartzes and free peridot and blue.

garnet congratulates yellow and tells her she can be free now bc they know they can trust her. but yellow still doesn’t trust them, and only really likes steven. peridot and blue reform (new outfits yayy), and it’s decided that they should all stay at the temple instead of the barn because homeworld knows the barn is a base.

the plot kinda chills out after that big event. it’s mainly just character development stuff and characters growing closer to each other. all the peridot and steven episodes from canon happen off-screen or in the background bc the zircons have nothing to do with them. this is the maybe month or so before ASPR, where there’s no more major canon plot.

yellow gets a new outfit, whether it’s from having to reform or just deciding to change for fun. also the zircons move into the lighthouse, maybe with peridot. generally all i had planned for this was smaller, humour-based storylines. blue becomes more outgoing, yellow develops interests if her own and joins jamie’s acting club. the zircons still argue constantly but start to agree on a few things. like, they both like the same tv shows, they’re both crazy competitive rules lawyers with board games, and they both hate ronaldo, who comes up to their house to play lookout and constantly bothers them about “totally seeing aliens” in his telescope.

eventually they finally just talk things out, apologise to each other for all their grievances, and yellow admits that she’s actually happy living on earth with blue, and it feels more like home than homeworld did. and then they hug it out and fuse. we would’ve had a few comics here where i might’ve taken questions for green zircon. then she’d hear ronaldo coming up the hill to do lookout, panic, and unfuse.

they’d both go inside, do some stuff, then hear ronaldo freaking out outside about spotting a “real moon alien”. they’d just roll their eyes about it but he’d insist they come look. and then they’d see lapis on the moon. ronaldo runs off to get steven, while blue gets really excited that she might see her friend again. when steven goes up to the moon, she tags along. lapis still leaves again, and steven tells blue about his dream, causing her to go into Theorising Mode.

blue obsessively goes over the evidence while yellow teases her for being a crazy conspiracy theorist, and she figures out that pink diamond was rose quartz and cracks the whole mystery. then like 2 seconds later steven knocks on the door and sits them down to explain the whole story. he doesn’t even get to start saying anything before blue’s like “in a second, can i explain my thing first?” and basically explains to him everything he was about to tell them. and then stevens like “uh yeah u got it.” and blue gloats at yellow that she was right while yellow pretends not to care.

garnet has her wedding and the zircs go, yellow doesn’t really hate the cgs anymore but she doesn’t feel hella welcome around them but yeah she goes anyway everyone has a good time. the diamonds show up, pretty much the same as in canon, i hadn’t really figured any way the zircons might impact stuff as i couldn’t see them fighting. they’d probably just hide tbh.

when everyone goes to homeworld, yellow goes with them so she can visit her friends and tell them how she’s been. blue decides to stay on earth so she can catch up with lapis, and also bc there’s not really anything for her up there. pretty much the same as in canon, yellow is not invited to the ball and she doesn’t want to go bc it’s not her place, she splits from the squad and goes to the zircon quarters to chat with her friends. she would’ve changed back into her uniform.

so we’d basically just be following yellow and seeing what life on homeworld is like for a zircon, the living quarters etc etc. as well as the kind of friends she had and her old life and stuff. i had an idea that gems like zircons that access databases can basically connect to the homeworld internet, and yellow would’ve known when they were almost at homeworld bc she would’ve suddenly got three trillion notifications from all the texts people had been sending her trying to find out where she is.

we’d also go back to blue on earth. she’d chat with lapis and they’d reconnect, i’d also have lapis and peridot talk things out bc they left on a sour note. also bismuth would get to know blue bc they never met. then they’d get the steven message and go up into space to help. while everyone else is going to the diamond fight, blue would go to find yellow and make sure she’s safe. they’d meet up in the zircon quarters, check everything’s alright, and the other zircons would be like “um yellow why r u hanging out w that loser lol”. then the chapter would end with all the zircons noticing white diamond’s ship blushing and being like “wtf”.

there’d be an epilogue thing set at the little party that ended the season. i didn’t plan to go into the movie or SUF (the whole plot of the movie would just be the zircons hiding in their house going “wtf” at the giant injector planted right in front of it lol). i guess in SUF they’d just be living their best lives.

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kiyoitsukikage · 5 years ago

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Sasuke Shinden: chapter 5 & epilogue

(I know it's kind of late - well, depending on what time zone you are in - I apologise. I always underestimate the time I need to answer to all requests/asks and edit posts).

The rules are always the same: NO REPOSTING, NO COPYING THIS TRANSLATION AND PUTTING IT SOMEWHERE ELSE ON THE INTERNET. I apologise in advance for the mistakes I’m bound to make when translating. And: support the official release!

Sasuke Shinden: teacher’s star pupil

By Jun Esaka (and Masashi Kishimoto)

Chapter five

“‘If you die for the Purple Moon Religion you can go to heaven’, sensei said.

What about me?

I’ve always, always lived thinking about the Purple Moon Religion only. I’ve been resented by my sensei and my brethrens as a traitor, but I wanted to behave normally thinking on my own way.

Does god know? Or will he send me to hell, just like my sensei?

It doesn’t matter. Anyhow, the sense is clear already.”

— She thought, and yet…

Lily, who had come to her senses, looked at the surface of the water that crossed her dark field of vision diagonally, and understood that the place she was in was neither heaven nor hell. The thing that was diagonal wasn’t the surface of the water, but her own body. Apparently the thing she was lying on now wasn’t the floor, but a wall. She could see a ceiling divided by a fluorescent light in a place immediately above her on the right, if she extended her hand.

Really, she couldn’t believe she had the devil’s own luck.

Even if she had jumped inside the ship, which had broken in two and was sinking, someway and for some reason she ended up surviving.

«Did you wake up?»

«Wah!»

At the voice that came from behind her, Lily instinctively jumped up. When she turned around, blue eyes free from worry were staring at her.

Uzumaki Boruto.

The opponent she had deceived many times and had tried to use.

«…you saved me?»

«Yep.» Boruto answered nonchalantly. «Don’t move too much. I don’t know where and for what kind of movement it will break.»

Lily looked around her. Apparently, at the moment the two of them were inside an air pocket, which had formed in the upper part of an inclined cabin.

«Since the surface of the sea hasn’t moved for a little while, I don’t think we’ll sink more than this. Well, if we wait, Uncle Sasuke will rescue us.»

«You have faith in him, don’t you.»

«I guess so. He’s my teacher.»

At that point, the conversation stopped.

Lily sat down bending her knees in the narrow space between the surface of the sea and the wall, and for some reason she gazed at the wreckage of the containers and the pieces of wood that were floating around.

Next to her, Boruto was constantly paying attention to any single move Lily made, even if he was pretending to be indifferent.

“…why did this kid save me?”

«Say, why is it called ‘Purple Moon Religion’?» Boruto suddenly asked out of the blue.

«Eh?»

«I mean, usually, the moon is yellow, right? Despite this, why is it ‘Purple Moon’?»

«So it seems.» Lily answered, looking in front of her. «In the area of the ocean that surrounds the island I’ve been raised in, when autumn comes plankton procreate all at once, and the sea becomes reddish. When that time comes, it seems that the moon that reflects on the surface of the sea is tinged purple. The shape of the purple full moon clad in white-crested waves and flickering in the surface of the sea is beautiful… and our ancestors found the presence of god there. That was the beginning of the Purple Moon Religion.»

Even if she didn’t feel obliged to talk or whatsoever, when she had been asked about her hometown she was happy, and she unintentionally ended up explaining too much.

«Eeh, is that so–» Boruto, who didn’t know that Lily regretted doing so in her chest, was in a simple-minded admiration.

«Really? You guys like the night sky, right?»

«Eh?»

«Because also those earring holes look like a constellation.»

«…»

Lily fell silent, and immerged her palm in the surface of the sea. She moved it from side to side, making the surface of the water tremble from below.

The skin of Lily’s fingertips was wrinkled just like after a burn, and had swelled in a spiral shape.

At the shape of her skin, Boruto remembered. He had read that a mark of electric current appears like that because of the heat released when the human body conducts electric current. If he remember correctly, the name was—

«Thunder mark*…» Boruto muttered unintentionally, and Lily gave him a glance, and then she nodded.

«That’s right. You’ve already discovered it, but manoeuvring other people’s body with physical electric current is my signature move. I’ve escaped also from house confinement like this. This thunder mark appeared during my training.»

«This power isn’t a kekkei genkai, right?»

«I learned it by myself.»

Lily took out her palm from the surface of the sea, and continued while shaking it and scattering water drops all around.

«In order to study this technique alone, I needed to practice sending out electric currents into people in practice. Day after day, I kept discharging electric currents on my sensei’s body. —I began practising when I was nine, and when I finally mastered it, I was fourteen.»

«And, your sensei?»

«My father. As the one in top position in the Purple Moon Religion, he was my sensei.»

Thinking back about those days, even now the core of her body became heavy.

It had been an unreasonable training.

The young Lily cried for the fact she discharged electric currents on her own father’s body. When Lily did so, her sensei had often hit her until she cried no more, and forced her to train. He was a person that would gladly offer his body for his daughter’s growth.

That training, which amounted to five years, was hellish days. The immature Lily wasn’t very capable of controlling the Lightning Release, and had also happened that she stopped her sensei’s heart using a strong electric current, but her sensei was happy even for that.

“You have a talent for Lightning Release. That’s a talent bestowed by god to serve the Purple Moon Religion” — her sensei used to say, and his smiling face was free from worry, even innocent.

“In those days, probably sensei had already planned an attack on the neighbouring countries”, she thought. “Maybe he hadn’t been sane for a long time. Or maybe — perhaps the Lighting Release I kept discharging on my sensei had ended up making him strange.”

«It had been decided that I, who had mastered how to manipulate the organic electric current, would be sent to the Village Hidden in the Leaves. At that point, I had a breakdown with my sensei. First of all, I claimed that I had to create a tactic to gain a social position, becoming familiar with the village. A mangaka or an actress, or an idol. They told me I had to become a presence like that, who everyone lent an ear to, and then I should have informed them about the Purple Moon Religion. However, my sensei…»

Lily lowered the tone of her voice. «He didn’t want a way that would take time. The one my sensei wanted to send to the Land of Fire wasn’t an evangelist who would spend time persuading the society, but a spy that would bring damages quickly and easily. We quarrelled many times, and then… in the end, I escaped alone from the island.»

«Then you came to Konoha, and became an idol, right? Then, the matter of the explosion in the Thunder Train…»

«Yeah. I was on board, so it had been targeted. Sensei himself led the elite force. However, as a result, I didn’t die in that accident, and sensei died instead.»

«Died?»

Boruto frowned.

«He fought against your teacher and the others, and got involved in a technique of one of his comrades.»

That time Lily, who had been thrown outside by a member of the Purple Moon Religion, had been rescued by Sasuke, and then she had witnessed his corpse becoming a skewer on the ceiling. The man with the bib, who had his body pierced by a steel pole and had died — obviously, he was Lily’s ‘sensei’.

«I knew they would aim at me again, so I thought I would use it against them. Then, I asked you guys to be my bodyguard.»

«…because you thought that we would fail?»

«No. Because you were the Hokage’s son.»

Boruto made a puzzled expression.

«Using you, I intended to revel the fact that you were my substitute in front of the audience’s eyes. If it had turned out that the Hokage’s son had messed up the live performance of an adult idol, you wouldn’t have avoided a public bashing. I thought that pointing the spear of the bashing towards the ninjas that protected the village would be tied together with the downfall of the national power of the Land of Fire, that was the symbol of prosperity, rather than killing civilians indiscriminately.»

«That was your goal at the beginning, right?»

«Since I had failed at the live performance, I followed you in the ship, thinking that I’d make you destroy the ship this time. I knew that you would search the inside of the boat with the Sharingan at the very beginning, so… after checking that you were on the move, I went inside the ship.»

«So you controlled me again.»

Lily shrugged, and nodded.

Haa, Boruto sighed, looked at Lily as if he was disgusted, and complained: «Did you really think that you could crush Konoha with such a coward means? If you have the energy to attack other people, use it to develop yourself.»

«That’s a fair argument.»

Lily cast her eyes down. «However, people act on their feelings. Even I don’t think that I’m right. But the loyalty towards my birthplace was the only thing I inherited from my sensei, so after all I couldn’t abandon them until the very end.»

«Even if your ‘sensei’ wanted to kill you?»

«Yes.» Lily nodded, and suddenly she leaned against the wall, losing her strength. Maybe because she had confessed she felt guilty, for a while she felt like she was about to choke. Even so, Lily continued to tell Boruto her true feelings in between shallow breaths.

«Education is important. We, who are born just like monkeys, lead a rich and cultural life because we receive the accumulation of knowledge our ancestors have acquired. …For better or for worse, we can’t escape from the education we receive from our parents and our society.»

«—Could you kill a comrade, if your religion told you to do so?»

«Of course.» Lily replied immediately.

«I think that also the way we die is an honour. Because if you die fighting for spreading the teachings of the Purple Moon Religion, you can go to heaven.»

«I don’t understand well…» Boruto, who was listening to Lily’s story looking weird, said.

«However, it’s quite…» he searched for the right words, and slowly continued: «I mean… entrusting the fact that you live or die to a religion, is quite… sneaky.»

“Sneaky?” Lily tilted her head, looking curious.

Boruto continued, faltering, as if it was hard for him to speak.

«Also shinobi are changing with the epoch, you know. Everyone, like my dad and the school principal, say so. They say that things like the recent policy of restricting without killing the enemies as much as possible was unthinkable in the past. But they say that the epoch became peaceful and they could afford to do it, so it was decided that a thing like that was possible. They say that also shinobi are changing with the epoch. …it’s a story of before I was born, so I don’t know well though.»

Boruto lifted his face. The eyes he had inherited from his father, but that were brighter than his father’s, stared straight at Lily.

«Doing so, mixing old things to new things, just the things that we adapted to the ones we’ve received are left, right? …I don’t understand well though.»

«For me…»

Lily took a short breath. «This way of talking is very difficult to accept. Because I’ve been raised being taught the message of protecting the teachings we have inherited in many centuries.»

«…I understand a bit also the feelings of thinking like that.» Boruto talked intermittently while staring at the dark water. «I hate things like science a lot, too. I thought that I would never come to like it. However, I’ve been taught many things by Uncle Sasuke, and, like, I came to think that it wasn’t that much of a disagreeable thing. …There are still a lot of things I can’t accept though. That’s why…»

«What? Do you want to say that since you changed, I can change as well?»

«It’s not, that, I’m saying that…»

Boruto spoke ambiguously.

“I hate science. This feeling hasn’t changed. However, even so, I have to find a compromise maybe” — he had decided to think like that after Sasuke had become Team Seven’s teacher.

«—the difference of education.» Lily said looking at Boruto as if she was envying him in some respects. «I wanted to try to have a free way of thinking too, just like you. However, it’s too late.»

Phew, she breathed deeply.

«I can’t change anymore. But oh well, the generation after mine, surely, will adapt. …I want to believe so.»

That moment, knock-knock, someone knocked on the other side of the ceiling.

«Boruto? Are you there?»

It was Mitsuki’s voice.

Boruto sidled up towards the ceiling, relieved.

«Mitsuki! I’m here!»

«You sound safe. And Lily?»

«…I’m here.» Lily answered awkwardly.

«Good. You two, listen well.»

The voice of the Mitsuki beyond the ceiling began talking rapidly. «Right now, the situation is that this ship won’t sink, since its surroundings have been frozen with Sasuke-san’s Ice Release. But it looks like a big hole has opened in a fuel tank. There’s the fear that if goes on like this, the oil will flow out in the sea.»

«Are you serious!?»

«Well then, soon this ship will jump. When ten seconds pass after the ship jumps up, can you escape making a Rasengan under you?»

Boruto and Lily instinctively exchanged glances, frightened by the situation.

“What did he say? The ship will jump?”

*****

«Awesome… it really froze…»

The muscles of Sarada’s spine were trembling for the cold air that had risen up. A huge lump of ice was floating on the sea, wrapping the ship all around. She looked down from the side of the boat, bending forward, and she felt like it was an optical illusion in which she was stranding on the top of a huge iceberg.

«Wasn’t the water that contains salt difficult to freeze?» she asked, turning around towards her father, who was standing on the deck, and «You know well.» Sasuke said as if to praise her.

«It’s not that you can’t freeze seawater. First of all you produce fresh water with a Water Release, and then you turn this water into ice.»

«Turn water into ice, you said… how?»

«It’s a matter of imagination. The situation in which the molecules of water are linked to each other and tremble is ‘water’. Then, if the fellow molecules are tied together more strongly than that, they turn into ‘ice’.» Sasuke said, and turned the palm of his hand up. From the spaces between his fingers, water started overflowing and fell around just like a fountain. Immediately after that, it turned into ice instantaneously.

«Conversely, if the molecules begin moving separating from one another, that’s “steam”.»

Acting according to Sasuke’s words, the frozen water suddenly began dissolving. It turned into water in the blink of an eye, and it evaporated before their eyes without leaving even one drop of water.

«It disappeared…»

«It’s a technique that puts Water Release into practical use. A man called Haku I’ve met before created ice using the nature transformation of Wind and Water at the same time, but that was a special technique possible only to the clan that owned that kekkei genkai. However, even if you don’t have a kekkei genkai you can make this much, depending on training.»

«I see. This explanation was quite easy to understand considering your standards, Papa.»

In response to Sarada, who had cracked a joke, Sasuke smiled a little.

«We’ll begin soon.»

«Ye–s» Sarada answered, and ran to the prow. A huge anchor was hanging from the point of the prow.

«Can I take it?»

“Don’t overdo it” Sasuke started to say, and suddenly his expression softened. Because he had caught sight of Sarada’s figure lifting the anchor with both her hands.

«This much is no problem.»

«You got it from your mother.»

Sarada smiled proudly at Sasuke, who had said that smiling somewhat radiantly. Anyhow she heavily raised the anchor, heave-ho, and carried it on her shoulder.

There was a chain attached to the tip of the anchor, and it was tied to the prow. The chain and the metal fittings had been strengthened since they had been frozen with Sasuke’s Ice Release.

«Papa, around where should I throw it?»

«Throw it wherever you like. I’ll act accordingly.»

While trusting those over-reassuring words, Sarada held the anchor.

It was a challenging father-daughter Lorentz Gun. However, the thing that would be hurled wasn’t a kunai, but the anchor of a ship. They were working out a way to move and hurl the anchor with the ship and all with the Lorentz Gun, making it explode in midair and dealing with it. If they burned it completely with very high-temperature flames, they would end up just with the damage of ashes pouring down on the surface of the sea slightly. It would be better than oil leaking out in the sea.

Sasuke suddenly turned towards the deck, which had become all floppy. That utterly idiotic girl who had jumped on her own accord inside a crack of the deck and that stupid** who had followed after her without caring about his own life should be somewhere in the frozen ship. He had to save them at any cost, and tell him not to do any stupid thing. —As his teacher.

Sarada, who was standing on a fence of the prow, took the anchor with both her hands and lifted it till her shoulders.

«I’m going, Papa!»

«Whenever you want.»

Firmly lowering her waist and breathing in, Sarada threw the anchor with all her might.

«Shannaro—!»

The steel anchor flew straight upwards, pulling the chain with it.

Aiming at the point of its trajectory, Sasuke emitted two electric currents from the palm he was holding up over hid head.

The moment the electric currents, which were flying while popping with a crackling sound, hit it directly, the anchor was blown away with a speed that couldn’t be seen with naked eyes. The chain that was tied to the tip of the anchor stretched with a violent force, and strained to the maximum point. The cluster of ice that had hardened around the ship made a creaking noise.

Then, a moment later — the ice was smashed up, and the ship itself floated up gently.

The sky was getting gradually closer. The gravity in Sarada’s body increased, she staggered, and Sasuke supported her body with one arm.

The huge ship slid on the sky, letting itself be dragged by the anchor that had been blown away.

*****

When they thought they were feeling as if their stomach was floating, a terrific gravity hit them.

Boruto took Lily under one arm, and counted ten seconds like Mitsuki had said while using kunai pierced on the wall and the ceiling as foothold. He also didn’t forget to gather chakra on his hand, and prepare a Rasengan.

«6…7…8…»

In addition, the ship, which was on the verge of collapsing, unable to sustain the weight and the speed, was jarring here and there with a creaking sound. It was just a matter of time before it broke down.

«9…»

10!

Boruto moulded chakra in the shape of an air turbulence, and drove it right under him with full power.

—Rasengan!!

With a thunderous roar that split his eardrums, the lower half of the ship burst open. He felt like Lily, whom he was carrying under his arm, had emitted a terrified shriek, but he couldn’t hear anything. The broken pieces of the ship, which had broken into fragments, scattered in all directions and fell.

And then, also Boruto and Lily did.

Below him, far off in his field of vision, the deep black sea was spreading.

While falling down carrying Lily, Boruto observed the surface of the sea.

In a faraway place, there was a thing that looked like an ice shelf. The departure point of the ship that had jumped up must have been there.

On a narrow bridge of ice that extended from the ice, a human figure that looked like Mitsuki was carefreely waving his hand towards them. Next to him, the purple-clothed men who had got into the ship had been tied in a bunch.

If he managed to avoid the frozen places, and yet create a cushion firing a Wind Release towards the sea surface right before landing on the water, he would suffer no harm. The problem was the fact that he wasn’t alone, but he had to protect himself together with Lily’s body.

Whether Boruto could kill the momentum force with a Wind Release without being ripped apart was a bet. —However…

«I have no choice but doing it ‘ttebasa…»

The moment Boruto had strengthened his resolve, suddenly there was an explosion above him.

When he turned towards it, taken aback, the ship, which was exploding with a force as if it was reaching the moon, was being destroyed by a large fire. The thing that was burning it black were pitch-black flames that wouldn’t disappear until they burned it all. It was Sasuke’s Blaze Release: Kagutsuchi.

He didn’t even have to make sure that the human figures that had jumped out of the burning ship were Sasuke and Sarada.

While carrying Sarada under his right arm, Sasuke made the stunt of catching up with Boruto while regulating the air resistance with his chakra. Tossing Sarada in a place next to Boruto, he held out his right hand towards Boruto.

«Boruto, hand me Lily.»

At Boruto, who had suddenly made an expression of hesitation, Sasuke smiled a little and «Don’t worry, you won’t regret it.» he added.

«…really?»

«Yeah. You don’t believe your teacher’s words?»

«This way of talking…»

“…is sneaky”, Boruto muttered, and passed Lily to Sasuke. Maybe for the excessive fright, Lily had fainted.

«Papa, the surface of the sea!» Sarada yelled. They had to soften the impact of the water landing, so the three of them fired a Wind Release towards the sea. The sudden gust they fired indented greatly the level of the sea.

And then — there was one huge sheet of spray. Then, two small sheet of spray.

They rose up at the same time with a splash.

~end of chapter 5~

NOTES:

*雷紋 raimon.

**ウスラトンカチ usuratonkachi, classic Sasuke-style insult.

I don’t know about you guys but all this Sasuke smiling is kinda scaring me. I mean, I’ve loved this novel so far because it touches a lot of interesting subjects (the difficult relationship with the older generations, the awful feeling of a public bashing, many things I sadly didn’t have time to ramble about as much as I would have liked to do). But it seems like Sasuke is so frigging happy all the time, so different from the aloof-from-the-world-Sasuke I’m used to see in the manga. AdultHappySasuke is quickly becoming the thing that scares me the most, right next to AdultSeriousNaruto.

Anyway, let's head to the epilogue, shall we?

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Epilogue

Boruto and the others were looking up towards a big screen in a crossing of the new town.

«…then, Sasuke-san’s decision of stopping the live performance was right?»

«For Konoha’s citizens, it was. Because I had the hunch that the guys of the radical party would make an act of battle in the venue of the live performance that time. If I had continued the live performance like that, there would surely be casualties.»

«Also you, Lily-san, were friend of that gang, right?»

«I was, in the past. I had withdrawn for a difference of opinions, but even after then I kept having a grudge against the Hokage, and sometimes I had planned to mine his authority.»

«Was that a reason also of becoming an idol?»

«Yes. It’s like you say.»

The one who was having an interview on the big screen that looked down on the crossing was Himeno Lily. The fact that even if she was a celebrity, a person that had committed a severe crime had been allowed a live interview was an extremely exceptional measure.

«Seriously, Lily was a criminal, that’s horrible. I was a supporter of hers.»

«How could I put it, I thought Sasuke was a good guy from the very beginning. There’s no way he’d be bad in spite of the fact he’s such a good-looking mister.»

«Me too~ I mean, he’s super cute, and he’s also very strong, ain’t he?»

«I trust Lily though. This was a shinobi conspiracy, Lily has only been used!»

At the different opinions those who passed by voiced, Boruto unconsciously made a bitter smile.

This time’s interview was something that had been realised according to Lily’s petition. She wanted to solve the misunderstanding of the public opinion concerning the latest matter in a public place — at this request, all the shinobi had tilted their heads, wondering how the heck the ringleader that had caused the uproar to begin with had had such a change of heart.

They were worried of letting an influential person like Lily say reckless things during a live programme, and maybe also broadcasting a criminal on TV would be an offence. On the side of these careful reasons, the upper reaches of course had rejected Lily’s request, but the Hokage himself had overruled the decision of the upper reaches authorizing the request with a top-down, and it resulted in the live appearance being realised.

«Somehow, Lily has even more room than before.»

At Sarada’s words, also Boruto nodded.

«She’s making such a carefree face ‘ttebasa.»

Lily, who was doing the interview sitting on a sofa, wasn’t wearing her dress full of frills and ribbons, but a simple unbleached shirt and jeans. Her hair was her real short cut, and the earring holes lined on her ear weren’t hidden anymore. It was a completely different impression from the idol Himeno Lily, and it felt tidy.

«…the fact that my plan failed was because the shinobi of Konoha had interfered. Also the ones that rescued me, who was in despair and was trying to die, were shinobi. I wanted to convey my feeling of gratitude towards them… The fact that I wanted to solve the public opinion’s misunderstanding about Sasuke-san is the reason I suggested this interview.»

The fact that the ringleader of the recent matter descended from the Purple Moon Religion hadn’t been reported. That was the Hokage’s disposition as well.

Apparently, the Hokage had no intention of denying the community of the Purple Moon Religion itself, and wanted to research a mutual understanding instead. The members of the Purple Moon religion had to destroy their exclusive dogmas, and change completely their relations with the outside world so that they would protect their religious faith from now on. The Hokage hoped that Lily would become a mediator for it. Practically, Lily’s testimony was very helpful for the capture of the remnants of the radical faction.

«Apparently the people of the Purple Moon Island have reacted quickly and unexpectedly to this matter.» Mitsuki said looking up to the big screen. «The recent affair was just the radical party gone on a rampage… Apparently, it’s not that all the members of the Purple Moon Religion bear a grudge against the Land of Fire.»

«We should coexist somehow, but… it’s a hope, with the orders of the Hokage and the Mizukage.» Sarada said, and looking suddenly at her wristwatch, «Ah, damnit!» she shouted.

«If we don’t go soon, Konohamaru-sensei will leave!»

«Crap, let’s go, quickly!»

Sarada and Mitsuki followed after Boruto, who had rushed before them.

*****

Konohamaru stood on his feet, which didn’t need the crutches anymore, and was looking down on the courtyard from a window. The thing that was raising steam from his mug was the black coffee he had deliberately made more carefully than usual. While smelling the fragrant scent of freshly ground beans and tasting the deep bitterness that permeated his body, Konohamaru was celebrating his complete restoration.

A gentle breeze that escaped from the window softly brushed his cheeks.

The comfortable time of an adult filled with silence — the ones who grandly destroyed it were his usual beloved students.

«Ko–no–ha–ma–ru-sensei—!! We came to see you dattebasa—!!»

«It’s too late, idiot. Today I’ll be discharged from hospital.»

He was as loud as ever.

Turning around with an amazed expression, Konohamaru placed the mug on the side table with a thud.

«We know, that’s why we came.» Sarada, who had entered the hospital room after Boruto, held some familiar paper bag at the height of her face, and smiled. «This time we wanted to make you eat the strawberry daifuku.»

«It’s a congratulatory gift for leaving the hospital.» Mitsuki added, closing the door with one hand.

Hearing “strawberry daifuku”, Konohamaru’s expression was faintly shaken.

«R-really. Well, since you came all the way here, sit down and make yourself at ease kore…»

The three of them, who had already sat down before they had been suggested to do so, cheerfully opened the box of strawberry daifuku. A bittersweet scent gently spread inside the room. Since they would end up eating them all if they had bought too much, today they had bought just one per each person.

«Thank you for the food!»

Boruto and the others immediately took one strawberry daifuku each, and stuffed their cheeks.

Pleasantly looking at the figure of his happy students, also Konohamaru stretched his hand towards the last strawberry daifuku left. That moment—

Knock-knock.

The sound of a dry knock.

«Please, come in~» Boruto answered of his own accord. The one who showed himself from the shadow of the door was Sasuke.

At the appearance of that unexpected guest, Konohamaru straightened up his back.

«I heard you’ll be discharged from the hospital today. I cam to see how you were doing before you leave.»

«I’m fine, thank you! I’ll quickly go back to my missions starting tomorrow kore!»

«Is that so.»

«Uncle Sasuke, do you want to eat a strawberry daifuku!?»

Since Boruto had held out the only strawberry daifuku left without hesitation, Konohamaru almost shouted.

“Boruto… that’s my strawberry daifuku…!”

«No, I’ll pass. I don’t like sweet things.»

Sasuke shook his head. «Also nattō*.» Sarada added.

«Is that so. What a pity… well then, I’ll eat it.»

As soon as he said so, Boruto tossed the strawberry daifuku into his mouth.

“Aaah…” Konohamaru unconsciously let out a sigh. The strawberry daifuku had already disappeared into Boruto’s mouth.

“My strawberry daifuku…”

Konohamaru, who was desperate for a moment, pulled himself together thinking that it was no place to fuss over a daifuku, since the famous Uchiha Sasuke had come to visit him.

«Uncle Sasuke, are you going somewhere again?» Boruto asked, and «Yeah.» Sasuke nodded.

«Looks like this time’s mission will take a little longer.»

«Papa, be careful.» Sarada said brightly, and tightly clutched the hem of Sasuke’s cloak.

Part of her felt proud of her father, who protected the village. —But also the other half was mere bravado.

She wasn’t anxious anymore thinking about her father’s absence, like before. Because she truly felt that she was being protected by her father, even now that the Village Hidden in the Leaves was peaceful.

Nevertheless, sometimes she felt lonely for the fact that her father wasn’t with her, even if it was because of a mission.

Sarada bitterly looked up at her father’s expressionless face.

“We should communicate a little bit more when he comes back home once in a while. Always with that expressionless face, I can’t understand if he’s kind or not — really, what is Papa thinking all the time?”

«…Papa.»

«Mh.»

With a sudden prankster heart, Sarada slightly pulled Sasuke’s cloak, and tried to say: «You’ve got some of Mama’s lipstick on your lips.»

«…»

After a short silence, Sasuke, still expressionless, slowly wiped his lips, where there was nothing, with his thumb. Apparently he had a clue.

«That’s a lie. Mama doesn’t wear lipstick…»

«…»

Sasuke only made a somewhat sour face, and lowered his arm. Even if he was strong like a demon when there was a fight, she felt she loved dearly that father that fell so simply for a small lie.

“My Papa is cooler than anybody, and sometimes also cute.”

«Hey, Papa. When it comes to Mama, you feel quite shaken, don’t you?»

«Sarada…»

Sasuke leaned over Sarada as if he was worried, and thud, he poked her forehead with a finger.

«We’ll talk about that another time.»

Taking that chance, he wiped the anko left around the corner of her mouth. Somehow happy for just that thing, Sarada held her forehead, bashful.

«Ah!»

Boruto, who had peeked into the box of strawberry daifuku, shouted discouraged. «Damnit ‘ttebasa… today we bought only four, so there are no more left for Konohamaru-sensei ‘ttebasa–!»

Being exhausted for the fact that he had noticed just now, Konohamaru waved his hand.

«Ah, no problem, no problem. I’ve already given up on you giving me some. I’ll buy them by myself.»

However, Boruto stood up kicking away the chair, and «I’ll go and buy them again ‘ttebasa!» he doggedly opposed.

«If I wait in line from now on, I could still make it!»

«Oi oi, calm down. I’m not really…»

«Okay. We haven’t eaten enough, too!» Sarada said cheerfully, and turned towards Mitsuki. «Let’s go, Mitsuki!»

“They want to eat more?”

Leaving Konohamaru alone, who was dumbfounded at how much children in their growth period eat, the children noisily left the hospital room. Only the two adults were left in the room, and it became suddenly quiet.

Konohamaru sipped his coffee, which had turned completely cold, and looked towards Sasuke with a bitter smile.

«What noisy fellows. With them as your pupils, it must have been tiresome.»

«Yeah. …no.»

Sasuke gazed towards the door through which Boruto and the others had left, and a tender smile floated on his face, strangely enough for that man. «It was rather fun. Being able to pass down to the next generation the knowledge you have. I don’t know what they think about it, though.»

«Don’t be modest. Boruto and the others think that it was a fantastic experience.»

At Konohamaru’s words, Sasuke suddenly softened his expression.

“The village Hidden in the Leaves’ legendary ninja Uchiha Sasuke, as strong as a demon, always cool and collected. However, he might have become a liiittle mellower than the past” — Konohamaru couldn’t help but think so.

Then, the fact that Sasuke had changed could be an effect of Sarada, Mitsuki and Boruto, the next generation.

«…Sasuke-senpai. Be careful in your next mission.»

«Yeah, I leave them to you.»

As soon as Sasuke, who had turned around leaving that message, left the hospital room, something bumped into his stomach with a thud. “Mh?” When he lowered his gaze, it was Boruto.

«What’s the matter. Did you forget something?»

«No, it’s not that I forgot something… I mean, there’s something I forgot to say.»

Boruto averted his eyes as if it was difficult to speak. Wondering what that usually straightforward boy was so hesitant about, Sasuke tilted his head and asked: «Does your stomach hurt?»

«It’s not that! It’s not that, err…»

Boruto averted his eyes again, but then he suddenly looked up to Sasuke as if he had finally taken a resolution.

«Hey, hey! Since I still can’t do the things you taught me, Uncle Sasuke… when you come back, I want you to become my teacher again dattebasa!»

Receiving a surprise attack at those unexpected words, Sasuke faintly opened his eyes. In the small face that was looking up straight at him, there were the features of his long-lasting best friend.

«Yeah. I’ll surely come back. So, you too—»

«Of course! I’ll absolutely become stronger than now, just wait ‘ttebasa!»

The two exchanged looks, and then they smiled at the same time.

Sasuke to a new mission, Boruto to his everyday training. With the things they had mutually been given as their food, each one in his own way of doing, they were going to protect the peace of the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

Even if in different places, since they shared the same belief, the time would come in which they’d cross their paths once again — that time, surely, again as master and student.

~end of the novel!~

NOTES:

*Fermented soybeans.

Noticed something? It took me some time but, after I while I was staring at the empty ending page, I finally realised…

Lily’s song lyrics were a freaking red herring!

Geez and I kept asking myself what the meaning behind ‘masshumaro’ was, and why Sarada reacted that way… all for nothing. We’ll never know. Anyway.

Seeing Konohamaru being all grown up and his team messing around never ceases to give me an inner boost of joy T^T

As usual, if you missed some of the chapters, just send me an ask or private message with your email address, and I'll reply with the chapters you ask~

EDIT: Ah, most importantly: I'll keep this online for three weeks (if I remember to delete it after that much time), okay? Okay.

EDIT 2: Another side note, I'll probably disappear once again for a month or so - I've just started studying again, and I'm already falling behind my own schedule "orz

#sasuke shinden #translations #sasuke shinde chapter 5 #sasuke shinden epilogue #sorrrrrry for the delayyyyy #naruto novels

319 notes · View notes

raccoonmooon · 4 years ago

Text

the poison, drunk

Dipping my toe into writing! Have a WTNC fic!

Post pledge ending, the hunter does not tell anyone when they leave Lunaris. The hunter's sister (who is a hunter herself) acquires a lingering injury, and decides to take the time off to visit her sibling. Instead she finds a mystery, and a town full of people who's help she will need to solve it.

categories: angst, hurt / comfort, eventual happy ending, maybe the hunter can have a little redemption arc, as a treat, two hunters, divergence from canon epilogue | pairings: August / F!Hunter, Finnzra, Finnzra / nb!Hunter | fic rating: explicit | content warnings (this chapter): canon-typical violence | word count: 1,635 | read on AO3

Chapter 1/? | i'll send a storm

chapter summary- A hunt goes wrong, Finn makes tea badly

...Seven...eight...nine heartbeats and a roll of distant thunder filtered through the trees, closer than she’d prefer. Rowan scanned the forest in front of her, the full, newly risen moon illuminating tall conifers scarred with layers of claw marks. She moved with a renewed confidence in the direction her senses were pulling her.

Keane huffed "That glare might leave demons shakin’ in their boots but it’s not gonna turn the storm." The weatherbeaten old witch was scarred as the trees they were passing through, with glinting eyes under bushy grey brows. "We’re ending this night soaked to the bone no matter how fast we trot."

He kept pace regardless, heavy boots muffled by the thick layer of pine needles and other decaying detritus that made up the forest floor. The air felt just as padded, pregnant with the approaching thunderhead. She ducked under a branch with tufts of cinnabar orange fur stuck in the bark.

"I’d rather finish the job before the clouds steal our moonlight Enforcer. Wasn’t exactly a short hike up here and now we’re in the beast’s territory it’s not likely to give us a night to wait out the weather."

It had, in fact, taken them just over a week to track the creature here from the rustic little town she’d been assigned to the last three years. A harsh winter had drawn it down out of it’s remote stomping grounds and into the range of people. And even with the arrival of spring, now that it knew easier prey was a short flight away, there was no guarantee it wouldn’t come back.

"Eh, least the wind’ll keep it grounded" he growled "An’ how many times have I told you to call me Keane?"

Rowan huffed a laugh in response, letting the discussion rest. For a while the only sounds were increasingly frequent peals of thunder and the susurrus of trees in the storm’s downdraft drowning out their breath and footfalls.

She slowed as they approached a clearing cast in darkening moonlight, and let her hand fall to the handle of her axe as a four-legged figure padded into view. The barbaric semblance of a human face snarled at them out of a thick mane of matted red fur. The over sized body tensed and threw massive leathery wings up into an obvious threat display, while a tail tipped with a chitinous, scorpion-like stinger lashed behind it. The manticore crouched back, sizing the distance and preparing to leap.

Rowan readied her axe, flashing silver in a burst of lightning that briefly threw the clearing into sharp relief. The ground was littered with shredded wood and scattered carcasses in various states of decay, the smell of which failed to entirely drown out the musty scent of the beast itself. Beside her, Keane visibly centered himself and the air took on a biting chill as an icy mist rose in the clearing and his eyes were overtaken by a cold light.

They moved apart swiftly as darting fish, and the creature’s massive bulk landed in the space now between them with an impact she could feel in her teeth. Keane drew its attention with a flashy burst of spiked ice to its face.

"Well this fellow’s scarred as an old tom isn’t he?" the witch laughed as the beast whipped around to face him with a snarl.

He was indeed, the shaggy lion’s pelt marred with dozens of scars, and the heavy wings were ragged at the edges. But Rowan was focused on the tail, which she ducked out of the way to avoid as the creature spun. Segmented red chitin leading to a wickedly curved tip coming down from the bulbous final segment. Both of them had little vials of the anti-venin potion she’d prepared for the trip, but that didn’t guarantee they’d be fast enough to get it down if struck, certainly not without permanent damage. So it remained the manticore’s deadliest feature, and her first task was to remove it.

Keane continued to back away as he threw another volley of ice at the thing. Rowan waited for it to pull back its tail to strike, near parallel with the ground, and brought her axe down between two of the segments as it sprung back up, neatly splitting the top few from the rest and sending them spinning uselessly through the clearing.

The manticore turned back on her with outstretched claws swung wildly in her direction and an earsplitting yowl louder than any cat she’d ever had the misfortune to hear.

She called back to Keane, "About as subtle as a tomcat as well yeah?" It bared leonine teeth at her in an angry hiss, three rows on top and bottom, and prepared for another swing.

Rowan jumped back, rather than to the side, the thick mane would deter a blow to the neck, and its face was the next best option for a clean kill. But rather than the swipe of claws she expected, it took a flying leap over her head, knocking her down with its hind paws, bouncing off the massive pine behind her and flapping some twenty meters up a tree on the other side of the clearing. It clung to the bark with straining claws and the approaching storm whipped its mane around its face as it roared down at them, fully pissed off.

She pulled herself back to her feet, coat flapping around her calves, and unholstered her flintlock pistol, it was out of range no matter how well she aimed.

"Can you do something about that?" she shouted over the wind at Keane.

The witch focused up at the tree and some ways below the yowling beast, a pale mist settled around the bark. After a few moments there was a great cracking sound, loud as a gunshot, and that part of the tree shattered, the top half with the manticore on it tilted towards them, seemingly in slow motion.

"TIMBER!" Keane shouted, darting farther away from the falling tree, Rowan ran backwards in the opposite direction, trying to keep her eyes on the manticore, trapped by the falling branches. Her boot hit something that crunched and she felt a sharp pain in her calf, she looked down horrified to see the manticore’s envenomed stinger at her feet. Fuck.

She needed to take the antivenom now but the tree crashed to the ground between her and Keane, and five hundred kilos of manticore began flailing to try and free itself from the branches pressing it to the ground. There wasn’t time. Rowan leapt forward, running along a thick branch to the trunk where she could get a good look at the beast, it saw her approach and let out a final unnatural yowl that abruptly cut off with the crack of her pistol.

The manticore went limp just as Rowan’s leg gave out, she landed tangled in branches and pulled the little vial from the leather pouch at her waist. She could hear Keane calling for her as she ripped the stopper out with her teeth. She downed the bitter, red liquid in one mouthful, and things started to get a bit blurry as the sky finally opened up, instantly drenching her.

OOO

Far away, moonlight poured through a kitchen window as Finnegan Kazimir struggled to make a cup of tea. Which one was it he’d seen Ezra reach for after a hard day in the shop? The blue and yellow tin that smelt of mint and earth? Finn was unsure, he didn’t often pay attention to such things when Ezra was in the room. The kettle screamed, and decision made he pulled down the tin and yanked the horrible thing off the heat.

Sitting at the little wooden table he watched what should have been the cheery gold of the tea, warp to a sickly yellow in the shadowed light, spreading in tendrils through clear water like poison through-

Finn shut his eyes and thought of the bright life of his love upstairs, warm, safe, close, and too distracted by fresh grief to make himself the cup of tea darting thoughts told Finn he wanted. He settled and let each moment pass as the tea steeped, time would fix this, settle wounds into scars that could be ignored like a scrap of purple fabric in a box.

OOO

Ezra stared up into the rain pounding on the window and felt cold imagining where Maro might be. He wanted to run out into the night and find them, bring them home and find a way to undo the curse they’d drunk down like it was the only option. But there wasn’t a way to undo it, there was nothing he or Finn could do, and their love was going to die alone in the cold after everything they’d fallen in love with had been stripped away. He shivered.

The creak of the bedroom door drew him out of his thoughts and he watched Finn approach the bed with distant golden eyes and a cup of tea steaming in his hands. Ezra found a smile for his love.

"You didn’t have to do that" he said.

The vampire crawled into bed beside him and slid the cup into his hands, wrapping his own tea warmed palms around Ezra’s and holding them against the gentle heat as he leaned in to press a kiss to his forehead in lieu of a response.

They settled against each other and Ezra took a sip of the tea, a lovely calming blend with strong notes of peppermint and chamomile, drowned out by far, far too much honey, even for him, with unstrained leaves swirling about. He tucked a more genuine smile into Finn’s neck "It’s perfect, thank you." They curled closer together and listened to the rain.

#wtnc #wtnc fic #wtnc fanfic #when the night comes #august / hunter #finnzra #finn / ezra / hunter #Finnegan Kazimir #ezra lyon #august willenheim #this is my first fic #thoughts are appreciated

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occasionalfics · 6 years ago

Text

worth my while // p. 11

main masterlist | thor masterlist | ko-fi | p. 10 | epilogue

Summary: After being banished from his home, Thor Odinson has stopped at nothing to prove himself worthy of his throne, title, and power.

After losing the love of your life, you turned to a power you didn’t understand.You know you shouldn’t get involved.

But how could you not?

Pairing: Thor x Reader (Hercules au…kind of…)

A/N: Just one more part!

Warnings: Honestly just nostalgia and fluff finally

Words: 2,407

No one knows anything about Hades except Sam, and he only knows as much as you’ve told him. Gods notoriously don’t keep phones around - but only you know that to be a fact as well. Everyone on the team accepts it because they know Thor, who absolutely refuses to use a cellphone for whatever reason.

Weeks go by and you don’t hear anything from or about Hades or Thor. The former, you’re happy about, even though it means you have to break the lease on your apartment and find an actual mortal job.

The latter…leaves you with a heavy feeling in your heart that spreads through your limbs and makes getting out of bed in the morning almost impossible.

You do it anyway, knowing Thor wouldn’t want to have left you like this. Knowing that Tony Stark is doing you a favor by letting you live in the tower - not on the team’s residential floors, but in one of the spare rooms he keeps for high profile clients and politicians - and by giving you a job as an assistant to one of his lead engineers. You can’t be letting either of them down now, not since you’ve been granted your freedom and a second chance.

With Sam’s support and urging, you tell the whole team everything. From start - Rick’s death - to finish - the car wreck and waking up to talk to Sam. Some try to understand. Others find it difficult to forgive anyone that would use Thor like that.

You know you can’t blame them, so you avoid them instead.

You’re glad the job you’ve taken isn’t on any of the levels that the team regularly visits. Just Tony, and occasionally, his girlfriend Pepper - the actual CEO of Stark Industries. Sometimes Sam comes and takes you out for lunch, which really just consists of you going to the cafe next door because it’s usually devoid of Stark Industries employees or Avengers. It’s for the best, you figure.

One day, three months after you were mysteriously revived (no one has any answers as to how that happened, exactly), you receive an invitation to a Stark-official party. It’s a charity event, black tie, and will decidedly be missing any sign of Wilson Fisk, Victor Von Doom, Norman Osborn, or the man named Robbins from Hades’ vision board.

You’ve learned he’s a mob boss with too much time and money on his hands.

Sam convinces you to go to the party. You only accept because he’ll escort you, he’ll distract his team members for you, and he’ll be the perfect gentleman all night. You don’t know what you’ve done to deserve Sam Wilson as your best friend, but there he is. A Knight in Shining Armor. So handsome you wonder how he’s not married yet.

You dance and shmooze and drink until you can’t feel the soles of your feet anymore. Sam lets you excuse yourself on the promise that you’ll be back in ten minutes - or else he’s coming to find you.

You don’t mean to go as far as you do. You hear Friday ask you where you want to go, and you hear yourself tell her something, but you don’t actually catch the words you’ve said until she announces what floor you’ve come to.

Once you’re out on the deck, you sigh. This is the last place you held Thor. Really held him. It’s the place he told you about home, about why he was even here in the first place.

It’s the place you should have told him everything, too.

That’s your final regret: that you were never honest with him. You love him so much - he changed everything for you - but you were never, not once, real with him. He deserved so much better.

He deserves to be home. In Asgard. He deserves the crown, the throne, the Princess you’re sure he’s predestined to marry.

Thor deserves the entire universe, as far as you’re concerned. You know he has something to do with your revival, though you don’t know exactly what. You can just...feel it. And besides, which other Avenger would go to such lengths against a God they don’t know to bring you back? Maybe Sam, but no one else. No one nearly as capable of the job as Thor.

You sigh. There’s the distinct smell of Ozone in the air. You think it might rain soon. The wind is even and the stars are shining and glorious - or at least you imagine they are, beyond the light pollution of the city. The last dregs of the sunset sit on the horizon, creating a hazy, purple tint to the city skyline around you.

When you look off into the Hudson, you see something that looks awfully like a shooting star. Only, instead of its reflection moving across the water, it moves closer. It gets bigger. Somehow misses the bridge, but still manages to swerve in and out of the way of buildings as it nears.

It’s pure light, coming right for you.

This is it you think. Your comeuppance. The price you have to pay for dying and coming back to life.

Even as you accept your fate, flight takes over - you’re decidedly unprepared to fight in your floor-length golden dress and high heels. Funny how this all started with you in a similar getup, but you hardly think of that as you run to the edge of the deck and grip onto the railing as hard as you can.

The beam of light finds perch on the deck, right where you’d been standing previously. There’s a rushing sound - loud and roaring, like a waterfall - and the light shifts in color from purples to blues to pinks and yellows. Every fathomable color passes before you until it disappears suddenly, leaving only the dark night sky in its wake.

Well. The night sky, and one extremely tall, wide frame donning silver and black metal and a billowing red cape. You somehow ignore the huge patterned burn mark in the concrete floor.

Your eyes must be tricking you, you figure. This isn’t happening. Thor’s….gone. Sam told you he went home. To Asgard, where he’s always belonged.

Why would he come back to Earth when his goal had always been to prove his worthiness and be admitted home?

He confirms his presence when his eyes find you. He sighs and slides into a smile like this whole interaction has been made easier by your need for fresh air. Your stomach twists because you don’t deserve that smile. You don’t deserve him rushing toward you, looking like the universe had sculpted him for this very moment.

He calls your name and you flinch. You can’t help it. He’s spent so much of his life proving his worthiness and you’ve never done anything close - you don’t want him wasting his time and energy on you anymore. If home is what he’s always wanted, he’s got it. You have to accept that and let him go.

Thor slows, comes to a stop before you, and his face drops. “What’s wrong?” he asks.

You’re relieved and heartbroken when he doesn’t reach out to comfort you. You know you can’t have it both ways, and yet, you can’t change your mind now.

“What’re you doing here?” you whisper, hoping you don’t sound as hostile as you think you do.

His eyes can’t leave your face. “I came back for you.”

You can’t stop yourself from shaking your head. It’s not fair. That’s not fair to him. To want you? To seek you out, after everything?

“What is it?” he asks, an echo of his earlier question.

“You went home,” you tell him. “You got what you wanted. Why come back? It doesn’t make sense-”

“Because I lo-”

“Please don’t Thor.” You move past him, go to the spots his portal created on the concrete. You know Tony will be furious when he sees this, but you can’t be bothered to care. Right now, you just need Thor to go home, for the world to resume spinning on its axis as it always has and always will, whether you’re happy or not.

But he follows you. He can take two steps for every one of yours, so before you stop, he’s already walked around you.

“Why are you running away from me?” he asks, broken and confused. There’s not an ounce of anger, not even a smidge of disappointment. “I know I’ve been gone a while, but I had to leave-”

“I know you did,” you say, nothing but soft understanding in your tone. “But you belong there. Asgard. You deserve to be there, and I deserve to be here.”

“What, alone?”

“I’m not alone,” you tell him. “I have my friends. You have your family back.”

“I do. And they want to meet you.”

At that, everything stops. You force yourself to meet his eyes, mouth held agape. Joy creeps back into his expression. Even though it’s dark, nighttime, you feel like the sun is shining down on you.

“Wha- Why?” you ask him. You can’t fathom why Space Royalty would want to meet you of all people. But then again, Thor himself is Space Royalty.

He moves closer to you, and this time, you don’t back away or rush off or flinch. You just watch him, feel as he slides his fingers softly between yours. “My mother is the only one that knows it all,” he tells you. Before your heart can sink, he continues: “It was her idea to send me here for you. She wants to meet the woman who faced Death and lived to tell the tale.”

“But I didn’t. You saved me.” It sounds strange, saying it out loud. But it’s the truth, and you’re so tired of leaving lies in your wake. “I know it was you, Thor. I don’t know how, but I-”

“You weren’t meant to die, (Y/N). You threw off Death’s plan when you wrecked Tony’s car. I was only able to bring you back because it wasn’t your time.”

He brings one of your joined hands up and leaves your palm pressed against his shoulder. His free hand moves back to your face, cradles your cheek and jaw, warms your skin despite the heat of the night.

“Did…” you start, because you’re imagining a standoff between Thor and Hades and you don’t like the thought that it’s all over you. It’s not fair. “You swam through the Styx? For me?”

Just because you had never seen Hades’ true domain didn’t mean you know nothing about it.

“Of course I did,” he answers, thumb dragging along your chin.

“But...why?” You’re not worth the trouble; that’s what every alarm in your head is telling you. But if that’s the truth, then his actions really make no sense whatsoever.

“Because people do crazy things...when they’re in love.”

You stare at him. Your bottom lip trembles, and your fingers reflexively jump against his neck.

“You died for me, (Y/N). Was I meant to leave you at the hands of the man that had already taken your freedom from you once before?”

His electric eyes search yours for an answer. You don’t give him a verbal one, but he must find what he’s looking for anyway. Thor bends and his lips meet yours, and for a second, the world feels absolutely, undeniably right.

And then the door behind you opens, and Sam’s voice calls out for you. He stops when he sees you and Thor, tangled in one another, blushing wildly and attempting to hide the fact that you’d been caught kissing. Sam smiles wolfishly, shaking his head.

“Good to see you, Pointbreak,” he says with a nod.

“You as well, Wilson.” Thor nods back.

Sam is about to duck back into the building, but you tell him to wait a second. Slowly, reluctantly, you let go of Thor, hoping your gaze will communicate that you’ll be coming back to him momentarily.

Because he’s right. You did die for him, and he saved you, and now you’re on an even playing field. Or as even as the two of you can get. And you really, truly have a second chance, another shot at life. But life hasn’t felt as good or meaningful since Thor disappeared, and if his family really wants to meet you…

But you know you can’t just disappear like he can. The team almost expects it out of him, knowing that he’s not from Earth. You are, and they would absolutely notice if you stopped showing up to work randomly.

You stand just outside the door and whisper to Sam, “So, um, I think I’m going to Asgard now.”

He chuckles and shakes his head, but ultimately doesn’t seem surprised. He takes a second to glance back at Thor, then steps closer to you and wraps you in the best Sam-hug you’ve ever gotten. “Take care of him, ‘kay? He looks big, but he’s got a lot of soft spots.”

You bite your lip and nod, trying hard not to cry. You’ll miss Sam more than anyone else here. More than anyone else on Earth.

“Tell everyone I love them,” you say. You squeeze Sam one last time, then sigh and pull back. “And that I’ll see them when we can come back.” If we come back you think. From the lopsided smirk Sam gives you, you know he’s thinking the same.

“Sure thing,” he says. Then he lets you go.

You step away from him, backwards at first, waving until you nearly trip over your dress. As you turn toward Thor, you pick up the small train of golden glitter; once it’s balled in your fist, you run the rest of the way to him.

Thor wraps his arms around your waist. A heavy metal block - Mjölnir, you quickly realize - gently hits the back of your thighs. You don’t know where he was keeping it before, but you don’t care.

All that matters is the halo of light that spreads around him and you. He instructs you to hold onto him tightly, don’t hold your breath, and watch carefully.

“There are many beautiful things in this universe, (Y/N). You and the Bifrost are two of the best.”

You laugh at that, only seconds before the beam of swirling lights returns, engulfs you both, and takes you off to a place you’d never dreamed of seeing before.

#thor x reader #thor odinson x reader #thor au #thor fic #hercules au #worth my while fic

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