#Dani arrives after the group is formed

[lolottes]

let's not forget our national Superboy too!

Jonathan is reflexively jealous at the mention that Damian is going to take him to meet his "first apprentice". He knows Damian too well not to understand the subtext here! He's going to meet his best friend's first best friend! His place as my best friend is threatened!!!

then Danny and Jon know immediately that: the other one is not 100% human (insert spiderman meme here)

Jon tries to keep distance but Danny is aggressively friendly, keen to talk positively about space and so happy to meets another non-human and flying buddies…

Meanwhile Damian is a little upset to see that Danny has made not one but two friends! and super loyal AND competent friends!!! This Samantha (yes he calls her that more than once) has the distrust and organization that the other two lack and Tucker is a natural ecto hacker, a diamond in the rough and unconscious of his values.

Then Damian realizes that their loyalty to Danny transfers to him when they take risks to keep him away from spectral activity despite his roughness. It was then that he completely changed his attitude with them.

He recognizes that Sam (yes, he ends up respecting her enough to offer her the right to impose her nickname) is very capable as well socially (she is the only one who can behave well in high society, she just chooses not to do) has a high moral standard… and it feels good to no longer be the only vegetarian in the group

Sam does the same, realizing that Damian's ways are due to his "family's brainwashing" and makes it her personal challenge to introduce him not only to as many manifestations as possible, but also to other activities judged as " rebel" by good society

Tucker finds himself with Wayne tech and immediately forgives ALL of Damian's rough history and adopts him into the Phantom closer circle the second -the others- Sam seems less resistant to this

Danny has, in the meantime, of course, given Fenton tech gifts to his new friends! Damian has a new non-lethal/anti-ghost weapon and Jon has anti-possession bracelets (which also allows you to punch the ghost)

Damian also used a fine Fenton work comb to remove all the microphones/cameras that were hidden there and gave jazz training to know how to do the same. Jazz is THRILLED to be more useful § AND her brother's childhood friend (of a clearly shady sect) is doing well (and is breaking away from his maternal family)

… Then she notices that this Jon has similar tics to danny… well at least she's reassured that he's not too ordinary for amity park?

And Cujo has bat quality fake service meta animal papers now :3

Damian had never seen another person his age before.

“Wow, you're good at that.”

Damian froze in his practice and looked over at the boy. It was after his lesson, his instructor had other students to teach, and Damian had his own private training area. Well, it was supposed to be private. “Who are you?”

“Danny, what's your name?”

Damian glared at the boy. Who doesn't know who he is? “I am Damian Al-Ghoul, grandson of the Demon's Head, son of the Bat, heir to the League of Assassins.”

“Wow, that's a lot... Can I just call you Damian?”

“Servants call me Master. How did you get here?”

Danny shrugged, “I was just looking around.”

“Just looking around...”

“Yeah, my parents are in the science lab down in the bottom basement with the weird lake and I was helping them, but then I got board and Jazz said I wasn't allowed to leave the lab, but when I asked Dad, he said I could do what I want as long as I don't get in trouble.”

“Oh, the idiot scientists.” Damian remembered how his mother had described the new scientists hired to study the Lazarus Pools. A pair of geniuses when it came to the scientific study of magic but idiots in all other fields. Surely only idiots would bring their children to live with the League of Assassins.

“What do you mean? If you're a scientist you can't be an idiot?”

Damian huffed at the boy. “You can be smart at one thing and dumb at others. Like you could be good at reading but bad at numbers.”

“Oh, I guess that makes sense. But I'm pretty good at reading and numbers.” Danny then smiled brightly, “It looks like you're really good at swording though.”

“It's called swordplay. And yes, I am good at it. Better at it at my age than many who are older.”

“Can you show me how to do it?”

Damian contemplated for a moment, “As long as you don't get in the way of my practice, I don't see why not.”

Danny cheered as he ran up to where Damian was standing, but Damian pointed to the side of the training area, “There should be a spare sword over there you can use.”

Danny nodded and ran to get it then ran back.

Damian wasn't sure if he'd like showing Danny how to use a sword, but he liked how Danny followed all his instructions. It was different than how the servants followed his orders, but Damian couldn't place why. It became common place, for Danny to show up after Damian's lessons and Damian would show him what he'd learned. It actually made learning new things easier because Damian had to figure out how exactly something worked in order to show Danny how to do it. Not only that, but when they practiced the moves on each other, Danny would change them and make it harder to beat him. Damian did win every time, but Danny wasn't half bad.

[earlysunshines]

oh say it ditto

danielle marsh x fem!reader

synopsis: you have to help out at the elementary school for service hours and of course you’re paired with true girl you’ve literally been in love with since middle school.

warnings: literally none. just fluff. so cute. they're so cute. i need to be put behind bars for this. it's so... cute. what. ; loser!!!!!!yn i fear ; anything else not mentioned ; not proofread ; i'm so giddy. they're so cute. i hate couples. i cnat breathe theyre so gay and in love.

a/n: I MISSED WRITING FOR MO DANI UGGHHHH MO DANIIII!!!!!

danielle marsh is perfect. she’s smart, kind, and easily the most beautiful person you’ve ever seen. people always say she’s too good to be true, like a disney princess pulled right out of a movie, the kind of person who seems flawless in every way.

but to you? that description feels like an understatement—an understatement times ten.

there is not a single metaphor that could ever capture the way her presence lights up a room, or the way her smile—bright and contagious—makes your heart do flips. she’s beyond comparison, beyond words. you’ve known her since middle school, and in all that time despite barely having time with her, the feeling has only grown. she’s the type of person that’s just barely out of reach, so you’ve learned to cope with it.

which is exactly why, when your teacher had pulled you two aside after class, announcing that you’d be paired with her for your volunteer hours at the local elementary school, your stomach practically dropped to your shoes. she’s the type of person that’s just barely out of reach, so you’ve learned to cope with it. but now? she’s just within reach. 

“some others filled out the form, but i only needed the two of you since it’s for a smaller group.” mr. jeong explained. “and you two are the perfect candidates. thank you for your interest in this, my wife is really glad that we’re able to send the two of you over to help out—she works at the school.”

you clutch the strap of your bag a little tighter, trying to stay visibly and mentally composed. danielle is beside you smiling at your physics teacher, and then you catch her smiling at you from the corner of your eye. turning a bit, you shoot a small grin, then excuse yourself out.

just your luck, but maybe you’ll survive. this could turn out great for you!

as you walk down the hall, you feel someone tap on your shoulder. turning around, it’s her. 

danielle is behind you smiling. “see you monday!” she says with that honeyed voice of hers.

knowing yourself, maybe it won’t turn out so great. you might be doomed considering how much of a loser you are compared to miss sunshine.

—

you arrive at the elementary school the following monday, heart pounding as you push open the heavy doors to the small classroom where the after-school program is being held. a group of kids are already gathered, some working on crafts, others running around, their laughter filling the air. but none of it matters because standing near the teacher's desk, helping a kid tie their shoe, is danielle.

she looks up just as you step in, her eyes lighting up with recognition. "hey! looks like we’re partners in crime for the next few weeks," she says with a smile so genuine it makes you dizzy. “i’m glad you’re here.”

you force a grin, trying to play it cool. "yeah. um, and likewise.”

the teacher quickly assigns you both to work with a small group of students on some arts and crafts. you watch as danielle sits down with the kids, her voice soft and encouraging as she helps them cut out construction paper shapes. you, meanwhile, sit on the opposite side of the table, trying not to focus too much on the fact that you're mere feet away from the girl who’s had your heart for as long as you can remember.

as the session goes on, you find yourself slowly relaxing. the kids are lively and fun, and danielle's easygoing nature makes everything feel less intimidating (though the only thing that really made everything seem like that was her). she’s chatting with the students, laughing when they show her their goofy creations, and every now and then, she glances your way, offering you a smile that makes your heart skip a beat.

"how are you so good with them?" you ask her while cleaning up the table, genuinely curious.

danielle shrugs, her eyes twinkling. "i don’t know, i’m just fond of kids. they’re honest, you know? and they don’t care if you mess up or say the wrong thing."

you smiled, nodding, but her words hit closer to home than she realized. if only you could believe that—if only you could let yourself stop overthinking everything when it came to her.

“like you could ever do that,” you mutter under your breath. danielle catches it, but doesn’t comment on it. “i guess you’re right. i didn’t think of it that way.” you say at a normal volume, and danielle doesn’t have a hard time catching that.

as the afternoon starts to wind down, one of the kids tugs on your sleeve, showing you his glitter-covered drawing of what appears to be a dinosaur. "do you like it?" he ask, his eyes wide with anticipation.

you glance at danielle, who’s watching you with a curious expression, and suddenly, it feels like this moment matters more than anything. you take the drawing, smile at the kid, and say, "i think it’s awesome."

out of the corner of your eye, you catch danielle beaming at you, and for a second, it feels like maybe—just maybe—this whole thing won’t be as hard as you thought.

–

as the kids rushed out of the room, their laughter echoing down the hallways, you found yourself lingering behind, picking up scraps of paper and wiping glitter off the tables. danielle was still there too, helping the teacher gather leftover supplies. the room felt quieter now, just the two of you in the aftermath of the chaos, and for a moment, you both moved in comfortable silence, the air between you lighter than it had been earlier.

"it’s been a while, huh?" danielle said softly, her voice breaking the quiet as she stacked a few cups of markers on the shelf. you glanced over at her, heart suddenly racing again, because it was true—you hadn’t really spoken to her much since middle school, despite always being around. besides, she had been taking different courses than you, so there weren’t many shared classes. even if their were, you two had your respective groups, and danielle was quite popular compared to you, so you stayed out the picture while admiring from afar.

"yeah," you nodded, tossing some crumpled-up paper into the trash bin, smiling when you make it. "guess we’ve both been pretty busy."

she smiled, that same soft, almost shy smile that always made your chest tighten. "swim has been taking up your time, huh?”

“oh, yeah, haha.”

“i’ve seen you around at your practices, you’re really good!”

“y-you have?” your eyes widen with surprise, gaze staying on her as she throws something away. 

“my friend hyein is on the team, you know her?”

“ah,” the underclassmen that tried to drown you (in a playful way, because that’s playful to hyein. allegedly so). “yeah.” you giggle thinking about your swimmate. “she’s very… fun.”

“she’s always up to something.” danielle giggles.

quiet fills the air as you two continue cleaning. danielle is stacking chairs, and you’re lifting each stack over to the edge of the classroom. neither of you say anything for a while, mindful of the other in a semi-awkward silence as you help the janitors out. 

danielle breaks the silence again.

“i didn’t realize how much i missed seeing you around until today," she admits, her words gentle but carrying more weight than you expected. she’s looking at you, standing maybe ten tiles away and her eyes are stuck on yours. you feel like you’re being mushed into the ground.

you blinked, caught off guard by her honesty, and suddenly, you weren’t sure how to respond. so you just smiled back, hoping it didn’t look too awkward. "yeah… same here, actually."

the silence stretched once again as you both continued cleaning up, but this time, it wasn’t uncomfortable. it felt like something was shifting between you two, the years of distance slowly fading away, replaced by an old familiarity that had never really gone away.

once most of the mess was cleaned up, you found yourselves standing near the door, neither of you in any real hurry to leave. danielle looked down at her phone for a moment, then back up at you. "hey, do you drive?" she asked, her voice a little hesitant.

you nodded. "yeah, i do. why?"

"i was thinking... we should probably carpool for this," she said, motioning to the classroom. "since we’re both gonna be volunteering here for the next few weeks, might as well make it easier on ourselves, right?"

the idea of seeing her more often, spending more time together, made your heart skip a beat. "yeah, that sounds like a good plan," you agreed, trying to sound casual. "i can pick you up if you want?"

her eyes brightened at that, and for a moment, you could swear there was a bit of relief in her expression. "that’d be great."

you pulled out your phone, opening up your contacts, and as you handed it over to her, your fingers brushed hers. it was a small, brief touch, but goosebumps were poking at the inside of your shirt after. even the hairs on your arm started to stand noticeably. danielle didn’t seem to notice—or maybe she did—but either way, she calmly typed in her number and handed the phone back to you with a smile.

"there," she said, her voice light. "now you have no excuse not to keep in touch."

you laughed, feeling your heart swell. "no excuses," you promised, and as you both left the classroom together, you couldn’t help but feel like something had shifted between you two—the connection that had always been there but was finally starting to come into focus.

—

swim practice took up most of your days, which you didn’t mind. most of your friends were on the team anyway, so it just gave you an excuse to hang out when you weren’t practicing for your respective races.

it always went like this: ten minutes of warmups—light stretches and a couple of easy laps to get your muscles moving. then came fifteen minutes of drills, laps back and forth with barely any rest in between, focusing on your form, speed, and turns. the coach would shout instructions from the edge of the pool, calling out corrections or praise when you hit the perfect stroke. after that, you’d usually break into smaller groups, each focusing on different parts of the race. whether it was freestyle, butterfly, or backstroke, you’d put everything into perfecting your technique—freestyle was your forte—until your muscles burned and your lungs screamed for air.

finally, after what felt like an eternity, practice would wrap up with a cooldown: slow laps, easy strokes, and a few more stretches. additionally, there would be playful banter, and hyein would always find a way to bother you since she was also focused on freestyle. you two were inevitably always together, she was like the younger relative that would pester you any chance you got. 

your body always felt heavy afterward, but in a good way. exhausted and accomplished.

you were dripping wet as you pulled yourself out of the pool, every step feeling heavier than the last. practice might’ve ended, but the exhaustion clung to you as you made your way to the locker room, the sound of splashing water and your teammates’ chatter filling the space around you.

you changed quickly, glad to get out of your damp swimsuit, and ran a towel through your hair as best you could. it was still dripping slightly when you finally stepped out of the locker room, feeling refreshed but undeniably drained.

and then you saw her.

danielle stood just outside the entrance, her presence so unexpected that you almost stumbled in surprise. you should be used to this, maybe, considering you saw her yesterday. your heart jumped to your throat, tiredness vanishing in an instant. she was leaning casually against the wall, scrolling through her phone, but when she noticed you, her eyes lit up, a small smile tugging at her lips.

"hey!" she called out, pushing off the wall and stepping closer. "fancy seeing you here." she says sarcastically.

your heart was pounding, suddenly hyper-aware of the way your hair was probably sticking out at odd angles, still damp and messy. "h-hi," you stammered, mentally kicking yourself for sounding so awkward. "what—what are you doing here?"

danielle tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, looking a little sheepish. "i’m actually waiting for hyein.." she glanced away, then back at you with a small, hesitant smile. "but, um, i wanted to see you too. just to say hi."

your heart practically stopped at that. she wanted to see you. you felt your cheeks start to burn, or maybe they were always a little warm, you took a hot shower earlier and that would make a lot of sense, but also danielle is—

you scramble to find something—anything—to say that wouldn’t make you seem like a complete idiot. "oh, uh, really? that’s… nice. i mean, it’s great. i—it’s good to see you, too. again. we saw each other yesterday."

“why yes, we did.” danielle laughed softly, her eyes crinkling in that way that always made your stomach flip. "you’re cute— and funny."

you blinked, completely caught off guard. your brain was short-circuiting. did she really just say that? were you more cute or funny? was the cute just thrown in there? you think for a bit, you make people laugh easily and— you need to stop thinking.

"oh, um, thank you? you too." you respond. she laughs again, shaking her head.

"i’m just teasing," she said, though there was something almost… nervous in her gaze as she looked at you. like she wasn’t sure if she’d overstepped. "but really, it’s nice running into you like this. you look different to how you did yesterday." 

you glanced down at yourself, still dressed in loose sweats and hoodie, hair a mess. "different good or…?"

"definitely good," she confirmed, her smile widening. "you look… relaxed. it suits you."

relaxed, right. you can’t help but chuckle.

before you could come up with a response that didn’t sound completely ridiculous, someone called your name. you turned to see wonbin waving at you from the other end of the hall where the boys locker room is, sohee trailing behind him. it "hey! you done?" he asked, his voice carrying over the distance.

you blinked, glancing back at danielle, and she gave you a small, understanding nod. "you should go," she murmured softly. "don’t want to keep your friends waiting."

"yeah, um, i guess i’ll see you next week" you hate how reluctant you sound.

danielle’s smile softened, something almost wistful in her eyes. "yeah, can’t wait to get glitter all over my hands again." she says jokingly. she waved as you turn to join wonbin and sohee, her gaze lingering on you a moment longer. "bye, y/n!"

"bye," you called back, lifting a hand in a half-wave.

you turned away, walking towards your friends, but couldn’t resist glancing over your shoulder one last time. danielle was still standing there, watching you leave, and when she caught you looking, she flashed you another quick grin, eyes crinkling and teeth showing. your heart did a flip against your chest.

wonbin nudged your shoulder as you reached them, smirking knowingly. "danielle marsh?" he questioned as if it weren’t the obvious, drawing her name out teasingly. "what’s up with that?"

"nothing is up. get your head out the gutter," you muttered, shoving him lightly, but you couldn’t stop the grin that tugged at your lips. "we were just talking."

sohee snorted. "right. just talking. sure."

“we literally had a brief conversation, i hope you guys inhale water.”

they both laughed as you rolled your eyes, trying to ignore the warmth spreading through your chest. even as you headed out with them, thoughts of buying a sandwich swirling around, you couldn’t shake the feeling that something had shifted between you and danielle—that maybe, just maybe, your friendship was returning with ease.

—

the next week you’re with danielle again. this time she’s heading towards your car, getting in your car, sitting in the passengers seat in your car, and clicking her seatbelt in next to you.

“hey.” she greets, smiling.

“hi.” you respond nervously. you check the time, you’re very early but you’re not sure if you can even drive properly with the prettiest girl in the school next to you. “ready to go?”

“yup!”

“okay!” you respond with the same energy, making her giggle. you just made danielle marsh giggle. 

accompanied by you is the sound of music playing in the middle of the silence—a little too loudly—before you glance at her nervously. you apologize, but she shakes her head in your peripheral, putting her hand on the side of your upper arm as she does so. you clench your jaw, forcing a smile as you turn the corner.

she puts a hand over her stomach. “hey, can we stop by and grab a snack? there’s a little convenience store on the way there i always pass by.”

“yeah, of course.” 

you pull into the small convenience store’s parking lot, your heart still racing from the brief moment earlier when danielle had laughed at your overly energetic response. you had to focus on driving, but her presence beside you was making it impossible to think straight.

(you’re not that good at doing anything… straight….)

“i’ll be quick,” she says with a smile, unbuckling her seatbelt and stepping out of the car.

“who said i’m not coming with?” you reply, “i’m not just gonna let you in by yourself.”

“wow,” she smirks, “what a gentle-lady.”

you follow her inside, letting her lead the way. it’s a cozy little store, shelves stocked with snacks, drinks, and everything in between. danielle heads straight to the snacks aisle while you find yourself wandering toward the drinks, hoping to calm your nerves. you scan the selection, pretending to be interested in a row of teas when you feel a sudden gaze on you.

turning slightly, you catch danielle staring at you from across the aisle. her eyes are soft, almost thoughtful, as if she’s studying every little movement you make. your heart skips a beat, and for a moment, you freeze, unsure of what to do with yourself.

“uh—” you clear your throat, lifting a tea bottle. “this one any good?”

danielle blinks, snapping out of her thoughts, a shy smile spreading across her face. “oh, yeah! it’s really good. you should try it.”

you nod, trying to play it cool as you glance at the label, but you can still feel her gaze lingering on you. there’s something electric in the air between you two—unspoken, but undeniably there—something that wasn’t there before. 

—

the second time you and danielle help out at the elementary school, the day is warmer, and the kids are outside, running around with boundless energy. you’re supervising the chaos, but also playing along with the kids—throwing a frisbee, helping them climb the jungle gym, and laughing as they chase after you.

danielle stands nearby, watching with an amused smile. it’s been a short amount of time since the last time you volunteered together, and she realizes how much she’s missed your presence. she’s always known you were sweet, but seeing you like this—so good with the kids, laughing and having fun, so personally and naturally—makes something inside her chest tighten.

it had been a while since she’d last seen you, not including the first volunteer hours, but just in general since middle school. sure, you had that one class freshman year, and gym during sophomore year, but that wasn’t really much.

between your current classes and different social circles, the chances to bump into you had become rare. but the moment you stepped into the classroom that day, something in her stirred. she couldn’t help but notice how much you’d changed since the last time she saw you. she was able to observe you fully: taller, more confident, but still with that same sweetness in your eyes that had made her stomach flutter before the transition into high school. additionally, you looked good—better than she remembered—and that realization had her heart skipping a beat.

she tries to focus on her own task, playing hopscotch with a few of the younger kids, but her eyes keep drifting back to you. you’re crouching down to tie a little girl’s shoelaces, smiling up at her in that easy, charming way you do. danielle’s heart races as she thinks about how effortlessly kind you are, how even the small things you do make her feel warm inside.

as you finish helping the girl, you catch danielle’s gaze—not for the first time that day. your eyes meet, and for a split second, neither of you looks away. she quickly glances down, a soft blush creeping up her cheeks. she can’t help but think how much you’ve changed since middle school—how you’ve grown into someone who’s not just good-looking but incredibly thoughtful, too.

you jog over to where she’s standing, slightly out of breath but grinning. “having fun?”

“yeah,” she replies, her voice a little softer than usual. “you seem like you’re having fun, too.”

“can’t help it,” you shrug, glancing at the kids. “they’re pretty contagious.”

danielle laughs, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. the way you talk to her, so casually and effortlessly, makes her more nervous than she should be. you’ve always been easy to talk to, but now it feels different—like there’s something more beneath the surface.

as the afternoon goes on, the kids' energy only seems to increase. you end up sitting on the grass, surrounded by a group of them, laughing as one of the younger boys insists on “fixing” your hair. his tiny fingers tug gently at the strands, doing his best to style it into something creative—mostly a messy combination of pigtails. you wince occasionally, but you let him continue, his determination too adorable to resist. 

danielle watches from a few feet away, trying not to laugh too obviously. she’s been watching you all day, and she can’t help but feel charmed by how good-natured you are, even in moments like this. there’s something so endearing about the way you don’t take yourself too seriously, how you just go with the flow and let these kids have fun with you. she can’t help but sneak a picture, for… the memories of course.

“you look… really good,” she says, teasingly, as she approaches. 

you glance up, one eyebrow raised, trying to look at your reflection in the window nearby. “oh yeah? should i make this my new look?”

danielle grins, sitting down beside you. “i think it could be a trend. maybe you’ll make it on the cover of vogue.”

“right, 'styled by six-year-olds' is definitely going to get me scouted. maybe i’ll even be dressed head to toe in like… i don’t know— celine or something luxury.” you chuckle, letting the boy keep working on your hair. "i’ll give you credit for the idea when i get famous.”

danielle laughs, the sound light and soft, and her heart beats dangerously hard. you’re never trying too hard yet still manage to make people feel good just by being yourself. it’s been like this since middle school, but now, it feels more intense, like every small interaction with you is enough to make her stomach twist in turn—in the good way of course. 

“do you ever get tired of being everyone’s favorite?” she asks, playfully nudging you with her shoulder.

you blink, looking genuinely confused. “me? everyone’s favorite? what are you talking about?”

“you,” danielle says, smiling. “you’re so… easy to like. look at these kids—they’re obsessed with you. i don’t think i’ve ever seen someone win over a bunch of first-graders that fast.”

you shrug, looking a little bashful. “they’re fun and young, that’s all.”

the kid working on your hair finishes and steps back to admire his masterpiece. “done!” he announces proudly.

danielle bursts into laughter when she sees the final result—your hair is sticking out in all directions, a combination of tiny pigtails and knots. you make a dramatic face, pulling a mock-serious expression. “so… how do i look?”

“like a work of art,” she teases, leaning closer to inspect the chaos. “mona lisa is jealous.”

you can’t help but laugh along with her, feeling the warmth of the moment. even though you’re clueless about how much she’s been thinking about you, about how every little thing you do makes her heart skip, the playful energy between you two is unmistakable. there’s something so natural about being with her like this, so comfortable. it feels right, just like how it was back then.

as the kids run off back toward the adults, you and danielle stay sitting side by side in the grass, the conversation flowing easily as she fixes your hair. it’s like no time has passed since middle school, but at the same time, there’s a new layer to your dynamic.

“you know, i always liked you a lot in middle school.” danielle says suddenly, accidentally pulling out a strand of your hair with the hairtie. you wince, but not at the feeling of your hair being pulled out. “sorry about that.”

“you liked me?”

“i mean, who wouldn’t?” danielle shrugs. “everyone wanted to be your friend, of course i wanted to be yours too!”

that kind of ‘like’---the platonic kind.

“oh,” you mumble, “right, thanks. i liked you a lot too, um, like, you know, as a friend.” you’re lying right in front of her face, well, kind of. 

you thought she was just someone sweet and gorgeous, a great friend for maybe two weeks max. she started getting more touchy and affectionate, throwing compliments and making your cheeks flush a little too much. all of it confused you at the ripe age of thirteen, and then the points connected: you had a crush on her.

the moment you realized you liked her was burned into your memory, a core memory that never left. it wasn’t some grand gesture, not some dramatic revelation. it was just the two of you, sitting under the sun after finishing fitness exams early, finding a quiet spot in the grass to relax. you remember her finding a tiny flower in the grass, something you hadn’t even noticed, and without hesitation, she tucked it behind your ear, smiling as she called you wonderful and sweet, like it was the easiest thing in the world—like it was true.

her eyes had lit up, like you were something to be admired, like you were a constellation that she’d stumbled upon. your heart raced in that moment, faster than it ever had during any of the laps you’d run earlier. she just smiled at you, oblivious to the storm she’d created inside of you, and that’s when it hit you: nothing was going to be the same again.

from that day on, thirteen-year-old you couldn’t stop crushing on danielle marsh. it became a constant, something that wove itself into your everyday life, even when you barely saw her. every stolen glance, every random smile she threw your way, things you were sure meant nothing to her, but they were everything to you.

years passed, and even though you both grew older, matured in so many ways, the feelings stayed the same. maybe you were still young, still figuring out your place in the world, but one thing you knew for sure—you were undeniably, hopelessly in love with danielle marsh, and you always would be as long as she existed anywhere near you.

“i know it’s a little late, but i hope we can be friends like that again.” danielle admits, breaking you out of your memory. “i can’t help being so enamored by the person you are now.”

“woah.” you accidentally say, turning away from her and laughing. “sorry, i just— that was really sweet it um, caught me off guard. thank you danielle.”

“you can call me dani, just like you used to.”

“okay.”

her eyes narrow just a bit as her head tilts. she’s hugging her knees to her chest and staring at you while the sun starts to shine golden rays. you blink a few times, tilting your head the same way, and then she smiles again out of nowhere.

“seems like they’re ready to clean up. we should help.”

“for sure.” you say quietly, not budging. “i’ll go when you go.”

danielle giggles, “alright.”

—

after your second day at the elementary school, you and danielle somehow ended up walking to class together. it wasn’t planned, not exactly, but after bumping into each other the next morning, the conversation flowed so naturally that it just made sense to keep talking as you both headed in the same direction. 

danielle walked beside you, glancing at you every now and then as you talked about anything and everything—how tiring the kids could be, your classes, random stuff like favorite snacks or the latest movie you wanted to see. you two were passing time, walking in loops around the first floor of the school since the bell would ring in fifteen minutes. every time you said something that made her laugh, her eyes sparkled just a little more, and it wasn’t lost on you how easy it felt to be around her. 

eventually, you reached her class as your time together shortened. you stopped and turned to face her, giving a small wave. “i’ll see you around?” you asked, a smile tugging at your lips. 

“yeah, definitely,” she said, her cheeks flushing the slightest bit. she gave a little wave back, her smile soft and warm. “thanks for walking with me.”

“no problem,” you said, trying to play it cool despite how fast your heart was racing. you turned, heading off to your own class, but you couldn’t help glancing back once, catching her still watching you. 

what you didn’t see was danielle running into minji and hanni a few minutes later. the two of them were standing near the classroom and got there a few seconds after danielle, noticing immediately how flustered she seemed as they approached her at her desk.

“was that y/n you just waved goodbye to?” minji asked, her eyebrow raised. 

“yeah, we’ve been, uh, talking again. like friends! of course…” danielle said, her voice soft, a blush creeping up her neck as she tried to hide her smile.

hanni grinned, catching on instantly. “getting close again, huh?” she teased, nudging danielle’s arm playfully. 

danielle’s cheeks turned a little more pink, and she couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her face. “something like that,”

minji smirked. “you look way too happy about it.”

danielle looked down, biting her lip to stop from grinning. “it’s nothing,” she muttered, but even she couldn’t believe her own words.

because, really, it felt like everything.

—

later that day you head toward the locker room after a tiring swim practice. sohee is teasing you for messing up during a lap, and hyein continues to add on. you manage to shake sohee off after splitting ways, but hyein is still poking at you.

you shower quickly, dry yourself, and change into your usual hoodie and sweats before waving to your teammates who aren’t done packing up.

once you open the door, you immediately catch danielle leaning against the wall. she looks up as soon as you step out, her features lighting up.

“hey!” she greets.

“hi.” you respond as you walk up to her. “waiting for hyein?”

“um, yeah.” danielle is lying again, this can’t be a good habit. maybe it lying isn’t so bad if it’s to see someone as wonderful as you, danielle thinks. “how was practice?”

“i was kinda slow today, but it was fun.” you sigh, “how has your day been?”

“tiring as well,” she huffs. “but i’m really caught up with schoolwork and the student council meeting was really short.”

“that’s lovely.” you catch sohee and wonbin in the corner of your eye and purse your lips. “those idiots,” your eyes turn towards them and danielle briefly glances at the idiots in question, “are hungry. they’re like vacuums… i swear.”

“i understand, my friends are like that too.” danielle snickers, directing her attention back to you. “hey, i was also wondering if you’d um, like to walk together in the morning? like we can walk or you can eat breakfast. it doesn’t matter. i’m just saying i’d like to be with you tomorrow morning.”

you freeze, parting your mouth to say something, but everything is caught up in your throat.

your brain stops functioning for a moment as you try to process quite literally everything. you manage to respond a few seconds later, “yes!” the eagerness makes you cringe, you cough. “yes, i mean. i’d also like to be with you! u-uhm, in the morning, obviously. yeah. we can do whatever you’d like, just say the words and i’m uh, i’m down.”

her lips turn up and you swear the universe just slapped you in the face. “great,” she says, “i’ll see you tomorrow. you should go feed your friends.”

“yeah, they… eat—a lot. sorry, yeah, i’ll get going. see you!”

“see you y/n!” she waves, and you wave back, walking towards two idiots trying to hold laughter and snarky remarks.

—

you’re helping out the kids as they all tend to their artwork. this time everyone has watercolor, which is a little less messy than your first rodeo at the school. you sit at the table with five children, all of them eager to earn criticism and compliments from their work.

“y/n! y/n! how do you like mine? it’s good right? do you like it?” one girl says, holding up the paper to your face with her little hands.

you chuckle, moving back a bit to get a better view of the work. it’s (what you assume) a scene from the country side; different shades of green line the bottom of the page to imitate grass, and there are different colored flowers peeking out getting shined on by the sun from above.

“it’s gorgeous annie.” you assure, “but i think those flowers are a little lonely without bees.”

the girl brings her paper back and turns it around to inspect. she squints her eyes, biting her lip before nearly slamming it on the ground and beginning to color again. “you’re right! i should’ve done that… also piggies and cows and… the flowers need friends.”

“you’re very creative, i love it!” you beam, patting her shoulder. she turns and smiles at you.

danielle’s palm holds her chin as she watches the interaction from a table away, grinning without knowing. her smile only grows when you give suggestions to another kid, and then she’s breaking away after a child tugs at her hair subtly.

“miss danielle, why are you staring at y/n so much?” the boy asks shyly. 

“o-oh.” danielle’s cheeks start to tingle with heat. “sorry, did you want me to check your work out?”

“why are you staring at y/n?” he asks again, tilting his head at her. 

“it’s nothing, really. i was just um… daydreaming.”

“about y/n?” kids are getting clever these days, though thankfully they lack the snarkiness. “is that why you’re staring at her?”

“um, no.” um, yes. danielle is lying to a child. “i just, she’s– she happens to be in my vision. um, let’s see your artwork!”

the kid shrugs, pushing the paper over to danielle who is in awe of how well done it is. this kid isn’t just smart, he’s remarkably talented too. 

now it’s your turn to look over at danielle, who’s tending to kids. you admire her for a bit, a small smile creeping up to your lips before you return to your own tasks.

—

the three of them—hanni, minji, and danielle—were huddled on the floor of minji’s room, surrounded by blankets and snacks. they’d been talking about everything and nothing for the past hour, the usual mix of gossip, random stories, and playful teasing filling the room as they have their monthly sleepover.

but as the conversation died down, danielle found her mind wandering back to the past few days—the past month—specifically to you. it had been happening more and more lately. volunteering with you at the elementary school had brought back feelings she thought she’d outgrown, but being around you so often was starting to get to her. all the walks to class were getting to her, the shared glances and grins, really just the awareness of you existing was making her think hard.

“are you okay, dani?” hanni asked, noticing the way danielle had fallen quiet, her face a little red.

minji narrowed her eyes playfully. “yeah, you’ve been acting weird all night. what’s going on?”

danielle sat up straighter, nervously picking at the hem of her oversized sweater. “um… okay, i’m probably just overthinking this, but—” she hesitated, biting her lip before blurting out, “i think i still like y/n.”

both hanni and minji exchanged looks, and then hanni grinned. “still? dani, i didn’t even know you ever stopped.”

“you never stopped,” minji added with a teasing smirk. “you’re just aware of it now because you two interact. i still remember how often you’d mention her back then when we were underclassmen. it wasn’t much, but i thought you always had eyes for her.”

“ugh.” danielle groaned, covering her face with her hands. “but like, it’s different now. we’ve been spending time together at the volunteering thing, even after that, and—” she paused, her voice softening, “she’s just so… sweet. and cute. like, even when she’s not trying, she’s just… ugh, i don’t know.”

hanni grinned, sitting up and leaning toward her. “oh my god, are you gushing?”

danielle peeked out from behind her hands, her face red. “no,” she muttered, but even she couldn’t stop herself from smiling. “okay, maybe a little. yeah.”

“what’s she been doing that’s got you all flustered?” minji asked, genuinely curious now.

danielle sighed, her heart racing just thinking about it. “it’s like… little things, you know? like, she always makes sure i’m okay when we’re with the kids, and she’s so patient with them. and then there was this one time where a kid was playing with her hair, trying to style it, and she just let them do whatever they wanted without even complaining.” danielle laughed softly. “she just looked so cute and clueless, and i couldn’t stop staring. and she’s so, so sweet. she walks me to class and asks how i’m doing and we do gas station runs before or after volunteering and she’s so… crush worthy. i don’t know!”

hanni and minji exchanged knowing looks again.

“and like, we’ve barely talked since middle school, but now it’s like… i don’t know. it feels like nothing’s changed, but everything has? i just—” danielle paused, suddenly feeling vulnerable. “i’m starting to realize how much i like her again. we grew up kind of distant and it feels like there’s so much more to her that has me falling deeper than i ever had.”

minji smiled softly. “sounds like you’ve got it bad, dani.”

danielle groaned, lying back on the floor and covering her face again. “why is this happening?”

hanni laughed, poking her side. “because y/n’s cute, and you can’t handle it.”

“exactly,” minji agreed, her teasing grin in full force.

danielle sighed, letting her friends’ teasing wash over her as she tried to calm her racing heart. it was hopeless. she’d never stopped liking you, and now that you were back in her life, it was like everything was coming back all at once.

“what do i even do?” danielle muttered, staring up at the ceiling.

hanni grinned, nudging her. “easy. tell her.”

danielle blushed harder, shaking her head. “no way. i’ll just… i’ll wait.”

minji snorted. “yeah, good luck with that.”

—

that same night, you’re playing basketball with sohee at the court near your houses. sohee moved across the street from you right before high school started, and ever since that you two have been best friends. he’s someone you trust and love with your whole heart, but simultaneously a leech stuck to your side.

the night was cool, the court illuminated by the soft, dim glow of the overhead lights. you and sohee had been at it for a while, your usual one-on-one basketball game to unwind. except tonight, something was off. sohee was easily scoring on you, his movements quick and smooth while yours were sluggish and distracted. you missed shots you’d normally make without a second thought, and every time you tried to focus, your mind drifted back to danielle.

“y/n,” sohee called, catching the ball after your latest missed shot. “what is going on with you? you’re way off.”

you wiped the sweat from your brow, feeling the frustration rising. “nothing, i’m just… tired,” you muttered, but even you didn’t believe that excuse. sohee didn’t either.

he dribbled the ball lazily, walking toward you. “tired? no way. you’ve been off this whole game. i’ve scored more points in the last ten minutes than i usually do in an hour.” he nudged your shoulder with his elbow, his eyes narrowing playfully. “what’s going on?”

you hesitated, biting the inside of your cheek. it wasn’t like you to talk about stuff like this, especially with sohee, but the thoughts swirling around your head were starting to get overwhelming. you couldn’t deny it anymore.

with a sigh, you sat down on the edge of the court, sohee plopping down beside you. “it’s… danielle,” you finally admitted, your voice quieter than you intended.

sohee blinked, raising an eyebrow. “danielle?” he repeated, leaning back on his hands. “okay… go on.”

 you put your head in your hands, suddenly feeling vulnerable. “i don’t know. like, we’ve been hanging out more because of the volunteering stuff, and… i don’t know. i can’t stop thinking about her. like, at all. and it’s messing me up. before it was just a small, lingering crush. it’s so, so bad now.”

sohee’s expression softened, a knowing smile tugging at his lips. “so you’ve been crushing on her hard, huh?”

you groaned, leaning your head back and staring up at the night sky. “yeah, i guess you could say that.” it felt like an understatement—it was an understatement. “but it’s more than that. i feel like… every time we’re together, i’m losing my mind. like, i don’t know what to do with myself. i’m always trying to act normal, but she’s so sweet and adorable and cute and i—” you stopped yourself, feeling embarrassed by how much you were rambling. “jesus, i sound like an idiot. don’t look at me—it’s bad.”

sohee chuckled, shaking his head. “honestly, from what you’ve told me, it sounds like she probably likes you too.”

your heart skipped a beat at his words, but you shook your head. “no way. she’s just… being nice. that’s how she is.”

“nah,” sohee stood up, tossing the ball back and forth between his hands. “you don’t see it, but i’ve seen you guys together. and besides, people don’t just act like that for no reason. the way you described her, she’s gotta be into you.”

you raised an eyebrow, skeptical. “you think?”

sohee shrugged. “i mean, you won’t know until you ask her. but from where i’m standing, she’s been giving you all the signs. you are the only one who doesn’t catch her smiling at you, even looking at you. she has to be losing it just as much.”

you sat there for a moment, letting his words sink in. maybe he was right. maybe danielle did like you, but it was hard to believe, especially when you felt so off balance around her. still, the idea of it made your heart race in a way that wasn’t entirely unpleasant.

“you’re overthinking it,” sohee said, tossing the ball to you. “just… be yourself. she clearly likes who you are, whether you realize it or not.”

you caught the ball, your grip tightening around it as you glanced at him. “and if you’re wrong?”

he laughed, shrugging. “then you’ll live, you always make it. but honestly, i don’t think i am.”

you exhaled slowly, standing up and bouncing the ball a couple of times. “yeah, maybe.”

sohee grinned, motioning for you to start the game again. “come on, let’s finish this. i’m not letting you off easy just because you want marsh.”

you laughed, feeling a little lighter as you dribbled the ball and faced him. “i’m gonna beat your ass—maybe stick to swimming.”

—

the next time you and danielle volunteer at the elementary school, the kids are in full creative mode, diving headfirst into arts and crafts. you watch as their tiny hands work with paper, markers, and glue sticks, their faces lit up with excitement. you and danielle sit side by side at a low table, helping them cut shapes and fold paper, but soon enough, the kids start getting ideas of their own.

"we’re gonna make you guys princesses!" one of the little girls announces with a grin, holding up some colored paper.

"yeah, princesses need crowns," another chimes in, already working on what looks like a very lopsided paper tiara.

danielle laughs softly, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink. "oh, wow. we’re honored, huh?" she says, glancing at you, her smile wide but a little flustered.

you nod, trying to play it cool even though the idea of you both as ‘princesses’ is making your head spin. "i guess we’re royalty for the day."

soon enough, you and danielle each have paper crowns placed carefully on your heads, the kids squealing in delight at their creations. you catch a glimpse of danielle out of the corner of your eye, and even though the crown is crooked and made of construction paper, she looks... perfect. she always does. she looks even better than any princess from the movies.

"okay, now you need to get married!" one of the boys shouts, bouncing on his feet as he holds out paper rings he made from scraps of old coloring sheets.

both you and danielle freeze for a second, the word ‘married’ hanging in the air like it’s some forbidden territory. you and danielle: married. but the kids don’t give you much time to process because suddenly, two of them grab your hands, pulling you up from your seats.

"come on! princesses have to get married!" they insist, giggling wildly.

danielle glances at you, her eyes wide, but she’s smiling, clearly trying to suppress how flustered she is. "uh, i guess we don’t really have a choice here," she says softly, her voice slightly shaky but still playful.

"nope, none at all," you respond, trying to sound as casual as possible, even though your heart is practically beating out of your chest. you reach out and take the paper ring they offer, pretending it’s all part of the fun as you slip it onto danielle’s finger. “but i don’t mind you as the princess.” you whisper.

danielle’s cheeks flush as she does the same, her fingers lightly brushing against yours as she slides the paper ring onto your hand. for a second, the whole room seems to blur, and it’s just the two of you standing there, awkwardly exchanging paper rings with a bunch of kids cheering you on.

"you may now... be married!" one of the kids declares, causing an eruption of giggles all around you.

you and danielle exchange a quick look, both of you clearly trying not to burst into laughter, but also kind of… lost in the moment. her smile is soft and shy, and you can’t help but feel the warmth spreading through your chest like always.

"well, that was... something," danielle murmurs, her voice quieter as she glances down at the ring now wrapped around your finger.

"yeah," you manage to say, your own voice barely steady. "guess we’re officially paper royalty now."

“i suppose so ‘your highness.’”

both of you laugh, but it’s the kind of laughter that lingers—nervous, sweet, and a little unsure of what it all means. you sit back down, the kids going off to make more crafts, but the paper rings stay on your fingers. neither of you make a move to take them off, both pretending like everything is fine, even though the butterflies in your stomach are telling you otherwise.

—

it was a typical friday after swim practice. you were tired but in a good mood, feeling the pleasant ache in your muscles as you pulled your hoodie over your head and adjusted your sweatpants. as you walked out of the locker room, your hair still damp, you see danielle waiting outside, leaning against the wall with her phone in her hand.

she looked up when you stepped out, and the smile that spread across her face was like a breath of fresh air. “hey,” she greeted, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

you smiled back. “hey. waiting for hyein?” it was your automatic assumption since danielle usually hung out with her after school, and you were trying to play it cool, despite the sudden spike in your pulse.

danielle shook her head, biting her lip as if she was a little nervous. “no, actually. i was wondering… if you wanted to grab a bite with me? i mean, if you're free? if you’re going to grab dinner with sohee and wonbin though—i understand.”

for a second, you just stared at her, completely thrown off. danielle marsh, standing there, casually asking you to hang out. it felt surreal. she was looking at you expectantly, her eyes bright and hopeful, and it took everything in you to not freeze up completely.

“just us?”

“who else would be coming? i wanted to… spend time with you.” danielle fidgets with her fingers.

“uh, yeah, sure!” you finally managed to respond, hoping you didn’t sound too eager, but internally you were freaking out.

from the corner of your eye, you spotted sohee and wonbin leaning against the vending machine nearby, watching the whole thing unfold. sohee gave you a sly smirk, while wonbin raised his eyebrows in playful encouragement, clearly trying to get you to go along with it. they didn’t say a word, but their teasing looks were enough.

you ignored them, focusing back on danielle, who was smiling wider now that you’d agreed. “great!” she said, looking genuinely happy. “there’s this place nearby that makes really good sandwiches. hyein loves to eat there after practice.”

“sounds perfect,” you replied, unable to stop the grin spreading across your face as the two of you made your way toward the parking lot.

as you walked side by side, you couldn't help but sneak glances at her, wondering how the universe had aligned for this to happen. danielle, who had been so distant for years, was suddenly in your life again, and now you were about to grab sandwiches together.

you reached your car, and as danielle slid into the passenger seat, you tried to act normal. after all, this ins’t the first time danielle has been in your car. she clicked her seatbelt and looked over at you with a soft expression, and for a moment, everything felt easy.

you turned on the engine, glancing at her with a smile of your own. “let’s go get those sandwiches.”

—

you noticed one of the kids, a little boy named max, slumped over at his desk, his tiny hand still clutching a crayon while his head rested on his arm. he was fast asleep, the exhaustion from the day finally catching up to him. you smiled to yourself, gently lifting the crayon from his hand and setting it down before carefully scooping him up in your arms.

max stirred slightly but didn’t wake, his small body curling into you instinctively. you carried him across the room, making sure your steps were light and quiet, and set him down gently on a blanket in the corner. once you made sure he was comfortable, you knelt beside him, adjusting the blanket around him so he wouldn’t get cold.

as you stood up, brushing off your hands, you felt a pair of eyes on you. turning around, you caught danielle watching the whole scene, her gaze soft and warm. before you could say anything, she spoke, her voice quiet but filled with admiration.

"you're really sweet, you know that?" she said, almost like the words slipped out without her meaning to.

your face heated up instantly, a deep blush spreading across your cheeks. you rubbed the back of your neck, trying to play it off. "thank you," you mumbled, avoiding her gaze because the way she was looking at you made your heart race even more.

but danielle wasn’t letting it go that easily. she smiled at you, that same smile that always made your insides twist in the best way. "no, i mean it. you’re just... really good with them. it’s nice to see. you’re so sweet and so like, cute. sorry."

you blinked, caught off guard by the sincerity in her voice. "uh, thanks. i just... i don’t know." you tried to brush it off again, but you could feel her eyes still on you, and it made you flustered beyond words.

danielle tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her cheeks a little pink now too. she quickly looked away, biting her lip like she couldn’t believe she’d just said that, and you swore you saw the smallest hint of nervousness in her expression.

you both stood there for a second in the quiet classroom, neither of you sure what to say next. but something unspoken passed between you, something warm and sweet, and even though neither of you acknowledged it out loud, it hung in the air like a gentle breeze.

maybe she didn’t just see you as a friend after all.

—

after leaving the elementary school, you and danielle decided to grab some smoothies, neither of you really wanting the day to end just yet. after picking up your drinks, you drove to a nearby park, parking in a spot that had a perfect view of the sunset. the sky was painted with soft pinks and oranges, fading into a deep blue as the sun dipped lower on the horizon.

sitting side by side in the car, both of you sipped on your smoothies, the air between you comfortable yet charged with something unspoken. danielle was flipping through her phone, looking for something to watch, and eventually settled on a short movie you both had heard about. you propped your phone up on the dashboard, the two of you leaning back in your seats, the glow from the screen illuminating your faces.

the movie played on, but your mind wasn’t completely on it. not really. it was hard to focus when danielle was sitting so close, her laugh quiet but making your heart race every time. you could feel the warmth of her next to you, and each little shift she made only reminded you of how much you liked her.

as the movie reached its peak, the two characters on screen began to confess their feelings for each other. it was a sweet, heartwarming moment, and as you watched, you couldn’t help but feel the growing urge to say something. the way they looked at each other, the vulnerability, the raw emotion—everything felt so familiar.

you glanced over at danielle, who was also watching the scene intently. her hand rested on her lap, fingers lightly tapping to some rhythm only she could hear. your heart pounded in your chest, and before you could stop yourself, you opened your mouth to speak, but then—

“i like you.”

the words tumbled out at the exact same time. both of you froze, eyes wide as you turned to face each other. danielle’s hand smacks over her mouth at the same tiem as you. for a second, it was like the world had stopped, the air between you electric, charged with a mix of surprise and relief. 

danielle’s eyes blinked in shock, and then she laughed softly, her cheeks turning pink as she ducked her head slightly. "what? you, you like me?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

you nodded, feeling equally flustered but relieved. you turn toward your wheel and put your hands over your face as you lean against it. “yeah,” you mumble against your skin. 

there was a beat of silence, the tension dissolving into something lighter, something sweet. you both smiled at each other, the nervousness fading as the reality of the moment settled in.

"i thought it was just me," she admitted shyly.

"same," you replied, grinning despite the butterflies in your stomach. "but... i'm glad i wasn’t." you lean back in your seat, unable to look at her.

danielle let out a little laugh, and for a moment, everything felt right. you weren’t just friends anymore, not after this. and as the last light of the sunset faded, the two of you sat there in the quiet of the car, your hands slowly finding each other in the space between you. it felt like something had shifted—something you’d both been waiting for.

she looks at you, her eyes still wide, her smile soft but curious. "how long?" she asks quietly, her voice barely above a whisper. the question hung in the air, and you could feel the weight of it.

you swallowed, feeling the heat rise to your face. "uh... since middle school," you admitted, glancing down at your hands nervously. "it was after we finished the fitness testing... remember? you put a flower in my hair while i was sweaty and tired and gross."

danielle’s eyes lit up with recognition, a soft giggle escaping her lips. "wait, really? you liked me then?" she asked, her smile growing as she leaned in a little closer, clearly caught up in the moment. 

"yeah," you nodded, feeling the giddiness rise in your chest. "i remember being so embarrassed because i thought i looked terrible, but you just smiled at me like... like it didn’t matter."

danielle blushed deeply, covering her mouth with her hand as she giggled. "oh my god, i didn’t know! and now i feel even worse because... i’ve liked you since middle school too."

your heart nearly stopped at her words, your eyes widening in surprise. "wait, what? since when?"

"remember that science project we did together?" danielle asked, her cheeks still flushed. "you finished most of it because i was sick for half the week... and you didn’t complain once. you just did it and made sure i didn’t feel bad about it. you even emailed me to drink water and take care of myself. how could i not like you."

“oh"

"yeah," danielle smiled, a little shy now. "i think that’s when i realized you were really special."

both of you were blushing now, giggling nervously in between your confessions, like you couldn’t quite believe what was happening. it was surreal, this moment you’d both been unknowingly waiting for since you were kids. and now here you were, sitting in your car, finally on the same page after all these years.

"i can’t believe we’ve both been... waiting this long," you said, still grinning like an idiot. you smack your forehead with your palm.

"me neither," danielle agreed, her voice soft as her gaze lingered on yours. her smile grew, her eyes sparkling with that familiar light you’d always admired. "but i’m really glad we know now."

"yeah," you whispered, feeling your heart swell as you looked at her. "me too."

silence settled between you two after the giddy confessions, but it wasn’t awkward. it felt... comfortable. like a new kind of peace, where everything was finally out in the open. danielle fiddled with her smoothie cup, glancing at you every now and then with a soft smile, while you kept sneaking looks at her as you drove, your heart doing little flips each time you caught her eyes.

the drive to her house felt shorter than usual, and before you knew it, you were pulling up in front of her place. you turned the engine off, the soft hum of the car dying down as you both sat in the lingering quiet. you wanted to say something, anything to keep her here just a little longer, but your mind was blank—except for the thought of how much you didn’t want this moment to end.

danielle turned to you, her eyes warm and sparkling under the dim glow of the streetlight. "thanks for today," she said quietly, her voice gentle, but there was something more behind it, something unspoken that hung between you.

you felt your heart race again. "no problem, anytime."

danielle looks like she wants to say something. she looks at you with an uncertain expression, biting her lip to hold back something.

“i want to kiss you so bad right now danielle.” you admit quickly, almost out of breath. “you look so cute right now i kind of want to get run over because of how adorable you look. like, oh my god.”

“no, yeah, i feel the same. can we— can i kiss you? oh my god, i’ve never done this before.”

you giggle, “me neither.”

there was a brief pause, and before you could stop yourself, you leaned in—just slightly. it was almost instinctual, like the air between you both had been pulling you closer this entire time. danielle noticed, her breath hitching softly as her eyes flickered to your lips, and in the next heartbeat, she closed the distance.

the kiss was soft, tentative—both of you so nervous, yet so eager. her lips were warm and gentle against yours. danielle’s hand slid into your hair, ruffling it up a bit more and sending shivers down your spine. you couldn’t help but melt into her touch. your own hands trembled as you cupped her cheek, everything feeling new and exciting, yet strangely right.

when you finally pulled apart, both of you were blushing so hard, it was almost embarrassing. you could barely look at each other without grinning like idiots, your hearts pounding in unison. danielle let out a soft laugh, her cheeks bright pink as she quickly glanced at the door.

"um... i’ll—i’ll see you tomorrow?" she stammered, clearly flustered, but there was a giddy, breathless smile on her face that made your own heart stutter.

"yeah, tomorrow," you managed to say, your voice shaky from the rush of emotions. you were still trying to process what had just happened, your lips tingling from the kiss as you watched her open the door to leave. “one more?”

danielle laughs, then gives you a brief kiss before pulling away and avoiding your gaze from nervousness.

she waves a quick goodbye before disappearing into her house, but not without one last smile that made your heart swell all over again. you sat there for a moment longer, your face burning as you replayed everything in your head. the kiss, the confession, her soft touch—it all felt like a dream, one you were still floating in.

and for a moment, all the nerves, all the unspoken feelings—everything just melted away, leaving behind a feel of tranquility between you both. you weren’t just two people holding onto a crush anymore. you were finally something more, and it felt like everything had just fallen perfectly into place.

[jamiefartt]

richmond's receptionist

part 2.

pairings: jamie tartt x reader, basically all of richmond is mentioned tho

summary: where you're the receptionist at richmond fc and you slowly but surely form a close bond with star striker jamie tartt

words: 6864

warnings: none just swearing and a little bit of rude jamie

—

day in and day out you watch the people of richmond fc enter and exit the home of their beloved football team. you spend your days behind the blue reception desk doing admin; sending emails, taking calls, and making sure everything is running smoothly. you've been the receptionist at Richmond for a little over three months, and you had no complaints so far. your favourite part of the day was watching Rebecca arrive to work. you always hear her heels before you see her, then she struts past your desk with a swift 'good morning' every day. not one day has gone by where she hasn't greeted you that way, and the acknowledgment lightens your mood each time.

as you're checking the company emails one morning, you hear Rebecca's footsteps approaching. you look up to smile at her, expecting the usual greeting, but instead she goes off-script.

"ah, good morning y/n. i'm not sure if you've seen the email but we are implementing a new daily register system. every morning, when our staff and players arrive, they must tick the box next to their name and note what time they arrive at. for visitors, they will have to sign their name on the bottom." you nod along attentively to her new instructions.

"okay, great! so, in the evenings, should everyone just do the same thing; tick the box, add the time?"

"you catch on fast. see, this is why I knew we needed a better receptionist," she smiles at you genuinely, adjusting her handbag on her arm before turning to walk to her office. "oh, and everyone should have received the email so I hope that saves you wasting time to explain this to everybody."

thanking her with a kind smile, you bid your goodbyes. you open your personal staff email, only to find an email from Higgins including a pdf of the sign in sheet. you take it upon yourself to print a week's worth, attaching them to a clipboard and placing it on top of the tall desk. you smile to yourself, looking forward to getting to know everyone's names and have more opportunities for small talk in the mornings.

the clock is nearing 8:30am, and you're already deep in your inbox forwarding and responding to emails. you've only had to explain the new system to a handful of staff, including Laughing Liam who, naturally, laughed at it. the players should be arriving soon, so you take the time to straighten your blouse and sit up straight in your chair. presumably, these men don't check their emails first thing in the morning, so you're expecting to have to repeat yourself a lot this morning.

"good morning y/n!" Colin chirps. he's the first of the team to arrive, as per usual.

"hey Colin! I thought I heard tires screech outside." you joke. "I'm not sure if you saw the email-"

"stop right there. i saw the email this morning." cutting you off, he picks up a Richmond pen before sliding the clipboard towards him and signing in. you chuckle to yourself and wave him goodbye.

soon after, the rest of the Richmond players flood into the building. some are in pairs, others in groups, and they even form a small queue as they wait their turn to sign in. Dani's excited by the new organisation plan, Roy grunts but still cracks a small smile, and Ted holds up the line talking to you whilst Beard signs both of them in. the only person to arrive alone, and last, is Jamie Tartt. he rolls right past you, not once looking up from his phone. you quickly call after him: "Uhm, Jamie!" you've never spoken to him, nevertheless called him by his first name.

his head lifts at the unexpected sound of your voice, and he looks around trying to find the source.

"sorry, Mr. Tartt. I didn't mean to shout... or call you Jamie," your voice goes quiet as he turns around to look at you, eyebrows raised in confusion. "what?" he replies, slowly walking towards the desk.

"basically, there's a bit of a new system here now. every morning and every evening you'll have to check in and out on this sheet. just tick the box next to your name and then add the time you arrive and leave." you explain with a smile, holding his questioning gaze the entire time.

"right, right, okay... what if, instead of me wasting me time clocking in and out, you just do it for me. you see me arrive, you sign me in. you see me leave, you sign me out. simple as." he states, and he sends you a quick wink before spinning around and heading straight for the locker room.

your mouth snaps open and shut a few times, surprised at his refusal to cooperate. you knew he had been a pain, despite his talent, but ever since he returned from manchester city he'd dropped his act a little. still, all you could do was watch his back, his bright orange jacket disappearing around the corner.

—

the sign-in system is easily integrated into richmond fc's daily routine, everyone dedicating those few minutes every day to tick the box and smile at you. some even taking the time to have a chat with you and soon enough, you know everyone's names.

while your typing up an email to Keeley about a new sponsor, someone walks up to your desk and drums his hands atop it. your eyes snap up and a smile takes over your face at the sight of Ted.

"hi Coach, how are you doing?"

"I'm doing great, y/n, thanks for asking! I would ask how you're doing but I'm here about someone else..." Ted's gaze narrows and your smile shrinks slightly.

"what's up?" you turn your chair to face him to show your full attention is on him.

"my pal Higgins has informed me that one of my players hasn't been signing in with you every day."

"yeah..." you trail off, "Jamie hasn't really been making the effort. I'm sorry if I should have been doing it for him I just wasn't sure if that would be... against safety regulations... or something?"

Ted raises his eyebrows at you, stuffing his hands in his pockets, "did he ask you to sign him in and out every day?"

"yes, he did. he said I should just watch out for him coming and going then write down the time."

"oh okay, I see. I will talk to him at lunch. Don't you worry, y/n."

as he walks away, you sigh in relief, worried you were getting in trouble for Jamie's slacking. you turn back to your computer, cracking your knuckles before getting back to your work.

later that day, as you log out of your computer and start packing up your stuff, the team pours out of the locker room. some sign themselves out, some sign themselves and their mates out. you make sure to keep your eyes peeled for anyone trying to avoid the responsibility, but the only person who strides past the group with no remorse is, once again, Jamie Tartt. your eyes meet Ted's who is looking at you with an apologetic look. you shrug in response, brushing it off. Jamie is his own person, you're not in charge of him.

the next morning, the day starts as usual; Rebecca is the first to arrive, followed by some members of staff, before the coaching team and players pour in from the car park. despite people greeting you and talking, you only half-respond. you're too busy looking over everyone's heads trying to spot the stubborn player you just haven't been able to crack.

"I've spoken to that prick. he can't keep fucking you over. let me know if he causes any problems." Roy grumbles, interrupting your focus.

"cheers, Roy," you smile at him warmly, wondering if his words will have had any effect on Jamie.

when the clock strikes 9, you sink back into your chair. the last of the staff have arrived for their day, and training is about to start – but still, no Jamie Tartt.

you grab the clip board and flick through the pages, making sure you didn't miss him signing in. still, on every page, the boxes next to his name are left blank. you sigh, shaking your head, unsure of how to tell Rebecca you got through to everyone expect for one measly player.

"y/n?"

"that's me," you say, before looking up from the list of names.

there's two coffee cups in front of you, both with the name Jamie scribbled on the sides in black marker. you lift your gaze, and funnily enough, Jamie is stood in front of you.

"listen yeah, I jus' wanted to say sorry for not doin' the whole... sign-in sheet shit. Roy had a proper go at me yesterday, so... I brought you coffee. hope this makes up for it." he can barely meet your eyes as he speaks, but ends his apology with a small smile.

"oh, wow, thank you. that's very kind, Jamie." you genuinely smile at him, hoping his might lift even a little bit more. instead, his eyes soften.

"I just got you a latte. I hope that's okay, I weren't sure what you liked and didn't have time to ask Keeley so,"

"that's perfect, Jamie, thank you so much. you really didn't have to do this."

"yes, I did, I think. it's not fair for you to be worrying about your job because of me."

thanking him again, you take one of the takeaway cups, taking a small sip of the warm coffee. Jamie nods at you as if to say goodbye, and you return the nod with a cheeky wink. you can't be sure, but you think you see Jamie's smile finally reach his eyes as he turns around.

the following morning, as you're talking to Isaac about becoming the new team captain, you're interrupted by none other than Jamie. your face lightens up at the sight of him, and you laugh as he pushes Isaac with his shoulder, making him leave the front desk.

"what's this for?" you ask as he sets another coffee cup down in front of you.

"I dunno... I was already getting meself coffee, so I thought I might as well get you another latte."

"you don't have to do that, Jamie. but if it means you come to the desk to sign in then I won't complain."

you can't seem to take your eyes off his hands as he picks up the pen Isaac had just used. his fingers seem to move slowly over the page, smoothing over everyone's names until he reached his. you admire the rings on his fingers, taking a special interest in the gold signet on his pinky as it supports the pen gliding along the form.

"do you like it?"

you blink a few times before snapping out of your daydream, looking up to see Jamie smirking down at you.

"hm?" you ask, gulping down the embarrassment of being caught in your daze.

"do you like my ring?"

"what? your pinky ring? uhm, sure, yeah. it's nice..."

"good save, love. it's me granddad's. he gave it me when I first went to play for Man City."

"it's beautiful..." you say, smiling before looking down at the ring again. you notice how delicately his hands move as he puts the pen down. you didn't expect such a machismo to have such nice hands but you can tell Jamie takes good care of himself.

he smiles, huffing out a small chuckle at your admiration. "see ya later, y/n." "

"bye, Jamie." you smile, taking the clipboard from him. you glance down at his name, spotting a small heart drawn beside it. it's uneven and a bit jagged, but the doodle still tugs at your heart strings.

from then on, every single morning, you are greeted by a latte and a chat from Jamie. every day, he lingers more and more as you talk to each other, and you always end up drinking half of your coffees before he pulls himself away from your desk. in the evenings, he's always one of the first to sign out. instead of saying goodbye, he simply winks at you. you hate to admit it but you start memorising what times Jamie arrives and leaves. as much as you love talking to him, and especially him winking at you every time he leaves, you love waiting for him. you love the nerves that build in your stomach as you watch the clock, and by the time he finally reaches you, you're already slightly blushing. when he turns to leave your desk, your eyes follow his figure and you let the blush take over your cheeks completely.

—

"hey, y/n, have you got a minute?" Isaac walks up to your desk.

"Isaac! of course!" you chirp, taking the last sip of your latte. Isaac reads the name written across the cup and raises his eyebrows knowingly.

"ah, speak of the devil,"

"what?" you turn the cup around, running your thumb across Jamie's name, "oh, yeah,"

"about Jamie... I really hate to involve you in actual football shit but he's been slacking a bit in training."

"oh, okay, would you like me to pass on the message to Rebecca?"

"no, no, it's just... he's been showing up late to training and then leaves early. during trainings, he's always... agreeing?" you raise your eyebrows at Isaac's words, "he never puts up a fight anymore, and we kind of need that Jamie Tartt for our big game this Saturday."

"I'm sorry, Isaac, but I'm not really sure what I can do about this. I really would love to help but there's not much I can do."

"I really hate to ask this from you, but," he takes a deep breath, a small smile appearing on his face, "I need you to piss him off a bit this week."

you laugh out loud, attempting to brush off his obvious joke by turning back to your computer.

"I'm not joking." his smile drops instantly, and your laugh falters before your face goes serious. "he likes you, so if you start acting cold towards him, it would really throw him off." Isaac's smile returns, and you giggle at his idea. trying not to read into his phrasing too much, you take a deep breath and nod.

"got it, Captain." you salute towards him. his eyebrows furrow as he curtly nods at you before turning around and jogging away.

what does he mean with Jamie liking you? a blush creeps up your face at the thought of him mentioning your name every time he's late, making up some excuse about the sign in taking too long. you start to brainstorm how you're going to turn the cold shoulder to Jamie this afternoon, feeling ever so slightly bad but trusting Isaac's judgement at the same time.

sure enough, Jamie is the first person out of training. you look up at him, and he smiles at you from the end of the hallway before jogging towards you.

"hi, y/n," his fingers drum on the desk, clearly excited to see you.

"if you'd just like to sign out for me there please, Jamie." you speak up, not looking up from your screen.

Jamie's immediately taken aback by your tone and from the corner of your eye you can see him pull his head back in confusion.

he chuckles awkwardly, attempting to diffuse the situation, "uhm, okay... what's the time, y/n?"

you don't respond, instead you point up at the clock on the wall behind you.

Jamie scoffs, quickly scribbling down the time and dropping the pen with a little bit of force. you don't react, as much as you wish you could just look up and meet his eyes.

"okay, bye then." he sighs deeply then heads towards the car park. as you see Isaac approach your desk, the rest of the team in tow, you hear an engine roar off into the distance.

"sounds like you've already pissed him off," Isaac says, "how did you manage that?"

"I just didn't look at him." you shrug nonchalantly.

"mhm, yeah he hates that. good job, bruv." he holds out his fist for you to bump. your knuckles meet his as you wink at him.

—

"hi, y/n, you alright, yeah?"

you hear Jamie place down a coffee cup. he whistles a little tune trying to get your attention, but when you still don't look up at him, he just picks up the pen and quickly signs in.

"listen, I'm not sure if you're just busy or what, but we play the Spurs tomorrow and I'd really like to see you there."

before you can even look up at him, Jamie turns around and leaves. you wait until he's a few feet away before looking up to take your coffee. you stare at his back, sighing to yourself. you understand the Captain's orders but it doesn't feel right ignoring Jamie. you would never tell him but your little routine has become your favourite part of your day at Richmond. you watch as his pinky signet ring catches the bright lights of the hallway and you take the opportunity to rake your eyes over Jamie's figure. his grey skinny jeans hug his legs perfectly, and his black jacket accentuates his broad shoulders. you lift your gaze to see his hair is gelled back neatly. you continue to stare at him, and as he's just about to turn the corner, he turns his head to take one last look at you. your eyes just about meet before you quickly snap your head down, pretending you weren't looking at him.

"y/n! I heard you fixed Jamie!" Keeley squeals as her and Roy walk up to the desk.

"I know, I hate it!" you reply, slumping your shoulders.

"don't worry, y/n. he'll be back to normal after tomorrow's game." Roy helps.

"sure but I don't want him to hate me."

"trust me; he doesn't fucking hate you." he adds, raising an eyebrow.

Keeley nods, "it's true. he's got a soft spot for you."

"he still invited me to the game." you shrug, hopeful that means he doesn't hate you.

"ah! brilliant! I'll talk to Rebecca, I'm gonna get you a seat with us. that way, you can watch the match without him even knowing you're there!" Keeley bounces excitedly on the balls of her feet.

"doesn't that defeat the point of me being there?"

"no babe, it's all about the teasing. he's gonna be fuming when he thinks you're not there, and then after the game you can surprise him! it'll work wonders, I swear."

you give her a questioning look, turning to Roy for a second opinion. he stays completely silent, simply giving you a single nod.

"if you think it'll work, let's do it." you hesitate slightly, but ultimately agree. you won't mind teasing Jamie a little bit. it's all he ever does.

your eyes drift to the picture of him plastered on the wall beside you. the cocky smirk on his face taunts you as you consider just texting him an apology.

"good morning! whatever you said to Jamie really worked, y/n. he never passes to me anymore!" a chipper Sam says to you as he signs himself in.

"is that a really a good thing?"

"it is for now. but please, after tomorrow, bring him back to normal. he's almost my friend and I want to keep it that way." he gives you a sad smile before bidding you goodbye.

throughout the day, you take calls and file more admin work. you talk to Higgins, Ted, and Keeley, filling them in on the plan for the Tottenham match tomorrow. it's a struggle to sit at your desk with Jamie constantly filling up his bottle from the water fountain in front of you. there's plenty of others for him to use, but he's clearly making the extra effort to see you in the hopes you'll talk to him. much to your dismay, you continue to ignore him. it's only been two days that you've been ignoring Jamie, but it's still hard avoiding the one thing that makes your day just that little bit better.

all packed up to go home, you wait for the last sign outs of the day. Rebecca's heels descend the stairs, and once again you hear her before you see her.

"y/n, I'm so sorry to keep you waiting."

"no worries. that's my job," you smile at her, moving to exit your desk. you step down from the raised platform, about to shrug your jacket on.

"ah- ah- ah, I'm afraid I'm not the last to go home." Rebecca interrupts your movement, pointing a finger down the hallway.

"oh, uh, who's left?" you ask her, already taking your jacket off again.

"I think there's someone in the gym. oh, and there's a package for you in the coach's office. don't forget to pick that up before you leave."

you shake your head, confused; "uhm, okay then. I'll see you tomorrow, Miss Welton." you smile at her politely, giving her a small nod.

"Rebecca." she assures you with a small which mirrors yours. as she turns to leave, you hold back a sigh and place your jacket and bag atop the desk. you iron down your shirt and fix the pleats on your trousers before venturing down the hallway.

you can hear small puffs and the whirring of a treadmill as you get closer to the coach's office. choosing to cut through the locker room, you look at the large empty space. you look over each name on the far side, reading them out loud quietly to yourself. moving towards Sam's locker, you smile at the photo of the Nigerian national team he keeps on his shelf. turning around, you read the names on the other side of the room. eyes landing on the locker at the end of the row, you finally let out the sigh you were holding in. "Tartt" you say out loud to yourself. butterflies fill your stomach before a nervous twist takes over. "he likes you" Isaac's words replay in your head. "he's got a soft spot for you" you remember what Keeley said. you ponder on their words, wondering why you of all people were Isaac's choice. Surely Roy could've talked some sense into him, or Ted if he got angry?

you shake the thoughts from your head, quickly looking away from Jamie's locker just in case your clouded mind takes charge again. looking through the window into the office, you see a white parcel on Beard's desk. there's a bright yellow sticky note on top of it:

'For y/n. You'll need this tomorrow! - Coaches'

you smile softly before pulling off the sticky note and picking up the package. the sound of the treadmill is louder now that you're right next to the gym, and the huffing and puffing increases too. loud beeps sound out and suddenly the footsteps on the treadmill seem to be going impossibly fast. pushing your curiosity aside, you cut the corner of the white bag, ripping it open. inside it is a neatly folded jersey – a Richmond jersey. you pick it up by the shoulders, holding it up in front of you. when you turn it around, you let a laugh escape your lips, hoping the treadmill covers the sound. it reads the same as Jamie's locker: Tartt 9.

shaking your head in disbelief, you fold it up neatly and place it back in its package. you hug it tight to your chest as you move quietly towards the window into the gym. you peer in, and to your surprise, you see Jamie almost destroying the treadmill with how fast he's going. his feet barely seem to hit the rubber, running like he is being chased by something twice his size. your smile falls and your brows crease together. he seems pissed, even though you can't see his face, his ferocious speed tells you enough. you turn back around, grabbing the post-it notes from Ted's desk and writing something down. you end your note with a small heart, hoping the coach sees it before the match.

—

"come on Richmond!"

the ear deafening crowds cheer and chant for Richmond FC as they file into the stadium. you're sitting in the owner's suite behind Rebecca and Keeley, with Higgins next to you.

"did you get my package?" Keeley asks, teethy smile across her face.

"I knew it was you! you cheeky little shit!" you laughed loudly, clapping her hands into yours. you take your jacket off, turn around and bring your arms up, pointing two thumbs at the back of your shirt.

"ah, young love..." Higgins sighs.

immediately turning back around, you scoff at him; "pfft, we're not in love! in fact, I'm not even sure we're friends right now."

"don't worry about it, y/n. I promise." Rebecca assuredly says to you, before turning to watch the match begin.

the whistle is about to blow, so you quickly try to find Jamie on the pitch. your eyes scan over the group, and you soon spot him in the middle of the pitch jumping up and down. he spits on the ground and claps his hands together, clearly riled up and ready to lead Richmond to a win.

the crowd roars as the whistle blows, and Jamie initiates kick off. you didn't think you would ever see him run as fast as he was on the treadmill yesterday, but somehow he is beating his own personal record. in the blink of an eye, he runs from one end of the pitch to the other. by some miracle, he seems to always have the ball in possession. after passing it back and forth, any time he's anywhere near the goal, the ball is at his feet.

in the 40th minute of the game, Jamie is crashing through Tottenham players, bumping shoulders with every single one as he makes his way towards their goal. you can see his cheeks puffing air in and out of his lungs rapidly, and after finding himself completely unobstructed, he kicks the ball with so much force that his mouth opens and you can almost hear his shout.

everything seems to go in slow motion. you hold your breath and raise your hands to cover your mouth. the ball flies through the air, magically curving towards the goal. the keeper jumps, hands in the air, and his finger tips merely brush the ball. but he's unable to push it hard enough, the ball crashing straight into the middle of the net.

the stadium erupts in cheers and roars, and you jump into the air with a loud scream. you hug Higgins in excitement and shake Keeley's shoulders before high-fiving Rebecca. you watch the team celebrate by running up to Jamie, who is stood completely still in the spot from where he scored. you can see his chest heaving, catching his breath as his teammates hug him and clap his back. but he doesn't seem to celebrate with them, instead you watch as he looks up and into the crowd without even a smile on his face. your expression falls, feeling your colleagues' eyes on you. Keeley grabs your hand, snapping your attention from the pitch to her; "go." she says, squeezing your hand. you purse your lips and nod at her, squeezing back, before pushing past Higgins and running inside.

as you rush through the VIP bar, you hear the half-time whistle. you head down the stairs and out the back of the stadium. you curse yourself for wearing your boots as you try to run to the main building. running doesn't seem to be your best bet, so you settle on a speed walk as you get closer and closer to the door. finally, you push open the door, passing by the reception desk you would normally sit at.

you continue your journey down the hallway and then turn right, heading straight for the locker room. you can hear the team from far away, cheering in celebration. as you turn the corner, you see all of them fall into the locker room in a line. they're so excited they don't notice you leaning against the wall watching them. the only person who isn't too busy celebrating, though, is Jamie Tartt, who is trailing behind the team like a sad puppy. his hands are wrapped in his shirt, and he's looking at his feet which he's scoffing across the floor. clearing your throat, you hope it catches his attention, his mind clearly elsewhere.

his head snaps up and looks in your direction. stopping dead in his tracks, he drops his hands from his shirt and fixes his headband. quickly glancing into the changing room, he goes unnoticed by the team as he dips his head and does a few long strides towards you.

"Jamie, I-"

"are you alright? like really alright? did I do somethin'?

"Jamie," you sigh deeply, not knowing how to explain Isaac's orders. "I'm sorry for ignoring you the past few days. it wasn't my idea, I promise."

"your idea? what're you talkin' about?" Jamie crosses his arms and shakes his head, a lock of hair moving forward into his eye.

you reach a hand up, gently moving the strand out of his vision. you watch as his eyes soften, dropping to the floor before they meet your gaze again. a sad crease appears between his eyebrows when you bring your hand down to your side again.

after taking a deep breath, you begin to explain; "Isaac said you were playing too friendly during training, slacking a little bit – and yeah, turning up late and then leaving early. he wanted you to be ready for today's match, y'know. so he asked me to rile you up a little bit, just so they could have the old Jamie Tartt back."

Jamie pouts, brows furrowed in confusion, as he blinks at you a few times. avoiding your eyes, he starts slowly nodding, tongue poking his cheek as he thinks to himself. after a few long seconds, the corner of his mouth lifts as he huffs a sarcastic laugh. you look up at him with wide eyes, hoping you haven't upset him. licking his lips, Jamie's smile widens as his laugh grows. you crack a small smile at him and try to find his gaze again, moving a step closer to him. placing a hand on his strong bicep, you try to get him to look at you. instead, he shrugs you off, leaning down and digging a finger into his sock. you stare, confused, waiting for his next move.

"so- if Isaac told you to ignore me a bit... what the fuck is this?" he unfolds a pink post-it note holding it up to you before reading it out loud; "dear Tartt, I don't even like lattes". Jamie raises his eyebrows at you while you stifle a laugh. "what makes this worse is the stupid fucking heart at the bottom of the page!"

"I was just trying to piss you off! Isaac told me!"

Jamie finally lets out a loud laugh, and you do the same, dropping your head into your hands in embarrassment. you don't have the gall to look up at him, suddenly so ashamed of the stupid gag you pulled. you feel warm hands wrap around your wrists, and you lift your head to look at Jamie as he pulls your hands away from your face.

"darlin' I hope you know the only reason I've been late to training is because I can't stop talking to you. and I leave early just so I can see you before the rest of the lads hound ya..."

you blush – hard – and you stare into Jamie's dark blue eyes. his hands slide from your wrists to your hands, softly holding your fingers in his. you sneak a glance at your touch, and when you look back up Jamie's even closer to you. as he towers over you, you can't help but look down at his lips before meeting his eyes again.

"now, don't lie to me... do you really not like lattes?"

"I love lattes." you whisper, smiling sweetly up at him as he shakes his head with a chuckle.

"can I take you out tonight? I wanna celebrate our win since you're the reason for it."

you scoff and shake your head: "Jamie, it's half-time."

"I can give you a lift home after, yeah?" he ignores your obvious statement.

"what if you lose?" you tease.

now it's Jamie's turn to scoff at you, squeezing your hands slightly as he says: "as long as you're in the crowd I'm sure that's not gonna happen."

"Jamie! we need you, buddy!" Ted interrupts the moment, sticking his head out of the door of the locker room to beckon him in.

"see you later, Jamie." you pull your hands from his, although against your will, as if you had it your way you would kiss him right then and there. he doesn't move as you turn around, about to turn the corner into the hallway before you feel a hand grab yours again. Jamie pulls your hand, making you spin around to face him again. as he tugs your hand, he wraps his other arm around your shoulders in a hug. your face presses into his hard chest as he holds you close for a moment. you let out a deep breath as you enjoy the heat radiating off his body.

as he moves back to let go of you, he leans down so his lips brush your ear before whispering: "nice shirt, by the way. my name suits ya."

your breath hitches at his flirtatious tone and a blush already starts creeping up your neck. he pulls back and flicks his eyes up and down your body. as he turns around to join his team, he winks at you, and even though he winks at you every day, this one hits you a lot harder.

as you watch Jamie retreat to the locker room, you lock eyes with Ted at its door. you try to fight the shy smile growing on your face, but fail miserably as a blush takes over your face. Ted lifts his hand to his forehead and salutes at you. you mirror him, bringing two fingers up to your head and saluting him back.

you walk back to the stadium fanning your face with your hands, desperately trying to cool yourself down. after sighing in relief, you laugh to yourself thinking about how your time at Richmond has changed over the past few weeks – and it was all due to Jamie Tartt.

when you return to your seat, Keeley squeals at you, making Rebecca jump. you shuffle past Higgins and sit back in your seat, touching up your hair and taking a deep breath.

"he asked me on a date!" you finally exclaim to Keeley and Rebecca, and the two respond with even louder squeals, which you join in on. your celebration is interrupted by the ref blowing his whistle, and you all focus on the game again.

the guys walk onto the pitch in single file, Isaac leading them out. their faces are stone cold, clearly ready to destroy their opponents. you stand up from your seat, eager to see Jamie after your encounter in the hallway. you finally spot him, and you can see him bouncing on his feet as approaches the pitch. once he's at the halfway line, and all the other players are finding their spot, you see him turn towards your side of the stadium. he looks up at the suite you're sitting in, and you quickly put your hands in the air, hoping he'll spot you. you assume he sees you, as he brings both hands to his lips and blows you a smooth kiss, before patting the Richmond badge on his chest and sticking his tongue out. you cackle at his antics, loving his dramatic entree. you quickly blow a kiss back and wave, praying they win this match so messing him around wasn't just for nothing.

you've never been more nervous watching a Richmond game. you've gone to a number of them since beginning your job as receptionist, but you've never been so enthralled by the sport itself – well, the players... one of the players.

Jamie sprints across the pitch, back and forth and back and forth, the ball at his feet. you, Keeley, and Rebecca scream and shout as you watch Richmond score three more goals. Colin scores with an impressive header, Dani bicycle kicks the ball straight into the net, and of course Jamie punts the ball past half the other players and the keeper, securing the last point for Richmond.

after the match, you find your way back to Richmond's headquarters, pushing open the same door you entered through earlier. this time, Keeley and Rebecca are walking in tow. you all stop at the reception desk, chatting about the game and your weekend plans.

"so how did he ask you out?" Rebecca lowers her voice, just in case Jamie turns the corner. you laugh nervously, shaking your head and waving your hands dismissively.

"no, no, no, he didn't ask me out. he asked me on a date. there's a difference."

"but he's so obviously into you! what's stopping you from just grabbing him by the hair and shagging him!" Keeley exclaims, a lot less subtle than Rebecca's careful tone. you sputter and laugh, Rebecca doing the same, both of you shocked at how direct Keeley spoke about you and Jamie.

"shut up you two! I'll let you know how it goes tonight, you go celebrate!"

Rebecca and Keeley hug you goodbye before walking down the hall. you turn around and giggle to yourself, blushing from Keeley's comment. lifting your head, your eyes fall on Jamie's wall sticker again. just thinking about how close he was to you earlier makes your heart race, your head dizzying at the memory of lips brushing your ear. fixing your hair, you move around the desk and sit in your usual chair. you try to calm your breathing and bring your heart rate down, not wanting to look like a yearning, blushing mess.

after managing to pull yourself together, your heart beat pounds against your chest again when you see the Richmond team crowd into the hallway. Isaac cheers when he sees you at your desk, and Colin, who is on his back, joins in.

"well done, boys!" you call to them while you wave at everyone passing you by.

"bye, y/n! see you on Monday!" Sam says to you with a big smile. you wave him goodbye and sigh happily, genuinely excited for the team.

their cheering goes quiet the further away they get from the door, and you wonder where Jamie is. you check your phone for any text messages, but there's nothing from Jamie. there is one from Keeley, however; 'don't forget to use protection!'

you scoff at her suggestive words, texting back a thumbs up with a kissy face. placing your phone down on your desk you look up, only to see Jamie sauntering towards you.

"hi, y/n," he says as he gets closer to the desk.

"hi, Jamie,"

"how ya been?"

"just fine, what about you, Jamie?"

"yeah, good, yeah... happy about our win."

"I can imagine. you were a proper superstar on that pitch."

wide smiles grow on both of your faces as you continue the small talk; "thanks, love. what can I say? Roy says I've got a right foot kissed by God, so ya'know this is just a regular day for me."

you chuckle at his feigned cockiness, standing up from your chair and leaning over your desk. "don't you want to go celebrate that win with your teammates, Jamie Tartt?"

"nah, that's alright, thanks. I've got other plans."

"oh yeah?" you tease.

"yeah, I've got dinner plans with a really pretty girl,"

you nod along with your eyebrows raised, smiling playfully at Jamie. his hair is still damp from the shower, but he's kept his same hairband look from on the pitch. he's wearing a bright orange t-shirt under a dark green jacket, an unexpectedly nice look on him.

"who's this girl then?"

"ah you'd love her; she's friendly, funny, gorgeous. she doesn't like lattes, though. and she pretended to ignore me but is still wearin' my name on her back."

you laugh, breaking character. you smile at him, raking your eyes up and down his body shamelessly. his eyes widen as you do so, surprised by how forward you're being. you bite your lip at him before saying: "you gonna treat her right, Tartt?"

he teases you back, matching your flirtatious tone. licking his lips, he lets his eyes drop to your lips: "if she'll let me."

———

just something from my mind hope u like it !

[nabinabipumpum]

CAN I BE THE FIRST?-03 ᴹⁱⁿʲⁱ ˣ ᶠ!ʳᵉᵃᵈᵉʳ

Pairing - Kim Minji X f!Reader

Genre - Fluffy(?), angst(?), smau + written

Warning - mom and daddy issues, self-acceptance problems, homophobic parents, Y/n doesn't know how to deal with feelings, Minji thinks loudly(?)

Previous | Masterlist | Next

3 months ago…

After the meeting with NewJeans, everyone was in the minivan heading to the dorm, the four girls were talking animatedly as always while Y/n looked out the window, normally listening to music, but her mind was too far away to really listen to anything. Minji and Danielle's laughter went through her head, not knowing why she felt this way, she still thought it was just something that would pass, after all, everyone gets nervous around pretty girls. No, she never felt that way about anyone, she was just nervous because she was a fan of the group and having them so close made her uncomfortable. She completely ignored the heat in her body when she thought that maybe she was attracted, that wasn't true. A slight shake of her head to try to dispel that thought didn't go unnoticed by Miya, who was next to the feline girl.

“Is everything okay baby?” Y/n looked at the puppy dog look that the older girl gave her from the corner of her eyes.

“Yeah, just sleepy, you know.” lied, Y/n became great at lying. Who can blame her?

After a few minutes they arrived at the dormitory. The 5 of them sat in the living room as they talked about how cool it would be now that they also followed NewJeans. They were already friends with the girls from Le Sserafim, so they finally formed a complete group.

“Hyein looks so cool, even though she's young, she has a cool mood” Soorin smiled as she opened her bag of chips.

“Oh yeah, Hanni is your friend too, she’s so nice.” Miya had a can of soda with her.

“I think someone liked Dani too.” it was obvious that Hari would mention this.

“Did you really think Dani was cute, Kitty?” Mary looked at her, smiling lightly, finding it amusing.

"What? No… she… she just approached me and out of the blue… I'm her fan, that's all… I don't like girls anyway.” played with the her of his shirt

“Really?" why did Soorin look so surprised? “Stop annoying her” Mary diverted her attention. Just like a mother.

“Let's see Barbie” Miya shouted.

Two days after that, another performance brought the two groups to gether. Again, Y/n just watched as everyone talked, absorbing information. But her brain stopped thinking when she had the slightest exchange of glances with Minji. Her body heated up and she didn't understand why. She normally doesn't break eye contact, but why did she this time? She doesn't know, Minji has confused her mind without a single word.

“Hey, you’re quieter than Haerin.” Dani smiled as she sat down next to Y/n, not getting a real word in response, just a nod.

“Is it weird for you that all of your members are extroverted?” She smiled so warmly, Y/n didn't feel nervous.

“It’s different…” she agreed silently, waiting for more words “I got used to it.”

“I understand, I’m sorry if I made you shy the first time, you seem like a nice person.” Y/n agreed, opened her mouth to say something but a loud noise scared her.

“Bro, are you okay?” Hanni watched as Minji picked up the water bottle from the floor.

“Yes, it slipped out of my hand.” The conversations quickly resumed.

“Well, what were you going to say?” she caught his eyes again.

“You too… look cool” she murmured, but loud enough for the taller one to hear.

“OH MY GOD, you're so cute” basically screamed the last part, as she actually screamed the first one, which made everyone look at her. Y/n flinched but laughed lightly as she nodded as Danielle continued to throw a fit of cuteness. “Really cute” Minji muttered softly without thinking, but Hanni and Hari heard her, casting a sideways glance as Hanni smiled mischievously.

After that day the two groups really became close, Soorin was already friends with Hanni, but she became friends with the other 4 just as easily. It took Y/n a while to speak more than a whisper, but with the help of Mary and Miya, she managed, of course Dani and Hyein also always tried to talk to her more. Within two weeks, everyone was communicating on Twitter like old friends, even the two feline girls.

Y/n laughed lightly as Haerin showed Miya's answer. The two girls were choosing books and CDs at a random store near their dorms, which luckily (or not), were in the same building. Haerin looked at Y/n for a few seconds as she seemed focused on choosing books, until she finally showed one, displaying it with a trophy.

“That one looks cool, right?” the youngest agreed “What did you choose?”

“I just liked this CD, it looks cool, I hope it’s good.” showed the cover.

“Ashnikko? I didn’t know they sold her stuff around here, maybe you’ll like it, but don’t put it too high.” Haerin looked at the girl with confusion in her eyes “Many songs are explicit”

“Oh” the feline looked at the CD “Do you think I should change it?” the older one slowly agreed, “Ok.”

After helping each other look for more things, the two left and walked towards the dorms, happy with their new achievements.

“Unnie, can I ask you something?” the girl with black hair suddenly stopped when she heard the girl with slightly red hair now.

“It looks serious.”

“Not exactly, do you like Dani-unnie?” Y/n stared for a few seconds before laughing.

“Why do you think that?” they started walking again

“Well, just from the way you approached each other, almost everyone thinks so.”

“Almost everyone?”

“Minji-unnie of refusal”

“No, I don’t like Dani, do you like her?”

“No either, we’re just friends”

“That is good"

"That is?"

“Maybe, you’ll find out.”

After that day, Y/n and Haerin became a beautiful duo, with some staff and idols wondering if they were a couple. The answer was obviously no. Y/n saw her as a little sister, even though she was only 1 year younger, she felt like she should protect Haerin, maybe because she saw herself in her and was afraid that she would end up destroyed too.

“You and Y/n are really close now.” Minji handed a bottle of water to the smaller girl who laughed a little.

“We’re good friends, are you jealous?”

“From you? Obviously not”

“Not from me, from her.”

Yes, Minji was.

Y/n and Minji were side by side on the couch, both tired from the performance again.

“She looks pretty even though she’s tired and sweaty.” Minji thought, actually she muttered, what else should I say? Y/n has excellent hearing.

"Thanks." she muttered before taking another sip.

Minji stopped and felt her face heat up. Y/n felt the same, but she ignored it, she should have ignored it, she wasn't gay. Right?

When she arrived in her room, Kitty slammed the door a little too hard, which caught the attention of her other members, but they ended up not going to ask because they just thought she was in a bad mood, that was true, she was in a bad mood. Her mother always said that homosexual people go to hell, she didn't want to go to hell, the image of her mother flashed through her head, screaming about the vision she had.

-(“Are you crazy? Why were you so close to her?”

“We were just hugging, she’s the physical stock type, like my cousin”

“You know this girl kisses other girls, right? She’ll take you to hell with her!”

"Hell…")-

She doesn't want to go to hell, but what if it was because of Kim Minji?

A/N: All photos of girls are more for the imagination of the photos, not necessarily the characters will be the same as them. If anything is written wrong, I'm sorry, but it's Google's fault

Taglist 🏷️ (open): @gtfoiydlyj @cloudinwjns @yncoreee @mylittleponeypinkrosieposie @ourlovesarang

[dp-marvel94]

(Not) Alone - Chapter 9

Summary: Consumed with worry and scared after watching Dani almost die, Danny begs her to come home with him and meet Jazz. He wants to see her safe and happy and taken care of more than anything. An important reveal also weighs heavy on him – Dani isn’t the only living clone… and the other is him. He needs to tell her the truth; maybe that will convince her to agree to the idea of telling his parents. And she'll stay in Amity Park with him, where he'll never have to worry if she's safe ever again.

Meanwhile, Dani has mixed feelings. Still reeling from the loss of her clone siblings, Danny’s unexpected worry and care make her uncomfortable. And her own guilt… she hurt him and helped get him kidnapped twice. How can he care about a mistake like her? But having clean clothes and a bed is wonderful. And things aren’t as simple as she thinks.

Will Dani accept the help she needs and let herself be loved? Or will she push Danny and Jazz away and run again?

Word Count: 5,019

First-> Previous

Also on AO3 and Fanfiction.net

Note: Finally, I'm back to posting this story! I got way behind for a bit there. I was very busy writing my Ecto-Implosion story - a Lost Time Mer AU featuring a very ethereal Clockwork and a very conflicted Danny; it is posted now so go check it out if you haven't! Then there was Thanksgiving and preparing for Christmas. And my sister and I are buying a house! We close on January 5th. So yeah, a lot of excited things going on. Enjoy the second to last chapter of this story!

The time before dinner consisted of a tour of the Far Frozen, given by Frostbite. They visited the library, the hall of murals, the artifact vault (including sneaking a peek at the Infini-map!). The stadium, the ice practice rooms, the guard’s training field. There was a hanger for the hovercrafts. An engineering workshop where an adolescent yeti apprentice was helping an adult with a hovercraft repair. 

They passed classrooms, the excited voices of an in-class literature debate perking Dani’s ears. The girl peered through the glass window in the door, curious eyes fixing on the small group of students. One of the young yeti’s gaze met hers, the other ghost grinning toothily and waving. Blinking in surprise, the girl waved back.

“Come, you must see the ice garden!” Frostbite hurried the group through the hall. 

“Wow.” The clone girl breathed. “It’s so pretty!”

Trees, flowers, even individual blades of grass sparkled in the light, despite the cloudy sky. Dani darted behind one of the towering trees, thick trunked with heart-shaped leaves. 

“It’s almost clear!” She giggled, looking at her brother through the trunk. “You look ridiculous!” Flickers of his ghost form – white, black, and green – warped through the ice.

“Oh yeah?!” He flew forward, making funny faces at her through the other side of the trunk. “You’re the one who looks ridiculous.”

“But you look more ridiculous-er!” She laughed more, sticking her tongue out at him. “Like one of those fun house mirrors!”

The two played for a while, poking fun at each other. Then…. The ice drakes!

“They’re so cute!” Dani cooed, eyes round. 

Jazz looked at the creatures. Part wingless dragon, part slinky lizard, they were twenty feet long, with sharp claws, sharp teeth, and blue-silver scales. She side-eyed her sister skeptically. “Cute?” 

One of the drakes, a juvenile all of five feet long, stuck out its tongue and licked its eye. 

“Just look at him.” Dani gave her best puppy dog eyes. “And look!” She pointed to a disturbed area in the snow, sky blue splotches and small silver bodies standing out against the white powder. “Babies!”

“Ah, the hatchlings have arrived.” Frostbite said warmly. He walked towards the nest, gently brushing snow away. With one hand, he waved to the two girls. “Would you like to hold one, Dani with an i?”

Dani beamed. “Yes! Yes! Yes!” Excitedly, she held out her hands.

“Hold her like this.” Frostbite demonstrated. “Close to your body.”

The younger girl nodded eagerly. Gently, she took the hatchling, which let out a squeak. “It’s okay. I’ve got you.”

Soon enough, the baby lizard relaxed, head resting on Dani’s upper arm, paws curled up against her chest, and tail wrapped around her other arm.

The clone girl cooed. “Yes, you are so cute. Yes, you are.”

Jazz watched over Dani’s shoulder, brow still furrowed skeptically.

Half ghost and hatchling stayed like that for a while, just looking at each other. But after a few minutes, the young drake grew restless. She squirmed in the hold, eyes darting to and then fixing on the human’s red hair. She chirped curiously, head lifting. The hatching half-wrestled out off, was half-released from Dani’s arms. She scrambled up Dani’s jumpsuit, onto her shoulder, and leapt onto Jazz’s.

“Hey!” The older teen protested, to laughs from her younger siblings.

The nosy drake investigated, sniffing, batting at, and chewing on the hair.

“That isn’t food!” Jazz complained.

At the same time, the hatchling spit out the mouthful rather spectacularly, having realized it in fact wasn’t edible. Still, she investigated Jazz’s hair and clothing, eventually wrapping herself around the red-head’s shoulders like a second scaly scarf. Innocent blue eyes blinked up at the human.

Jazz sighed. “Alright. I guess you are a little cute.”

“Yes!” Dani cheered. “Told you!”

The older sister rolled her eyes. 

After that, Danny took a turn holding one of the hatchlings. A few more minutes of cooing at the smaller drakes and coaxing the adults into pettings and….

“Can we go back inside? It’s getting colder.” The red-head shivered, frowning up at the sky. “Actually, we should probably leave soon.”

“Yes. Of course.” The chief nodded sagely. “Some food first, very quickly before your journey home. There is still plenty of time yet, before the weather turns.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Actually, there was not plenty of time before the weather turned.

Danny frowned out the window, clutching another mug of hot chocolate. Outside the wind blew fiercely, the atmosphere completely white with the driving snow.

“My apologies, Danny.” Frostbite said surprisingly softly, a hand on the half ghost’s shoulder. “The storm blew in much quicker than anticipated. I should have hastened your departure.”

“It’s okay.” The half ghost looked up at his mentor. “How long do you think it’ll last?”

“A blizzard which arrived this quickly…” The yeti hummed thoughtfully. “Those storms like this are intense but they are short lived. Less than a day, surely. Perhaps eighteen hours.”

“So we’ll have to spend the night.” The boy bit his lip.

“It seems so.” Frostbite patted his back. “Come. We will prepare a feast for all. And a dance! Music and games will surely lift you and your siblings’ spirits!”

The corner of Danny’s lip turned up. “Alright. Let’s go.” With the chief’s enthusiasm, there was no way he could stay so somber. 

The feast was amazing. Five courses. Ice kelp salad, with Caesar dressing straight from the Acropolis. Cave mushroom soup, topped with mammoth cheese and spices. An appetizer of garlic bread- a staple anywhere in the Infinite Realms. Giant Bison steaks with neon-colored fingerling potatoes. And for dessert…

Dani poked the shiny yet opaque, gelatinous slab with her knife. “What is this?”

It wiggled unappealingly and yet, Danny’s mouth watered. “Aojngofls.” He answered, grinning.

“What?”

��Aojngofls.” The boy repeated, to his little sister’s continued confusion. “That’s the yeti word for it. Have no idea what it’d be in English.”

“Okay? But…” Dani still eyed the desert skeptically. “What is it?”

“It’s some kind of pudding, I think. The consistency is kinda like flan but there’s nuts and fruit and stuff inside.” The boy greedily grabbed a spoonful, stuffing it in his mouth with abandon. “ ‘s so goof.” He gushed.

The young girl sniffed her portion, giving at another poke. “Why’s it shiny though?”

Danny swallowed his bite. “Ground up Ice Drake scales.”

At that, Dani pushed the plate away violently, a look of betrayal on her face. “No! How could they?”

“The drakes naturally shed their scales and the yeti’s collect them.” The boy soothed. “No drakes were harmed in the making of this dessert.”

“If that’s true….” His younger sister still wrinkled her nose, off-put. But hesitantly, she took a bite.

Danny leaned forward, eyes wide and eager for her reaction. “Well?”

Several emotions flashed across her face in quick succession, disgust turning to surprise and then relief. She swallowed. “It’s… actually good?”

“Yes!” The older half ghost fist pumped, laughing as the younger quickly started on her own piece with abandon. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“We have most exquisite merriment for your enjoyment, Great One and Kin!” Frostbite practically dragged Danny and his sisters to the dance hall, so great was his enthusiasm. 

The chief flung the doors open, the sound suddenly swelling. Drums banged, pounded. String instruments strummed and shredded, some high and quivering, others low and droning. The winds trilled and rumbled, like songbirds fluttering in the trees and the distant peals of thunder. It was a cacophony, the sounds weaving together in purposeful chaos. 

Around the room, yetis stomped, clapped, danced. And Danny found himself pulled into the spiral of bodies. Jazz, her red-hair vibrant amongst the white fur, spun away from him. She danced beside Snowflake, movements at first awkward and unsure but quickly becoming exuberant and ridiculous. And Dani…

The shout barely carried over the crowd but it tickled Danny’s ear all the same. “Come dance with us!” 

One of the younger yeti’s took hold of his sister’s hand, pulling her to join the other kids. Dani followed, smiling and then laughing, soon twirling as absurd and excited as their other sister was.

And Danny danced too. Legs jumping, arms flailing, feet pounding, head bobbing. His heart pounded, in time with the music. And the very air around him…. The excitement of the other ghosts, delighted to just be alive, together. His sisters, here and safe and happy. Jazz, her eyes bright and shoulders held high, without the worry she always wore like a heavy weight. And Danielle…. Twirling and laughing with the other kids, grinning like she’d never smiled in her life.

The older half ghost’s core buzzed, light with its happiness, with the warmth of its love overflowing. He laughed, taken by the sheer joy. 

Danny danced for some unknowable amount of time after, catching the occasional glimpses of Jazz’s teal jacket or Dani’s midnight black suit. The words, unknown to his ears, and the music, foreign in arrangement but familiar in emotion, flowed around, in, and through him. His hair raised with chills, moved by the shaking drone of the strings, by the long, soulfully sung notes. And his body moved along, joining the song. No, not just his body. It was deeper. The feeling vibrated down, passed his blood and ectoplasm. Down, into his core, the center of himself. He danced, not just with his body but with his very soul.

Eventually though, the music slowed, a profound tranquility over taking the room. The dancer also slowed, many of them pairing up. 

Danny stilled with a soft smile on his face as he pulled himself out of the crowd. He meandered to the edge of the room, eyes set on a table of refreshments. The boy picked up a cup of slightly glowing punch. Turning back, his gaze flickered over the gathering, searching for…

Ah, there. His heart squeezed, pleasantly warm. There was Danielle. 

He raised the glass to his lips, taking a sip as he watched. His little sister still lingered in the middle of a crowd of younger yetis, though the group had drifted away from the dance floor. They huddled in a corner, a few adolescents giggling to each other about something. And… Dani sat in the air cross-legged, one of the cubs curiously running claws through her hair. A slightly older kid gently swatted away the paw, leaned forward to mutter something in Dani’s ear. The half ghost nodded, eyes lighting up in delighted surprise. The young yeti started braiding the shining white locks.

“Danielle looks really happy.” Jazz’s voice broke his attention from the scene. 

Danny blinked, for a moment surprised, but then dismissing her sudden appearance… “Yeah, she does.” He smiled, contented eyes back on his little sister.

His older sister smiled too, just as happy. “I don’t think she’s been this happy the entire week. Bringing her here was a great idea.”

The boy nodded. It was true enough. Despite the slight bumps of the check up and the unexpected snowstorm, Dani looked about the happiest he’d ever seen her. 

Across the room, the braiding finished up, the paws removed from Dani’s hair. The girl experimentally shook her head, the ends hitting her cheeks. Her mouth opened, laughter audible in the lines of her face despite the loud music.

“Aw. Look at that. She’s already making friends.” Jazz cooed.

In other circumstances, Danny might have scoffed at the mushy comment. But now, his heart was too full of relief and joy to hold any cynicism. “Yeah, she is.”

Neither sibling spoke for a long moment, just watching Dani talk and play with the other kids. Soon, the song ended, another fast one starting up.

Danny stepped towards the crowd. “Ready to get back at it?”

Jazz took a sip of her own punch. “I still need to catch my breath. I can barely keep up.” She chuckled. “These guys are more rambunctious than Aunt Alicia’s neighbors at a barn dance.”

The boy laughed at the unexpected comparison. “Oh my g-d, that’s what this was reminding me off.” 

Just then, Frostbite’s booming laugh cut above the music, his energetic kick nearly knocking down his dance partner. The yetis were just as exuberant as any country folk.

“Do you remember that time Alicia’s neighbor's kid let all the chickens out during the dance?” Jazz asked with a snort.

“Of course.” Danny snorted himself. “They were all line dancing,” Hands on his hips, he kicked each leg and then clapped and turned with a jump. “to Cotton-Eyed Joe. And those stupid chickens...” He landed, leaning forward slightly, and moving his head back and forth in a very poultry-like manner. “Those stupid chickens were trying their best to become footballs!” 

“Old Man Roberts kicked one and it sounded…” A laugh broke through the words. “it sounded like a freaking rubber chicken! Like…” The sad chicken noise Jazz then made….

The boy nearly doubled over laughing. “That’s the most pa..pathetic chicken noise…I’ve… I’ve ever… heard.” He gasped, diaphragm flipping with the sound.

“But that’s what it sounded like!” His sister argued.

“Like.. Like?” Danny tried to make his own rubber chicken noise but broke down in giggles.

A second of the red-head’s nose wrinkling, trying to hold but the sound and… hands on her knees, she cackled too. The two laughed for a long while, just the two of them and that memory.

Eventually, Danny caught his breath. Wiping his eyes… “Man, those barn dances at Alicia’s were the best.”

“Yeah, they’re always a good laugh.” Jazz chuckled, again. “The only thing funnier than those chickens is Dad trying to dance to Party in the USA.”

Danny laughed again, just picturing it. Jack Fenton, in all his uncoordinated orange-flanneled glory, stomping and jumping completely out of time. 

He shook his head, grinning. “I wonder if Mom and Dad managed to catch a dance on their trip.” But as soon as the words passed from his lips...“Their trip.” His face fell, a chill anxiety suddenly dousing the previous joviality. “They’ll be back tomorrow night.”

His older sister stood up straighter, also sobering. “That’s right.”

Danny’s hand frantically ran through his hair. “I still need to talk to Dani about that.”

The red-head raised a brow. “You didn’t talk to her last night?”

Danny shook his head. “With everything else we talked about…” He bit his lip. “I couldn’t bring it up, not when she was already so upset.” 

Jazz stepped towards him, nodding understandingly. “That’s okay. We can bring it up later, after the dance.”

His eyes darted back to Dani and the younger yetis. They were playing some kind of game, one yeti blindfolded in the middle with the others surrounding in a circle. His younger sister’s eyes sparkled, a hand over her mouth trying to hold back laughter.

His heart squeezed. “But she’s so happy. She’s happy and making friends. And she finally called me Danny again.” Such relief that statement brought… she was comfortable with him, all of him. “And we just had to talk about our brothers last night and that was hard enough.” It was painful, just remembering her crying, clinging to him like he’d disappear too if she let go. “But this… how can I do that to her again?”

Jazz glared, suddenly serious, as she pulled him farther away from the crowd and in front of some chairs huddled against the wall. “We still have to have this conversation with her, Danny.” Voice low but harsh, the red-head crossed her arms. “We can’t just let her run off to Ancients knows where.”

“Of course not.” The boy almost hissed, eyes narrowed in offense. “I barely want to let her out of my sight. I’d rather died than let her F-off into the sunset again. I want her at home with us. But…” He slumped into the chair, anger suddenly doused. “She doesn’t even want to meet Mom and Dad. I know she doesn’t.” His head dropped into his hands. “She shuts down any time they’re even kinda mentioned. I barely convinced her to meet you in the first place. You know how hard it was to convince her to let us buy her clothes, let alone anything else.” Her furious words, that first morning…. She didn’t think she needed or deserved help. She was trying to fight that thinking, he knew, from their conversation last night. But did that still linger below the surface? And…

“Jazz.” His voice lowered, shoulders curling in on themselves. “I… I’m scared. I want Danielle safe and happy so damn bad. So bad. But…I’m… I’m terrified that I’ll push her and she’ll run. She’ll leave without a word again. And I can’t… I can’t. I can’t go back to not knowing if she’s safe or okay or even if… even if…” His breath caught, voice choked.

“Oh, Danny.” The chair beside him creaked slightly, Jazz sitting. “It’s okay to be scared.” Her arm wrapped around his shoulders. “I… I’m scared too.” At that, he looked up, brow wrinkling as his older sister continued. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t know if Dani is going to surprise us and say yes. Or if she will freak out and run. Or any number of things could happen. I can’t make her say yes like I, like both of us want.”

Each word was a stab to his core, driving that desperate fear and sorrow deeper and deeper. If even Jazz had these fears, then how… how….

“But.” The strong conjunction drew Danny out of his growing despair. “Whether or not she stays with us is Danielle’s choice. We won’t know until we asks. There’s no reason to catastrophize yet. And…” Her face softened, kind eyes fixed on him. “I don’t know her as well as you do. But I know Dani loves you. She trusts you. She wouldn’t leave you without a word and hurt you like that. And besides…” Her eyes flickered toward the crowd of yetis. “Maybe staying in Amity Park with us or running off on her own aren’t Dani’s only two options.”

 Danny’s gaze followed, fixing on Dani… playing with her new friends. He blinked once, the idea rolling over him. Something in his core loosened, a hint of hope brightening his face. 

The boy sat up. “I need to talk to Frostbite.”

Jazz smiled, squeezing his shoulder. “Go on then.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“My turn! My turn!” Dani cheered, moving to the center of the circle.

Her core buzzed with excitement. This was the best day ever! The tour, the feast, the dance. New friends! GlacierPaw asked her to dance. WinterHill braided her hair. And now Icicle was tying the blind-fold around her eyes. 

“Now we’ll count to ten while you spin in a circle. You want to find and tag whoever had the ice-shaker.” The yeti girl stepped back, and the sound of counting started.

Dani spun, head quickly growing dizzy. Then she wobbled forward, chasing the sound of crinkling ice. It shifted… there! 

“I’ve got you!” The half ghost flailed for the target.

“It’s not me!” The other child laughed.

The sound of shaking again. Dani chased, still woozy on her feet. Another miss, this one near. And…

“Ha! There!” She grabbed the shaker, pulling off the blind-fold.

GlacierPaw grinned at her sheepishly. “My turn?”

With a nod, Dani tied the cloth on his head. 

The games continued, with more dizzy stumbling, more running and jumping, and, of course, much more laughter. Eventually though, the fun stopped, the group breaking up as adults came over to gather their children.

“Bye!” “It was fun playing with you!” “See you later!” GlacierPaw, WinterHill, and Icicle shouted the various farewells, each pulled along by their respective parents.

Dani smiled, giving her own wave. “Bye!” Then she turned her attention back to the crowd. Where were Danny and Jazz? After a moment, her eyes fixed on familiar red hair.

“Jazz!” The girl ran forward, nearly crashing into the older teen in her excitement.

“Dani!” Jazz startled with a laugh.

“Did you see?!” She waved back toward the corner. “The yeti kids invited me to play with them! It was so much fun! We played freeze tag with actual ice! And Pin the tail on the Ice Drake. And…” She blinked, suddenly realizing. “Where’s Danny?”

“Talking to Frostbite.” The other girl smiled, ruffling her hair. “What else did you do?”

“The littler cubs loved this game called Rabbit, Rabbit, Hare. We all sat in a circle, one person walking around the outside. The person who was It went rabbit, rabbit, rabbit,” She patted the air with her hand. “On each person’s shoulder. But if you got hare, then you had to get up and chase them around the circle and try to get back to your spot first!”

“Ah. Like Duck, Duck, Goose.” The red-head mused with a nod.

“What’s Duck, Duck, Goose?” Dani stopped her ramble, brow furrowing.

“It’s the same game you just described.” Jazz chuckled kindly. “I played it when I was little. You’d go Duck, Duck, Duck….” She also patted the air. “Then…. Goose!” She furiously ruffled Dani’s hair and the younger girl giggled.

Just then, Danny returned. “Hey guys.” He waved.

A new song started up, fast and energetic. Dani grabbed each of the older teen’s hands. “Come on! I wanna dance!”

The clone girl danced with her two siblings for a few more songs. They drank some punch, snacked on some of the food. Dani talked more about the yeti kids she had met, the older two listening with rapt attention. Each wore an almost relieved smile though Danny’s harbored just a hint of sadness. Actually…. Both of her siblings were being oddly subdued, a heaviness in their responses that hadn’t been there before.

Dani noted the oddity with a wrinkled brow but before she could really dwell on it….

“It looks like everyone is leaving.” Jazz mused, eyes flickering to the musicians. Sure enough, they were packing up their instruments. 

Barely a minute later, Frostbite arrived, gathering the three. “Come. I will show you your room.”

A few minutes’ walk through the halls and the group came to a surprisingly mundane wooden door. The chief opened it and inside….

Wooden paneled walls, a fireplace built into one side. Wooden furniture. A bed, a couch, a desk, dressers. The room was cozy and warm, enough so that Jazz started taking off her outer layers of clothing. “This is perfect, Frostbite. Thank you.”

Dani nodded. It did look really nice! But… her brow furrowed. “There’s only two places to sleep.”

The older girl gave her a chastising look, causing the halfa girl to blush sheepishly. 

But the chief smiled kindly. “Never fear, we have prepared for this.” He left the room, quickly returning with a foldable cot. “See! All have their place.”

After good nights to Frostbite and a short… discussion (cough*argument*cough) about who would sleep where, the three collected borrowed pajamas from the dresser.

“You can go first.” Danny motioned toward the small, attached bathroom, Jazz agreeing with a nod.

As Dani got dressed and brushed her teeth, she tried to ignore the hushed voices coming through the door. The words were inaudible… but a seed of nervousness still sprouted in her gut.

She exited the bathroom to find Jazz and Danny huddled together on the couch.

“But Frostbite did say it would be okay if she-” Having noticed her, the boy cut himself off. He met her eyes and shuffled over on the couch. Then patting the seat between him and Jazz…

Dani’s brow raised in question. She didn’t ask, instead shifting nervously as she sat.

Her brother took a breath, hands balled in his lap. “Jazz and me need to talk to you about something important.”

Well, Dani did not like the sound of that. She swallowed nervously. “Okay?”

“First the good news.” Her brother started. “I talked to Frostbite about Vlad. Long story short. The Far Frozen has beef with him. So do Fright Knight and the Observants. The Dragon kingdom and the Acropolis don’t like him very much either. Mainly because Dora and Pandora are my allies and they’re not cool with anyone who messes with me.” He shook his head. “Point is, with all the ghosts on our side, we can probably get Vlad locked up somewhere he won’t be able to bother us anymore.” Danny met her eyes then, wide and earnest. “He is going to have to answer for what he did to you and me and all the other clones. He’s going to pay for it. And we’ll make sure he never even thinks about hurting you again.”

The words hit her like a ton of bricks. Not because they hurt but because…. The sheer relief. The feeling washed over her. She’d barely even thought about Vlad the past week, too absorbed in so many new experiences and revelations. But there in the back of her mind… (Would he come back for her? Try to hurt her again? Would he try to hurt Dami again, bring him to his side?)

But Danny’s words, the fervent conviction in his eyes swept those doubts and fears away. 

“That’s great.” Dani hugged him. “Thanks for talking to Frostbite about that.”

“Of course.” He hugged her back. “I couldn’t… I couldn’t let this keep going. I had to do something…”

“And you did.” Jazz’s hand on her shoulder. “I’m relieved we have a plan now.”

The clone girl gave an agreeing hum, relaxing for a moment in that relief. Then…

She pulled away, a hint of renewed worry jabbing at her core. “You said ‘first the good news’ so…” She swallowed. “What’s the bad news?”

“It isn’t bad news.” Jazz smiled soothingly. “Remember when Danny asked you about meeting our parents?”

Dani nodded, anxiety sinking like a stone.

“Mom and Dad will be back tomorrow night.” Danny continued. “We’ll be back in the morning, plenty of time before they come home. But we need to make a decision…” The words came out, calm, sincere. But still… the boy bit his lip, betraying his own nerves. “About whether or not to tell them about me being half ghost and Phantom and… About you. And how we’re going to introduce you…”

“I don’t know…” Dani brought one hand up to her mouth, anxiously chewing on her thumb nail. (This. This was what she had been freaking out about last night…)

“You don’t have to meet them if you don’t want to.” Jazz soothed, gently pulling the younger girl’s hand from her lips. “It’s your decision.” 

“Yeah.” Danny nodded. “It’s up to you. And…” He looked out, towards the door. “Staying with Jazz and me isn’t the only option. Frostbite already said he’d be happy to give you a place to stay. And I have other allies we could go see if you don’t want to stay here. I’m sure Dora or Pandora would love to have you. But.” With the word, his expression hardened, deathly serious. “No matter what, running off on your own again is not an option. I’m not going to let you just fend for yourself. Not alone, on the street or wandering off who knows where. You deserve to be somewhere that you’re safe. ”

Dani blinked for a moment, startled. There was another option…. 

Then she scowled, offended. Did she really think she was going to run off on her own? Yeah, maybe a week ago she could have, but-

The anger wooshed out. A week wasn’t that long though, was it? 

She shook her head. “I know running off isn’t an option.” She wouldn’t, not now. Not after finally having her brother back and… maybe kinda sorta gaining a sister? The point was, she finally wasn’t alone anymore. And she didn’t think… no, she knew, she couldn’t bear to go back. “I won’t run off. But…” She chewed on her lip.

The choice… that same dread and unease she felt every time she thought about the offer of staying at FentonWorks, those same feelings rose, wrapping around her core. For just a moment, she tried to imagine it. A dad to tuck her into bed. A mom to pack her lunch. Riding the school bus to school. Sitting in class. Making normal, human friends.

Dani frowned. She couldn’t picture it, the very thought turning her stomach. No, she wasn’t ready. She didn’t want that, at least not yet. If she ever would. 

But…. staying here, with Frostbite… Danny had mentioned that too. And she had so much fun here today. There was so much to do and see. The food was so good and the yeti kids loved her. A large part of her wanted to stay here.

Another part of her seemed to curl in though, shy and ashamed of her desire. She had seen it in Danny’s eyes, and less obviously so in Jazz’s… they wanted her to meet their parents and live with them. They wanted her to say yes….

“Let me think about it.” Dani finally answered.

“Dani, we’re leaving in the morning.” Jazz countered, just as serious as Danny. “We need a decision before then.” 

“I know.” The younger girl put her head in her hands. “Let me sleep on it. I’ll tell you guys in the morning, I swear.”

There was silence for a long moment. Then… “Alright.” Danny sighed, an arm wrapping around her. “Just tell us what you want to do then.”

“Okay.” The girl said quietly, leaning into her embrace.

Dani’s stomach twisted, torn in two. She wanted to keep hanging out with Danny and Jazz like she had this week. All fun and adventure, like an endless, adult-free summer vacation. She wanted to stay with them, to not let them down. But… she wanted the Far Frozen too. To learn to take care of the ice drakes, play hide and seek with the other kids, and get hugged by Frostbite every night.

“No matter what you decide, it’s going to be okay.” Jazz hugged her from the other side.

Dani hoped Jazz was going to be right.

[yourbelgianthings]

no greater love

a hurt/comfort fic with aubrey and duck, takes place after the events of episode 28, tw self harm (not actively described)

“GOOD MORNING, DUCK NEWTON! ARE YOU AWAKE?”

“Well, geez, Minerva, I am now,” Duck mumbled as he rolled over and slowly blinked his eyes. He saw Minerva’s imposing form standing over the bed and couldn’t help but chuckle at the borrowed WVU sweatshirt and gray sweatpants she was wearing. All the residents of Amnesty Lodge who had recently moved in between Duck, Leo Tarkisian, and Mrs. Pearson’s apartments were already good to go on clothes due to usually existing in their human forms, but everyone had needed to pitch in to make a few outfits for Minerva. She was certainly enjoying her new permanent corporeal form, but a battle dress just wasn’t practical for laying low in the apartment. 

“I WILL GET YOU SOME COFFEE IF YOU’RE TIRED, DUCK! YOU NEED TO GET READY FOR THE BIG STRATEGY MEETING SOON!”

Duck could hear Minerva fumbling with the coffee maker, so he hurried to throw on a flannel and jeans to get out to the kitchen as soon as possible. Minerva was the most helpful roommate a guy could ask for, but she didn’t exactly have the hang of all the human appliances yet. As the two of them got coffee and breakfast ready, Leo, Jake, Dani, and Moira arrived from down the hall, with Barclay arriving shortly after from old Mrs. Pearson’s apartment. He set a tupperware of freshly-baked cinnamon muffins on the coffee table for everyone to enjoy.

“WHERE’S AUBREY, DUCK?”, asked Minerva, looking concerned as the group continued to assemble (Hollis and Keith had just arrived and were looking for a place to put down their motorcycle helmets, with Thacker and Ranger Juno Devine right behind them). 

“Come on Minerva, no need to worry. She’s probably just still asleep, she stays up later than either of us and not everyone can get up as early as you.”

Indrid Cold was the last one to arrive, in full striking mothman form, and taking a swig from his thermos of hot eggnog. Duck whipped around to face him.

“Indrid! You’re back?!”

Indrid laughed. “Yes, hello Duck. You do recall that I can see the future, yes? I wasn’t going to leave you hanging on the brink of the apocalypse.”

“Well, we’re sure glad to have you back. Take a seat wherever you can find one.”

Duck turned to survey his living room, which was currently seating an impossible amount of people, and smiled. There weren’t many people left he could trust, but the majority of those were right here. They were going to free Mama somehow, and Ned…well, he was gone for good and there was no use wishing differently, but he made the choice to save Dani and give the rest of them a chance to keep fighting. Duck would not see that sacrifice wasted. Now he just needed to wake Aubrey up and they’d be ready to go. Knock knock knock. No response. He knocked again and raised his voice:

“Aubrey? You gotta get up now, everyone’s here for the meeting. Barclay made muffins, they might be gone if you don’t hurry up!” 

A long pause, and then in an uncharacteristically emotionless voice, “Go away,” Aubrey replied. Duck was annoyed but could feel something might be off.

“Listen, I’m not your dad making you get up for school. We’re both adults and you know the stakes as well as I do. So if you need a minute, fine, but you gotta get out here.”

Aubrey screamed through the door, “GO AWAY, DUCK!”

His brow furrowed deeply. “I’m gonna open the door now, okay, Aubrey?” Duck gently turned the knob and then shut it again behind him. His eyes briefly flitted over the Lady Flame show poster on the wall, Dr. Bonkers sitting in his cage, Aubrey’s gloves and a Polaroid of her and Dani on the nightstand, but they quickly landed on Aubrey herself. She was sitting criss cross on the bed holding her pocketknife, flicking it open and shut, and staring at nothing. Duck sat down on the edge of the bed.

“What’s goin’ through your head, Aubs?” Aubrey turned her gaze to Duck but did not meet his eyes.

“Nothing, Duck. Like you said, you’re not my dad.”

Duck sighed and rested his hand on her knee. “Bullshit, Aubrey. Sure, I’m not your dad, but I’m your friend, and we gotta be there for each other or we’re never gonna make it out of this.

“We already didn’t,” said Aubrey harshly. “We was you and me and Ned. And he didn’t fuckin’ make it out.” As Duck raised his eyes to meet Aubrey’s, they landed on the knife. There was blood on the blade. 

“Give me the knife,” he demanded. Aubrey was too drained to resist, she simply dropped it on the bed between them.

Duck picked it up and asked quietly, “Aubrey, are you hurt?”

“In what way?” She laughed bitterly. “The last time I talked with Ned, we had a huge fight. He lied to me and I was furious. But in his letter to me, the last thing he said was that he loved me. And he got himself shot to save Dani. I have the Flamebright Pendant back now,” she fidgeted with the crystal as she spoke. “But I don’t want it if it means he’s gone. I owe him so much and I can never repay him now. Dani means so much to me but she deserves someone better.” Aubrey collapsed into sobs, practically falling onto Duck’s shoulder. He awkwardly put an arm around her and held her until her tears slowed. Duck Newton was a practical man, he had never been one for emotions, but he was determined to help Aubrey right now. When Aubrey raised her head, Duck passed over a box of tissues.

“I’ll be right back, just sit tight for a minute here.” Before Aubrey could reply, he was off, and returned with a wet washcloth, a dry one, and some bandaids. Aubrey simply held her arms out in front of her. Duck gently rolled up the sleeves and set about tending to her injuries.

“You know, Aubrey, you have nothing to punish yourself for. Do you think this would make Ned or Dani or anyone else feel better somehow?” She started to cry again but shook her head. “You said Ned wrote that he loved you. First off, you better take that to heart, because I knew that man a good long while and never heard him tell nobody else that. But, when you love someone, you don’t want to see them get hurt. You can’t bleed your guilt out, only time will take care of that.”

The two remaining members of the original Pine Guard trio embraced and stayed there for a while. Aubrey eventually pulled back and sighed deeply.

“Well, I guess I can’t save Kepler in my pajamas,” and she laughed for real this time. Duck smiled and stepped out into the hall. As Aubrey pulled on her ripped jeans and a clean sports bra, she looked at her bandaged arms in the mirror. They had armor now, Duck’s tenderness in caring for her at her lowest point helped her feel even stronger now. Then, she put on a tight black long sleeve t-shirt, her battle vest, gloves, and finally the Flamebright Pendant. 

As she sat and laced up her boots, she thought, “The Lady Flame is back!” She was ready to fight with her friends for the sake of their town and the world. Aubrey stepped outside and ran to sit on Dani’s lap. Dani simultaneously laughed and teared up, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

“I heard y’all were waiting for the Lady Flame! Well, without further ado, let’s get this started!” As she said this, a smile spread across Aubrey’s face that she hadn’t felt for a while and her fingers flickered with fire.

[mutable-manifestation]

The thing is, the batfam have no plans to return the baby to someone they're convinced was experimenting on her.

Human experimentation is Not Cool With Them. They are now coming up with more theories - such as "was he trying to forcibly awaken the meta-gene of a BABY!??"

Because Vlad Masters doesn't have any children, they checked his records the night before (what a pity for them any news person will find records of Dani being Vlad's daughter just fine, her paper delayed to the tragic story behind her birth and journey to her father's care).

Instead, they take her to the cave, entrust her into Alfred's care and Spoiler and Red Robin's watchful eyes, and Batman, Robin, Orphan, and the usually daytime-only Signal roll back out to wait somewhere visible.

It is the middle of summer, and the temperature earlier than day had reached high into the 80s, but exactly 15 minutes after the broadcast and about 20 seconds after the away-team of bats' took up perches on the roof of the police building - whose signal was already on - while Gordan - and Red Hood, who had melted out the nearby shadows the moment they arrived - started asking for answers, Gotham is struck by a sudden blizzard.

The flakes themselves are cold as ice where they brush against faces and build up - already forming a solid layer not 5 seconds in - on the ground.

Despite this, the air itself remains at a steady 78.

Despite this, none of the snow melts - not even where it lands on even warmer skin.

Even through the near white-out conditions, they can see the overwhelming glow of green-green-green that seeps out from some point in the direction of Masters' hotel, accompanied by an overwhelmingly loud, mournful, haunting cry.

The blizzard lightens above them just long enough to see Gotham ever-present clouds all but explode away from the city, chased out but a ring of green and letting all of Gotham see the moon in full detail for about 5 seconds before the blizzard - even with no clouds to make it - picks up with a fury.

The term "GIW" and a full visual had made it easy for Oracle to work her magic, and after only about three dozen times more layers of security than normal they had managed to get some basic information.

"Phantom" was a ghost that resided in Amity Park - which they had just learned had been cut off from most of the world by the government for reasons Oracle hadn't yet had time to look into.

That was it. "A ghost" was a decent amount of information given that they'd all worked with one at some point.

"Make Blizzard" was not a usual part of the skillset.

The entire group had just made it into the building and out of the whiteness by sheer memory when another screaming wail rang through the night, and the power went out.

A moment later the backup generator kicked in, just in time for the blizzard outside to stop, the last of the snowflakes falling to the ground to reveal a Lazarus-green sky, patterned with swirls and dotted with purple.

~~~

For once, Danny was grateful for all of Vlad's experience with scheming.

A few Vlad duplicates at the cities exit roads and one with eyes on the sky would reveal if the bats' tried to make a run for it instead of returning Dani. And if they thought going slow would help them avoid notice, the blizzard would throw a wrench in their escape anyway.

The power outage would hopefully prevent - or at least complicate - any refuels or attempts to communicate with allies.

Neither Vlad nor Danny knew where the Justice League stood on the AEA, but this was not a situation in which they cared to find out.

And in the midst of his anger and distress, when Danny felt a new power coming on, he welcomed whatever chaos it would bring with open arms.

He hadn't expected to suck the entire city into the Ghost Zone, but given it meant Dani could no longer be stolen away (farther than she had been, at least) Danny and Vlad were both counting it as a win.

And turning it to their advantage.

Tucker had hacked the city from Amity Park, so he hadn't come over with them, but Technus' lair was not a 2-minute fly away and the ghost himself easily bribed - 'Thank you, Vlad, for being a nerd,' Danny thought.

5 minutes after the city had been sucked into the zone, every piece of technology once again crackled to life - with or without electricity - and a new voice was broadcast.

"ATTENTION, CITIZENS OF GOTHAM! I, TECHNUS, MASTER OF ALL TECHNOLOGY COME TO YOU WITH A MESSAGE. WELCOME TO THE LAND OF THE DEAD! UNTIL DANIELLE MASTERS IS RETURNED TO HER FATHER, HERE YOU SHALL REMAIN!

ANYONE WHO BRINGS A LIVING BAT TO VLAD MASTERS OR RETURNS DANIELLE MASTERS TO VLAD MASTERS SAFE AND UNHARMED WILL BE GREATLY REWARDED!

THIS CONCLUDES THE MESSAGE THAT I, TECHNUS, MASTER OF ALL TECHNOLOGY HAVE BROUGHT TO YOU!"

Of course, they aren't going to just wait around for the citizens to do the heavy lifting.

No, ultimatum delivered, Phantom, Princess Dorathea, and the Knights of Mattingly descend on the city lead by Skulker.

Invisible Vlad duplicates take Skulkers tips to heart and begin combing the city from the opposite side, while the original Vlad paces in his hotel, cursing himself for never taking a sample of Dani's ectosignature and vowing to do so the moment he gets her back - and he will get her back if they have to reduce the entire city to a smoking crater - so that he can never truly lose her again

# Dcu x Dp 193

Batman and Robin had broken into Vlad Masters Hotel because they found something that was extremely similar to Lazarus water as Damian looks around he ends up in the bed room where he finds a crib that has a sleeping baby in it underneath the crib he finds injections filled with Lazarus water and comes to the conclusion that he is experimenting on this baby. Damian decides that he needs to take her when he leave.

After creating Dani Vlads decided not to age her up and raise her himself. Vlad is using ecto injection keep her stable until he find a permanent solution.

[ghostly-penumbra]

Trick or Treat

FFN Ao3

Warning for referenced bullying and implied suicide.

Many thanks to @moipale for being my beta in this!

Sidney hadn’t been sure about this whole ‘going to the city’ thing at first. Because, leaving Casper High? His haunt? Unthinkable!

But Danielle had insisted on him Trick-or-Treating with them, and Phantom had sworn to protect him for as long as his Mirror was outside locker 724, being carried around in Phantom’s Lair. Knowing the boy’s obsession, Sidney finally conceded.

“Hey, tone down your aura!” Phantom, dressed up as a cheap Master of Time, told him as they all walked down a poorly-lit street.

(And wasn’t it curious how Phantom knew about such a figure in the Zone’s myths when he preferred to spend his time in the living world?)

Sidney grumbled but focused on toning down the greyish glow emanating from him, while he walked with both feet touching the sidewalk.

“These modern candies better be boss.” He said, earning a snicker (as in laughter) from Danielle.

“Cheer up, Poindexter, don’t be a boomer!” She said, shoving some more cookies in her mouth. “Ou’ can’ny ‘r’ ‘mazin’!”

Sidney raised his eyebrows and looked at Phantom, but the halfa only shrugged while his friends (Sam dressed as a werewolf and Tucker as Batman) just chuckled.

“We will see…”

They arrived at a house, and a man opened the door for them.

“Trick or treat!” They chanted as one.

“Well, what do we have here? I know Batman and the werewolf, but what are you meant to be?”

“A street urchin.” Dani said shamelessly, holding out her plastic pumpkin with a toothy smile. “A cool one, though.”

The man blinked. “Alright then.” He gave her, Sam and Tucker their goods, and stopped with an inquisitive eyebrow at Phantom’s costume.

“I’m a ghost.” He said simply.

“Huh, can’t remember seeing one like that.”

“Don’t worry, he has seen you.”

“That’s cryptic. I don’t want to anger your god. Here.” And he poured a good part of his candy bowl on Phantom’s bag.

At last, he turned to Sidney.

“I’m a guy from the fifties.” Sidney said.

“Hm, I can’t be the judge of that. Dad! Come check this out!” The man yelled into his house.

“What!” Came back the yell from an elderly man, and the teens awkwardly looked at each other.

“Come check if this kid’s costume is legit! Says he’s a fifties kid.”

“The fifties? Well, I will be the one to judge that!”

“Yes, that’s why I called you.” The first man mumbled before his father appeared. “He’s painted in grey and all!”

“Grey painting doesn’t make a man, you know?” The older man said, finally reaching the entryway. “Well, where is he?” His gaze fell on Sidney, and the floor seemed to disappear from under him. He paled, and his mouth opened like a fish, unable to form a word.

“Dad?” His son asked.

Phantom moved smoothly to put Sidney behind him, not quite hiding him but giving the old boy a chance to do so himself, and to put a powerful barrier between him and the potential threat.

“Poindexter…” The old man breathed at last.

Not that he was much of a threat anymore. So much time had gone by, and yet Sidney would know this boy no matter what (like the fact that he wasn’t a boy anymore), even if he wasn’t smiling, sneering down at him whilst shoving him into his dark, cold locker.

“Hey there, Reggie.” He finally said, barely above a whisper, and looked him in the eye.

No matter how painful, how unfair, how cruel it had been, there was no denying that this man had been part of Sidney’s life, had left a deep, permanent mark that had set him on a path with no exit and no turn-back, the one in which Sidney reached his dead end.

Sidney had already accepted this. He was dead, that wouldn’t change, and, after having relived his tumultuous life on his own Lair in the Ghost Zone, when his mirror had been touched and he had been freed… he didn’t want to seek vengeance. He just wanted… to help kids like him, weak, awkward, dorky nerds that couldn’t count on the teachers to protect them.

(He had gotten it wrong the first time, but things had gotten better after.)

But now, seeing him once again after all this time… he didn’t know what he felt.

“You are… here…” Reggie choked out.

“Dad, are you okay? Do you need your pills?”

“I think we should leave…” Someone in Sidney’s group said, but for the life he of him he no longer had, he couldn’t tell who.

Because victim and abuser were not paying attention anymore, both immersed in memories of laughter and hollering and pain, the two sides of their violent coin.

Reggie gave a shaky step forward, using his son’s arm for support, and Sidney’s companions parted like the red sea, as if they could sense what he wanted.

A wrinkled hand tried to take hold of his arm, but it closed into a fist as it phased right through him, and Reggie broke down in sobs.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I did this to you. I pushed you so much over and over…” Danny moved as if to take him away, but he slowly held up a hand, unable to tear his gaze away from the man before him. “You didn’t deserve it… you didn’t deserve any of it… I’m so sorry…”

Sidney looked at his life’s bully with an unreadable expression.

“I know, Reggie. I know…”

[geraltrogerericduhautebellegarde]

Reaped Rewards

My dearest Cheesy wife, @fontegagrilledcheese has requested of me some snuggling at Kaer Morhen with the wolf witchers, in their wolf form, so here’s a short lil ficlet of Jaskier’s first winter in the keep! Good job finishing up that assignment darlin’! (Geraskier)

-

Jaskier sighed happily as he snuggled back into the warmth behind him.

He had been worried after first arriving at Kaer Morhen, the bitter cold permeating the walls of the old keep, seeping into his already achingly cold bones. While the witchers ran hot, Jaskier was human. He had always been rather sensitive to the cold as it was, and the journey up the mountain had been every shade of miserable Jaskier could imagine. Despite the roaring fires Geralt didn’t let extinguish, despite their sharing of a bedroll, despite all of their blankets and cloaks bundled up around Jaskier, he hadn’t been able to stop shivering.

It had gotten so bad that Geralt had considered shifting to his wolf form, knowing that it put off more heat, but ultimately, he needed his hands too much for this journey. He needed to able to protect Jaskier. Instead, Geralt had hurried them up the mountain path as quick as he could, making it there far faster than he had anticipated.

It had taken Jaskier what felt like forever to finally warm up, but once he did, his excitement for being at Kaer Morhen returned full force. An entire winter with Geralt, getting to meet his family, getting to experience the history held within every wall of the old keep. Unfortunately, every wall of that same wondrous keep seemed to somehow allow a draft, and Jaskier struggled to keep warm during his days. He spent his nights curled next Geralt in their room, a fire blazing in the fireplace, delightfully warm under the furs Geralt had liberally stacked upon the bed, but his days weren’t quite so comfortable.

He had ignored it at first, assuming he would adjust to the ever-present chilly breeze blowing through the keep but when, two weeks in, he was still uncomfortably cold, something needed to be done. The group of witchers had managed to come together to find Jaskier the warmest clothes they could, Eskel displaying a great skill at knitting. They also began making sure that the fires of the keep were always going, all quickly getting in the habit of relighting any fireplace with a small burst of igni.

The best change, though, was how Jaskier now got to enjoy his evenings. He would stretch out on the large bearskin rug in the main hall, directly in front of the fire, with at least one witcher in their wolf form, snuggling Jaskier to the bard’s content.

That night, it was Geralt. Eskel and Lambert were still at the table, playing gwent while Vesemir sat in an armchair reading.

Jaskier ran his fingers through Geralt’s fur, turning his head so he could nuzzle his face against it. It was incredibly soft, and the warmth Geralt radiated made Jaskier relax like nothing else. Here in Kaer Morhen, with the man, the witcher he loved more than anything else, Jaskier felt no pressure to make any choices, to make any decisions. Instead, he was allowed to exist, to enjoy the moment. The winter swirled around them, threatening in its own right, but he was safe.

Here, this winter, though it had been an arduous task to get up the mountain, the rewards he reaped were far worth it. He had never felt a contentment like this, a camaraderie, a home. It was something he would be willing to climb that blasted mountain for again and again, year after year, until his bones ached so much, he could no longer move. He dug his fingers in, petting at Geralt’s coat, drawing a whine from the witcher.

“I think it’s time for bed darling,” Jaskier whispered softly, his eyes half closed, “will you be joining me?”

Jaskier was moved slightly as Geralt repositioned, shifting out of his wolf form. The bard out a chuckle as he felt Geralt wrap him up tightly in his arms, lifting him as he stood, and heading to their room.

There was absolutely nowhere Jaskier would rather be in this moment.

-

Check out my masterlist!

 Tag list:  @feraljaskier @bastardofmothman @hailhailsatan @moonysrz @its-onions @elliestormfound @dapandapod @jaskierswolf @fontegagrilledcheese @negativenuggetz  @feral-jaskier @kozkaboi @kueble @llamasdumpsterfire @selectivegeekwithstandards @dani-dandelino @holymotherwolf

[wolfsneedles]

Dragonstone - A Meta over its small details and history and last comfortable place for targaryen children.

thinking about dragonstone and how it's my favourite place ever in the entire regional places and asoiaf geographical distribution. I also love the distinction how it isn't entirely near the main kingdoms where war raged either but its on the corner of the map, as a lone island with duskendale on its side further and KL. Also find it enthralling its made from stone made to look like dragon with every person in books referring to the place with "dark reputation". The opening part of acok, where maester cressen sees comet and we see how air is always so salty and different there, its also not the same like iron islands where the air and weather conditions might be same, but dragonstone does look so positively grim. I also like how this place was always visited by the most diff sets of people if you notice how starks live in winterfell, and lannisters in rock, ofc most of them inhabit the capital Kingslanding, but dragonstone wasn't really a seat for house baratheon until stannis and his religious group ventured there and began their own organised religion, infact it was former seat of house targaryen and built by valyrians which so many people fail to see as good ones in westeros (talking from standard of common westerosi man who is bewildered by the sight of this island) but the fact it was kind of abandoned and viserys and rhaella were sent here as last resort like other targaryen kings and queens spent their time here offers so much special connection to this place and it being the birthplace of daenerys and so many other important targaryens but after rebellion, being left deserted and kind of abandoned until stannis came is so sad and makes it grim to me. When dany and viserys are smuggled away too to free cities and rhaella dies we never know what happens to remnants of the place, all targaryen fleet half of which was destroyed, but their clothes and their belongings, dany and viserys and how they ran leaving everything just like it was - leaving a sanctuary and a protective place away from the bloodshed that happened in KL and other kingdoms, dragonstone remaines grim and tall and darker at least. Until stannis and his fleet arrived and still hoe targaryen loyalists half of them in castle wanted to sell the royal children to robert and others. Although the targaryen kids were little,,, i still wonder how it would feel to put your eyes on the last place in the world where your house apparently sat and had a seat, where their dragons breed and laid eggs in the place, or the watchtowers, or aegons garden, or the fact that ALMOST everything there screamed targaryen. they lived they ruled they made it and they finally went extinct....

Details:

"the small dragons framing gates and dragon claws holding torches. A pair of great wings cover the armory and smithy, and dragon tails form archways and staircases.  The citadel of Dragonstone is wrought all of black stone. Doors can be set in the mouths of stone dragons. Statues in the shape of dragons can be found all over the castle. Dragonstone has a castle yard and a library. There is a fishing village with a port beneath the curtain walls. King Aegon I Targaryen was fond of the salty air of Dragonstone, which smells of smoke and brimstone"

another thing already mentioned appealed to me was how we read that edric storm davos and shireen often are seen in Aegons Garden and the thought of a full-fledged garden in the darkest place emboldened with gargoyles and griffins ...actually has a garden in the middle as it was described it had:

Aegon's Garden can be reached when going down after the arch of the Dragon's Tail. Within grow tall dark trees, wild roses, towering thorny hedges, and cranberries. The garden has a pleasant piney scent

Was wondering the plantation that could also grow on such place was not richly coloured and under gaze of sunlight like highgarden and to some extent KL, infact it did have wild plantations and dark "trees" "thorny hedges" placed. (reminds me of sleeping beauty tower where the ivy and thorns grew but the tower was so black and tall and you have to cut through the trees to go there)

Another detail since i cant stop noticing the anatomical landmarks it has as described:

"Sea Dragon Tower is shaped like a dragon gazing serenely out across the sea. The maester's chambers are located high atop the tower, below the rookery. The room has a long wooden table. Visenya Targaryen kept her chambers in Sea Dragon Tower,  and Rhaenyra Targaryen kept her apartments in it as well. The turnpike stairs of the tower are narrow and twisting. Noble prisoners can be held comfortably in Sea Dragon Tower's cells."

(Knowing the details of the chamber and royal apartments placed wherever in the dragon tower so close to the sea is so bizarre. Rhaenyra and Visenya lived in same tower, bonus points yea! must visit this place: this sounds like an add or day trip sorry)

This is my fav part. Targs designed the architecture and were really best of their times to include the details of their sigil of house and make it as repulsive but beautifully inviting at the same time. " screams defiance "

" The Windwyrm is a tower shaped like a dragon which seems to scream defiance "

Also another imp tower, the stone drum where stannis often seated but it was also named for the sound of storm as a drum can be heard and (dany being born in dragonstone named as stormborn too !) Its also where Rhaena Targaryen kept her chambers as well.

another pro dragon detail:

"carved in the shape of a huge dragon lying on its belly; the heavy red doors of the hall are set in the mouth, and those entering pass beneath the gateway teeth and through the dragon's maw. The kitchens resemble a curled up dragon where the smoke and heat vented through its nostrils"

( yes i admire again how much of excellence they poured into this i wonder now who were the commissioned architects)

"The Chamber of the Painted Table is a round room on the top floor of the Stone Drum. It has four tall directional windows and bare black walls. It holds a large table, the Painted Table, carved and painted in the form of a detailed map of Westeros. Here, Aegon the Conqueror planned for his invasion of Westeros. The Painted Table is more than fifty feet long: roughly twenty-five feet wide at its widest point and four feet at its thinnest. At the precise location of Dragonstone is a raised seat that allows the occupant to view the entire map.."

Yea, a smartest idea to incorporate and amazed how aegon and his sisters had the Table built about Westeros which apparently isn't really an important feature of the remaining castles which makes dragonstone distinct because we see stannis and davos and melisandre here too with flames and before and after blackwater rush. Such big kingdoms westeros really did needed a big ass table so why not...

"The sept of Dragonstone, dedicated to the Faith of the Seven, contains statues representing the seven aspects of the Seven gods, carved from the masts of the ships that had carried the first Targaryens from Valyria, but have frequently been repainted since then."

I like how the targaryens made a religious place for seven gods of westeros the place they had formerly conquered and their faces carved and sept made although they had old gods of valyria after which they named their dragons and weren't really keen to go to sept either. But this also tells how they made it and allowed everyone to follow and keep up their values of westeros, until the sept and faith militant power was taken by maegor and cersei gave it back in AFFC lol.

PRINCE/PRINCES WHO STAYED THERE:

Aenar came with his hold and ships and dragons as well balerion and after coming, vhagar and meraxes were hatched here. Daemions son aerion inherited prince of dragonstone seat. His only son by Lady Valaena Velaryon, Aegon Targaryen, was the last Lord of Dragonstone before Aegon's Conquest.

After Conquest, Aegon remained as The King however he proclaimed aenys in KL as his heir and visenya did maegor as his heir in Dragonstone. Maegor was sent to exile so Aenys's son Aegon was prince of dragonstone well...apparently. Aenys anyways died and his body was burnt at dragonstone too.

Maegor was found dead later on the iron throne however in KL. Alyssa widow of aenys was also kept at dragonstone by Visenya until her death here too in 44 Ac. Rhaena lived here too until elissa furman escaped, she abandoned then after aerea disappeared.

Alysanne and Jaehaerys lived and died in dragonstone too, Viserys was named the prince of dragonstone now.

Rhaenyra Targaryen was first lady princess of dragonstone proclaimed by her father himself before his death. Rhaenyra and Daemon wed in dragonstone too secretly in 120 AC. She led the blacks from dragonstone seat while Aegon the third was in KL, crowned.

Joffrey was named later as prince of dragonstone too, during dance of dragon. Rhaenyra wanted to come back to dragonstone and leave capital but she died. Dragonstone's garrison refused to submit to Aegon the Younger, King Aegon III Targaryen. The servants of the castle rebelled, however, and yielded Dragonstone.

Corlys Velaryons body was buried in east waters of dragonstone just like all targaryen prince and princes bodies were burnt after death by the dragons. Alyn and Baela wed in Dragonstone's sept in 132 AC. Lady Rhaena Targaryen, Baela's twin, resided at Dragonstone after learning to ride Morning.

Post Dance of Dragons:

Daeron Targaryen son of Maekar Targaryen, became the prince of dragonstone however he found it too grim and gloomy abode, he left and wanted to be known as prince of summerhall.

Robert's Rebellion:

King Aerys II Targaryen attempted to bring forth dragons from dragon eggs found in the depths of Dragonstone. Rhaegar and Elia's daughter Rhaenys was born on dragonstone too and he lived here for time period.

Later Aerys sends Rhaella and Viserys here while Rhaella crowns Viserys here too but months later she gave birth to Daenerys Targaryen also called stormborn.

"Rhaella gave birth to Princess Daenerys, who was granted the title "Princess of Dragonstone".However, Rhaella died in labor, and the Targaryen royal fleet, which had been protecting the island, was mostly destroyed during a fierce storm. Huge stone blocks were ripped from Dragonstone's parapets and sent hurtling into the wild waters of the narrow sea, and the princess is thus known as Daenerys Stormborn"

Viserys and Daenerys are the last targaryen prince and princess to be seen and have lived in dragonstone after their ill-fated escape to free cities and away from their targaryen built island and last safe hold forever.

In adwd, In the Dothraki sea, Daenerys Targaryen names a hill "Dragonstone", after the citadel she had been born in

If you look at how the citadel of Dragonstone was built and how in some of its structures the stone was shaped in some fashion with magic... yes, it's safe to say that there's something of Valyrian magic still present.

- George R R Martin.

[echoghost1]

Dannymay 2021 Day 10: Shadow

The Brighter The Light, The Bigger the Shadow

Summary: It's been a month since the accident and Danny still doesn't have any control. Or anyone on his side.

Word Count: 2077

And today's fic is brought to you by the age-old "ask and you shall receive" except I can't promise that it will arrive in a timely manner.

This is part 2 to the fic I did for Phic Phight called, What You Fear The Most

You can read on AO3 or down below the cut as per usual!

also going to tag a few people because they reblogged the last one and really enjoyed it: @blueoatmeal, @another-shameless-fangirl, @ilikepensandships

Danny’s locker was stuck. Again.

He sighed and let the lock drop from his hand as he rested his forehead against the cool metal. This is not what he needed right now.

It had been almost a month since his accident and he still wasn’t in control. He wasn’t sure how he had been able to slip under the radar at home for so long. It kept him up at night knowing that eventually, they were going to catch him. They were going to find out that he was a monster.

He was terrified of what that would mean.

But he didn’t want to think about that here. Not while he was at school. He had enough to deal with here and thinking about how he had accidentally turned himself into a monster some of the time wasn’t something he needed right now.

He took a breath to center himself and then stood up fully so he could try again.

Just after he heard the satisfying click of his combination unlocking, he was shoved face-first into his locker.

“Oops, I tripped,” Dash mocked, only proving that he had done it on purpose.

Danny turned his head so he could both breathe and talk. He was thankful that the push hadn’t broken his nose, “You okay?” Danny asked with no hint of actually caring.

“Yeah, I had a dork to catch my fall.” Dash was cackling in amusement before he even finished the sentence and his fellow footballers were just as amused.

“Lovely.” Danny deadpanned as he tried not to think about how a guy twice his size was crushing the air out of his lungs and absolutely no one seemed to notice. “You mind getting off?”

“Aw, what’s the matter, Fen-total-waste-of-space? Can’t handle a little weight?”

“I think you’re more than a little weight, bricks for brains!”

Dash pulled back and spun Dany around fast enough for him to get a little dizzy, “What the hell did you call me you little jerk!?” Dash screamed as he lifted Danny up by his shirt and slammed him against his locker again.

“Did I say that out loud?” he honestly hadn’t meant to, but then again it felt kind of nice to be able to fight back. Even if it was just with words.

He meant to sound apologetic, or even honestly surprised by his slip-up. Turns out grinning was the wrong facial expression to have.

“You think this is funny? Well here’s a new joke for you,” Dash started as he pulled Danny off of his locker, opened it up, and shoved Danny inside.

When Danny saw Dash’s grip on the door he knew he had to pull his legs in or risk them getting crushed. He pulled them in as close to his body as he could just as Dash slammed the locker down shut.

“Good luck talking your way out of that one you freak.” Dash sneered before punching the locker once before he walked away with this friends.

They all just laughed.

None of them stayed behind to help.

He wanted out. Needed to get out.

Dash had no idea how right he was about how freakish Danny was.

The space in the locker grew darker. Too dark.

He glared at the darkened door before him, the otherworldly green light was all he had to illuminate the impossibly dark space.

The hallway was quiet so he figured it didn’t matter now. It was too late anyway.

His nightmare form had been unleashed; he might as well use it to free himself.

He burst from his locker with a primal scream. His claws hit the floor first as his tail slid out like a snake behind him. The door clattered to the floor beside him, his books and papers scattered out around him, but he didn’t care. He was too angry to care.

There was a gasp behind him.

He whipped around and saw his friends. When did they get there? How much had they seen?

He slowly stood up, or floated upward, to his full height. He was usually the shortest in their group, but he towered over them now.

His elongated body of shadows was almost tall enough to touch the ceiling. He could touch the ceiling if he just reached up for it. It wouldn’t take much effort at all.

That was way too tall. No person should be that tall.

But he wasn’t a person right now, was he?

“Where’s Danny?” Tucker asked in almost a whisper.

They didn’t recognize him? Was that a good thing?

He looked back to the locker, his neck snapping loudly as he had turned his head too fast. He huffed in annoyance, because of course he couldn’t do anything without being pure nightmare fuel.

He turned back to his friends, slowly this time as to not repeat the same mistake.

They still looked horrified.

Was he moving too slow now?

He wondered if maybe it was the height? He was clearly too tall. Nobody liked being towered over. But he didn’t know how to not be tall.

He shrank down on himself. Got low to the floor and hoped that they would understand that he wasn’t going to hurt them.

Maybe he should just leave?

He started to back up, he peeked behind himself to gauge where the janitor’s closet was. He knew there was one nearby.

Found it!

He skittered backward as fast as he could. Too fast.

He ended up crawling backward up the door and halfway up the ceiling.

He stopped, opened the door, and slipped inside using his tail to close the door behind himself.

Sure, shutting himself inside the closet wasn’t much better than his locker, but it was at least a little roomier. He didn’t bother going for the light even if it was within his reach.

The last time he turned on a light in this form, the lightbulbs exploded. He really didn’t want to clean up a bunch of glass again.

He closed his eyes and tried to calm back down. If he could calm down he would shift back.

At least that was his theory anyway. He still had no idea how this whole thing worked.

He felt his tail wrap around himself. It was long enough at it coiled around him more than once and the tip rested on his shoulder. He tried not to think about this form seemed to favor the tail instead of legs. Then again, in this instance, the prehensile tail made more sense than long spindly legs. It didn’t make it any less weird though.

He was so focused on himself that he didn’t notice that the door had opened.

Sam stood there, staring down at him. “Danny?”

He opened his mouth to answer her, he wasn’t sure what he wanted to say. To acknowledge that she was right? To deny it?

It didn’t matter. All that came out was indistinguishable static and moans.

He snapped his mouth shut, his hands clamping over it. He didn’t want them to see him like this. He didn’t want to be like this.

Why couldn’t he just be normal? Why didn’t he just die in the portal?

She pulled him into a hug and all his thoughts just stopped.

“It’s okay! You’re okay,” she hugged him tighter but it didn’t stop him from slipping his arms out from between them and hugging her back.

“It’s not okay. I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” he cried his apologies into her shoulder.

She leaned back and held his face in her hands, “Why are you sorry Danny?”

He pulled away from her. He knew he had changed back, but he could still feel all that darkness just under his skin, it danced on the edges of his being, eager to come forth again. “Because I never wanted you to see me like that.” He pulled his hoodie sleeves up and over his fingers so the oversized fabric engulfed his hands completely, “I scared you.”

“Don’t be silly Danny,” Sam smiled as she reached out and touched his balled-up sleeve-covered hand, “you didn’t scare us.”

“Speak for yourself.” Tucker scoffed from his spot lingering on the edge of the doorway.

Sam snapped her attention back to Tucker, “Not helping!”

“At least he’s being honest,” Danny muttered.

She looked back at him with a slightly less annoyed glare, “And what’s that supposed to mean?”

He hadn’t meant for her to hear that, but given how close she was, he really should have expected it. He pulled his hand away from her and used both arms to hug his stomach, “Because I know I scared you both. I can tell.”

“How do you know?” she asked, sounding genuinely curious.

“I’m afraid I’d scare you more if I told you.”

“Well that certainly wasn’t ominous,” Tucker quipped nervously as he bounced on the balls of his feet. He looked like he wanted to be anywhere but right where he was.

Danny didn’t blame him for wanting to run away. It hurt, but he understood.

“If you want to go, it’s okay. I get it if you don’t want to be friends anymore.”

“Whoa there,” Tucker dropped to his knees and shuffled in closer so he could also place a hand on Danny’s shoulder, “No one said anything about not being friends. Sure I’m scared, we all are. That includes you, Dude. I’m not going to leave you alone just because you can get spooky sometimes.”

“Get Spooky?” Danny deadpanned.

“Well, what do you call it?” Tucker shrugged as he best defense.

Danny looked down and pulled his knees closer to his chest, “I don’t really call it anything.” he wrapped his arms around his legs so he could pull them even closer, “I try not to think about it.”

“Whatever it is, we’ll figure it out together,” Sam said as she placed her hand on his knee again.

Danny didn’t know where she got all that confidence from. She was still scared. He could tell even in this form.

“So, I’m probably going to hate myself for asking, but,” Tucker took a breath then sat down fully, one knee tapping against the floor while the other stayed perpendicular to his body. “How did you know Sam was scared?”

Danny looked from Tucker’s nervous curiosity to Sam’s steely resolve. He bit his lip but couldn’t think of a reason not to tell them. They’d seen him at his worst and they didn’t run away.

“I can,” gosh he really hoped that this wouldn’t be the thing to push them away, “ I can smell it?”

“What does it smell like?”

“Red.”

“Red what?” Tucker asked.

“The color.”

“The color?” he repeated sounding even more confused than when he had asked his initial question.

“Yeah.”

“You smell emotions in colors?” he asked to clarify.

Danny sat up and threw his hands out for emphasis, “Look my senses have been really weird since the accident. I think all that electricity scrambled my brains or something.”

His friends just shared a look so he continued.

“Ghost stuff feels like flavors to me now. Like the portal, it felt sour. That might just be all ectoplasm though, or at least the raw stuff anyway. Oh and sometimes,” he paused mostly because his brain was going so fast and he still hadn’t found all the words to explain what he had been going through in the last several weeks. Plus this was the first time he was saying any of this out loud. “Sometimes I have trouble holding or touching things. Like I’m not really there. And when that happens my body or just parts of it, feel spicy? But if spicy was cold instead of hot.”

“Dude.”

“What?”

“That doesn't make any sense.”

Danny slumped back against the shelving unit behind him. He knew it was weird but he didn’t know how else to describe it.

“Actually I think I know.” sam said slowly as she nodded to herself.

“You do?” the boys both asked with slight variations of confusion. Tucker’s was more towards disbelief, while Danny was a little more hopeful.

“It’s like he’s trying to translate it, but there are no words for it. Not in English anyway.”

Before Danny could ask what she meant the bell rang.

“Oh gosh I exploded my locker all over the hall and we’re going to be late for class!” Danny scrambled out of the closet and passed his friends.

[the-delta-42]

Altered Fates

Alternate Fates

Cody grinned as he watched Chase and his Dad pursue a speeding vehicle, it was some kind of new black/dark purple sports car and had been causing havoc around the island.

“Cody?” Came Frankie’s voice, before her head popped up above the ladder leading to the command centre.

“Hey, Frankie.” Said Cody, not taking his eyes off the screen, watching the car race through the streets, “Dad and Chase are chasing a speeding driver.”

“They haven’t caught them yet?” Asked Frankie, walking up to Cody’s chair.

“No, in fact, they’re barely keeping up with them.” Said Cody, watching the screen as the car suddenly stopped and spun around to face Chase and the Chief.

Cody watched his dad step out of Chase and walk up to the car. In the blink of an eye, the car transformed and shot at Chase, making the Rescue Bot transform and skid backwards. The other robot swung at Chief with his gun, sending the human flying into a rock.

Cody and Frankie stared at the screen, Frankie waited for Cody to say something, before looking at Cody. The boy was frozen, staring at the screen that showed Chase’s smoking form and his own unconscious father. The other robot walked towards Chase, before a helicopter hook snagged it’s shoulder.

Frankie frowned, leaned over Cody and pushed the comm button, “Graham, Kade, the Chief’s been hurt and so has Chase.”

“Frankie?! What are you doing on the comm?” Demanded Kade, “Where’s Cody?”

“He’s frozen, he just saw Chief and Chase get attacked by some new Robot.” Said Frankie, glancing at Cody, who was still pale and still.

“Heatwave, it’s not a robot,” Said Blades, as he avoided the shots from the robot, “It’s a Decepticon! AGH! I’M HIT!”

Frankie watched as Blades spun out and crashed into the ground. Cody trembled beside her; Frankie absently wrapped an arm around him. The Robot had started walking towards Blades downed form, before looking down the street, spotting the other two Rescue Bots, and drove away from them.

“Blades’s fine, he just in shock,” Said Boulder, “He and Dani will be taking the Chief to the Hospital, Heatwave and I will bring Chase back to the firehouse.”

“Yeah, and when we get back, Cody better explain why he froze!” Snapped Kade, making Cody flinch.

AF

Ratchet grumbled as the proximity alarm went off, Miko paused her conversation with Jack and Optimus internally groaned, while Bulkhead, Arcee, Bumblebee and Rafael stopped watching Jack and Miko argue.

“What does he want now?” Asked Smokescreen, as he limped back from the training room with Wheeljack in tow.

“Prime!” Yelled Fowler, as he exited the elevator, “An issue’s come up on Griffin Rock, something about your rescue team being attacked by some unknown ‘Con.”

“I’m sorry, ‘Rescue Team’?” Asked Arcee, as Optimus closed his optics.

“They are the last four Rescue Bots in existence,” Said Optimus, getting everyone’s attention, “They arrived on Earth shortly after we lost Cliffjumper, they have been residing with the family of Maria Burns.”

“Uh, who’s Maria Burns?” Asked Miko, “And why haven’t we met her yet?”

“Maria was our original Human liaison,” Said Ratchet, getting Miko’s attention, “before she was killed by Roadkill.”

“Her youngest, Cody Burns, witnessed the attack,” Said Optimus, looking around, “I instructed Ratchet to erase the active memories of the incident.”

“I only supressed them,” Countered Ratchet, “I was only mildly successful considering his young age.”

“But what’s that got to do with this ‘Con encounter?” Asked Bulkhead, as Optimus exhaled.

“Perhaps, we should pay them a visit.” Said Optimus, before everybody got up, “I was referring to myself and Ratchet.”

“Sorry, Optimus,” Said Arcee, folding her arms, “but we’ll be pulling a Miko.”

“Yeah!” Cried the Girl, before freezing, “Hey!”

Optimus sighed, “Ratchet, do you still possess the portable Ground Bridge control?”

“It’s been collecting dust, but it’s still operational.” Said Ratchet, picking the device up.

AF

The Team had moved Cody down to the bunker, with Frankie being kept to the side while Dani worked. Dani flashed a pen light over Cody’s eyes, “I don’t know, Kade, Cody’s pupils are reacting to the light, but that doesn’t mean he’s conscious.”

“Well, what’s wrong with him?” Demanded Kade, as a green light illuminated the Bunker.

The group looked towards it, just as Optimus exited from the light source, swiftly followed by six Autobots and four humans.

“Cool!” Cried a Japanese girl, “You didn’t say they had an underground base!”

“Miko,” Said the giant green Autobot, “We only just found out about them.”

Optimus frowned at the sight of Cody, before crouching down and look closely at the boy, “Ratchet, what is happening?”

The white and orange Autobot crouched down at scanned Cody, “It seems that the memories I repressed are starting to surface, I suggest you restrain him until it’s over.”

“Restain- Why should we restrain him?” Asked Graham, just as Cody’s arm swung out and hit him as the boy screamed.

“That’s why!” Yelled Ratchet, grabbing Cody and holding his arms and leg together, “He thinks he’s seeing Roadkill all over again!”

“Why?” Asked the Blue, female looking Autobot, “The last time he was stock still and didn’t make a sound.”

“That’s what Cody did when he saw the Decepticon,” Said Heatwave, walking up to Optimus, “I hope Ratchet’s a medic, because Chase needs one.”

Ratchet looked around, “Bulkhead, hold him!”

The big green Autobot held his hands up, walked backward, inadvertently stepping on the pinball machine, and shook his head, “Sorry, Ratch, I can barely hold Miko without her complaining.”

A white and green Autobot huffed, “Give him here.”

The Autobot Transformed into Vehicle mode, everyone flinching as Cody’s head connected with the Autobot’s window.

“Uhh, oops?” Said the Autobot, as Miko started looking around.

“What is happening?!” Yelled Kade, making everyone look at him.

Optimus crouched down and look at Kade, “That, is a long and tedious story, Arcee, take Smokescreen and Bumblebee and search for Roadkill, Bulkhead, keep an eye on the Children, Agent Fowler, could you please contact Nurse Darby and see if she can come here?”

The dark skinned human nodded and pulled out his phone, while blue Autobot transformed into a Motorcycle and left with Bumblebee and the white and red Autobot, both transforming as well. Soon, the three were gone.

“Kade, several years ago, your mother worked for your united states government,” Said Optimus, as Dani and Graham joined Kade, while Frankie went over to the white and green Autobot so she was near Cody, “Her job was our official liaison to the humans, until she was murdered by Roadkill.”

“That Decepticon.” Said Heatwave, getting a nod from Optimus.

“Roadkill take particular delight in hunt and killing Humans, he targeted your mother because of some transgression.” Said Optimus, as Fowler spoke.

“She overtook him on a freeway.” Called Fowler, before returning to the phone, “Any of you bots flyers?”

“Blades is.” Said Dani, as Fowler nodded.

“I’m going to have to borrow him to collect Nurse Darby, she’s attending a conference in Maine.” Said Fowler as he took Blades to the roof.

“Roadkill followed your mother back to Griffin Rock, before attacking her.” Continued Optimus, before looking at the white and green Autobot, “Wheeljack, loosen your grip, if he dies before Nurse Darby gets here, I will not hesitate in throwing you under a mode of transportation.”

“I don’t think that’s how the saying goes, Prime.” Said Wheeljack, opening his window and loosening the seatbelt holding Cody. Cody curled into a ball and tried to make himself a small as possible.

Optimus frowned, “If the Decepticon is indeed Roadkill, his very appearance may have sparked Cody’s memories to resurface.”

“But why were they repressed in the first place?” Asked Dani, looking towards Cody.

“It was decided at the time that, given his young age, Cody wouldn’t be able to keep our existence a secret,” Explained Optimus, frowning, “an area of your government requested that he be made to forget about the incident.”

“Obviously, it failed.” Called Ratchet, as he examined Chase.

“So, to clarify, our mom was your previous liaison, was killed by a Decepticon and Cody witnessed it happen?” Asked Kade, as Wheeljack’s door opened.

Optimus looked over and saw Nurse Darby, and Chief Burns, checking Cody over.

“He’s just in shock,” Said June, before looking at Graham, “you might want to get some ice for that.”

Graham suddenly became aware of the throbbing pain in his jaw. June helped Chief Burns manoeuvre Cody out of Wheeljack and towards a chair.

“Wheeljack, go help the others with the search,” Ordered Optimus, before heading towards the communications area, “I will call in additional support.”

“Who else is here?” Asked Wheeljack, before speeding out of the Firehouse.

“I must say, Optimus, your team has no respect for road safety laws.” Said Chase, as he sat up.

“Optimus, if there is a Decepticon here, wouldn’t it be prudent to installed weapon systems into the Rescue Bots?” Asked Ratchet, looking up at Optimus.

“Perhaps, but it is their choice Ratchet.” Said Optimus, before the door to the communications centre closed.

AF

Arcee scanned the road, keeping an eye out for the Decepticon, Smokescreen was covering the north side of the island, Bumblebee was tackling the south and Wheeljack had taken the west, leaving Arcee with the east.

Fowler had made the consequences of them not finding the Decepticon clear, if the ‘Con got away, Cody, and only Cody would go into protective custody. Normally, the entire family would move, but the Rescue Team couldn’t leave the island, at any cost. Arcee spotted a familiar black/dark purple car make ahead, ‘Gotcha.’ Thought Arcee, speeding up to catch up with the Decepticon.

Roadkill became aware of an Autobot tailing him, the second on that night, and increased his speed. Before he could request a ground bridge, a black and white police car appeared next to him, before slamming into him.

“Roadkill to Nemesis,” Said Roadkill, “I’m being tailed by two Autobots, I could use a bridge.”

“Did you find the relic?” Demanded Megatron, his tone dark.

“The relic’s been gone for weeks, Lord Megatron,” Reported Roadkill, “this Island has kept an extensive record of every incident that’s occurred here. The Liquefier is long gone.”

The swirling green vortex of the ground bridge sprang into life, before Roadkill drove through it. Arcee and the Police car skidded to a halt. Both transformed.

“Scrap!” Yelled the Police Car, who bore a heavy resemblance to Smokescreen.

“Prowl?” Asked Arcee, getting the bot to look at her.

“Arcee.” Greeted Prowl, nodding at her.

AF

Optimus exited the Communications Centre to be greeted by the Autobots, Rescue Bots and Prowl.

“Sir!” Saluted Prowl, snapping to attention.

“At ease Prowl.” Said Optimus, looking at the tactician.

“Sir, I regret to inform you that the Decepticon known as Roadkill was able to escape capture.” Reported Prowl, “I have been following his trail for the past four Earth Stellar cycles, before I tracked him to this Island, where he escaped through a space bridge portal.”

Optimus sighed and closed his optics, “Chief Burns, I take it that Agent Fowler alerted you to the course of action that would be taken if the Decepticon would escape.”

“He did.” Confirmed the Chief, his tone flat.

“Wait, course of action? What course of action?” Asked Kade, looking between his father and Optimus.

“As long a Cody remains here, his life is at risk,” Said Optimus, looking down at Kade, “as well as yours.”

“So, what, we all go into hiding or something?” Asked Graham, confused.

“Normally, that would be the case,” Said Optimus, shuttering his optics, “however, as Cody is the only target, and that the Rescue Team has been assigned here, Cody, and only Cody, will be placed under Autobot Protection until Roadkill has been dealt with.”

“H-how long will that be?” Asked Dani, getting Optimus to look at her.

“I do not know, Danielle.” Said Optimus, “Hopefully, sooner rather than later.”

AF

Cody was silent as the last of his bags were loaded into Bulkhead, The Rescue bots had been given basic weapons, both ranged and melee, by Ratchet. Cody had already said his goodbyes to his family, the only ones left was Frankie and her family, since he hadn’t seen them since the week before.

“Okay, that’s everything.” Said Jack, looking down at Cody, “You okay, bud?”

“Yeah,” muttered Cody, despondent looking around is home for what could be the last time, “I guess I never thought I’d leave.”

“Don’t worry,” Said Miko, slumping against Bulkhead’s side, “There’s nothing the Bot’s can’t handle.”

“Miko.” Said Bulkhead, turning his engine on, “It’s time to go.”

Each human went to their Autobot, while Cody went back to say goodbye, again.

“I’m going to miss you so much.” Said Dani, as she held on to him.

“I know it’s probably only going to be a little while,” Said his dad, “But, I want you to know that we’ll always be with you, even if you’re a million miles away.”

Graham and Kade had opted for simple hugs, before Cody started making his way over to Prowl. The Autobot looked down at him and then at the Chief, “I promise, I’ll protect him with my very spark.”

Chief nodded, as Prowl collapsed into his vehicle mode, Cody was about to climb in when Frankie turned up.

“Wait!” Yelled Frankie, coming to a stop in front of Cody, “I, er, I wanted to give you this.”

Frankie held out a book, Cody looked at it. He opened the cover and a hologram of him and Frankie appeared, he turned the page and the hologram was replaced with one of his family and the Rescue Bots, the next was him and Uncle Woodrow and the one after was of Trex. Cody bit his bottom lip and wrapped his arms around Frankie.

“I’m gonna miss you.” Said Cody, into Frankie’s shoulder.

“I’ll miss you too.” Responded Frankie, hugging Cody back.

“Young Love.” Said Kade, before Graham elbowed him in the side.

AF

Cody looked around his new room, Prowl was sitting outside, keeping watch for Roadkill or any other Decepticons, almost every day, after school, Prowl would take Cody to the Autobot’s base, hidden in the Nevada Desert. Optimus and his team were looking for Cybertronian Relics, the most recent ones being keys of some sort, Prowl had been keeping an eye on Cody and hadn’t been able to take part in the search. Cody opened the holograph album Frankie gave him, looking at the images of his family and his previous life. He heard Prowl honk his horn, prompting Cody to shove the book in his bag, before heading out the door.

After school, Cody found himself in Prowl’s back seat with Raf, while Jack and Miko were in the front arguing, again. Prowl suddenly skidded to a halt, opening his doors, sending the human out of his interiors, before transforming.

“Starscream.” Hissed the Autobot, engaging his weapons.

“Don’t worry, I’m not here for you.” Sneered Starscream reaching for Jack.

Prowl shot him in the chest, before Knock Out lunged at him and jabbed the energon prod at him. Prowl shook the first two jabs, before the third, fourth and fifth sent him to the ground.

“It’s a pity we don’t have enough time to terminate him now.” Said Starscream, before he, Knock Out and a couple of Vehicons grabbed the Humans and placed them in jars.

The next few hours were a blur for Cody, with him and the other humans being taken to Cybertron, the Autobot’s being forced to surrender the relics and Omega Keys and Optimus destroying the Omega Lock, before the Autobots retreated. Back on Earth, the Autobot found the Decepticons had discovered the location of their secret base, which led to the Autobot’s evacuating the base. Cody watched the countryside race by, the book Frankie gave him resting on his lap.

“Where are we?” Asked Cody, looking to the open fields.

“Maine, we’re heading to Griffin Rock.” Said Prowl, his dash flashing as he spoke.

“But, what about Roadkill?” Asked Cody, looking down at Prowl’s dash.

“He was caught in the Spark Extractor blast when Smokescreen set it off.” Said Prowl, “And, frankly, you’re in more danger with me than you were when Roadkill was hunting you. Besides, it’s been a few months, I’m sure you’re dying to see your family.”

Cody smiled, as Prowl reached the ferry.

AF

Charlie sighed, Frankie had been temporarily filling in for Cody, since the last dispatcher had been neglecting to answer calls. Chase transformed, as Frankie slid down the fire pole, Heatwave, Blade and Boulder looking at the group.

“Another false alarm.” Said Chief, getting a collective groan.

“Again?” Demanded Heatwave, “How come all of the calls are false alarms?”

“Perhaps it’s because there’s a lack of training for your dispatchers.” Said Prowl, making everyone jump.

“Prowl!” Cried Blades, jumping to his feet, “It’s so good to see you, is Cody with you? How’s Bumblebee? Why are you here?”

“Yes, don’t know, and Cody’s no longer in danger.” Said Prowl, his chest opening, revealing Cody.

“W-wait, did you say Cody’s no longer in danger?” Asked Frankie, her eyes zeroing in on Cody.

“Roadkill was offlined during a recent battle on Cybertron,” Said Prowl, his door wings tilting downwards, “Ironically, the same battle led to our base being discovered. Cody would be much safe here, away from anything that may spark any conflict with the Decepticons.”

“Well, I’m sure there’s room for you here.” Said Charlie, as Prowl set Cody on the floor.

“As long as I’m not encroaching in your business.” Said Prowl, before collapsing into his alt mode.

Cody looked at Prowl, before looking back at his family. He was suddenly tackled by Frankie, the girl held him in a vice-like grip and buried her face in his shoulder, Cody found himself returning the embrace, he tried to ignore the warm fuzzy feeling in his chest. The two felt Dani join the embrace, followed by Graham, Kade and Charlie.

“It’s good to have you home.” Said Charlie, looking down at Cody’s head.

“Almost a year.” Said Kade, “I think you should’ve been away a bit longer, so you could gain a foot.”

Cody let out a wet giggle, before everyone detangled themselves and started to head upstairs.

“You missed so much, Daddy and Professor Baranova got married, The Pynche’s moved away, and Mayor Luskey almost set his house of fire, again.” Said Frankie, from her place next to Cody.

Prowl watched the group leave, before transforming and checking his scanners and frowning and then transforming back to vehicle mode again. Prowl hadn’t received any word from Optimus or any of the other Autobots, then again, they could be maintaining radio silence.

AF

Cody laughed at Dani’s story, especially when she accidentally hit Kade in the face. Frankie had gone home and would be returning tomorrow. Cody couldn’t help but miss Frankie’s presence, despite only seeing her an hour before.

“Since we’ve all had a busy day,” Said his Dad, “I think it’d be best if we all went to bed, we’ve all got work tomorrow.”

Everyone groaned but got up and started heading towards their rooms. Charlie grabbed Cody and hugged him, “You were gone too long.”

Cody hugged his dad back, “I missed you.”

“I missed you too.” Said Charlie, before letting Cody go, “Go get some sleep, you’ve had a busy day.”

Cody smiled, before heading off to his room.

Outside, Prowl frowned up at the sky, stars were periodically going out and then coming back. The only explanation was that aircraft were passing overhead, but human aircraft usually had some form of sign on them that showed they were there.

Then a shot hit the island, followed by another and then another, then the Vehicons started landing and Prowl mentally slapped his helm. The Decepticons tracked him and, subsequently, Cody to Griffin Rock.

“What the-” Exclaimed Heatwave, exiting the Firehouse.

“Decepticons.” Said Prowl, arming his weapons, “I hope you got practice with your weapon systems.”

Charlie came running out, just as Prowl shot a Vehicon out of the air, “Chief, is there anywhere the Island’s population can hide?”

“The Sanctuary, it in the caverns under Griffin Rock.” Said Charlie, as Chase clipped another Vehicon’s wing.

“I suggest you move all of the people there, now.” Said Prowl, dodging a shot.

“Right, Rescue Bots, vehicle mode.” Ordered Chief, prompting the bots to transform.

“I’ll see about getting Cody to safety.” Said Prowl, as the other Burnses came running out.

“What’s going on?” Demanded Kade, looking around.

“Decepticon attack, get everyone to the sanctuary.” Said Chief, climbing into Chase.

The Rescue bots rolled out, leaving Cody with Prowl, “We best get you somewhere safe.”

“What about Frankie?” Asked Cody, making Prowl stop, “She and her family are in danger too!”

“I’m sure the rescue bots are more than capable of getting both her and her family to safety.” Responded Prowl, before seeing the look on Cody’s face, “Although, I could pick them up, but we’ll have to be quick about it.”

Cody gave a small smile, before Prowl transformed and Cody climbed in. Prowl gunned his engine and tore off down the street, using the gps to find his way to the Greene’s home, by the time Prowl and Cody got there, Frankie, her dad and Professor Baranova were taking shelter from a Decepticon that was trying to grab them.

“Cody, hang on.” Warned Prowl, before speeding up and ramming the Decepticon. Before the Decepticon had a chance to recover, Prowl transformed and discharged his cannon into the Decepticon’s spark.

Prowl looked towards Frankie and her family, “You need to get out of here.”

“Kind of difficult when a giant robot is chasing you.” Snapped Frankie, as Prowl transformed.

“T-there’s a new robot?” Asked Baranova, weakly.

“It’s rather difficult to explain,” Started Doc Greene, before Prowl cut him off.

“Not a robot as you know it,” Said Prowl, opening his door, as Cody climbed into the back seat, “We’re aliens, my name’s Prowl and currently your best hope of survival.”

Frankie climbed in next to Cody, as Doc Greene and Professor Baranova climbed into Prowl’s front, the latter still trying to process what Prowl had told her.

“Cody!” Gasped Frankie, wrapping her arms around the boy, “It was so scary!”

“Please,” Said Prowl, “A single Vehicon is nothing like dodging Starscream.”

“Starscream?” Asked Frankie, detaching herself from Cody.

“He’s the Decepticon Second-in-Command,” Said Cody, as Prowl made a sharp turn, “He’s usually the one who’s leading them into battle.”

“Fortunately for us, he isn’t.” Said Prowl, as he spotted the sea of people being ferried by the Rescue Bots, “I have to help them, go join the crowd.”

The four humans climbed out, allowing Prowl to Transform and start shooting at the Decepticons. The five Autobots guided the human to the sanctuary, before taking up guard positions at the entrance.

“I don’t understand,” Said Baranova, looking up at Prowl, “why are they here?”

“You know, I never actually asked.” Said Doc Greene, as Mayor Luskey was losing his temper as Chief Burns.

“Their original home was destroyed after centuries of war,” Said Cody, from the place he and Frankie had curled up in, “they came here to escape the Decepticons, except the Decepticons were already here.”

“But why are they attacking if they’ve been here for years?” Asked Dani, as she joined them.

“Recently the Autobots found a way to restore Cybertron,” Said Cody, feeling tired, “they had to find for Omega Keys and take them to something called the Omega lock on Cybertron.”

“The Omega lock had the power to restore Cybertron,” Said Prowl, crouching down, “we could’ve gone home, but then the Decepticons used the humans against us. Megatron had Starscream kidnap them and take them to Cybertron, where he threatened to expose them to the hostile atmosphere unless the Autobots handed over the relics and the Omega keys. In the end, our leader, Optimus Prime, was forced to destroy the Omega lock, to prevent Megatron from Cyberforming Earth.”

“Okay, so then what happened?” Asked Kade, as Prowl’s door wings slumped.

“The Decepticons discovered our base and, as a final precaution, Optimus had us all evacuate with the humans, each to a different set of coordinates, before remaining behind to destroy the Ground Bridge.” Said Prowl, making the Rescue Bots bow their heads, “If I am correct, Megatron would’ve destroyed our base and, upon finding the lack of Autobot bodies, commanded his warriors to hunt each and every Autobot down.”

“Then, well, then why are you still here?!” Demanded Luskey, making Prowl look down at him, “Go! Leave! Begone and don’t come back!”

“Mayor Luskey,” Said Prowl, “Need I remind you that myself and the Rescue Bots are your best, and probably only, line of defence against the Decepticons.”

The Mayor went red and started puffing up his chest.

“The Mayor’s suspended the entire Rescue Team,” Said Chief Burns, “On the grounds that we deliberately deceived the island about the Rescue Bots.”

“So, basically,” Said Kade, leaning against Heatwave, “you’re saying that we can leave at any time?”

“Yes!” Shouted the Mayor, his face resembling a beet, “Now leave!”

“Perhaps this should be a Town decision.” Said Prowl, looking at the humans.

“Fine, all in favour of the Aliens leaving, say ‘aye’.” Said the Mayor, before realising that he was the only one with his hand raised.

“All opposed?” Asked the Chief, which made everyone else raise their hands.

“Well, that’s decided.” Said Heatwave, loading his pistol, “Someone’s coming.”

Prowl and the other bots joined Heatwave at the entrance, each pointing their weapons at the intruder.

“While I appreciate your prudence, Soldier,” Said the Bot, “I must remind you it is against regulation to aim a weapon at a superior officer.”

Prowl gasped, before lowering his cannon, “Impossible.”

Ultra Magnus looked over the five Autobots, quietly noting that four were from a Rescue team, before directing his attention to Prowl, “Not impossible, Soldier, however the military protocol remains, despite the state of Cybertron.”

Prowl snapped into a salute, “Apologies, Sir.”

“Prowl,” Asked Cody, looking up at his Guardian, “Who’s this?”

“This, Cody,” Said Prowl, before Ultra Magnus could speak, “Is Optimus’s Second-in-Command, The Commander of the Autobot Elite Guard and Leader of the Wreckers, This is Ultra Magnus.”

“Are you here to help?” Asked Cody, looking at Ultra Magnus.

“Soldier, do all of the Natives of this world share the same disregard for Military Protocol?” Asked Ultra Magnus, frowning at Cody.

“If you don’t like me, then you’re going to hate Miko.” Said Cody, frowning back at Ultra Magnus.

The Commander leaned back and raised an eye brow at Cody, who copied him.

“Prowl,” Said Ultra Magnus, looking at the Tactician, “How well trained are these Bots?”

“They’ve received Basic combat training, Sir,” Said Prowl, “However, they did lead the Human Population of this island to safety when the Decepticons attacked. Sir, if I may, how many of us did you find?”

“I have already collected Arcee and her Human friend, I have also located ten other signals, present and mentioned included.”

“Out of twelve.” Muttered Prowl, before looking up, “I was unaware that the Decepticons had already found one of our comrades so quickly.”

“But Autobot signals can’t be detected if they’re shielded.” Said Heatwave, walking up to the pair, “And, frankly Sir, you’re going to need every Autobot you can get.”

Prowl looked over at Cody, before crouching down, “Cody, I think it’d be best if you remained with your family, at least until we’ve dealt with the Decepticons.”

Cody frowned, but nodded. Prowl looked over the humans, “I’ll also speak with our liaison about having everyone taken to safety.”

Chief nodded, before Prowl followed Ultra Magnus, leading the Rescue Bots away with them.

“This could be the last time we see them.” Said Cody, as the last of the bots vanished from view.

“Well, we do have Monopoly to help pass the time.” Said Doc Greene, making everyone groan.

“I’m pretty sure I investigated a murder because of Monopoly.” Mutter Chief Burns, making Cody giggle.

AF

Cody and Frankie glared at each other.

“Cybernucleic isn’t a word.” Argued Frankie, as Cody shook his head.

“It is, it’s what the bots are made of.” Said Cody, as Kade handed Graham $200.

“No, they’re made of alloys.” Reasoned Frankie, folding her arms.

“No, just ask them when they get back.” Said Cody, before pointing at one of Frankie’s words, “Besides, there’s no way supercalifragilisticexpialidocious is a word.”

“It is, it’s in Mary Poppins.” Said Frankie, as Cody frowned.

“I don’t know what that is.” Said Cody, making Frankie stare at him.

“That’s a lie, we watched it together!” Protested Frankie, before glaring at Cody, “Waaait, do you know how to sleep with your eyes open?”

Cody gulped, as Dani cackled and sent Kade to jail, “Nooo…”

Frankie gasped, which was when Cody decided to run for his life.

“GET BACK HERE!” Yelled Frankie, chasing after Cody.

“Cody, Frankie, don’t run too far, the ground in the north part of the cave isn’t stable!” Yelled Chief, as Cody and Frankie ran off.

“Young love, am I right?” Smirked Kade, before Dani slapped the back of his head.

Cody was a few feet ahead of Frankie, before his foot went through the ground and he fell onto a metal surface.

“Oh my god, Cody are you okay?” Cried Frankie, stopping at the edge of the hole.

“Y-yeah, I’m alright.” Said Cody, his foot slipping slightly. The boy looked around him, his eyes stopping on a crest that was emblazoned in the metal, “Frankie, I think we just found a ship.”

“A ship?” Asked Frankie, as Chief Burns and Doc Greene came over.

“Yeah, the crest has the Autobot symbol on it.” Said Cody, before he looked at what he was standing on. The metal was a deep red, with a long barrel pointing out of it. The red metal also had an Autobot symbol on it, before Cody looked up and saw two blue optics looking down at him.

“Wwwhheeerrrreee aaarrree wwweee?” Slurred the Autobot, starting to move.

“Y-your on Earth,” Said Cody, before recognising the Autobot from Prowl’s recording, “You’re Warpath, aren’t you?”

Warpath nodded, before groaning and starting to move, “Blaster, report in.”

A low groan emanated from the dark, before a blue visor lit up, “Did someone get the number of the station that hit us?”

A couple of ropes rolled down behind Cody, before Chief Burns and Kade slid down. An Autobot with black wings, yellow chest, black and grey legs and red arms and head stumbled forwards.

“Blockrock,” Said Blaster, his mouth plate retracting, “deploy.”

A red coloured hexagonal barrel fell out of Blaster’s chest, before transforming into a bird, “Find Steeljaw and Eject.”

The bird nodded, before flying off.

“What’s the status of the Space Bridge?” Asked Warpath, carefully shifting Cody in his hand.

“The Controls seem alright; I can set about waking everyone up and evacuating.” Said Blaster, as Chief Burns cleared his throat.

“As interesting as this is,” Said Chief Burns, as Warpath and Blaster looked at him, “I think we should talk.

Warpath looked at Cody, before reaching up and grabbing Chief Burns and Kade, after depositing the three humans on his should, he hauled himself out of the hole, as more of the ground gave way. Frankie scrambled away as Warpath climbed out of the hole, followed by Blaster.

“There’s more of them?!” Demanded the Mayor, before flinching at the combined glare of the towns people.

After putting the three humans down, Warpath crouched down in front of them, “I take it you’ve met our kind before.”

“Yeah, the Rescue Bots.” Said Chief Burns, making Blaster stare at him.

“That’s impossible,” Said Blaster, frowning, “All the rescue teams were exterminated by the Decepticons, those that survived joined the other Autobot forces, during the War for Cybertron.”

Warpath looked over the humans, “How many Autobots are there on Earth?”

“Ten out of Twelve.” Said Cody, making Warpath look at him.

“What do you mean out of Twelve?” Asked Warpath, as Blaster checking a panel on his arm.

“Ultra Magnus came and took Prowl and the Rescue Bots to fight against the Decepticons.” Said Cody, just as Blaster caught a signal.

“When was this?” Asked Warpath, leaning closer to Cody.

“About three days ago.” Said Cody, as Blaster cleared up the Static.

“Attention Autobot forces, Optimus Prime is alive and quite well.” Came Ultra Magnus’s voice, making Cody grin.

“I’ve got a lock,” Said Blaster, looking at Warpath, “If I go now, I might be able to make it.”

Warpath nodded, prompting Blaster to run out of the cave and transform into a Cybertronian Jet, “I’ll work on getting everyone else awake.” Warpath looked at the Humans, “I don’t suppose any of you could help with that?”

AF

It was another day before Blaster returned, with several ships and transports from the Military.

“They should be in here,” Said Blaster, as he led the humans to the cave, “Unless they’ve all gone into the Axalon.”

A large white Cybertronian stepped out and paused when he saw the Humans, “Warpath, it looks like more humans have arrived!”

“They’re here to evacuate the Island, Jetfire.” Said Blaster, as Warpath, adorned with small, giggling children, came out.

“About time, too.” Grumbled Warpath, as Prowl brushed past him.

“Cody?” Called Prowl, looking around for his charge.

“Over here.” Said Cody, covered in dirt, “We tried excavating the ship.”

“Turns out too much of it buckled when we landed.” Said Afterburner, ripping a piece of metal out of the rock, “It’s a minor miracle that no one was killed.”

“We’ve come to collect everyone,” Said Prowl, kneeling in front of Cody, “The Islanders are going to be put in with the Jasper evacuees, at least until we finish fixing the damage.”

Cody gave a small smile, as the people were led out by the military, each of the Burnses were reunited with their partners, Frankie and her family being placed with an Autobot called Quickshadow. Before long, everyone was on a ship taking them to refuge area that housed other people that had their homes taken by the Decepticons.

“The secrets out.” Said Prowl, standing next to Cody, as the ship rocked, “Humanity as a whole now know that we exist and, subsequently, are demanding to hear from Optimus Prime.”

“What happens now?” Asked Cody, as Quickshadow walked over to him and Prowl, Frankie not far behind.

“Optimus has plans for a joint Human-Autobot community,” Said Prowl, frowning, “he had hoped Griffin Rock would be that community, but obviously that didn’t pan out.”

“In a way,” Said Frankie, stopping next to Cody, “It did, the Autobots that we found in the Sanctuary were able to get help from Humans and vice-versa.”

“Even the mayor warmed up to them.” Laughed Cody, remembering how Kup and thrown a ‘cy-gar’ at the mayor.

“I think that was because he was scared of what Kup would do to him.” Said Frankie, as Jetfire, Afterburner and Blaster flew above them, performing arial displays to keep them entertained.

“Boulder and his human have already started designing the architecture for the community.” Said Quickshadow, as the silence lapsed, “I believe they plan on calling it ‘Autobot City’.”

“Let me guess, they’re going to have Metroplex act as the base for it?” Was Prowl’s sarcastic response.

“I didn’t ask.” Said Quickshadow, “But, it would provide homes for everyone that was affected by Decepticon attacks, past, current and future.”

“Your family could be the responders for that city too.” Said Frankie, giving Cody a nudge.

“I can’t wait to hear what Raf thinks of this.” Smiled Cody, as the ships made it to port.

“You’re going to be seeing him soon,” Said Prowl, transforming, “so, you don’t have to wait long.”

“Can I go with them?” Asked Frankie, looking up at Quickshadow.

Quickshadow shrugged, “It’s Prowl, so you’ll be safe.”

Frankie grinned and climbed into the seat next to Cody, “This is so cool.”

“I believe you’ll get along with Miko.” Said Prowl, driving off the ship.

AF

Frankie grinned at the sight of the finished Autobot City, a large number to Autobots were already there, most likely the crew of the Axalon, along with Team Prime and the Wreckers. Everywhere was built for Humans and Cybertronians, schools, hospitals, even police stations. Some of the Autobots had left Earth after defeating Megatron, restoring the core of Cybertron and starting to rebuild the formerly dead world.

The Rescue Bots, the crew of the Axalon and some members of Team Prime had opted to remain on Earth. Frankie jumped out of Quickshadow, running inside the new Firehouse, giving a quick greeting to the Rescue Bots, and running to the Command Centre.

“Cody, you’re not going to believe-” Frankie quickly covered her mouth, as Cody was respond to a call.

“-no, Mr Ericks, I don’t think you’re crazy,” Said Cody, pinching the bridge of his nose, “I’m sure that as soon as something bright and colourful goes by, the animals will charge that. Graham, there’s been a breakout at the zoo, they’re currently staring at Mr Ericks Christmas lights. Autobot City Emergency Response, how can I help? Mrs Neederlander, I’ll get Chase down to move Kup along, but he is old, so he may have to be towed. Judging by your silence, I take it that Kup’s just driven off?”

Frankie giggled, Kup, while old, had a habit of tapping into called between Autobots and Humans and really hated being towed.

“Autobot City Emergency-” Cody ripped the headphones of his head, “What the Pit, Rewind?!”

There was a cackling from a couple floors below.

“Oh, hey Frankie.” Said Cody, suddenly noticing her.

“You’re not going to believe this, but Daddy just met an Autobot who can remove his head!” Said Frankie, getting a smile from Cody.

“That must be one of the new arrivals from Cybertron.” Said Cody, as Frankie dropped herself on top of him, “Hey!”

“If you really wanted me to move, I’d be on the floor right now.” Said Frankie, getting comfortable.

Cody grunted, before answering another call, “Autobot City Emergency Response, how can I help? A fire at Maccadams…I want to be surprised. Kade, Heatwave, Maccadams is on fire. Again. Hotspot and Inferno are already en route, but know Maccadams…”

“On it.” Was the joined response of the pair.

“Where’re the others?” Asked Frankie, as Cody reached around her.

“Dani and Blades are on a rescue, Dad and Chase are on patrol and Blaster and his ‘kids’ are in the lower levels.” Said Cody, as Frankie leaned against him, “Are you comfortable, or do you want me to move?”

“I’m comfortable.” Said Frankie, getting a groan from Cody. He hated puberty.

[thiswasinevitableid]

Indruck hunt nsfw!!! I'm so excited you're doing fills again, they're always so good!

Thanks so much, and here you go! Duck’s form is based on a Green Wrasse, and Indrid’s is based on a Flamboyant Cuttlefish.

Go along the trenches they said. It’ll be easy they said. 

Duck’s been here for two hours, trawling the spot where the sea bed and reef give way to deeper water in search of black moon oysters. It’s courting season in Kepler, and if he can find a few he’s certain at least one of the two mers he has his eyes on will agree to a date. But at this rate, he’ll be bringing some of his model ships as his gifts for his first year of courting, and that’ll be embarrassing. No one wants to date a mer with such a boring hobby.

So here he is, far from where most reef mers would even think to come, searching for a shellfish notorious for it’s shadowy color. At least there aren’t any deep sea mers around to see him repeatedly get hissed at by the same eel because he keeps losing his bearings and checking crevasses he already searched. He’d rather not have an audience.

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

Indrid cannot believe his luck. Weeks of hunting, of hunger, with barely any food to be found, and now a tantalizing, green tail dangles near his hide away. No mer in these parts has such coloration, so it must be a very big fish indeed.

His foresight is half-obliterated, so he must rely on skill to earn his prey. He camouflages as best he can along the rockface, creeping along beneath the ledge where the tail keeps disappearing and reappearing. If he lunges too soon, he’ll miss and scare off dinner. 

Almost...almost…

He pushes up in a burst of speed, grabs the tail, and propels back into his lair, his prey putting up a remarkable fight. He doesn’t notice his error until it punches him in the eye.

“OW!!”

“What the fuck?” The merman spins, lashing out again but missing him in the dark.

“I, I am so very sorry, I thought you were a fish!”

“I look like a damn fish?” His unwilling guest gestures angrily at his upper body. 

Because his eyes are adapted to dark water, Indrid can clearly see the muscles in his arms, the round belly and charming face. Now he wants to sink his teeth into him in an entirely new way.

Oh, right, he’s waiting for an answer.

“From down here you did. I assumed all reef mers stayed far away, and thus missed the obvious explanation for the size of your tail. I, ah, am not the sharpest when starving.”

The wary, annoyed expression softens, “Ain’t there food down here?”

“Yes, but it’s fast, poisonous, or fought over, and I’d like to keep all my tentacles attached to me.”

The merman points at the cave ceiling, “The reef is just up there. We got plenty to eat.”

“Oh no, I couldn’t, they’d recognize me as a deep water mer and be frightened.”

“I could vouch for you. Assumin you don’t plan on grabbin anyone else.”

“Of course not” He flicks all his tentacle tips, trying to hide how hurt he is by the suggestion.” 

“Then you can be my guest. There’s a festival tonight, so the grub oughta be good.” 

“You mean it?”

“Yep.” He nods, black hair swirling around his forehead. 

“Thank you so very much! I, is there something I can do to repay you?”

“Well…”

He mentally crosses all fingers and tentacles, hoping for an answer along the lines of “kiss me” or “hold my hand on the way there” and he flickers his lower body an appealing yellow to sweeten the deal.

“...you got any clue where to find black moon oysters?”

“Yes” he cocks his head, “why?”

“Wanna give ‘em as a present to some mers tonight.”

“Ohhhh” Indrid nods, understanding and trying to hide his disappointment, “a courtship gift. Of course, right this way…Duck.”

The mer starts, “How’d you-”

“-Know your name? Foresight, though it’s severely diminished right now. He smiles, holds out his hand, “I’m Indrid. Now, let us find you those oysters.”

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

Duck never expected a deep sea mer to be so chatty, but as they weave their way between rocks in search of their quarry, Indrid talks amicably about all manner of things, often swimming backwards so he can ask Duck questions about his life on the reef. Listens intently as Duck tells him about his time studying coral health, demanding details as they float across a deeper trench. 

Still, Duck feels like he’s not carrying his conversational weight, and when Indrid peers into another empty crag he asks, “hey Indrid, what kind of fish only comes out at night?”

The other mer blinks his glowing red eyes, “What kind?”

“A starfish.”

A slower blink, and then Indrid snickers, “I didn’t know we were in the pun timeline.”

“Sorry, know it’s silly-”

“Why was the shark worried after eating a clownfish?” Indrid wiggles his tentacles.

Duck smiles, “no idea.”

“Because it tasted funny!”

He giggles, “that was awful.”

“Precisely!” Indrid beams, then pulls Duck flush against the cliff-face. In the darkness beneath them, he can just make out something immense swimming along the trench. Indrid doesn’t release him until it’s out of sight. 

“Apologies, but there was a non-zero chance of that being an aggressive shark.”

“Glad you were here watchin my ba--holy fuck!”

Only Indrid’s eyes are the color they were a moment before. The rest of him, even his hair,  is the same speckled grey of the rocks.

“Indrid that’s, that’s incredible! I know mers who can color change a little, but nothin like this.”

“It’s mainly for survival purposes, but I am glad you, ah, you like it” Indrid returns to his usual color, save for his tentacles, which flash pink on their way back to silvery-blue. 

“Can you control it?”

“To a degree; some of it is subconscious expression of emotion, but much of the time I can manipulate it as I need. See?” He holds one tentacle out in front of Duck’s tail, matching it perfectly.

“That’s so fuckin cool.”

“I, ah, would be happy to show you some more” the pink flashes are back, “but first…” he pulses up to small ledge, slips three tentacles inside, and retracts them with a flourish a moment later, each hold a pitch black oyster, “let’s get you to your party.”

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

In spite of there being no timelines where Duck reneges on his end of the deal, Indrid remains nervous most of the way into town. Then the other mer stops, reaches into a stand of kelp and produces a scallop, “here, you were hungry when we met and you put off eatin to help me, seems only fair to get you a snack before you get there.”

Indrid grins, rips open the shell, and downs the mollusc in what he hopes isn’t a completely horrifying way. It’s been so long since someone shared a catch with him. 

“Do you still want to see more camouflage?”

“Hell yeah.”

They pass the rest of the journey to the town square with Indrid changing color, the two of them laughing as Duck comes up with increasingly ridiculous things for him to match. He adds in extra effects, hoping to dazzle Duck, and he’s having so much fun he’s almost sad to arrive at the party. 

Then he sees the buffet, and it’s difficult to be that upset. Better still, Duck doesn’t immediately leave him in search of his potential lovers. Instead he guides Indrid to a cluster of other mers his age. Juno, Aubrey, and Dani all welcome him into conversation and help him navigate some of the unfamiliar foods Duck gathers from the large stone tables. 

Deep sea mer courtship is very goal focused, but up here the custom seems to be unhurried, as much a chance to catch up with friends as find a mate. There’s even dancing, which he’s drawn into when Aubrey coaxes Duck onto the dance floor and the merman offers Indrid his hand. They spin and flit about each other, Indrid initially taking care not to brush him with his tentacles. When it happens on accident and Duck responds by thwacking Indrid back with the tip of his tail, Indrid takes to touching him whenever the dance allows. 

Since none of the reef mers swim screaming away from him, he and Duck even join in on the group dances. Indrid shows off, changing colors to match his partner because he catches Duck smiling whenever he does. 

The first of Duck’s crushes arrives, though Duck stays, dancing, with Indrid.

“Are you supposed to wait until a certain time to offer your gift?” 

“No. I, uh, I’m just a little nervous. I’ve never done the whole courtin thing before.”

“Understandable. Though if you ask me, I’d say you have a great deal to offer.” He nudges him with a tentacle. Duck takes a deep breath, then swims away after the other mer. Indrid hasn’t even made it to the table when Duck is once again beside him, saying they weren’t interested and would Indrid like to keep dancing?

He would, and they do, trading jokes and stories as they turn in slow circles around each other. They alternate between the dance and recharging with their friends until Duck’s other crush swims into view, having gotten to the party rather late. Duck’s approach is more confident, and Indrid encourages him along with the others. After ten or so minutes, Duck catches his eye and gives a thumbs up. Indrid returns the gesture and watches that stunning tail swim away. 

Indrid stays, continues talking and eating with his new friends. He’s even approached for courtship twice, demurring both times. It’s not long before he regrets this choice, because his foresight keeps showing him flashes of what Duck is getting up to with his new partner and getting his hands and mouth on another mer might be a welcome distraction. He finishes the last of his meal, waves goodbye to his friends with a promise to come see them again, and swims home alone. 

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

Duck hums as he swims over the edge of the trench, carved coral box in hand. Indrid left Dani directions for how to visit him, so Duck’s no longer concerned about swimming into the wrong cave and getting eaten. 

The front of the cave is empty, and the scant light still filtering in doesn’t show him much beyond it, so he floats further and calls, “Indrid? You home?”

Red eyes appear in the dark, followed by flashes of pink and yellow, “Duck?”

“Didn’t see me comin?” He grins, swimming up to greet the other mer. 

“There were only a few futures where you visited so soon after the party. Is something wrong? Does your new partner need more oysters?”

“Nope, came ‘cause I wanted to see you. Is, uh, is that okay?” Nerves creep up his tail; maybe Indrid was only interested in their exchange yesterday and not in him. 

“Of course. I, ah, my lair is rather messy but if you come this way I have some lights.” He motions for Duck to follow him. As they swim deeper into the cave, bioluminescent kelp and algae flicker to life, revealing walls covered in elegant, detailed carvings. They turn left, coming to a room filled with yet more carvings, a large, comfy looking hammock, and a floor scattered with shells. 

“You did all these?” Duck touches a lovingly rendered carving of a ray.

“Yes. They help me capture visions from time to time, or are simply images I enjoy.” That same light pink is coursing up through his tentacles and occasionally racing through his hair.

“Oh, that reminds me, here” Duck holds out the box, “seemed like these were your favorite last night, so figured you’d like some more.”

Indrid studies the crab rolls in their neat lines, “Oooh!” His tentacles wiggle, “thank you. That was very sweet of you.” He swims over to a small table, sets the box atop it, and then begins searching a rock shelf. “But I insist you share some of them with me, assuming you don’t have anywhere to be.”

“Uh-”

“Where are those blasted plates-”

Duck rubs the back of his neck, “Indrid?  Is, uh, is that a yes or a no?”

The other mer turns, flashing bright blue, “To...oh, oh my, really?”

“Future just tell you I’m courtin you?” 

“Yes. I, but I thought you made your choice last night?”

“That ain’t really how this works. I mean, I had a great time last night, might see her again, but I ain’t made any kind of choice about bein exclusive. Besides uh, I, uh, if I’m bein honest, mer I thought the most about last night and today was you.”

“Oh.” Indrid says much more softly as Duck swims to him and brushes his tail along a tentacle. 

“It’s okay if you ain’t interested, I can back off and we can have dinnerAHfuck” he laughs as Indrid uses all available limbs to pull him closer with a delighted chirp. 

“The answer is very much yes, Duck Newton.”

“Thank fuck” Duck leans in, kissing him eagerly as two tentacles tease up and down his tail. 

Then he can’t see a fucking thing and Indrid curses, “Of all the time for my kelpalabra to die. One moment, let me find something so you can see.” He pulls back, red eyes and kaleidoscopic lower half the only thing in Duck’s vision, achingly alluring even as he mutters around the room. 

“We, uh, we can keep it like this.”

“You’re certain? I thought you couldn’t see in these conditions.”

“Can see what matters.” Duck opens his arms and Indrid chuckles, swimming into them.

“I’m amazed you were not swarmed by admirers last night.”

“Flatterer” Duck kisses his cheek.

“I am being entirely truthful. You are so charming, and so very handsome…” Indrid strokes his face as his tentacles glide up his chest and down his tail, “mmmm, I’ve wanted to do this since the moment I saw you.”

“How, uh, sensitive are these?” Duck lets one tentacle curl around his fingers, brings it to his mouth for a kiss. 

“About the same as my hands, but far more flexible.” Two tease just below his hips, his scales beginning to ripple and part at the stimulation. The surrounding darkness heightens each grope and stroke, his body having little to no warning of where the next touch might come from. His world is nothing but Indrid’s hands and tentacles on his body, that little voice and moonlight smile illuminated by the colors of his affection. 

“Fuck, ‘Drid, this is so fuckin nice.”

Indrid hums, pulsing a warm yellow as he coaxes Duck open, kissing his neck and nibbling his ears. Duck winds his fingers into his silver hair, gives a testing tug and gets a moan in reply. 

“Again.”

He growls, pulls harder as his cock emerges, scrapes his teeth up Indrid’s neck and discovers that makes him practically scream in delight. 

“You wanna be in me, or should I fuck you?” 

“Ah, beg pardon?”

“Wait, fuck, do you not have-”

“I have this” smaller tendrils emerge from beneath a fold between his front tentacles, “there isn’t really room for anything to go in, and while I can get some shape from it” he demonstrates by twining three into something close to Duck’s dick, “it is unlikely to be the method you’re used to. My kind mate by sort of, hmm, mushing them together? My, that sounds deeply unattractive when I say it that way.”

Duck licks his lips, “They look pretty damn dexterous.”

Indrid’s eyes glow brighter, “The are.”

“Get over here and show me.”

The other mer comes to him so forcefully they’re propelled back into a wall. Duck barely registers the collision, too busy moaning as tendrils curl around his dick, stroking and sucking so elegantly he’s pretty sure he’s never going to be satisfied with a blowjob again.

Okay, except for one form the mouth currently devouring his own with kisses. Indrid moans and squirms in his arms, tentacle and fingertips caressing him from cheek to tail. 

“May, may I try something?” Indrid pants in his ear. 

“Long as you don’t stop what you’re already doin, ohfuck,” He bucks his hips as more tendrils push into the slit under his dick, Indrid purring as they do.

“Ohhhhhgoodness, you feel wonderful Duck, please, please say we can do this again?”

“Damn, ain’t even made you cum and you’re already beggin for a next time?” Duck teases, kissing the corner of his mouth. 

“Yes, pleaseplease” tentacles tighten around him, trapping him against Indrid as the other mer frantically fucks him, “I’ll can make you feel so good, I want to, please”

“Mission fuckin accomplished” Duck yanks on his hair and Indrid yelps with joy, cumming inside him and across his dick. The orgasm makes him lose control of both his colors and his tendrils, meaning he shimmers like the inside of an abalone as tugs and twitches along Duck’s dick. The touches draw his own climax from him with a groan, and he buries his face in Indrid’s neck, mouthing kisses along it as he spills into the water.

Slowly, all tentacles and tendrils relax and withdraw, leaving only Indrid’s arms around him.

“You asleep?” It’s only half a joke, as Indrid is going limp.

‘Mmmhmm. A perfectly wonderful mer just robbed me of all my energy in the best possible way.”

“Heh, funny, most stunnin mer in the ocean did the same to me.” He swims them over to the hammock, guiding them down onto their sides as Indrid looks sleepily up at him. 

“In that case, would the wonderful mer like to join me for dinner after we nap?”

Duck kisses his nose, nestles closer as Indrid’s tentacles shift to match his tail, “Yeah, he would.”

[xaviersrpg]

ROBERTO DA COSTA is the son of Brazilian millionaire Emmanuel Da Costa and his American wife Nina, an archaeologist. He grew up as the wealthy heir to the family fortune in Rio de Janeiro, and a talented soccer player with a lot of potential. Roberto’s powers first manifested during a high school football match, when a teammate attacked him out of anger and jealousy for Roberto's performance. The attack was racially motivated and activated Roberto's X-Gene, causing his skin to blacken and burn, channelling power in its solar form.

After this, Roberto was kept isolated whilst his family desperately searched for a 'cure'. Despite his previous popularity, his only visitor during this time was Juliana Sandoval, a childhood friend and long-time crush. They shared intimate moment in which he burned her severely—the first time he had ever been intimate with anyone before—and she passed away. It was this moment that saw his family send him off to Essex Corporation’s Milbury Hospital in order for him to avoid charges and be 'cured'. Roberto developed a fear of burning others because of the event, never mind the abandonment he felt when his family shipped him off to America.

He would go on to meet Illyana Rasputin, Sam Guthrie, Rahne Sinclair and Douglas Ramsey in the facility he ended up in for several years. They were fellow mutants with their own dark pasts, and Roberto grew especially close to Illyana Rasputin and Sam Guthrie during this time. The group collectively suspected that they were training to become X-Men, but much of their presence at the facility was shrouded in mystery. It was the arrival of Dani Moonstar which would send everything at the facility spiralling: her powers unleashed everyone’s greatest fears, culminating in the destruction of the facility and the freedom of their imprisoned group that had found within themselves a family.

Without a telepathic barrier keeping their minds from the likes of Charles Xavier in Cerebro, he tracked them down and sent off a group of X-Men in the Blackbird to recover them. Illyana initiated a fight between the X-Men and New Mutants, with Illyana believing the Blackbird to be a recovery team sent by Essex Corporation. It was the arrival of Piotr Rasputin that ended the fight, with Roberto recognising the X-Men as famous figures helping Illyana’s guard to lower. Piotr and Professor X invited The New Mutants to join them at the Xavier Mansion to talk, and the group—somewhat begrudgingly—accepted.

Now, Roberto is trying to find his footing at Xavier’s School for the Gifted. He feels free, but at the same time, he is paranoid of the people around him. With his plans for a career in football spoiled, he plans on studying business and reaching out to his family to see if he can try to fix things and take his place at Da Costa International. He’s happy with the found family he has in the New Mutants… and as long as they stick together, he thinks he can make life here at Xavier’s School for the Gifted work. However, Roberto isn't quite ready to settle. He wishes to advance his mutant powers and business skills in order to use both to liberate other mutants like him who may be trapped in other Essex facilities around the world.

Roberto’s face claim is REECE KING and he is CLOSED TO APPLICATIONS.

[fanficshiddles]

Butterfly Into Chains, Chapter 1

Summary: Esme is an omega living in a quaint little town, the Alphas of the town are few but they are an asset to the place. Not like the dangerous and rogue-like Alphas that could be found elsewhere. But one day, a pack of Alphas turn up. And they turn Esme’s world upside down. Coaxing her to the ‘dark’ side and whisking her away… To use as their own omega, to breed and own, in every way possible.

Tom Hiddleston, David Tennant, Chris Evans, Michael Fassbender and Benedict Cumberbatch are the suspects in this fic! As usual Tom being the ‘main’ one. Though they’re all pretty involved in this fic. And I know they’re not in it a lot in this first chapter, but just setting the story up…

!!!WARNINGS FOR FUTURE CHAPTERS OF THIS FIC!!!

Rape/Non-con, manipulation, kidnapping, knotting, forced breeding over and over, gangbangs, emotional trauma, selling of babies, almost constantly pregnant, Alpha fights/violence. -

East Meadowridge was a quaint little town. Known for its tranquillity, and was a hot spot for tourists with it being a seaside town. So it wasn’t exactly suspicious when there were strangers going about.

Although, a certain pack of strangers that just arrived were certainly suspicious. They took residence in the most expensive hotel in town, the entire top floor. Albeit there were only two hotels in town, with plenty of B&B’s scattered around the place. It was still odd.

The pack was obviously an Alpha pack. Five of them, all wearing suits and sunglasses, they turned up in two jaguar cars. And they were the talk of the town.

The mayor of Meadowridge worked hard to try and keep the town as peaceful and friendly as possible. The population was mainly betas, with some omegas and some Alphas. But the mayor didn’t allow packs or gangs to form, making sure that crime was kept low.

It was no secret that Alphas could be dangerous and vicious, but not the Alphas of Meadowridge. They were able to coexist with fellow Alphas, betas and omegas peacefully. Even omegas in heat they weren’t bothered by, able to respect them instead of pouncing on them to mate, which most Alphas from elsewhere would do.

So the mayor was always on edge and quick to nip anything in the bud when strange packs turned up. But this was a first for him, having never dealt with an all Alpha pack.

- Esme burst in through the front door, she went flying past her Mum who was cooking dinner in the kitchen.

‘Woah, woah, where’s the fire?’ Her Mum, Wendy, called to her as she started running upstairs.

Esme stopped dead and ran back down, crouching she looked through the bannister at her Mum.

‘Haven’t you heard about what’s going on?’

Her Mum frowned, shaking her head.

‘There’s an all Alpha pack just arrived in town! They’ve rented the entire top floor of the Seaview hotel. Turned up in fancy cars. Katherine and I are away to go and see if we can get a glimpse of them.’ Esme explained quickly, still a little out of breath from running all the way home after work.

‘Esme, wait.’ Her mum said sternly, walking over to the bottom of the stairs with her arms folded over her chest.

Esme cringed, knowing what was about to come.

‘Your father and I have told you plenty of times, Alpha outsiders are dangerous. Especially for a beautiful young omega like yourself. You are not to go near them, do you understand?’ She said firmly.

Esme sighed and rolled her eyes. ‘Yes, Mum.’

‘Good. Now come and help me with dinner.’

‘I just need to get changed and message Katherine first, tell her I’m not coming.’ Esme said and her Mum nodded in agreement.

Esme went to her room and shut the door. She put her handbag down on the bed and went over to the window as she messaged Katherine, telling her she wouldn’t be meeting her anymore.

She went onto Facebook, and noticed on the towns group page that people had taken a few pictures of the Alpha pack arriving in their fancy cars. Esme zoomed in to get a better look at the Alphas, but couldn’t see their faces well because of the sunglasses. But they all looked well built, strong. Stronger than the Alphas that lived in town, that was for sure.

There were a lot of comments under the post. Many of the beta men and few Alphas were commenting that they looked dangerous, to keep an eye on them and protect the omegas of the town. But there were many omegas and also beta women commenting that they looked hot and should be welcomed like every visitor.

‘Well, this is going to cause a bit of a shit storm.’ Esme muttered to herself before getting changed and going downstairs to help her mum with dinner.

It was just about ready when her Dad, Richard, came home from work. He greeted his wife with a kiss and ruffled Esme’s hair.

‘Dad, stop that!’ She grumbled.

He chuckled and sat down at the table. ‘You’ll always be my little girl. No matter how old you get.’

Esme shook her head and started dishing up dinner.

‘How was work today? Busy I imagine, with the new guests.’ Wendy said cautiously as the three of them sat down to eat together.

‘Indeed. The mayor is going ballistic trying to find out information on these guys.’ Richard sighed, shaking his head. ‘But the names they gave at the hotel aren’t giving us anything. If they gave their true names, that is.’

Richard worked closely with the mayor, whilst it meant he got a hefty wage, it also meant long and sometimes gruelling days. Especially when they were dealing with something such as an Alpha pack in town.

‘Maybe they’re just here to enjoy the seaside.’ Esme shrugged.

Richard looked at Esme with concern, then to Wendy. Who looked concerned, too. They both knew there would only be one reason an all Alpha pack was on the move… To find omegas.

‘How’s your work going?’ He asked Esme, to change the subject.

‘We were pretty busy today, but it helps to pass the time more. Now that summer is starting, we are just going to get busier and busier.’ She smiled.

Esme worked down at the carnival, in the ticket booth. She enjoyed it because that’s where all the tourists would flock to, so she got to meet an array of people on a day to day basis. And she was great with people, so it was the perfect job for her.

‘Good, that’s really good.’ Richard nodded.

After dinner, Esme excused herself to her bedroom. She had decided to call Katherine.

‘Oh my god, Esme! You should’ve seen them, they are… wow. I have no words. They’re like Gods! The Alphas here have nothing on these guys!’ Katherine squealed down the phone.

‘Where did you see them? I’m so jealous. My parents wouldn’t let me out.’ Esme huffed as she lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling.

‘I just casually sat on the bench opposite the hotel, looking out to the sea so it wouldn’t seem suspicious. Three of them left and walked right past me, one of them smiled at me too!’ She giggled like a schoolgirl.

‘So not fair. I’ll need to wait until tomorrow to hopefully catch a glimpse of them.’

‘There’s a few of us going to the bar next door to the hotel in an hour, why don’t you come join us?’ Katherine asked.

‘I doubt I’ll be allowed.’

‘You’re not a kid anymore, Es. You’ve got a job and you are twenty for crying out loud! They can’t stop you. They don’t normally mind you going out for drinks.’ Katherine said. ‘Come on. You never know, they might even be there for drinks since they’re staying in that hotel.’

Esme paused, thinking about it for a moment.

‘Ok. You’re right. I’ll meet you there.’ She grinned.

It took an hour for Esme to get ready. She picked out a nice dress and did her hair up nicely. After grabbing her bag, she made her way downstairs and prepared herself for the questions her parents were no doubt going to ask. But she was pleasantly surprised.

‘Off out?’ Richard asked, looking over the back of the sofa.

Wendy paused the TV, waiting for Esme’s answer.

‘Yeah, meeting with Katherine and a few others for some drinks. I might be back late, but I have my key.’ She said, patting her bag as she made her way to the door.

Richard stood up and walked over to the door, meeting her there.

‘Esme. I’d rather you didn’t go out, not while this Alpha pack is in town… Though I won’t stop you meeting your friends. But I do ask, please be careful. And take this with you.’ He went to his jacket that was hanging by the door and pulled out some mace spray from the pocket.

‘Come on, Dad. I won’t need that! I’ll be with my friends.’ She whined.

‘I know, but please. Just take it.’ He grabbed her hand and slipped the mace to her. ‘It would make me feel better.’

Esme could never resist when her Dad pleaded with her and gave her puppy dog eyes. She was lucky and glad they weren’t making a bigger deal out of this.

‘Ok. I’ll take it. Thanks.’ She smiled and went up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. ‘See you in the morning.’

‘Or afternoon, no doubt.’ Richard chuckled, opening the door for her.

‘Yeah, likely!’ Esme laughed as she walked out.

Richard shut the door and pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh.

‘Do you think she will be ok?’ Wendy asked.

Richard went back over and sat down. ‘Yeah, she’s a smart girl. Even when intoxicated she still makes good choices, I am sure she will be fine.’ Richard assured Wendy and gave her arm a squeeze.

-

Even though her Dad was an Alpha, Esme was super glad that he didn’t try and just make her stay home. She knew that in a lot of other places, omegas did obey Alphas without hesitation. Whether they were a family member or not. It was totally different to their town. But this was one of those times she was so glad for, because she was super excited and hopeful that she might catch a glimpse of these mysterious Alphas.

When she met up with Katherine and two other friends, Dani and Liz, the four of them went into the bar that was next to the fancy hotel.

‘Any sign of them yet?’ Esme asked.

‘Nope. I don’t even know if I’d have the guts to speak to them.’ Dani whispered.

‘I just want to see them. It’s so exciting!’ Esme said, beaming from ear to ear.

The four girls sat down at a table near the bar and not too far from the main door. They ordered some drinks and a few shots as well. They didn’t fail to notice that the bar was a little busier than it normally would be on a Thursday night. And it didn’t take a genius to figure out why. Considering it was mainly females that were occupying the seats.

‘Hey, imagine if one of the Alphas wanted our omega here as their own.’ Dani joked to the others, nudging Esme.

‘Don’t even joke about that!’ Esme said, glaring at her.

‘Yeah, poor Mason would be heartbroken.’ Liz said with a smirk.

Esme just grumbled and downed one of her shots. Mason was an Alpha who she had been matched with, thanks to her Dad and the mayor. That’s what happened with the omegas and Alphas of the town, because there weren’t as many, they were paired off. Keeping it all within the town.

It was rare for a Beta and an omega to have an omega or Alpha as a child. But an Alpha and omega were guaranteed to have either or. And if it was an Alpha, at least having both parents from the town meant the Alpha child would grow up to be a calm and caring Alpha, that would be a good asset to the town. In the mayor’s words, anyway.

‘He never even messages me. I’ve met him three times in the last four months and every time he’s just taken me for dinner and walked me home again. Not even a kiss on the cheek. I’m not even sure if I’m attracted to him or not.’ She said honestly.

‘It does suck that they’ve paired you up like that. So glad I’m not an omega!’ Katherine said, taking a sip of her own drink.

The other two agreed with her.

‘If it wasn’t for the test, I wouldn’t even think I was an omega. I have NO feelings towards him, or any other Alpha in this damn place for that matter. They say omegas are supposed to feel submissive and timid around Alphas, well I certainly don’t.’

‘To be fair, the Alphas here are more beta-like.’ Said Liz.

‘True. But still, I thought I would’ve felt something. Maybe the test was false.’

Just as she said that, the door opened and suddenly the place was filled with the most delectable smell she had ever smelled. It was like a mixture of oak and leather, a very masculine smell. Very… Alpha.

Esme turned her head to see who had just came in the door, her eyes widening.

‘Scratch what I just said… I am pure omega.’ She said in awe, watching as the five stranger Alphas strolled into the bar like they owned the place, and every single person in it.

[trixareforeveryoneaq]

Tell the Wolves I’m Home

For the Daenerys Resurrection Week Event Day 5 (I don’t know if this event is still going on, but whatevs. I wrote this so here you go) Thanks @adecila for the moodboard

Can also be found here on ao3 if you desire to leave a comment.

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It was almost six years after he left the Wall with the Free Folk before Jon’s past caught up with him. He kept his distance with certain aspects of the Free Folk in regards to taking a woman or having told the explicit details to those who’d asked what had happened south of the Wall. The only one who knew everything was Tormund and even he didn’t know that Jon was now a kinslayer. For amongst the Free Folk, kinslayers were cursed. However, he still helped within the community and went hunting with them.

It was during one such hunt where the group noticed smoke rising heavily a distance from where they were and had decided to go see what was going on.

Upon arrival, the hunters in front of Jon stopped dead in their tracks with gasps of shock. Pushing them aside, Jon couldn’t help but have a similar reaction.

A weirwood tree burned so badly that only the husk of the trunk remained. But Jon’s eye caught on to what was attached to the burnt trunk. Everyone else did as well and turned from the tree to murmur to each other.

His heart beat wildly and his hands began to shake ever so slightly as he walked up to the partially burned crow that had been impaled to the ruined wood with a dagger. The shaking in his hands increased as he pulled the dagger out and realized that he knew it. He knew it well. Well enough to never be able to forget it.

The dagger he’d used to kill Dany.

It was so blatantly obvious that this message was meant solely for Jon, but he had no idea who left it or when they would come for him. At night, he found himself sitting on his furs, holding the dagger as memories he had tried to distance himself from came rushing back full force.

His answer came on the bleak, muted rays of the morning four days after the discovery. A familiar cry rang through the air that had Jon’s heart stopping and his eyes snapping up towards the sky, desperately searching for the source. Off in the distance to his left, he saw the brief outline of a black dragon before it disappeared into thick clouds, calling out again as it did so. He’d have convinced himself that it was only his imagination had it not been for the fact that everyone else had seen it too.

It continued on like this for almost a week. Jon would see quick glances of Drogon flying, always far enough away that the dragon couldn’t be bothered by the Free Folk but close enough that he could just see the red in his wings and clearly hear the echoes of his cries. He tried to quell the growing feeling of doom each day, but was unsuccessful. Especially when he unconsciously found himself trying to follow the dragon’s trail and would stumble upon the burned carcasses of crows on the ground as well as two more burned weirwood trees.

Jon knew his time with the Free Folk had to come to an end when Drogon started flying closer to where they were, looking around as he went as if searching for something… well, someone. That’s when the worried whispers and fearful looks towards him began. He knew they remembered when he flew on Rhaegal and that he would be the only reason that the dragon would have come here and stayed near for so many days.

On the night of the eighth day, he packed up his belongings, intending to search for Drogon. Or let the dragon find him. Whichever came first.

Upon making his way out of the camp, he pulled up to a stop when Tormund stepped in front of him, a pack on the tall man’s back.

“So I guess we’re goin’ to find that dragon of yours, eh?”

“He’s not my dragon and I can’t ask you to come with me,” Jon said, shaking his head in refusal at his friend.

Tormund clapped him on the shoulder with a sigh and a grim smile. “Ah, I’ve already followed your pretty crow face enough times to know that someone has to look out for you. ‘Cause you sure as fuck won’t.”

With a clenched jaw, Jon slowly breathed out through his nose. He didn’t want his friend involved in this. “You know we’ll probably die.”

The ginger man shrugged, unfazed as he turned towards the woods. “It won’t be the first time we went head first to our death. Who knows? Maybe we’ll come out of this one too.”

Jon looked at Ghost in resignation, knowing he couldn’t dissuade Tormund once his mind was made up. The direwolf’s red eyes stared back silently before he too trotted off on silent feet, leaving Jon no choice but to follow.

As they searched, they realized that no matter which direction the dragon went in the morning, he always flew back northeast. Jon had Ghost lead, using the direwolf’s superior smell to their advantage. It took five days, but they finally found where Drogon had made a temporary lair. An icy lake settled at the bottom of a few mountains where a large cave was carved out of one of them. There was a little forest on the far edge of the lake to their left.

From where they stood, Jon could clearly see how much more Drogon had grown as the dragon perched at the mouth of the cave. Where he’d been huge before, he was twice as large now, if not more.

“All right, we’ve seen the beast,” Tormund muttered to him. “Now let’s get the fuck out of here.”

But Jon found himself unable to move as he continued to stare at the dragon. What was he doing all the way up here? Was he really here for Jon? Had he come back to Westeros and made his way up the realm, avenging his mother? If so, why now? Why wait this long? Or was he simply wandering the earth? Was he connected with whoever left the dagger? Had he...had he somehow found a new rider?

Jon was brought out of his confused musings when Drogon sniffed the air. His head suddenly turned to them, those red eyes staring right at him.

“Fuck,” Tormund breathed right before Drogon let out a roar that Jon felt in his bones and lifted into the air.

“Run!” Jon shouted to his friend.

Not needing to be told twice, they both took off towards the woods. It was a futile attempt. They were covered in shadow and then Drogon was in front of them, forcing them to halt in order to try to keep their balance as the ground shook with his landing. When Jon looked behind them, he saw that the dragon had used his tail to block them in, effectively trapping the pair. He could see Ghost staring at him from a distance, unable to do anything.

Turning back to face Drogon, he was met with an open mouth filled with black teeth the length of Longclaw. He could even see the glow of the fire building in the back of the dragon’s throat. Just as he accepted this was how it was going to end for him, a voice Jon thought he’d never hear again said, “Drogon, kelītīs.”

That huge maw snapped shut and the dragon turned his head to the side. A figure cloaked in black stepped out from behind his wing and into view. Jon felt faint as two small hands pushed away the hood to reveal the face of Daenerys Targaryen.

He stumbled back, barely registering the soft curse Tormund let out as he stared with wide eyed disbelief at the woman he’d loved; the queen he’d murdered before him. It had to be a dream or a hallucination. He had to have gone mad because she couldn’t be standing in front of him, here in the far reaches of the North.

But he knew it wasn’t. Because the Dany in his dreams had long flowing locks of silver all the way down her back that were intricately braided with little bells. This Dany’s hair hung in loose waves that ended at the top of her breasts with only a few strands tied back so it wasn’t in her face. The Dany in his dreams didn’t wear black lightweight leather armor that mimicked dragon scales with a sword hanging from one side, looking like the warrior queen, Visenya Targaryen, come again. The Dany in his dreams certainly never looked at him with such cold loathing.

“I knew you’d come, Jon,” she said. Her voice was like a bolt of lightning down his spine. She rested a small hand on her dragon. “You wouldn’t be able to resist following him, seeing why he was here. Especially not after the gift I left for you.”

Jon couldn’t form a response. He could only stand there and stare, breathing as if he’d run for miles. He let his eyes drink in all the details of her that time had made him forget. He was pretty sure he was looking at her as if he was a man dying of thirst and she was his salvation.

Unmoved, Dany simply arched a brow. “You seem surprised to see me again. I’m not sure why though.” Cocking her head, she gave him a mean smile that was completely foreign to see on her face. “Would you like to see the proof that it’s truly me?” she asked, her hand skimming just under her left breast. “We can compare our scars and reminisce how we were both stabbed by men who were supposed to be loyal to us only to be brought back to life by a red priestess.”

Jon sucked in a sharp breath in shock and couldn’t hide the hurt in his eyes. Dany’s smile turned into a full on grin that looked more like she was baring her teeth. When she started walking towards him, her cloak rustled and his eye caught on the handle of the same dagger he found in the weirwood hanging off her other hip. Seeing where his attention was just as she stopped in front of him, Dany looked down and pulled the dagger out, examining it as well.

“I was going to leave this one for you,” she told him as she began spinning and twirling it expertly with her fingers. “But strangely enough, I found myself unable to part with it. So I had a twin made and left that one for you instead. I thought you’d enjoy the sentiment of the gesture regardless of whether or not it was actually the original blade.”

She looked up at him and his heart stopped at having her so close to him. It stunned his entire being for a moment. And in that moment of being caught off guard by her nearness and her beauty, Jon wasn’t able to do anything when she suddenly wrapped her foot around his ankle and pulled forward while pushing down on his shoulder, forcing him to his knees. Before he could react or fight her off, one hand grabbed his hair to pull his head back, meeting her violet eyes again. The other held the dagger to his throat.

“I’ve learned a few things since I was brought back,” she said with a smirk.

Tormund shouted out and made to move forward as if to help Jon, but was immediately halted by Drogon turning towards him and letting out a horrible roar. Throughout the entire exchange, Dany’s eyes never left Jon.

“I wouldn’t move if I were you, Tormund Giantsbane,” she warned calmly, finally turning her focus to him with a sardonic smile. “After all, you’re dealing with a dragon rider and according to you, only a king or a madman would ride a dragon. And since I’m obviously no king, by your logic, I am therefore the madman.” Violet eyes went back to Jon then. Her smile softened into a mockery of something gentle because her eyes still held that emptiness in them. She let go of his hair to trail her fingers lightly down his face. “And mad people...well, it’s best to treat us with caution. We can be so very unpredictable when provoked. Sometimes with catastrophic results, wouldn’t you agree, Jon?”

He flinched away at her words, how casually she called herself mad and the reminder of what she’d done, unable to look at her. She caught him by the chin though, refusing to let him move. “Oh, no. None of that now, Jon,” she reprimanded with that same tone. She jerked his head back up. Her eyes were colder than the harshest North wind and the fingers holding him dug into his skin to the point of pain. “Don’t hide from the monster you helped turn me into. Look at the fruit of what your actions bore. Accept it, as I had to.”

Jon’s throat ached with how tight it was from holding in all the emotions swirling in him and he felt that he would break any moment. Still, he didn’t look away from those eyes that were so similar yet so very different. They didn’t look anything like they had the last time he’d stared into them. They were as clear and still as water. There was none of the passion he remembered seeing. Even in the throne room, she’d gazed up at him with love. Now they were dead. Oddly enough, it was that fact that made him want to weep, but he held it in. After a while, he finally was able to ask, “are you here to kill me then?”

She smiled as if he’d said something completely ridiculous and could only laugh sympathetically at him. “Kill you? I’m not here to kill you, Jon Snow. No, I’m here to warn you. Because soon, I have a very strong feeling that others are going to come looking for you. My dear old Hand and your supposedly all seeing king brother for example. Maybe even your treacherous sister.”

Even though he stayed silent, she apparently could see the wariness in his eyes and explained, “they’re going to want you to stop me. After all, you’re already apparently cursed from killing me before, aren't you? My blood is already on your hands, so what’s the harm in dirtying them a second time? Better you than them.”

Swallowing that old familiar feeling of dread mingled with panic, he quietly asked, “stop you from doing what?”

“You’re so far removed from the rest of the world up here in your little idyllic winter wonderland, you've no idea how one can smell it in the air when arriving on these shores; how the earth here is practically quivering with it in anticipation. The deep breath before the plunge.”

“What? What is it?” he rasped.

“Revolution. Liberation,” she said with an indulgent smile that still didn’t reach those cold, cold eyes. Yet she still managed to stare at him so piercingly that he felt like the deepest parts of him were being stripped bare. “Fulfilling my oath to break the wheel and remake the world.”

The memory of her speech to her armies after she’d burned King’s Landing came to him and made him go cold all over.

“Dany, you–” The name was out before he could think and he paid for his mistake. His head was turned to the side by the force of her smack to his cheek. She grabbed his hair and yanked hard as she leaned down until only a few inches were left between them.

“Don’t you ever call me that again,” she snarled. And just like that, her eyes were suddenly filled with such rage that they practically glowed. The only consolation in being on the receiving end of her fury was that at least there was the life he remembered in them. It hadn’t completely disappeared.

The blade at his throat pressed in hard enough to pierce his skin. “You lost that right when you abandoned me in Winterfell; when you continuously refused to return the love I felt for you in the time I needed it the most; when you stabbed me in the heart.”

With a look of disgust, she let go of him and took a few steps back. Not looking away from him, Dany twirled the dagger in her hand before sheathing it. When he remained kneeling, she snapped, “get up. You look pathetic.”

Jon clenched his jaw but did as he was told. By the time he was on his feet, she had regained her cold, steely composure. The way she stood with her hands folded in front of her and her chin held high felt like a kick in the gut as a painful wave of nostalgia washed over him, forcing him to remember the queen she used to be.

“Even if you did wish to stop me, you can’t. It's too late. It’s already begun.” She looked out over the white expanse in front of them. “It’s taken years of convincing and whisperings of a better life. Years of organizing and planning while simultaneously continuing to free the remaining slave cities in Essos. But the common folk of Westeros are finally waking up and finding that they’re unsatisfied. They realize that they want more; that they can have more. Because I will give them more.”

“The Iron Throne is gone. ” he said, almost pleading with her.

She huffed a laugh, still eyeing the area around them. “I’m not doing this to be queen. I don’t need to be queen. That’s my point. Kings, queens, lords, ladies, they’re all unnecessary. Once I’ve given the people their liberation and the tools to use for their next step in governing themselves, I’m leaving. My old bear once told me that dragons plant no trees. Dragons make no homes. I forgot that. I listened to the young, lonely woman inside of me and tried to make the home I’d always yearned for. With you,” she said. She looked at him from the corner of her eye. “But we both know how that turned out.”

Ignoring each new slice of pain her constant jabs caused him, Jon asked, “what are you going to do to the nobles then? How will you handle them and their soldiers, Daenerys? The common folk don’t know how to fight against armies.”

Another joyless smile as she turned to face him fully and cocked her head. “Now why would I tell you that?” Jon’s lips thinned, knowing she was justified in not sharing her plans with him and feeling like a fool for thinking she might. “I’ll give you a boon though and say that they won't be alone. Plenty of those with power understand what I’m fighting to achieve and are willing to help me.” She gave a sly smile as she went on to say, “and also, Drogon presented a gift to me right after I was brought back that he came across during one of his travels to Valyria. And I’ve not wasted it. Would you like to see?”

Without waiting for a reply, she turned to Drogon who lifted his head and called out. Gooseflesh erupted across Jon’s skin when an answering call was heard, then another. Out of the large cave emerged two dragons. They took to the air and lazily made their way to where they stood. When they landed on either side of Drogon, the size difference was easily noticeable, but they were still extremely large. Probably the size of Rhaegal when Jon had ridden him.

Impossible, he thought. But of course it wasn’t impossible. Of course if anyone was going to bring dragons back into the world again, it would be the mother of dragons.

Dany walked up to the one whose scales looked like gold coins. Its horns and wings were a rich, dark blue color with a sheen that was reminiscent of a pearl. Dark gold eyes flickered from Dany to Jon.

“Mirax,” she said reverently, laying a hand on the dragon’s snout before walking to the other and repeating the gesture. This one a dark pine green with black horns and wings and silver eyes. “Morrelion.”

Looking at Jon, she dropped her hand. “Named after my two closest and most beloved advisors. Brought back to life just as my first children were.”

She then pulled out her sword and gave it a few expert swings. “You see, Jon. I learned from my mistake. I’m so much more prepared for Westeros this time. I can now fight just as easily with a sword as I can off the back of Drogon. I understand the loyalty you gained from fighting side by side with your men. The difference between us though is that while you’ve led armies, I command legions.”

For some reason, knowing that Dany had not only learned how to fight but had apparently been in battles made his heart hurt. A very small, irrational part of him hated that he wasn’t the one who taught her; that he hadn’t been there, fighting by her side.

When the blade caught the light, his eyes widened a little as he saw what it looked to be made of. She flashed him a smug smirk as she kept it aloft, confirming his thought. “Yes, Valyrian steel. Another gift from someone who felt I was finally deserving of it.”

Resheathing it, she said, “so I’ll handle the lords and ladies and everyone who opposes me the same way I handled the great masters. They can live in my new world or die in their old one.”

Jon stiffened. Her purple eyes caught the motion and her smile turned deadly. “Are you thinking of your beloved siblings? The family you constantly chose over me? Never fear, dear nephew, if they die, it won’t be at my hands. I simply plan to be there to enjoy their downfall. Along with your old friend Samwell Tarly and my dear Hand.”

She began stalking towards him, like a cat toying with her prey. “Your continued loyalty to them is ever so interesting though. What was it you Starks were always posturing? The lone wolf dies, but the pack survives?” Stopping, she held out her arms and looked around. “Well? Where’s your pack, Jon Snow? Where’s your family?” With a scoff, she let her arms fall. “I’ll tell you where. They’re enjoying the spoils of our downfall. Your so called family used you as their puppet and threw you away once they got what they wanted and you were of no more use to them. The same as you all did to me.”

His fists clenched so hard, he could feel his nails biting into his skin. Again, she saw it. “The truth is a harsh mistress to lie with, isn’t she, Jon?”

“I never used you. I followed you. I pledged myself to you.”

“That’s right. Do you remember your vow to me right before you stabbed me in the heart? I was your queen, now and always. I wonder if that still holds true,” she mused, stepping towards him again. He didn’t move, didn’t even blink, as she leaned in and loudly whispered, “shall we test to see if your family’s saying holds true as well? Does the lone wolf really die?”

“Stop it,” he snapped. He hated the words coming from her mouth. He hated that the woman he’d loved had become so cold and cruel. He hated that he was the reason why she was.

They stared at each other for a long moment before Dany’s lips slowly curled up. “As my nephew, the rightful king commands,” she mocked, dipping into a curtsy.

“I’m not the bloody king of Westeros,” he growled through clenched teeth. “I never was and I never wanted that damned throne.”

Her smile fell as she straightened. “No,” she disagreed, “you were a king, Aegon. Now, you’re a queenslayer, an oathbreaker, a kinslayer. Now, you’re nothing.”

Inhaling sharply through his nose, Jon closed his eyes. “Say whatever you want to say. Hurt me however you want. I deserve it. I hate myself for what I did. But I had to do it, Daenerys.” He opened his eyes to meet hers, his voice rising as he went on. “You were out of control and you didn’t even care that you’d just murdered thousands of innocent people!”

“And you didn’t even try to help me! Even before King’s Landing!” she yelled back. “You didn’t talk to me, you didn’t defend me, you didn’t do anything! You stood there while your sister, oh excuse me, cousin, openly disrespected me! I lost my armies to save your people and you couldn’t even tell them to be at least a little grateful! No, you just sat there and smiled like a gods damned fool and the puppet you were. I was drowning and not only did you not try to pull me out, you pushed me under and let the waves consume me.”

Taking a steadying breath, she composed herself. “But you made me realize that I can never depend too much on anyone in this world. Even my shadow leaves me when I’m in darkness.”

Jon’s eyes fell closed a second time as he absorbed the truth of her words. “I’m sorry, Daenerys,” he said brokenly. “You’ve no idea how much.”

“We’re all sorry for something, Jon Snow. I would know that better than anyone,” she finally said in a cool voice, making him look at her. “But words are wind. Action is what’s needed to make up for the wrongs we've done to others. It’s why I’ve returned to this forsaken land. I’m here to pay the debt I owe.” Her lip curled. “So don’t stand there and insult me with your paltry excuse of remorse.”

“It’s not an excuse,” he argued. “I hated it. Even though I was told it was the right thing to do, the only thing to do, it didn’t feel right. Not then, not now.”

He could tell that she refused to listen to what he had to say. When she stepped away, he matched her by stepping forward.

“If you can’t believe anything else I’ve said, at least believe that I loved you. So much,” he told her, desperation in his voice as he begged with his eyes for her to believe him.

Dany looked at him with something akin to stern pity. “I’m sure you thought yourself to be in love with me.”

Anger flared up in him at the way she so easily dismissed him. When he grabbed her shoulders and her face went blank. “Damn it, Daenerys! I know my own feelings! You were the love of my life!”

Once again, they got trapped in each other’s eyes in a silent battle of wills. Even though her expression didn’t change, he felt the air around her soften. Ever so slowly, she lifted her hands to cup his cheeks, her eyes never leaving his. The heat of her skin; the gentleness of her touch as she rubbed her thumb across his skin was what finally broke Jon. The ache in his throat he’d been holding back the entire time loosened enough that the smallest sob broke through before he could stop it. He turned to nuzzle into her palm as his own hands went to her neck to pull her closer. The smell of smoke, snow, and Daenerys filled his nostrils and made him want to bury his face in her neck.

“If that were true,” she whispered, her hot breath fanning his lips, “you wouldn’t have pulled away from me when you found out that you’re a Targaryen. You would have stayed. Because it wouldn’t have mattered...in the end.”

He shook his head, trying to find the words that would make her understand the turmoil he’d felt back then; wishing that she believed him and hating that she didn’t.

“I loved you,” she said quietly, “more than anyone else I had ever loved before. So much that I gave you everything I had.” She pulled back, letting him see her sorrow and hurt as her next words sliced through him worse than anything else she’d said. “And you repaid that love by showing me that once again, I wasn’t enough.”

She dropped her hands from his face and stepped away, taking all the warmth with her and leaving him with nothing but regret. The rawness of her words and openness he saw in her gaze made Jon’s face crumble under the weight of it all. His chest clenched so hard, he didn’t know how he was still standing. Before he could say anything though, she blinked and her face quickly became hard as stone. “But as I’ve said, I learned my lesson. I don’t want you or anyone else to believe that the love I once held for you is why I spared you. The reason I have not and will not kill you is because I want you to live with the knowledge that I’m not only alive, I’m thriving.” Her eyes narrowed. “And I want it to choke you.”

With that, she headed to Drogon and climbed onto his back. Once settled, she looked down at him imperiously and said, “The time of the wolves is over. Dragons put them on their thrones and it will be dragons that tear them down. Stay here or don’t. It makes no difference to me. But if you do stand against me, Jon Snow, I will show you as much mercy as you showed me. Except I won’t tell you pretty words and kiss your lips as I do.”

Then Drogon was pushing off into the air, with the other two following, flying towards a place and future Jon didn’t know. He couldn’t tear his eyes away even when Tormund came to stand next to him. With each flap of those wings that took her farther away, the part of his heart that still belonged to her broke anew.

It was only when they were mere specks that Tormund let out a whistling breath and asked, “what in the fucking hells are you gonna do now?”

And well, that was the question, wasn’t it? Because he had absolutely no idea.