#I can’t believe it took me seven years to realize this | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

tortillamastersblog · 5 months ago

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✐ Seven Years | Kara Danvers ✎

Pairing: Kara Danvers x reader

Warnings: slight angst

Summary: Seven years is a long time, but you’ve never given up on Kara.

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Seven Years Ago

A knock on my door makes me shoot up in bed. After crash landing on earth with Mon El I’m still getting used to my super hearing.

I rub my eyes and check my phone for the time, frowning when I see it’s two in the morning. I get out of bed and use my x-ray vision to see who’s at the door.

Much to my surprise I realize it’s Kara and the way she holds herself is very unusual. She’s leaned against the doorframe, her hair a mess and her glasses are askew on the bridge of her nose.

“Hey, what are you doing here this late?” I ask when I open the door.

Kara’s head shoots up and her hazy, glassy eyes meet mine. She sways when she pushes herself off the doorframe and when she slurs a, “Heyyy,” I smell alien liquor on her breath.

I sigh and step aside, letting her in wordlessly. This isn’t the first time she’s shown up drunk at my doorstep and I’m pretty sure tonight it’s for the exact same reason as last time.

“What did he do this time?” I say, exasperated as Kara flops down on my couch face first.

Mon El. . .

I love my twin brother, don’t get me wrong, but he can be such a jackass sometimes.

Since he started going out with Kara, he has changed for the better, but sometimes he slips up and that’s when I get involved because not long after waking up here on Earth, Kara’s took an instant liking to me.

Unlike my brother I didn’t break out of the DEO, I didn’t send out a distress call that got me arrested, and I’ve never believed our people’s claims that the Kryptonians were responsible for all our hardships, which meant Kara and I became friends rather quickly.

And as her friend I’m one of the only people she can talk to about Mon El because I know him better than anyone and I’m more often than not the one who talks some sense into him whenever he messes up.

Now, I could say I don’t mind because that’s what friends are for, but I do because I hate how I was too shy to ask her out and when I mentioned it to him, he swooped in and asked her out himself.

It’s like he doesn’t even care about her and only did it to one-up me once again, the same way he’s been doing all his life.

Kara groans and I take a seat beside her head, taking off her glasses so she doesn’t accidentally break them. “He just doesn’t listen!”

Yeah, I’ve heard that one before.

I sigh and scratch at my eyebrow. “Why? What happened?”

I don’t want to know. It makes me furious, seeing how he treats her, but I want to be a good friend, so I’m offering her a shoulder to cry on.

Kara takes a deep breath before sitting up. She looks like a bug wiggling its legs in the air while doing so, but she manages to do it and sinks back into the cushions, her head landing on my shoulder.

It’s a familiar position and even though I know it’s friendly on her part, I can’t help the butterflies that erupt in my stomach every time she’s this close.

She smells like floral perfume and liquor, the latter being a little overwhelming for my sensitive nose, but I couldn’t care less. All that matteres right now is that she’s comfortable and safe.

God, what would the world do if they saw Supergirl in this state? Wasted over a fight with her boyfriend. . .

I shake my head and force myself not to think like that. Kara isn’t just Supergirl; perfect, charming and selfless. She’s also Kara and she, like everyone else, isn’t perfect.

“We were dealing with some bank robbers earlier,” she starts, still slurring her words but sounding more sober than before, “and I told him— I TOLD him— I had it under control, but he swooped in anyway.”

Yup, that sounds like him.

I have the same powers he has, but I don’t want to be a superhero. I just want to live a normal life, just like I’ve always wanted, even back on Daxam, and because I now have the freedom to choose, I choose to work as a manager and barista at Noonan’s. I like connecting with people and the simplicity of the job, which makes it perfect.

From time to time I do help the DEO of course, but only if I really have to. Otherwise I stick to my new, boring life.

I hum in acknowledgment and wait for Kara to continue.

“They got away with the money,” she says, “and I got a slab of concrete hurled at me. . . And then he has the audacity to accuse me of letting them get away, as if I didn’t have to use my body to shield them and prevent him from accidentally killing them with that piece of concrete!”

“I— Wow.” Is all I can manage to say and when I look to my left I’m startled to find Kara looking up at me with big, puppy dog eyes.

“Why can’t he just listen?” she whispers, her eyes darting between mine. “I mean, you listen. You always listen. Why can’t he?”

I swallow thickly and look at my hands in my lap. Mon El and I might be twins, but that’s where the similarities end.

I feel myself getting hot under Kara’s intense stare, so clear my throat and mumble, “I don’t know, Kara. But I’m sorry he’s acting like this.”

I would never do something like that to you.

I don’t say that because we’re just friends and because I’m not going to be the one who ruins their relationship.

Kara sighs and rests her head back on my shoulder, closing her eyes. She wraps her arms around my arm and within seconds her breathing evens out and I know she’s asleep.

Damn you, Mon El . . .

I shift around until I can get out of her embrace, carefully directing her so she’s lying on the couch. I take off her shoes and drape a thin blanket over her, knowing full well that she won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.

Now

I cough and blink my eyes open. Everything is white and blurry, so I rub my eyes with my hands.

A familiar face swims in front of me and when I blink a couple of times, it comes into focus.

“Brainy?” I ask, coughing once more. “Are we back in the 31st century?”

He shakes his head and runs a hand through his hair. “No. There have been some. . . complications.”

My eyebrows shoot up and I step out of the cryo-pod. My clothes are sticking to my body and I gladly accept the stack of dry clothes Brainy holds out. “What kind of complications? Where’s Mon El? Is he still asleep?”

Brainy’s eye twitches in a telltale way and he turns around when I start taking off my shirt. “No, he is awake. He is out looking for a power source for the ship.”

I narrow my eyes at the back of his head and finish changing, running a hand through my damp hair. “Where exactly is he? I know there something you’re not telling me, Brainy.”

He peaks over his shoulder to make sure I’m decent before turning back around. “There is nothing I’m not telling you, Y/N.“

I scoff and brush past him to the ships main computer to see what’s going on. Before I can get my hands on the control panel though, he slips in front of me, blocking my view.

“What are you doing?” he asks.

I raise an eyebrow. “What am I doing? What are you doing? Move, please.”

He shakes his head and grimaces. “I can’t do that.”

Frustration bubbles in the pit of my stomach and I clench my jaw so as to not snap at him. “Why not? What is going on?!”

Brainy opens and closes his mouth like a fish out of water, but nothing comes out.

“Brainy, I swear—“

“Y/N.”

I spin around at the familiar voice and glare at my brother who’s dressed in his red Legion suit.

“Mon El.” I acknowledged him with a nod and send Brainy one last glare before asking, “What’s going on? Where are we? Or should I say when are we?”

“It doesn’t matter. I’ve got what we need and we should be back home in no time,” he replies and when my eyes drop to his hands I realize he’s holding a power cell.

Why is no one telling me what is going on?

My frustration turns into anger when Mon El tries to move past me without elaborating, so I grab his arm and yank him back.

“Either you tell me what’s going on right now, or I’m leaving the ship to find out myself!” I seethe through gritted teeth and it fills me with satisfaction to see him flinch ever so slightly.

He quickly reassumes his unfazed demeanor though and calmly replies, “Look, you weren’t supposed to wake up before I got back. We’re not home yet, which is all that matters, but I have what we need to get back, so don’t worry.”

I’m about to lunge at him when Imra boards the ship, also dressed in her Legion suit.

So they were out together. . .

“Mon El, Kara told me—“

She freezes when her eyes land on me and when it registers what she just said my heart drops. I let go of Mon El’s arm and turn to face her with shaking hands. “What did you just say?”

It’s almost a whisper but because it’s dead silent right now, Imra hears me.

“Y/N. You’re awake,” she says carefully, her eyes darting between me and Mon El.

“Yeah, no shit.” I take big step forward so I’m face to face with her, pointing at her chest. “Now tell me. What were you going to say?“

She swallows thickly, looking like a deer caught in headlights and when I don’t back down, her eyes drop to the floor and she mumbles, “Kara wanted me to tell Mon El that Winn managed to locate another power cell, should we need one that is. . .”

My jaw drops and my heart races in my chest. I spin around and stare at Mon El in disbelief.

“Kara?” I croak. “Kara?!“

Mon El sets down the power cell and hols out his hands to calm me down, but I’m way past the point of being calmed down now. “Y/N, please don’t make a big deal out of this. I—“

“No, you don’t get to talk to me like that!” I cried, feeling tears well up in my eyes. “How dare you not tell me we were back?”

His face is contorted into a conflicted grimace, and he tries to come up with an excuse, but I’m not having it.

“You weren’t going to wake me up, were you? You weren’t ever going to tell me about this, were you?” My voice breaks more and more as I continue speaking until I’m a crying mess.

“Y/N. . .” Imra places a hand on my shoulder, but I shrug her off, taking several steps back to glare at all three of my supposed friends.

“No, just stop,” I choke out, wiping at my tears. “I’ve waited, hoped, seven years for this moment, and you weren’t going to say anything.“

I stare at each of them for an explanation, or a reason as to why they weren’t going to tell me, but no one says anything, so I square my shoulders and use my sleeve to tame the never ending stream of tears.

“Wow. So much for family,” I scoff and make my way to the ship’s door. No one dares to stop me and as soon as I step outside, there’s only one thing left on my mind: Finding Kara.

Seven Years Ago

“Here you go.” I smile and hand Maya, one of our regulars, her coffee over the counter. She reciprocates the smile and thanks me before leaving.

I grab the next ticket and look it over, seeing that I only have to make a cappuccino and a hot chocolate.

I get to work, moving flawlessly around the space next to my coworker Conan, only to be pulled to the side when I go out back to grab a new crate of coffee beans.

“Kara, what the hell?” I shriek when I see the blonde grinning at me. She’s wearing her Supergirl suit and her blonde hair looks windswept.

“Hi!”

I push my glasses up the bridge of my nose and set down the coffee beans. “You can’t just sneak up on someone like that. One of these days I’m going to have a heart attack because of you,” I say, my lips twitching when she scratches her neck in embarrassment.

“You’re right I’m sorry,” she says, her smile not faltering, “even though I don’t think you could even have a heart attack if you tried.”

I roll my eyes playfully and pull her into a hug. She laughs and hugs back, and I’m pretty sure if I were human she would have broken my neck by now.

“Don’t get smart with me,” I warn with a chuckle when we pull back and she just smiles, tucking a stand of hair behind her ear. “So, what brings you by? Not my idiot brother again, I hope.”

Kara grimaces and shifts awkwardly. “Actually that’s exactly why I came by.”

I deflate and force myself to ignore the hurt that always claws at my heart when she talks about her relationship with Mon El. “Oh, alright then. What happened?”

For the first time ever, she seems to pick up on my change in mood pertaining this particular topic and she frowns. However, when I raise an eyebrow expectantly she clears her throat and a tentative smile tugs at the corner of her lips. “Well, I. . . I broke up with him.”

My eyes widen and I can’t stop a confused, “Why?” from slipping past my lips.

It was probably not the reaction she was expecting because she falters and starts nervously tugging at her skirt. “I-I just realized we don’t working together and he is just so different and— I thought you’d be happy for me.”

Seeing her pout I’m quick to grab her hands and make her look at me. “No, no, no. I am happy for you. I just— I thought maybe he broke your heart and you were sad about it and— I’m sorry. I’m glad you’re okay, and I’m glad you’re happy. That’s all that matters.”

Uncertainty flits across her face and her blue eyes search my face when she asks, “Really?”

I nod and squeeze her hands with a soft smile. “Really.”

Kara beams the next second and throws her arms around my neck. “You’re the best friend ever. How about we go out and celebrate tonight? I’ll ask Alex, Lena, and Sam to come, too.”

My heart breaks a little at the word friend, but I don’t let it show when I agree. “Sure. Just text me when and where and I’ll be there.”

“Yay!” Kara giggles and pulls back, her face lit up with happiness.

I smile fondly at the sight, feeling my heart flutter before scolding myself.

Stop, she’s your friend. Nothing else.

I sigh and gesture behind me. “I should get back to work.”

“Of course!” Kara’s eyes widen in realization, but she doesn’t lose her smile.

I return a half-hearted smile and get back to work, hearing the whooshing of her taking off just as the door closes behind me.

Since she broke up with Mon El three months ago, Kara has been around even more than before.

She shows up at Noonan’s daily just to chat which has gotten her in trouble with Snapper more often than not, and she spends most nights on my couch, passed out from her Supergirl duties.

Tonight was game night at her place and everyone except me has already left, leaving behind empty beer bottles and candy wrappers.

It was fun and filled with friendly competition, leaving a lingering warm feeling in the pit of my stomach.

I pick up the empty wine glass Lena drank out of and take it to the kitchen along with some empty beer bottles.

“I told you, you don’t have to do that,” Kara says, joining me in the kitchen with the empty popcorn bowl.

I shrug her off and take the bowl from her, placing it in the dishwasher before wiping my hands on my pants. “And I told you, I don’t mind.”

Kara’s blue eyes soften and she crosses her arms, her hands disappearing in the sleeves of her (my) sweatshirt. She borrowed it one night after showing up at my apartment covered in soot and ash, and she hasn’t returned it since.

The longer she watches me, the more nervous I get and I push my glasses up the bridge of my nose. “So, uh— How’s life?” I ask awkwardly which makes Kara chuckle.

She tilts her head adorably and smiles. “I can’t complain. How about you? How’s Maya?”

I cringe inwardly at the mention of Maya and shake my head with a soft laugh. We went on one date a couple of weeks ago because she asked me out, but I’m too hung up on the blonde in front of me, so I let Maya down gently.

Weirdly enough, Kara hasn’t stopped pestering me about it even though I keep telling her that there’s nothing going on between Maya and I.

“She’s fine I think. I told you I haven’t spoken to her since our date,” I say, drawing shapes on the counter next to me.

Kara raises an eyebrow and her eyes hold something I can’t quite place. “Well, is there someone else then?”

It’s a little weird how interested she is in my love life lately, but I try not to read too much into it.

“No,” I say quietly and Kara uncrosses her arms with a satisfied smile.

“Good. I don’t like sharing my best friend,” she says, placing a hand on my chest.

I swallow thickly and bite the inside of my cheek. “Yup.”

Kara squeezes my shoulder and moves past me, getting comfortable on the couch and looking at me expectantly when I don’t follow.

We usually watch a movie together after everyone’s already gone, but I don’t feel like staying tonight because it just hit me that she’ll never see me as anything other than a friend.

After she broke up with Mon El I thought I might get my chance with her after all, but now I know that that won’t be the case and all I want to do is go home and wallow in self pity.

“Actually, I think I’m going to head home, too,” I mumble, looking down as I drag myself to the door to put on my shoes and jacket.

Kara jumps off the couch and hurries toward me. “What? Why?”

I sigh and glance at her, seeing the confusion and hurt on her face.

“I’m pretty tired and I have an early shift tomorrow morning,” I say, pushing my glasses up the bridge of my nose again.

“O-Okay,” Kara stutters and I only hug her briefly before leaving, ignoring the way her eyes burn into the back of my head as I step into the elevator.

Now

I fly over National City, admiring the twinkling lights in the dark of the night as I make my way to a familiar apartment.

It’s cold and a few snowflakes land and melt on my face as I continue flying, but I ignore them and close my eyes briefly, taking a deep breath of fresh air.

The last time I was here, my lung felt like it was on fire but since being cured of my lead allergy in the 31st century, that is no longer an issue.

I descend slowly when I get close to my destination, feeling nervousness rise up in the pit of my stomach.

What if she doesn’t want to see me? What if she moved on? I mean, it’s been seven years. . .

Seven Years Ago

“What are we going to do?” Kara asks desperately, pacing back and forth.

We’re at the DEO, trying to figure out what to do about my mother’s attempt at invading the planet.

Alex looks to be deep in thought and Winn and Lena are talking in hushed voices a few steps away.

“Well, we could always use the device Lillian—“

Alex gets cut off immediately by Kara starting her down. “Absolutely not. We have to think of something else.”

I frown and glance at Clark who’s silently watching the whole scene unfold next to a defeated looking Mon El.

“What device?” I ask and when Alex and Kara go on bickering I ask again, this time louder and a little more aggressive. “What device?!”

No one says anything for a second but then Winn clears his throat and steps forward. “Lena and Lilian came up with a fail safe device that releases trace amounts of lead into the atmosphere when activated.”

I regret asking and immediately know why Kara doesn’t want to use it. It wouldn’t only force my mother and all the other Daxamites to leave, but also Mon El and me.

“I’m going to fight Rhea, and I’m going to win. There’s no other option. We’re not going to use that thing.” Kara states with a huff and it seems as though a decision has been made, but before anyone can leave I step forward with squared shoulders.

“No, you are not fighting our poor excuse of a mother,” I say calmly. “We are using the device. No one else has to get hurt and if it means Mon El and I have to leave as well, then so be it. Right?”

I look at Mon El and despite not seeing eye to eye on most things, he agrees with me and nods solemnly.

Kara whips around and glares at me. “We can’t just—“

“Yes you can,” I interrupt, turning to Alex before Kara can say anything else. “Get the device ready. Mon El and I will get our affairs in order and return to the DEO as soon as possible. You said Kara’s spaceship is still in working order, right? We’ll use it to get off Earth as soon as the lead is released.”

Alex pulls me in for a hug and lets out a shuddering breath but agrees to the plan and orders Winn and Lena to finish making the distributor.

Clark regards me with reverence and bows slightly, leaving shortly after to help in the ongoing fight against the invasion.

Mon El leaves too, shaking Alex’s hand and hugging Kara briefly, leaving me behind with the two sisters.

“I can’t believe you just did that!” Kara seethes, jabbing me in the chest with her finger. “I can fight Rhea. I can win!”

“No!” I argue, shoving her hand away and taking a step back. “You can’t win. My mother fights dirty and you will lose and I won’t let that happen. Not when there’s something I can do about it.”

Alex watched us with an uncomfortable look on her face before deciding she’s seen enough. She wordlessly slips out of the room and makes sure the door is properly shut behind her.

“Well, I’m not going to let you jet off into space with nowhere to go. You will die out there!” Kara spits through gritted teeth, the vein on her forehead pulsing dangerously.

“You don’t know that! But I know that you will get hurt if you fight my mother!” I shout and it makes her flinch because I’ve never raised my voice at her.

“But I can try! Why won’t you just let me do this?”

“Because I love you!”

I slap my hand over my mouth and watch as Kara’s eyes widen.

Well, I guess it’s out there now. . .

I sigh and take off my glasses, folding them before sliding them into my pocket.

“I love you, Kara, and not in a best friend kind of way. I won’t let you get hurt.”

Kara gapes at me and when she doesn’t say anything I clench my jaw and brush past her. “Now if you’ll excuse me I have to go home and get my affairs in order. There’s not much time left.”

Hurt claws at my throat when I leave the stunned superhero behind and I don’t try to stop the oncoming wave of tears.

I knew she didn’t think of me as more than a friend, but her blatant rejection of my feelings just now hurts more than anything I’ve ever felt before.

There’s not much I have to do when I get home because there isn’t much I can take with me, but I do sign the lease of the apartment over to my coworker Conan. He’s been looking for a new place to stay for a couple of months now and the apartment is payed off until the end of the year.

I also sign a resignation letter for work and put it on the kitchen counter next to my spare set of keys.

I’m just about to take some of the picture frames off the wall when I notice a nearing, familiar heartbeat.

I turn around just in time to see Kara coming in through the window with tears streaming down her face.

“What—“

I get cut off by a pair of lips on my own and my eyes widen before slamming shut.

Kara’s desperately pulling me closer by the back of my neck and I have to place my hands on her hips to stop myself from toppling into her.

She kissed me passionately and frantically, and I wince when I taste her salty tears.

I push at her hips, effectively breaking the kiss and stare at her questioningly. “What are you doing, Kara?”

I can’t let her play with my heart. Not now when I’m about to leave.

Another tear makes its way down her cheek and I fight the urge to wipe it away. She looks utterly hopeless and broken and when she whispers, “I love you, too’” the world stops spinning for a moment.

“It’s why I broke up with Mon El in the first place. You get me like no one else does. You listen to what I say and you’re kind, and modest, and your soul is beautiful. I can’t just let you leave. I-I want to go on dates with you. I want to hold your hand and wake up next to you. I want to make you breakfast in bed and kiss you until you’re breathless. Please don’t leave. Please. . .”

I feel my bottom lip tremble and squeeze my eyes shut. That is what I’ve wanted to hear for so long, and it’s so unfair that it’s just a little too late now.

“Kara, I can’t,” I whisper, opening my eyes again to find her blue eyes already on me.

She whimpers and surges forward, capturing my lips in another heated kiss.

I don’t fight her at all, pulling her closer by her waist until there’s virtually no space left between us.

Her lips are soft and warm, even though they’re moving against mine quite aggressively, and I sigh against her mouth when she buries her fingers in my hair and tugs me even closer.

I could get lost in this kiss and if it weren’t for the sudden burning sensation in my lungs I probably would have.

My grip on her waist involuntarily tightens and I pull back to double over and cough violently. It feels like I’m breathing fire and my throat closes, making me wheeze.

They released the lead.

I look up with tears in my eyes to find Kara watching me in horror.

“No, please. Not now,” she says, desperately cupping my cheeks.

She raises a hand to the comms device in her ear and frantically says something to the person on the other end. I’m assuming it’s Alex, but I can’t focus on what’s being said because the next time I cough, I’m coughing up blood.

It runs down the side of my mouth and I’m suddenly too weak to wipe it away, so Kara does it with alarm written all over her face.

She grabs me around the waist and hoists me over her shoulder, dashing out of the window within the blink of an eye.

The position is a little awkward and uncomfortable but I can’t focus on anything other than trying to get enough air in my lungs.

When we touch down on a field in the middle of nowhere, I see Mon El is already there, waiting and coughing next to Kara’s spaceship.

Kara sets me down gently and cups my cheeks again. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

I shake my head and press a kiss to the inside of one of her wrists, my hands landing on her hips as I sway dangerously on my feet.

I’m too weak to say anything so I just smile weakly, hoping it’s enough to show her that I’m not mad.

“I love you,” she chokes out, pulling out a necklace from beneath her suit. I realize it’s her mother’s and I try to pull away when she presses it into one of my hands. I can’t take something so valuable from her, but she just nods her head adamantly and pleads, “Take this. . . take this, please. It will keep you safe.”

I give in and cough again, holding my breath when she presses her lips against mine one last time.

When she pulls back and pushes me toward the ship, her face is twisted in agony and I know there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for her not to feel this way.

But there’s nothing I can do, so I get into the ship behind Mon El, clutching her necklace against my chest as the hood materializes above us and we start to ascend.

I mouth I love you, and watch her shrinking figure through the glass. She waves goodbye and I almost break down completely at the sight of her watery smile.

Now

I land on Kara’s balcony, suddenly no longer sure about whether or not I want to do this, but then I see her through the window.

She’s curled up on the couch with a thin blue blanket draped over her. The TV is off and she’s not on her phone either, making me frown and wonder what she’s doing but then I see her wiping her cheek with the back of her hand.

My heart drops at the sight of her looking so dejected and I step forward without thinking and knock on the door.

She freezes for a second before slowly looking up. Her eyes widen when the land on me and she stumbles to her feet, almost tripping over the blanket in her haste to get to the door.

She flings it open, breathing heavily and staring at me with her bloodshot eyes.

“Hey,” I whisper softly and it takes only a couple of seconds for her to throw her arms around my neck and sob into my shoulder.

For the first time in seven years it feels like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders and I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her infinitely closer.

The familiar smell of her vanilla shampoo makes my own eyes sting and I choke out a sob.

“You’re here,” she says against my skin, refusing to let go. “I don’t understand. Mon El said you stayed in the future.”

I want to be angry at that revelation, but I just can’t be when I have her in my arms. I press a kiss to her temple and let my lips linger for a moment. “No, I’m here. I’m right here, and I’m not going anywhere ever again.”

Kara’s arms around me tighten and I bend down to pick her up by the back of her legs, carrying her inside.

She wraps her legs around my waist as I close the door behind us, and breathes heavily against my neck.

I move toward the couch and sit down, holding her in my lap as she continues to cling to me.

We stay like that until her sobs die down and she pulls back to look me in the eyes. Her hands cup my cheeks and she traces her thumbs over my cheekbones.

“I love you,” she croaks and I let out a shaky breath, pressing my forehead against hers.

My hands find their way to her hips and I squeeze carefully, whispering, “I love you, too.”

Kara brushes her nose against mine and pecks my lips tentatively. It sends sparks through my body and I respond immediately and move forward for more.

She hums, satisfied, and deepens the kiss by tugging at my bottom lip with her teeth. I gasp in surprise and she uses the opportunity to slip her tongue past my lips and brush it against my own.

It’s a feeling I’ve been craving since she kissed me for the first time and I haven’t stopped thinking about it for the past seven years.

Much too soon for my liking, Kara pulls back. She rests her hands on my chest and traces her index finger along the chain of the necklace she gave me. “Listen, I know it’s been seven years for you, but you have to know that it’s only been seven months for me since you left,” she reveals quietly and I feel my stomach drop when she adds, “So, you know, I get it if you’ve moved on. I mean, Mon El got married, so surely you—“

I cut her off with a soft kiss, letting my lips trail over her cheek and jaw before they land on her neck.

I nip slightly at her sensitive skin, drawing a barely audible moan from her before pulling back completely to meet her eyes.

“I would wait a lifetime if it meant I got to see you again,” I admit, my eyes darting between hers. Then to lighten the mood, I joke, “But I sure hope you haven’t moved on yet because if you have you’re going to be in quite a bit of trouble.”

The smile that lights up her face makes my heart flutter and she quickly shakes her head, denying that she’s seeing anyone.

“I haven’t gotten over you since you left and I honestly don’t know if I ever would have, but that doesn’t matter anymore. You’re here now and I’m not letting you go again.” She whispers that last part and closes the distance between us again to press a kiss to my neck right below my ear.

It makes me shudder and when she smiles against my skin, knowing exactly the effect she has on me, I pinch her side playfully.

She giggles and trails kisses up the side of my face, all the way across my forehead and down my nose until her lips land on mine in a short peck.

“So, what now? What’s going to happen to you and the Legion?” she asks, finding my hand to play with the Legion ring.

I shrug and trace patterns on her lower back with my unoccupied hand. “I will have some words with Mon El and the others about not waking me up, but I can promise you that I’m not going anywhere anytime soon. You’re stuck with me now.”

Kara laughs softly and squeezes my hand, wiggling forward on my lap so she can rest against my chest, her head tucked into the crook of my neck. “Good because I really want to go on dates with you and make you breakfast in bed.”

I smile and kiss the top of her head. “I can’t wait.”

________________________________________________

Jesus, that was a long one, but I needed a break from No Matter What. . .

#supergirl x reader #supergirl cw #kara danvers x reader #kara danvers #kara zor el #x reader #dc universe #dcu #fluff #angst with a happy ending

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winwintea · 7 months ago

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dreamies as your disney world boyfriend

pairing ▸ boyfriend!dreamies x reader author's note ▸ i am working on the SERIES I PROMISE GUYS... it's just quite long... oops. i needed to channel my inner disney for inspiration for this sorry. the prompt seemed to make more sense in my head so i guess it's just, 'dreamies at disney' now lol. ALSO SOME DISNEY TERMINOLOGY in there i apologize. should make sense but if it's confusing ask me lmfaooo

mark lee

photographer boyfriend obviously

doesn’t even complain about how many photos you want to take

is actually dying inside but hides it away with dad jokes to cope with the pain

“it’s not even noon yet and dis-knees are killing me bro”

will only complain about the heat

“It’s like we’re on the surface on the sun dude… like satan’s armpit. that’s crazzzzyy.”

you couldn’t help but laugh

but then he just KEPT GOING

“it’s like we’re in the inside of a mouth… there are things sticking to things that-”

and you cut him off right there.

can’t help the fact that bro is a D1 yapper.

will not wear mickey ears though no matter how much you beg him to :(

favorite ride: slinky dog dash

least favorite ride: dumbo

huang renjun

the boyfriend that actually disney bounds with you

so y’all are disney bounding as nick wilde and judy hopps from zootopia (renjun’s idea)

chenle took him to shanghai disney once, so he’s a big fan of duffy and friends

oh how disappointed he was when he realized that the mascots don’t exist in WDW

“preferred parking? i would prefer parking to be free, thank you very much.”

mood is very sour upon entering

“i know you’re cold but i did tell you to bring a jacket.” rude.

however once you two start collecting your first character signature he’s locked in

somehow more excited to meet the characters than the kids are? (ur 24. reality check!)

he gets more into it as the day goes on

YOU BET HE’S WEARING THE MICKEY EARS.

although he already had fox ears on to begin with anyways

favorite ride: mickey & minnie’s runaway railway

least favorite ride: seven dwarfs mine train (it was too short)

lee jeno

foodie boyfriend

wants a turkey leg like really badly

“that guy has a turkey leg… sir- um sir- where did you get that turkey leg”

you have to bribe this man with food.

which honestly is okay by you because you just wanna take photos of the food.

"yknow with this ride being 50 years old, you'd think they could've made the boats a little bigger. have to man spread now"

whatever you’re thinking of, that’s literally not what he meant.

he’s an innocent lil guy. (seriously, it just came out wrong.)

holds ur hand on all rides.

let’s you grab onto his muscles arms while you are nervous on the thrill rides

no mickey ears though. (it’s the bow that always throws them off)

favorite ride: rise of the resistance

least favorite ride: teacups

lee haechan

out of pocket boyfriend who will not stfu

“bambi’s the only movie i really couldn’t watch… i could not be as strong as bambi”

after you give him the, “wtf” look he just continues. on.

“cause if my mom died well… there goes my friend group.”

will randomly start singing disney songs in the middle of waiting for a ride.

in those show/ride/attractions he’s the only one clapping and screaming.

especially true for the beauty and the beast sing-a-long attraction, cause yknow he’s gonna scream his lungs out.

yeah he’ll wear mickey ears, but you bought him a goofy hat instead. It was more fitting.

“can’t believe disney made a character after me… should i sue?”

also complains a lot. way too much.

“EPCOT? more like every person comes out tired.”

favorite ride: pirates of the caribbean (he kept making a booty joke over and over again)

least favorite ride: toy story midway mania (bc he lost)

na jaemin

hardcore boyfriend photographer (pt 2) + ‘mom’ boyfriend

man knows all your best angles and where to take photos

“picture, picture over here… yes yes right… in front of the castle angel. oh that’s so pretty… in… in… down… up… okay! smile!”

you two spend like half the day taking photos, jaemin needs to show off his gf ofc.

cares for you the whole entire day, makes sure you drink enough water

aggressively refills your waterbottles every second he gets.

“when it doubt, chug it out! (cue jaemin chugging his own bottle)

he unfortunately will not wear mickey ears. (jaemin i believed in you.)

he’s not the one being taken photos of, so no mickey ears for him.

“princess i don’t wanna hear it. the humidity is good for you. this is like nature’s pore declogging.”

favorite ride: frozen ever after

least favorite ride: none (bc he did everything with u <3)

zhong chenle

in between buying you everything and calling everything too expensive boyfriend

HOW THE FUCK DID HE GET A MEMBERSHIP WITH CLUB 33.

this man pulls you into that sus green building on main street, and your jaw drops.

club 33, is an exclusive, membership only restaurant at disney. it’s like an elite society filled with rich upper class, but at disney. (never been inside not sure how to describe it but oh boy is membership expensive.) the waitlist got so long in 2007, they closed it for 5 years. look it up on wikipedia disney lore goes hard

“i just asked a couple of friends, and they recommended me this place.” boy.

you’re panicking because you’re severely underdressed. (you’re in a jessie costume.)

he reassures you, since you’re at disney, and being dressed like this is normal.

once u have one of the most expensive meals of ur life, chenle drags u to every single thrill ride.

he also buys you a balloon and a bubble wand <3

but for some reason when you arrive at the gift shop he realizes he’s spent a lot.

“okay enough gift shop. look away from the gift shop. this vacation already has us in poverty.”

AND BRO ACTS LIKE THIS THE WHOLE TRIP IM NOT KIDDING.

he’ll buy you a nice meal at one of the restaurants and then…

“we’re not getting churros they’re 5 dollars.”

no mickey ears either why do you even ask

“next time i’ll take u to shanghai, it’s better okay?”

favorite ride: tower of terror

least favorite ride: it’s a small world after all

park jisung

anti-disney everything boyfriend

gets frustrated at everything. cannot read the map.

when he goes on small world…

he severely questions his mental sanity. like actually guys i think he needs help.

“this ride is for kids.”

the ride in question: the barnstormer! a 40 second kiddie roller coaster that has top speeds of up to 25mph!

literally jisung’s 13 reason.

he was screaming his little heart out poor baby.

“I’m not wearing those. Stop.” you do not stop. “Take these off of me right now.”

he wears the ears for half of the day though so a win is a win.

“we’re going to the other park? we’re not going home? there’s 3 more??????”

favorite ride: none

least favorite ride: all

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sweatervest-obsessed · 8 months ago

Text

You

pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader

wc: 1.8k

cw: oh death babes, depression, mentions of drugs, mentions of ODs, gun violence, blood, four out of the five stages of grief (there’s no acceptance here)

a/n: Guys, I was feeling something, and spewed this out. Enjoy the pure grief and pain I just poured out onto a page. Also spot the little references throughout hehe.

Spencer Reid Masterlist

“Spence, you did everything you could. It’s not your fault.”

He shook his head and pressed you up against his chest, ignoring the blood seeping into his pants, his vest, his hands.

“You can’t—hey, hey, hey, look at me. Y/n, please.” His voice cracked on his plea as the two of you crumpled to the ground. He screamed out for a medic as he cradled your body against him.

Your eyes floated in and out of consciousness, focusing on him when they could. “We knew this was going to happen eventually.”

“N-No.”

“I-I…I love you…” Your chest heaved up and down.

“Stop it. Stop.”

“So….much….”

Spencer just shook his head and yelled at his team to do something, but they all stood back, none of them wanting to ruin the goodbye he never got to say.

Spencer snapped into focus, realizing he was sitting on the jet, staring out the window. There was no one sitting next to him, they had all taken the physical seats, leaving him to the couch. And while this was nothing out of the norm, the only difference was that you weren’t sitting on the couch facing back at him.

Spencer was alone, in his head, and on the couch.

Y/n Y/m/n Y/l/n passed away on May 17th, at the young age of thirty. She had been an agent of the FBI for over seven years, and a member of the BAU for almost five. She had become an integral part of the FBI and was a valued member of the BAU. She was survived by her fiancé Doctor Spencer Reid, her mother and father, her younger brother and sister, as well as two nieces and one nephew.

Spencer thought about you every single day.

He would think about you when he went to make his coffee, adding a scoop of sugar since that’s how you took yours. He thought about you when he took the train into work, listening to songs that you loved, over and over and over. He thought about you when he would sit alone on the jet, trying to ignore all of the pitiful stares as everyone tried not to take your spot on the couch.

He liked to replay your death over and over and over, making it so that he was in the other car, he was onsight to say goodbye to you.

Derek told him that you waited for as long as you could.

Spencer didn’t know if that was comforting, knowing you willingly suffered longer than you needed to, just to see him one last time. But it was in vain since you died two minutes and forty-seven seconds before the car arrived.

In his head, he was the one who held you, who told you how much you were loved and adored, and maybe that could’ve made you stay.

It wasn’t Derek holding you as you choked on your own blood, watching you struggle to survive long enough. It wasn’t Derek holding you telling you to breathe and just let go. It wasn’t Derek being the last person to hear your voice.

Tell him that I’m s-so sorry, and I-I...love him...so. Much.

Spencer realized about a month after the funeral, that he never saw your wedding dress. You were about seven months away from your wedding when you died, but you had been engaged for over a year.

Emily, Penelope, and JJ have the pictures, but he couldn’t bring himself to see you in something that was supposed to signify your forever, when instead it was cut short by an ambush and the carelessness of the local cops.

Apparently, it was perfect. But Spencer didn’t have perfect. He wasn’t lucky enough to have perfect. He wasn’t privileged enough to even be allowed to think about perfection.

The anger would take over after thinking about it for too long. He always found himself angry with you for leaving him—abandoning him. How selfish could you be? Spencer believed he wasn’t worthy of you, he never had. You’d always take your lunch breaks with him, so he always had someone to sit with since he told you about how he would eat alone when he was younger. Every time he’d come in with his tie crooked or his hair a mess, you would casually let him know. Eventually, when you worked up the courage to kiss him one night, you just started fixing it for him. Every morning you’d make him coffee as you both got ready for the day. You’d leave him little notes hidden in his desk, in his pillowcase, in his wallet, in his pockets.

It didn't take anything to make him think about you, but when he reached into the pocket of his jacket to find his phone as he got onto the plane, he found one.

Hello Darling, I hope today is a good day for you. You deserve good things Spence. I hope you one day believe it as much as I know it to be true With all the love in my heart, Future Mrs Doctor Spencer Reid P.S. you owe me the dishes tonight…

It shattered what little resolve he had left this morning, causing him to sit alone, on the couch, the note pressed against his lips as he stared out the windows of the plane.

It was ironic that the one good thing he had left in the world was suddenly gone, and how you leaving made him feel as though he deserved nothing. The Bureau gave him a maximum of six months off--Grief Leave, they called it. But he ended up getting restless around month four, asking Hotch if he could come back periodically. That was how JJ found out that Spencer had been sleeping on the couch, unable to bring himself to sleep in a bed made for the two of you when there was only one left.

It’s also how JJ found out that Spencer had relapsed.

She had been the one to find him on the bathroom floor, exactly four months after your funeral. And Spencer fucking hated her for it. He couldn't stand to be stuck in your shared apartment alone, but he couldn't bring himself to just abandon the last place he held you. He kept asking JJ why she would keep the two of you apart? Two souls that were meant to forever be intertwined suddenly ripped apart. It felt like some sort of cruel joke.

But he didn’t use after that. One and Done, as he stated to Garcia over the phone one night while at a rehab. They let him out a week and a half later since they couldn’t prove he was a harm to himself anymore.

The team would take their turns, making Spencer feel as though he was twenty-three again. They would watch him, as they felt obligated to babysit him. Made him feel more like his friendships were chores than acts of love. Spencer didn’t feel much love anymore, only pity.

Spencer looked over as Derek cleared his throat, silently asking if he could sit down, in your spot. He nodded once, an invitation he wasn’t really in the mood to repeat.

The plane ride was going to be a long one, six hours. And Spencer had only been overthinking everything for only one of them.

“You found another one.” Not a question, an observation.

Reid nodded, his gaze had shifted back to the window, the clouds, the slight rain streaking horizontally across the sky as they flew.

You loved the rain. It was refreshing, something cleansing. Rebirth, as you would say.

It gives you a new beginning everytime it rains, which is extremely kind of the universe considering how many times we manage to fuck up.

Spencer had once laughed at that, listening to you rant on about the perks and importance of rain. But now? He fucked hated it. He saw glimpses of you in every rain drop, reflecting you millions of times, and he would hear your laugh every time it thundered, taking up as much space as deserved and echoing through your now empty home.

It rained for a week straight after you died. The world weeped at the loss of your soul. Spencer couldn’t tell if it was a cruel joke from the universe, or if it was you trying to tell him to try out that whole “rebirth thing”.

Either way, he didn’t enjoy it as much as you would have.

“Even when she’s not…” Spencer closed his eyes and swallowed the words, still unable to say them outloud. “She still manages to, uh, render me speechless.”

Your favorite pastime was getting Doctor Spencer Reid to become speechless. You learned how to play chess, without his knowledge, and managed to beat him the first time you played. At some point, you had learned enough Russian to go and see one of those movies he enjoyed so much, even though he knew that deep down the whole thing was not remotely in your wheelhouse. The team had never heard Spencer go as quiet as often as he did when you were around.

Except for now. Spencer would state a fact, make an observation, point out something the team was missing, and that was it. He never spoke more than a few sentences at a time. Gone were the days of rants and backstory and additional context, that you always argued were important. No one listened to Spencer like you did. Instead, now, the world settled into an uncomfortable silence where laughter and rambling and teasing should have been.

“She’s good like that.” Derek looked down at his hands. The two of them barely spoke. Spencer knew that Derek could still see your breath stop when he closed his eyes. Derek once drunkenly told him that sometimes, he could still see your blood over his hands–He couldn’t wash it out with water, so some nights he’d wash it out with whiskey, or bourbon, or scotch, anything to make the stains go away.

The two of them looked at one another before opting to not say anything further, at risk of causing them both even more grief at the subject of you.

I swear Spence, it’ll be okay. You’ll be okay. I know you will.

It was funny to him that in his day dream, you always ended up comforting him. You always ended up being the one to make sure he was okay before you died.

I love you so much Spence.

And he would just whisper how much he loved you back, hoping to any god that somewhere, somehow, you could hear him. You could hear his misery and come back, having pranked him. He’d forgive you, if you came back.

But instead, while he thought about you at 43,894 feet above the earth, you lay six feet under, permanently grounded.

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hotdaemondtargaryen · 4 months ago

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EWAN MITCHELL TALKING ABOUT AEMOND TARGARYEN IN EPISODE 3 FOR VULTURE MAGAZINE.

I CAN'T REMEMBER THE EXACT WORDING, BUT I REMEMBER SEEING SOMEONE POST A GIF OF PRINCE AEMOND'S SAPPHIRE-EYEBALL REVEAL AND SAYING, "THIS IS THE MOST ANIME-LOOKING MOTHERFUCKER WHO HAS EVER APPEARED ON A LIVE-ACTION TELEVISION SHOW." THERE'S AN OTHERWORDLY AIR TO HIM.

"So much of the work is done through the costume and the long hair and the eyepatch — because of the talents of makeup designer Amanda Knight and our costume designer, Caroline McCall."

"By taking one look, you can make a rough assumption that he’s probably going to be the bad guy."

"But for me, bringing that otherworldly texture to Aemond, I never watched Game of Thrones, because I wanted to present something fresh."

"I drew on other aspects of pop culture, with ’80s horror icons like Michael Myers: a character who walks so slow but always catches up to Jamie Lee Curtis."

"Aemond hijacks the show and turns it into a horror sequence in the skies above Storm’s End at the end of episode ten of season one."

"It’s this idea of inevitability, something more like an energy as opposed to an actual human being."

"That’s the image Aemond wants to co-opt, that he’s godlike. He operates on a different plane."

"It comes from that cold exterior he’s cultivated over the years, down to the sapphire stone in his eye socket. You don’t know what is going on behind his eye."

THERE REALLY IS SOMETHING VERY "FINAL FANTASY VILLAIN" ABOUT HIM: ELEGANT BUT FIGHTENING.

"You don’t know what he’s thinking."

"People who sit back and smile, don’t say much — they’re the people whose brains you want to pick, but at the same time, you don’t know where you stand."

MY FAVORITE AEMOND MOMENTS ARE WHEN YOU DO GLIMPSE HOW HE FEELS. IN THAT CHASE SEQUENCE ABOVE STORM'S END, AEMOND IS REALLY UPSET WHEN HIS DRAGON KILLS LUCERYS VELARYON. IN THIS SEASON, HE TALKS TO THE SEX WORKER HE'S BEEN SEING ABOUT HOW IT GOT TO HIM.

"I agree. Between episodes seven and eight of season one, he’s manufactured himself into a weapon."

"He possesses this code that stops him from ever being hurt again, like he was as a kid."

"He has to be seen as this bulletproof, untouchable, ethereal presence no one can grasp."

HE BRINGS UP HIS CHILDHOOD IN THE BROTHEL, TOO — HOW HIS BROTHER AND HIS YOUNG UNCLES USED TO PICK ON HIN FOR BEING DIFFERENT. IS ALL THAT IN THE BACK OF YOUR MIND EVEN WHEN YOU'RE DOING THE COOL, SAPPHIRE-EYE STUFF?

"Yeah. It’s partly down to seeing the young Aemond actor, Leo Ashton, in episodes six and seven of season one: the boy underneath the veneer."

"This kid was bullied day in and day out for not having a dragon egg like the rest of the kids in the family. He recognized very early on that he was going to have to go out and get what he wanted."

"I always carried that around with me in season two."

"So he ended up claiming the largest, baddest, oldest dragon in the known world in Vhagar. She’s so enormous, she can’t fit within the confines of any castle wall. Aemond is able to identify with that."

HOW SO? THE BULLYING DIDN'T MAKE HIM FEEL SMALLER?

"It’s the story of the underdog. I have this theory that it’s not so much the person who claims the dragon, it’s the dragon who claims the person as well."

"I don’t believe Vhagar is someone you just stumble upon."

"Although Aemond had to seek her out, she must have seen something in him that he himself hadn’t seen yet."

"Aemond’s the kid who held on. When he realized he wouldn’t get a dragon egg like the rest of the kids, he held on."

"When he was bullied for being different, for not having a dragon of his own, he held on. And when Vhagar took off over the beaches of Driftmark in episode seven, he held on tighter than he’d ever done before."

"I don’t know if any of the other characters would have held on as strongly, because they were gifted dragons when they were kids."

"It’s a tremendous feat of courage to approach Vhagar."

"That’s one of Aemond’s redeeming qualities: He possesses a drive."

"Maybe that kid is still underneath that manufactured exterior."

I WAS HONESTLY SURPRISED TO FIND AEGON AND HIS BUDDIES STILL BULLYING AEMOND DURING THE BROTHEL SCENE IN THIS EPISODE. HISTORICALLY, BULLYING AEMOND HAS NOT WORKED OUT VERY WELL FOR PEOPLE.

"Aegon catches Aemond in a vulnerable spot."

"Picking up the script for the first time and seeing those brothel scenes in episode two and three, I saw a brilliant opportunity to offer a rare glimpse of his vulnerability."

"You only ever see him in his Targaryen blacks, so to see him in that world — not only that, but then humiliated by his brother — is quite shocking."

WHEN HE GETS UP AND WALKS OUT WITHOUT BOTHERING TO DRESS FIRST, SO SURE OF HIMSELF EVEN IN THE FACE OF THAT HUMILIATION, HE SEEMS SCARIER TO ME THAN WHEN HE'S RIDING ON VHAGAR.

I love that line from Michael Mann’s Heat, when Bob De Niro’s character says, “Don’t let yourself get attached to anything you are not willing to walk out on in 30 seconds flat if you feel the heat around the corner.”

"That’s the code his character utilizes so he’s able to maneuver around this world without getting caught by Al Pacino."

"Aemond has a similar code that stops him from being hurt like he was as a kid."

"That’s why he’s able to walk out on the madam in that scene."

"He’s humiliated by his brother and all his crew, and it’s like this switch flips. The madam is no more."

"All of these people in front of him? They mean nothing. He stands up, he owns it — Yeah, I’m bulletproof. Anything you say, it will not work. Like you say, it’s scary."

A LOT OF COMPARISIONS ARE MADE BETWEEN AEMOND AND DAEMON, BUT THAT'S A BIG DIFFERENCE: DAEMON GETS INTENSELY ATTACHED, WHETHER TO HIS LATE BROTHER KING VISERYS OR TO HIS NIECE AND WIFE QUEEN RHAENYRA. WE'RE SEEN HIM LEAVE DIFFICULT SITUATIONS, BUT HE STORMS OUT, HE DOESN'T GLIDE OUT. THAT'S AEMOND.

"One hundred percent. You rarely see him lose his cool."

"As soon as you start raising your voice and shouting, you lose the power."

"It’s not to say Aemond isn’t as angry as everyone else behind the smile. He probably is. But he’s able to keep a lid on it and channel it in different ways."

IT'S ALSO A NUDE SCENE, AND I HAVE A FEELING YOU'RE ABOUT TO GET A REACTION AT A VOLUME FEW PEOPLE ON THIS SHOW HAVE SEEN BEFORE. DID YOU HAVE THAT IN MIND WHILE SHOOTING IT?

Mitchell says that the dragon-rider’s display, a topic of much discussion between himself and the creative team prior to filming, was a move “encoded in Aemond’s DNA” — a shock tactic designed to demonstrate that this once-bullied boy will never allow himself to be chastened again.

"Scenes like this start with a conversation about how far you’re prepared to go. It wasn’t a choice we made lightly."

"But it’s true to Aemond that he shocks the audience."

"Weakness is not part of Aemond’s vocabulary."

#house of the dragon #hotd #hotd s2 #tv shows #team green #prince aemond targaryen #aemond targaryen #aemond one eye #hotd aemond #hotd s2 spoilers #vulture magazine #interview #aegond #aegon x aemond #daemond #daemon x aemond #brothel scene #ewan mitchell the actor that you are #vhagar

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naturesapphic · 11 months ago

Note

Hi! I have an Olivia Benson x reader request, if you want to change it up that’s cool too!

Reader and Olivia are out on field, in this case to a multi story high business building, following up on leads. Reader doesn’t ever take elevators, she gets triggers to past events. She never wanted to disclose this to the squad, they always pass it off with how she’s super fit already. This time Olivia scolds her out of climbing flights of stairs. Reader was tense on the way up and unlike herself, Liv notices but doesn’t put any emphasis on it. On the way down the power cuts and elevator halts…

Fears of Elevators

Olivia benson x fem!reader

Warnings: fear of elevators, hurt/comfort, Olivia being a complete softy

“Ugh! I hate men! I can’t believe he didn’t give us any information and had the balls to hit on me!” You exclaimed to your girlfriend Olivia who is also your partner in the SVU after Elliot left. You knew her when she was in the academy and was close friends with her which later led into a relationship that’s been going on for four years now. When Elliot left, Olivia was heartbroken. Olivia considered Elliot a close friend and it hurt her that he left. When he left, you offered to take this opportunity to work with your girlfriend. You got the job and from there y’all were the best team out there.

She chuckled and gave you a look “you shouldn’t be that surprised now.” She explained and you sighed in understanding. “That’s true.” You replied back as y’all were walking down the halls in a multistory building that was filled with elevators all around, with a couple of stairs that you immediately took a liking to. You were about to take the stairs again for the third time until Olivia pulled you back on your arm gently. “Y/n. Please stop taking the stairs, you are wearing yourself out and we need as much energy as we can until we catch this son of a bitch.” She explained and you groaned loudly with made her raise her eyebrow at you. She never understood why you liked taking the stairs when there was a perfectly good working elevator waiting to be used. She just thought it was good exercise for you but these stairs were long and she didn’t want you to be tired and worn out already.

“Please livia…I just like taking the stairs.” You tried to explain but liv was pushing you gently towards the elevator and you sighed in defeat, letting her guide you toward it. Once you the both of you were in, you immediately held her hand, seeking comfort. Olivia gave you a corned look but nonetheless gave you a gentle smile and rubbed her thumb over your knuckles. Everything was going smoothly until the elevator abruptly which made your heart sink. “Shit. The elevator is stuck. I’ll call Elliot and munch.” She said and she whipped out her phone calling them to let them know about the situation they were currently in. While Olivia was getting help, you were panicking the fuck out. You knew you should have taken the stairs but you realized that Olivia would be all alone and you couldn’t imagine that, but you were still freaking out.

You tried to calm your breathing but it was no use. The lights went out and you whimpered out which got Olivia’s attention quickly. She hung up the phone, telling them to hurry their asses up and quickly got your hands in hers and looked in your fear written eyes. “Hey hey baby. It’s okay. What’s wrong? Breath.” She said softly and you couldn’t make a sound besides heaving breathing. She realized that you weren’t gonna talk, there’s no way you could right now, and decided to gently get you sitting on the ground and she immediately went behind you so your back was against her chest. She put you in her lap and moved you to where you were being cradled like a baby and she gently took your shaking hand and put it on her heart. “Breath with me baby. It’s okay. I’m here. Follow my breathing.” She coached you with a quiet voice and you were slowly following her breathing and after seven minutes your breathing was slowly going back to normal.

“Thank you livia…” you said quietly and she gave you a small but genuine smile. “Of course sweetheart. Anytime.” She said as she leaned down to give you a loving kiss on your forehead. “Now. Would you like to tell me why you are scared of elevators?” She asked and you started fidgeting with Olivia’s fingers and she kept giving you kisses on your head. “It’s okay baby. You don’t have to tell me just yet if you aren’t ready.” She explained and you smiled softly but shook your head. “No no…I’m ready…” you said and you went on to tell her the story on how your mom and sister was killed in a elevator accident. You were only 10 and staying with your grandma while your mom and sister went to do some errands. When you found out what happened you never ever went on elevators again.

“Oh babygirl…I’m so sorry…now I know why you never really talked about your mom and sister.” She replied and you nodded your head yes. When you were about to say it was okay, the lights flickered back on and the doors of the elevators were opened revealing the cops and the svu team along with captain cragen. Olivia helped you stand on your feet and you immediately rushed out of the elevator, relieved to get the fuck out of that thing. Olivia was close behind you but was stopped by cragen and Elliot. She explained what happened but didn’t go into full detail, leaving that up to you to tell them and they respected that. You went back over to them and let them know that you were okay and was just happy to get out.

The team left shortly after, leaving just you and Olivia again. Olivia came to you and wrapped her arms around your shoulders. “Let’s go home baby. Cragen said we can have the rest of the day off but we have to be back tomorrow morning. He could tell how fragile you are right now and he doesn’t want you to have another panic attack again.” She said and you giggled at her. “Yep. We do have a dirty bastard to catch.” You said and she smiled as the both of you walking out of the building, walking back to the home that y’all both shared.

A/n: I hope y’all enjoyed! Winter/Christmas requests are still open for all of the people that I write! Remember to stay hydrated and to rest! I love y’all!

#olivia benson x fem!reader #olivia benson x you #olivia benson fluff #olivia benson one shot #olivia benson x reader #olivia benson headcanon #olivia benson #law and order fanfiction #law and order special victims unit #law and order svu #svu #l&o svu #mariska hargitay x reader #mariska hargitay imagine #mariska hartigay #mariska hargitay

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sunnyseungup · 11 months ago

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Hyunjin fic recs 2

stray kids | Hwang Hyunjin

masterlist | part 1

[ updated 240726 ]

5:15 am { f } @dreamyyeosang

cliche meetcutes { f } 0,9k @chvrrycola

04 sharing haring a bed series { f2l, s } @skzdarlings

Ice { mafia au, strangers2l; a, s, f } 4,5k @healinghyunjin

Sheer good looks aside though…you’d seen his face on the news. What was his name? You remembered that it was something elegant, soft on the lips - a name that didn’t seem to fit the cruel, hardened mafioso it belonged to.

It was only when those cold icy eyes locked with yours, gaze chilling even from all the way across the bar, that it finally came to mind.

Hwang Hyunjin.

kinktober day five { f2l; s } 2,5k @gimmeurtmi

uni student hyunjin but make it art

9:02 A.M { f } @forlix

Read between the lines { f } 0,5k @inkelea

Making out in a car { s } @astraystayyh

are you bored yet? { insecure y/n; a, f } @ebbaskz

“but i can’t help from asking ‘are you bored yet?’ ”

I’ll make those insecurities disappear { a, f, s } @lotus-dly

Taste { s } @moonjxsung

Sunday’s Paradigm { f2l, college; f } 2,6k @sunboki

He was a cold person. Spiteful and brash to all people too close, scared to let his walls down. Except, to him, you’re a spectacle. A classmate he realizes he can’t exactly find reason to dislike while he sketched you from his stool in the art room.

The deal. @hyunedew

the one where you accidentally summon the king of hell in your pursuit to pass your class.

Pendulum { f, a, s } 1,2k @1-800-shedevil

You visit Hyunjin on the night of his big art exhibit intent on closing this chapter of your life but he's not willing to let go that easily.

Say yes to me { f } @astraystayyh

after your seven minutes in heaven, hyunjin wants to plan out how he'll finally confess to you. except you come knocking on the door of his rented cabin unannounced. at 10:53 pm. the perfect time for love, he comes to learn.

Bound to You { Cerberus, Goddess, Greek Mythology; f, s } 4,3k @winter-dayz

“What are we?” { f } @jinhyun

Drunken with a sense of love { drunken confessions, fake dating } 7,1k @hanibalistic

you and hyunjin got drunk at different times, and you two took care of each other similarly.

Thinking about how attentive hyunjin would be when you’re sick { f } @seungminhour

Christmas Eve with Hwang Hyunjin { f } @agi-ppangx

Eight days of Christmas carols - day 4 { f } @rachalixie

Pussy agenda with Hyunjin { s } @fluffylino

Sigma kappa zeta’s olympic level beer pong team { + Innie x reader; s } 7,2k @/skzms

it's the last frat party before winter break and you, hyunjin and jeongin have a title to defend. who knows where it might lead (we do, it leads to the three of you smoking weed and fucking in jeongin's room)

9mitm { s } @straykeedz

Babysitter.com { single dad Hyune; s, f } @mnwrld

hyunjin's whole life changed when his daughter was born--it was the single best day of his life. but parenting was harder than he thought it would be, especially when he also needed to work to be able to provide for the light of his life. maybe a little help wouldn't hurt? where else could he look but the notorious 'babysitter.com' ?

my love, mine all mine [ f ] 2,3k @/rachalixie

hyunjin setting up the perfect valentine's day for you

verisimilitude [bsf2l; s ] @/skzdarlings

You are a self-identified no-nonsense curmudgeon. Your best friend is an eccentric pretty boy. You accidentally send him an explicit video of yourself. What's the worst that can happen?

The snow falls, we fall apart. [ roommates, f2l; hurt/comfort ] 13k @/astraystayyh

when heartbreak looms on your life, and winter becomes a time you loathe, hyunjin helps you rewrite your memories with the season, and with it, everything you once believed about love.

Something I Needed More [ f2l; f ] 3,2k @skzonthebrain

wherever you are [ f2l; f, a, s ] 12,9k @hyunverse

Hyunjin promised you that he'll be wherever you are. What do you do when your best friend of years — the only person you've ever loved disappears without saying goodbye? Especially when you've spent your entire life with Hyunjin, you didn't know of life without him.

ace [ volleyball player hyune, fake e2l; f ] 15,2k @/forlix

volleyball superstar and your personal hell hwang hyunjin proposes a trade-off you can't refuse: his matchmaking services for a passing anthropology grade. the plan is foolproof in theory; in practice, it is something else entirely.

the storm. [ s ] 2,7k @/tasteracha

Series

devil by the window { DemonxAngel; s } 3k @berryjoong

you’re an angel, hyunjin’s a demon, and you’re both after the same soul. you hate each other, but you just can’t stay away from him.

part two { f, a ,s } 6,4k

the strange man of monterrey manor ( series ) { vampire au; f, s, a } @quokkacore

chapter one: a marriage most foul

chapter two: voices that wail in the night

chapter three: a solution to the issue at hand (m) [final]

Make Love, Not Porn { s } @charmercharm3r

You crave a life of normalcy, he craves you. And he'd do anything to keep you, even if you're for the world to see.

Play Time 3,8k

Heat Signature 5,9k

Puppeteer 4,3k

Hi, My Name Is 7,7k

Sunday 6,7k

Texts

Boyfriend texts @like-a-diamondinthesky

Boyfriend texts @gyuworm

Note: please let me know if the links are not working ! I’ll try to fix them as soon as possible ^^

#stray kids #stray kids masterlist #stray kids fluff #stray kids smut #stray kids angst #hwang hyunjin #hyunjin angst #hyunjin smut #hyunjin fluff #stray kids recs

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cherrryxx · 9 months ago

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“All is fair in love and war, but I can’t fight with you anymore,,”

(Song: Allies or enemies by The Crane Wives)

OP men and their reaction to an argument, where m!reader gets upset and avoids them.

Including: Mihawk, Kaku

Warnings: angst, m!reader, hurt/comfort, minor cursing, SPOILERS FOR WATER SEVEN/ENIES LOBBY

MIHAWK

- Only reason he would end up arguing with you is for doing something he specifically asked you not to, that could have resulted in you being hurt. Mayybeee also if you’re being too ignorant about things too.

“I said I was sorry! Nothing happened so it’s really not that serious!” You shout at Mihawk. He was agitated and ended up arguing with you after you had followed him into a particularly risky battle.

“Really? And what if I had cut you in half! I could have killed you, THEY would have killed you.” Mihawk snaps. He’s never raised his voice or talked to you with such an aggressive tone, and to be honest it scares you a bit.

As he continues to chew you out, belittling your own ability to stay alive, practically insulting your skills as he gives every reason that he wanted you to listen. You eventually snap.

“Mihawk I’m not a fucking child!” You shout.

And that’s when he realized how much he screwed up. He tried to quickly apologize,

“Look, love, I’m sorry, I know I was being a little har-“

But you were having none of it. You closed the door in the golden-eyed man’s face.

Throughout a week period, you avoided him. Mihawk respected it for the time being, but didn’t enjoy the fact that you treated his presence like a vile plague.

Eventually, he couldn’t stand it anymore, and cornered you in the library.

“I’m sorry, please. I know I can’t control everything you do, I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

It was the first time you’ve ever heard desperation in the warlord’s voice. You looked at him your eyes heavy with sorrow; and pulled him close to you.

“I’m sorry. I know you just wanted to protect me, I just want to show you that I can protect myself, though.”

KAKU

- Kaku would literally be too perfect in a relationship to do something that would cause an argument. Oh, besides the fact that he was a secret government agent that nearly assassinated your beloved mayor and friend. Excluding that.

You were furious with Kaku after learning of his betrayal in Water 7. Paulie and Iceburg felt obligated to tell you, especially since you were together for the past five years.

You cried through the next few weeks, only stopping to celebrate when you learned the strawhat crew had managed to get Nico Robin back, and escape relatively unscathed.

After the Luffy and his crew left Water 7 for good, you felt numbed inside. The person you had been with for the past five years worked for the government, and no less attempted to assassinate your close friend Iceburg.

One night, while you were in one of the back allies so you could dispose of your trash; there was a loud thud. You quickly turned around, spotting a tall figure in black clothes.

Instinctively, you grab the carving knife you always kept in your pocket.

“Who’s there!”

You demand, not letting your voice waver for a second.

But when the “stranger” lifted his head, your heart dropped.

“Kaku?” You croaked, your eyes welling up with tears.

“Hello.” He said, shifting awkwardly a few yards away from you.

Your sadness quickly flared up into anger as you remembered why he left in the first place.

“How could you do this, Kaku?!” You shouted, it felt like your voice was ripping through your throat as you spoke. “I trusted you, everyone trusted you!”

You couldn’t keep your tears from running down your face as sobs wracked your body.

You felt arms wrap around you warmly, pulling you close.

“I’m so sorry, honey, please,” Kaku’s voice cracked as he spoke, “I didn’t want to, please believe me. I didn’t. I just don’t have a choice anymore.”

You cried, hitting and punching at his chest. Kaku took the hits sucking in through his teeth as he held back tears.

“Please, I’m sorry. I’m sorry my dear.” He choked out.

You grip his arms roughly, your hands shaking with the gesture.

“I forgive you.”

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twisted-wonderland-shenanigans · 2 years ago

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Twisted Wonderland Monster AU hide and seek game except Yuu won after they took their clothes off and scattered them all over the forest to throw the seekers off(bonus points if Yuu was also hiding naked the whole time)

At first, I imagined something funny like those cartoony “hiding in the bushes/mud/water” or something similar…and then I remembered that humans have mastered the art of camouflage via body paint! Seriously, look at some of these things people can do, just hiding in plain sight! (If you wanna see more elaborate ones, you can find more on Google, I just don’t want tumblr to flag this post. >.> )

So now imagine that Yuu got frustrated one day that–no matter where they were–they couldn’t hide from some of their classmates due to their keen sense of smell. Now imagine they made a bet with their friends to a game of hide and seek. “Tomorrow morning, I will hide somewhere on campus,” they told the monster first years. “I won’t be hiding inside any of the buildings or any of the dorms. And if you guys can’t find me by the time the sun sets, you all have to do what I say for the rest of the week. Deal?”

“Deal!” came the response, the first years feeling very confident.

Come the next morning, the boys set out from Ramshackle in search of the human. Jack immediately picked up the scent and zeroed in on it, believing he had already won the game…until he realized there was a new, horrifying smell mixed in. “Eugh!!! Garlic and onions!!!” he howled, stumbling away from the smell and trying to rub his face into the grass to rid himself of the offensive odor.

“Huh…is…this one of those ‘sock’ things that Yuu always wears?” Epel asked, holding up the article in question and peering inside. “It’s stuffed full of chopped onions and garlic. Really strong stuff, too!”

“Damn. Guess Yuu figured out we were going to sniff them out,” Ace uttered with a sigh. “Guess we gotta do this the old-fashioned way. Let’s split up and cover more ground. They couldn’t have gotten very far, right?”

“Right!”

Despite their confidence, however, it became even more difficult than they thought. One by one, they managed to find more and more articles of Yuu’s clothing, and it was Sebek who put two and two together. “Are they running around school…naked?!” he shrieked.

“I…guess so,” Deuce uttered. Then, dawning horror sank in as he said, “Wait…you don’t think that…someone kidnapped them!?”

“N-no, Yuu wouldn’t let themselves get taken so easily. Besides, we’d be smelling blood or fear somewhere if that were the case, right?” Ace explained, though part of him seemed unsure.

“We gotta find them, fast!” Jack said, glancing at his watch. “We have an hour before sunset.”

“Let’s hurry!”

High and low they searched, looking for footprints or any other trace of the human…to no avail and to many stares from fellow students. Yuu was supposed to find a hiding spot somewhere on campus! Where could they have gone? Had…had something bad happened to them!?

Finally, the first years reluctantly met up on Main Street with empty claws and a pile of clothing to show for it. They wondered how they were going to explain this to the teachers, the sun sinking below the horizon and the street lights turned on. That’s when movement caught their eye–

“Gyah! The statues are movin’!!!” Epel yowled, the others screaming in unison as a shadow separated from one of the Great Seven statues–

And a familiar voice spoke. “Took you guys long enough,” Yuu said, moving and stretching their arms and legs with a groan. “Jeez…I should have shortened it to lunch time. My body is sore from holding that pose!”

“Y-Yuu!? Wha-? How…wait…are you covered in paint!?”

“Yeah. I wanted to show you guys that I could hide, and I did! So now you guys have to do what I say for a week.”

“...did you have to get naked just to prove a point?”

“Next question.”

“Put your clothes on human!!!” Sebek shrieked, covering his eyes and looking away with a flustered expression.

////

As it turned out, Yuu had enlisted the help of Vil and Lilia to paint their body to mimic the surface of the Great Seven statues. Meanwhile, Grim and the Ramshackle ghosts would scatter their clothes around campus to lead them on a wild goose chase. Once word spread of what Yuu had done, the school was abuzz with chatter about the event.

Even Cater took advantage of this gimmick to add it to his “Human’s are Weird” Magicam page as a new weekly challenge: spot the human! Viewers were confused at first when they couldn’t find Yuu or believed they had found them, only for it to turn into a wide debate between users. It wasn’t until the next day when the challenge was ended that Cater would post the resulting video revealing Yuu separating themselves from their hiding spot covered in paint resembling the environment. Minds were blown!

Such a fascinatingly creative way to turn a natural survival skill into a form of art!

#twisted wonderland #twst #twisted wonderland monster au #twst monster au #ace trappola #deuce spade #jack howl #epel felmer #sebek zigvolt #twisted wonderland yuu #twst yuu

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ghostinthelibrarywrites · 1 month ago

Text

tell them I was loved

A Dead Girls Detective AU for @palasakiweek based on the fic idea I talked about here. You can read it below or here on AO3.

Prompts: Dead Girl Detectives, Rescuing, Love Confessions

Words: 6K

Rating: M

Warnings: Canon-typical depictions of Hell and its horrors; David being the worst

Relationships: Crystal/Niko with background Edwin/Charles

Summary: Thirty-five years after escaping Hell and founding the Dead Girl Detectives with Niko, Crystal is dragged back down to Hell by David. She's not expecting Niko to come after her, but Niko has always liked to surprise her.

***

If there’s one thing that Crystal Palace can be certain of, it’s that Niko Sasaki doesn’t belong in Hell.

Even on that first night in the dark, damp attic of a dormitory at St. Hilda’s, when Niko was feverish, slipping in and out of delirium, and scared, she was everything Crystal hadn’t experienced in seventy-three long years: sweet and kind and wanting nothing from Crystal but companionship. The pink lights surrounding her turned out to be the dandelion sprites that would kill her, but sometimes, Crystal looks at her and almost thinks she can still see them.

She thought Niko was the most beautiful person she’d ever seen that night. She can’t believe it took her thirty-five years of working side-by-side to realize she was in love with her.

So it makes no sense that Niko is standing at the edge of Fraud’s mass of writhing snakes, her bright pink dress and white hair seeming to glow in the darkness as much as the lantern in her hand. And she’s smiling, like they aren’t surrounded by bloodthirsty snakes and screaming human souls, like she didn’t just walk through seven circles of Hell to get to Crystal.

And despite the pain, terror, and grief that’s gripped her since David dragged her back to Hell, Crystal finds herself smiling back. She staggers to her feet and stumbles forward, reaching out…

And a snake’s jaws close over her head.

***

Niko finds her huddled against the wall of the pit what might be a minute or an eternity later, after she’s turned into a giant snake then back into another human. This was always Crystal’s least favorite level of Hell, even worse than the pools of blood of Violence or the burning tombs of Heresy. She hates the moments where she’s a snake and all she can feel is the urge to find and bite someone, to pass on the pain and the bloodlust to someone else.

It reminds her of her time at St. Hilda’s too much.

Niko isn’t smiling anymore when she finds her. Instead, her eyes are wide and shocky. There’s a splatter of blood on her cheek. Crystal wants to wipe it off, but she can’t bear to touch her, not so soon after burying her fangs in another soul’s throat.

“Crystal?” Niko whispers, gripping her shoulder. “Are you okay?”

The inside of Crystal’s mouth tastes like blood. It’s the first thing she’s tasted in over thirty years. “What are you doing here?’

“I came to save you.”

“You don’t belong here.”

“Neither do you.” Niko places the lantern on the ground between them, just like Crystal put it next to her to keep her warm all those years ago.

Crystal’s throat feels tight and her eyes burn. “How did you find me?” Because David always liked to move her from level to level, snatching her away as soon as she became inured to one form of punishment or he just got bored. She could have been anywhere in Hell.

“I figured he would have put you in one of the levels that would hurt you the most. So Wrath or Fraud, where you have no choice but to hurt other people. And Fraud is a lot lower, so…” Niko shrugs, looking pleased with herself. “But all these snakes weren’t here when I got here. Where did they come from?”

“You have to truly see Hell before you can see all its horrors.” Crystal mimics the long-ago lesson she learned, just as a terrible thought strikes her. “The boys didn’t come with you, did they?”

She can’t see Charles letting Niko walk into Hell without him, especially not after watching Crystal get snatched away by her demonic ex-paramour, and Edwin seems to go wherever Charles goes these days. But they’re both human, both alive, and even with Charles’s psychic abilities and cricket bat, they wouldn’t stand a chance down here. The denizens of Hell would rip them apart with their bare hands.

“No, they wanted to come with me, so I locked them in a closet and told the Night Nurse to keep an eye on them.”

“You locked them in a closet ?”

Niko nods, a wicked little smile playing across her lips. “Maybe they’ll finally kiss?”

Despite the horror and fear, Crystal finds herself smiling. Because Niko is still Niko, even down here. “You need to go, Niko.”

Niko’s face falls. “Not without you.”

“You can escape.”

“So can you. You did it before.”

“I escaped from Avarice. There’s no getting out of here. I tried last time. You don’t belong down here, so they might let you go, but not if you’re trying to help a soul escape.”

“But you were alone last time.” Niko reaches into her pink Hello Kitty backpack and pulls out a Molotov cocktail. “And Charles sent me with supplies.”

Crystal’s eyes widen at the sight of Niko’s delicate hand wrapped around the burning bottle. It’s unexpectedly hot.

“On three,” Niko says.

“Niko—”

Niko talks over her. “One. Two.”

Crystal clambers up on legs that don’t feel like they’ve fully recovered from being transformed into a snake.

“Three.”

The Molotov cocktails arcs in the air, landing among the writhing snakes, and Crystal and Niko run.

***

They make it through the lakes of blood in Violence, the burning tombs of Heresy, and are almost clear of the violent mob in Wrath when David finds them. Crystal is yanking Niko out of the way of a large man whose hands are cracked and twisted from all the punches he’s thrown, his face contorted in a grimace of pain and rage, when she sees David standing next to a pair of woman who are trying to choke the life out of each other. He’s smiling, but it’s not bright and joyous like Niko’s smile.

“Did you really think you could get away from me again, Crystal?” he calls.

Crystal can barely hear him over the buzzing pressure in her head, the pressure that will only let up if she lashes out at something. Next to her, Niko is hunched over, her hands covering her ears ineffectually. “I did it before!”

“You got lucky.” David meanders towards her, taking his time, like he already knows how this will end and so there’s no need to hurry.

“She’s been outsmarting you for thirty-five years,” Niko says with fierceness Crystal rarely hears from sweet, smiley friend. “That’s not luck. She’s just stronger than you.”

David’s lip curls when he looks at Niko. “I’m so glad you’re here too, Niko. The Dead Girl Detectives. I’m going to watch both of you break over and over again and then I’m going to pop up to Port Townsend. Maybe I’ll possess your little friend with the cricket bat and make him snap his prissy boyfriend’s neck. What do you think of that, Crystal?”

Niko presses something into Crystal’s hand. She doesn’t have to look down to know what it is: a grenade. She’s going to have to talk to Charles about shoving all his weapons in the Hello Kitty backpack. Crystal keeps it close to her, hidden in the folds of her nightgown, and steps forward.

“You’re not going to touch me,” she tells him. “You’re not going to touch any of them. Never again, David. I’m stronger than I was when you first took me to Hell.”

“And yet, here you are again.” David shakes his head, wearing that infuriating smirk. “Poor Crystal. You think a pretty face and a sharp tongue is enough to protect you from me? All you are is a dead, decomposing bitch who thinks having friends is enough to—”

Crystal doesn’t let him finish, because she’s busy throwing the grenade in his smug fucking face.

The violence makes the pressure in her head diminish for a blissful moment as David stumbles back, screaming. He collides with the large man with the busted fists, who doesn’t even seem to notice that David is on fire before he begins whaling on him, massive hands raining down on him. Niko grabs Crystal’s hand and drags her away through the mob.

When they reach the bank vaults of Avarice, filled with people being crushed under the weight of the treasures they’re grasping for, it’s a relief. Upper Hell is still Hell, but she’s gotten Niko away from the most gruesome of the torments. Thesy struggle out of Avarice��even the air seems heavy here—through Gluttony and into Lust, and finally make it to Limbo. Crystal doesn’t look at any of the frozen faces. There’s nothing she can do for these people.

“I don’t understand.” Niko stops in front of a boy who looks about their age. Crystal can instantly see why she stopped; he looks a bit like Charles, though he’s not as tall and his ears are the wrong shape. The boy is whimpering softly, tears rolling down his motionless cheeks. “This is where souls go when they don’t belong in Heaven or Hell, right? So why are they suffering? What did they do to deserve it?”

“No one down here deserves this,” Crystal tells her tiredly. “They’re not being actively tortured here and that’s Hell’s version of mercy. There’s nothing we can do for them. Come on, we need to keep moving. A grenade won’t slow David down for long.”

Niko lets her drag her away, even though she throws one last, sad glance back at the crying boy.

Crystal almost weeps in relief when she reaches the staircase. It’s not safety; she can’t count the times David found her here during her first stint in Hell. But it means they’re close. Niko goes first, her hand still gripping Crystal’s, like she’s afraid she’ll turn around to find that Crystal has vanished into thin air like Eurydice. Crystal squeezes her fingers reassuringly as they begin to climb the stairs. She’s not going anywhere, not if she can help it.

She remembers the first time she climbed these stairs, wondering if there was truly a door at the top, or if this was just another torture and she would keep climbing forever. They seem to stretch on for an eternity above them, but the walk feels less endless when she has Niko’s hand in hers and Niko’s white hair glowing and pink dress glowing like a beacon in front of her. They lost the lantern at some point; Crystal thinks Niko may have used it as a bludgeon in Wrath. Maybe some other poor soul will pick it up and use it to guide themselves out of Hell. Crystal likes that idea.

They climb and they climb and they climb until Crystal manages to work out the muddle of thoughts and feelings she’s been drowning in ever since she saw Niko standing on the other side of Fraud’s snake pit. “Why did you come?”

Niko looks over her shoulder, frowning with confusion, like she doesn’t understand the question. “Because you’re my best friend.”

“You could have gotten stuck down here forever.”

“I know.” Niko shrugs. “But I would have been stuck with you, so it would have been okay.”

“Okay?” Crystal freezes mid-step, staring up at her in dismay. Suddenly, the exhaustion, fear, and anger all seem to bubble up at once. “You knew you could have spent an eternity trapped in Hell, but you thought it would be okay? Niko, you saw what happens down there. None of that is okay! How could you risk your eternal soul for—”

“For you.” There’s a stubborn set to Niko’s jaw that reminds Crystal of the Great Mummy Escape of ‘99. “I wasn’t just going to leave you down here.”

“You don’t belong—”

“Neither do you!” Niko’s voice rises with indignation, echoing off the stone walls. “Crystal, after all this time, do you really think you belong in Hell?”

Crystal swallows back the tightness in her throat. They were supposed to be talking about Niko, not her. “David possessed me for a reason. I was cruel and selfish and—”

“And you were sixteen.” Niko fully turns to face her, taking Crystal’s other hand in hers and squeezing both of them. “You’ve spent three decades saving people. You saved me.”

“I didn’t,” Crystal says, because there was no way she could have. She hadn’t even known what was wrong with Niko until the dandelion sprites burst their way out of her.

“I wasn’t scared when I was dying. I had a friend for the first time in what felt like forever.” Niko smiles shyly. “You couldn’t stop me from dying, but you saved me from being alone. And how many times have you saved me since then?”

Crystal has no good answer for that.

“Come on.” Gently, Niko tugs her forward. “We need to keep moving. I think we’re close. Oh, look, there’s Maxine. We are close!”

They skirt around Jenny’s dead stalker, who sits in a circle of torn up love letters, whispering frantically to herself. With every step, Crystal should be relieved, but instead, a panicky sense of running out of time starts closing over her. Once they get through the door and return to Port Townsend, they’re going to have to deal with the Night Nurse. And even if she doesn’t drag them off to the Lost and Found Department, there’s Esther Finch and the Cat King and so much other shit they need to deal with. Crystal feels like she’s standing on the precipice of something and if she waits too long to jump, there will be no second chances.

She stops again. “Niko.”

A step above her, Niko turns around with wide eyes, looking as exasperated as Crystal has ever seen her. “Crystal, we’re so close!”

“I know.” Crystal smiles up at Niko, the first person who ever loved her unconditionally, the girl who brought light to her existence after seventy-three years in Hell, her best friend, her partner. If anyone deserves to know how loved she is, it’s Niko. Maybe this will go nowhere. Maybe it will make things so awkward Crystal will have no choice but to flee to some far-flung corner of the world. But she has to try.

“Everything that’s happened in the past few weeks has made me think,” Crystal says. “I’ve realized some things about myself. Some things I never let myself think about before, because I died in 1916 and—”

“It’s okay.” Niko nods, expression solemn. “I know.”

Crystal blinks. “You do?”

“Jenny is super pretty and kind of scary. Not my type, but I can see why you’d like her.”

“ What ?” Crystal’s indignant shriek echoes off the walls around them. “You think I have a crush on Jenny? The butcher? She’s twice my age!”

“When you think about, she’s actually young enough to be your granddaughter. Maybe even your great-granddaughter.”

Crystal decides to ignore that. “And she can’t even see me!”

“I know.” Niko sighs. “It’s romantic, isn’t it? The impossibility of it. The yearning.”

“There is no yearning.” Crystal closes her eyes. “Listen, I am not secretly harboring a crush on Jenny. I—”

“It’s not Charles again, is it? Because he and Edwin are so cute together and I really think you two are better as friends.”

“It’s not Charles.”

Niko’s nose scrunches up in a way that would be adorable if Crystal weren’t currently fighting the urge to scream. “Oh, do you like the Cat King? I was wondering what you spent all that time talking about. I guess he’s cute, but he lives in a cannery.”

“No,” Crystal says firmly, because at this rate, Niko’s going to accuse her of having a thing for Esther Finch next and then she’ll have to let herself plummet into the abyss below. “It’s you.”

“ I don’t like the Cat King.”

“Nobody likes the fucking Cat King!”

“Then—”

Crystal cuts her off before her best friend says something unforgivable. “Niko, I love you.”

Niko blinks, confused, then smiles. “I love you too, Crystal, but we should probably wait until we’re back in Port Townsend before we talk about whoever you’re crushing on.”

“No.” As Niko tries to pull her up the stairs, Crystal holds her ground. “I’m in love with you.”

Niko just stares at her, lips slightly parted, like she’s trying to speak, but can’t find the words.

“It’s okay,” Crystal adds quickly. “I don’t expect you to say it back. But, Niko, you’re the best person I know. The best friend I’ve ever had. You talk about how I saved you that night in the attic, but the truth is, you saved me. I’d forgotten what it was like to have people be kind to me. I’d forgotten that there were people who could be kind and then you were there and you stayed.”

Niko hasn’t let go of her hand. Crystal can feel that her fingers are trembling. “Do you mean it?”

Crystal huffs out a laugh. “Of course I mean it. I think I’ve loved you this whole time. I just didn’t know it, because it’s not like I ever had a healthy relationship to compare it to. But I love you so much, Niko. And if you don’t feel the same way, that’s fine. I just thought you should know.”

Niko only stares at her, looking very young and very unsure, and Crystal has the horrible sense that she may have broken something irrevocably. What if she’s changed everything between them? What if Niko can’t move past this? What if she’s horrified to have someone like Crystal, someone irrevocably tainted by Hell, in love with her? Crystal knows that she’s prickly and selfish and a little mean. She just never considered those would be reasons for Niko not to love her.

“Niko,” she whispers. “I—”

Niko closes the distance between them and kisses her.

It’s far from the most graceful kiss. Surprise almost sends Crystal stumbling backwards and it’s only Niko’s hand in hers that stops her from knocking Maxine over like a bowling pin. She’s pretty sure her mouth still tastes like blood and Hell is permeated with a sulfuric stench that’s not exactly romantic, but she doesn’t care, because she’s kissing Niko Sasaki, and how could she care about anything else?

In Hell, she can feel Niko, not just the tingling energy she usually feels when she touches her, but warm skin and silky hair. Niko’s hands slide around her waist and Crystal can feel the warmth of her palms through the thin fabric of her nightgown. Crystal tangles one of her hands in that silky white hair and runs the other down the line of Niko’s back, wanting to drink in every detail, lest she forget it as soon as they emerge back into the real world. Niko lets out a little gasp when Crystal’s hand lands on her hip and Crystal wants nothing more than to hear that sound again.

Except, they’re still in Hell.

Crystal forces herself to pull away. Niko’s cheeks are flushed and her hair is disheveled and the urge to swoop in for another kiss is overwhelming, but Crystal only has to hear Maxine’s frantic whispering nearby to remind her where they are and what the consequences will be if they get caught. “We should—”

“ Crystal.” The sing-song voice floating up below turns the blood in Crystal’s veins to ice. “Did you think you could run from me?”

“Go.” Crystal doesn’t look back to see how close David is, just shoves Niko forward. Hand in hand, they stumble upwards, running as fast as their legs will carry them.

“I don’t think I’m going to send you back to one of the levels this time,” David calls. “I think I’m going to devise your very own torture, Crystal. It will be watching me kill your girlfriend over and over again. Maybe that will finally teach you what happens when you fuck with me.”

“Don’t listen to him,” Crystal says, speaking more to herself than to Niko. “He’s not touching you.”

“We’re almost there!” Niko says and when Crystal looks up, she sees a door high above them, a figure silhouetted in the doorway.

“Girls, do hurry!” the Night Nurse calls.

“Does it look like we’re not hurrying?” But Crystal forces herself to run faster, even though it makes her legs ache and her lungs burn like they haven’t in decades.

The Night Nurse’s only response is a trilling noise like a tea kettle. Behind them, David’s taunts are getting closer and more descriptive. Crystal blocks him out, trying to focus on the doorway above and Niko’s hand in hers. There are now two figures standing behind the Night Nurse. Charles and Edwin. She thinks she hears Charles calling her and Niko’s names, but she can barely hear over the blood rushing in her own ears and David’s mocking voice.

“If you escape, I’ll just find you and drag you back down again!” David shouts. “You belong in Hell, Crystal. Deep down, you know it. You’ll always come back to me, because who else will have you?”

No one liked Crystal when she was alive. She was mean and vindictive and took out her aching loneliness on the classmates who looked down on her from the moment she stepped foot in St. Hilda’s Finishing School. They would never accept her, so she took it on herself to make their lives hell. She was so awful that it took weeks before anyone even realized she was possessed by a demon. Her own parents never even looked for her after the school covered up her death; they just went on to have a replacement daughter and moved on with their lives. Crystal wasn’t even worth mourning.

Niko’s grip on Crystal’s hand tightens, like she knows where Crystal’s mind is straying. “Me. I’ll have her. She doesn’t belong with you in Hell. She belongs with me.”

David shouts something else, something that’s surely foul, but Crystal doesn’t pay him any attention, looking up at Niko instead. She’s a Dead Girl Detective. She’s Niko’s friend, partner, and maybe more. Her parents may never have found it in themselves to mourn her, but Niko will if Crystal is dragged back down into the depths of Hell, so Crystal can’t let that happen. She can’t let David get in her head now, not after she’s spent so long blocking him out.

Besides, who cares if she was mean to her classmates back in 1916? They were all racist, classist assholes and probably deserved worse than the petty mind games Crystal played with them.

The door is right there, only steps away, close enough that Crystal can see the impatience in the Night Nurse’s expression and the fear in Charles and Edwin’s.

A hand encircles Crystal’s ankle and pulls. She falls, her hand slipping out of Niko’s, and crashes into the hard stone staircase. Her palms sting where they scrape the stone and the taste of blood in her mouth is stronger, but Crystal pays her discomfort no mind. She lashes out with her free leg, connecting with something solid. David grunts, but doesn’t let go.

“That’s right, bitch,” he says and she twists around to see him grinning down at her, his face mottled with burns from the grenade. “I’m going to make you scream your lungs out, you—”

A cricket bat hits him square in the face with a satisfying crunch. Crystal looks up, ready to start yelling, because if Charles really just walked into Hell… But no, it’s Niko standing there with Charles’s bat, face set in determined lines. She swings the bat again, connecting with David’s side, and he staggers, releasing his hold on Crystal’s ankle. She brings her foot up between his legs and that’s all it takes to send him tipping over the side into the darkness below, shrieking all the way.

“Come on.” Niko drags Crystal to her feet and pulls her up one step, two steps, three steps.

They stagger into Charles’s brightly lit apartment and Crystal falls forward, directly into Charles’s arms. He scoops her up into a hug that lifts her off her feet. If she had ribs, they’d probably be getting crushed right now. She can’t feel his embrace, but just knowing he’s there, as solid and dependable as ever, is reassuring.

“Bloody fucking hell,” he says into her hair. “You two scared the shit out of me.”

“I cannot believe you locked us in a closet,” Edwin says peevishly and Crystal looks over to see him hugging Niko, attempting to look very cross about the whole thing.

“Apparently, you two were going to follow Niko to Hell if she didn’t.” Crystal steps back from Charles, arms crossed over her chest, and glares between the two of them. “How fucking stupid can you be?”

“Oi,” Charles says indignantly. “One of my best mates got taken to Hell by her evil ex and the other one was going to follow. What was I supposed to do?”

“Stay here where you’re fucking safe!” Crystal nearly shrieks.

Charles shrugs, like his safety is of no importance. Crystal may actually kill him.

“How did you get out of the closet?” Niko asks, cutting Crystal off.

“Ah.” Edwin turns pink and tugs at his bowtie.

“I had to let them out,” the Night Nurse says severely. Crystal completely forgot she was there. She stands in front of the wall that was a portal to Hell the moment before, watching them with narrowed eyes. “I could not allow such shocking behavior to occur on my watch.”

“Shocking?” Crystal asks at the same time Niko squeals and demands, “Edwin, are those hickeys ?”

Edwin goes scarlet, which does nothing to hide the bruises trailing down the side of his neck.

“Sorry, mate.” Charles doesn’t even look a little sorry. “Guess I got carried away, didn’t I?”

“I would say so,” Edwin says severely.

Niko grabs Edwin’s hand. “Tell me everything. ”

The Night Nurse clears her throat sharply and Crystal’s nonexistent heart seems to sink into her stomach. “As delightful as this is,” the Night Nurse says in a tone that indicates that nothing about this is delightful. “A deal is a deal. Girls, it’s time to go. We can sort out the matter of your afterlife assignments at the Lost and Found Department.”

“A deal?” Crystal turns to Niko, who avoids her eyes.

“It was the only way she’d open the door to Hell,” Niko says softly.

Crystal reaches out and grabs her hand. “We have to stay together. After everything, you just can’t fucking separate us.” She can’t keep the desperation out of her voice. She’s finally realized what Niko means to her and she still has so many things she needs to say. She needs more time.

The Night Nurse smiles sweetly. “No decision has been made about your afterlife assignment as of yet, Crystal. I assure you, you and Niko will both end up exactly where you belong.”

“And what if where we belong is together?” Niko asks.

The Night Nurse lets out a gusty sigh. “I was hoping for a little more gratitude when I opened a portal to Hell, you know. Do you know how much paperwork I’m going to have to fill out? Now, chop, chop. You may have thirty seconds to say goodbye to your friends. I am not unreasonable.”

“I have a question.” Edwin steps forward and only then does Crystal realize he’s holding the Night Nurse’s book.

The Night Nurse groans. “Oh for heaven’s sake, what now?”

The thing about Edwin Payne is that Crystal hasn’t quite been able to figure out why Charles and Niko both act like rainbows and butterflies shine out of his asshole. Besides being a bit of a dick, it’s not like he can walk through mirrors, read minds, or even swing a cricket bat. He’s smart, but so is Niko. He can interact with the living, but so can Charles, who is way better with people. There’s really no reason to keep him around, but every time she says that to Charles or Niko, they act like she’s kicked a puppy.

Except, as Crystal watches Edwin argue with the fervor of a barrister making his closing argument in a courtroom drama that an obscure passage in the depths of the Night Nurse’s book means that she can’t take them away without filing a form, all she can feel is a reluctant sort of fondness. He’s clearly having the time of his life, complete with lots of hand gestures and dramatic little twirls whenever he feels like he’s made a good point. Charles looks like he may swoon; Crystal will have to tease him mercilessly later.

“Is that correct?” Edwin finally asks in the tone of someone who knows perfectly well that he’s correct and is daring anyone to argue, back ramrod straight and hands clasped behind his back.

The Night Nurse is white-faced and tight-lipped. If looks could kill, she’d be dragging Edwin off to the Lost and Found Department too. “You do appear to be correct.”

“Excellent.” Edwin hands her back her book. “Then do come back with the appropriate forms. Though if this is the standard the Lost and Found Department holds itself to, I can see why the ghosts of so many children slip through the cracks.”

Crystal snorts.

The Night Nurse draws herself up in outrage, then points at Crystal and Niko. “Don’t go anywhere.” Then she’s gone in a blink.

“Holy shit.” Crystal sags against Niko’s side. “Holy shit. ”

“Mate, that was amazing.” Charles slings an arm around Edwin’s shoulders.

Edwin shrugs, looking immensely pleased. “It was only simple reading comprehension.”

“She’s not taking us,” Niko whispers into Crystal’s neck.

“No, she’s not.” Crystal smooths her hand over Niko’s hair. She can’t feel the silkiness anymore, but after thirty-five years, her own ghostly form recognizes the energy of Niko’s. It tingles under her touch. On impulse, she pulls Niko into another kiss. This one is slow and sweet, without the franticness they shared on the steps of Hell. She can feel herself smiling stupidly into the kiss, giddy with the knowledge that she can do this now.

“Bloody finally,” she hears Charles mutter and looks around to see him grinning at them while Edwin stares determinedly at the ceiling, as mortified as if Crystal just started ravishing Niko right in front of them.

“It’s about time.” Charles closes the distance between them to pull Crystal and Niko into a hug. “Didn’t think you two would ever figure it out.”

“You’re one to talk,” Crystal mutters into his jacket.

“Only took me a few weeks. Took you lot thirty-five years and a trip to Hell. Wait, which one of you should I give the shovel talk to? Someone’s got to get the shovel talk, yeah?”

Crystal shoves him away without any heat. “Go help Edwin pack.”

Edwin arches an eyebrow at that. “And where am I going?”

“We have to get back to London before the Night Nurse comes back for us. We can come back to deal with Esther later. Obviously, you’re coming.”

His mouth drops open in surprise. “Crystal, I have school.”

“And Esther knows where you go to school and where you live, which is why you’re coming with us. There are schools in London.”

“I can’t just—”

“Mate, she’s right.” Charles takes Edwin’s hand. “It’s not safe for you here. Anyway, it’ll be brills. You can be a proper part of the Dead Girl Detectives.”

Crystal did not agree to that, but that’s something they can discuss when they’re safely out of this shit town.

Edwin looks like he might argue some more, but one glance at Charles—who has gone all wide-eyed and hopeful like a puppy dog—seems to be all the convincing he needs. “I suppose a short holiday in London wouldn’t be remiss.”

“Yay!” Niko claps her hands together. “Oh, this is going to be so fun! Edwin, we have so many books in the office. You’re going to love it!”

“Charles can tell Edwin all about the office while they’re packing.” Crystal gives Charles a pointed look.

He grins knowingly and steers Edwin towards the door. “She’s right, mate. This is going to be aces.” He hesitates at the door, looking back at them. “Just pretend I’ve given both of you a really convincing shovel talk, yeah?”

Crystal makes a rude hand gesture while Niko giggles.

The boys slip the door out hand in hand and Niko leans against Crystal. “What are the chances they’re just going to make out instead of pack?”

“High.” But Crystal doesn’t want to talk about Edwin and Charles; she’d rather talk about her and Niko. She turns to Niko, taking her hands. “When we get back to London, we should go out.”

Niko smiles. “Where would we go?”

“I have no idea.” Crystal has no idea what people do for dates in 2024, especially when those people are ghosts. It’s not like she can wine and dine Niko.

“We don’t have to.” Niko looks down at their joined hands.

“But I want to. I know you’ve always wished you got to have a real romance.” Niko is the most hopeless romantic Crystal knows, always getting misty-eyed over her mangas. The fact that she died without ever even being kissed is all the proof Crystal needs that the world is inherently bullshit.

“But I have.” Niko laughs softly. “Crystal, I’ve been in love with you since 1989.”

“ What? ”

Niko looks almost shy. “I was scared and sick and cold and then you brought me a lantern and kept me company. You were beautiful and you were so nice to me. And then I died and you showed me the ropes of being a ghost and you were so patient with me.”

“I’d been out of Hell for five minutes.” Crystal shakes her head. “I had no idea what I was doing.”

“But I didn’t know that then. You seemed so strong and brave and smart. I think I was in love with you within an hour or two. I didn’t think you loved me like that, but it didn’t really matter, because I got to spend the last three decades with you and that’s all I ever wanted.”

Crystal bursts out laughing. “Sorry,” she says at Niko’s shocked expression, wrapping her arms around her and pulling her close. “Sorry. It’s just, we’re so fucking stupid.”

Niko begins to giggle, leaning her head against Crystal’s shoulder. “We figured it out.”

“After I went to Hell.”

“It was a really dramatic first kiss. Like something out of a movie.”

“There’s that.” Crystal presses a kiss to the shell of Niko’s ear. “At least we have forever to make up for missed time.”

Niko smiles at her, as bright and beaming as the lantern she brought with her to Hell. She’s right where she belongs, in Crystal’s arms, and Crystal feels like she might burst from happiness. “Forever.”

***

Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed, please consider leaving kudos and comments on AO3.

#dead boy detectives #dead girl detectives #palasaki #crystal palace #niko sasaki #background payneland #ghost's fic #ghost's writing #palasaki week 2024

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lionlena · 1 year ago

Text

We don't love each other (PedroPascalxreader) angst!

A/N: I can't believe I wrote ANGST. It breaks my heart. All because of this one gif. In my imagination, Tyler looks like Tyler Hoechlin.

Summary: You and Pedro are: friends with benefits, for many years. Your layout is simple and clear. You don't love each other. You're friends on a daily basis, you take care of each other... Sometimes you sleep together. You go on dates with other men and Pedro doesn't mind. Everything is simple until you accidentally hear Oscar say that Pedro loves you. Then you decide to tell him the truth and you ruin everything.

Warnings: angst!!! smut, mentions of sex, friends with benefits, sad, broken hearts, age difference (reader is 15 years younger than Pedro)

You thought your arrangement with Pedro was transparent. You were friends with benefits. You two didn't spread it, but your closest friends guessed it.

You met Pedro a few years earlier when his career was just taking off. You liked each other and felt good about each other. You often went to parties together. One day you ended up in bed together. But you and Pedro didn't want something like that to end your friendship. Together, you made the decision to continue your friendship, adding benefits.

Men have needs... Women too.

You had to admit that Pedro was a truly wonderful man, not only in bed, but most of all, out of it. He took cared of you, gave you small gifts and comforted you after a date gone wrong. He was a great friend.

Unfortunately, over time, you realized that you felt something more for him. You really loved him, but you weren't going to tell him that. Pedro has always made it clear, "we don't love each other." He reinforced this position as his career began to take off. You understood and respected it. That's why you dated other men and didn't hide it from Pedro. You didn't sleep with him while you were in a relationship, and he respected that. Sometimes you were a little worried that Pedro rarely dated other women. But you explained it to yourself by his profession. He couldn't risk meeting someone who would announce to the world the next day: I slept with Pedro Pascal and he left me!!! He is an asshole!!!

Well, some women didn't understand that sleeping with a guy doesn't necessarily mean an engagement ring.

Yes, your arrangement with Pedro was clear, transparent and stable. You loved him, secretly, and he... He loved you as a friend. You thought so.

You were laughing on the phone when Pedro invited you to a party by the ocean that was supposed to last all weekend.

"Are you crazy! Did you really rent beach houses for everyone?"

"I want to celebrate my success! Y/N, you know me. I want everyone to have fun and no one to worry about how to get home."

"Are you suggesting we are going drink a lot?"

"A lot of!"

You both burst out laughing. You really enjoyed Pedro's success. He deserved it. Deserved all the love and attention. You knew what he went through in life. In your eyes, no one deserved it more that him.

"Okay. I think I can take a few days off."

"Wonderful. Just tell me, do you want a cottage for two?"

You bit your lip and started to think. Pedro obviously sensed that something was wrong and immediately asked:

"Hey, what's wrong? Did you and Tyler break up?"

"Uh, no... But things have gotten complicated for the moment and... I'd rather be alone."

"Okay, do you want to talk about it? I know I've been busy lately with The Last of Us , but we're still friends."

You smiled. Pedro was always worried about you, but you didn't want to spoil his mood.

"It's just a simple lovers' quarrel. He'll get over it."

"OK, see you soon."

"Bye, Pedrito."

You hung up and fell onto the couch. You lied when you said it was nothing. The truth was, you screwed everything up. You and Tyler were a couple for over seven months, it was your longest relationship. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Pedro was in Canada on the set of the show and rarely spoke. It was the truth you didn't want to admit. Tyler was handsome, kind, and... He took your relationship very seriously. A month ago at a family dinner, he knelt in front of you with an engagement ring, and you... You said no and ran.

You really didn't know why you did it. Why?! You tried to call Tyler many times and apologize to him, but he didn't answer. You weren't surprised at all. So you texted him explaining that you were just scared. But you knew it was a lie. The truth was, you missed Pedro. For his body, for having sex with him...

You screamed in rage and started throwing yourself on the couch.

After a few minutes, you decided to go through your wardrobe. Why would you care about Tyler when you could be with Pedro again in a few days. Even if he didn't love you, his presence could bring you comfort.

When you got out of the taxi a week later, you felt like you could breathe again and not think about Tyler.

The driver was just taking out your suitcase when you heard Pedro.

"Y/N!!!"

He ran straight at you and you jumped into his arms. You hugged him tightly and inhaled his scent. God, you finally felt good. You pulled back a bit to get a better look at him. You immediately noticed that he had a little more gray hair, but that only added to his hotness. He was wearing a white t-shirt and blue shorts. Even though he was wearing sunglasses, you could see how his eyes sparkled. You'd be lying if you said you didn't enjoy it. Pedro really loved see you.

"I missed you" you said and cupped his cheek with your hand.

"Me too," he purred.

"Who is already?"

"Oscar, Sarah, Linda, Thomas, Adam, Helen... And you. My most important guest."

You slapped his chest and pulled away.

"Stop. I know it's only because you haven't had sex."

It was a harmless joke, but you could easily see Pedro tense up.

"Hey, it's a joke... You know, nothing has changed. Our arrangement. Right?"

Pedro shook himself and nodded. He grabbed your suitcase with one hand and wrapped his other around your waist. He leaned his head towards you and whispered in your ear.

"You look lovely in that dress."

You couldn't help the blush that spread across your cheeks.

A few minutes later, Pedro was leaning against the doorframe of your beach house. He watched you unpack your suitcase. You glanced at him and noticed that he was strangely restless.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?"

"It's more of a question for you." He replied and took a few steps towards you. "We've known each other for over ten years Y/N. We started friendship when you were in your twenties. I know you and I know when you don't tell me everything. Imagine how surprised I was when I called Laura."

You suddenly felt your mouth go dry. Laura was a friend of yours and spoke to you regularly.

"She was very surprised to hear you were going to the party because I quote, Seriously, I thought she was devastated after she turned down Tyler's engagement."

You tried to read Pedro's face, but he was unfazed. You didn't know if he was angry or disgusted with you. You sighed heavily and sat on the bed.

"What do you want to hear, Pedro? I'm sorry I didn't tell you I was a bitch who broke a good guy's heart."

Pedro shook his head and sat next to you. He grabbed your hand and his thumb began to make comforting circles on your skin.

"I just want to know why? What happened between you two? Is it my fault? Is it because of our arrangement?”

You looked at him surprised.

"How did you get that idea? Tyler doesn't know about us. He know we're just friends, so don't blame yourself." You rested your head on his shoulder. "It just freaked me out, you know... His whole family was there. It wasn't fair. Like he thought I was going to say 'yes' for sure if they were looking at me. We haven't even talked about it and he suddenly jumps out with ring. Who does that?"

Pedro put his arm around you and pulled you closer.

"I'm sorry Y/N. I just want you to be happy."

You had to bite your tongue not to reply, "I'm happy. Here and now, with you." Instead, you pulled away from him and smiled.

"Hey, I'm not here to cry. I want to party, dance, drink and hear all the cool stories from the set."

"You want to hear how everyone was looking for me while I was sleeping?"

You started laughing out loud.

"Why doesn't this surprise me? You're the best nap-mate."

You felt wonderful during the party. You completely forget about Tyler. Pedro's hands on your hips while dancing were enough to make you happy. Everyone was laughing and drinking. When it started to get colder, Pedro lit a fire and you all sat on blankets..

Pedro, of course, was sitting next to you and hugging you. Still, you were shaking.

"Do you want my sweatshirt? I can bring you one." he asked tenderly.

He's always taken such good care of you. You nodded, but before he got up, you yourself were on your feet.

"Wait, I'll go myself. I have to use the bathroom anyway."

"Okay, take which one you want."

You didn't even notice that Oscar was watching the two of you closely.

You used the bathroom and sat on the bed to look through Pedro's suitcase. You felt your phone slip out of your pocket, so you took it out and set it aside. Then you noticed the navy blue sweatshirt Pedro was wearing earlier. You put it on and smiled as you smelled his perfume. When you got back to the fire, you took your seat and started talking to the others. At three o'clock in the morning, everyone was tired and slowly began to return to their temporary homes. You were going to do it too, but not before Pedro hugged you and kissed your head.

"Goodnight, Sunshine."

"Night, Pedrito ."

You gave him one last hug and walked towards your beach house. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Oscar grab Pedro's elbow and pull him aside. You didn't care. They were very close and always had things to discuss.

You threw yourself on your bed with a big smile. You wanted to check your phone when you realized you left it in Pedro's house. You groaned and got up. However, when you were about to enter Pedro, you heard Oscar's voice through the ajar door.

"Dude, you're exaggerating."

"Leave me alone, I didn't do anything. You can see I don't have Y/N here."

You were about to leave when you realized they were talking about you.

Oscar sighed heavily.

"You were about to let it go. You said you'd distance yourself, and what are you doing... You stick to her like a horny teenager during the dance, and then... "You want my hoodie" How old are you?

Your heart was beating like crazy.

"It doesn't mean anything to her anyway and... I just wanted her to have fun and forget about Tyler."

Oscar snorted as if he didn't believe his friend's words at all.

"You have to stop it, Pedro. Loving Y/N is destroying you. You don't date other women. You don't start serious relationships..."

You wanted to keep listening, but Oscar moved closer to the entrance, and you were afraid he'd see you. Besides, you thought you'd heard enough. You decided to go back to your cottage and watch from the window when Oscar left Pedro.

The waiting was a nightmare. You jumped and squealed and bit your lip.

Pedro loved you!!! He loved you!!! You were so happy. You finally can told him the truth. Poor guy thought he meant nothing to you. You had to change it.

As soon as you saw that Oscar left Pedro's cottage, you ran to the mirror. You fixed your hair and makeup. You almost ran outside and in less than five minutes you were on the doorstep of the beach house. You knocked lightly and entered. Pedro was sitting on the bed looking tired. You giggled like a teenager.

"You are not sleep yet, old man?"

He lifted his head and looked at you surprised.

"Y/N, what are you doing here?"

You smiled at him and winked at him.

"I left my phone on your bed while I was getting your sweatshirt."

He turned around and when he saw your cell phone he nodded. You shifted restlessly from foot to foot. You couldn't wait any longer. Maybe it was the alcohol still coursing through your veins, but you just let it out.

"I love you."

"What?"

"I love you Pedro, I..."

Pedro jumped to his feet and shook his head furiously.

"NO!"

You were surprised by the anger you saw in his eyes.

"You're drunk," he growled.

Now you felt angry.

"No more than you," you gasped. "I know what I'm saying and you don't have to hide it anymore. Don't get upset. I accidentally overheard what Oscar was saying."

"You obviously didn't hear everything Y/N. You didn't hear me tell him that I don't want to love you, that it's just a problem..."

You felt like someone had punched you in the face.

"I'm a problem?"

Pedro huffed in annoyance and ran a hand over his face.

"Not you. My love for you is the problem. I'm not in a place where I'm supposed to love someone. Maybe I never will be. You're younger and you live a quiet life with no paparazzi. Do you really want to ruin it all for some fleeting feeling?"

You clenched your hands into fists.

"I've loved you for a long time, you fool!"

"Stop! Why are you ruining everything?! Why did you have to love me back?!"

You couldn't believe that the same Pedro who hugged you when you cried was standing in front of you. The same one who brought you coffee in bed and kissed you on the forehead when you fell asleep. A complete stranger was standing in front of you. You couldn't hold back your tears anymore.

Pedro, seeing this, suddenly regained his composure. He looked at you resignedly.

"I'm sorry, Y/N. I never meant to make you cry, but... I really don't want to love you."

He took a step towards you, but you jumped back. You quickly ran to where you left your phone and shouted:

"Leave me! Never come near me again!!!”

Then you just ran out of his beach house and locked yourself in yours. For a while you wondered if Pedro would try to get to you, but apparently he took your words to heart. You cried all night, and in the morning you packed up and called a taxi. By the time everyone woke up, you were already halfway home.

Only one person saw you leave. His brown and tear-filled eyes watched intently as you disappeared from his life on forever.

Up all night on another red-eye I wish we never learned to fly Maybe we should just try To tell ourselves a good lie Didn't mean to make you cry Maybe won't you take it back? Say you were tryna make me laugh And nothing has to change today You didn't mean to say "I love you" I love you and I don't want to, ooh

Billie Eilish- I love you (cover/ male version)

Part II

#pedro pascal #pedro pascal x reader #pedro pascal fanfiction #pedro pascal characters #Joel Miller #pedro pascal and you #angst #its so sad

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yellowocaballero · 7 months ago

Text

Weekenders Side Story: Byleth Gets Turned Into A Cat; Felix Causes Problems On Purpose

“You know humans can’t spontaneously become cats, right?”

“So far as we know,” Dimitri stressed. “Magic can perform impossibilities, can’t it? Annette and Byleth were practicing magic for hours yesterday. She could have magically turned into a cat!”

“Uh huh.” Felix hadn’t expected that to work, but might as well make the attempt. “What are the other reasons it reminds you of Byleth?”

“Its fur is the exact shade of her old hair color, and its eyes are the same shade as her current eyes. One would assume it’s just a castle stray -” Left unsaid: like Felix was undoubtedly assuming. He absolutely was. “ - but none of the castle strays are affectionate to either of us. It’s well-groomed and its fur is silky, which is another case in point against it being a stray. Its claws and teeth are wickedly sharp and it wields them with dexterity. It clearly doesn’t possess bloodlust, but it’s always lying in wait for battle. There is something calculated about its expressions, as if they are not quite natural to its face. And the stare speaks for itself!”

Dimitri knows Byleth turned into a cat. It's very obvious. You can tell just by looking at her. Why doesn't anybody believe him? Dimitri never says untrue things. People turn into cats all the time. He's not hallucinating this time he swears.

In which everybody thinks Dimitri is hallucinating, Sylvain grapples with love and family, a young boy finds his destiny, and Byleth has the best month of her life.

A friend asked me to write this and so somehow I did. If you were into Weekenders I highly recommend this, as it is basically the 'Five Years Later' story.

20k of shit getting weird under the cut. I spent so long writing Felipe as the world's most pretentious 15yo that it was weird to mentally smash cut into him as a baby. He's a democratic socialist but just because he hates his dad. He won't stop lecturing Sara on praxis and is convinced that he's in touch with the underprivileged despite being the most privileged teen boy in the country. The OCs have lore guys.

“Felix. Wake up.”

Unfortunately, Felix woke instantly. Seven years of battlefields made a light sleeper. Worse, the voice was Dimitri’s.

It took longer to realize that he was in his opulent four poster bed in his castle suite. There was no slip dip of the mattress beside him - Annette must have fallen asleep at her desk again. Instead, his only companion in his bedchambers was the King of Faerghus Dimitri Blaiddyd. Who was standing next to his bed. Holding a cat.

“Please,” Felix said, “tell me this important.”

The presence of the cat indicated that it probably wasn’t. Nobody delivered news of another invasion holding a cat. Dimitri would have sent a runner to knock on his door, anyway - kings didn’t fetch people.

Dimitri flashed a ridiculous pair of cow eyes at him. He held up the slim-but-fluffy black cat in his arms indicatively, as if that could possibly indicate anything. “I need your help in determining if my wife turned into a cat.”

Alright. Felix took a careful breath in and out. He reminded himself that in Dimitri’s world this was an emergency. That Dimitri was doing exactly what they asked him to do, that even asking Felix to confirm the delusion was a sign of incredible effort and will from Dimitri, and that he was coming to Felix because he trusted him to help him feel safe. None of this changed the fact that it was ass o’clock and the King of Faerghus had, again, woken him up because he thought his wife was a cat. But it was important, and it did help.

Felix leaned over and lit the candle on his bedside with a finger, immediately bathing them in soft candlelight. He saw that Dimitri was in his nightclothes - that he wasn’t even wearing his eyepatch - and that the cat seemed very satisfied with its current position in life. He must have come straight from bed.

“I see,” Felix said evenly. “Can you tell me why Byleth is a cat?”

Dimitri lowered the cat, face falling. “That’s your ‘humoring the mental patient’ voice - no. No, this does sound insane.” He shook himself, holding the cat a little tighter to his chest. “Byleth and I worked on paperwork until 2200 hours. We stayed up for a little while talking, and went to bed at 2230. I believe I fell asleep before she did. Fifteen minutes ago, I woke up suddenly and saw that Byleth was gone. In her place was this cat. Which is obviously Byleth.”

Dimitri held up the cat. Felix looked at the cat. The cat looked at Felix.

Dimitri cuddled the cat closer to his chest, making it close its eyes and purr happily. Somewhat defensively - somewhat exhaustedly - he said, “I am…very, very convinced this cat is Byleth. No part of my mind is telling me any differently. But I recognize that it seems…improbable from the outside. As such, I decided to ask you to help snap me out of this. Or confirm my suspicions, as necessary. I hoped to also call upon Annette, but it seems she fell asleep at her table again. I trust in your discretion.”

Felix sighed and threw aside the covers, dragging himself out of bed. He was only in his boxers, but they were years beyond modesty at this rate. “Obviously. Here, give me the cat.”

With some reluctance, Dimitri passed the cat into Felix’s arms. It was lithe, slender, and attractively fluffy. It was perfectly happy with being tossed about a bit, and it immediately snuggled happily into Felix’s arms and cocked its head at Felix in pure and innocent curiosity. In the candlelight, the black coat shone dark blue.

Its eyes were gigantic, and a strange shade of mint green. It had…the blankest, yet most intense, stare he’d ever seen in a cat. It didn’t move - it just looked at him, trapping Felix in its hypnotic stare and freezing him still. It held eye contact with him for a very long time. Felix broke first, looking away as his spine crawled. That cat knew your sins.

Well. Felix honestly saw where Dimitri was coming from. He couldn’t say that, obviously - affirming the delusion was a terrible idea. But the cat really was horribly reminiscent of Byleth. He’d never seen any other living being stare like that…

“Do you see what I mean?” Dimitri hissed. “Doesn’t it have Byleth’s uncanny aura?”

It absolutely did. Felix was not about to admit this. “It’s pretty cute.” It was - it felt innocent and pure, yet draped in apex predator blood. “You know humans can’t spontaneously become cats, right?”

“Uh huh.” Felix hadn’t expected that to work, but might as well make the attempt. “What are the other reasons it reminds you of Byleth?”

Dimitri finished his speech with a flourish, as if it was all irrefutable evidence. He waited expectantly for Felix to give a retort and refute his points. This time, Felix was floundering. It was normally pretty easy to parse out Dimitri’s illogical trains of thought and help him realize that they weren’t possible. His ideas got really out-there. This was also an out-there idea, but this time he didn’t seem deterred by the obvious impossibility.

He seemed clear and present, but he must be worse off than Felix originally guessed. Damn it. They had so many meetings tomorrow.

He really did not miss this feeling of completely hitting a wall. “Did anybody tell you this, Dima?”

“It was all basic deduction!” Dimitri said heatedly.

“It’s alright if somebody told you.” Fuck, Felix was tired. “Was it Monica again? Or the Dark Mage?”

Dimitri jerked back a little, hurt flashing on his face. Damn it, don’t make Felix feel like shit over this. He was the one so dead-set on the cat thing. “You won’t even entertain the possibility?”

“I’m a master-class mage, Dima. Magic can’t turn full-bred humans into cats.”

“It could have been a blessing by the Goddess.”

“Byleth has a very irregular sleep schedule. She’s always getting up in the middle of the night and walking around. Have you checked the castle pond for her? The stables? The garden?” Judging by Dimitri’s sullen look downwards, he hadn’t. So he really hadn’t been thinking clearly. “Do you need me to check those spots with you?”

It must have been very obvious from the look on Felix’s face that he really, really didn’t want to. Felix had ten meetings today and he’d have ten meetings tomorrow, and he really wanted to go back to the scant few hours of sleep he could scrape.

Twenty five was a pretty young age to rule an entire country - especially when Dimitri hadn’t mentally been up to very much for five years. And it wasn’t just Faerghus anymore. He ruled the ‘Territory of Adrestia’ now too. Faerghus had swallowed the Alliance back up, and its lords had all been forced to swear fealty back to Faerghus again. The guy was now effectively the ruler of Fodlan. Anybody in his position would believe that their wife’s a cat.

“I can manage on my own,” Dimitri said stiffly. He held out his arms. “I apologize for waking you up. Please return By - the cat to me.”

Despite himself, Felix hesitated. Dimitri hated even touching live animals - he was always scared that he’d crush them. Bad experience with a frog when he was nine. He hadn’t hurt an animal since, and Felix knew he never would, but…

Dimitri saw the hesitation. It was clear how much Felix had hurt him. But he just sucked it up and took it - as always, after all this time - and he just let his arms drop.

“Never mind,” Dimitri whispered. “Sorry.”

Before Felix could apologize to him, the cat abruptly wriggled out of Felix’s arms. He let it escape, allowing the cat to jump down onto the floor, and he and Dimitri watched in silence as the cat gracefully trotted away. There was something so familiar about that swaying gait…

That solved that problem. Dimitri didn’t chase after it, which solved another.

Dimitri turned around and left his room. Felix could almost see the cape snapping at his heels. He was in his sleeping clothes in the dead of night, trying desperately to convince Felix that his ex-private school teacher and current wife was a cat, but it was somehow still impossible to mistake him for anything other than a king.

Felix rubbed his face and groaned. Out of all the times to fall asleep at your desk, Annette…

Sleep was a long time coming that night, and in the morning Felix was tired after all.

***

The next morning was as miserable as expected.

Felix never had high hopes for it. Every trip to the castle was marked by a month of nonstop useless meetings and wastes of breath lords. He had a million reasons to resent his father, but forcing him to be Lord High Marshall to His Majesty etc was one of the worst. Felix had always assumed Glenn would be stuck with the horrifyingly important positions and that he’d be free to manage the fiefdom while Glenn was busy being important. Now Felix was important. And he couldn’t even complain about it, because every time he complained about it his old man kept on offering to do it instead and leave Felix to manage the fiefdom.

And fuck that. As if he’d inflict Dimitri on any other sucker.

But, of course and as usual, the situation forced Felix to be a little more honest with himself. If he could be here every day, he would. Even if it involved retainers and vassals and stuffed shirts. For Annette and Sylvain, obviously. But for Dimitri too. Felix always wanted to be there when he needed him. Every time and always.

Tapping the Blue Lion (they seriously needed a new name for their cult - it was a little embarrassing going by schoolyard names) gossip network was the day’s first order of business. Felix updated Sylvain on the situation during their 0500 training session, and by breakfast every Blue Lion in the castle knew. By the end of breakfast Ingrid had rearranged her guard rotations so she could take the position of Dimitri’s bodyguard for the day - peeving his usual guard, who was well aware of Dimitri’s condition, but Ingrid was the only member of his guard who could step in for him publicly.

The greater castle gossip network spread a little slower. Felix’s manservant heard from Byleth’s ladies in waiting that they couldn’t find her at all that morning. It was a little unsettling. Byleth had the habit of disappearing into the woods and completely forgetting to tell the people responsible for following her around, so the ladies in waiting were more peeved than worried. Felix remembered how clear Dimitri’s speech had been.

When Felix spoke to Dimitri and Ingrid personally for the first time that day - nearing mid-day, which said quite a bit - Dimitri obviously knew what was going on and had accepted it with his usual grim resignation. His opinion on their rigid protective detail changed frequently, but at his most even he always carried that air of resignation. Sometimes Felix wondered if he thought he was being punished for something.

They were both in the hallway moving between conferences, but Felix had learned how to take any opportunity to snatch a minute with Dimitri. Dimitri was attended only by Ingrid, and Felix stopped them both in the middle of the hall and bowed.

“Greetings to Your Majesty,” Felix said. This felt intensely stupid after last night, but it always did. “I pray for your continued good health.”

“Greetings to Lord Fraldarius,” Dimitri said, a little coldly. Ingrid made a sympathetic face from behind him. “How fares your wife?”

“I have not had the pleasure of seeing her today.” They all grimaced together. Workaholic woman. “Your Majesty, may I borrow your guard for a minute?”

For just a second, Dimitri looked a little more tired than usual. He was aware they were about to gossip about how to handle the cat-wife situation behind his back. “Of course. Captain Galatea, return at your leisure.”

Ingrid stepped out from behind Dimitri, bowing as a knight to a lord before shooting him a concerned look. “If His Majesty has a minute to join us, his company would be welcome.”

Felix grimaced apologetically. “His Majesty must be very busy. I wouldn’t want to occupy his time with this small matter.”

Read: Dimitri was not invited. They both frowned in apology to Dimitri, who just shuttered his expression and waved them off. Five more retainers immediately swarmed him, and Felix and Ingrid quickly whisked themselves away to a small conference room. The people using it were less important than they were, so they kicked out the idiots and locked the doors behind them.

Immediately, Felix said, “This sounds stupid, but you need to send your guards out searching for Byleth.”

Also immediately, Ingrid said, “Please do not tell me that you also think Byleth is a cat.”

“Of course I don’t!” Felix snapped. Ingrid raised an eyebrow, and he immediately subsided. “Look. You didn’t see that cat. It was - reminiscent. And nobody’s seen Byleth at all. Finding her would put the matter to rest.”

Ingrid sighed. “Dimitri wanted to check the garden ponds himself. I had to call in one of Byleth’s handmaidens and have her attest that they’ve already looked all over the castle. She’s going to feel awful when she learns that she worried Dimitri…maybe it’ll be enough for her to finally start telling us where she goes all day.”

“Then tell the guards to find her. Say that I need her urgent signature or something.”

“If you think it’s important, I will.” When had Felix earned that trust? Why? He was literally Felix. “But I won’t mobilize the castle guards without Dimitri’s approval. How should we handle this?”

Felix sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Sylvain said to let it run its course until it becomes a problem. Is he showing any other symptoms?”

But Ingrid just shook her head, looking troubled. “Absolutely none. You know how sometimes he feels a deep worry, but he hides it because he thinks we won’t understand?”

“If that man starts thinking we turned her into a cat -”

“No, not at all. It’s only that he knows we won’t believe him.” Ingrid’s brow furrowed - like Dimitri, more worried than she would like to admit. “It’s hard to do anything for him like this.”

“Flayn would know.”

“Or Byleth.”

The two least emotionally intelligent Blue Lions stood in miserable silence. They mutually attempted to design a respectful, sensitive, and efficient way of solving the problem. They were too emotionally stupid, and they mutually failed miserably.

“Fuck it, let’s just tell him.”

“Agreed.”

Kidnapping Dimitri was a tall ask, but when Felix returned Ingrid to Dimitri he was able to somehow do it so aggressively that they gained a small bubble of privacy. Felix tried to weaponize his unpleasantness these days.

Ingrid bowed lowly, as a knight to her king. “Your Majesty. Permission to mobilize the castle knights to search the surrounding area for Her Grace.”

Dimitri perked up immediately, and temporarily forgot himself. “Does that mean you believe me?”

Felix and Ingrid adopted poker faces. The implication was clear. Dimitri’s hopeful face fell, and Felix saw him struggle to replace that impassive kingly demeanor.

He stepped closer, lowering his voice and hissing, “Why are you sending the guards if you don’t believe me, then?”

“It never hurts to be thorough with Her Grace’s safety,” Ingrid said. Nice one. “We want to do our due diligence.”

Dimitri’s voice lowered further, only barely audible to Ingrid and Felix. “Are you or are you not humoring me?”

Felix and Ingrid winced as one.

They were both remembering the same moment - years and years ago, when a raging ‘up and out’ Dimitri accused them of humoring his repeated insistences that the Adrestian mages were using telepathy to project messages into his mind. He had thrown a chair against the cabin wall. It had been the first time Mercedes had to knock him out from concern that he would hurt something or someone else besides himself.

Dimitri remembered it too. He backed away, closing off his expression, but Felix knew the hunch of those shoulders. Pure Dimitri-class shame. And the Dimitri-special ‘Everything I did while I couldn’t control myself makes me a bad person’. And that particular tightening of the eyes indicated the classic variant ‘I wish my friends had allowed me to freeze to death in the Faerghus winter instead of taking care of me’. Goddess, he was stupid.

“You have my permission for anything you must do,” Dimitri said stiffly. “No need to inform me.”

Which was code for ‘I know I’m compromised right now, so do whatever damage control you want, sorry in advance for the extra work’. It was normally a relief to hear - for more than one reason - but now…

“Thank you, Your Majesty.” Ingrid bowed again. “I’ll send the order at once.”

Felix copied her, but he found himself hesitating. That was never a bad thing. It didn’t happen often enough. “Your Majesty. Do you remember when you and Flayn stayed in that small village in the base of the mountains?” Dimitri stared at him blankly. He was correct: those five years were fuzzy for him. Sometimes Felix wondered if he remembered more than he admitted. “You kept on telling Flayn that the village was overrun by Adrestian mages. She said that you were on high alert during your entire stay. Apparently your caution was how Flayn realized that a group of travelers were plain clothed scouts from the Adrestian army. It may have saved your cover.”

Dimitri blanched, apparently shocked. “I did? I was right?”

“They were not experts in telepathic magic,” Felix said, somewhat circumspect, “but paranoia was a smart move in those days. You weren’t always wrong, Your Majesty.”

“It used to make Lady Byleth sad,” Ingrid said quietly. Felix nodded, but Dimitri just looked away. “She once told me that you wouldn’t be so scared all of the time if there wasn’t anything to be scared of.”

“Lady Byleth also blamed herself for involving me in my own coup and the war for my own kingdom,” Dimitri said, stiff and unyielding. Felix knew that the topic was a sore spot between them. Byleth had vented about it more than once to Felix. And cried about it, which had been deeply alarming. “I take responsibility for my own burdens. And I would not burden you two with my own…beliefs.”

Ingrid and Felix gave him identical ‘you aren’t a burden, asshole’ eyes. Dimitri knew the eyes perfectly well and pretended he did not. He turned away from them and made eye contact with a courier, and just like that their personal time came to an end. More than they usually got.

Ingrid and Felix exchanged long-suffering glances. But something rose in her expression, and Felix had to admit it rose on his too:

Felix didn’t know a lot about blessings from the Goddess. He didn’t know any Faith magic, forbidden magic, or experimental atomic magic. He knew nothing about beastkin, dragonkin, or catgirls. He was not a religious man and wasn’t even a particularly friendly man. But even he had to ask himself…

…what if his professor had turned into a cat?

***

Felix recruited Sylvain for the cause, because he clearly didn’t have enough to do.

Grand Chamberlain was such a fake job. Sylvain was probably the smartest Grand Chamberlain in two hundred years, but Dimitri’s uncle had gutted the position so severely that it was a little fake. Then King Dimitri unified Fodlan, appointed Sylvain to the position, and un-faked the job via signing off on whatever he wanted to do. In a move that would have made the teenage Blue Lions faint from shock, Sylvain loaded himself up with as many responsibilities as he could and lifted every burden from Dimitri’s shoulders that he could manage. Even beyond what he could manage, sometimes. The Blue Lions were experts in collusion to make him take a break (Mercedes persuading him to take a break, Dimitri signing off on the break, Annette and Felix taking over his duties, Petra shipping him off to the beach), but those moments were few and far between.

And that wasn’t even mentioning the baby.

Felix easily kicked aside the guards outside of Sylvain’s office, shoving open the door and finding Sylvain in the exactly expected location (giant fancy desk) doing exactly the expected things (paperwork). Felix would have come earlier, but he had squeezed Sylvain’s schedule out of his assistant and timed his approach for the handful of hours that Sylvain did not have a meeting.

“You’re helping me out with the Catleth situation.”

Sylvain looked up, pained but not surprised. “With the cat or with Dimitri?”

“We’re finding the cat.”

“You don’t need me for that.” Felix opened his mouth. “If you make any pussy jokes I’m throwing you out of this castle.”

“You don’t have the authority to do that.” He did. With Dimitri indisposed, Sylvain had the administrative final word. Byleth had the Blue Lion final word, which was a subtle yet distinct difference. “If I’m going to spend my free hour hunting down a cat then I’m going to multitask while doing it. You’re coming with me.”

“How is that multitask -”

“It’s making you take a break. Up.”

Sylvain got up. They swapped abilities to bully each other about once every five years, and it was Felix’s turn.

The castle was sprawling and it was not short on cats. Cats were one of the few things that made Lady Byleth smile, so the groundskeepers were under orders to leave them running around so long as they didn’t disrupt anything. Sylvain immediately began plotting out a systematic search that began at the fringes of the castle and circled inwards - a move that was basically identical to their standard military tactics to eradicate the fleeing dregs of enemy forces. Felix blatantly ignored him and forced him in a straight line outwards.

“Are we just doing this to make Dimitri feel better?” Sylvain asked, successfully prying himself away from Felix’s iron grip. Damn lancers and their upper body strength. “If we are, then we should probably invite him to this very useful expedition that is a great use of our time.”

“Ingrid mobilized the guards to make him feel better. We are searching for the cat.” A passing page tried to get Felix’s attention. He blatantly ignored them. Dumbass Sylvain had to wave and grimace apologetically. Just get a reputation as an asshole. It was easy. “It’s a better use of our time than idiot forms and idiot idiots.”

“Shit, you’re being serious.” Sylvain stopped short, forcing Felix to stop with him. He looked sternly down at Felix, who forcibly reminded himself that it was his turn to bully Sylvain. “You said that Dimitri thought it might be magic. You’re the mage between us, Felix. Do you really think that Byleth could have magically turned into a cat?”

“Magic isn’t an x factor,” Felix said curtly. “It’s not limited by the beautiful reaches of our imagination. Reason magic is a mathematics and science that produces certain sensible results. Like lightning. There’s no Reason equation for turning a human into a cat.”

“What about Faith?”

“Oh, Faith’s bullshit.”

Sylvain crossed his arms. “Faith’s magic. Annette knows -”

“Annette’s shitty at Faith.”

“Annette thinks shittiness is a moral failing.” Stone faced, Felix pumped his fist in the air - their standard ‘Go Blue Lions!’ gesture. “She was like that before Lady Byleth got her hands on her and you know it.” Felix rolled his eyes. “She made all of us worse, your wife isn’t special.”

Felix pinched the bridge of his nose hard. “Look. Byleth forced all of us to have basic proficiency in all types of magic. I know enough theory behind Faith to understand that it bolsters the body to approach the ultimate ideal form of the goddess. The goddess’ body is immaculate, so it heals the body. The goddess’ body is powerful, so it provides buffs. The goddess is not a cat.”

“Wow,” Sylvain said, impressed. “That is bullshit.”

“Fucking hated learning that shit, but Byleth manipulated me into getting competitive with Annette and forced me to learn it.” The increasingly intense rivalry had turned their relationship from casual into something far more serious. It had taken years for them all to accept that Byleth had arranged all of their relationships, much like she had arranged their lives. “Here, quiet down.”

The best fishing spot in the castle was the large pond in the center of the castle. It was rich with fish, had a peaceful ambiance, and even possessed a waterfall. Byleth’s favorite fishing spot was way out on the outskirts of the castle and bordered a cow pasture. Fishing was a meditative task, and for her it demanded maximum isolation. At Garreg Mach they could clearly see her fishing at the docks during most of her free periods, but nobody was stupid enough to bother her. She had a way of making the blankest stare feel hostile.

Cows lowed among them, peaceful and stinky. Felix and Sylvain pulled on their hard months of stealth training and snuck through the brittle and scraggly bush, ducking beneath overhanging branches and gently sidling out of the brush to the other side.

The sight was unimpressive: the pond was just as scabby and tattered as the bush, and the sagging tree branches spread over the pond creaked in the weak spring breeze. Despite the spring, the pond’s foliage was limp and cracked. The only redeeming feature was the solid selection of particularly stupid fish. Due to a confluence of all of these factors, it was Byleth’s favorite fishing spot.

Sylvain leaned close into Felix’s ear. “Didn’t Byleth’s handmaidens already search the fishing spots?”

“Not this one. It’s her secret spot. Nobody with half a brain would tramp through all of this cow shit.”

“Then why do you know about it?”

Special Tea Time. “Classified.”

“The fuck does that -”

Felix slapped a hand over Sylvain’s mouth. Silence and stealth was now of the utmost priority. He had found his quarry.

Of course, the quarry was the Debatably-Byleth Cat. It was sitting exactly at Byleth’s favorite place to sit on the bank, leaning over the pond as its tail lashed. Its eyes tracked the surface of the water, alert and ready as it waited over its prey. The cat’s fur had looked black last night, but in the color in the daylight was clearly dark blue.

“That’s supposed to be Byleth?” Sylvain hissed. “Felix, it’s obviously a -”

“Watch!”

Felix almost missed it. The cat had watched its quarry for over a minute, but in retrospect it had clearly just been waiting for the right opportunity. The cat lashed out a gleaming silver claw, spearing a fish and pulling it out of the water. The movement was smooth as silk and so quick that Felix barely caught it. The fish flopped pathetically onto the shores of the bank, and the cat wasted no time in almost swallowing the fish whole. It was probably the most impressive hunting Felix had ever seen.

The cat finished its meal and settled down happily onto the banks, flopping on its side to enjoy the gentle sun. Looking at its serene little squints, you could never tell that it had speared a fish and swallowed it whole in under three seconds. The bat of its paw was perfectly calculated to almost mathematic precision.

“Holy shit,” Sylvain said. “Byleth’s a cat.”

“I’m gonna have to apologize to Dimitri,” Felix said blankly. “Damn. I hate doing that.”

The cat re-embarked on its precise hunt, its bloodlust insatiable. Sylvain looked abjectly depressed. “He’s never going to forget this. This is going to validate him.”

Worst case scenario. “Maybe we don’t have to tell him?” Felix offered. Sylvain gave him a bizarre look. “What? What do you think’s going to upset him more, a missing wife or a cat wife?”

“Impossible to tell.” Sylvain faced down the cat grimly. It - she - casually speared another fish, shoving it down its gullet. Where was she putting it away? That fish was half as big as she was. “We gotta catch that cat.”

“I’m not getting into a fucking chase scene with our cat professor, Sylvain.”

Sylvain whistled, bright and sharp, and Felix immediately shoved him. The cat’s head rose, turning her head as her eyes locked straight onto Sylvain and Felix. They both fought instinctive quailing and the urge to apologize for disrupting the sacred fishing time.

Damn it. This was the point of stealth. She was going to freak out and run off, and Felix would actually be stuck in a horrible little chase scene with his academy professor -

The cat trotted over to them, tail swaying happily, and Felix and Sylvain froze as the cat stopped at their feet and blinked solemnly up at them. Those piercing mint green eyes made Felix understand how the fish felt. Sylvain, still traumatized from the academy, froze in horror and fear.

Felix bent down and scooped up the cat. He bounced her a little, holding her like a baby, and she meowed delightedly. Sylvain stared at the stone faced Felix and the happily purring cat, rapidly losing all will to live.

“She’s very friendly,” Felix said blandly.

Sylvain bent down a little, making eye contact with the pleased cat. Hesitantly, he said, “Professor? Is that you?”

The cat mrrp’d.

“Meow if you can understand me, Professor.”

The cat yawned.

“I think Byleth might be a regular cat,” Felix said, scratching her behind the ears. “So what do we do now, your lordship Grand Chamberlain?”

“I wish I was in a meeting,” Sylvain said, desolate.

“You don’t mean that.”

“I don’t.” Sylvain sighed, running his hand through his hair. “We can’t let anybody find out about this. The future queen of Faerghus is a cat…how did this even happen? Damn it, why does this only happen to us? What are we supposed to do with her?”

“I don’t know,” Felix said, “does your son want a pet?”

“He’s nine months old, he doesn’t want anything,” Sylvain snapped. “Gather everybody. I’m calling a house meeting. Including Dimitri and the cat.”

Felix raised Cat Byleth to eye level, bouncing her a little. “What do you think, my lady? Are you making a new rule of the Blue Lions? Is it ‘we only eat trout’? ‘If we can fit in it, we can sit in it’? ‘Our kittens are acquaintances’?”

“Let’s go, Felix! And don’t let go of that cat!”

Man, he was cranky lately.

***

Sylvain did absolutely have a baby. He had met the squirt around twice. It was hilarious.

The birth of Felipe Emilie Gautier was celebrated throughout the country, and the blessing of the goddess was assumed: Sylvain and Mercedes Gautier’s first child was a boy and born with a crest. You couldn’t get any luckier. Dimitri had been hailed by the country as a miracle baby because he was the king and queen’s first child and was born a boy with a crest. There had been celebrations in the streets for a week.

Good thing, too. Sylvain had refused to have any mistresses. His children would be born via Mercedes, and fuck everybody else. Maybe the goddess had approved of the romanticism.

Sylvain’s position as heir Gautier had already been locked down. But his war heroism, decorated office, and blessed child catapulted him into the second most powerful position in Fodlan. To Felix, it was clearly a little disconcerting for him: nobody had ever valued Sylvain for anything beyond his crest. Nobody outside of the cult had ever respected Sylvain as a person. Sylvain’s reputation in their schooling and his home had been of an empty-headed callous playboy, and no amount of kindness, intelligence, and wisdom from him could dent that reputation. Obviously, war heroism and kingly favoritism turned that around. He was an invaluable asset in making Fodlan strong. Look at his baby.

Sylvain did not look at his baby that often. As much as Felix gave him shit about it, he knew that it was natural. Sylvain worked in the castle and the Gautier capital was two weeks of travel. Losing a month of work to travel was unacceptable, never mind the time spent at home. Sylvain had spent a month at home when Mercedes gave birth and returned six months later to attend the annual fiefdom congressional meeting. That was it.

Mercedes herself found that kicking around a castle living with her in-laws was a thoroughly boring experience, so she and Felipe were living at the border of the Duscur territory and working with Dedue to build schools and conduct humanitarian missions and whatever-the-fuck. Even letters took ages to reach her.

Dimitri, by this point thoroughly aware that he had stolen everybody else’s fathers, had immediately offered to move Mercedes and Felipe into the castle. Mercedes herself had declined: she was needed at Duscur, not Fhirdiad. Sylvain understood, for the same reasons that Mercedes understood why he had to live at the castle, and they loved each other as much as ever. But Felix knew a small part of Sylvain was a little relieved too. Sylvain was ashamed of the feeling, but that didn’t stop him.

“Think of it this way,” Felix had said. “You didn’t want to be a father. Mercedes wanted to be a mom. You knew you would lose your place in the line of succession if you didn’t become a father.” If a noble of a crested home didn’t have a child their entire territory would excommunicate them. No exceptions. Hilarious. “Now you and Mercedes both get what you wanted. Mercedes gets a baby, and you get to pretend the baby doesn’t exist.”

Sylvain had actually attacked Felix over that one.

Technically the situation wasn’t Sylvain’s fault. The sword at his neck forcing him to be a parent was incredibly fucked, there was nobody else any Blue Lion trusted to do his job, and the castle incompetence left him taking on so much work that he couldn’t take a break. Maybe it was mean to tease him for child neglect, as if there was anything he could do about it.

That wouldn’t stop Felix. His father had made, in retrospect, a stunning effort to see him as frequently as possible, but that was maybe glimpses of him for a week every three months. Glenn’s death wasn’t the only thing that had strained their relationship. Even Felix was luckier than his friends: his forced bonding time with Dimitri at the castle once he turned five meant that he saw his father too. Felipe might not be so lucky.

Just because it was unavoidable didn’t make it acceptable. Sylvain was fucking up his relationship with his kid. When that baby was an uncertain child, struggling to navigate the oppressive nature of his world, his father would not guide him. When that baby was a bitter teenager, he would blame the father that didn’t want him for the faults of the world. From this distance, it was easy for Sylvain to forget that. Felix wouldn’t let him. Shoving this pain away would push it onto somebody who didn’t deserve it.

Ingrid and Ashe, the token monogamists, weren’t married out of sheer spite. Petra had asked Ashe to return to Brigid to help her with some invaders, and Ingrid had sent him away with support from ex-Adrestian troops. When he returned, he would probably move in with Ingrid into the castle and raise their own child within the castle. Having that Galatean baby out of wedlock might be a bit extreme even for spite, but Ingrid would probably satisfy herself by eloping with Ashe’s lack of title and absolute poverty. Dimitri’s child wouldn’t steal the baby’s father. An unusually lucky baby.

As for Felix. Annette had submitted their ten year plan onto Felix’s desk and he had rubber-stamped it. Felix would continue splitting his time between his own lands and his castle; Annette would continue her work as Royal Magician. At age twenty eight, once she received the highest level of acclaim she could receive from the Inter-Continental Magical Association, she would leave her position to her successor and return with Felix to Fraldarius full-time. Annette would have the kid and take up a professorship position at the university as she continued her independent research. Felix, you can split your time in half between the castle and raising the kid. Three children maximum, another if one is a jock. You’re on your own after that one. If you have to choose between the castle and your kids, Felix -

Yes, Annette. He’d pick the children. Almost all of them would. Byleth had raised a strange group.

The men had even gotten together and unanimously agreed to only resort to mistresses if their wives asked. Sylvain had flatly refused. Almost all of them had a stupid amount of half-siblings: it was extremely common practice for lords to try for children with other women if their wives weren’t delivering on the Crest front. Ingrid had a truly insane level of half-siblings, none of which she had met. Ingrid and Ashe had frankly stated that they were having as many as they felt like having, and that chasing the crested baby was her brother’s job. It was technically meant to be hers, but somewhere along Ingrid’s three hundredth kill she stopped caring about what she was supposed to do.

Sylvain’s monstrous half-brother was actually the full child of the lord and lady - Sylvain himself was the child of his father and apparently the most gorgeous woman in her village. Any crested child out of wedlock was bought from the mother and adopted into the lord and lady’s family, given the title of heir, and treated as if they had been there the entire time. Sylvain was apparently identical to his mother. Maybe. He didn’t look anything like the lord. He took after her in personality too. Maybe. He didn’t act anything like the lord. He had never met her, and his father couldn’t be assed to remember her name. When Sylvain got drunk he wondered how much his mother had sold him for.

The flood of extra children had extra utility: namely, that noble tradition put its nobility on the front lines of war literally all of the time, and they all had the habit of dying like flies. Felix had a funny family story from his grandfather about how a generation of Fraldariuses three generations ago had been wiped out in a war against Sreng. Desperately, they literally had to scavenge together a handful of impoverished village bastard children to fill out their ranks again. His entire noble family were the descendents of mistresses. It was a skeleton in their closet that Felix found hilarious.

None of them knew Dimitri and Byleth’s plan. They were all privately concerned that Byleth didn’t know where babies came from and that Dimitri was too awkward to explain.

Felix had spent five years as an underground revolutionary. He had fought and won a war that unified the continent. He was one of the five most powerful people on the continent. He was renowned as the greatest Master Savant on the continent and was forced to regularly turn down a flood of requests to take apprentices or teach his methods. But he had never really felt like an adult until he was forced to sit at a table with Annette and haggle out how many uncrested children they would have until Felix would start taking mistresses.

Or had it been earlier? Maybe it should have been. Maybe the first time Felix helped feed Dimitri should have been his tipping moment into adulthood. It hadn’t. He had only felt achingly young. He had been painfully aware of his own inadequacy: his fear, his helplessness, his daily dances with death. He had wanted the professor.

For years, they had all wanted the professor. She was the only protector they had who hadn’t split her time between their duties and their families. She had dedicated her entire life to them. Every second of her day was about helping them grow, nurturing their minds, healing their spirit, and pushing them to the brink. It was attention they had never gotten from somebody who had never been obligated to give it.

Families were obligations and pressures. Families were lonely birthday parties and glimpses of their fathers. Families were false mothers who knew you were a cuckoo in their nest. Families were dead mothers, dead fathers, and an extended family who convinced themselves that you stole your cousin’s nonexistent crest. Families were the price your mother put on your head and the faceless wash of half-siblings who you would never know.

“The Blue Lions are family,” Ashe had murmured into the dark, a long time ago. A dark cabin and a rare meeting between almost all of them. “Right?”

Ingrid shifted closer against him, creaking the rusty mattress thrown unceremoniously to the floor. “You’re all family to me.”

Three of her brothers had died in the invasion.

“I believe that we choose the family of our hearts,” Mercedes had said quietly. “My adopted father is no father to me. I care for all of you deeply.”

“None of you would ever abandon me.” Annette’s voice was a little thick. Felix had squeezed her hand. “Of course you’re my family.”

“Family is a complex matter,” Flayn had yawned. They hadn’t even realized she was awake. Girl had always been chronically tired. “It’s somewhat of a construct…but far too much emphasis is placed on blood ties in our society. I’ve always had the freedom to arrange my own family. You all will always be a part of it.”

“Fuck my family and its fucking bloodline shit. I can’t tolerate them. I love you all more than anything. No debate here.” Sylvain reached out and gently tapped Dimitri on the shoulder. Dimitri’s face was buried in his ragged pillow, his silky hair tangled over his sheets. They had successfully wrangled him into a bath yesterday. “What about you, Dimitri? We know you’re awake.”

Dimitri curled up on his side, pointedly putting his back to Sylvain. Voice hoarse and deep, he muttered, “I have a mother and father.”

“And I have a brother,” Felix had said. “The living don’t overwrite the dead. None of us here want to be your mother, anyway.”

“My sister slaughtered my family.” Alright, maybe bringing up family to Dimitri had been a shit idea. “She’ll kill you too.”

Lightly, Sylvain had said, “We’re pretty tough cookies. Have a little faith in us, Your Highness.”

“You should leave,” Dimitri had hissed. “You’re all going to die.”

Felix had groaned. “Did telling us to abandon you work the last twenty times, asshole?”

“We’re in danger anyway, with or without you,” Ashe had reasonably pointed out. “Together or apart. Might as well do it together, right?”

Dimitri muttered something under his breath and buried his face deeper into the pillow. He pointedly ignored everything they said after that, and they politely let him pretend they weren’t there.

Their best friends forever schtick was a childish promise at seventeen, and their cutesy found family shit had been a childish promise at nineteen. But it was still true, despite everything: they had all married each other. If you didn’t marry, it barely mattered. Mercedes had been living with Dedue for months, and Ashe was currently on another country’s front lines side by side with Petra. Their family had stayed together. Cute, technically. Definitely the desired outcome for all of them. None of them would have it any other way.

But hey. Sylvain hadn’t promised his baby to be family forever, had he?

***

The Blue Lions held their sleepover that night in Dimitri’s chambers. Goddess knew what his guards thought about the late night bedroom meetings. They all had reputations. Sylvain was under the impression that he and Felix were very discreet, which meant that half the castle probably knew. Sure, war rooms and sitting rooms had been invented for a reason, but sitting rooms didn’t have Dimitiri’s gigantic bed.

The sleepover began without Dimitri. Felix’s wife worked the longest hours, but she was one of the blessed lucky officials without a meeting every hour, so Ingrid had successfully tracked her down and explained the situation. Felix was graced with her company the second he escaped the last nightly obligation of the day and barged into Dimitri’s room. Annette was happily playing with Cat Byleth on Dimitri’s bed. At least she hadn’t escaped.

“This is the cutest kitty,” Annette gushed. “You are just the most friendly, nicest little stray I’ve ever seen! And so glossy!”

“If you start singing Lady Byleth little songs I’m walking out the door.”

“Aw, but look at her.” Annette held up Cat Byleth, swaying her a little. Cat Byleth stared into Felix’s eyes, judging his soul and assignments. “She deserves little songs. Are we really naming her Lady Byleth? Things are going to get confusing if we do. How about the Professor?”

“Incredibly bad news.”

Annette lowered Cat Byleth, giving Felix a dubious look. “Ingrid said that Dimitri says that…” Felix nodded grimly. “So…we’re dissuading him of that notion, yes?” Felix’s grim look sank six feet under. “Darling?”

“I’ll explain once everyone’s here.”

Sylvain arrived after her, flopping down dramatically next to Annette onto the bed and groaning with exhaustion. Felix dragged over his favorite plush armchair, pushing it against the bed and propping up his shoes on the luxurious embroidered sheets. Sylvain refused to even look at the cat. Annette gleefully cooed at the cat until she fell backwards onto the bed and instantly began snoring. Felix slid a pillow under her head.

Ingrid joined them shortly afterwards, chugging a beer, and cautiously took a seat on the chaise lounge on the other side of the bed from Felix. Cat Byleth was happily kneading one of the pillows. Ingrid squinted at the cat. Cat Byleth purred.

Finally, Ingrid proclaimed, “I don’t see it.”

“It’s a very unique shade of eye color,” Felix pointed out.

“Look how happy she is,” Ingrid said. The cat was having the time of her life. “If you were turned into a cat, you wouldn’t have fun like that. Even if you really did have a cat brain, you’d be pretty freaked out. Wouldn’t you?”

Felix had to concede the point. Felix would be biting everything.

Dimitri was the last to arrive. He stopped short when he entered his own quarters, cape already halfway unlatched, and stared blankly at the assembly. Everybody else turned to look at Ingrid, who raised her hands in a plea for innocence.

“I told him! I mentioned it twice.”

“Forgive me. My mind was somewhat preoccupied today.” Dimitri slowly finished unlatching his cape, moving to toss it on the nearest flat surface. Annette twitched an eyebrow at him. He slowly hung up the cape on the hook near the door. “Good evening, all. You…brought B - the cat.”

“She is really just so precious.” Annette was sitting cross-legged with the sleeping Cat Byleth in her lap, scratching her behind the ears. “I’ve never met a sweeter cat. And she’s just so fluffy!”

“Right,” Dimitri said stiffly. He walked into the room, stiffly surveying the group. “Is the intervention necessary?”

“It’s more of a family meeting,” Sylvain said. Dimitri clearly mentally tacked ‘tactfully’ onto the end of that sentence. “I just figured we should put our heads together and figure this situation out, Your Majesty. And hey, it’s been almost a week since we were all in the same room!”

“That’s because Annette never leaves the tower,” Felix said blandly.

“If it’s a family meeting, it’s Dimitri.” Dimitri disappeared into his closet and began changing clothing as Annette mimed aiming a Fire spell at Felix’s face. They had chased away Dimitri’s manservants, so Felix would have offered to help him remove the armor, but Dimitri had designed the armor specifically so he could remove it himself. Apparently he had found time to learn metalworking in his training schedule. Somehow. “Do the guards have any leads on my wife?”

“Nothing.” Ingrid looked a little uncomfortable. “We don’t want to cause a panic, so we’re searching in plain clothes, but some of them are beginning to grow concerned.”

“Annette, have you tried a tracking spell?”

“Yep. It completely fizzled out.” Quickly, Annette added, “Not as if she was dead! It was like a letter that was returned to the sender. It mystified the hell out of me. I couldn’t figure it out. I was considering writing Lysithea about it.”

Dimitri emerged from his closet, wearing far more casual and soft clothes. The cat’s ears twitched, and she opened her eyes and lifted her head to see Dimitri standing in front of the bed. She jumped out of Annette’s arms and bounded over to Dimitri, jumping up into his automatically outstretched arms. She immediately began rubbing her head against his chest, purring up a storm, and Dimitri very gingerly cradled her in his arms.

Slowly, Dimitri said, “Felix, take the cat.”

“Don’t feel like it,” Felix said blandly.

“Felix - !”

“You’re an adult, hold your own wife.”

“Did you feed her earlier or something?” Ingrid asked, fascinated. “Animals tend to hate you, Dimitri. But she’s so affectionate…”

Exceptionally gentle and slow, Dimitri stroked the cat’s fur backwards. Cat Byleth wriggled happily. “She’s liked me since I met her. If you all have any arguments to address my…thoughts, I would like to hear them.”

Sylvain and Felix looked at each other. They silently battled for their lives. Sylvain silently reminded Felix that he was the one who ruthlessly shut him down last night, and that this might make up for it. Felix silently cursed him out for being right, as usual.

“I have no idea how to say this in a way that doesn’t make me sound as insane as Dimitri,” Felix said bluntly. Better rip off the bandaid. “But Sylvain and I think Dimitri’s right. The cat’s definitely Byleth.”

The girls stared at Felix blankly. Dimitri’s eyebrows skyrocketed upwards.

“Do you really think so?” Dimitri asked urgently. “Are you certain? What are your deductions?”

“We caught her fishing in Byleth’s fishing spot. She kills like Byleth kills. It’s a…distinctive sort of murder.” Sylvain sighed, running his hands through his hair. “I can’t make it sound good either. It just feels so obvious. Man, I wish Mercedes was here. She’d have insight.”

“All three of you feel certain?” Ingrid asked. All three men nodded with varying levels of enthusiasm. She turned back to the cat, leaning forward and staring intently at it. After a heart-stopping minute, she said, “It would answer some persistent questions. If all of you are certain, I’ll trust you. Annette?”

Annette hummed, tapping her chin. “Magic can’t turn humans into cats. But Lady Byleth is no ordinary human. And…we were playing around with a lot of highly experimental spells yesterday…yeah, this isn’t making me sound great.”

“We all vote that this cat is my wife?” The room nodded as one. Dimitri slumped, tension unwinding from his frame as he exhaled. “Thank the goddess. I was so damn worried…thank the goddess, truly.”

“Was that really the problem here?” Sylvain asked. “Not the wife cat situation?”

Dimitri’s expression tightened unhappily. “I deny it sometimes, Sylvain, but I can tell when my mind is cloudy. Having delusions like this while knowing my mind is clear…it made me doubt a lot of things. I’ve been unsettled all day.”

Damn it. Felix felt horrible. “It’s not on you, Dimitri. I completely shut you down last night. I know you don’t want me humoring you, but I should have heard you out.”

“It’s not your fault,” Dimitri said, absolutely predictably. “I’m hardly a - a reliable source. Really, considering how I betrayed your trust in me as a friend and leader, I couldn’t possibly ask you to trust me at all, let alone in such a ridiculous situation -”

Fantastic, Felix no longer felt bad. “Shut the fuck up, you’re so annoying. Aren’t you done with your apology tour by now?”

Dimitri scowled at him. “I’ll stop apologizing when I stop doing things to apologize for.”

“You never feel guilty for the right thing, you know that?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You two are far too old for this,” Sylvain said severely, and both men shut up. “Felix, save the tough love for when Byleth isn’t a cat. Dimitri, wait until Byleth’s finished being a cat before you start self-flagellating again. Annette, were you really hitting Lady Byleth with random spells yesterday?”

Annette, the true wrong-doer in the situation, abruptly looked a little shifty. “It was scientific experimentation.”

“On the queen of Faerghus?”

“She said she was bored!”

“So you turned her into a cat?”

“It wasn’t on purpose!” Annette cried. “I was trying to invent a spell to improve eyesight! How was I supposed to know it would turn the queen of Faerghus into a cat?” She drooped, crushed by the weight of her own sins. “Oh, I never should have tried mixing Reason and Fate theorems into the same proof. This is what happens when we try getting experimental…I’m so sorry, Dimitri. And Byleth.”

“Magic can’t turn people into cats,” Felix hissed. “You’re doing fake magic.”

“It’s not fake if it works! You’re just a classicist.”

“Improvisation magic doesn’t create new theorems, it creates explosions. And cats.”

“Maybe you’re just jealous I managed to turn the Professor into a cat and you couldn’t.”

“I could turn Byleth into a cat if I wanted -”

“If I was literally any other king,” Dimitri ground out, strangled, “and you were any other court magician, you would be fired at best for using the queen as an experimental subject. My grandfather executed court magicians for less.”

Felix straightened, scowling. “Are you threatening my wife -”

“Shut the fuck up for once, Felix!” Sylvain snapped. “You can’t threaten the king!”

“Oh, you’re always taking his side -”

“You’re always making me point out the absolute obvious -”

Dimitri scowled, looking away. “I was the one pointing out the obvious. I wasn’t threatening - that wasn’t the intention, Annette, I just -”

“It’s alright,” Annette said miserably. “You’re right. I got too excited and stopped thinking things through again. I’m a failure as a court magician.”

“You’re the most talented magician I know, Annette,” Dimitri said, all soppy earnest. Ugh. As if he wasn’t totally threatening her a second ago. “You aren’t a failure at all. I admire you greatly.”

“Aw, Dimitri. Thank you -”

“But if you fail in un-catting my wife you are in very serious trouble with the royal family of Fodlan.”

“See!” Felix cried, throwing out a hand. “An obvious threat!”

Cat Byleth meowed disapprovingly. She blinked at them, somehow with great intention. Everybody fell silent in absolute shame and mumbled apologies. Dimitri was a little red.

Finally, Ingrid coughed a little. “I think we can all agree some mistakes have been made tonight.” Everybody looked at the floor. “Let’s just focus on solving the problem. Your Majesty?”

“Right.” Dimitri kissed the top of Cat Byleth’s head, making her mrrp adorably. “Annette, you drop everything you’re doing and fix her as soon as possible.” Annette opened her mouth, ready to argue on behalf of her three other deadlines. She had moaned about the imminent book chapter final submission deadline for a week. “That’s an order. If you miss a deadline then tell them to take it up with me.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I just hope I can.” Annette picked at the luxurious comforter, desolate. “This happened because I used Faith magic beyond my level of expertise. A novice can tangle a knot in seconds that a master would take hours to fix. I wish Mercedes was here…she knows enough about white and black magic to diagnose the problem immediately.”

“Is she the only Gremory in Fhirdiad?”

“She’s one of seven in Fodlan, and four of them are in Adrestia. Two are in the ex-Alliance. She’s the only Gremory in Faerghus.” Annette muttered something uncomplimentary about Adrestria hoarding all of the good magicians.

“Then bring Mercedes here. Requisition the Adrestian mages if you have to.”

Sylvain straightened, eyes widening. “She’s over two weeks travel away, Dimitri.”

Dimitri looked back to Annette, who was clearly falling into despair. “Can you fix her yourself, Annette?”

Annette hesitated, biting her lip. “If I study hard, maybe. Or I might turn her into a smaller cat…or I might blow her up…”

“We’re calling in Mercedes. If Byleth is a cat for two weeks, then she’s a cat for two weeks.” Dimitri glanced at Sylvain for the first time, thoughtful. “Ask her to bring Felipe. Might as well make something good out of this. I still haven’t met him yet.”

“Aaaa,” Sylvain said.

“You haven’t?” Ingrid asked, surprised. “But you gave him that ridiculous birthday gift.”

“There is no point to conquering a country if you can’t give its smaller islands to a baby,” Dimitri said stiffly. “I want to meet him. I also want this problem fixed.” He looked sternly at Annette and Felix, who abruptly both looked at the ceiling. “This was an accident, and accidents happen. I do not intend for anybody to find out about this. I don’t intend on punishing anybody right now. But if the accident is not fixed I will hold the house of Fraldarius responsible. And yes, Felix. That is a threat.”

“That’s fair,” Annette said, desolate beyond what her peppy little heart deserved. “I really am sorry, Your Majesty.”

Dimitri softened, and he held the cat a little closer to his chest. “It’s still Dimitri. Trust me, Annette. This would be an inconsequential matter if it was only myself. But it’s Byleth’s safety that I’m worried about. I have to take that seriously.”

“We all do,” Ingrid said gently. “We’re all just as worried as you, Dimitri. We’ll work together on fixing this. There’s nothing Mercedes can’t do, so we’ll just have to hang on until then.”

Felix was not just as worried as the rest of them. But this was severely not the time or place to say so. He just nodded solemnly with everybody else.

“And please have somebody keep an eye on her. I don’t want her run over by a carriage or eaten by wolves.” Something disturbing clearly occurred to Dimitri. “Or want kitten children.”

“Ew,” Annette said.

“I’d love them anyway, of course,” Dimitri continued to himself. “But it would still be strange. They couldn’t exactly have a place in the line of succession…but we couldn’t just give them away…”

“What if she was pregnant when she got turned into a cat?” Felix asked, bored. “She could give birth to kittens that are genetically yours.”

“Oh, goddess,” Dimitri said, paling, “she totally could.”

“She could not, I’m obviously fucking with you -”

Sylvain just looked pained. “Felix, please stop teasing Dimitri.”

“But it’s so easy.”

And then they were all off again, and Cat Byleth took a luxurious nap to the sound of her students’ incessant bickering.

***

Felix had a small secret: he wasn’t really all that worried.

He also wasn’t seventeen anymore, and he now understood that certain sentiments had a certain time and a place. Annette’s well-intentioned carelessness had already put them both in hot water with Dimitri - it would push their luck if Felix was seen acting as if this was a good thing. It was, in fact, somewhat dangerous - Felix had faith in Byleth’s ability to win in a territory fight against another animal, but he didn’t like her odds against a carriage or a monster. But Byleth had survived much less stupid situations than this, and Felix had decided to kick up his heels and relax. This was, after all, a good thing.

It was obvious. Felix would wonder why nobody else saw it, but he knew how oblivious and self-absorbed everybody else was. They were all too wrapped up in their own stress and projecting all of it to realize the straightforward truth. Mercedes would notice, but she was a handy second reason why this was a good thing. She would agree with Felix immediately: that Byleth was honestly living her best life.

Despite what the overgrown children around him thought, Byleth didn’t actually live to work. Byleth’s ideal day - as recited during a Special Tea Time years ago - consisted of training for a few hours in the morning, fishing for eight hours, eating three giant meals, sitting in companionable silence with Dimitri, and holding a Blue Lions sleepover at night. Three naps had been mandatory: one at ten in the morning, another at two in the afternoon after a big lunch, and another at five in the afternoon after a hard day fishing.

The woman was the queen of Faerghus slash Fodlan and had no opportunity to spend all day doing nothing but fish. She was busy every second, and had been for as long as Felix knew her. There was no such thing as a day spent lazing around in Byleth’s world. In a cat’s…

So far as Felix could tell, Cat Byleth did nothing other than hunt, sleep, and cuddle with them. Felix figured that it was actively mean to undo this spell too quickly. He knew better than to vocalize this opinion. Mercedes would agree with him.

Some people were meant to be born a Lagunz or beastkin or something. This was probably righting a natural order of things. Maybe restoring Byleth to cat-hood would lift the curse on the Fraldarius family bloodline. Which Glenn might have invented to tease him, but it was real, damn it.

“Look,” Felix told his lovely wife, “I’m just saying. We still don’t know where the hell she came from. It’s not physically possible for a person to develop human emotion after they finished puberty. And Seteth kept saying that Jeralt hadn’t aged a day in twenty years. You know what species ages slowly?”

His lovely wife hadn’t been accommodating. “Goodness, Felix, not another one of your conspiracy theories.”

“Conspiracy theories?” Felix had yelled, throwing up his hands. “What conspiracy theories? You mean my famous conspiracy theory, the one where Dimitri’s -” A violently vengeful murder-happy psycho with severe mental problems, which Felix didn’t feel comfortable saying anymore. He hadn’t vocalized a thirst for murder in more than a year. “ - you know. That one? The true one? The fact?”

“There’s a perfectly good explanation for why Lady Byleth is a freak of nature,” Annette said primly. “She told me herself.”

“Yeah? What was it?”

Annette halted. “Uh. You know, the picture was a little unclear…”

“You know what’s clear as crystal to me?!”

Maybe Annette hadn’t turned Byleth into a cat after all. Maybe she had just disrupted the magic creating a human form. Maybe this was Byleth’s natural state. Strangely, nobody wanted to hear this.

Regardless, it wasn’t a safe situation. A ten pound apex predator was still ten pounds, and no matter how proficient she was against prey or other cats she wouldn’t match up to a cart or a horse. Dimitri was still unironically fretting about boy cats, and for once his paranoia was disturbingly plausible. The Blue Lions were busy people, but they could keep a 24/7 eye on a cat, right?

Annette tried keeping Cat Byleth locked in her mage’s tower. Cat Byleth escaped twice, knocked over expensive potion ingredients three times, and almost ingested a potion that would not have sat well with a cat’s delicate stomach. At the risk of Dimitri smiting their house with a lightning bolt, Annette was in no position to keep an eye on her.

Neither were the rest of them, who were far too mobile around the castle. Trying to keep her inside their chambers, even Dimitri’s gigantic ones, was hugely unsuccessful - when she wasn’t meowing miserably she was pulling objectively impressive escape attempts. They all silently wished that they had some sort of tactical genius or something around to solve their problems for them. Their two best tacticians were physically and emotionally compromised again. Time to pull in their tied third best tacticians. Or just one of their third best tacticians - Annette had been banned from further ideas, lest she make things worse again.

“It’s alright,” Sylvain said grimly. “I have an idea.”

“Oh boy,” Felix said. “I’m looking forward to this one.”

The idea involved a trembling servant boy. Balad was around fourteen years old, and clearly from Duscur - a beneficiary of Dimitri’s affirmative action hiring policies. The castle had a school for servant children and children of servants and everything. Insane quantity of orphans in this castle. Man never stopped projecting.

“This is a cat,” Sylvain told Balad. He passed Cat Byleth to Balad, who accepted her with a trembling sincerity. “This cat is your new job. Do not let her out of your sight. I’ve spoken with the chamberlain, so this is your only job for the next few weeks.” He stared Balad down firmly, who was already staring down his doom into Cat Byleth’s guileless eyes. “This cat’s safety is of paramount importance. Do you understand, Balad? We’ll give you a big reward for looking after her, but if anything happens you’ll get in big trouble.”

Balad stiffened, holding the cat closely to his chest. Byleth liked children, and she immediately began snuggling in Balad’s arms. “Y - yes, my lord! I will put my life on the line!”

“Normally that would be a pretty extreme thing to say,” Felix yawned. “But in this instance…yup.”

Balad looked down at Cat Byleth as if her large eyes held the future. Cat Byleth mrrp’d.

Felix remembered youth. How unpleasant and depressing youth had been. Everything had been life or death, even the actual life or death bits. There was a reason they’d put an immigrant teenage boy on the job - a knight would have eventually thought to himself, ‘This is just a cat, it’s ridiculous. Surely it can’t be that big of a deal’. But an immigrant teenage boy with his job on the line was probably convinced his life was on the line, and he would apply himself to the task with attentiveness five times greater than a knight could hope to reach. Felix and Sylvain knew this intimately - it was straight out of the Professor’s playbook.

Still, you had to miss the unique adventures that only a fourteen year old could have. Felix was a boring adult and wasn’t privy to a single one, but he occasionally held the privilege of catching glimpses out of whatever stupid shit poor Balad was dealing with that day.

Over the next two weeks, Felix saw: Balad hanging upside down from the rafters, Cat Byleth precariously held in his arms. Balad bravely rescuing Cat Byleth from the overly affectionate arms of a small gaggle of five year old girls. Balad in the cathedral, teaching Cat Byleth Duscurian prayer rituals. And, obviously, chasing after her as she ran through the kitchen and got paw prints in the flour.

Felix had the privilege of interrupting that one. He was passing by the kitchen as he heard a great commotion and sequence of crashes, and after a few seconds of exhausted deliberation he figured that he ought to do something about it. Felix looped around until he stood in front of the double entry doors in the staff mess area, crossing his arms and waiting patiently.

His patience bore fruit only a minute later. The doors blew open as a cat rushed out at breakneck speed, and Felix silently squatted down and grabbed the cat out of midair. Felix held her by the stomach with both hands and held her up for scrutiny, letting her dangle in the air. She was covered in tomato sauce, flour, and flecks of spinach.

“Having fun?”

Cat Byleth meowed. She was having the time of her fucking life.

Balad burst through the doors at a dead run only a few seconds after her, and by the time he saw Felix it was too late. Felix, prepared for this, steadied himself and held Cat Byleth out of the way just as Balad collided in a crash-course into Felix, falling back onto his ass as Felix swayed with the motion.

Balad groaned, rubbing his head and cursing people who stood around useless in halls under his breath. He opened his eyes and witnessed the person standing uselessly in a hall, eyes traveling slowly upwards as he saw Felix holding Cat Byleth and looking down at him with an arched eyebrow.

Slowly, Felix said, “Missing something?”

“Aaaa,” Balad said.

Felix sighed, holding Cat Byleth up until they made eye contact. He shook her lightly. She swayed happily with the motion. “I’m happy you’re having fun. Really. But do you have to torment serving boys like this?” Cat Byleth meowed happily. “Can’t fault you for honesty, I suppose.”

“I didn’t lose her!” Balad scrambled upwards, panting for breath. There was a clump of dough in his hair, and one of his shoes was lost. “She just - um - I’m sorry, Lord Fraldarius, I swear I had my eyes on her!”

“I believe you,” Felix said, amused. The kid’s determination was beyond admirable. “This one enjoys challenging young people. She thinks it builds character.” He returned Cat Byleth to Balad, who took her with a practiced ease and allowed her to curl up in his arms. “I hope she hasn’t pushed you beyond your limits.”

Balad shook his head fervently, hoisting Byleth in his arms. “This is just practice for knighthood!” Oh, no. This was adorable. “A knight of Faerghus protects the whole continent - and there’s no creature too small for the first Duscurian Knight to protect, I think - so Eisner’s just good practice!”

Felix’s eyebrows jumped up. “Eisner? As in the queen?”

Far too late, Balad’s eyes widened. Had he overheard them speaking? Serving boys knew when and where to gossip - had he told anybody? “Oh, I’m - I’m sorry, my lord! I apologize! It’s just that - well, it’s just that Eisner really reminds me of Her Grace. Something in her eyes…it’s ordinary to name cats after people you admire in Duscur, my lord, but if it’s disrespectful in Faerghus - oh, I bet it is disrespectful in Faerghus -”

“I think Her Grace would be flattered,” Felix said. Balad, who had already begun working himself up into an anxious spiral, abruptly deflated. “The first Duscurian Knight?”

Balad blushed a little, bouncing Cat Byleth and looking at the ground. “Don’t pay that any mind, my lord. Ever since His Majesty made new laws saying foreigners could be knights…no dream comes true if you sit around hoping for it, right? I don’t know a sword, but even I can practice being virtuous…but please pay that no mind, my lord.”

Wow. No wonder Cat Byleth was giving him a hard time.

Felix leaned down, making a show of tilting his ear towards Cat Byleth. “What was that?” Cat Byleth purred. “I see. You’re absolutely sure?” Cat Byleth yawned. “I couldn’t agree more.” Felix straightened, clasping his hands beyond his back and looking seriously down at Balad. “Eisner has spoken. She really thinks you’re Blue Lion material.”

Balad’s eyes were as wide as dinner plates. “The Blue Lions? Like - like your elite front line combat squadron? The revolutionary heroes?”

“We were students at Garreg Mach first.” Felix propped a hand on his hip, and he allowed himself a half-smile. “The Knight Captain of the Imperial Guard started out as a rebellious student with a dream. And the Royal Spymaster began as a commoner who used the skills he learned on the street to become a hero. They didn’t have anything you don’t have. If you train hard enough, you can protect what’s important to you. That’s all there is to being a Blue Lion. Even a cat knows that.”

Young kids like Balad didn’t associate the Blue Lions with Garreg Mach anymore. Yuri had already begun planning the major changes he’d make to the Academy once Seteth officially let go of the reins of the school and officially transitioned into his new role as Archbishop, and after some requests from Dimitri and Byleth he grew confident enough to start planning the complete overhaul. Yuri had been the first of anybody to see it, but it was Dimitri and Byleth who told everybody else - that there was no unity and cohesion among the continent when the houses grouped into national insularity. And murdered each other later. That put a damper on school spirit.

When something as awful as the Blue Lions could happen - when an institution could produce students who trusted nobody but their own neighbors, who isolated themselves so thoroughly that they could grow up and slaughter their classmates without a second thought. When the Golden Deer and Black Eagles could do the same. In some ways, Byleth Eisner was the greatest and final failure of Garreg Mach.

Besides. They didn’t really have three countries anymore. There was that little detail.

The four new houses held students from all over the continent. Students from Faerghus, the ex-Alliance territories, and the Territory of Adrestria attended the same houses and mingled in the same classes. There were reserved spots for exchange students from Brigid, Almyra, and even Sreng. A new definition of unity, to be sure, but they could only hope it would be a little more effective. Time would tell.

Poor Balad’s eyes were as big as dinner plates. Felix really hoped that the kid wouldn’t internalize these words or something. He was just saying shit. “Wow. Thank you, Lord Fraldarius.” He held Cat Byleth up to eye level, and he smiled for the first time. “What do you think, Eisner? Want to teach me how to be a Blue Lion?”

Cat Byleth meowed.

Balad grinned, and in an unselfconscious burst of joy he nuzzled her sticky forehead. “I knew I could count on you. The god of trials must have sent you to me.”

Fantastic back-handed compliment. Felix would have to remember that one. “Hey, kid. Do you know any Duscur curse words? Lord Dedue and Lady Mercedes refuse to teach me any -”

With impeccable timing, Cat Byleth jumped out of Balad’s arms and began sprinting down the hall. Balad cried in dismay, and with less than a second’s hesitation he set out after her in a dead run.

“Wait!” Balad called. “You need a bath, Eisner!”

Cat Byleth’s run turned into a sprint.

Felix watched them go, hands in his pockets. He had always wondered if Lady Byleth would ever take on another group of students. Queens had better things to do, and the continent probably couldn’t handle another year of her teaching style, so Felix had given up and decided it was for the best.

If this was her way of collecting more students, then a retired life was definitely for the best.

Oh, well. Definitely Sylvain’s problem.

***

Two and a half weeks after Her Grace Byleth Eisner Blaiddyd’s Great Catting, Mercedes and Felipe Gautier and Dedue Molinaro arrived at the castle. Happy as he was to see his family, these events were definitely Sylvain’s problem.

Hosting visitors as nobility was a huge production, and as usual royalty was twice as bad. They dressed up Mercedes’ visit as just a wife visiting her husband, backflipping out of making it a big thing, but Mercedes’ carriage still pulled up to the outside of the castle and met a giant team of servants, staff, and the Blue Lions themselves.

Sylvain, standing next to Felix with his hands folded behind his back, was tapping his foot. Then looking at the carriage advancing on them, then checking his watch. Then running his hand through his hair. Then looking at the carriage again.

Felix elbowed him. Sylvain elbowed him back. Felix elbowed him again, harder.

“It’s fine.” Sylvain had a wonderful habit of manifesting his reality. It was the confidence. “I’m excited to see them. It’s great. What if he doesn’t like me?”

“Dedue? If he was going to stop liking you, it would have happened after the second mock-battle dorm party.”

They both knew that Felix knew who Sylvain was actually talking about, so Sylvain ignored him. “I mean, how hard can it be to win over a baby? You just give them toys, right? What if he likes me too much, and gets upset when I’m not there? Is this a no-win situation?”

“I think this has been a no-win situation for a while,” Felix said, maybe tactfully.

According to the professor, in a no-win scenario you shifted your goals from victory towards survival. You stop trying to maximize ground or fortresses captured and start focusing on pulling back and saving fats from the fire. You couldn’t stop the blow, so you just protected yourself against it. It was a strategy Sylvain had understood perfectly well - it was the strategy Sylvain used to live his life, and it always had been. Babies included.

Sylvain’s face twisted, but if he had anything smart to say he didn’t get the chance. The carriage came to a full halt, and the small flight of footmen opened the door and helped the noble lady descend the stairs.

It was Mercedes, baby strapped to her back and smiling widely at them, and Sylvain lost all sense of propriety.

He lurched forward, pushing through the crowd and flying down the castle steps. He was supposed to wait for Dimitri to greet her, for some sort of official reception - but the same Sylvain who fretted for days over her arrival couldn’t wait one more second. Mercedes’ smile turned into a grin, and when Sylvain wrapped her in a hug she eagerly reciprocated. They stood there together, clinging onto each other, for the scarce few seconds Mercedes and Sylvain would ever allow themselves, before separating.

Miracle of miracles, Mercedes even unfolded Felipe from her back and balanced him on her hip. Whoah. He had gotten huge. Felipe sucked on a fist, watching the proceedings with wide eyes, and Sylvain bent over him for a few seconds. Mercedes and Sylvain’s body blocked Felix’s view, and whatever look may have been on Sylvain’s face or how Felipe may have reacted was lost to all but the two of them.

Then Dedue stepped out, as hulking and stone-faced as always. He looked good, tanned and relaxed. He was dressed in the clothing of his homeland - an interesting bit of political messaging. Felix glanced to his right, and completely predictably saw Dimitri grinning widely. He was clearly about two seconds from running up and hugging him too. Great.

It wasn’t that Felix had a problem with Dedue. His personality was completely inoffensive, which wasn’t something you could say about Felix. As a comrade on the field, he was second-to-none. And he was a Blue Lion - ‘nuff said. Felix would die for the guy, the guy would die for him, etc.

But Felix really didn’t think he was a good friend. Nobody who saw Dimitri suffer like that for years and helped him grow worse was anything resembling a good friend. Maybe if he saw Dimitri during those five years and fucking hand-fed him like the rest of them he would have realized the impact of the choices he’d made, but the guy had been a little busy living in hiding after he sacrificed his life for Dimitri’s. Which was why it was a little hard to hate him. Ugh. Felix was so brave for not picking a fight about this.

“Lady Gautier!” Dimitri called, his usually monotone voice tinged with an emotion that made it seem positively jovial. “Lord Molinaro! Well met! I trust your trip was uneventful?”

Mercedes curtseyed, in an impressive balancing act with the baby in her arm. “Greetings from House Gautier to His Majesty. We’re happy to answer His Majesty’s summons. Our trip was delightful.”

Dedue bowed, stiff as ever. “I am honored by the invitation, Your Majesty. Blessings from Duscur unto Faerghus.”

“Good! The servants will set you up. Now, for the most important business.” Dimitri stepped forward, descending the steps, and Mercedes and Dedue walked up to meet him. Sylvain hastily followed, hovering at Mercedes’ elbow.

Dimitri clasped Dedue’s hand, hugging him fiercely. Said a lot about Dedue’s sheer bulk that he handled a hug from Dimitri so tightly, but Felix knew Dedue gripped onto him just as tightly. They embraced closer than any lord and vassal ever would, probably more than two friends might, and they hung onto each other for just a little bit longer.

They separated, Dimitri’s eye bright, and he clasped Dedue’s arm a final time. “You look well.”

“I am, Your Majesty.”

“I was surprised that you elected to join Mercedes. Last time I checked the orphanage and school needed constant supervision.”

“I am pleased to say that they have grown stable. We left them in the capable hands of our staff. Viscount Meroe asked me to approach you regarding several matters.”

‘Ownership’ of Duscur had been neatly stripped from Viscount Kleiman and given to the elected leader of the surviving Duscuran people, who quickly re-assembled a stripped-down version of their old government. The woman was pants-shittingly terrifying and Felix had to fight the urge to give her whatever she wanted just to make her go away each time she showed up. Dedue was highly placed in their new government, but his primary role was as a link between Duscur and the king. He seemed happiest co-leading the orphanage and school with Mercedes, but the guy was the type to put duty before pleasure.

“I’ll have my secretary contact you and we can have a long conversation.” Dimitri gave him a final clap on the shoulder before turning to Mercedes and Sylvain, smile brightening. “Now! Most importantly! Do I finally have the honor of meeting the heir of House Gautier?”

Mercedes giggled, approaching Dimitri and presenting Felipe with faux-ceremony. “The honor is ours. Your Majesty, I’d like to present the young lord Felipe Emilie Gautier. Felipe, this is Uncle Dimitri. Say hello, Felipe!”

Felipe sucked on a knuckle. The kid had been pretty squishy and raisin-like when Felix first saw him, but even Felix had to admit now that he was an objectively beautiful, adorable child. It was the fantastic genes. Kid could have walked out of a painting. One of the twee ones.

“Bah bah?” Felipe asked the king of the continent.

“This is the perfect child,” the king of the continent decided.

Mercedes laughed, bouncing Felipe lightly on her hip. “You flatter us, Your Majesty. He’s certainly perfect to us.”

“I think it’s objective,” Dimitri said, almost heated. Ingrid, standing on the other end of the courtyard from Felix, made an exhausted face at Felix. Felix mimed shooting himself with his fingers. Annette had the right idea preparing their surprise cake in the kitchen. “I can’t believe I never met him before. He’s adorable, you two! He’s chubby! And look at his hair! He seems so soft!”

“Burble burble wah,” Felipe asserted.

“When is his next birthday?” Dimitri demanded. “A month? Can he have it here? How long do you think it’ll take before he can call me Uncle Dimitri?”

“Certainly not for a while,” Sylvain said, exasperated. Mercedes was outright laughing now. Dedue was hiding a smile behind a hand. “Do you want to hold hi -”

“Absolutely not. But come inside, he must be tired. You all must be tired. The servants told me we have baby accouterments for guests, but let the chamberlain know if you need anything and we’ll have it brought right away.” Abruptly, almost stressed, Dimtiri said, “Can he understand what I’m saying yet? What is his level of linguistic proficiency?”

Dedue sighed, badly fighting a smile. “Not much, but sometimes he surprises you. I believe he understands Duscuran better than the language of Fodlan.” Sylvain’s eyebrows rocketed upwards, and Dedue nodded in half-apology. “Mercedes and I try to speak Adrestian to him at home, but because he lives in Duscur I believe he’s more comfortable with our language.”

“He’s multicultural,” Dimitri whispered.

“Ah,” Sylvain said. “I didn’t - really think about that.”

Dimitri said something very seriously to Felipe in Duscuran.

“Wah wah wah,” Felipe agreed.

“Did he understand that?!”

“Can we please go inside,” Felix said. “Please.”

***

Balad sat in front of the high nobility of Faerghus, quaking in his boots and holding a cat.

He was sat on a stool at Annette’s workbench, tasked with the vital job of keeping Cat Byleth still while Mercedes carefully inspected her. The child was not coping well with almost the entire assembled original Blue Lions in front of him, but he was keeping a stiff upper lip about the matter. He seemed to have decided that, so long as he didn’t say a single word, they couldn’t chop his head off. Bizarrely, Balad sat closest to Felix and made sad eyes at him when he tried to get up and leave.

Mercedes hummed, finally closing out the diagnostic spells. She had been scrutinizing the cat for a solid ten minutes, which was longer than it took her to identify most poisons. She leaned back on her stool, exhaling heavily.

“I’m glad you waited for me to arrive, Annie.” The words were completely innocuous. Annette’s face fell. Everybody hissed. “Don’t worry, the magic isn’t dangerous. It’s just a little tricky. If you give me a day to write the counter-spell, I can have her all fixed up in half an hour.”

Dimitri brightened. He was sitting next to Balad, giving the boy a constant low-level heart attack. “Really? You’re a lifesaver, Mercedes!”

“I wouldn’t say that,” the woman who single handedly prevented five plague outbreaks and significantly contributed to ending a war said. “And please don’t be too hard on yourself over this, Annie. Every great inventor blows up a few labs here and there! Why, just the other day, Coco wrote to tell me how the entire kitchen was -” “We really let those rat people teach the future leaders of Fodlan, huh?” Felix muttered.

Sylvain arched an eyebrow at him. “I think it was a great idea. You couldn’t find a group of people more dedicated to Garreg Mach. Or a more neutral party.”

“Yeah,” Felix panned, “they hate all of Fodlan equally.”

“You’re one to talk.”

“Thank the Goddess,” Annette sighed. Poor woman was exhausted - Felix had barely seen her the last two weeks. “I’m never getting experimental again. It’s just not worth all the stress.” She paused a second in thought before adding, “Of course, this was a practically unprecedented spell. Faith/Reason magic is a highly under-studied field. If I could recreate it, maybe I could publish a paper on -”

“No!” Everyone shouted in unison.

Everybody but Felix, who just yawned. “Beat you to it. Wrote a thesis on transformation magic for extra credit near the end of school. Lady Byleth gave me a new sword as a reward.”

“Damn it, Felix! Why are you always trying to one-up me?”

“I don’t have to try.”

Annette looked at Ingrid, who leaned against a spare workbench next to him. “I forgot how she used to give us new weaponry if we learned a subject well. I thought good grades were good enough for most students…”

“Did any of us really care about grades by the end of it?” Ingrid asked wryly. “The closest Lady Byleth could get to educating Dimitri was locking him in the classroom with us and seeing how long he could last before he started pacing around the room.”

Dedue said something sternly to Balad in their language, making Balad pale and stutter something back. Ingrid abruptly remembered that little pitchers had big ears and shut up, a little embarrassed.

But Dimitri just smiled at Balad and said something to him in perfect Duscuran. The kid stuttered something out too, but at a little more gentle prodding he began opening up. Dimitri pointed at Cat Byleth, who was napping peacefully in Balad’s arms, and Balad lifted her up and excitedly began chattering. Felix recognized that face by now - she had done something freakishly intelligent and Balad was very proud of her for it. Dimitri nodded, attention rapt.

Finally, when Balad sheepishly wrapped up his story, Dimitri switched back to their native language. “Regardless, I understand Sylvain promised you a good reward for your hard work. What would you like? You’ve done a fine job, so don’t be modest.”

“Oh. Um.” Balad scratched Cat Byleth’s ruff, looking down. “Does Eisner have an owner?”

Immediately, Dimitri said, “Not at all. She’s a free spirit.”

“She owns us, really,” Felix said.

“It’s an equal partnership, Felix!”

“Uh huh.”

“She’s a cat,” Ingrid said flatly. “She owns the castle.” Felix opened his mouth. “More so than usual.”

“Then…if it’s possible…” Balad flushed, but Felix saw him visibly screw up his courage. “...could I keep her?”

The entire assembled original Blue Lions stared at Balad.

He flushed deeper, but he held his ground. “I’d take really good care of her! It’s dangerous to be a stray cat, you know. There’s fleas and kitty gang fights. I’ve seen them myself. I think she’s gotten attached to me, too…maybe? It’s hard to tell with cats…but I really would be a good owner.” Balad turned up big cow eyes at Dimitri, who kept his now-usual poker face. “So…that’s the reward I’d ask for, Your Majesty.”

A long silence stretched across the room.

Dedue pinched the bridge of his nose, hard. He said something to Balad - something which probably wasn’t hostile or harsh, but was definitely unhappy. Balad paled. Dimitri quickly said something back to Dedue, with an intonation that sounded heavily like ‘don’t give him a hard time’. Dedue said something back, a little harder.

Then Mercedes broke into laughter, and the spell was lifted. Every Blue Lion started wheezing. Mercedes buried her head in her hands, shoulders shaking with laughter, and Sylvain was almost bent over in cackles. Annette was trying valiantly to keep a straight face, but her complexion almost turned red with the effort before she gave up and started snickering. Ingrid’s face was buried in her hands, wheezing. Felix smiled.

In Adrestian, Dedue said, “It’s not funny.”

“Man,” Sylvain wheezed, “it’s so fucking funny.”

“It’s disrespectful.” Poor Balad paled considerably. “As a representative of our people, it is -”

“A misunderstanding,” Felix said, and he was surprised by the firmness of his tone. “He’s not representing your people, he’s fourteen. Trust me, anybody who wants to stick around that shithead cat is a saint.”

“Felix!” Dimitri’s eyebrow twitched, scandalized. “Don’t call her a shithead!”

“Why not? She calls me a shithead.”

“Yes, but you don’t have the excuse of being a cat.”

Mercedes giggled again. “Aren’t cats sacred in Duscur? What’s more respectful than that?”

Dedue sighed, still kneading his forehead, but for the first time his lip quirked upwards in a smile. “By that logic, I suppose a servant from Duscur was the best choice in the castle.”

The corner of Dimitri’s lip curled too, a subtle match for Dedue. “You can admit you find it funny too, Dedue.”

“I don't know what you're talking about, Your Majesty.”

“She wouldn’t mind.”

“She better not,” Felix said flatly. “This is her fault too. A mage should know better than to use experimental magic on themselves. Her magic’s unique, anyway - no wonder something this bizarre happened.” Something troubling occurred to Felix. “Maybe cats are sacred in Fodlan too…”

Mercedes straightened, eyes widening. “Felix, you’re right! This wouldn’t have happened without Her Grace’s sacred magical energy.” Yeah, because humans can’t turn into cats. “Maybe the Goddess is…oh, wouldn’t that be interesting? I have to tell Yuri.”

Ingrid hummed thoughtfully. “That would explain all of the stray cats at the monastery.”

“Sure,” Sylvain said flatly, “let’s incorporate this into our worldview. The Goddess is also a Goddess of cats. If we decide it’s true then it has to be. That’s how religion works.”

Annette shrugged helplessly. “If anybody gets to decide how religion works, isn’t it the vessel of the Goddess?”

“We’ll have to ask her later.” Dimitri looked down at the sleeping cat in Balad’s arms, eye softening. “Thank you for your hard work Mercedes. Knowing this ordeal will be over tomorrow is a fantastic relief. Perhaps we can enjoy a small break in the meantime.” Dimitri half-smiled, crooked and stiff. “So many of us Blue Lions are here. That hardly happens every day. I’ve already arranged for a large feast tonight, with Dedue and Mercy’s favorites - why don’t we take some time off and schedule an activity for the day after tomorrow? After Byleth is cured.”

Ingrid brightened. “I could take a half-day. How about a picnic, Your Majesty?”

Dimitri’s eye crinkled. “Byleth would like that. I’m certain we could put something together. One second.” Dimitri looked to the right, at the stone wall. “Please, I’m in a meeting. You have to quiet down. I don’t know where your knife is.” He turned back to Sylvain. “I apologize for the interruption. What were we talking about?”

“Ingrid suggested we go on a picnic tomorrow, Your Majesty.”

Dimitri looked at the right wall again, brow furrowed, and didn’t say anything.

“Your Majesty,” Dedue said, even and steadfast, “are you with us?”

Something was louder than Dedue, and Dimitri’s attention was caught. Sylvain and Felix exchanged glances, thinking the same thing in unison. Downplaying Dimitri’s condition was no longer a matter of the war effort, and most of the castle was aware that the king had a chronic illness that left him spacey and moody, but it was best that the servants outside of Dimitri’s inner circle of servants saw as little of it as possible.

But Balad moved before either of them. Cat Byleth had woken up, paw batting in Dimitri’s direction, and Balad was carefully moving Cat Byleth from his lap to Dimitri’s. Cat Byleth eagerly slithered down from Balad’s grip into Dimitri’s lap, and she began pawing at Dimitri’s shirt immediately.

An old, ugly memory flashed in Felix’s mind - the Professor crying out in pain as a rabid Dimitri grabbed her arm, wanting to feel angry but fighting an overwhelming crush of fear instead - and he found himself starting forwards too.

But when Dimitri began absently petting Cat Byleth his touch was gentle, and his expression focused after only a few seconds of cuddling with her. He blinked hard, scratching Cat Byleth on the ruff, before looking back at the Blue Lions.

“Sorry, I must have dozed off.” Did he think that or was he instinctively trying to cover? It was always hard to tell. “I ought to…”

And, as always, Sylvain was right there in front of him. Already handling it all. “Rest? Of course, Your Majesty.” Sylvain quickly scooped Cat Byleth up from Dimitri’s lap, making her meow in protest, and deposited her back in Balad’s hastily outstretched arms. “The serving boy will entertain and play with Her Grace while you take it easy. Why don’t you take a nap or something and we’ll call you when the feast is ready?”

Dimitri scowled, but he allowed Sylvain to pull him up. “I’m perfectly fine, Sylvain.”

No doubt, but that wasn’t the point. Felix crossed his arms. “How much sleep did you get last night?” Dimitri looked at the ceiling. “Uh huh. If you want to be mentally present tomorrow instead of spacing out all the time, then you should get some rest.”

“Yes, yes.” Dimitri sighed, waving a hand. “You’re forbidden from working tomorrow, Sylvain. Spend the time with your family.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“How exciting,” Mercedes said, clapping her hands and smiling. “I’m going to make a nice big cake for the picnic tomorrow.” Sylvain raised an eyebrow. “Yes, yes, after I fix Lady Byleth. Annie, are you thinking orange or lemon?”

“Can Dedue make something?” Annette burst out. “It’s been forever since I’ve had his cooking!”

Dedue sighed, smiling. “Of course. I was already planning the menu.”

Ingrid thrust her hand in the air. “That honey pastry, please! Double servings!”

“Mercedes has grown adept at making that dish as well.”

“Then you’ll both have to make some,” Sylvain decided. “So we can see whose is better, of course.”

“Oh, darling, there’s no need to grow competitive. Dedue’s the best cook I’ve ever known.” Mercedes paused an ominous beat. “But baking and cooking are two very different skills.”

“You do not know what you have walked into,” Dedue told Sylvain. Felix trusted him - Mercedes had a crazy glint in her eye. “Our culinary battle has grown fierce in the last few months.”

“Stir-crazy?” Sylvain asked sympathetically.

“Blame the infant.”

“Yikes,” Sylvain said, about his own infant.

“That explains some things,” Dimitri said, clearly impressed despite himself. “After too long locked in a house with me, Mercedes would grow - if you excuse the pejorative term, Lady Byleth - somewhat…catty at the markets?”

“You’re misremembering, Your Majesty,” Mercedes said beneficently. “That never happened.”

“I - ah, if you say so, perhaps…”

“That’s not ethical, Mercie,” Annette said.

“Oh? Does it turn Dimitri into a cat too?”

“That was almost three weeks ago!” Annette cried, throwing her hands up. “Why aren’t we over this yet? Are you going to bring it up forever?”

Sylvain pinched the bridge of his nose. “She is still a cat, Annie.”

“I knew it,” Balad whispered.

***

Cat and baby faced each other across the field of battle.

Baby lay on his stomach, pushed upright on his two hands and gawking at his adversary. He reached out a hand, testing the reach of his weapon.

The cat sat on her haunches, surveying the position of her enemy. She swiveled her head to stare at the neutral parties lying on their stomachs a few feet away watching them. She requested additional information from their scouts. The neutral parties shook their heads regretfully. This battlefield was her own.

The baby made the first move. He crawled forward, advancing on the cat’s captured territory (her side of the rug). In a shocking move, the baby babbled a long, incoherent stream of noise. The tone sounded friendly - was it a request for parley? Or was it a vow of battle? When the only language the two parties held in common was the language of death, perhaps all attempts at negotiation would be futile.

The cat uncurled, stretching forward and sniffing the baby hesitantly. Cautious as always, the cat was taking the time to gain a sense of the enemy’s strength. Or was it a tentative reciprocation of the baby’s gesture for peace? Was it possible for this fight to end without bloodshed? Would the sun set on a green and pristine field today, unmarred by splatters of blood? Was such a thing even imaginable?

Then, in the midst of negotiations, the baby struck. He reached out a chubby fist and grabbed the cat’s fluffy midnight blue fur. First blood went to him. War had begun.

The cat’s counter-strike was instant. She batted at his hand, a light knock that was somehow reminiscent of hitting a student on the head with a wooden training sword. The baby felt the attack acutely, and withdrew his hand. The neutral parties readied themselves for a war cry of the wounded, but the baby only babbled at the cat again. This one was almost…recriminatory. Fascinating.

“Is he scolding her?” Felix asked.

“I thought she was scolding him,” Sylvain said. “Her claws aren’t out, right? She’s not going to scratch him? Maybe we should break this up.”

“Are you kidding? This is the funniest thing that’s happened to me in the last six months.”

The cat slunk forward - pressing her advantage, delivering a follow-up strike? The baby thrust out another hand, but it didn’t seem like an attack - more of a simple reach, almost an ache. The cat batted at his hand anyway.

The baby stuck out his hand. The cat batted it away.

The baby giggled.

Sylvain groaned, covering his eyes with his hands. “Dimitri was right. He’s the cutest baby. I can’t believe it. It’s like he knows he’s adorable! He targets his cuteness whenever he wants something!”

Felix did not state the obvious. It hung loudly in the air between them.

“Shut up. It’s because he’s smart. Way smarter than me, probably. Did you know he started standing at only eight months? Apparently that’s really early. He has these little Duscuran picture books - apparently he loves them, do you think he’s going to become a big reader? - and when he wants Dedue to read them to him, he crawls over and starts trying to get the books from the bin himself. He fell into the bin that way! Isn’t that cute or what?”

The genius of the century crawled closer towards probably the smartest cat in Fodlan. With a great and terrible ceremony, the baby reached out and gently patted the cat’s fur. More like smacked, honestly, but the cat seemed to understand the intent.

“He didn’t cry when he saw me.” There was something so awful and fragile on Sylvain’s face, too close to breaking to ever be called happiness. “I was terrified of that happening. I couldn’t stop imagining it. But he saw me, and he - he just looked curious, you know? Mercie says he’s a real curious kid. Always getting into stuff. Apparently every stranger is just a friend he hasn’t met yet! Can you believe it? He’s going to be a handful when he starts running around.”

Felix hummed, propping his chin on his hands. “Why are you so surprised that he’s a great kid? Did you think he’d be a terror?”

“I knew he’d be great,” Sylvain said, instantly defensive. “I just - I just didn’t realize I’d get so excited about it. I didn’t think it would make me feel this way. I thought I’d be immune or something.”

“To loving your own kid?”

“Do I love him?”

Felix turned to look at Sylvain for the first time, incredulous. “Am I the person to ask about that?”

But Sylvain just shrugged, and for the first time Felix saw the strange shadow of desperation over his expression. “You’re always noticing things nobody else does, Felix. Do you think I love him?”

It was, obviously, a question Sylvain couldn’t answer on his own. The kid had arrived at the castle yesterday, and Sylvain had spent every second since then either hiding from him on the other side of the castle or glued to his side. At this moment, Annette and Mercedes were locked up in the magician’s tower writing the anti-cat counter-spell. For the first time in the little guy’s entire lifespan, Sylvain was babysitting. Normally Felix would say parenting, but he wasn’t certain this counted as parenting. How the hell was he supposed to know.

Sylvain seemed acutely aware that he was babysitting instead of parenting. Say what you will about Sylvain, he wasn’t in denial about much. He tended to just ignore the feelings he didn’t like. Sylvain clutched onto his resentment with both hands, but Felix suspected that the emotion ran deeper and stronger than even Sylvain was aware of.

“I can’t answer that question for you.” It was the most obvious sentence in the world, but Sylvain sagged anyway. “Is it even important, anyway? The only thing that matters is your actions.”

Wryly, Sylvain said, “And as we’ve well established, my actions are shit.” He looked back at Felipe, who was heroically bridging the gap between their two factions. Cat Byleth was sniffing him curiously as he made cooing noises at her. “I thought I wouldn’t be capable of even liking him. Because - I thought my mind was too full up wondering how old I was when my mother sold me off.”

Cat Byleth rubbed Felipe’s face with her nose. Felipe laughed, tickled by the movement.

“It was probably five months, right?” There was a bizarre edge of desperation to Sylvain’s voice, poisoned by time. “That’s when most noble babies get tested for their crest. But it’s a pretty expensive test - maybe she had to save up? Or did she tell my father about me soon after I was born, and did he pay for it? How much was she even paid, anyway?” Sylvain took a deep breath, and he was clearly surprised when it shuddered. “I couldn’t have been a good kid. I must have really been awful. I always figured that. But Felipe’s a good kid. So now I’m wondering - Felix, you know, I’m just kind of wondering if -”

Sylvain dropped his head, resting his forehead on the carpet, and breathed. Felix silently lay next to him. He watched Cat Byleth cuddle up around the baby, lying half on top of him with a paw stretched over his chest. Felipe was clearly already growing sleepy. Comfortable, safe, and warm - emotions only Byleth could make children feel. Only Byleth and mothers.

Even in those dark days, as evil surrounded them and their leader lost his sanity. When Byleth stoked a fire in their classroom’s hearth and they spread their cots around the flames, Felix had felt warm. When they had stayed up late into the night talking and exchanging secrets, Felix had felt safe. As the wind whistled outside of the impenetrable stone walls, Annette’s head pillowed on his chest or Sylvain’s leg entwined with his - even Felix had felt comfortable. Even in those horrible days…

Felix didn’t say anything. He wasn’t Byleth. He didn’t understand, and he never could. Felix was the loved product of a loving couple. Losing Mother had felt like the Goddess reached into his chest and ripped his heart out. It wasn’t a wound he was born with. He had no wisdom or insight for this. In the end, Felix could only say the truth.

“You could ask her, you know. She’s probably still alive.”

Sylvain lifted his head, exhaling heavily. He rested his chin on the heel of his hand, watching the baby slowly lull himself to sleep. “Nah. It’s alright. That’s not really the point, you know?” Despite everything, Felix did know. Sylvain could see that. “Man. Remember the literal nightmares I used to have as a kid about getting babytrapped?”

Felix grimaced. “I remember when you woke me up asking if we had a kid.”

Sylvain ignored him, as he often did. “In my nightmares, I was always so disgusted looking at that baby. Holding it would make my skin crawl. But I don’t feel that at all looking at him now. Do you think it’s because he’s Mercie’s?”

“Who knows.” Felix had the feeling it was more because Felipe was the product of that loving and happy union, but this wasn’t his business. “So are you over your babyphobia now? Ready to be a dad?” Sylvain flinched hard. “That answers that question.”

Felipe’s little hands kneaded Byleth’s coat in his sleep. Byleth blinked slowly and sleepily - refusing to sleep while there was a child to watch out for.

“I still get so uncomfortable just looking at him.” Despite his words, Sylvain didn’t look away from Cat Byleth and Felipe. “I can’t help it. That disgust…it’s not just the stuff of nightmares, Felix. I do feel it. I just didn’t know I would be disgusted with myself.”

“You know the best way to fix that, right?” Felix raised an eyebrow, and Sylvain awkwardly looked away from him. “Cowardice? In a Blue Lion? In front of Lady Byleth herself?”

Lady Byleth meowed. They both ignored her.

“There’s never a reason to be afraid. Not so long as we’re here.” Felix reached out and gently elbowed Sylvain, hoping his elbows were as bony as his compatriots’. “Rule Three. Whatever help you need, we’ll give it. None of us fight alone. Felipe’ll have all of us. That simple enough for you?”

Sylvain sighed. “Knew I’d finally get you to say something useful.” He dodged Felix’s mock swing. “I know it, alright? Trust me, I’m already grateful. Dedue’s putting a lot of work into raising him too. I’m glad he has a male figure around.” Felix tsk’d. “Saints, you still don’t like Dedue?”

“He’s always been bad for Dimitri.” Sylvain opened his mouth, and Felix waved him off. “But Dimitri’s worse off without him, so I’ll deal. At least now we know Dimitri definitely wants kids. Not that we needed the confirmation.”

“He’s had their names picked out since he was seventeen,” Sylvain said, dead-eyed. Goddess, the guy was so fucking cringe. His daydreams about the Dimitri-Byleth idyllic perfect children were well-entrenched. But Sylvain hesitated a beat anyway, and Felix found himself sobering too. “If I tell you something, will you - uh, not tell anybody I said it?”

“I’ll do my best,” Felix panned, “but I don’t know how we’ll stop Felipe from tattling.”

“Very funny.” Sylvain picked at a cuticle, expression tight. After a few long moments, he finally said, “Do you think Dimitri’s really fit to be a parent?”

That was a question worth its weight in gold.

But it was also a pretty useless one. Dimitri was having kids. His family hadn’t been very large to begin with, and Cordelia had executed even his most distant cousins. If Dimitri didn’t have kids, it might be the extinction of his legal bloodline. Losing a crest as powerful as Dimitri’s was no joke, and Dimitri had a strong sense of royal duties.

There was another question, one that Felix knew for a fact Dimitri worried about - if his children would inherit his illness. It was possible. They had hopes that Byleth’s fresh, good, and completely unrelated genes would reduce risk. Felix knew it had almost been enough to stop Dimitri from having the children at all. But Dimitri really did want those kids. He wanted it more than anything: that happily ever after. Finding that family lost.

But Sylvain hadn’t asked if Dimitri would be having kids, or even if he should. He was wondering if Dimitri’s illness made him capable of being a parent at all. It was a stupid question too - maybe even stupider than the last. Sylvain never learned a thing.

“Maybe not if he was doing it on his own,” Felix said bluntly. “But they’ll have two parents, idiot. And all of us. When Dimitri’s capable, he’ll be great. And when he’s not, Byleth and us will be here. What are you worrying about such useless things for? Get real problems.”

And Sylvain just laughed. For a brief second, his faint wrinkles smoothed out, and he looked like the smartest and stupidest man alive again. “Man, we’re fucked up. It takes all of us combined to maybe competently raise only a slightly fucked up kid. Felipe and the future prince don’t stand a chance.”

“Don’t forget Annie’s spawn,” Felix panned. “We’ll have to throw in the towel then.”

“Nah, your kid’ll be fine. They’ll just have to learn how to be mean back.”

“What about Ingrid’s? We know what she’s like as a mother.” Left unsaid: she’d been mothering them all for years. Horrific.

Sylvain shivered. “Yeah, those ones will need our help.”

“As if we don’t have enough work to do.”

Cat Byleth yawned. She finally gave up the ghost and closed her eyes, resting her chin on the gently slumbering Felipe’s chest. Sylvain and Felix kept watch over them as they both slept, and they even stayed long after Felipe woke up crying from unknown nightmares.

***

Felix stood in front of a wooden door.

He stood in the abandoned hallway with the exhausted Sylvain, the stoic Dedue, and the antsy Balad. Felix didn’t know why they had to fucking wait outside while the girls and Dimitri got to stay inside. Something about how Lady Byleth would probably wake up without any clothes. Fucking so? They’d all seen each other naked.

Granted, nobody liked seeing Lady Byleth naked…and she was, objectively, the Queen of Faerghus…fine, whatever. So Felix would stand outside like she was already having her baby. Poor Balad was clearly wondering how they hadn’t caught him out and sent him back to his chores by now.

Sylvain scowled, taking a look at his pocketwatch for the fifth time. “It’s been an hour. That’s twice as long as Mercie said it would take.”

“It’s advanced magic,” Dedue said simply. “Give it time.”

“That’s what you said last time.”

“And yet my answer remains the same.”

“But I’m bored!” Sylvain groaned. “I have so much work to do, I can’t stand around here forever -”

“I see where Felipe gets it from.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Felix looked down at Balad, who had been the picture of patience for an hour. “Don’t grow up like them.”

Balad blinked up at him, eyes wide and guileless. Please. Servants were the sneakiest people alive. Teenagers were even worse. “I can’t see how I would, my lord.”

Fair. Very fair.

Before Sylvain could begin to protest the unfair treatment, green light flashed underneath the door. Felix’s eardrums popped, and an acrid smell hit his nostrils. Dedue made a face, and Sylvain obnoxiously coughed. Balad pinched his nose shut, but he looked up at Felix in abject excitement.

“Did it work? Was that the counter-spell?”

Excited noises sounded from behind the door, and after a second Felix heard a familiar and welcome husky tone. Despite himself, he couldn’t help but grin.

“Yes on both counts, I believe.”

After five more agonizing minutes, the door opened. Byleth stood at the door, dressed in her exercise clothing of a simple shirt and trousers, blinking owlishly at the assembly behind the door.

She was herself, as she ever was - mint-green hair and eyes, big eyes and placid expression, short stature standing tall. Still the youngest of them all at only twenty four, her air was still indescribably old. All things told - very much like a cat.

Almost simultaneously, all three men bowed at her.

“Greetings to Your Grace from our esteemed houses,” Sylvain said crisply, speaking for all of them. Dedue’s house wasn’t esteemed at all, but he slid into the greeting with his honorary baronage. “It’s a pleasure to see you well, Queen Byleth.”

Queen Byleth, Saintess of the Church of Seiros, Queen of Faerghus-and-kinda-Fodlan, Professor of the House of Blue Lions, blinked at them.

Finally, her esteemed royal and holy personage said, “...a cat?”

Stoically, Sylvain said, “Yes, Your Grace.”

“...why?”

“I’m the wrong person to ask.”

Byleth slowly turned around, looking at the women assembled behind her. Dimitri hovered near the back of the pack, looking anxious.

At her gimlet eyes, the women hurriedly curtsied or bowed. They had probably been too busy with the check-ups and trousers to remember. Or, judging by Annette’s unusual efforts to lead the pack, were skirting responsibility.

“May the Goddess’ blessing shine upon Your Grace,” Mercedes said smoothly. “I had nothing to do with you turning into a cat.”

“Greetings to Your Grace from House Fraldarius,” Annette said hurriedly. “House Fraldarius is willing to admit that perhaps -”

“Hey,” Felix said, “don’t drag me into this.”

“ - two people were being irresponsible. Together. As a team.”

“For a month?” Byleth said.

“As friends, even.”

“Your Grace!” Dimitri quickly weaseled his way through the crowd of women. He stopped in front of Byleth and bowed hurriedly, almost instinctively. “Greetings to Your Grace by His Majesty of Faerghus.”

Sylvain groaned, clapping a hand over his eyes. “You outrank her -”

Dimtiri didn’t give a shit. “Are you sure you’re alright? Shouldn’t you sit down, my lady? You’ve had a large turn. Perhaps you ought to rest.”

“I feel quite well-rested.” Byleth patted Dimitri’s hand in thoughtful consideration. Dimitri made the most desolate kicked puppy expression. Byleth just turned back to the assembly, scrutinizing the line-up before breaking into a large smile. Well, it was a large smile for Byleth - to people who didn’t know her, it seemed like nothing else but a curl of the lips. “Dedue. Welcome back to Faerghus.”

Dedue bowed again. He was the only one who maintained the formalities beyond the first few seconds. “It was a pleasure to return, Your Grace.”

Then Byleth’s gaze swiveled down to Balad. He stiffened, hurriedly bowing again and locking his eyes on the floor. She stepped forward and scrutinized him closely, holding her thumb to her chin. Did she recognize him? How much did she remember of the past month, anyway? With the benefit of long experience, Felix instantly knew that he wasn’t about to find out. Byleth never put any of her cards in play.

“Straighten up.”

Balad straightened, keeping his eyes fixed to the floor.

“Chin up too. Widen your stance a little.” Byleth unabashedly nudged him a little, and he awkwardly widened his stance. Balad looked ready to faint from fear, but Byleth either didn’t notice or didn’t care. She just hummed, looking him up and down closely. After a few heart-pounding seconds, she finally straightened and said, “There’s potential. Tomorrow morning, 0500 hours. Training hall. Don’t be late.”

“Oh, Goddess,” Annette said, “this poor kid.”

“That’s some reward for the boy’s help this month,” Mercedes said reproachfully.

“Do you remember him?” Sylvain asked urgently. “Your Grace, I asked this boy to keep an eye on you for the past month. Did you -”

“I remember enough,” Byleth said mysteriously. Great. That could mean anything. “0500 hours. Don’t be late.”

Balad hurriedly bowed again, face flaming red. “Yes, Your Grace!”

Felix crossed his arms. “Do you have time for another victim, Lady Byleth?”

But Byleth just looked at him, eyes glinting. “I don’t know, Felix,” Byleth said, “do I have time to be a cat for a month?”

Felix stared at her, unrepentant. Byleth stared at him, a focused assault.

Finally, Byleth said, “Join me in Annette’s office, Felix.”

Everybody paled, even Balad. Felix narrowed his eyes.

Dimitri, relentlessly hovering around Byleth’s elbow, was almost wringing his hands. “Your Grace, let’s discuss this before you make any decisions.”

“His Majesty already said that he doesn’t intend to punish House Fraldarius,” Mercedes piped up, a little anxiously. “Are you mad at them, Your Grace?”

Annette’s face fell tragically. “Lady Byleth, I really am sorry…it was just an accident.”

“Felix knows what he did,” Byleth said mysteriously. She pointed inside the room. “Office. Now.”

Felix shrugged and entered the office as the women were shepherded fully outside. Annette looked strongly as if she wanted to speak with Felix and/or plan an escape route, but Felix just waved her off.

Byleth closed the door resolutely behind her, letting it latch with a final click. Felix stood in the center of the room at loose attention, eyeing Byleth carefully. Byleth stood in front of him, arms folded and eyes sharp.

They stared each other down for several long seconds - not so much a battle of wills as a mutual challenge. Byleth silently inquired if Felix wanted to defend himself first. Felix knew better than to self-incriminate.

Finally, Byleth said, “You wrote me a thesis on animal transfiguration in school.”

“That I did.”

“It was good.”

“Thank you.”

“Very good.”

“I know,” Felix said. “It was how I knew ordinary humans can’t turn into cats.”

“I’m out of the ordinary,” the vessel of the Goddess said, straight faced.

“Hence turning into a cat.”

“Your thesis included a proof on unwinding animal transfigurations.” Byleth’s piercing stare could have put a hole in Felix’s head. “Annette hit me with a modified Reason spell. You could have undid the transformation at any time.”

“Please,” Felix said, “don’t flatter me. It would have taken a week.”

Slowly and carefully, Byleth said, “Felix. Did you let me stay a cat for a month?”

Completely unrepentantly, Felix said, “Yup.”

“Why.”

“You needed the break.”

Byleth stared blankly at Felix.

Felix just shrugged. “What? You were having fun, and it’s impossible to make you relax. Figured I’d take advantage of the opportunity.”

“Why didn’t you volunteer to undo the spell at all?” Byleth asked. “You could have artificially extended the time needed to cure me.”

“Do you have any idea how difficult it is to get Sylvain and his wife and kid in the same room?”

Byleth pinched the bridge of her nose. Felix felt no shame.

Finally, she announced, “You were my most troublesome student.”

“And now I’m your most troublesome subject,” Felix said serenely. “Isn’t it funny how life works out?”

“I should tell His Majesty.”

“You won’t snitch.”

Too high a likelihood that Dimitri would actually grow angry. And, obviously, Byleth wasn’t actually mad at all. Byleth had a fantastic time being a cat. It had been the time of her fucking life.

She wouldn’t admit it. Felix knew. Byleth knew that Felix knew. They would take this mutual secret to their graves. She was undoubtedly already wishing she could return to chasing mice. Felix had her number.

Byleth sighed, nodding at the door. “You’re dismissed. I’m assigning you an unpleasant task later.”

Straight faced, Felix said, “But Your Grace. I already co-chair committees with Sylvain.”

Byleth pointedly walked over and opened the door for him. Dimitri was hovering right outside the door, apart from the other Blue Lions relentlessly gossiping. Everybody’s eyes snapped to Felix and Byleth instantly, assessing the situation.

Everybody noticed in unison that Felix was looking rather smug. Annette breathed a sigh of relief.

“Don’t worry about it,” Byleth announced, guaranteeing that everybody would worry about it. “Dimitri. Would you like to debrief?”

Somewhat maniacally, Dimitri said, “Byleth, please consider that I have not seen my wife in almost a month.”

Byleth paused, thinking hard. “Hm. Correct.” After a second’s thought, an answer came to her. “Oh!”

“You understand.” Dimitri grabbed her hand, already pulling her along. “Now, if you’re amenable -”

“Certainly.”

“Excellent. Everybody in this castle is forbidden from bothering us until we return.”

Byleth hurriedly pointed at Balad. “Make that 0800 hours.”

“Ah - yes, my lady!”

Dimitri and Byleth exited stage left. Very hurriedly.

Ingrid sighed, folding her arms. “I miss Ashe.”

“Ah,” Dedue said, “young love.”

Mercedes arched an eyebrow at him. “Are you the expert, Dedue?”

“In those two? Yes.”

Meanwhile, Annette pushed her way through the crowd and grabbed Felix by the sleeve. She unceremoniously tugged him out of earshot of everybody else, pulling down on his sleeve and making him bend down so she could whisper directly into his ear.

“What the hell did you do?” Annette hissed. “Why is Byleth mad at you?”

“Can’t say,” Felix said solemnly. “We swore each other to secrecy.”

“You damned good-for-nothing husband, I swear if you went and made things worse -”

“Hark! What is that I see in yonder distance? A young woman in a glass home? What is she holding? That couldn’t possibly be a stone -”

“I have been stressing the past month, and if you had any information that might have reduced that stress -”

“But you got an extension on all of your deadlines!” Felix added cheerfully. Please. Stress. She had been waiting for Mercedes to come and fix it. She had been busy the past month catching up on all of her work, not just the Cat Byleth situation. “Now all of your papers are written, your work’s completed, your best friend’s here, and the Queen of Faerghus isn’t a cat anymore. Round win in my book.”

“That’s not - did you have something to do with this?”

“I had absolutely nothing to do with any of this.” That was extremely true. A little too true, but definitely true. In a technicality.

Annette’s eyes narrowed. “That sounds like a technicality.”

And, bizarrely - beautifully - Felix could only lean in and kiss his wife. She immediately kissed him back - it had been a while for them too - and they joined together for a long handful of valuable seconds before they finally separated.

Felix kept her in his arms, relaxing into the feeling of her warm weight. Hopefully the others were too busy bickering amongst themselves. They were way too old for ridiculous PDA like this. He kept his voice low, secluding words away just for the two of them. “Maybe you should take a break too. Let’s take a week off. Just don’t do shit, you and me.”

“Felix!” Annette lightly batted him on the shoulder, but she didn’t pull away. “I’m behind enough as it is already!”

“You’re always behind! I’m always behind, we’re always busy - so what?” Somehow, for some weird reason Felix couldn’t quite explain, at that moment saying these words to Annette felt like the most important thing in the world. “We were too busy during the war and we were too busy before it. Who cares? I just want time with you.”

“You’ll get time when I retire from my royal magician position in five years,” Annette scolded. “We’ll both move back to your home and settle down then, remember? It’s in the timetable?”

So it was. As Felipe had been in the timetable, and never in Sylvain’s life. As taking care of Dimitri was worked into every day, and they had glossed over actually trusting him. Ashe had been in Brigid for months, and Ingrid hadn’t so much as opened her mouth to complain - accustomed to it as a wartime necessity, with no time to stop and remember that the war was over. Only a summons from the king brought Mercedes across the country to even see her husband again. Even Dedue, returning just to reunite and reconnect, had to remind the nearest Duscuran child that he was never allowed to relax, to lose composure and dignity - the same composure and dignity that Dedue maintained at every moment, without fault or slip. The only break any of them had taken in the past month was completely involuntary, and it had involved turning into a cat. Yes, Felix was completely unrepentant.

“Annie,” Felix said, and for a moment he let her see the exhaustion in himself too, “are we going to live the rest of our lives like this?”

Were the Blue Lions going to end as they began - pushed to the brink by fear and desperation, and only pushed further as danger encroached around every corner? Would they live now as they had always lived - leaders and combatants in a war for their lives, no expenses spared just to live? Struggling to take care of Dimitri as Dimitri struggled to take care of them, looking to their old teacher for guidance and floundering when left without her?

Annette was quiet for a long minute. She wasn’t used to seeing that look in his face. Felix didn’t show his heart very frequently, even to her. Maybe that was the weight he still carried.

Finally, she said, “Maybe a quick break.”

Felix’s smile resurfaced on his face, and he knew it was a lot looser. “A week?”

“A whole week? What would we even do?”

“Whatever we want, maybe.” Felix paused a beat. “His and Her Majesties have the right idea.”

Annette giggled, resting her forehead on the chest. “Wanna invite -”

“Ah, I hear new parents have no time for that sort of thing.”

“Maybe they can take a break too.”

“Maybe we’ll all take a break,” Annette said, rolling her eyes. “We’ll let the continent of Fodlan grind to a halt because a group of friends are exhausted and horny. That’s the work of responsible nobility.”

Felix wanted to be the best parent in the world. He wanted to be the best father who ever lived. He wanted to be a father who made Annette cry in relief, because she would never worry if he would abandon her and his children. She wouldn’t even think of it. Blue Lions or not, important titles and distinguished peerage or not - Felix would make her worries disappear. Even their ghosts wouldn’t exist in her life, or the lives of their children.

It had to start now. He still had to whip everybody else into shape too.

“It’s always been us versus the world.” For better or for worse - but that described a great deal. “Let’s let the world take care of itself for a little while.”

If Annette had any arguments, she chose to kiss him instead of making them. Which was about as good as no arguments at all.

#my writing #fe3h #fire emblem three houses

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edgarapoecolouredglasses · 1 month ago

Text

Little mastermind part seven

THE GIF IS NOT MINE it is @luciddaizey

Pairing: Troy Otto/Reader

Summary: Madison is willing to meet them halfway. She states her conditions and tells them to bring the group.

Part: 7/?

Masterlist

———————🔅——————— for pov change

———————————————-

Troy took a deep breath and stepped forward, his voice steady despite the tension in the room. “I’m not here to relive the past or to seek vengeance. I’m here because I have a group—a community—that needs help. We have children, families who are depending on me to keep them safe.”

He looked at her with earnest eyes, hoping to reach the part of her that had once shown him compassion. But she was stoic. She might have been shocked after having believed he was dead for so long, or she was just going over all the ways that she could kill him in an instance. Either way, just silence from her part.

“You know I wouldn’t come to you of all people unless I was really desperate. We’re running out of resources and options. I need your help” he says, truly letting go of every single ounce of his pride.

Madison’s gaze shifted to me, her eyes sharp, but with sadness inside them, she asked. “What happened to you?”

I met her gaze steadily, though I felt a pang of discomfort. Before I could answer, Madison’s eyes fell on Tracy, who stood close to Troy now, clutching his hand. Madison’s brow furrowed in realization. “Whose child is this?” she asked Troy.

She was being eerily calm, I didn’t completely trust it. I lifted my gaze and looked around for a sniper. If there was one, he was hidden well.

Troy opened his mouth to respond, but Madison cut him off with a sharp glance toward me. “And you… how could you be with someone like him? After everything he did?”

I took a deep breath, knowing what she was thinking but choosing not to clarify her misunderstanding. That wasn’t important at the moment.

“You don’t know him anymore, Madison. Troy changed a lot. He’s grown into a remarkable leader. He’s built a community from nothing, kept people safe, and cares for them with everything he has.” I plead his case.

Madison’s eyes searched mine for a moment, and I could see the skepticism in her gaze.

Madison’s eyes searched mine for a moment, and I could see the skepticism in her gaze. “I know it’s hard to believe,” I continued, “but he’s not the man you think he is. And our group are good people.”

Madison seemed to weigh my words carefully. After a moment, she nodded slowly.

“Alright. I’ll give you a chance. Bring your group here. We’ll see what we can do.”

Relief washed over me as I glanced at Troy, who looked equally relieved but still tense. Tracy squeezed his hand, her fear momentarily eased.

I felt my heart suddenly beating faster, a chill ran down my spine. That was way too easy. It shouldn’t have been so easy.

“But there’s one condition.”

There it is.

Troy stiffened beside me, already sensing the shoe that was about to drop. I swallowed, feeling a knot tighten in my chest as Madison’s gaze fixed on him.

“Troy has to leave.”

My heart sank, and I saw Tracy flinch. She glanced up at him with wide eyes, silently pleading for reassurance, but Troy just stood there, his expression blank, unreadable.

“What?” I managed to say, my voice barely above a whisper. “No… Madison, you can’t—”

“I can,” she cut me off sharply, her tone leaving no room for argument. “I won’t risk everything I’ve built.” Her gaze shifted back to Troy, the weight of years of resentment burning in her eyes. “He’s already done enough damage.”

Troy’s face remained stone. He stayed silent, not defending himself, not pleading—just taking it.

“I’m doing this for the safety of everyone,” Madison said firmly. “If you want to bring your group,if you weren’t lying about the children and families? fine. But Troy? He goes. And if I ever see him again, you all go.”

I felt my pulse race, anger bubbling up inside me. “You’re not being fair, Madison. He’s—”

“I am being fair,” she snapped. “More than fair. I should have killed him the second I saw him. After everything he’s done, he’s lucky I’m even giving you this chance, and that’s only because you took care of Alicia. The only thing I owe him is death”

Troy finally spoke, his voice low and calm. “It’s fine.” He glanced at me, his eyes steady, though I could see the weight of resignation behind them. “If this is what it takes to keep you all safe, I’ll go.”

“No.” I shook my head, unable to accept it. “You don’t have to do this.”

“I do,” he said, his voice gentle but firm. “I’ll find somewhere else. I’ll make it work.”

Tracy’s eyes welled with tears, and she clung to him tighter. “But I don’t want you to go,” she whispered, her voice cracking. “I want us to be together, Dad.”

Troy knelt down in front of her, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. “We will be,” he promised softly. “Someday. Just not here.”

Madison’s expression didn’t soften. She was unmoved. And as much as I wanted to fight her on this, I knew there was no changing her mind.

I turned to Troy, my chest tightening with the weight of helplessness. “This isn’t right,” I whispered.

But he just shook his head and stood up, gently pulling Tracy into a hug. “It’s alright,” he said quietly. “It’s not the first time I’ve had to start over. Won’t be the last.”

Madison crossed her arms, her stance final. “You have your one simple condition. The rest is up to you.”

I glanced back at Troy, desperate to find another way, another option. But he just gave me a small, sad smile.

———————————————

Tension had been building between us ever since Madison laid down her ultimatum. Now, as we drove down the seemingly endless road toward the library, I was growing more frustrated by the second.

“This is ridiculous, Troy,” I said, my voice trembling with frustration. “You can’t seriously think you’re just going to walk away. We don’t need PADRE, we need you.”

Troy’s grip on the steering wheel tightened, his knuckles turning white. He didn’t answer at first, keeping his eyes on the road. His silence only made my anger flare hotter.

“I mean it,” I continued, my voice rising. “If you go, we all go. That’s it. No one gets left behind.”

He shook his head, a humorless chuckle escaping his lips. “That’s selfish, and you know it.”

“Selfish?” My voice cracked as I repeated the word, my chest tightening with disbelief. “You think I’m being selfish because I don’t want you to risk your life alone out here?”

Troy finally glanced over at me, his eyes hard. “You’re not thinking clearly. This is about more than just you and me. This is about Tracy. About keeping her safe. I won’t take away her chance at a normal life just because—”

“Because what?” I interrupted, my voice sharp. “Because she’d rather grow up with her dad?”

“Because you’re being petty,” he shot back, his voice rising at me for the first time in ages. “Think about what’s best for them. For Tracy. You’re letting your emotions cloud your judgment.”

I felt like he had slapped me in the face ��Petty?” I repeated. “You think I’m being petty for wanting to keep my family together?”

“Tracy’s safety is the priority. My life goal—my only goal, is to make sure she’s safe. Somewhere she can actually live, not just survive. And if leaving is the only way to do that, then I’ll go. Gladly.”

Tears burned behind my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. “You think she’ll be safe without you? Happy? You think this is what’s best for her? You’re her father, Troy. You think you can just walk away and think that everything will be fine?”

Tracy herself wasn’t saying anything. Just staring out the window with unused tears in her eyes, trusting me to fight this battle for her.

“It’ll be better for her than starving to death, or worse!” His voice cracked with the force of his words. “I’ve done terrible things. Things you haven’t even seen, things that would make you look at me differently if you knew. But if I can give her this—this one thing, this one chance—I’ll have done something right. And that’s all I need.”

“You’re not thinking straight!” My hands balled into fists in my lap, my heart hammering in my chest.

He didn’t say anything, his jaw clenched so tight I thought the muscle might snap.

The silence between us was suffocating, thick with unsaid words and unresolved feelings. Finally, I couldn’t hold it in any longer. The tears spilled over, hot and angry, streaming down my cheeks.

“You’re my best friend, Troy,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “I can’t lose you. I can’t.”

The car was dead quiet for a moment. Then, a small voice from the backseat broke through the tension like a knife through butter.

“You made her cry,” Tracy said, her voice small and accusatory.

Troy stiffened, his shoulders dropping as if the weight of the world was finally too much for him to carry. “It’s okay, Tracy,” he said softly, not taking his eyes off the road. “It’s just hard for all of us, but it’s the right thing to do.”

“No, it’s not,” I shot back, wiping at my eyes angrily. “You’re being stubborn, and you’re not listening. You don’t have to do this alone. We’re stronger together. You’re scared, and you’re making decisions based on fear.”

“I’m not scared,” he snapped, but his voice wavered, betraying him. He ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. “I’m doing what’s best for her. And for you” He gestured vaguely, his hand gripping the wheel tighter. “For a life where you’re not always cleaning up after my mess.”

“I don’t care about that,” I shot back. “I don’t care about any of it. I care about you. You’re not a mess, Troy. You’re family.”

He flinched at the word, his expression softening for just a second before hardening again. “This is the right thing to do. It’s the only thing.”

I couldn’t believe how blind he was being, how willing he was to sacrifice himself for some idea of redemption. “You’re wrong,” I whispered, my voice shaking with frustration and pain. “You’re so wrong.”

Troy’s grip on the wheel tightened, and for a moment, I thought he might say something, might finally break down and admit he was scared too.

But instead, he stayed silent, his eyes fixed on the road ahead, determined to carry out this self-imposed exile.

When we got back, it was already dark. The library was quiet, with only a few soft lights flickering. It was crazy to think that the solar panels were still working, there was still light.

Troy gently tucked Tracy into bed, his movements tender and protective. Once he was sure she was settled, he turned to me.

He walked over, a mixture of exhaustion and relief in his eyes. “We should talk,” he said, his voice low.

I nodded, sensing the gravity of the conversation that was about to unfold. We found a quiet room away from the makeshift sleeping quarters, where we could speak without disturbing the others.

Troy leaned against the wall, arms crossed, his face etched with weariness. For a moment, neither of us spoke. The soft hum of the night was the only sound, the faint flicker of candlelight casting shadows across his frowning features.

He exhaled slowly, running a hand through his hair. “My decision’s made,” he finally said “There’s no changing it.”

I swallowed hard, my chest tightening at his words. “Troy—”

“No,” he interrupted gently, his tone firm but not unkind. “I know you don’t agree with it, and I get it. But… this is what I need to do.”

I felt the sting of frustration rise in my throat, ready to spill over into another argument.

But then he shifted, his expression softening as he stepped closer.

“We can spend these last few hours fighting about it,” he said, his eyes searching mine, “or we can make the best of it. Just… without all the anger, without the argument.”

I looked at him and whispered, with trembling voice, “You’re asking me to pretend like everything’s fine when you’re about to leave and I won’t know what happens to you.”

He shook his head, his jaw clenched.

“I’m asking you to let me have one last day where I don’t feel like the villain.”

I shook my head, tears stinging my eyes. “Troy, you’re not a villain. You’re not—”

“I am,” he interrupted, his voice heavy with guilt. “And maybe this is my way of trying to make up for it. I don’t know. But… I don’t want to spend what little time we have left tearing each other apart. I don’t know when I’ll see you again. So I need you to trust me”

I stared at him, my heart aching. It wasn’t fair. None of this was fair. But in that moment, I saw the man beneath the stubbornness—the man who had been fighting for so long to keep his daughter safe, to make up for the past.

“You’re really doing this,” I concluded, the words thick in my throat.

He nodded, his gaze never leaving mine. “Yeah. I am.”

I took a deep, shaky breath, trying to push back the anger and the hurt. “Okay,” I said softly. “No fighting.”

Troy let out a long breath, as if he’d been holding it in, waiting for my answer. He stepped closer, gently reaching out to take my hand. His touch was warm, grounding me in the moment.

“Thank you,” he murmured, his thumb brushing over the back of my hand.

I closed my eyes for a second, trying to hold back the flood of emotions threatening to spill over. When I opened them again, Troy was watching me, his eyes soft, filled with something I couldn’t quite place.

———————🔅———————

“We’ll make it count, tomorrow,” he promised, his voice barely above a whisper. “I was thinking we leave around noon?”

“We should get some sleep,” she said, glancing at Troy, who was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed. “Tomorrow’s going to be long. Hectic too, with the entire group travelling. We’ll need all the energy we can get.”

Troy didn’t respond right away, his eyes fixed on her as she spoke. Her words drifted in the air, but his attention was elsewhere, focused on the way her hair caught the faint glow of the light, how she absentmindedly chewed on her bottom lip when she was thinking too hard. He wasn’t ready for the night to end. Not yet.

As Y/N turned to grab her jacket, Troy suddenly spoke up, his voice casual but deliberate. “Actually… my eye’s acting up again.”

Y/N paused, looking at him with concern. “Your eye?”

He nodded, his fingers brushing absently along the scar on his temple. “Yeah. It’s been hurting all day. Burning.”

She frowned, stepping closer to him. “Why didn’t you say anything sooner?”

Troy shrugged, his lips quirking into a faint smile. “Didn’t want to bother you. Figured I could tough it out.”

Y/N gave him a skeptical look, her hands already moving to check the injury.

She swallowed her unease about Madison’s ultimatum. He had asked her to trust him, and that’s what she’d do. And as always, blindly.

She couldn’t allow him to go out into the world alone with bad eyesight.

“Come on, let’s go to the med room. I’ll take a look at it.”

Troy followed her without protest, secretly disgusted with how easily the lie had come out. He didn’t need any more treatment, not really, but if it gave him a few more minutes with her, he’d gladly fake a thousand more aches and pains.

He knew it was selfish, but something about the thought of saying goodnight felt too final, like it would end more than just this day.

They walked through the quiet corridors until they reached the med bay, the sterile scent greeting them as she flipped on the lights.

Troy sat down on the edge of one of the cots, watching as she gathered a few supplies. She moved with the same quiet elegance she always had, the same calm in the midst of chaos. But he knew how many miles per hour her brain was actually going.

When Y/N turned back to him, Troy kept his gaze on her, his heart tightening for reasons he didn’t fully understand, and that he was unwilling to explore when he had to leave so soon after.

She was focused, her hands gentle as she grabbed the bottle of eye drops and moved closer to him.

“Alright, tilt your head back,” she instructed softly, holding the drops above his injured eye. Her fingers brushed his chin lightly, guiding him as he leaned back.

Troy did as she asked, his eyes never leaving hers. From this angle, she looked different—softer, maybe. The tension of the day had all but melted away from her features, and he found himself studying the way her eyelashes fanned out when she blinked, the slight pursing of her lips as she concentrated.

“Look up,” she whispered, her voice barely above a whisper.

Troy swallowed, feeling the burning sensation of the drops hitting his eye, but barely registering it as his focus remained on her. She was so close now that he could feel the warmth of her breath, smell the faint scent of her hair. He blinked a few times as the drops worked their way in.

Y/N carefully wiped away the excess liquid with a gentle swipe of her gloved thumb, her fingers lingering for just a moment longer than necessary.

She cleared her throat softly and moved to examine the scar along his temple next. Troy tensed slightly as she reached for the tender spot, her fingertips brushing his skin.

“Does this still hurt?” she asked, her tone professional, but there was something else there too—a quiet concern she tried to hide. What was he going to do without her out there?

Troy didn’t answer right away. Instead, he watched her, his gaze tracing the curve of her face. Her body angled toward him as she inspected the scar. He could see the faintest hint of worry in her eyes, a small crease forming between her brows.

“Not really,” he finally answered, though the words felt distant, like they were coming from someone else. “It’s more annoying than anything. It feels tight.”

Y/N nodded, but her touch remained light, almost hesitant as she dabbed at the scar with a cotton pad that she had soaked in olive oil to moisturize it. “It’s dry, flaky” she remarked softly “you need to keep it supple, otherwise it will crack and a new wound will open”

She worked in silence, her focus entirely on him, and for a few moments, it was as though the rest of the world faded away.

Troy’s chest tightened, watching her with a strange mix of emotions swirling inside him. He could have been anywhere else in that moment—sleeping, curing fuel, making plans for his survival—but here he was, sitting on the edge of a cot in the quiet med bay, with Y/N’s hands on him, her presence grounding him in a way nothing else could.

‘She makes you happy, isn’t that important?’ Tracy’s words from a few weeks ago swirled through his mind.

“There,” Y/N said softly, finishing her work. “You’re good to go.”

She stepped back slightly, putting away the supplies, and Troy instantly missed the warmth of her touch. He sat there for a moment, watching her move around the room, feeling the weight of everything that had been left unsaid between them.

Out of nowhere, Troy asked a question that caught her off guard. “So, were you and Jake ever… involved?”

She raised her eyebrows, surprised by the sudden turn in the conversation. “Wow, asking random questions must run in the family,” she replied with a teasing lilt in her voice, referring to the time with Tracy in the woods

Troy chuckled, but his gaze remained steady, expectant, as if he were waiting for a more serious answer. She felt the weight of his scrutiny and knew he wasn’t going to let the moment slide.

With a shake of her head, she replied, “No, we were just friends, great ones. Out of our friend group, I was the only one who believed him when he said the ranch was safe.”

A sigh escaped her lips, and as she spoke, the memory of losing Jake crashed over her like a wave. The flashback of her and Alicia holding each other close in mourning resurfaced, and she felt a knot tighten in her chest.

The fear of losing another person she cared about surged, and it made her heart race at the thought of Troy going off on his own.

But then she looked at him—Troy wasn’t Jake. There was an instinct in him that Jake had lacked.

She took a deep breath, steadying herself. “Jake wasn’t ready for this world. He was too kind, too good. He always wanted to do the right thing.”

Troy’s expression shifted, a flicker of hurt crossing his features as he looked away. The right thing is what killed his brother.

And as irony would have it, to do the right thing he would be leaving everything he held dear in a matter of hours.

She raised her eyebrows, challenging him. “Sound familiar?”

Troy took a moment, the tension palpable as he thought it over. Finally, he met her gaze again. “Jake died with honor,” he said quietly, his voice steady. “And sooner or later, I will too. I told you, I’ve made up my mind”

The conviction in his words struck her like a physical blow. She searched his eyes, looking for any sign of hesitation, any hint that he wasn’t fully committed to this dangerous path he was choosing. But all she found was a resolute determination, a fire that she had come to admire and fear in equal measure.

“Honor doesn’t mean much if you’re not alive to carry it,” she said softly, her heart aching at the thought of losing him. “I just… I don’t want to lose you too.”

Troy’s gaze softened at her words, and for a moment, the air between them crackled with unspoken feelings. “You won’t,” he said, a promise lacing his tone. “I’ll find something, build something. And in the mean time you stay at PADRE and keep Tracy safe for me.”

A silence fell over them, thick and heavy, punctuated only by the distant sounds of the night outside.

The question lingered in the air, charged with emotion. “Do you miss him?” Y/n asked softly after a while, her voice barely above a whisper.

Troy’s gaze dropped to the floor, his brow furrowing as he considered her question. “Every day,” he admitted, his voice low and steady but tinged with an underlying sadness. “I think about Jake all the time—what he would have done in this situation, how he would’ve handled things. Sometimes it feels like I can still hear his words of insufferable fucking wisdom.”

Y/n watched him, her heart aching for the weight of his grief.

She tried to imagine the words Jake would say, but she couldn’t seem to get his voice quite right. It had already slipped through her fingers. She had forgotten what he sounded like, even struggling to imagine his face.

And it wouldn’t have brought tears to her eyes if she hadn’t been staring into the eyes of someone who she was also about to lose

“I remember how hopeful he was,” she said, her own memories flashing through her mind. “He believed in the good in people, in the world. It’s hard to substantiate that with everything we’ve seen since.”

Troy nodded, but there was a deeper darkness in his eyes, one that spoke of guilt. “He could have survived longer. If I hadn’t created that herd… If I just hadn’t been me, he might still be here.” The remorse hung heavy in the air.

Y/n felt a pang in her chest at his admission. She reached out, placing a reassuring hand on his arm. “Troy, you were very ill back then. You needed help, even before, but your dad was too proud to seek it for you. You were fighting battles no one else could see”

His expression tightened, “I’m still responsible. I could have done something different.”

“Look at the man you’ve become,” Y/n said, her voice steady and soothing. “You’ve fought to build something good out of the ashes of what happened. You protect those who need it. Jake wouldn’t want you to carry this guilt around for the rest of your life. He’d want you to live, to honor his memory by making the world better, not by drowning in guilt.”

“Like Alicia is doing.” He said bitterly.

We shared a long, contemplative look. Troy’s gaze was thoughtful, his eyes softening. Blaming Alicia was easy for him, but he knew he couldn’t do it for much longer. Alicia was out there helping people, and no matter how you look at it, Serena’s death wasn’t entirely her fault.

Slowly, almost hesitantly, he reached out and took his best friend’s hand in his again. She looked down at their clasped hands, feeling the familiar comfort of his presence.

“I’ve been thinking a lot,” Troy said quietly, his voice carrying a note of vulnerability that was rare for him. He knew this would only make his departure harder but he just felt a great need to say it “About how much things have changed, and how much they haven’t. About what’s important.”

She squeezed his hand gently, encouraging him to continue. “And?”

He met her eyes again, his grip tightening slightly. “I’ve been thinking about everything we’ve been through. And I realize that… I’ve been holding back.”

She could feel my heart quicken, a mixture of anticipation and nervousness swirling inside her. “Holding back from what?”

Troy took a deep breath, his thumb brushing against her knuckles. “From saying what’s been on m-.”

He didn’t finish his sentence when he abruptly looked up and sniffed the air.

It smelled like smoke , fire. He quickly jumped into action and ran to the main hall.

A pile of books had ignited, and the sparks from the old wiring danced ominously over it.

Troy’s voice boomed through the room “everyone up and outside.” He yelled, but no one was standing up quick enough for his liking “Now!”

Y/N frantically looked for Tracy in the dark

“Tracy!” She called out, her voice wavering with concern.

She pushed through the haze of smoke, her eyes straining to find the small girl. Throat burning with the stinging smoke, but she couldn’t stop. The chaotic scene around her blurred as she forced herself to stay focused.

Finally, she spotted Tracy huddled by a bookshelf, her eyes wide with fear. She rushed over, scooping the girl up in her arms. “It’s okay, sweetheart. We need to get outside, now.”

Troy was already shouting orders, his authoritative voice cutting through the chaos. “Get the children and the others out of here! Now!”

She ran towards the exit with Tracy clinging tightly to her. The heat from the flames was intense, and the smoke made it difficult to breathe. She pushed through, each step feeling heavier than the last.

As they burst out into the cool night air, she set Tracy down gently, keeping a close eye on her. She looked up at me with wide, anxious eyes. “Is it safe?”

I nodded, trying to sound reassuring despite the adrenaline still coursing through my veins. “It’s going to be okay. We’re outside now.”

Troy emerged from the building and quickly joined them, his eyes scanning the crowd to ensure everyone was accounted for.

“Is everyone out?” She asked, my voice trembling slightly.

He ignored her for a second. In his defense, he didn’t even register her question as he walked towards his secretary “Russel!” he called out, spotting the black haired man near one of the supply trucks.

Russel turned toward him, dazed, as if lost in the frantic atmosphere.

“Russel,” Troy said, moving toward him quickly. “Have you seen Ambrose and his grandson? They joined us a few weeks ago.. yea high, grey beard, lots of moles. Five year old grandson.” His voice was tight, every second pressing against his patience.

Russel blinked, his brow furrowed as he glanced around, clearly struggling to piece things together in the heat of the moment. “I… I don’t know, how this- how could this have happened.”

Troy’s expression grew sterner, his jaw clenched, and he grabbed Russel’s arm, pulling him from his haze. “Focus, Russel! Do you know where they are? Did you see them leave the library?”

Russel’s eyes widened with realization, his face paling. “I—yeah, I saw them… but… inside, last I checked he was taking his grandson to the bathroom because he’s scared of the-.”

The words hit Troy like a punch, ‘inside and near the bathroom’ all the info he needed. “Damn it,” he hissed, not wasting a second longer. He turned and bolted toward the burning building, taking off his jacket and tying it around his nose and mouth to try and breathe as little smoke as possible.

“Dad!” Tracy screamed, her voice filled with raw panic as she chased after him, her feet barely keeping up with her desperate heartbeat.

Y/N acted instinctively, grabbing Tracy before she could run into danger. “Tracy, stop!” she pulled Tracy back into her arms, holding her tight as she thrashed and kicked.

“Let go of me! He’ll die!” Tracy wailed, tears streaming down her cheeks as her fists pounded weakly against Y/N’s chest. “Dad!”

Y/N’s throat tightened, her vision blurred by the tears that welled up. “He’ll come back,” she said, her voice trembling, though she wasn’t sure if she was telling Tracy or herself. “He’s coming back.”

The crowd had gone silent, all eyes locked on the inferno where Troy had disappeared. The building creaked and groaned under the weight of the flames, the heat so intense Y/N could feel it radiating even from where they stood. Her heart pounded, each second an eternity as they waited.

Tracy was sobbing into her shoulder,

Suddenly, a figure emerged through the thick smoke, stumbling out of the doorway.

Troy.

Y/N gasped, relief flooding through her as she spotted him. He had Ambrose’s arm slung over one shoulder and his grandson at his hip, both coughing but alive. Troy’s face was smeared with soot, his eyes red from the smoke, but he was seemingly unharmed.

The crowd exhaled collectively, a wave of disbelief and gratitude washing over them.

“Dad!” Tracy cried, breaking free from Y/N’s hold and running toward him as soon as he sat Ambrose and his grandson down safely.

Troy crouched, catching her in his arms, his face still tense with the weight of what had just happened, but the relief was clear in his eyes. He held her tightly, murmuring reassurances as she sobbed into his chest.

Y/N stepped forward as soon as Tracy broke away from him, relief flooding her as she reached Troy, wrapping her arms around him tightly. “You gave me a fright, you jerk,” she whispered, her voice trembling slightly. “You could have died in there.”

He held her close, his heart racing from the adrenaline of the rescue and the close call. “I’m fine, really,” he said, trying to keep the mood light.

She tilted her head “How do your lungs feel?”

“I feel better than ever!” With that, he did a silly little dance, tapping his feet to the ground and throwing jazz hands in a ridiculous manner.

Y/N couldn’t help but laugh despite her worry, shaking her head at him. “You’re unbelievable,” she said, her voice a mixture of exasperation and affection. “And ridiculous”

Meanwhile, the couple of doctors rushed over to check on Ambrose and his grandson, who were both coughing slightly. Nurse Debra assisted them flawlessly.

Y/N stepped back, her eyes darting proudly between them as she watched her medical team at work like a well oiled machine.

One of the doctors, the husband, took Ambrose’s vitals, frowning slightly as he listened to his chest with a stethoscope. “How are you feeling?” he asked gently.

Ambrose nodded, though he looked exhausted. “Just a little cough. I think we inhaled some smoke, but we got out just in time thanks to Troy.”

The doctor nodded, his expression serious but relieved. “We’ll get you checked out properly, but it seems like the damage is minimal.” He glanced at the grandson, who was still coughing but otherwise appeared okay.

Y/N stepped closer to the young boy, crouching down to his level. “Hey there, buddy,” she said softly. “How are you feeling? Did you breathe in a lot of smoke?”

He shook his head, his eyes wide and teary. “I was scared,” he admitted, his voice barely above a whisper.

“I know,” Y/N replied gently, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “But you’re safe now. We’ll get you to safety and properly checked out, yes?”

The boy nodded as she stood up again.

Y/N walked over to Troy, who was making his rounds to check on everyone. As she approached, she listened to him finish up a conversation with a family, his voice steady and comforting.

“Trust me, you’re safe now,” he said, offering a reassuring smile. “We’ve found a permanent place for our community. You’ll have everything you need there.”

Once the family had expressed their gratitude and moved on, Y/N stepped closer. “Hey,” she said softly, concern etching her features. “Is everyone okay now?”

“Yes, we’re all safe. I should’ve known that when we found out the lights still worked, it was too good to be true.” His voice was thick with frustration,

I looked back at the library, my heart heavy with a mix of relief and sorrow. The fire crackled and roared, consuming the structure in a way that felt almost poetic yet tragic. Like the library of Alexandria. Lost were the literature and information of our old world.

I knew we didn’t have much time. The fire would draw walkers like moths to a flame, and we needed to move quickly before they closed in on us.

“I guess now is as good a time as any,” I said, shrugging to mask my unease. I walked over to one of the cars, the metal cool beneath my touch as I reached for the radio. “Medical staff, can I get a ride with me?” I called out, trying to keep my voice steady.

“Lead the way, boss,” I added, attempting to inject a bit of levity into the moment as I prepared to drive to PADRE with the first light of dawn.

——————————————————-

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I’m sorry, this was a very long rollercoaster of a chapter. I do hope you enjoyed. It won’t be long for the next one.

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