#I broke the 4 year long curse of crying on my birthday

[itzjustcami]

REALLY REALLY LATE

happy cake day to me

[squishytenya]

May I get aizawa and hizashi forgetting your birthday

Of course you can my love! Sorry this took me a little while btw mwah ily

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐁𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐝𝐚𝐲

Pairings: Hizashi Yamada (Present Mic), Aizawa Shouta (Eraserhead) x gn!reader

Notes: i love this series and i love getting asked for part 2 of things so asdjhl this was exciting! Hope you guys enjoy <3

Warnings: arguments (Aizawa) but not for a long time, sadness, insecurity, in case you didn’t realise they forget the readers birthday, cursing (aizawa)

━Hizashi Yamada (Present Mic)

Look, Hizashi is a very busy man and this is something you know

So when he cancels your dates, you’re mostly understanding and he always reschedules anyway

But you can’t exactly reschedule your birthday can you

Which is the exact thought you have while sitting alone on your sofa

He’ll be home soon though, right?

It’s 10pm when you finally five up. Your clothes are creased from you lounging on the couch. You had gotten ready at 6pm since that was when he got off of UA. Yet 4 hours later and your apartment was still empty besides you. You rubbed your arms, embarrassed for being so excited. Of course, he hadn’t actually said he was taking you anywhere but you just assumed since that’s what he did ever year since you met.

It was 11pm when he finally showed up. The bags under his eyes let you know just how tired he was and you felt slightly guilty for the verbal thrashing he was about to get.

“Hey baby, what are you all dolled up for?” He sung, tired voice carrying through the silence

“Oh nothing” you scoffed, crossing your arms, “only my birthday dinner”

The man froze. Your face was blank but your eyes swam with hurt. It wasn’t like him to do this kind of thing. He had never forgotten a birthday before or an anniversary. Hizashi was very organised when it came to events, especially ones that concern you.

Which is probably why he held such a devastated look on his face. He took a few steps towards you and cringed when you shuffled away. Sitting on the sofa, he turned to you. The remorse was evident in his face and it was probably that which tipped you over the edge. Tears started streaming down your face. You looked away, the guilt was evident enough on his face and you doubt you could’ve kept up the anger if you were looking.

Soft fingers held your chin softly, pulling it so your partner could see your tearyface.

“I’m so sorry y/n” he sighed, “I’m just tired and been so caught up with work y'know?”

You sniffled, nuzzling into his hand to show you were listening. His own eyes were tearing up now and you could see the guilt swirling throughout the colour you loved so much. It was obvious he hadn’t meant it but you still hurt.

“I promise I’ll make it up to you tomorrow gorgeous, take the whole day off just for us two?”

Nodding, you rested your head on his shoulder. He hummed you to sleep and your both pretended not to feel the guilty tears dripping down his face. It was a conversation you could have tomorrow. You trusted him to make it up to you, malicious wasn’t a word you would use to describe your partner.

“I love you” he mused, kissing your head as your eyes slipped closed.

━Shouta Aizawa (Eraserhead)

You wish you could say that Shouta wasn’t the type to forget things

He forgot a lot of things but never something like this

Your birthday and anniversaries were like the one thing he remember

There have been more than a few rain checks called last minute but you never really cared

He always made them up to you in some way but this one was different

It was dark already. You hadn’t felt particularly safe in this part of town but while you were waiting it had started raining and now your paranoia was getting to you. It wasn’t even an unsafe part of town but you were alone and already emotionally vulnerable from being ditched for almost four hours by your long term partner. It was now reaching 11 and you were ready to cry.

Finally, you decided to call Nemuri, explaining to her what happened and where you were. The usually happy woman scoffed into the phone at her friends actions and came to pick you up. You were soaking and broke down in her passenger seat as she drove you home.

You shut the door quietly as you walked into your home. You were wet, crying and tired. An interaction with aizawa would have you breaking down in a way you really didn’t need tonight. Just your luck.

“Where have you been?”

You glared at the man on the sofa. He was lounging in a pair of old pyjama trousers, settled ont he sofa as if he hadn’t just humiliated you.

“Really Shouta?” He flinched at the use of his full name, “I’ve been standing outside of a restaurant alone for four hours, waiting for my partner to come and celebrate my birthday”

He checked the date on the calendar on your coffee table.

“Y/n, I-“

“Do you know how humiliating that was? You forgot my birthday, Shou!”

Your voice broke saying his name. You sank down onto the floor, head in your hands. The exhaustion was finally catching up to you, meaning you didn’t protest when strong arms wrapped around you and a familiar scent surrounded your body. His hands rubbed up and down your shoulders, calming you until you could speak.

“I’m sorry kitten, i can’t tell you why other than it just slipped my mind” he murmured into your hair, “I’ll make it up to you i promise”

You sniffled, tucking your head into his neck. You were still a little angry, still very upset but the feeling of his arms around you was a comfort you would allow yourself to indulge in. You trusted aizawa and knew he would make it up to you. This was something that could be sorted tomorrow and for now you just wanted to sleep in the safety of his arms.

“I’ll be better for you, I promise”

I feel like this was lowkey shitty but it’s all good, hope you guys enjoy and request are currently open!

Remember that reblogs and feedback help content creators! And that ily guys all very much!!

[mywritingonlyfans]

Cornerstone (Yeah, that Arctic Monkeys song) - Fic with Damiano David.

prompt: Damiano used to date your sister, but now that she's dead you're the only thing that can keep her alive for him, making him not worried that he might forget her face.

warnings: none, just pure sadness. Oh, and tysm Evie for the lovely help on this one!!

You remembered well the first time you saw Damiano. It was on the first of many parties you would go in your life, it was the night of your 18th birthday and considering how introverted and reserved you were, your sister, who although looks a lot like you, appearance wise, your personalities were complete opposites, decided that you needed to celebrate in a dignified way. Well, you were two years apart, but her behavior at parties made her seem older than her age, she appeared more experienced, she tolerated drinks well and her charisma was perfect, just right for the party. As much as you always imagined she would be like that, given you were used to seeing her come home late at night on weekends, it was fascinating, even a little intimidating to see for yourself. Basically, Parrot’s Beak was made for her. After 45 minutes of partying, your eyes had noticed Damiano drinking with some friends, his cheekbones were prominent cute, his eyes were striking, and the drink was starting to take effect on his cheeks making them become a lovely, flushed pink - almost like his skin was begging to be kissed. You could replay that moment in your head whenever you wanted, you didn’t even have to close your eyes. Over time, you’ve forced yourself to smile at him, pull your hair out of your eyes between shy glances, trying your hardest to make yourself good-looking for him. It didn’t take long for him to walk towards you, making your nervous and hopeful smile in the process turn into disappointment. You soon realized his glances in between swigs of beer were not for you, but for your sister. He hadn’t even noticed you there, and the sensation that filled your body was painful. That night you accepted you were left out as they walked to the bathroom, and the best to do was to keep your first impressions of Damiano to yourself. It would be the best thing to do; even after the 4-year anniversary of them being together, and of you still finding Damiano stunning.

“You need to stop callin’ me,” you sighed, brushing the back of your hand over your eyes. It was dawn, if she had been there, she would have already made you get up, would have taken the phone from your hands and lay on top of you, making you laugh until you’d fall asleep together. “It’s been almost a year now; you need to stop calling me.”

“But you always make it better,” his drunk voice echoed in your ear. Strange, but you liked listening to him, he spent so many years making her happy that listening to him was like feeling her smiling widely at you after buying chocolate cake at the coffee bar around the corner that you now worked for.

“What do I make better, Damiano?” You asked, prolonging something that didn’t feel right.

“Me,” he sighed deeply, making you do the same. “I like your voice, even more after you’ve woken up, it’s so calm and crystal clear,” He kept talking until your voice broke into a sharp sob as you tried to bite your lip to contain yourself, if she was there she would’ve calmed him down with just a word; but she wasn’t, and he was like that because he didn’t have her anymore.

“I like you Dami, I truly wish you nothing but the best, but I can’t do this anymore,” you verbalized, knowing there were chances of him being oblivious to the fact that he was looking for you because you reminded him of her. “I miss her too, and it’s being too painful.”

With that being said you hung up the phone, pressing it against your chest knowing he would call again next night and then you would pick up, exchange a few words with him, feeling miserable right after for letting him do it again; but the truth was, on the next day you would feel good, not in a healthy way, but in a nostalgic way that would leave you trapped in a cheery image of your sister; whenever she had the opportunity to describe how amazing a date with Damiano was would make you bear through the day.

As you soaked your pillow, the loud music from The Rusty Room along with dancing people made Damiano wet his lips in a dirty smile, his night would be like any other since she was gone, he would get drunk enough to see her face on someone else and would be able to snuggle between the legs of his new salvation or get kicked out for being too much and have no choice but to call you. On nights when his feelings are stronger than before, he would do both. He would call you in hopes that when you answered, you would miraculously become her, then he would tell you about his day and how no one in the band seems to put up with him anymore, and then would wait until you told him it would be okay. Clearly, nothing worked like that in your mind, you were as tough as she was, which was good for him to feel in her presence, but not what he needed at the moment; not least because you had never spoken for more than 5 minutes. That way, he had no choice but to keep looking for her.

Still digesting your dry words, he caught sight of her golden hair and pale skin being bathed in the strong red light, she smiled at him, huddled up in a wicker chair, her eyes was in the same level with his as he wandered up for a closer look, and it felt like it was for the first time, so he came close and kissed her, taking all the air out of her lungs to himself; the random girl wouldn’t mind having another name tonight.

Damiano returned home the next morning in his car, swearing he could still smell her scent on his coat, transmitting it to his seatbelt while he lengthened his trip to the next coffee bar just to be able to feel her presence for longer.

“He’s all yours today!” Your manager said in mock animation.

His eyes were lazy, his lips rosier than usual trapped in a perfect pout, stubble on his face and yet he looked like an angel; but smelling of booze and sleep deprived.

“What do you want?” You asked, observing him up and down; putting on your best character to try to fool him, or yourself. “You need to stop killin’ yourself like that, Dami.” You let your eyes dip into his, and what a regret, now your whole body tingled.

“I just wanna a nice coffee, I need to be alive to work,” he raised his hands in redemption, giving you a cute half smile. His voice as melody and sweet as on the phone. “I just need to calm my mind down, buttercup.”

His whisper ran down your spine, making drops of coffee from the machine splash onto your hand instead of into the cup, your body knew it was wrong, but your mind had liked being called that.

“How’s life?! How’s things goin’, huh, after all that, y’know…” He went on while you gave him his usual hot coffee.

In response, you shook your head, looking around you, cursing the place for not being so busy so that you could have more customers.

“Fine, no more talk, buttercup.” He sounded low and careful this time. You had to take your eyes off him because you felt like you were going to cry.

No more smiles on his tired face, he straightened his clothing, handing you a crumpled currency. Avoiding his eyes, you took it in your hand, taking his change and writing it out in Letraset for him.

“Thank you,” he said, this time without repeating the pet name, since both you and him were now being watched by your manager. Even in front of others, his eyes filled with tears as he looked at your writing; so similar to hers in form, yet so cruel.

“You shouldn’t let him call you the same way he sweet called her.” The manager warned you when he saw the boy leave. Your sister was always around with Damiano, they were completely in love with each other and never hid it from anyone, it was obvious he had noticed.

“He just needs to heal.”

“So do you.”

‘No, you can’t call me the way you used to call her’ were marked on his change.

Battleship, next night.

Rum was already a necessary substance to oxygenate his blood, it was the 4th shot, he had a dizzy mind with you on it, from the tip of your nose that seemed to follow him when he was speaking, to your contradictory voice that sounds just like hers when you say that you don’t want him around. He needed you.

He glanced around the room, searching for his daily fix of sex for the night but soon changed his mind, taking his cell phone in his hands and punching in your number that he already knew by heart.

“I’m sorry, you’re by yourself?” A serene voice awakened him from his trance, the blond hair and lips drawn in a perfect heart shape similar to hers made him forget about his cell phone.

“Yes, I am.” He confirmed, his throat going dry. Every night the same thing, but he still got carried away by a vision trick; given that the reality was way too difficult to face. “All by myself and free for the night.”

She laughed at his despair, and even though the sound wasn’t similar to hers, he decided he could play pretend in his mind. The girl’s laugh fell silent, feeding his head with the image of her as he closed his eyes tight, for a second he swore not to feel his feet anymore, wondering if it might be the effect of being close to be her ghost but when he said it out loud, calling the random girl by her name, all he felt was a pair of hands pushing him back while cursing him in as many ways as possible. Had the girl said her name to him? He couldn’t tell, it wasn’t like he cared.

“I need you,” you had tears running down your chin, your voice was nothing but sobs.

His smile widened, scratching the affected spot, feeling his body becoming more relaxed as he heard your voice filling the phone call. You needed him, so you called him. Just like in every other night.

“A nightmare again?” He asked cautiously, not even needing to ask what it had been about; he already knew.

“Yes,” you looked tired, as much as he did. “I need you, Dami, I can’t stop thinking about her.”

“I’m on my way, buttercup.”

The shared room still smelled of her, he knew it was because of you spreading the rest of her perfume across the bed she slept in. The atmosphere was different without her there, you both felt it, but somehow it felt good to be there and feel a bit of her false presence.

“You’re drunk again,” you sighed as he brought his fingers to your cheekbone, pulling some tears away. “She wouldn’t like that.”

He nodded, “she really wouldn’t.” Damiano smiled, seeing a shy smile spread across your lips.

Your movements were quick as silence filled the room, your arms went around his waist, making him have no choice but to snuggle you into his grip, a relieved sigh left his lips and he felt good knowing you no longer cried. The lack of voices made everything more comfortable, it cleared his mind, making his muscles relax. And when he felt you dig your face deeper into his shirt, he let his chin rest on your head as you found comfort in the scent that had often been used to be on her clothes.

The weather was grey, sad. Similar with your mood. Staying motivated to work was not what you wanted today, or any other day.

“What are you doing outside? You weren’t supposed to be working?” Damiano said, tucking you under his umbrella, his eyebrow puckered into a cute pout.

“I can’t work, I’m very sad and sleepless.” You imitated your manager’s voice, showing pure irritation.

“Not a good day, I see,” he remained in high spirits, even seeing your angry face as your request for Uber was denied on the screen in your hands.

“Wouldn’t you go get a coffee?” You deposited your disappointment in him. His face still in a smile, he was never one to be shaken by so little; just like her, in fact so alike to her that it was quite annoying at times. She wouldn’t be giving the hate for her bad day to anyone.

“There’s no point, I only come here for you.” Your mind knew well, it was already used to his tricks, but you still couldn’t help but smile.

His words softened your body and you allowed yourself to look at him, he didn’t seem to have had a rough night, his eyes were still as intense as she had described the night she met him. “Cornerstone doesn’t make any sense without me, I agree with you.” His lips spread; you were happy to make him smile.

The comfortable silence seemed to wrap you around each other, he brushed your hair back from your eyes, getting so close he thought you would might understand. “Can I get much closer?”

You nodded, feeling the tears blurring your vision. You knew he saw in you a way not to forget her face, but letting him go would hurt more. “Look, I’m really not supposed to — but yes, you can call me anything you want.”

--

Tagging: @pingpongchamps @oro-e-diamanti @marriedwithmarktuan @user0126 @its-afucking-mess @dont-let-me-drown-in-you

[streetlight11]

Neighbour's Fate

Summary: He was your neighbour growing up but he has always been distant. You didn't know for what reasons he chose not to mingle with you or your younger brother. It's been 6 years since you saw him. One day, you best friend asks for a favour from you that would eventually lead you to meeting his close friends. Who would've thought your old neighbour was now one of your best friend's close friends.

Theme: university au, old neighbours to lovers

Genre: fluff, a tad bit of jealousy, a little suggestive

Warning: mentions of anxiety, one or two curse words, very mild harassment (grabbing of wrist, that's all)

WC: 6.5k

Pairing: Seo Changbin x Fem!Reader

a/n: This was just a spur of the moment kind of idea I had the other day, and so this was the work I created... Hope you guys like it :)

Growing up, you lived beside the Seo family. They were a family of four and so were you. Their oldest child was a girl and her name was Seo Jiwoo. Their youngest child was a boy and his name was Seo Changbin. You were pretty close to the girl, to the point where you would always go to school together but the boy had always avoided you for unknown reasons.

He wouldn’t even play with your younger brother. It used to upset you but as you grew up, you realized that you can never force anyone to like someone or do something they didn’t want to do. And for that reason, you ended up letting him be.

However, despite not talking to you as much as his sister did, he was very attentive on small little things and he noticed that you tend to get anxiety attacks whenever you are in front of a huge crowd or the centre of attraction. And he knows this.

You had just entered senior year when you heard news from your parents that the Seo family were moving.

You were sad considering you’re already so close to Jiwoo. But you couldn’t force them to stay there anyways. You accepted the fact that you probably wouldn’t see them anytime soon, maybe not ever. You bid them goodbye, not forgetting to glance at Changbin one last time before they drove off with their boxes loaded into a van.

Two years passed since they moved and you were finally going to college.

You decided to move to Seoul alone and your parents allowed it. Your heart was heavy to leave them behind but they understood that you were doing it because you wanted to further your studies. For that, they willingly let you go.

After graduation, you enrolled yourself into a college with your favourite course, not forgetting to find an affordable apartment for yourself. And that was the start to a new chapter in your life.

4 years passed by in a flash and you had managed to further your studies by going to university. You were currently a Computer Science major in Hankuk University, together with your best friend whom you met in college and have been friends ever since. He was two years younger than you but he was pretty mature for his age, and his name is Hwang Hyunjin.

It was a bright Thursday morning and you were just strolling to your lecture class when someone swung their arm over your shoulder. Right when you were about to curse, the familiar voice warned you.

“Relax, stop being too defensive will you?”

You clicked your tongue at him, seeing him shake his head a little to get his long beautiful blonde bangs away from his eyes.

“Then announce who you are first before putting your arm around me next time, will you?” You scoffed, earning a roll of his eyes. “You’re unbelievable sometimes, you know that?” Hyunjin sighed.

“I appreciate that compliment.”

“Whatever…” Hyunjin could only laugh as the two of you continued to walk to class.

Hours went by, it was currently lunch hour. You made it to the cafeteria in time when there still weren’t many students yet. Hyunjin was walking beside you, telling you stories about his ex-girlfriend whom he caught cheating on him last month when you spotted an empty table a few rows down from you.

With that, you grabbed his shirt and began to drag him to the table before anyone else occupies it. A few minutes later, you were just munching on your smoked squid when someone came to give Hyunjin a handshake.

You looked up to see two guys whom you knew to be in Hyunjin’s dance crew team that represented the campus.

One of them had pretty freckles all over his face while the other one had a cute gummy smile with doe round eyes. They simply acknowledged you with a friendly smile and a nod before walking away.

You’ve never really met Hyunjin’s friends before properly because you were shy.

Even with those two guys, you knew they were part of Hyunjin’s close circle of friends that had other guys from other campuses but you’ve never met them before. You weren’t sure if you even wanted to, if they’re all just going to be as equally good looking as the two dancers from your campus.

A few days later, you were lounging in your living room on a Friday night watching your favourite TV show on Netflix. You were in nothing but panties and a big hoodie that you remembered to be Hyunjin’s but you stole it one night when you slept over at his place after he broke things off with his ex-girlfriend when he found her cheating on him with a friend of his but not from his circle.

You were just seated on your couch with a chocolate almond drink in your hand when you got a text from Hyunjin.

With that, he told you to pick him up at his apartment so that you could go meet his friends at the mall and discuss his plan. It sounds ridiculously dramatic to you but then again, it’s Hyunjin. Nothing’s ever not ridiculously dramatic when it comes to him.

You texted him you’ll pick him up at around 2, in which he said okay. You were scheming through your closet to see what you could wear. You didn’t want his friends to have a bad first impression on you so you opted to wear a little feminine. After rummaging your closet for a good few minutes, you ended up pulling out a baby blue off shoulder, floral print dress.

You’ve worn this out with Hyunjin before once but mostly with your girl friends. You kept your hair simple with a messy low bun, leaving your fringe to frame your face as it parts nicely in the centre.

Once it was time to pick him up, you left your apartment. Not forgetting to bring your purse along to keep your important belongings.

You wore your favourite white Nike air force 1s to pair it with your outfit.

After you’ve managed to pick him up from his apartment, he tells you which mall they promised to meet. The drive there was filled with him complaining to you saying his ex kept bothering him on kakao talk and also social media.

He said he’s had enough so he wants to get back at her to show her that he’s moved on. He told you that she invited him and his friends to her birthday party at her house next weekend.

So he wants to use this chance for his payback.

You simply listened to his plan as you focused on the road ahead of you. Once you’ve found yourself a parking space, you park your vehicle and leave.

He walked with you to the restaurant, all the while talking to you about your dreadful assignment. You arrived at the restaurant, only for a waiter to approach you two.

“Uhh, hi. My friends are here actually. Table reserved under Chan I think?” Hyunjin said as the waiter went ahead and checked the booking list, only for him to nod when his eyes met the name that was mentioned.

“Ah, yes. Right this way.” He led you deeper into the restaurant as you followed behind Hyunjin.

You were too busy focusing on the crying child across the room, not realizing you were already at the table until Hyunjin’s arms wrapped around your waist to stop you from walking. You whipped your head around to lock eyes with him as he chuckled at you for being clumsy.

Just then, you turned towards the table and you saw a whole table filled with really handsome guys. You also noticed that the two dancers from campus whom you recognized pretty well by now.

“Oh, hey!” The one with freckles said as he waved to you and so did the other one. You smiled shyly to them as you rested your right hand on your left elbow.

You schemed through the different pairs of eyes, smiling to them as a way of saying hello.

Just when you thought you were done, you didn’t notice the one who got blocked by Hyunjin’s tall and lean body. It wasn’t until Hyunjin turned around to call for the waiter, that you finally locked eyes with the individual seated at the edge of the bench.

He was absolutely breath-taking.

He was wearing a grey shirt that hugged his upper body a little too perfectly.

His muscles were in full view. His broad chest puffing out against the soft material of his shirt. The sleeves of his shirt doing the bare minimum in giving his muscular arms air to breath. His shirt tucked into his black cargo pants that had a chain attached to the belt hooks.

He wore a silver chain necklace as his accessory and a few chain bracelets as well. His hair was styled to show his forehead despite it not being slick back. However, his eyes were cold at first but the minute he looked at you, you could’ve sworn his eyes went wide for a split second before it softened.

Your smile slowly disappeared as Hyunjin spoke up to get your attention, “Noona? You okay? You look like you just saw a ghost.”

With that, he chuckled as he turned to his friends and continued talking, “Friends, this is my best friend since college, Y/N. Noona, these are my friends, Felix, Minho hyung, Seungmin, Jeongin, Jisung, Chan hyung and Changbin hyung.”

At the mention of that last name, a sudden rush of adrenaline flowed through your veins as you turned to look at the said individual. Letting his name roll off your tongue.

“Chang… bin?”

The table fell quiet as your eyes diverted from his to the plate in front of him. The boys didn’t miss the frown that soon appeared on your face.

“Do you know him?” Hyunjin asked, genuinely intrigued by your reaction.

Why is the name making your heart flutter?

Just then, you looked back into Changbin’s soft eyes only to ask, “Seo… Changbin?” You heard a few light gasps from the guys but they weren’t your main focus right now.

You watched as Changbin shifted in his seat, making him ask, “How did you know my name?”

His question made you confused.

Was he not your neighbour? Was he not the same Seo Changbin you used to grow up next to? Was he a different Seo Changbin?

This made you feel slightly embarrassed thinking you mistook him for someone else. So you apologized, “I… sorry, maybe I mistook you for someone else.” With that being said, he didn’t say anything else as Hyunjin brought you to the empty space beside Jisung and Seungmin. During lunch, Hyunjin explains what his plan was to everyone.

You listened to him as well, occasionally giving him scoffs or a click of your tongue if you felt that he might be a bit too sassy about the things he wanted to do.

After lunch was over, they wanted to walk around the mall for a bit so you followed.

You had all just entered the lift to go down to level 1 from level 6. There were a few strangers who came in as well. You were the last to enter after the boys while the other shoppers came rushing in behind you.

You had just turned around when a rowdy bunch of people pushed you in further. You were about to lose balance when you felt a firm hold on your waist. What you also felt was your upper back accidentally crashing into a firm chest. You were secretly hoping your guess was wrong but it wasn’t.

“It’s okay. I got you.” His raspy voice said quietly in your ear over the noisy lift, making you turn your head slightly.

That was your first mistake.

The minute you turned, his lips accidentally brushed against your cheek as it was now inches away from your own lips. You were caught off guard by the close proximity so you softly gasped and were going to pull away from him when you accidentally bumped into the person in front of you.

That was your second mistake.

Because the minute you slightly bumped into them, the person turned around to give you a disapproving look, making you apologize quietly as you felt the hands on your waist wrap itself around you and tugged you against him as a way to comfort you.

Changbin simply hid his smile against your hair on his left where his face was between your head and the lift walls so none of his friends saw this.

Your heart was pounding against your chest as you unconsciously rested your hands on top of his forearms. After the crowd left the lift at level 3, you could finally breathe as Changbin let go of you before his friends saw him hold you.

You went home that day feeling lost and confused.

Does that mean he knows you, that he was simply acting as if he doesn’t remember you? Why else would he act that way, unless he’s that type of guy who knows his way around girls?

As far as you remember, Hyunjin has never mentioned being friends with fuckboys and that he says that his friends were all very sweet and humble guys.

Either way, you decided not to think much of Changbin and just carry out Hyunjin’s favour and you’d call it done with being around his friends. But of course luck wasn’t on your side and that it always has it’s way of turning things around in your life. This time, it was with Hyunjin’s friends.

More specifically, Changbin.

The day finally came, you were going to be Hyunjin’s fake girlfriend for the night. You weren’t really nervous considering you don’t have any special feelings for him. You were more anxious that you will be seeing his friends tonight. And that means you’ll be seeing Changbin too.

Hyunjin came to pick you up this time, coming earlier to pick out the perfect outfit for you to wear so that his ex would feel jealous when he sees you with him.

Hyunjin ended up choosing a pink satin dress with quite a deep neckline that essentially shows your cleavage. You were against wearing it at first but Hyunjin insists on you wearing it.

“Dude, you do realise I might get guys staring at me the whole night if I wore this right?” You asked, your tone was serious as he knows how you feel about being a centre of attraction. It gives you major anxiety. With that being said, Hyunjin gave in and chose a different dress that was also satin but with a decent neck line and a thin strap to rest on your shoulders.

It hugs your figure perfectly, with the hem stopping right on your mid thighs.

Hyunjin gave you the privacy to change as he waited for you in your living room. After you were done, you came back out with your purse and heels from your shoe closet.

Hyunjin almost choked on his own spit as he scanned you from head to toe.

“Woah! You are looking hot as hell!” He praised you, earning a roll of your eyes. You slapped his chest with your purse, telling him to get up so you can both leave.

The drive to his ex’s house took about 40 minutes, filling the drive with singing your favourite songs with Hyunjin and just laughing about random things. His friends were going to meet you two there, hence the reason why you were now leaning against Hyunjin’s car door with him towering over you.

He trapped you by resting both hands on top of his car roof on either side of your body.

“So, let me make myself clear. You can hold my hand, hold my waist, kiss my cheek, wherever you want up here…” You said as you pointed from your shoulder to your face before continuing your speech, “But, not my lips.”

Hyunjin pouted as he got a gentle slap from you to his chest, making him chuckle.

“Okay, but what if she wants proof of us dating and she asks us to kiss?” He asked, making you think through your potential actions.

“Fine, only if she asks. If not, don’t even think about tricking me into kissing you.” You warned as he scoffed, telling you that you were ‘no fun’. You rolled your eyes at him but the smile on your lips betrayed you.

Right when you wanted to look away from him, instead you saw a group of guys walking up to you and Hyunjin. Only to realize it was his friends.

Your eyes just naturally travelled over to the one walking near the curb.

Changbin wore a black skinny cargo pants, a black button down formal shirt tucked in, leaving the first few buttons undone. It definitely was low enough to expose a slight amount of his chest. He accessorized with his favourite silver necklace and a chain bracelet with a watch. He had a pair of black combat boots on to go with his outfit.

His hair was styled nicely to partially show his forehead and his undercut. You would be lying if you said he didn’t look good. But you decided to keep the comment to yourself as Chan smirked at you and Hyunjin.

“Damn, you’re not even inside and you guys already started the act?” Hyunjin wriggled his eyebrows as he pushed himself off his car only to snake one arm around your waist and pulled you against his side gently.

“By the way, you look really pretty Y/N.” Chan smiled at you genuinely, making you feel shy. But nonetheless thanked him for his compliment.

The rest of them agreed to their friend’s comment as well, saying that you look good with this dress.

The 9 of you soon walked to the house as Hyunjin slid his hands into yours swiftly when you were reaching the door. However, Changbin couldn’t help but feel jealous when he saw this. Yes he knows it was all an act. Yes he knows that it was only for a day. But why did he wish that was him instead of Hyunjin?

You arrived at the house, only for Hyunjin’s ex to open the door. Her smile immediately dropped when she looked down at your locked fingers with Hyunjin.

“Hey, you guys made it… And, with a friend…” She said through her clenched teeth.

“Oh my goodness, where’s my manners? This is Y/N, my girlfriend. Baby, this is my... friend, Yuna.” Hyunjin said as he slid his arm around your waist, making you smile at the girl and proceeded to shake her hand.

She was clearly uncomfortable but she just pressed on a smile as she welcomed the 9 of you in.

The birthday party was definitely leaning more towards a party which includes alcohol and random hooking ups with strangers. But since some of them drove, they made sure not to drink, including yourself because you don’t drink alcohol.

It has been almost an hour since you reached here and there were already a whole bunch of drunk university students everywhere in this house.

You were just seated on the couch next to Hyunjin and Minho with some of the guys. The only ones who were tipsy amongst the 9 of you were Jisung, Jeongin, Felix and Seungmin. You were just leaning your head against Hyunjin’s shoulder, feeling tired from having been surrounded by drunk students when you felt the need to get a refill of your non alcoholic drink.

You rested your hand on Hyunjin’s lap to gain his attention, who was busy talking to the other four guys, as all four pairs of eyes soon turned to you. “I’m gonna get a refill. I’ll be back.” You said as you got up after receiving a nod from him.

A few minutes later, you were just walking back to where the guys were sitting when a warm hand on your waist made you jump.

You turned around to see a guy whom you didn’t recognize, smiling down at you drunkenly.

“Wanna dance, baby girl?” He slurred over his words, making you excuse yourself. But when you turned to walk, he gripped your wrist so tightly that it made you drop your cup to the floor. You winced as he began tugging you towards the stairs.

But then a firm grip around your waist made you stop walking as someone ripped his hand away from yours only to throw a solid punch to his jaw.

“Fucking touch her again and I’ll break your nose.” Hyunjin growled as the guy began to stumble away. This has caught the eyes of those around you, making your anxiety grow. You didn’t realize this but you began to shake, something you always did when your anxiety was kicking in.

You were about to panic when the soft voice behind you managed to calm you down.

“Hey? Hey, calm down. Breathe. It’s okay.” Changbin whispered in your ear. It confused you on how he seemed to know that this was due to your anxiety but your mind couldn’t properly function right now.

So when Changbin called Hyunjin and told him you were shaking, the minute he passed you over to Hyunjin who immediately hugged you, that’s when it hit you.

This Changbin knows about your anxiety.

You allowed yourself to calm down in Hyunjin’s arms as he caressed your back soothingly and it worked.

A few minutes later, you finally stopped shaking as he pulled away from you only to cup your face gently. “Are you okay?” He asked, genuinely concerned for you. All you could do was smile at him and thank him, in which he told you it was fine and that he should’ve been more alert when leaving you alone in this kind of atmosphere.

You were just walking back to where his three friends were sitting, when a familiar voice called Hyunjin’s name behind you. The pair turned around as Yuna came to a stop behind Hyunjin.

She awkwardly glanced at you before focusing back at him.

“Hey, I need to talk to you… in private?” Yuna said.

“Why? We can just speak here.” Hyunjin said.

“I want to talk about something important… it’s about… us.” She paused. Hyunjin sighed as he stared at her with nothing but lingering pain in his eyes.

“There’s nothing else to talk about Yuna. You cheated on me when I told you I loved you. Was I not enough for you?”

“I’m sorry Hyunjin… I… I wasn’t thinking. Please… can we talk in private?” She said desperately, making you glance up to him who had an obvious frown on his face. You knew he wanted to talk to her to clear things between them. But you could also see that he was already tired of her bullshit and that he wanted nothing but to move on from her.

So you opted to give them space by holding his forearm gently and told him, “I think there’s some things you guys need to settle. Go. I’ll wait with the guys.”

You flashed him and Yuna a smile as you let go of his hand, turning around to walk towards where Minho, Changbin and Chan were sitting. The three of them were already looking at your direction, seeing the situation unravel in front of their eyes.

Hyunjin was at a cross road as he wasn’t sure if he should follow his heart or mind.

After what felt like forever, he decided to follow his heart and that was to completely end ties with Yuna. With that being said, he turned back to her only to speak up.

“I’m sorry Yuna. But all of that was in the past. I’ve already moved on and you should too.” Hyunjin said as he then turned on his heels and left.

He re-joined you and the guys, where you were sitting on the arm rest beside Minho since the other end of the couch was already occupied by drunk couples. Hyunjin was just standing beside you when Yuna placed her hand on his shoulder and roughly turned him around.

“That’s it? It was just that one time. You can’t tell me you’ve moved on that fast.” She scoffed as he raised his eyebrows at her in disbelief.

“With what you did to me, it only makes sense for me to move on this fast. Besides, I’m already dating someone now. You’re too late.” Hyunjin taunts but it seems like Yuna had a different plan as she scoffed at you.

“As if. I’ve noticed you two acting quite distant when I’m not near you. Just tell me you guys are friends and leave. I don’t need fakers at my party.” Yuna said, her tone visibly angered.

Hyunjin smirks, knowing that she was just trying to bite his tail.

“What do I need to do then to prove to you that I’ve really moved on from you?”

“Kiss her. If you’re really dating her and you guys aren’t just friends, then kiss her.”

There it is.

That was probably the last thing you’d wanna hear tonight. Especially not in front of Changbin. With that being said, Hyunjin smirks as he accepted the challenge easily. Since you both agreed on this before you entered the house just now, you knew you couldn’t really say no to it.

“Oh, sure thing sweetheart.” Hyunjin said as he turned to you and immediately leaned down to kiss you on the lips, hands reaching up to cup your face.

You swiftly moved your lips against his to make it seem legit. You could feel Hyunjin’s lips curving into a smile against your lips as you heard Yuna scoff and soon stormed off. Hyunjin pulled back the minute she left, only to apologize to you.

“I’m really sorry noona…”

“It’s okay.” You smiled as Minho and Chan began to tease you two for executing the perfect kiss, saying that it looks too legit. They even mentioned saying you two looked like a nice couple.

In which you responded with a fake gag, earning a soft punch to your arm by Hyunjin himself. You giggled but you completely missed the way Changbin’s eyes were burning with jealousy from seeing you kiss Hyunjin.

He knows this was just an act but why was he so pressed by the simple kiss?

A few days later, you were in class when Hyunjin told you he was meeting his friends this weekend and asked if you wanted to join them. You weren’t sure if you wanted to but you decided to go along with it. He said they planned to watch a movie and maybe go to the pier. You nodded, agreeing to tag along since he offered you to come.

Weekend finally came and you had just left your apartment. You wore your denim skinny ripped jeans, a white cropped fitted tank top and a black oversized jacket.

Hyunjin told you he was going to pick you up so you met him at the roadside in front of your apartment building.

You both made it to the mall to queue for the movie tickets. Chan was queueing with Hyunjin so you were left with the others. You were just scrolling through your Instagram when someone fed you popcorn. You looked up to see Changbin holding two popped kernels in front of your lips. You unconsciously blushed as you opened your mouth to let him feed you.

Changbin chuckled after feeding you, only to pop some in his own mouth. You stood in between Changbin and Jeongin against the wall while Seungmin, Jisung, Felix and Minho were standing in front of you three.

They were just talking amongst themselves when you glanced over to the full bucket filled with caramel popcorn that Changbin was hugging.

He saw you looking so he took some out and held it up to your mouth.

“Ahh, it’s okay, I can take myself.” You said softly, gently pushing his hand away but instead, he said something that made your stomach churn in a good way.

“Don’t worry, I like feeding people.”

You stared at him for a second as he teasingly tapped the popcorns on your lips, making you giggle. Changbin fed you a few times, even after you’ve entered the cinema theatre. After the movie ended, all of you made your way to the pier.

Once there, you were walking past the game booths which had some very cute prizes. Just then, your eyes caught a glimpse of your favourite cartoon character as a prize for one of the booths.

It was Stitch.

You gasped as you eagerly reached out for whoever’s arm that was nearest to you, only to grab both Changbin’s and Seungmin’s forearms on either side of you before pointing to the booth with the Stitch soft toy.

“Guys look! It’s stitch! It’s so cute! Omg!” You giggled, hearing both of them chuckle as you jogged over to the booth. It was a game of shooting which you clearly weren’t good at. Just as you were pondering over the game, a familiar voice spoke up from behind you causing you to turn.

“One round please.” Changbin said as he handed the man his bill before the man gave him a loaded nerf gun.

“What are you doing?” You asked as Changbin simply smiled at you.

“Playing the game?”

“Of course I know that… but why?”

“For fun…” He smiled as he began to aim for the targets. He was getting the shots perfect so far. Barely missing any target. After a stressful close round, you watched as he won a prize. You didn’t know why but you thought he was going to choose something that was for himself.

But instead, the next thing you see was the man reaching up to grab the exact one that you’ve been eyeing all these while.

Changbin smiled as he thanked the man for the prize. But when he turned away from the man, you expected him to walk back to his friends. You didn’t expect him to give you the Stitch soft toy and then proceed to say innocently, “Take it.”

You raised your eyebrows at him softly, clearly taken aback by his offer.

“W-What?”

“It’s for you… You looked like you wanted it so bad.” Changbin chuckled as he gently took your hands and wrapped it around the toy to make you hug it.

“Changbin… thank you…” You whispered as he could only smile, guiding you back to where the guys were. The minute you came back to where some of them were, you excitedly showed off your prize.

“Jin ah! Look!” You exclaimed as Hyunjin gasped at the size of the soft toy.

“Woah! Where did you get this?”

“From that shooting booth! Isn’t he cute!”

“You won the shooting game?!” Hyunjin asked in shock, making you blush as you turned to Changbin. He had a soft smile on his face before he spoke up for you.

“I did. So I gave the prize to her.”

The guys began to tease as Changbin rolled his eyes thickly at them.

“Oh? Was that a gift to her?” Minho smirked.

“Never thought I’d see the day Seo Changbin goes out of his way to win a prize for a girl…” Jisung teased. Changbin simply brushed all their comments off as you all continued walking. You have been hugging the soft toy for the past hour wherever you went, earning soft laughs from the guys. Just then, Hyunjin wanted to take pictures at the pier.

Felix was helping to take Hyunjin’s pictures while Chan was helping to take Minho, Jisung, Seungmin and Jeongin’s picture.

You were just burying your face in the soft toy when Changbin’s voice softly spoke up from beside you, “Do you like it that much?” With that, you turned to him and a bright smile decorated your face, warming his heart even more.

“I’ve loved it since I was young! He’s so cute! Don’t you remember? I used to bring my small stuffed-” You were rambling excited until you stopped yourself when you realized what you were doing. “Oh! Sorry! Sorry… I got a little carried away there…” You apologized as you avoided his gaze but you missed the little smile growing on his face.

But what he said next made your heart stop for a split second, almost not believing your ears.

“I remember…” He whispered so softly, you could’ve missed it if you weren’t properly listening. You whipped your head around as you stared at him in shock.

“You… do?” Your voice was quiet as his eyes held the galaxy.

But your little moment gets cut when Felix calls you over to take a picture with Hyunjin who deliberately drags you away from Changbin. He could only smile as he nods at Hyunjin’s figure behind you, signalling you to just go follow him.

You frowned as you stood beside Hyunjin and proceeded to take a few memorable pictures with him. After everyone was almost done taking pictures, you didn’t want the memory to go to waste so you turned to Hyunjin and quietly asked when the rest of the guys were already walking away.

“Jinie, can you take one picture of me with Changbin?”

“Why?”

“Just for memories…” You smiled and you definitely saw the confused look on his face but nonetheless, he smiled and called the boy over. When Changbin was standing in front of you, Hyunjin told him what you wanted. Changbin looks at you and a smile creeps onto his face before he agrees to it.

You soon reached down to slide your hand in his and brought him to the edge of the pier. You stood beside him with the huge soft toy in your arms. Right when Hyunjin was just trying to find the right angle, you felt Changbin snake his arm around your waist and pulled you closer into his side.

Your heart was palpitating against your chest as he turned to you and whispered softly in your ear, “I’m sorry for being distant back then. I hope you can forgive me and we can start fresh? Properly this time?”

You turned to him, only to find his face just inches away from you. At this moment, neither of you dared to move an inch.

Just then, you heard Hyunjin’s voice counting down from 3.

You turned to Hyunjin and back to Changbin, wanting to ask what pose you two should do. But the moment you turned to Changbin, he gave you no warning whatsoever as he simply pressed his lips against yours sweetly. You closed your eyes in bliss, enjoying the feeling when you heard the click of the camera followed by Hyunjin screaming excitedly.

Changbin was the one to pull away as his lips lingered over your for a second. You struggled to look at him, feeling your cheeks burn from embarrassment. “Was that okay?” He whispered, making you nod.

“Hey! Since when are you two a thing?! And secretly behind my back too?! Pfft…” Hyunjin scoffed but his cheeky smirk didn’t go unnoticed.

“Yeah… about that, we still have a lot to clear between us…” Changbin said as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously but you helped him clear the air before Hyunjin got more confused with the situation.

“Let’s just say we have an unfinished history between us and we’re going to settle it once and for all, okay?” With that, Hyunjin nods as he wished you and Changbin good luck. The 3 of you rejoined the group, only for them to ask where you three were. Hyunjin simply said taking pictures, completely hiding the fact that he just witnessed his best friend kiss his close friend.

On the way to all your vehicles, Hyunjin asks if you wanted to ride home with Changbin instead and that he could send Jisung home. You turned to Changbin who overheard your conversation with Hyunjin.

You saw him smile as he shrugged his shoulders, so you turned to Hyunjin and felt your lips curving upwards into a soft expression, “I’d love that.”

With that, Changbin told Jisung the plan and the younger could only nod happily despite not knowing the true intentions of the car swap. After all of you had said your goodbyes, you followed Changbin to his car and he soon drove off after you told him your address.

The car ride was filled with jokes and laughter, purposely avoiding the main talks first until you got to your apartment.

You let him in, telling him to take a seat while you went to make him a drink. After you came back with his iced chocolate, you sat down with him on the couch. He took a few sips of it before he finally spoke up.

“Is it okay if we start over? I know I wasn’t the warmest when I was young… I barely socialize with you and your brother… I guess I was just too shy and a little antisocial back then.”

You smiled as you reached up to cup his face gently in your hand. “It’s okay Binie. I didn’t understand why back then but now I know.” You whispered, feeling him lean into your touch.

You didn’t know who leaned in first but the next thing you knew, you were kissing him.

On the lips.

Changbin wraps his arms around your waist as he pulls you onto his lap. Your heart was racing rapidly in your chest. He kisses you passionately, rubbing soft circles into your skin. Just then, your breath hitched in your throat when his lips left yours only to make his way down your neck.

“Changbin…” You whispered breathily, making him smirk against your skin.

You swiftly took off his shirt, pulling it over his head before doing the same for you. Changbin took a second to admire your body, seeing this much skin on you for the first time.

“Wow…” His voice soft, feeling yourself get shy all of a sudden. He chuckled as he kissed your lips to distract you.

He took his time with you, making sure he wasn’t hurting you in any way. He brought you to your room after a good amount of time on the couch. He had been so respectful of you that he would always ask for your permission to touch you anywhere. He left you wanting more.

He made sure to clean you after spending your time together before pulling you against him to cuddle. You couldn’t help but prop yourself on your elbow as you rested one hand on his bare chest, softly caressing it before sliding your hand up to cup his face.

“I’m so happy I found you again.” You whispered as he giggled. His eyes crinkled into two crescent moons that disappeared as soon as he smiled.

“I could say the same for you too.” Changbin said as he kissed you sweetly. Both of you fell into a deep slumber a few minutes later, waking up the next day feeling so warm and full in your hearts. You were happy that you met him again after all these years. Who knew you would end up with the boy whom you used to live next door to.

~~~

[milkacchan]

Yall wanted the kiribaku angst

I basically wrote this bc i was in a bad mood

But I hc bakugou being an amazing dad and not letting his career get in the way of it

And I'll stand by that as my offical hc

• When you were 'acquired' Bakugou got a job offer- one over seas that would extend his career

• He brought it to Kirishima immediately- who was skeptical in all honesty. They had a child now, why would he want to go?

• But Bakugou was just so excited about it- kirishima could put his career in partial hold to watch after you. He had friends helping too

• And he'd be back soon anyway, so it would be fine right?

• Right?

• That was the plan- though things don't ever go according to plan, do they.

• Katsukis out of country internship was extended two months before he was supposed to come home.

• Katsuki apolgoized and promised he'd visit and Eiji reassured him it was fine

• He'd already missed your first birthday, not that you knew, but Eiji celebrated it alone.

• His friends helped him out a lot, Kaminari and Sero became frequents in the house, often babysitting you or putting you to bed

• sometimes kiri was just too tired to take care of you on his own, in which case some member would come over and help him out. Usually making dinner or helping straighten up around the house

• he wasn't a single father but it sure felt like it

• Years passed and many of Katsukis promises were left empty

• You'd heard his voice over the phone more times than you'd actually met him

• You were 4 the first time he came home.

• it broke Eijirous heart to say this was the first time you'd actually meet him

• Deku had asked if you were excited to meet him

• It had sunk in then that you really didn't have much of a relationship with Katsuki

• There are times when Katsuki is home for a few months

• or for a year

• but then he always leaves again, for some new job

• It hurts Kiri but he's in love, he wants to be supportive so he is.

• He missed the manifestation of your quirk.

• you weren't pleased with that

• you screamed and cried and pleaded

• you got his temper, he cringed to himself.

• and kiri could do nothing but hold you.

• he wasn't very happy either.

• He'd missed at least half of your birthdays

• but he still held onto hope

• Bakugou would stay eventually, right?

• He isn't sure when it happened, but you stopped holding onto hope that he'd be back

• slowly you stopped talking to him during phone calls and when you did the answers were short and to the point before the phone was handed back to kiri

• He wasn't sure when but you looked up to Denki and Sero as father figures

• he wasn't sure when but you stopped caring

• there was malice and anger

• that you didn't always express but he knew it was there.

• but sometimes, sometimes you'd snap.

• there was one particularly stressful occasion, one really shitty day, where it all just spilled out.

• it was after a loss at the sports festival.

• it was your own fault of course, but it would've been nice to have a full house of support.

• "I just don't understand why he can't work here. He can make money here. He can be with his funding family. But instead he's off galavanting over there." You growled, "fuck him."

"Stop." Kiri spoke sternly. "Don't say that. He's your father. He's-"

"He doesn't love us, Dad. If he did he'd fucking be here."

• he didn't know what to do after that.

• after that you stopped calling for good.

• you didn't answer your phone for him, you didn't answer texts- you walked by kiri without a glance when he was talking with Katsuki.

• he felt like he was falling apart.

• his daughter, the light of his life, had practically no relationship with his other half.

• it was hard.

• months after, Katsuki moved back home. And he stayed

• When bakugou arrived home, he stood on the front porch and knocked on the door

• you peaked outside before going to get kiri

"Theres someone at the door."

"Who is it?"

"I don't know," you shrug and you didn't

• you hadn't processed it was you other dad

• You'd avoided looking at pictures for so long

• and he'd changed so much

• you didnt recognize him

• kiri about has a panic attack when he answers the door

• the relationship was strained. Really strained.

• "So are you happy your dad is back?" Kiri smiled, sitting at the table

"Who said I wanted him to come back?"

Katsuki sighs. "Can you just-"

"No, I can't." You huff, picking up your school bag and heading out the door.

• he doesn't know what to do

• because it seems you genuinely have no interest in being around him

• getting to know him

• You call him Bakugou.

• you don't call him dad

• you don't talk to him. Or text him.

• Youre upset hut you're stuck pretending that you didnt care he was never around.

• he was your first heartbreak.

• And kiri- well Kiri is stressing out. You look miserable. Your temper was shorter.

• he'd watched you snap multiple times

"Well Dad waited her for/years/ while you fucked around for years. Don't you dare question his loyalty "

"He's bent over backwards to make you happy. Yell at him again. I dare you."

"You shouldn't even fucking be here. I'm sure your friends in bumfuck would love to have you though."

• Bakugou was lost, that much Kiri could tell.

• And kiri felt like everything was falling all over again.

• Nothing changed after Bakugou came home. He should've known that.

• its not until you see Kirishima crying one night, that you decide maybe you should try to tolerate him

• your chest clenches and you feel guilty

• so the next morning when Bakugiu asks how you slept, you shrug and tell him it was fine

• and you swallow your ego and pride to say goodbye to /both/ of them instead of just kiri

• and you accepted dinner instead of making yourself something

• you bit your tongue when you wanted to curse at him

• or when you wanted to yell

• You were civil

• you didn't go out of your way to be nice or anything- but you'd be civil for kiri.

• after all he sacrificed a lot for you.

• he was your dad, you'd do anything for him.

• a week after that, bakugiu sits across from you at the table

• he watches you tense up, keeping your eyes on the cereal in front if you

• "Can we talk?"

"Don't have much of a choice do I?" You mumble but nod.

"I'm sorry." He breathes. "I'm so fucking sorry."

"Its whatever-"

"No, its not. I made a mistake. A really big mistake and I thought that coming home every once in awhile would be fine. I thought that calling every night would make it okay, but I was too wrapped up in my career to see that the two loves of my life were struggling. And you had to deal with it practically alone. And I don't blame you for hating me. I don't. Just try to let me make it up to you."

You were quiet for a few moments, letting the words sink in. Your eyes stayes glued to the bowl. "It hurt." You mumble finally. "I needed you around and you weren't there. You're my father for fucks sake- there-" you sighed, leaning back in your chair. "It hurt dad more. Did you apologize to him already?"

"Yes, but we're not talking about him. This is about you "

You were quiet again. "I didn't know what to do. Its like we weren't important enough for you."

• in the end you agree to let him attempt to make it up to you

• after embarrassingly crying into his chest

• but it takes a lot of work

[descendantofthesparrow]

Queen - Uma x Harry Hook x reader - songfic oneshot

=

Cross my heart and hope to die

I don't need another guy

To fight my battles, to overshadow me

Don't ya know I'm dangerous?

Fire burnin' in my blood

I got this handled, I don't need rescuin'

Being the daughter of Aurora and King Phillip was tough, or at least tougher than others thought it would be.

Always sit up straight, never slouch, never sit with your legs apart, never curse, never lash out, always be kind, always smile, never spit, Never show blemishes, never be over a certain weight.

Always be perfect

….then again….those were the expectations of the granddaughter of Leah, mother of Aurora.

Your parents had different expectations.

Now how to protect yourself, know how to wield a sword, know how to shoot an arrow, know how to fight on horseback, know when to strike and when to stand back, know when to act like a lady and when to act like a knight.

Be sad, be angry, be happy, be snarky, be you.

Luckily you had never stuck on your grandmother's teachings as your sister did. you had grown in your father's teachings of the sword.

As the younger daughter of Phillip and Aurora, your grandmother paid less attention to you, since she was paying attention to Audrey, who had prince Ben at her side, the awaiting heir to Auradon.

You relished in the time you had away from the aging spiteful EX-queen.

You can call me a princess all you like

'Cause you love to keep me helpless by your side

But that ain't what I want, I'ma show you

I'ma show you

You tried to help your sister grow her confidence within the family to step away from your grandmother, but Audrey was deep in her claws, unable to break away from the poison.

It hurt watching your sister, once the brightest girl to be around, slowly become a snake, sneering behind backs and teasing those who didn’t “match” up to her.

You hoped one day that she could break free of your grandmother's influence.

Though during the point the first four vks came along, you saw the sliver of the sister you once knew, when Ben “broke up” with her.

She had come to your room after the game, crying her eyes out, jumping into your arms, and sobbing her heart out to you.

“i-I thought we were-I thought” she had cried, burying her face into your shoulder.

While you held no grudge against Mal for her mother's actions against your own (unlike your grandmother), you weren’t on the best terms with Mal for a while after that.

During cotillion, your sister had gone off with your fairy godmothers, while you stayed behind to help Jane plan for the grand event. Uma, the daughter of Ursula, had caught your attention as she appeared.

She had spelled Ben to free the children still on the isle, you mentally commended her on her act, through the way she went about it was a bit interesting and too similar to Mals way of doing things that it left a bad taste in your mouth.

Though it got the job done, with the documents for another 4 vks to come to Auradon being worked on soon after cotillion.

How to treat me like a queen (yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)

(Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)

Boy, you better bow down on your knees

Can I get a "Yes, your majesty"?

Uma's face had been…interesting as you found her on the western shores of Ursula’s strait, holding food and a bundle of warmer clothes for her.

“why?” Uma had asked, shrugging on the dark blue hoodie and crossing her arms, staring down the box of warm food in your hands.

“because it will be cold the next few nights, and I'm not going to let you starve if I can help it” you responded, face blank as you held out the food to her.

She started at you for a moment, before nodding, taking the food and slowly eating it, before her eyes brightened and she soon devoured the entire meal.

You smiled and handed her a map of the surrounding area “be safe, there is a cave that keeps away the ocean draft and hardly ever gets cold or wet.

Uma watched you with curious eyes as you walked away that night, surprised after each day when you continued to return to her spot, holding new clothes and food for her.

Within the next year and a half, you and Uma had grown close, telling you of her boys, Harry Hook, and Gil, her best friends and those whom she trusted with her deepest secrets and life.

You decided you would try to convince Ben to get Uma's boys off.

Vk day came around the corner, Uma listening as you told her the new vks that would be coming to Auradon.

She brightened a bit as the Smee twins came up.

“Skipper and Sterling, good, Harriet probably made them sign up, otherwise they would have never tried.”

“do you think Harry and Gil will sign up?”

“dunno, probably, to find me at least, but I know Mal and her goons would never choose them, as long as they are loyal to me, Mal sees them as her enemy”

You hummed, remembering Mal's insistence on the search for Uma. The irony that one of their own was helping hide a villain.

“then let's hope one of the other ones can look past Mal's rivalry with you and let others look on to a new path”

Uma snorted, shaking her head “Evie would be the only one to do that, Mals boys, especially Jay, are too wrapped up in her delusions”

You sighed and nodded, crossing your arms as you stared across the moonlit sea at the smog-covered isle. “well figure something else out then” Uma grinned at you.

“optimistic aren’t you?”

You grinned back “someone has to be”

Only three days later, as you were running late to Janes birthday and after hearing about your sister's sleeping spell, you grabbed your sword that had been enchanted by your godmothers, the same enchantments as your father's sword, and ran out to look for any sign of your sister or the vks. you came across sleeping bodies just outside the dorms, looking around with wide eyes you hovered above a sleeping student, waving your hand in their face and snapping.

“Audrey what did you do” you whispered, leaning back and crossing your arms, looking around the courtyard.

“they’re asleep” you perked up and spun around, seeing the vks entering through the opposite pathway of the garden. “all of them” Evie looked around with worried eyes, her mouth dropping open in a gasp as she saw you “(y/n)!” she yelled, running towards you at surprising speed considering her heels “you're awake!”

“y-yeah?” you yelped, wrapping your arms around her as she slammed into you “why wouldn’t I be?”

“well” Evie stuttered “Audrey-the scepter-she-nevermind, im glad you’re okay!” you nodded slowly, peeking around Evie and spotting a snickering Uma.

You rose your brow at her and she shook her head, nodding towards the two taller boys looking around the courtyard.

One was taller, with dark-colored hair and a long dark red vest-jacket, black faded and worn pants with black boots and a silver hook in his left hand. Harry Hook, son of Captain James Hook, Uma's first mate.

The other was a slightly shorter teen male with longer blonde hair hidden by a dark orange cap, a short-sleeved leather shirt, and dark orange-yellow pants with dark brown boots. Gil, son of Gaston, her quartermaster.

Her boys.

The darker haired one, Harry, turned to you, locking his bright Blue eyes with yours, you felt a shock run through your body, your breath stopping as you stared into his eyes.

Harry felt his breath stop, watching as the girl with alluring (e/c) eyes stared back at him. He couldn’t look away, something holding him in place.

“guys!” Harry felt the hold release as the girl looked away and to Evie, who was gesturing to a statue of a girl in a band uniform "Hanna got turned to stone!”

So treat me like a queen (yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)

(Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)

Boy, you better bow down on your knees

Can I get a "Yes, your majesty"?

Mal had taken over the group, ordering to head to Bens castle to look for him. You walked silently beside Uma as you traveled on foot to the castle, too occupied in your thoughts to notice Harry continue to stare at you.

He couldn’t figure out why and how you somehow stopped him in his tracks, unable to breathe or move.

The only other person that had done that to him…was Uma.

“Ben!” Mal called out, worried eyes flying about the hallways “Ben!!”

“he might not be here Mal” you offered, raising your brow as Celia sighed and tossed in other (depressing) option.

“or turned to stone” Evie covered the young girl's mouth and shook her head.

Eyes on me like I'm a prize

But you better recognize

I'm not your angel 'cause I belong to me

Uma frowned at the slashes across the wall, following the slash with her hand and calling out to the group “hey!” Uma turned, pointing a the slashes that had destroyed the map hanging on the wall “What's this?”

“um” Carlos muttered, his eyes widening in fear, as walked over to the slashes and turned to mal “any chance this was here before?”

Mal bit her lip and shook her head a bit, continuing forward after dude, calling out for ben.

“Ben!” she opened a set of double doors, leading to a room of knights lining the walls “Ben?!”

Harry let out a whistle and stepped around you, walking towards a suit and trailing his fingers across the blade. Jay leaned towards him, whispering in his ear, sneering at the pirate.

Harry just smirked and walked off after Uma.

You followed close behind Uma, feeling something off about the room, like someone was watching you.

As Mal and Uma argued,  you and Harry glanced at each other as the knight in front of you started to move, you squinted at the pink smoke pouring from its helmet.

“guys?”

“I believe we’re being challenged” Harry tried, Uma holding up her hand to silence him.

“Let's split up and look for Audrey” Uma suggested, raising her brows as mal denied it and held out her hand. “that makes absolutely no sense, unless you give me the ember she's going to spell you!”

You and Harry pressed your lips together and looked at each other with wide eyes as the knight moved again “GUYS!” you yelled, gesturing to the knight as the girls jumped and looked at you.

“we ‘ave a bit of a situation ‘ere” Harry growled, glaring up at the empty suit of armor that began to move as if it was being worn.

“you like a prince mal? Well, how bout a knight in shining armor….or knights”

You can call me a princess all you like

'Cause you love to keep me helpless by your side

But that ain't what I want, I'ma show you

I'ma show you

You quickly backed away, Uma holding onto your arm as you ran towards the doors when two knights blocked the way, Celia standing behind them eyes wide with fear.

You groaned and turned, spotting a set of swords on the wall. You maneuvered around Jay and Mal and grabbed them, handing them to Evie and Carlos as you backed into the group, eyeing down the knights.

“Let's do this” you muttered, gasping as Harry stepped in front of you and pushed you back. “stay back princess, wouldn’t want yeh getting hurt” you felt your brow twitch in agitation, but ignored him, watching the knights as they surrounded you. Uma hopped down beside you and Harry, smirking at the knights, waving her fingers tauntingly.

You sighed and drew your sword, feeling the enchantments run through the hilt. You took a step forward, making Harry twitch, and in blinding speed, you knocked several helmets off the knight's heads, the suits crumbling to the floor with a loud crash.

“Did anybody else forget that (y/n)s a genius with a sword?” Carlos chuckled, watching as you took down three more knights with only a sidestep and a flourish of your sword.

“huh?” Harry asked, yelping as a hammer swiped at his head, Jay appearing behind it and striking its shoulder, sending it to the side.

“she takes more after her dad doesn’t she?” Jay supplied, grabbing Harry's arm and forcing him to his feet, blocking another swipe as Harry nodded behind him.

How to treat me like a queen (Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)

(Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)

Boy, you better bow down on your knees

Can I get a "Yes, your majesty"?

You glanced at Uma, who was being held down by four knights, and bolted over to her, half leaping in the air and drawing your sword down, slashing through the metal of their arms like butter and colliding into Uma and half dragging her across the room, looking back at the knights as Audrey's scream of frustration rang through the room.

“holy shit” Uma muttered in your ear, grabbing your shoulder to stabilize herself “how come you never told me you could do this shit?” “you never asked” you laughed, flipping your sword and turning, smirking at the knights who were trying, and failing, to sneak up behind you.

“still would have been nice to know” Uma snorted, running around you and slashing at one of the knights, backing away and behind you as you ran forward and swung your sword around, slicing off their helmets, side flipping as the crashed to the ground.

“Uma?” Harry panted, sliding next to her and smiling at you, who was blocking another knight from slashing at Evie. “can we keep her?”

Uma laughed and nodded “yes, yes we can keep her”

“awesome” Harry breathed, biting his lip, watching you spin on your heel and unarm a knight before spinning into a squat, slashing off their knees and smirking as they crashed to the ground.

So treat me like a queen (yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)

(Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)

Boy, you better bow down on your knees

Can I get a "Yes, your majesty"?

You pouted and kicked the boot of a fallen knight, all that fight only for them to be defeated by a simple spell and some dance moves.

The boring way to end a battle if anyone asked you.

You sighed and cracked your neck, sheathing your sword and walking over to the squabbling VKs. “what's next?” you asked aloud, rolling your eyes as Mal assumed you were talking to her.

“we’re going to the museum to look for any clues”

“there's no point to that though! We know it's Audrey who took the crown and scepter, logically we should go to her room or something and look for any clues there!” Uma pushed, gritting her teeth as Mal shook her head.

“Mal” you sighed, dropping your shoulders “you don’t want to hear this but Uma's right, going to the museum is pointless unless we're going for the wand or something, I say us girls go to Audrey's and the boys look for ben”

Uma nodded, staring Mal down, who glared back. Evie clapped her hands together, making the two jump “that sounds perfect, lets meet at my place in, two hours okay?”

The rest of the group nodded, you walked up to Celia and gently pushed her to start moving as the vks started waling out of the room to set on their missions.

Harry glanced back at you as he walked alongside Gil, watching as Uma turned to you and whispered something, smirking as your shoulders bounced.

He turned back sighing as he listened to the dog talk.

Yeah

You can call me a princess all you like

‘Cause you love to keep me helpless by your side

But that ain’t what I want, I’ma show you

You walked alongside Uma and Harry as they separated from the other vks to look for Celia and Gil. “you coming with us or something lass?” Harry asked aloud, raising his brows as you shook your head.

“no, I’ll help you find Gil and Celia and then help you get where you need to go, then I’ll come back to help my sister get her head back, that scepter is warping her mind and I won't lose her” you stated, voice strong with conviction.

Uma and Harry glanced at each other before Uma turned to you, going to speak when Mal suddenly ran up, yelling out Uma's name.

“uma-uma! Wait! Please wait!” Uma glared at the purple-haired girl as she skidded to a stop “I need your help, we have a chance if we work together!”

Uma sneered at her “your friends kick you to the curb?” Mal's face said it all “good”

“Ben saw something in you, and-today Uma I saw it too! You care! Uma, you care about everybody!” Uma rolled her eyes, crossing her arms and staring at Mal blankly “and Auradon is worth saving!”

“and my sister isn’t?” you sneered, Mal suddenly turned to you “you know what the scepter is like, it poisons the mind Mal, it's taken over my sister, and because of you, I might not get her back, because of you, she turned to something dark to get revenge…You know” you cocked your hip, glaring at the wide-eyed Mal

“she never got an apology from you or Ben, you love spelled Ben for the wand, had him “break up” with Audrey by declaring his “love” for you, do you know how many nights I spent with Audrey, holding her in my arms because she couldn’t sleep she was crying so hard, crying so hard she threw up?

You are not the only one with feelings Mal, Audrey did love ben, my grandmother screwed up what love meant to Audrey but she did love him, and you took that away and never apologized. So you know what Mal” you got in her face, glaring into her shiny green eyes “you deserve whatever Audrey does to you, and when I get back, I will save Audrey myself, because it seems I'm the only one who actually fucking cares about her”

You shoulder checked Mal and walked off, Mal desperately calling your name. “you talk pretty….but they’ve already made up their minds” Harry sighed, following Uma as she pushed past Mal and followed after you.

How to treat me like a queen (yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)

(Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)

Boy, you better bow down on your knees

Can I get a "Yes, your majesty"?

You grinned at Uma as she walked across the bridge from the isle to Auradon, Harry, and Gil at her side.

“Welcome to Auradon Uma” you laughed as Uma leapt into your arms, spinning her around for a moment to keep your balance “officially at least” Uma rolled her eyes as she pulled back, taking your hand and pulling you off to dance, Harry, following close behind.

“yeah yeah, thanks for everything by the way”

You hummed, raising your brow “for giving me food, clothes, all that stuff for the past year”

“so yer the one who took care of the cap’n all this time huh?” Harry asked, looking to Uma for confirmation.

“I guess?” you shrugged, smirking as Mal turned to you with wide eyes “uh I think Mal heard that one?”

“who cares” Uma chuckled, grabbing your hand and pulling you toward her, Harry following her lead and grabbing your other hand “care to dance with us pirates princess?”

“it would be my pleasure” you bowed, giggling as Harry spun you and held you to his side, Uma laughing along and letting him spin her with his other hand.

So treat me like a queen (yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)

(Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)

Boy, you better bow down on your knees

Can I get a "Yes, your majesty"?

-end-

permtaglist

@queer-cosette​ @sephiralorange​

@lunanight2012​ @lunanight2012​

@daughter-of-the-stars11​ @musicarose​

@imtryingthisout​ @remembered-license​

@random-thoughts-003​ @verboetoperee​

[northlight14]

Breakup’s, birthdays and drag shows

Description: Roman and Janus broke up and now Roman can't celebrate his birthday with him. Now it's Virgil's job as his best friend to cheer him up.

TW: breakup mention, crying, cursing, Janus isn't intended to be unsympathetic but since Virgil doesn't like him it might come across that way, alcohol mention, brief violence mention, let me know if I need to add anything else

Ships: platonic prinxiety, past roceit

Genre: hurt/comfort

Prompt: alt prompt 4, drag (prompt by @pridewrite2021)

Virgil was browsing the card isle looking for a birthday card for Roman when his phone started to buzz. He pulled it out to see it was Remus calling him.

"Ugh, what is it Remus?" Virgil said, already not interested in whatever Remus had gotten himself into.

"Hey Virgin! Can you come over?" Remus chirped.

"I'll be coming over later to drop off Roman's card. Why, what's up?"

"Well, you know how Roman and Janus broke up last week?" How could Virgil forget? Roman had spent the entire week being an absolute wreck and Patton and Logan had to hold Virgil back in order to stop him beating Janus up.

"Yes." Virgil gritted out through his teeth.

"Well, Roman just realized that he isn't gonna be able to celebrate with him and that this is gonna be his first birthday without him in 3 years and what not. So now he's crying in his room, lookin' like a hot mess. And since he's your best friend and all I was wondering if you could come and cheer him up or whatever."

"What! How the hell am I supposed to do that?!" Virgil yelled, before realizing he's still standing in the middle of the card isle, hiding his face which was now scarlet.

"I don't know man but you'll come up with something! You're like a brother to him, Virgie!"

"You actually are his brother, Rem!"

"Come on Virgil, please!" Remus pleaded through the phone. "I just...I really don't know what to do, here." He said, voice suddenly going quiet.

Virgil sighed. "Ok, I'll be ten minutes."

———

Virgil always forgot how big Roman's house was. The drive way alone seemed to go on for ages, outlined by large trees and red rose bushes. The pathway to the door was a red brick and clearly well taken care of. The house itself was a faded red brick with large windows and balconies. The front door was too tall and painted black, standing in the middle of two white pillars.

Looking at where Roman lived, it was easy to see why Virgil had disliked him at first. When they'd first met, Roman had a much bigger problem with his bratty rich kid attitude and with his life seemingly perfect from an outsiders point of view it was easy to see why they clashed. after all, Virgil had absent parents and had to work several jobs to help pay bills. But as he got to know Remus better it made it much easier to see through Roman as well. Mr and Mrs Prince were nice enough but they had a bad habit of pitting Roman and Remus against each other, both with academics and creative pursuits. It turned out Roman's arrogant attitude was a coping mechanism for his surprisingly low self esteem. It also turned out that Roman wasn't just "lazy" when it came to school work like Virgil had first thought, but he was actually struggling with ADHD. The more Virgil learned about Roman and the more Roman learned about Virgil, the closer they became until they began to see each other as brothers. Brothers that would make fun of each other relentlessly but brothers non the less.

Virgil knocked on the large door and waited for a response. Not too long after, Mrs Prince answered. She was a tall and slender woman with tanned skin. Her dark hair was tied perfectly in a bun. She wore a black dress with a red shall, both of which looked as expensive as Virgil's car.

"Oh, hello Virgil. I assume you're here for Roman? Remus said you were coming." She said.

"Uh, yeah. Can I come in?"

"Of coarse, Roman should be in his room. He hasn't come out since this morning." She said, stepping aside to let Virgil in.

'Oh God.' Virgil thought to himself before heading upstairs and hoping he would finally be able to remember which room is Romans.

In the end Remus came out his room and pointed Virgil in the right direction but hey, no one else needed to know that.

Gently, Virgil knocked on Romans door and waited to be let in.

"Remus, I told you to go away!" Roman yelled from inside, his voice sounding muffled.

"Hey Roman, it's Virgil. Can I come in?"

There was a brief moments pause before Virgil heard a quiet voice he decided to interoperate as Roman inviting him in.

Virgil was very taken aback by the sight before him. The room, which was usually kept as neat as possible, was covered in tissues, chocolate wrappers and a mix of opened and unopened presents. Roman was sat on his bed, eyes puffy and hair messy.

"Um, hey, are you alright?" 'Fuck sake Virgil, obviously he isn't.' Roman sniffled, smiling despite himself. "Yeah, I just...I miss him, ya know?"

"Yeah." Virgil said, sitting beside him. "Oh, um, I got you this..." Virgil awkwardly passed him the card.

Roman smiled, accepting it. "Thanks."

"So...what do you want to do? For your birthday, I mean." Virgil said, trying and failing to hide his discomfort.

"I don't know..." Roman sighed, looking down at his hands. "I was just going to continue to watch Carmen Santiago. But I always watched that with Janus. It was our show, ya know? He'd always make a comment about how she's still stealing and I'd counter it with how she's stealing from thieves so surely that makes it ok! I don't know, it just...it feels wrong to watch it without him..." Roman laughed sadly. "Which sucks because the last episode left on a cliff hanger and I really wanna know what happens next." He laughed a little at his own expense.

Virgil couldn't help but smirk. "Well, why don't we go out somewhere?"

Roman looked down again. "I don't know..."

'Crap. What the heck am I supposed to do here?!'

Virgil looked around awkwardly. He then spied in the corner what looked like a new makeup pallet. Roman must have gotten it for his birthday. 'Bingo.'

"Hey, why don't we do each other's makeup?" Virgil offered.

Romans face immediately lit up. "Really?!" He said, excitedly.

"Yeah, why not?" Virgil said, scratching the back of his neck.

"Well last time I asked to do your makeup, you said you'd rather stab yourself in the eye with your eye liner."

"Yeah, well..." Virgil coughed. "Consider it my birthday present to you."

Roman immediately shot up and grabbed the eyeshadow pallet and several brushes. "I promise you won't regret this!" Yeah, Virgil was already regretting this but Roman seemed happy and that's all that mattered.

———

The brushes tickled Virgil's face as Roman layered the purple eye shadow. Virgil almost started to object as Roman began to apply silver jewels at the edges of the eye shadow, before stopping himself. Roman then finished the look by applying a purplish pink lipstick and brushing Virgil's bangs out of his face. He then handed Virgil a mirror. The look was very 80's glam, far from Virgil's usual style but he had to admit, it looked really good. The eyeshadow looked sharp, the upper lid being a lighter shade than the under eye and corners of the eyes.

"It looks great!" Virgil said, admiring it. Roman smiled proudly from the compliment. "Alright." Virgil said, taking the eye shadow pallet. "Your turn."

Roman laughed. "I appreciate the offer, rainy day real estate, but I don't really wanna look like I haven't slept in a hundred years." Roman teased.

"Says the guy who's went entire weeks not sleeping because he was binge watching a new show!" Virgil teased back.

"And I'll have you know I wear that like a badge of honor!"

"Besides," Virgil continued to laugh. "I know how to do other makeup looks."

"Ok..." Roman said. "But if I end up looking like a Tim Burton character, I will kill you with my bare hands." They both couldn't help but laugh.

Virgil decided to go for a similar style that Roman went for, layering different shades of red and mixing in some gold glitter. He also decided to draw a small crown on his right cheek, just below the eye. The look was then finished off with red lipstick to match.

He passed the mirror over to Roman who gasped in delight at his reflection. "It looks so good!" He exclaimed.

"Yeah? I'm glad you like it." Virgil smiled, pulling back on his purple patch hoodie after taking it off to give himself more mobility when applying the makeup.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Roman said, waving his arms in front of his face before jumping up and handing Virgil a black leather jacket that was hung on his chair as well as a pair of purple tinted heart glasses. "Put these on!" He exclaimed.

Virgil once again pulled off his hoodie, replacing it with the leather jacket. It fit him surprisingly well considering Roman was a fair bit taller and more muscular than him. He then put on the glasses and Roman eagerly pulled him off his bed and guided him to his full length mirror.

"Wow...I actually look really good." Virgil said.

"See! I told you!" Roman laughed.

Virgil examined the jacket. "I didn't think you'd own a jacket like this. Did you steal it from Remus or something?" Virgil asked.

Romans smile suddenly dropped. "It, uh, it was Janus'..."

Shit.

"Oh, um, sorry." Virgil said, honestly.

"It's ok." Roman sighed, sitting back on his bed. "I've been meaning to give it back. Especially since it still has his wallet in it. But that means I'll have to see him and I don't think I'm ready for that yet."

'He left his wallet in here?' Virgil put his hands in the pockets and sure enough, Roman was right. Virgil quickly started to feel all too powerful now knowing this.

"Hey, come on, let's go out somewhere. Show off your makeup." Virgil tried again.

"For someone who looks like they belong in a vampire novel, you're awfully eager to go outside." Roman laughed.

"Come on, I just think it'll do you some good to get out for a bit."

Roman averted Virgil's gaze. "I don't know..."

"Come on, man. Do you really want to let that jackass ruin your birthday?"

Roman sighed. "Ok, fine."

Virgil waited outside Romans room as he changed out his pajamas. When he came out, he was sporting a white shirt paired with a black jacket that had a red floral pattern. He was also wearing a pair of glasses, his in the shape of two fairy wings that matched the gold in his eye shadow perfectly.

As the two walked out the house, Roman called "Mom, weren't going out! I should be home soon!"

His mom sounded surprised by this but happy non the less. "Ok sweetie, be back soon!"

"So where are we going?" Roman asked as they walked out the house.

"How the hell should I know? I'm just winging it." Virgil laughed.

———

The two wandered through the town as the sun began to set, the reds and oranges bouncing off Romans glasses and the glitter perfectly. Virgil was all too aware of the judging looks they were being given but when he looked at Roman, he seemed happy. And right now that's all that mattered. Just keeping Romans mind off Janus.

Eventually, Virgil began to hear the sound of music and he subconsciously started to follow it, Roman tailing behind. As he wandered through the town he eventually found the source.

A bar putting on a drag show.

Roman was staring off into space, standing next to him. Virgil tapped his shoulder, pulling him back to reality. "Hey, I know what we're doing."

———

Romans face lit up once more when he saw the stage. It didn't seem like they missed too much, which was good. The drag queen that was stood on the stage currently was singing, her hair done big with makeup that shone and reflected the lights perfectly. Her dress black and covered in sequins and frills. The heels she wore didn't look comfortable in the slightest but she walked in them with ease.

The two sat at the bar. They were each 18 and 19, meaning they wouldn't be able to drink but given the circumstances, it was probably best if Roman didn't get drunk right now.

Instead, Virgil just ordered them some non alcoholic drinks and fries. Roman was about to hand him the money to pay but Virgil immediately declined. "My treat. It's your birthday after all." Virgil then remembered Janus' wallet still in his jacket pocket. 'I mean, if Janus is the reason we're here, it's only right he should be the one to pay for us, right?' Virgil couldn't help his smirk as he handed the money over.

The night continued and Roman and Virgil cheered loudly for each queen on stage, each one quite different from the last. Virgil watched as any sign of grief seemingly dissolved from Romans face.

The final queen for the night came on the stage and they both watched with joy as she performed.

"I know what you're doing, you know." Roman said, not taking his eyes off the stage. Virgil froze instantly, slowly daring to look at his friend. Roman once again had small tears in his eyes but he wore the most genuine smile Virgil hadn't seen on him in ages. "Thank you."

Virgil smiled at his friend. At his brother. "Of coarse."

-------

Authors note: I’ve been wanting to write something based on the glam looks Thomas posted for Roman and Virgil for a while now and I obviously wanted to write something for Romans birthday. So when I saw the prompt for today was ‘drag’ I immediately thought “well that’s convenient”. So happy birthday Roman! Anyway, hope y’all enjoyed. I’m still practicing my writing and hopefully I’m improving. 

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[ohmightydevviepuu]

the last test and proof / part two

for the continuing, ongoing celebration that MUST be @profdanglaisstuff​ birthday, i present to you part two of 3B canon divergence goodness.  at least, i think it’s good.  i can only hope you feel the same.

thanks again to @katie-dub​ and @thisonesatellite​. for @shireness-says​ and the NO!  CURSE!  RENAISSANCE!!

part one AO3.

Things Emma and Hook Haven’t Talked About Yet:

1 - Neal 2 - The time she’d left him with a giant 3 - The time he’d left her in a cell 4 - Milah 5 - True. Love’s. Kiss.

--

Neal.

God. Neal was just--

Jesus fucking Christ, Neal was the worst.

He walked in with Hook--with Killian--and Emma couldn’t help it, she was basically checking them for bruises or whatever and it’s not--it’s not like she wanted them to be fighting.

Over her.

She did not want them fighting over her, hard pass on the performative macho bullshit, thanks, and besides, it wouldn’t be fair if Killian got to punch Neal first when Emma was really the one who had earned the right. Eleven months in a goddamn cell and another eleven years after that had given her plenty of time to think and at least, if nothing else, that was behind her. Forever.

But the look on Neal’s face suggested that he hadn’t quite accepted it yet and Emma, she looked at her parents and looked at Henry and yeah, okay, she had to talk to Neal.

Emma looked at Killian and he--he nodded.

What. The. Fuck.

He nodded, as if she needed his fucking permission and then he gestured, and turned away but not in time to hide the little twitch he did with his fingers when he was nervous, rubbing his thumb against his forefinger and spinning the ring there with literal centuries of practice. Emma exhaled. Okay. Okay.

But first, Neal.

“Seriously, Emma?”

No.

Emma didn’t--she didn’t do feelings, or at least, she didn’t like expressing them, and this--this was Neal’s fault. But Killian, he just--he knew her, open book or whatever he wanted to call it, and he didn’t question it, or question her. She remembered how they met--she’ll never fucking forget it--and the beanstalk and the look in his eyes, the look you get when you’ve been left alone and how even then, there was something. Maybe it hadn’t started off great but now it was--

It was--

When I win your heart, Emma--

So.

Yes.

“Yes, okay?” Emma practically shouted. “Not like I need your permission, Mr. I-Was-Engaged-To-Someone-Who-Shot-Me. Six days ago. Six days, Neal, after eleven years of you being gone and then you were dead and I had to deal with that.”

“In six days?” He was angry, too. Practically shouting. Emma hoped Henry wasn’t listening.

“A lot happened in six days,” Emma said, suddenly tired. The bean. Her father, her kid. The kiss--the Other Kiss, the one that should have been a warning because she had felt it, felt him, as if she could fly and that--

That was probably magic, too.

Emma snorted a laugh that was maybe a hair away from being a cry. “I love you,” she said. To Neal. She was saying it to Neal who didn’t deserve to hear it but his father died today and she needed to get this shit off of her chest and out of her life and be in a place where she could look at the father of her kid without wanting to throw up or throw things or laugh-cry. “I loved you. And you left. And that is never going to be okay. I am never going to be okay with that. I was a kid, Neal. You took advantage of my love, and my trust, and I literally have not been able to trust another person since then.”

Until Hook. Killian.

“Killian came back,” she said.

“He didn’t come back for you,” Neal snapped, and if this was supposed to be his parting shot, his killing blow, wow, did that backfire because--

“I know,” she said, and that’s when she smiled. “He came back for Henry. To help. Because Henry is your kid. Because he wanted to do the right fucking thing. Be a part of something, for once, instead of running away.”

“You’re a runner too, Em,” Neal said. “You know it, and I know it.”

“Maybe I am,” Emma said. “But maybe this time I want to be a part of something.”

She did. She did, and it wasn’t this conversation. Emma turned and scanned the room, looking for Hook. For Killian. But he was--

Gone.

And Emma’s heart, it did something painful, contracting or maybe exploding until she saw Granny, saw the old woman’s wink and the way she tilted her head toward the back and the sign that said RESTROOMS.

Very romantic.

But Emma gathered it up inside herself, pulled together the yes and the when I win your heart and the be a part of something and the magic she could maybe sort of still feel tingling in her lips and took a deep breath and went to find him.

Killian. She went to find Killian.

So.

Here’s what didn’t happen:

There was no gentle, reassuring kiss. No smiles, no hand-holding, no words of any kind and certainly none of the ones Emma preferred to keep locked away.

True. Love’s. Kiss.

There was no moment of exquisite pining and connection as they leaned against the wall, him in the restroom and her in the hallway, their hands lined up, their postures mirrored, as they felt Feelings.

Instead, there was rum proffered and accepted; a long, slow pull and a long, even gaze. The windows of his eyes were open again as he watched her, hungry. Another pull--and that time, she watched him, watched his tongue as it traced his bottom lip, as she reached for him and let her finger follow its path.

There was the countertop for the sink, which had the right height and the right angle as he--

Well, it was better than the back of a Volkswagen.

It was quick and dirty and hot, something secret, something forbidden, and how had they never done this in Neverland when it had been there simmering between them since the Other Kiss, since the beanstalk, since the handkerchief and the swordfight--when I jab you with my sword you’ll feel it--and god, god, did she feel it.. A fuck-your-Feelings kind of fuck, a get-it-out-of-our-systems kind of fuck, a holy-shit-what-the-fuck-just-happened kind of fuck.

It was messy. Clumsy.

It was perfect: every touch a promise.

And then--

“Hook,” she whispered. “Killian--”

Something flickered. Something broke.

The windows closed.

“Swan. Emma--” he stopped. “I--”

“Seriously?”

“Apologies,” he said. “For my rudeness.”

He left. She watched.

Yeah. That happened.

--

 @optomisticgirl​ @spartanguard​ @kmomof4​ @mariakov81​ @carpedzem​ @karl0ta​ @therealstartraveller776​ @snowbellewells​ @klynn-stormz​ @captain-emmajones​ @stahlop​

[blue-lothus]

Breathe

Summary: It was a misunderstanding, really. But because of it, Akira found himself banished to work at the ship of the terrible captain Kamoshida. But before he could start serving his time, he met a merman, and somehow got both of them thrown in the brig, with a death sentence on their heads. 

Or, how Akira saved a merman, got a best friend, fell in love a little bit, and went on an adventure. 

Or how it’s @grapeflavoredorange ‘s birthday, and I wanted to write something nice for this amazing person, who wrote amazing things for my favorite pairing. I took the idea from one of our conversations, about how in the sims 4 a mermaid’s kiss gives you the ability to breathe underwater for a few hours.

It was an odd day, the atmosphere felt charged and unnatural. It was raining softly, but the grey clouds were dense, looming over his head. A young man with a mop of rebellious black hair sat at the bay, passively watching the horizon, and the sea. 

The rain started to fall harder, and that was the only thing that made him move from his spot.

Akira wasn’t really sure how he even ended up there. The last weeks of his life felt like a bad dream, all disconnect feelings and sudden events that made no sense at all. 

How did he end up convicted and then condemned to serve his time on a poacher’s ship? 

A year on the sea, for a boy who should have just continued his family business and run a farm. 

He sighed under the small shelter he found from the rain. 

There was movement in the water, something bright and golden flashing quickly and then vanishing. Gone almost as soon as it appeared, a flash of colour in the white haze of the copious rain. It was pouring at this point, and it was impossible to tell what was that, from where he stood.

Akira had always been too curious for his own good.

He approached, silent as a cat, and leaned over the wooden plates of the pier. For his absolute shock, he found someone staring back at him.

It was beautiful. It looked like a he. His hair was golden and unnatural. But his eyes were a gentle brown, almost human, if his teeth weren’t so sharp. If his hair wasn’t so odd. There weren’t any humanoid creatures around these parts of the ocean, except for merfolk.

This one was surely pretty enough to be one of them. And then, the fact that he was still swimming in that weather was surely proof that he wasn’t afraid of drowning. It was just… a weird place to see one of them. They usually hid from humans, since they started being hunted.

“What were you doing so close to the ship- wait, sorry. You probably have no idea what I’m saying.” Akira shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. It was a well known fact that merfolk didn’t speak human language. 

The creature frowned, seemingly deeply offended. 

“I’m not dumb. I can speak your dumb language.”

“I didn’t- I mean…” Akira blinked, startled. The creature sounded a bit strange, but he was fluent enough. 

“You can stop the bullshit, ok? Kamoshida knows I can speak, and anyone from his crew knows it too.”

“I don’t even know this Kamoshida person. I’m not a poacher. I just got assigned here today.”

The aggression immediately left those brown eyes. 

“Oh. I guess it makes sense then.” The blond looked around, swimming in place. “I was just passing by and saw his ship and I thought of throwing some rocks at this stupid thing so it might stall him a bit.” 

Akira leaned closer, trying to hear the blond through the thunderous noise of the rain splattering hard around them.

Later, Akira would want to smack himself in the head for being so stupid. It should be so obvious what was going to happen. But they were both distracted, and the rain was too loud to allow them to hear fickle things like footsteps. Akira just noticed when something blocked the partial daylight, a shadow just behind him. 

“Who do we have here?” 

It was a man’s voice, but Akira didn’t recognize it. The blond, however, seemed to do. His brown eyes got wide, and he immediately yelled:

“It’s Kamoshida, run!���

Akira did turn to run away, but he was a bit too late for that, and the blunt handle of a saber came down hard on his head.

He was too dizzy to see how the merman stopped a second too long when it heard him crying out. 

He did hear a pained scream not long after, and then something heavy being brought on board of the ship, still trashing.

“This damned monster, now I finally got him.” Akira heard, and he felt his chest tight with worry. Of course. The captain hunted merfolk. He noticed the hat, and the nicer clothes. Kamoshida was the name of the captain of the ship he had been assigned to.

Kamoshida’s eyes turned to him. “And of course this scum here would turn out to be a mutineer. I knew he was bad news, when my friend asked me for him to join this crew.” And Akira was fairly certain Kamoshida wasn’t ever going to give him a chance. 

“I was invited to an important event at the next port so I’ll wait to hand you over to the authorities in the next town.” Kamoshida went on, and Akira’s head was pounding already, and he wished he wasn’t so dizzy otherwise he’d have decked the captain’s stupid face just to get him to shut up. 

“And you… I might already have a buyer in potential. If you live that long that is.” 

It was clearly a petty vengeance coming from a pitiful man who cared more about humiliating others than he could care about money. He cared about having power over others, and he’d enjoy watching them squirm in place. 

Akira was thrown in the brig, and heard the lock clicking heavily. He cursed under his breath, looking around.

There was a metal container there, filled with water and fixed to the floor with screws. It was occupied, unfortunately. 

The merman he saw earlier looked in agony, his breathing shallow and fast. The harpoon had caught him by a few inches, and had been torn free of him as he struggled. What remained was an open wound on the side of his tail, ragged edges bleeding a startling red blood. 

His scales were a gentle shade of gold. It seemed to gleam faintly in an ethereal way even under the dim light. It was this bit heartbreaking to see something this beautiful with a wound like that. 

“I just wanna help.” He held his hands up, in what he hoped was a reassuring gesture. 

The creature bared its teeth, snarling. He had very sharp teeth, indeed. Clearly made to tear flesh. 

“It’s okay,” he said, trying to calm himself down, because if the merman was going to survive, Akira would have to do something to help. Kamoshida would clearly enjoy watching the specimen die slowly. 

Akira reached a hand out. 

The merman snapped his mouth, threatening a vicious bite. 

The venom was known to paralyze its victim in a few seconds. Painful. Probably deadly, but as far as Akira knew merfolk liked to eat its food while it was still alive, so no one really knew if the venom was fatal. 

Those who bought merfolk as exotic pets usually had them muzzled most of the time. Sedated when not. Some pulled off all of their teeth and used it as decoration. 

A few tried to get rid of their vocal chords, because they hated the shrills merfolk made. 

“C’mon, we need to get that treated. You don’t wanna give Kamoshida the satisfaction of actually killing you.” 

That earned him a startled blink from the merman, followed by a resentful glare pointed at the door, where he last saw the captain. 

“You’re right.” He seemed to deflate, and allowed Akira to come closer.

“So… if you don’t wanna hunt merfolk, why are you here?” The blond asked in a voice that trembled in pain, but he was bravely pretending otherwise. 

Akira found himself telling it all. Maybe because it was the first friendly contact he had since he got arrested. Maybe because the blond made him feel oddly at ease. But as Akira tried his best to stop the bleeding using his own shirt, he started talking about before.

His tale had the merit of distracting the merman from the pain. When the blood stopped overflowing, and as he finished tying off the cloth around the wound, the blond was entirely caught up with the story.

“That’s horrible! It wasn’t fair. I can’t believe they did that to you. And now you got caught up with Kamoshida’s shit.” 

Akira blinked, feeling a curious pressure on his throat. It was the first time anyone told him that. It was the first time anyone really looked at him after he was labeled a criminal. 

But it made some sense, that another one that was seen as inherently evil and wicked would understand him. They both knew what humans could do to those they deemed too different. 

“So… I’m guessing you’ve met Kamoshida personally before this.” Akira was curious about the merman’s reaction at seeing the man, and the disgust in his face at just uttering his name.

“Yeah. He kinda got me once already. He almost caught me and a group of my friends. But I stayed behind and gave them the alarm, and Kamoshida caught me and broke my tail. Sent me back just so all the others would see what happened to those who tried to save one another. He’s trying to divide us, so he can have an easier time catching us.” And he had already broken that one specimen, it wouldn’t be worth that much in the market. But it’d kept the others afraid enough. 

“That’s... that’s horrible,” Akira breathed out.

The merman fell silent, and it was just then that Akira noticed how quiet everything was. The late afternoon had probably turned into night without him realizing it. The ship was rocking slightly, a bit differently from when they were at the shore. With a pang of anxiety, Akira realized they had set sail. 

There was no way out, and the ship was silent as a tomb as the night grew late. Akira was glad for having company. 

Until the next port at least. And then the merman would be sold off, and Akira would be handed over to the authorities and arrested. 

They had little to occupy their days, but they had each other, at least. Theyplayed games, and talked, about nothing and everything. 

“What do you miss the most, from back home?” Akira asked, one day.

“My mom. You?” 

“I don’t think I have anything to go back to.”

Over the days, Akira learned that his new friend’s name was a couple of whistles he had no idea on how to pronounce. He was feeling a bit self conscious about his inability to say it, but the blond looked very frustrated as well as he tried saying his own name. 

“Air is so weird,” the merman complained, trying saying his name again and just ended up producing some hisses. 

Since he couldn’t tell his proper name out of the water, the blond insisted on Akira suggesting some human names that would fit him. He got into his head that it’d be cool to have another name. He was also extremely picky, and wanted something that sounded cool enough, and that had a relevant meaning.

After many names were discarded, one day, he settled on one. 

“Ryuji. I like the sound of that. And I like that it was a warrior’s name. Ok, I’m Ryuji!”

Ryuji had a lot of scars. As if he had cut his back hitting his back on a sharp rock. A slightly crooked finger. A cut next to his eyebrow. Akira had expected for merfolk to have smooth and unblemished skin, but Ryuji wasn’t like that. 

Akira wondered why he couldn’t find the blond any less pretty because of that. It was probably the smile. Ryuji had a beautiful smile, and a cute laugh. 

Akira had never heard him singing, and he wondered if it was true their voice could put spells on people. His breathless laughter seemed to have a similar effect. 

On that day, Ryuji started on the measly breakfast Kamoshida deemed to offer the prisoners, namely, a portion of fish. 

“So… does your kind eat humans?” Akira asked, while he was gently washing the wound with what he could spare of the small supply of fresh water they were offered. Fortunately, merfolk seemed to have a much better time recovering from wounds, because it didn’t look infected. Could it be the seawater? Akira had so many questions. It was partially because he had never met a merman before, but it was also a lot just because he wanted to get to know Ryuji better.

The blond hummed as he acknowledged his question. Akira wondered if he should’ve started from another topic. He didn’t mean to sound judgemental. He really should try to improve his social skills... 

“Some of us do,” Ryuji answered easily, seemingly unbothered by Akira’s bluntness. “Well, we’re all carnivores, and we are kinda similar to fishes, and humans, but we’re not those things. We wouldn’t eat another merfolk, but humans and fishes ain’t merfolk,” he reasoned. “Oh, but I’ve never eaten a human.” 

He was born and raised on that specific part of the ocean, where hunting merfolk was pretty common, so it wasn’t really worth it to any of them to go after humans while in their original form. But they still learned human language so they could trick sailors into thinking they didn’t capture a mermaid, it was just that drunk lad over there who thought he saw a fishtail but he was wrong can’t you see my human legs and how I speak? Please let me go. “That’s kinda those poachers’ fault, tho.” 

Akira looked thoughtful, but not afraid, and he didn’t stop treating his wound. Ryuji felt a swell of affection for that boy, so human and fragile, but so daring. So reckless. He’d probably try to befriend anything partially capable of understanding his words. And get his kind hand bitten by the creature. Mangled beyond recognition. Ryuji felt an uncomfortable twinge in his chest. 

“I’d never eat you, tho.” 

Akira tilted his head, apparently surprised. 

“Why not?” 

“Well, it’s like if you had a friendly... what do you guys eat for meat?” 

“Fish as well. Duck. Pig. Rabbits.”

“Well imagine you had a fish as a pet. Or this pig you said. You think of it as your friend right? You wouldn’t eat it. You wouldn’t wanna.”

Akira huffed a laugh. 

“What?! I’m being serious here, y’know?”

“Thanks.” 

“What the hell…” he said, but he was laughing too, and Akira felt his heart beating a little too fast inside his chest. 

At night, the chilly wind from outside passed through the gaps of the wood, dropping the temperature to an uncomfortable amount. Ryuji ran colder anyway, used to the water temperature of that region, so it took him a few nights to notice Akira wasn’t fairing very well. He woke up in the middle of the night to a small wound. 

Akira’s naked torso shuddered as he drew in a breath. His shirt was being used as a makeshift bandage for the merman’s injured tail, and his ragged pants were made of a cheap and too thin fabric. 

Ryuji gets out of the water then, lying down next to Akira.

“Will you be okay out of the water?” 

Ryuji startled a little at hearing Akira’s voice, not having expected him to still be awake at that hour. But he supposed it was hard to fall asleep when he was that cold. 

“If it dries up, after half an hour or so, my tail just changes into legs and I look like a human. I only need a few minutes in the water for it to come back, though.” The blond shrugged, coming closer and blocking a bit of the wind. “I’ve heard not all merfolk can do that, but our species around here can. My grandma says back in the day we used that to charm humans and trick them into falling in love with us. But I don’t know if it’s true.”

Akira considered the concept for a while, then made the very important math that soon enough Ryuji would be naked. Human naked. Of course Ryuji was kind of naked before, but that was different. Akira considered his options. Under his pants he was still using loose shorts as underwear. He could perfectly do without his pants, since his shorts came down to almost his knees. It wasn’t that proper, but who was he trying to impress anyway? It was more important not to have his attractive friend walking around naked. 

“What you doing?” Ryuji curiously asked as he saw Akira getting up and taking off his pants.

“You can wear this when you get your legs. I-it can get a bit cold when you have legs,” he said, even if it was an excuse. 

Ryuji shrugged, but seemed to believe his words, and kept the clothing in his hands.

They stayed close together, Ryuji trying to trap in a bit of Akira’s body heat. He’d probably be more comfortable in the water, which made Akira feel a bit guilty.

If the blond could make it to water, he could get away. Merfolk could swim miles, and too fast for any ship to pursue if they started running away, which was why they were mostly caught by using traps and other underhanded methods. 

“What if I thought of a way to return you to the sea?” Akira asked quietly. “I could make a distraction and buy you a few minutes to swim away.” 

Ryuji hesitated for a moment. It wasn’t something he liked to talk about, but then again, he trusted Akira.

“... I don’t think I’d get very far.” 

“Why not?” Akira asked softly. 

You know you can tell me anything. 

Ryuji knew it. It felt a bit shameful anyway.

What’s a merman worth if he cannot even swim properly?

“I’m not… I mean, I can still swim, but I’m really slow. After… Kamoshida broke my tail, I couldn’t swim as before. I’m slow and I tire easily,” he admitted, looking away, missing the crushed look on Akira’s eyes as he realized the extent of the damage Kamoshida had inflicted on his friend. “Sometimes I think I should give up on the sea.” 

“But you love it, right?” 

Ryuji wasn’t used to anyone being able to look at him and… see him. It was incredibly nice, even if it made his heart hurt a little. 

“Yeah, I do.”

They were silent for a few more minutes. The tiniest window on the opposite side of their cell allowed for a stream of moonlight. Akira contemplated it for a bit, until he heard Ryuji hissing, and he turned to look. 

His hair was still messy and spiky, but it was tinted a common black, and his teeth were rounded and human. His canines still looked a little too sharp, but it was mostly imperceptible. 

Akira very firmly didn’t look down.

Ryuji noticed him staring at his face, and he half smiled, making a valiant effort into putting on that piece of clothing Akira offered. It felt weird on his skin. He put one leg in one hole, and the other in the other hole, and pulled the cloth up. Then, he tied again the bandage around his newly formed leg. The wound looked more gruesome on his human skin, located somewhere close to his shin. 

“So… how do I look?” he asked as he finished putting on the ragged clothing, and dressing his wound on his leg.

“You look like a thug.”

“Hey!”

Akira huffed a laugh, and Ryuji laughed back. 

He took a moment to look at Akira’s eyes, the gentle curve of his nose, the pale pink of his lips. Ryuji’s heart did a funny thing in his chest when he did that last thing. Akira wetted his lips after a moment, and Ryuji looked away as quick as he could, his heart jackrabbiting against his ribs.

When he thought he had escaped that weird feeling in his chest, Akira’s deep and smooth voice sounded again, and Ryuji’s heart continued racing. It started doing that lately, when Akira did or said some things. 

“I barely know how to swim,” Akira offered with a shrug. “I mean, I don’t think I’d drown if I fell in the water, but I wouldn’t last much there.” He could dog paddle and that was about it. Did it work? Yes, but that surely as hell wasn’t meant to be done for more than a couple of minutes.

Swimming wasn’t something he was expecting to need in his life, since his parents owned a farm, but then again since when his life went according to the plan? 

Ryuji perked up at the information, though. 

“I could teach you! You may need it someday! It’s… everything is so heavy outside of the water. You can’t go up, you have always to walk on the stupid ground and it’s…” He just couldn’t find words to tell. “Swimming is just the best thing. And the fastest you go, the better it feels. It can be useful even when you go back home.” 

“I’d like that.” Akira’s gaze was far away, and he sounded oddly melancholic. 

“Yeah… anyway, after we get out of here, we could travel the world together.” 

“You… Will you want to stay with me? Even after you’re free to go?” 

“‘Course. We’re friends, and I think it’d be awesome to go on an adventure, and help people on our way.” And he would have a chance to finally feel worthy, and to make his mom proud of him. 

And there was no one else he’d rather go with on an adventure than with Akira. The realization hit him all at once. 

“You’re my friend. And… Y’know how I told ya swimming made me feel? Being with you is kinda the same. I feel free.” 

Ryuji aimed a bright smile at him, and Akira felt his heart skipping a beat, tripping over while doing something it should know how to do. 

“I know a mermaid,” Ryuji continued, excited about the idea of their new adventure. “She’s travelled to other seas, she might know her way around. After we break out of here, maybe at the next stop for supplies, we could ask her for directions and then when Kamoshida notices we escaped, we’ll be far from his stupid ship.” 

Akira nodded, thoughtfully. 

“Sounds good.” 

“Awesome! Then we have a plan.” 

It was the thinnest skeleton of a plan, but it was enough for them. They could always wing it from there. 

The day their lives really started to change started off as any other. Ryuji was restlessly sitting on his small container of water as he told stories about his life in the sea. Akira had started teaching him how to properly walk on two legs, in exchange of being taught on how to swim at the next chance they got. They had just stopped their training when they heard a commotion outside.

And then a small tuxedo cat gets thrown in the brig with them, screeching bloody murder. One of the poachers used one side of a manacle to put around its neck, and chained it to the wall just outside their cell. The crewmate looked warily at the animal, and threw the keys inside, hoping that the monster the captain caught would dissuade the cat from trying to get to the keys. Akira found it particularly odd, that anyone would put that much effort into capturing a cat. And found it even more odd that the crewmate somehow thought the cat could escape if he got the key. 

The cat screamed well after the crewmate left, and it needed a minute before noticing there were more people in the room.

“Woah! A huge tuna! Looks yummy…” the cat actually talked. 

“Gah! Aki, what is that thing?!”

Ryuji grabbed Akira’s arm, hiding slightly behind him and glaring at the newcomer. Just in case- he had never seen this cat thing before, but apparently it thought he was food because he had a fish tail- the blond leapt off the container, hoping to get his legs back soon. 

“Huh… a cat. But I’ve never seen a talking cat before.” 

“And I’ve never seen a talking tuna before.” 

“Cat, stop saying my friend looks like a tuna.” Akira didn’t know enough about fish to tell, but Ryuji’s tail didn’t look like a tuna's tail. 

“I’m not a cat and I have a proper name.” The cat tried to stand a little taller, but the metal of the manacles was suffocating him a bit. “I’m Morgana.”

They blinked at him. Akira knew he should have started to expect the unexpected since he befriended a merman, but seeing a talking cat was still weird. 

“So… will you two let me out? Please, I can help you two as well!”

Ryuji hesitated.

“I dunno… Should we trust him, Aki?” 

The cat looked quite miserable, and Akira pondered his options. He hated to see how they trapped such a small animal, and if the cat was imprisoned like them, he probably was an enemy of Kamoshida. Something in his guts told him it was an important decision, and that he kind of knew what he would be choosing from the start. 

He really hoped he didn’t regret that choice. 

He freed the cat, who took his time to stretch its lean spine and flex his legs. But, true to his word, Morgana leapt up and started trying to pick the keys to their cell from the hook where they hung. He had to insist for a few minutes, but he eventually got them and picked it up with his mouth, treading to their cell. 

“There! It wasn’t a bad deal, was it?” He preened, while Akira made a quick job of opening the cell.

“But now what, cat?” Ryuji sullenly asked. 

“There’s a storm coming pretty soon, you dumbasses. I’ve been roaming this ship since we left the port, I know the crewmate’s schedules, so we can sneak around them. And then you two can swim to the shore, we’re not that far away, but they won’t notice you’re gone, and they wouldn’t go after you in this weather.” 

“What about you?”

“I still have some business here, but I can get out when we reach land. I can hide, I just got caught this time because the stupid captain got up at night out of nowhere…”

“Whaddya think, Aki?”

“Well, I think it’s the better shot we’ll have. I think we can manage to swim, if we’re that close to land. You can swim as slow as you need, and I won’t have to swim a big distance, I think it’s doable. After that, we can hide for a bit, and then go after your friend and ask for directions, and then we’ll see what happens.”

Ryuji nodded, and they all waited until he got his legs again and dressed up, and then they were on the run.

They parted ways with the cat somewhere along a corridor, with instructions about how to get on the deck. 

The storm was fierce, having picked up in a matter of minutes, and Akira barely managed to keep upright as the ship lurched to the side. They emerged from below deck to the howling wind and thundering skies. Ryuji faltered, his leg still hurting from the wound, and from using muscles he wasn’t used to.

When the blond crashed into a few crates, they swayed to the side and slid downstairs just to crash into a door. The captain’s door, by the look of it, but they were sprinting on the slippery wood of the deck and running for their lives.

But of course, they weren’t alone above deck.

“They’re running away!” 

The storm was sending huge waves that were washing over the wooden floor, tilting the ship in absurd angles, making it absolutely impossible to run. Akira froze in place, and whirled around to look at any possible weapons. Maybe if he took down that group of sailors, before anyone else noticed, on the off chance no one heard the alarm over the roaring of the storm-

It was then that Kamoshida showed up. 

“Shoot them!”

Ryuji collided against his side, and the world tilted off its axis as they plunged into the water. 

Akira tried to keep his head above the crashing waves, but he only managed to swallow an entire mouthful of seawater. As another wave passed above his head, his body was thrown to the side. 

As he tried to swim up, he realized he couldn’t tell up from down even with his eyes wide open. The water was too deep and his lungs burned for air. Everything was salty water that burned his eyes and constricted his lungs from the outside. 

The stormy sea at night was every bit as terrifying as he had heard about, and he was lost. 

Ryuji’s voice was forming a series of shrills and clickings but everything was drowned out by the roaring in his ears. 

Akira shook his head desperatedly, not understanding a single sound out of Ryuji’s mouth, his lungs spasming as he couldn’t hold his breath anymore.

His panic was suddenly cut off by soft lips on his mouth, strong hands framing his face gently. His heart swelled, and it was the sweetest thing he had ever tasted. 

It was entirely like a breath of air. 

Akira instinctively closed his eyes and let himself savour it, feeling a sudden rush of life running down his whole body. 

There was a gentle thumb caressing his cheek, and suddenly Akira forgot entirely about menial things like air. His hands cradled the hands on his face, and he kissed back because he had sort of been wanting to do that for weeks. 

It felt absolutely amazing.

They pulled apart, and Akira remembered again he was still underwater. 

Ryuji’s lips mouthed human words for him, gesticulating his meaning. 

Breathe.

Akira realised then and there that he really trusted Ryuji with his life. He tried to breathe. 

It was the weirdest sensation ever. He shouldn’t be able to do that. But somehow as the water rushed into his mouth, his lungs stopped hurting as if he had taken a breath of fresh air. 

Ryuji pulled him along, swimming slower than ever with his still human legs, away from the ship. After a minute or two, he got his tail back, and then he started to swim more easily. He brought them away from the eye of the storm, and away from Kamoshida, deciding to take the longer way to the shore, just in case.

They slowly made their way back to the surface, and when they emerged, Akira immediately turned to look at the merman.  He felt a lot conscious of the fact that Ryuji’s strong arms were keeping him afloat. They were also really close, and Akira felt his cheeks flushing.

“W-what? How did I…?” It was raining softly over their heads, but he barely noticed. 

How am I alive?

“A-a mermaid kiss can make you able to breathe underwater for some hours.” 

“O-oh.” So Ryuji was just trying to help. Akira felt oddly disappointed. “Thanks.” 

“A-anytime?” As soon as the words left his lips- that felt like they were still tingling with the kiss- Ryuji realised how much he meant it. 

“Really?” 

And Ryuji wondered if he imagined the small spark of hope in Akira’s voice. On the off chance he had been right, he decided to push it a little bit. 

“Yeah. I liked it.” 

Akira’s lips curled into a small smile, but he looked a little embarrassed, a blush still high on his cheeks. 

“... You know, I think I’m still feeling a little out of breath.”

“For real?!” Ryuji blinked, confused. It should have worked! Maybe he didn’t kiss him right? 

Akira huffed a laugh. 

“No.” 

“Then what- oh. Oh.” Realization dawned on him all at once, and Ryuji felt his heart soaring. 

“Ok?” Akira asked.

Ryuji excitedly jumped him, and his kiss tasted like the sea. 

Akira couldn’t stop himself from smiling throughout that kiss and the next one, and the next one. 

If they kept that up, he’d have enough in him to spend his whole life living in the sea and never come up for air ever again. 

[thebadgerclan]

The Perfect Day

Pairing: Severus Snape x reader

Requested by Anonymous

Summary: Any day is a perfect day when he’s with you...

The ring had been sitting in Severus’ desk drawer for months.  He so wanted to propose to you, to make you his forever, to get to call you his wife, but he wanted it to be a surprise.  He’d gone through so many scenarios in his head of when and where he should pop the question, but none of them felt right.  Your birthday had just passed, Valentine’s day was too cliche, every single date he picked, he found a flaw.  So he put the ring away and moved on with daily life, the thought always lingering in the back of his mind.

But to you, something felt off.  While you were so incredibly happy with Severus, your relationship had been stalled for a year.  Not that you were necessarily expecting a major development to happen, something just felt different.  And as they always did, doubts began to fester.   You wondered if Severus was having second thoughts about being with you, if his love for Lily was returning, or if he simply wasn’t in love with you anymore.

You tried not to dwell on these thoughts for too long, but they kept popping up.  So much so, that you had planned what to do if he broke things off.  That thought drove you to tears, and you did your best to push it aside.  You had no real reason to believe Severus would want to end things; he was just as affectionate and loving as he always was, he still kissed your forehead as he left for his morning classes, you still fell asleep and woke up in his arms.  But you couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t quite right.

So the next evening after dinner, you decided to ask him.  When you returned to your rooms, you took a steadying breath, ready to pack your bags and be off if he asked you.  “Sev?”  “Yes, love?”  “We need to talk.”  His heart stopped and his blood ran cold.  “About what, darling?”  You sat on the couch and he did the same, concern plain on his face.  “I love you,” you began, quelling some of his fears.   “And I’m so happy with you.  But there’s this part of me that feels like you don’t want me anymore.

“We’ve been together for 4 years, Sev, and I feel like we’re stuck in a rut.  I can’t put my finger on it, but something feels off between us.  I’m afraid that you don’t love me anymore.  And if you want to break things off and for me to leave, I’ll pack my things and be out of your hair.  But please, please just tell me if that’s the case.”  Severus pulled you into his arms, holding you tightly.  “No, Y/N,” he said firmly.  “No.  I am so in love with you, more so than the day we met.”

He cursed himself, willing himself not to cry.  In his desperation to find the perfect day and surprise you, he made you think he didn’t want you.  That would end now.  “I don’t want you to leave, I never want you to leave.  Y/N, I need you in my life, I shudder to think what I’d do without you.  I’m so sorry I made you feel that I no longer love you, because that’s the furthest thing from the truth.  You sniffled, tears rolling down your face.  “Promise?”  “Yes, my love, I promise.”

As you fell asleep that night in Severus’ arms, he was planning, planning the perfect proposal for you.  He refused to live another day where there was even a remote possibility that you doubted his love and devotion to you.  Sleep eventually claimed him, and when he woke, he was ready.  He dressed quickly, kissing your forehead as he left like everyday.  But rather than head to his office, he was making his way to the kitchens.  

The house elves, of course, were more than happy to help Severus.  They assured him that the food he’d asked them for would be ready at 7 o’clock.  His next stop was the greenhouses.  “Pomona,” he said as he entered, out of breath.  “Severus!  What can I do for you?”  “I need 6 dozed red roses by 7 o’clock.”  Sprout’s jaw dropped.  “Why?  I can do it, no problem, but what’s the occasion?”  He filled her in and she smiled.  “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it”

***

At 6:45, you arrived back in your rooms, ready to curl up on the couch with your book.  However, it seemed Severus had other plans.  He was wearing his dress robes, his hand outstretched.  “Come with me,” he said, and you took his hand.  He led you upstairs, all the way to the Astronomy tower, and you gasped.

Dozens of red roses were arranged, candles flickering in the wind.  There was a bottle of champagne and a platter of chocolate covered strawberries on a nearby table.  “Severus,” you said, taking in the view.  “This is amazing, wh-” you stopped when you turned around.  Severus was on one knee before you, a diamond ring in his hands.

“Y/N, my beloved Y/N.  I’ve been trying to figure out when to do this for months.  But when you came to me last night, afraid that I no longer loved you, I knew that I needed to do this.  My love, you are my everything.  I am lost without you in my life, you are the beacon that guides me ashore.  I realized that I cannot go another day where you may doubt my love for you.  Y/N, I love you more than there are words to say, more than there are stars in the sky, more than anything in this universe.  My darling love, will you marry me?”

You were crying, and you wiped your tears away.  “Yes!” you cried, dropping to your knees and into Severus’ arms.  “Severus!  Yes I will marry you!”  He held you close, pure joy flooding his body.  You kissed him, his tears mixing with yours.  When you pulled away, he slipped the ring on your finger.  “It’s beautiful.”  “Not as beautiful as you, my love.”  

He helped you to stand and poured you a glass of champagne. “I love you,” he whispered, kissing your temple.  “I love you too, Sev.”  With his arms around you, he came to a simple realization: as long as he was with you, any day is a perfect day.  And the rest of his life would be filled with perfect days, so long as you were by his side.

[youresog0lden]

Josslyn (pt 3) II Spencer Reid

Read part one and two here

WC: 2.4k

A/N: some requested this but this will be the last part! 

Warning: cursing, and normal criminal minds things

 GIF IS NOT MINE !!!

masterlist

By the time you’re reading this it will be my birthday so I decide to write this part and it makes me incredibly happy !!

"Sometimes good thing's fall apart so better things can come in." Marilyn Monroe

Everything happens for a reason. I call everytime I get drunk but obviously you know that. I get drunk to get you off my mind but, it doesn't work. It never works, it does the complete opposite. I think of you, your smile, the way you like your coffee with this weird creamer. The way you only wear a tight long sleeve shirt tight black pants and your clunky docs. You smile every morning even if you're having a bad day. Even though the room is full of profilers. You still act happy. But the alcohol still doesn't make me forget.  I know you get my texts. I need to stop putting you threw this. I should've stopped two years ago. It's been two years. I have had to see you walk into the bullpen like you we're to happiest women on the planet. So, that's why I stopped I love seeing you happy. It almost makes me happy. I know I messed up trust me. I know I should be sorry. I really messed up but, everyday I could go up to you and get on my hands and knees and tell you how incredibly sorry I am and how bad I fucked up. I know I fucked up. It hasn't been the same with JJ and I. I can't stop thinking about the look on your face. It hurt me. I don't even know why I did it. We we're just caught up in the moment. She told me she loves me. Y/n she loves me. But I love you. I should have let it happen but ever since it did I can't stop thinking about you. I see you have a boyfriend, he seems like a nice guy the few times we met. He seem's like he could treat you better than I could. The way he looks at you, with such love. Garcia tell me you love him, and you couldn't see you're self with anyone else. While I admit that hurt I can say that it's good to see you happy. I'm happy for you as long as he doesn't hurt you, that's all that matters. I can tell you love him all you see in your eyes is the sparkle when he talks anyway. I'm sorry I haven't been there. I really want to. I want us to be like we used to be, before prison. But now everything isn't the same. I mean what can I expect. I ruined it but, I am going to let you go. I have to meet my mom in an hour and I'm not even ready.

                                        ~ Love Spencer Reid

I stare at the letter now sitting on my desk. What do I do with it now. Sam's going to be home soon and he'll flip if he reads that letter. Without even thinking I slip it into the holder for mail. He never goes in there. Without thinking I take my food to the couch eating it. Ding. I look at my phone seeing the lovely Emily has texted the group telling them we have a case. I quickly put on my jeans and boots grabbing my to-go bag before grabbing my keys locking up. I get in my car and drive down to the BAU. I swipe my key card going to my desk. Everyone was waiting for Emily and Garcia to walk into the bullpen to tell us to meet them in the conference room. My eye almost on instinct look for Dr. Reid seeing him standing there laughing with Tara. I look around before deciding to talk to JJ.

"Do you know what's going on?" I ask. I never had the right to be mad at JJ she didn't know Reid and I we're together. All she did was fuck up her own marriage and lose her best friend I couldn't be mad at her it wasn't my place. She nods her head no before seeing the bubbly blonde walk in with a tablet in her hand shaking it towards the conference room. We all nod following along except me. I set my bag at my desk and look around.

"Y/n." Garcia calls out.

"Yeah I'm coming." I say. I put the letter in my desk and walk into the room.

"Okay. What do we have." I say taking a seat next to Luke.

"Two dead."

"Meet Tom and Lilly Small."

" A husband and wife. They we're found dead in there home in Atlanta Georgia on Wednesday stabbed brutally fifteen times then shot execution style." Emily stated.

"Do they have any kids?" I ask.

"Yes two sons and a daughter." Garcia says.

"Where were they that night." JJ asked.

"Jason the oldest was at his house with his wife and son. They both can prove and so can there security cams. Zach was at a soccer game on his way home when it happened and Angel was upstairs with rope tied around her but nothing about what happened almost like she was drugged."

"Do we know with what drugs?" Reid questioned.

"A date rape drug called-" Garcia takes a second to look at it.

"gamma-butyrolactone or gbl." she says.

"GBL is a hygroscopic colorless, water-miscible liquid with a weak characteristic odor. It is the simplest 4-carbon lactone. It is mainly used as an intermediate in the production of other chemicals, e.g. methyl-2-pyrrolidone." Reid speaks. We all look at him for a brief second his eyes meet mine but, wanting nothing more than to do with him I look away. Who am I lying to. I am still madly in love with him. I shake my head hearing Spencer speak again.

"It effects the pathway to the brain." he finishes. I nod.

"Okay so she was drugged but how?" I asked.

"We don't but we have to get there soon. We are wanting to believe that the unsub will hurt again. Wheels up in 40." Emily said. All of us exit from the room. I walk to the kitchen with my coffee mug in my hand only to meet the one and only Spencer Reid. I don't say anything I just pull out the pot making sure to fill it with the coffee and sugar. Reid starts to look at me with these big eyes that say a lot. I gave him and unwanted smile and walk away drinking my coffee

----

"Ok Y/L/N, Reid go to the precinct and start the geographical map, Rossi and Tara talk to the family find any information you can out, Alvez you with me we're going to the crime site, after we'll go over to the coroners office." Emily finally finished. All of us nodding going our separate ways. Reid and I make our way towards the car heading down to the station.

----

"There's been a new murder." Emily says threw the phone.

"Where." Reid asked picking up this red marker.

"At Peach Tree Center." she says. He put's his hand on it putting a dot right where his finger is laid. Right then the phone ringed again.

"Hello." I sang.

"Hello my beautiful and my boy genius." Garcia called threw.

"Hi my pretty lady." I said

"Hey Garcia." Reid spoke.

"Okay so I just got a call from the one and only Rossi telling me that the daughter told us that her mom had a kid at 15. I guess she got pregnant early and gave her up for adoption. They just recently got in touch." she finished.

"But you'll never get this." she salted.

"What."

"Her adoptive parents we the family just killed." she finished. Reid and I looked at each other

"Where is she now."

"She is on her way down from New Jersey."

"Mark that." I call to Reid.

----

"Do you want some water." I asked coming into the room She sat there.

"So what part of New Jersey are you from?" I asked her. She  silently sat there still not saying anything.

"Ok, fine. It's in you're right of law not to talk. But you forget that I'm the profiler here. I watched you while you sat in here talking to Dr. Reid, I watched your micro-expressions. I watched as you barley blank when he mentioned the death of your mom. Now seeing that  you barley knew her I didn't expect you to be crying whale tears but for you actual family come on now. Not a single tear?" I questioned.

"Some people grieve different."

"Yes. They do but most people cry when a loved one dies. You know studies have been shown that most people who grieve cry but most psychopaths don't show emotion at all because they don't know how to show that emotion some were never raised into the right home some jsut don't know how." I say sitting down cupping my hands together.

"Now my question is why?" I ask.

"Why what?" she coyly.

"Don't play dumb with me." I smile right back.

"Awe is the Agent getting mad." I laugh

"Did you or did you not kill you're biological mom for giving you up and her kids and husband because they knew the truth and then went and killed you're adoptive parents because they kept this from you." I ask for almost a second you could see she broke. She didn't think I noticed.

"How would you know if I did."

"You made it very easy. You left Angel alive. She told us that she remembers a girl walking into her room and tying her up. She felt comfortable with her at first because this girl looked familiar but she couldn't put her finger on it. That's when Jason came forward and told us that you we're in the picture and that you always gave him an off vibe but, that. That right there wasn't enough to put you away. We had no proof. So we did a background search. You're not from New Jersey. You're from Maine. You're adoptive dad was a drunk and you're adoptive mom was not a mom she was trying to be you're best friend. You felt nothing almost as if you turned your emotions off like that." I snapped.

"Fine. I killed them." she screamed. I smirked and got up, walking out the door. The team was standing out there watching the whole thing there mouths a gaped.

"How-What?" Alvez laughed.

"How did you do that." Tara asked.

"You guys forget that this is why I was hired in the first place I am an amazing interrogator and profiler. " I smile at the lovely people infront of me.

"Hold up someone is calling me." I say walking away pulling out my phone.

"Hello this is SSA Y/L/N."

"Y/n." Sam's voice snapped.

"Oh. Hi my lovely." I smile.

"Where the fuck are you." he spat

"Wait are you with him-" he laughs

"Yes I am with him, and the whole team I work with asshat." I sigh.

"I found the letter." he states. I freeze.

"What are you talking about." I questioned dumbly.

"You know exactly what letter quit playing dumb. Are you going to tell him you love him to. Even after he hurt you?" he laughs bitterly

"I don't love him." I say in a hushed voice.

"Sure." he starts

"You know I hate it when you're with him." then he finished.

"Can you stop being so god damn controlling." I yell causing the looks of my team and a few others. Reid snapping his head first.

"Can you stop being such a bitch." he yells just as loud.

"Maybe I wouldn't be such a bitch if you stopped being so controlling."

"Whatever y/n well talk about this when we get home." I could just tell he was rolling his eyes, I decide to hang up the phone. I walk to the group a few of them letting out uncomfortable coughs. I just sigh.

"Sorry about that." I mumble looking down. They just nod all of us walking our own separate ways. I really need to talk to Spencer. I don't say anything I just kinda walk over to where he's grabbing his bag. Sam will get mad he always does but, I need to talk to him about this.

"Spence." I called him by the nickname. He looks over at me with wide eyes. He starts scrambling until I put my hand on his arm stopping him, and as cliche as it sounds but I felt fireworks. You shouldn't feel this way. It's wrong. I take my hand off his arm sliding them into my pockets uncomfortably.

"What's up."

"We need to talk." I say sternly. The blush rises up on him face.

"About what." he asked seeming to 'forget' about the letter he left me. "I can't stop thinking about the look on your face." He sighs before looking at me.

"Y/N I meant everything I said in that letter."

"I know and I just wanted to tell you that I forgive you. That I'm not mad anymore."

"You're not."

"No. It's been two years I can't stand being mad at you anymore it's tiring. I miss my best friend the one that I had before we started fucking around. I miss your stupid little facts in the morning or the nicknames you would give me. I miss walking hand in hand together into the bull pen. I miss staying up super later watching 'Doctor Who.' I miss you being the person who I can come to for anything. God Spence. I miss every part of you and I really fucked up getting into this relationship. I was just trying to move on and I thought I could but I can't I can't move on. I love you." I say.

"What about you're boyfriend." he almost cringes at the word boyfriend.

"I'm trying to leave him." I say softly.

"Why haven't you yet."

"Because like I said I'm trying to get over you."

"I love you any only you." I said softly.

"I love you." he says just as softly.

"God I love you so much." he finished.

"I'll break up with his as soon as I get home." I say softly. He hums in response. I grab the red tie he's wearing pulling my lips onto his. He wraps his arm around his waist and he wraps his around my waist and suddenly I feel at home.

[demivampirew]

Keep Calm and go to London chapter 17

Synopsis: This is the story of (y/n), a successful actress,  musician, musical producer and songwriter. After battling depression and  breaking up a long relationship, she seeks for a change of air,  escaping LA for a while going to visit some friends in London and there  she meets Henry. -Disclaimer: some chapters are mostly smut.

Previous Chapters:

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5 (smut)

Chapter 6

Chapter 7 (smut)

Chapter 8 (smut/roleplay)

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12 (smut)

Chapter 13

Chapter 14 (smut)

Chapter 15

Chapter 16 (smut/ s&m)

Triggers:   Crying; talking about depression, low self-steem and body image issues; talking about toxic relationships.

Tag list:  Here’s the incredible people who showed me support (thank  you    so  much for that) and people who asked me to tag them too  ☺️   (I    think  I will write a few chapters of this story, if you want me to  tag     you, tell me ☺️   ) @cavillanche @mary-ann84 @henry-owns-these-tatas @yespolkadotkitty @dancingwendigo   constip8merm8     penwieldingdreamer iloveyouyen  littlefreya  wondersofdreaming    alyxkbrl solariumss  sweetybuzz25 @thethirstyarchive @agniavateira   @honeyloverogers @hell1129-blog   @lunedelorient​  @michelle-1185​  

Henry was playing games while you played with Kal, making the little bear follow you around the house. It surprise you the amound of energy that the puppy had. While running, you got caught in the the door knob of one bedroom and ripped the t-shirt you were wearing, living a little hole in it. You cursed because that was one of your boyfriend's t-shirts. You were in trouble, for sure. You put your best sad kitty face and went to Henry to tell him about the t-shirt. He was sitting on the couch with his laptop and closed it after you sat next to him, pointing out that you have something to confess. He put his whole attention on you as you showed him his peace of clothing and apologized, assuring him that you'd tried to fix it. He looked at you with a cute smile and told you that was ok. He was not mad at you at all, "it's just a t-shirt" he said and gave you a kiss on the cheeks to make you feel better and proved to you that he wasn't angry at all. You hugged him and kissed him. He was the best. - I'm still sorry, though. I know you love this t-shirt.- you apologized once again. - It's kind of special.- he admitted. - Where did you bought it? I can replace it, I'll buy you the exact same one if I find it. - I didn't bought it; it was a gift. - From Charlie? Maybe I could send him a direct message in Instagram and ask him where he bought it. I will ask you his phone number, but we haven't officially met yet so he might find it weird if I text him. - No, it wasn't Charlie.- he answered and then took a deep breath before speaking again.- An ex-girlfriend gave it to me for a birthday. - Oh, I see.- you replied and went silent for a moment. - Was it Lucy? You questioned curiously. He raise an eyebrow and looked at you. - No, not her. - he said with a suspious tone. - Tara, Gina? -you asked again. -Sorry, I'm really curious - you said smiling - Tara. - he informed you - Wait, how do you know my exs's names? I never said her names to you? - he pointed out and you blushed of embarresment. "shit" you thought. - Have you been googling me by any chance? - I had to make sure you were not a serial killer - you joked, making an "ops" face. - I'm curious. I wanted to know how were the girls that you dated before me. - That's ok. I must admit that I googled you as well. - And what did you found out about me? - you were dying to know - That you have more money than me; that you're on the top 20 of Forbes lists of most influencial people; that people adore you on the internet. Basically, that you're ten times more amazing that I thought. Oh, I also found out that you have a college degree from Harvard. - Yep. While it cost me a lot. I practically did not sleep for like 5 years - you joked. It was kind of true, though. - Did you not expected you girlfriend to be the kind of person who goes to college? - I didn't imagine that giving all the work that you've done in your long career you'd had found to study for a degree. - he explained - I'm awesome - you said proudly - Giving my impressive career and my high grades in highschool, I was accepted at Harvard. I had to arrenge a few things to make the time, but I reached my goal. So, now you're in front of a Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy. - My baby is smart, damn! - he replied proudly. You gave him the brightest smile. - I found out that you were enganged once.- you continue the topic discused before. - Yes. It didn't work out, though. - Yes, I figured that out. Otherwise, it'd be an interesting situation the one that we're in right now. - Yes, it'd be for sure- he admited while laughing for your comment. - Do you missed them? - you questioned. He gave you a look, trying to see what you expected of him by those weird questions. - Come on, I know that you have a past. I have one too. I won't judge you. I just want to know how you feel about them. Do you still care for them? - Yes. - he admited.- But I don't do it in a romantic way. They were people important to me. Now they're part of my past, but I still want them to be happy. Sometimes I missed them a bit, more nostalgia for the good memories than anything, but I wouldn't go back with any of them, especially since I've met you. Now, I only have eyes for you. - he assured you, kissing your hand. - I understand.- you say smiling.- I still miss Jared sometimes. Like you said, I don't want to be with him at all and I only have eyes for you, but he was a great part of my life. He was the first man I've been with and, until you showed up in my life, he was the only one. - you confessed. You've talked before about having intimacy with few men, but never actually told him that was actually only one man before him. He looked at you surprise. - You are telling me that you only been intimate with two men and I'm one of them? -he asked you, speechless. - Yes. Before Jared I was afraid of being intimate with someone because I've always had body image issues. I didn't felt comfortable with my body and didn't want anybody to see me naked. When I started to date him, I wasn't ready to sleep with him and he respected that. He actually waited a whole year for me to finally be ready to have sex. I think that was another reason why even though it was clear he was not a good boyfriend, I stood with him. I always remembered that he promised to be patient and wait and not force me and he kept his word. After our first breakup, I was in that angry stage of "I hate all men", then soon enough I went to the "I don't hate men, but I don't have time to date either" I concentrated in study and work. Then, when I got back together with him, at first we'd had sex all the time, because despite the fact that I took care of my own pleasure during my time alone, I enjoyed to be intimate with another person that I cared about. But soon enough, things started to go South for us, and we barely had sex or was boring sex and I did most of the work. On one occasion, after a month of not doing it because he was working in his latest album, I put on a sexy lingerie and try to seduce him and he completely ignored me, like I wasn't even there. That broke me. By that point, I was already having body issues again, but that finally got to me and, until I met you, never again felt confident with my body or felt sexy. Knowing that a man like you was interested on me, made me feel great and then my confident side came back to me. - you explain, smiling at him. He kissed your hand again. - You know, I used to like him. I've met him twice and seemed like a nice guy. Now, I kind of want to punch him for hurting you. - He didn't do it un purpose, though. I know, so typical of me to deffend him, but that's true. I've known him for a long time. We were friends before and went through difficult times together until one day our friendship turned into something else. But now, I think those hard times we went through and that we've been surporting each other is the reason why he wanted to be with me. Why everytime we fought and I said that I was leaving he'd beg me to stay... because he knew that not matter what, he could count on me to be there for him. He clearly lost all the love and desire that he once felt for me, on the last period of our relationship I was just his support system; the one person he could count to help him when he need it. He's not a bad guy, but he was selfish. He concentrated on his needs and did not think on what I need it or what was the best for me. When I was diagnosed with major depression last year and was on those periods in which I would cry for entire days, for the first time in our entire relationship, he cancel a few plans to stay with me and hold me while I cried. But he didn't do it for love, no; he did it because he felt guilty. At that moment, he realized that he probably should have let me go, but he couldn't do that. As much as he'd love to have his single life back, he wanted me to be there for him, but he also knew that as soon as I walked out of the door, he would never see me again. So he kept me, unhappy and miserable until I finally realized myself from that toxic life I was living. - you finished and looked at your boyfriend's eyes. Henry was stroking your face and your hair. He looked worried and sad for hearing all you went through. - Your ex girlfriends were lucky. - you told him smiling - They had you. - I'm not perfect. I made mistakes as well, but I always try to look after their needs as well as mine. - That sounds like perfect to me. Perfection is not about not making mistakes, but recognize that you make them and try to correct them. Is not bad to look after your needs, we all need that, it's part of loving yourself, but, in a relationship, you have to care for your partner's needs as well. So yeah, you're the perfect boyfriend.- you assured him and he smiled. - I've seen photos of them and I must admit they're pretty, at least base on looks. The blonde one, Tara, if it wasn't weird, I'd totally high-five you for getting that chick. Even I must admit that she's hot. Although, I'm hotter than her.- you smile devilishly. - One houndred percent, baby. - he agreed. - They must have been really special to you. All of them. I saw the pictures. You'd take them with you to premieres and be by their sides, looking at them with proud. You'd post pictures or videos of them, and even if you're not longer together, you never deleted those things. That proved that they were special to you. I'm really jealous of them. - you admited - Not jealous because they were with you, like I said before, I know you have your past and that's ok, the important is that you're mine now. I'm jealous because I would have loved to be with someone that did those things for me. I'd had been great if my ex took me with him to an event or came with me to one of my premieres or award shows. Or took my hand in public. When I won my last two Oscars, he was there, but he didn't sat with me. I had to hug a friend to celebrate the fact that I won. You didn't get mad at them and ignored them for suggesting going out and getting caught by paparazzi. You would not tell them that you could spend time with them or have sex due to the lack of time and the hang out with your friends and former lovers instead. Why I could not have their luck once? Just once I'd love to know how it feels to be with someone who would proudly walk with me, go out with me or take me to places, happy to know that I'm by his side. Just one time I'd like to know who it feels not to be scared that your partner is going to be mad if someone for being seen together or acted as if he'd ashame and embarrased if people knew we're together, as if he could do so much better than you... just once I'd like to know how that feels. - you said and could not stop the tears. The tears covered your eyes and cheeks. The lump in your throat hurt badly. Henry grabbed your shoulders and pulled you closer, making you rest your head on his chest as he stroked your face and hair. He knew that you needed to let go of your tears in order to feel better. He promesed you would heal. He'd make sure that your future is bright and full of smiles instead of tears.

[mryddinwilt]

Like Ships In The Night (you keep passing me by)

Enchanted Forest AU-Princess Emma does a reverse Cinderella and meets a Captain in a tavern instead of a Prince at a ball. It should have been a one-time thing but fate had other plans and they just keep meeting.

5k | T | FF.net | AO3 | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

It’s been almost 4 years but here is the thrilling conclusion... @spartanguard Happy very late birthday! It felt appropriate to finish this as a birthday gift but it took a little longer than expected! 

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Chaos. The world was chaos. All around Killian his fellow monkeys flew, diving to attack the humans, dwarves, and fairies that were storming the castle. Screams and shouts reached him even from his place on top of the tower as those below prepared for the attack from above. All he could do was watch. Zelena had bid him to stay by her side and he was powerless to disobey. With her magic wrapped firmly around him he was merely her grotesque puppet.  

“Don’t worry, my pretty, they are no match for us,” Zelena said.

Killian wasn’t worried, he was filled with hope. It had been months since he had become one of the Witch’s flying minions but he still remembered Emma’s promise that she would find him and defeat Zelena. Surely this was their salvation from the Wicked Witch. He searched for blonde hair below.

There was a flash of bright light and several monkeys dropped to the ground, stunned. Killian cried out in triumph as he finally spotted Emma. 

“Silence!” 

Killian’s mouth snapped shut but he still felt the triumph bubbling inside him. 

“That spell is one of Glinda’s. The Savior has had training.” Venom dripped from every word. Another flash of magic and more monkeys fell. Zelena growled and mounted her broom. “She may have some battle magic but she is no match for me.” 

Killian wished he could tell Zelena how wrong she was. That he too had made the mistake of underestimating Princess Emma and learned just how strong and capable she really was. 

“Now you can make yourself useful. I will distract the Savior. When her attention is diverted you will capture her and bring her to the tower. Keep her occupied until I arrive.” 

Killian snarled his displeasure but could do nothing but obey. Zelena smiled sharp and dangerous before letting out a laugh as she flew away. As he spread his wings and sprang into the air dread settled over him. He watched as Zelena dove toward Emma.  Killian could hear nothing with the air rushing about his ears. Magic, white and green, flashed. There was a cry of anguish. Zelena laughed and, his strings pulled, Killian fell into a dive. As the ground rushed toward him, he prayed Emma would knock him out and then finish Zelena. 

When he got closer he saw that Emma was standing over a large, injured, werewolf. Tears were in her eyes as she screamed her rage at Zelena. The Princess didn’t see him coming. 

“Emma! Lookout!” Someone called, but it was too late. They collided, his legs wrapped around her torso, and he plucked her from the ground. 

As he pulled up from the dive she thrashed in his grip. Terrified she would fall to the ground and not wanting to gouge her with his claws, he wrapped his arms around her. 

 She stilled. 

“Killian?”

He shivered as her hand ran over his left arm caressing the place where a claw should be. His heart stuttered even as his wings beat steadily, taking them higher and higher. He wished he could fly them far away but he had his orders. He looped around the tower, slowing down for the landing. He unwrapped his legs and with the precision of practice settled them on the balcony. He folded his wings and released Emma. 

She didn’t run screaming or attack him. She merely turned around and stared into his blood red eyes as if she could see the real him underneath the fur and fangs. 

“Killian it is you isn’t it?” 

He nodded. 

She caught her breath and lifted her hand to his face. He flinched. How could she bear to touch him? Her hand fell away. 

“I found you,” she said, like it was the answer to a question. “I’m sorry I took so long. You remember the legend of the witch in the woods? Her name was Glinda. I found her and she helped me master my magic. You were right. It’s just a tool. ” 

He gave a low cry wishing he could tell her how brilliant she was and warn her that Zelena was coming. Slowly he raised his hand to her but when he saw the disgusting paw he dropped it. 

Emma pretended not to notice. “Glinda told me there was a prophecy. That my magic is special and that it’s the only kind that can truly destroy the Wicked Witch. That’s why Zelena didn’t attack my kingdom, she was afraid of me. And now that I know how to use my magic I can defeat her and fix you.” 

As if summoned a swirl of green smoke appeared behind Emma. The Princess whirled to face the Wicked Witch. 

“Hold her,” Zelena said. 

Killian obeyed. 

Before Emma could understand what was happening Zelena grabbed Emma’s wrist and slapped a leather cuff on it. Killian knew immediately what it was, he had seen the Wicked Witch use it on her enemies. His heart fell as Emma raised her hands as if to blast Zelena with magic. Nothing happened. 

Zelena cackled.

“Release her, my pretty.”

Killian let go of Emma and she stepped away. She stared in horror at her hands and then at him, betrayal on her face.

“What did you do?” Emma tried to pull off the bracelet. 

“Just a little cursed jewelry. You can’t take it off. Bit hard to defeat me with no magic.” 

“No.” 

Killian’s heart broke at the whispered word. 

“Oh yes, Savior. Don’t tell me you actually believed all of Glinda’s nonsense about prophecies? She had me convinced too, after all you did defeat Regina, but I’ve been watching you Princess and you are weak. Your power is nothing, nothing compared to me.” Zelena’s voice turned shrill.

“If it’s nothing then take this bracelet off and face me.” 

“Oh I think not. First I have to go and kill all those peasants you brought with you.” Zelena stepped to Killian. He wanted to rip her heart out but could do nothing but stand there. Zelena smiled as if she knew his inner thoughts. “My pet here will make sure you watch.” She gave him an affectionate stroke on his head.  

“Don’t touch him.” Emma snarled. 

Zelena turned to Emma but continued to run her hands down to his neck. “Oh that’s right you have a thing for my little broken toy. They say you stood up to the Dark One for him but I didn’t believe it. Is he the reason you attacked the castle? Him? How could a one-handed pirate be worth this suicide mission?” 

Killian snarled. Zelena truly didn’t understand. Emma and her army hadn’t come for him, they had come to destroy the Wicked Witch and even without Emma’s magic they were going to fight to their death. Even now he could hear the battle down below. 

“I said don’t touch him,” Emma snarled. 

Green fire sparked in Zelena’s hand. “You don’t give the orders here.” 

Killian could feel the heat building beside him and then the green streaked toward Emma. Killian cried out as she dodged and landed on the floor. Fire grew again in Zelena’s hand and Killian knew this time she wouldn’t miss. 

He couldn’t let it happen. Not Emma. He strained against the magical control, wanting to grab Zelena, rip her limb from limb. The puppet strings didn’t break but they stretched. As Zelena released the fire he threw his body in front of it. 

Pain exploded in his chest, his scream mingled with Zelena’s cry of outrage. He fell to the ground and through the agony he smelled burnt hair and flesh. The world became a muddle as he stared up at the ceiling. He heard Emma say his name and Zelena’s cursed laugh. 

Then Emma was hovering over him, tears in her eyes. He wanted to stroke her cheek and apologize for getting injured, for becoming Zelena’s puppet, and all the misunderstandings of their past. But trapped in a monkey body all he could do was look at her. 

“No, no, no, Killian.” Emma pleaded. Her hand cupped his fur covered cheek and he closed his eyes. His memory conjured Emma when he first met her, a princess dressed as a bar wench. A woman that had captivated him completely and made him realize, for the first time since Milah, that he might be capable of loving again. He wished he hadn’t been scared of those feelings, hadn’t been so hurt by her initial lies, that he hadn’t doubled down on his revenge and then betrayed her. So many things he would have done differently but at least he had done something right in the end. All things considered this wasn’t a bad way to die. 

Through the haze Killian felt Emma’s breath on his lips and then a different heat filled his body. Bright white light was everywhere, Killian waited for everything to go black but instead the light receded. The room came back into focus. He felt strangely light, though the pain was still there, narrowing his ability to comprehend what was happening. Emma’s face hovered over his, her eyes wide. 

“Impossible!” Zelena screeched in the background. Emma’s hand came to his face and this time he noticed the leather bracelet. If only he could remove it for her. 

His body obeyed his thought and his hand came round her wrist. He gasped when he saw that it wasn’t furry and clawed but a normal human hand. Killian couldn’t fathom how he had been changed but it didn’t matter he could free Emma now. He used his last ounce of strength to pull off the bracelet. 

He saw Emma start to smile as his vision faded and blissful unconsciousness took him. 

 Killian awoke with a start, his hand going to his chest feeling for charred flesh but finding only smooth skin. Skin. He stared down in wonder, he was human again. Dressed in his usual black leather. The same clothes he had been wearing when he transformed. Even his hook had been restored, a comforting weight at the end of his left arm. 

How?  

The details were blurred and indistinct, the memory of pain wiping out any nuances after the fire hit him. Emma had been over him, smiling, there had been magic and… he reached but found nothing but a jumble of images and feelings. 

The tower room was empty, no sign of Emma or Zelena, just smashed furniture testifying to a fight. A fight that he was sure Emma had won. Otherwise he would be dead.

Killian chuckled as the feeling of victory flooded him. Emma had defeated the Wicked Witch. But if she had won where was she now? 

He got to his feet and staggered as he unconsciously tried to compensate for wings that were no longer there. He walked to the balcony and looked down. The courtyard was filled with the aftermath of the battle, the smoke of dying fires, wounded soldiers being tended, flashes of colors as fairies flew about, and cages filled with what looked like flying monkeys. Killian frowned. It was all over and they had apparently forgotten all about him. 

He felt adrift, unsure of his bearings. What should he do now? He wanted to find Emma. Discover what had happened and see if she needed his help. A dreaded thought stole into his mind. What if she was injured? What if she was dying? 

He spun from the balcony, determined to search the entire castle, to find her. He was halfway across the room when he noticed a dwarf in the doorway. It was the same one that had been his jailer in Emma’s castle.

“You’re awake,” the dwarf said flatly as he shifted his blood stained axe. 

“Aye. Where is Emma?” 

The dwarf glared at him. “Princess Emma is in a council meeting, busy cleaning up the mess that you got us into. She doesn’t have time for the likes of you, pirate.” 

The relief Killian felt at knowing Emma was safe warred with frustration at his jailer. Emma still didn’t trust him. 

“Am I a prisoner?” Killian asked. 

“If you want to run away to your ship I would be happy to see the back of you but no stealing on your way out.”

Killian furrowed his brow. Back to his ship? Did Emma expect him to return to his ship? Perhaps he should be thinking about his crew or ransacking the castle but all he wanted was to see Emma. The need overshadowed everything else. 

“Out of my way dwarf,” Killian commanded as he walked to the door. 

“I knew it,” the dwarf said as Killian passed. But he wasn’t interested in what the dwarf thought he knew and continued to the stairs with long strides. He knew where the council room was. 

Killian ignored the huffs and stamping of the dwarf as he followed him through the castle. On the way to the council room they passed the ballroom and Killian paused to look inside. Weary warriors were eating at long tables, sleeping in the corners, or chatting in low voices. It looked nothing like the glittering jewel of excess that Killian remembered. It seemed so long ago that the castle had belonged to Prince Walsh and Killian had come to steal the slippers. How shocked and angry he had been to discover the bar wench he couldn’t get out of his mind was a princess and engaged. He smiled remembering how even then he had thrown over his plans just for the chance to speak with her and had been willing to give up his own schemes when he realized Emma needed help. Of course she had pushed him away, kissed him, and left him unconscious in the garden but looking back he no longer blamed her. He only blamed himself for his later actions. Could Emma see past their history? He shook his head and continued on. 

They were steps away from the council room when the dwarf realized where they were going. 

“Hey nobody invited you to the council.” The dwarf picked up his speed to get in front of Killian. 

Killian shot him a deadly smile. “An oversight I am sure.” 

He increased his pace but Killian beat him to the door and pushed through with as much swagger as he could manage. 

All eyes at the table turned to him but he was only interested in Emma. Surprise and relief flashed over her face and then she frowned and looked away. Before Killian could begin to understand her reaction and his own rushing heartbeat the King spoke. 

“Your presence was not requested, pirate.” 

Killian turned to the King and gave him a patronizing smile. “And yet here I am.” 

The Queen laid a hand on her husband's arm. “We are happy to see you recovered, Captain. Please join us. Your personal knowledge of the Wicked Witch and her domain may prove helpful.” 

Killian gave a half-bow and grinned his victory as he made his way to an empty seat. His eyes flicked to Emma but she seemed to be focused on a piece of paper in her hands. 

Those at the table were vaguely familiar to him, dirty, tired versions of the people he had met at the last council meeting he had attended. Given that immediately after that meeting he had escaped the castle he couldn’t really fault them for their cold, dismissive manner. 

“As I was saying.” Emma put down the paper. “Prince Walsh has not been found in the castle. I think it’s possible Zelena killed him when she took over his kingdom.” 

There is a murmur around the table. Did they truly care that the double dealing prince was gone? The man had plotted against Emma, he had tried to trick her into marriage. Surely he deserved his punishment?

“Well that’s a problem.” The older lady beside Killian grumbled. 

Killian couldn’t help but wonder if these council members were the same ones that had urged Emma to marry the prince in the first place. Perhaps they still wanted that? Killian shook his head.

“What pirate?” The King asked. “Do you know what happened to Prince Walsh?” 

“Actually I do.” All eyes turned to Killian. “The same thing that happened to all Zelena’s enemies. He was turned into a flying monkey.” 

Though Killian had never communicated with the other monkeys he had spent enough time with Zelena and heard her use names on several occasions. She had taken particular delight in taunting Walsh and telling him that he was no longer her favorite. 

“All of them into flying monkeys?” The Queen asked. 

Killian shrugged. “It gave her an army and removed her enemies all at once. Zelena particularly liked the control the spell afforded her.”

“How does the spell work exactly?” The Blue Fairy asked from her place to chairs down. 

“I am no expert in magic. ” Killian said. 

“Any information will help. How did it affect you?” 

“Well, obviously, there is a physical transformation but your mind remains intact. You still reason and feel as a person but you have no free will. Zelena’s will is like a physical tether, you can’t help but obey. She might command a monkey to kill his own family and they wouldn’t be able to resist.” 

Killian met Emma’s gaze and hoped she understood that he had been forced to capture her. That he would never wish to hurt her.

“That is horrible.” The Queen reached for her husband's hand. “All those innocent people.” 

“Mother, we didn’t kill any of them.” Emma soothed. 

“Only because you insisted we not harm them. If we hadn’t listened to you…”

Killian wondered what conversations they had about the monkeys. Had Emma  guessed the monkeys were innocent or had she been worried about him getting killed in the battle? Had Emma explained about his transformation or told them anything about their time together in the woods? He had thought often of that night. Of Emma’s magic and her tending his wounds, of waking up with her body pressed to his and how he realized how much he had missed waking up with someone.

“It is a truly vile spell.” The Blue Fairy said. “But Princess Emma has already cured the Captain so there is hope I can learn how she did it and reproduce it.” 

Attention shifted to Emma and Killian found himself leaning forward. How had she cured him? He couldn’t remember anything but light and warmth. 

Emma looked down at the table. “I don’t think I can repeat what happened.” 

Killian frowned. Had Emma used some dangerous magic? All magic came with a price what would she have to pay on his behalf? 

“Now Princess I know much of your magic is instinct but if you could even describe what happened I believe that it would be helpful.” 

Emma took a deep breath and her eyes flashed to Killian before jumping back to the fairy. 

“Blue I have learned a lot in the last few months and I know more about magic than you think. So trust me, you can’t recreate it. 

“But if you–” 

Emma cut her off. “You need to be looking at counter curses.” 

The Blue Fairy opened and then closed her mouth. She looked between Emma and Killian and seemed to come to some kind of realization and pressed her lips together.

“Oh. Emma.” The Queen’s exclamation drew Killian’s attention. The Queen reached for Emma’s hand. Emma’s face was turning red even as her father’s drained to white. Killian knew he had missed something but didn’t know what. 

“Emma, what did you do?” Killian’s fear made the question came out more as an accusation.

 Emma jumped to her feet and her chair rocked back. “I need some air.”  She rushed from the room with all eyes following her. She didn’t look back. As the room erupted in murmurs Killian jumped to his feet and followed her. As far as he was concerned the meeting was over. 

Emma wasn’t in the hallway and Killian wondered if she had used magic to whisk herself away. With a sigh he began his search. Guessing that Emma would want to avoid people he headed for the gardens. His mind whirled as he tried to push down the worry that whatever Emma had done with her magic was dangerous. Could it be reversed? He would gladly go back to being a monkey if it would spare Emma.  His anxiety mounted until he found her standing in the very spot she had dosed him with poppy powder so long ago. 

 Her eyes were closed and she seemed lost in thought. Now that he had found her all his questions fled. She looked tired and he wanted to take her in his arms and soothe her worries not interrogate her. He took a step on the gravel and her eyes flew open. She didn’t seem pleased to see him. 

“You recovered quickly. I thought you would be asleep for a day at least.” 

“And miss all this fun?” He attempted a smirk.

“You have a strange idea of fun.” 

Killian shrugged. “It’s important to find the silver lining in life.” 

Emma snorted. 

“Emma you gained control of your magic, you defeated the Wicked Witch, you saved me from spending my life as a simian. But you act as if you have lost.” He met her eyes and took a step closer as he gathered his courage. “I am grateful for the rescue. Though I don’t remember everything I know I wouldn’t be here without you. But, Emma, if the magic came at a high cost to you…” 

“The cost? Killian I…” Emma shook her head “There was no cost, I made no bargains nor dabbled in any dark magic. Though perhaps that would have been easier than this mess.” 

He frowned. “Then why–?”

“What do you want Killian?” 

The question and the intensity in her voice caught him off guard. “I wanted to make sure you were alright.” 

“No. What do you want now that you are free?”

Killian cocked his head as he considered the question. He was free, freer than he had been for centuries. For so long revenge had been his cruel mistress, driving him to betray his own principles to strike at the Dark One. Until Emma had entered his life he hadn’t realized how far he had sunk under its control. Emma had shown him the cost of his villainy and that there was much more to life if only he was brave enough to change. The dwarf had assumed he would run off to his ship and sail away. Given their history, perhaps Emma thought the same. But Killian had no intention of leaving unless it was what Emma wanted.  Certainly she could never care for him the way he cared for her but would she accept him in her life?

He searched her eyes but knew the only way to get an answer was to ask.

“You once said that if I stopped living in the past I could be a part of something.” 

“I did and then you ran away.” 

“I was trying to help, but point taken.” Killian took a deep breath. “This time I would like to stay and try to be a part of something. I know the King and others don’t much care for me but I have some first rate qualities that could be of real use to your kingdom.”

“You would give up buckling swash on the high seas? Be on the council and help with taxation and road building and treaties?” Emma seemed skeptical. 

“Given my talents I hope you would give me more exciting duties but, yes. If you are amenable I would like to stay.” 

“And that’s all you want a position in my kingdom?” 

Her green eyes drew him closer and his heart beat wildly. He thought of the kiss they had shared in this spot, of all the kisses and almost kisses, of how she seemed to know the truth of him but hadn’t turned away. He wanted so much more than a seat on her council. 

He stepped closer summoning what little swagger he could. 

 “Oh, aye, a position in your kingdom and a position in your heart.” 

Emma’s mouth opened in surprise. He chuckled as he bent his head and kissed her. It was a soft, teasing thing then Emma took control and transformed it into something much more passionate. 

When they pulled apart they touched foreheads and smiled. 

“What?” She asked. 

“Hmmm… I am just waiting for you to run away or incapacitate me.” 

Emma laughed. “I guess it is my turn since you ran away last time.” 

“Being turned into a flying monkey is hardly running away, love.” 

She pulled back and reverently ran her fingers over his hairline and down his cheek. He smiled at her concern. 

“I am sorry it took me so long. That she had you under her control for so long.” 

“Emma, you mastered your magic in mere months. It’s a marvel you came as soon as you did. I am the one who is sorry.”

“For what?” 

“For betraying you and stealing the urn. For running off and getting injured by flying monkeys because I didn’t trust you enough to share my plan.” 

“Killian without all that, without your encouragement and even your transformation, I never would have learned how to use my magic. I would have always been afraid of it. I should be thanking you.” 

 Killian’s heart swelled at the praise but he couldn’t help but argue. “You saved me, Emma.” He whispered and he was talking about much more than the events of the last day.

“You saved me too.” She replied before kissing him again. This time it was soft and sweet and full of promise. 

The kiss was interrupted by the loud clearing of a throat. Emma and Killian came apart. Killian let out a sigh and was composing a litany of curses for their intruder when he turned and realized it was Emma’s parents.  

The King looked like he would happily murder him while the Queen smiled blissfully. Emma pulled out of his embrace to face her parents. Killian kept his hand at her hip and it wasn’t just to annoy the King. 

“Mother, Father, Captain Jones has accepted the position of naval advisor.” 

Killian snickered at her words and the false dignity she gave them.

The King rolled his eyes. “Naval advisor? Really?” 

“David, now is not the time.” The Queen warned. 

“Now is exactly the time. I will not have this pirate toying with our daughters affections.” 

“Your daughter is right here and can make her own decisions.” Emma joined the argument. 

“Emma,” the king's voice softened, “I love you. But after Neal and Walsh you deserve someone better.” He looked at Killian and frowned. “You deserve an equal partner that doesn’t have ulterior motives. That won’t abandon you or betray you.” 

Killian bristled even as he agreed with the King's assessment. Emma deserved all that and more. He hoped he could be the one to give it to her. He locked eyes with the King.

“Listen, your Majesty, whatever Emma and I become is up to her but I would never betray or abandon her. I am in this for the long haul.” Killian pulled Emma closer.

“Honestly, David, you are being ridiculous.” 

“What? I am just looking out for our daughter. There is no proof the pirate and Zelena aren’t working together to trick Emma into thinking he is her True Love.” 

Killian frowned in confusion. “True what?” 

Nobody answered him. Emma had stepped away to confront her father. 

“No proof? Are you kidding me? Dad, you weren’t even there!” Emma’s hands seemed to spark with pent up magic as she gestured to Killian. “I was powerless. Zelena was going to kill me and everyone else. Killian was able to break through her control long enough to throw himself in front of a fireball.”

“That could have been faked, a trick to get you to believe him.” The King grumbled. 

“He was dying! I didn’t kiss him to break his curse. I kissed him because I thought it would be the last time.” 

Killian remembered the moment, the pain and looking into her desperate face wishing it wasn’t the end. She kissed him and it broke his curse. Realization dawned on him as Emma continued. 

“When we kissed there was the flash and it felt just like you and Mom always said. Then he was human. I didn’t imagine or suspect that he… It was real. I know it.” 

Killian knew more than most about the power of True Love’s Kiss. It had become a particular obsession of Rumplestilskin’s and so Killian had studied it. It was rare but could break any curse as true love was said to be the most powerful force in all the realms. Killian had been doubtful that such magic existed and had certainly thought it impossible he could share it with anyone after Milah’s death. But he had fallen in love again, though he had denied it, and even more wondrous she loved him back. Killian didn’t blame the King for being skeptical, Killian hardly believed it himself. His relationship with Emma had been unconventional to say the least but Killian would go through it all again if it led him to true love. 

The King was struggling to answer his daughter's declaration as the Queen looked smug. 

“Quite passionate, Emma.” Killian murmured. 

She turned to him and caught his wide grin.

“What?”

“You kissed a monkey.” Killian knew he looked a fool with his smile but he couldn’t help it. Emma rolled her eyes.

“A disgusting monster with fangs.” He continued as he pulled her into his arms. “At least I know you don’t love me for my looks.” 

“Can you be serious?” Emma said even as she returned his smile. Killian knew it was hardly the time with her parents looking on but he couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“I’m your True Love.” Killian tipped his head and bit his lip. 

“Shut up.” 

“Make me.” 

And she did. 

[turtle-steverogers]

alright babe heres the first 5 I saw: "why are you covered in neon body paint?" "best not to ask" and "I cant breathe, I cant-" and "I cant walk just go on without me" and " ive had a rough day and honestly all I want right now is a drink and someone to cuddle with" and "hey guys im here and im ready to bitch"

hey guys, saph and i were facetiming earlier and she dared me to finally answer this ask she sent in like fall 2018 except i had to use all the prompts and the result is…well, i’m not sure what it is.  but its got criminal race and spot and a cryptic ass albert who makes lava lamps for his niece.  so yah. enjoy!

warnings: its pretty much crack, but there is a brief anxiety attack

ship: platonic race/al/spot

word count: 2490

editing: no

Something a Little Off-Kilter

-

Race was nine years old when his ma grabbed him by the chin, turned his face towards her and told him in all her harsh Italian-mother sternness, “We do not run from people, Antonio.  You have Mancini blood in your veins and Mancini’s do not run!”  And Race, with eyes blurred from tears and nose dripping with blood from the fight he’d just fled, nodded vigorously before trudging miserably to his bathroom to clean up (and cry a little more).

But he’d learned two things that day.  One: what a maiden name was and that his ma’s is Mancini and two: running is for losers who never want to stop running.  And he’d more or less kept up that sentiment, even if it cost him a black eye and some dignity in some circumstances.  Like that one time in eleventh grade when Spencer Reiding called him a fairy and in turn, Race had beat the living shit out of him until his little entourage had shown up and knocked him out cold.  But seriously, ‘fairy’? It’s not 19-fucking-50.

Race supposes, though, that all good sentiments meet their maker at one point or another.  Self-preservation over morals and all that, right? 

“Floor it, Christ, are you flooring it!?”  His grip on the ‘oh shit’ bar is white-knuckled and he can hear himself panting as he twists in his seat for what’s probably the hundredth time.  The blue and red flashing of the cop car that had been following them is nothing but a speck at this point, but Race isn’t really keen on taking any chances right now.  Tonight had been a close fucking call.  

“Yes, I’m flooring it, asshole!” Spot shouts, swerving around a lone subaru that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere on the otherwise empty stretch of desert highway.  Normally, Race would be surprised at the sheer lack of cars that are out, but he supposes 4 am in buttfuck Arizona is not prime time for travels.  

Letting out a little whine, Race turns to face forward again, stealing a quick glance at Spot as he does so.  He can see the faint worry lines on his face, reflected from the miniscule lights of the dash.  They’d opted to leave the headlights off for optimal covertness, but the moonlight over the desert proves to be more than sufficient.  

Spot’s anxious, Race can tell.  He remembers a year ago when the two of them had first met in that dingy bar in Brooklyn.  Spot had been nothing but a stoic mask at that time, only showing faint hints of amusement every now and then.  It had been incredibly disconcerting, especially to Race who wears his heart on his sleeve, to behold such utter passivity, but Race had since learned to read him.  Spending everyday together for twelve months is really the best lesson in a person’s tells, Race has found.  And really, when he spares a second thought to it, their situation and relationship therefore, is a strange one.  Two broke college grads down on their luck and bearing fuck all from their families meeting by chance and somehow finding themselves stuck in a loop of money laundering and identity theft in order to stay above ground.  Maybe not the best solution to their problems, but hey, Race never claimed to be smart with his choices.  And the rush of adrenaline is as much of a drug as the coke they sell on the side.

“God fucking damnit, is he still following us?” Spot says, eyes flitting to the rearview mirror.

“Dude, he caught us balls deep tryna break into a fucking bank.  He ain’t gon’ let us off that easy.” Race says, “Jesus fuck I told you we should stick to the other stuff.  We were making big cash just fine pulling paychecks from easy civvies.”

“Yeah, yeah, you can tell me ‘told you so’ when we get somewhere I can think.” Spot sounds exhausted and on-edge and Race himself is looking forward to this whole ordeal blowing over so they can find a place to ditch this car and grab a new one and maybe crash at some shitty inn no cop would think to look.  Yeah, laying low for a couple of days sounds perfect right now.  They don’t even have to leave the room.  Denny’s orders in, right?

“Oh, I will.” Race says, sighing an internal sigh of relief as the distant lights of a small town come into view.  Thank god.

Spot mumbles something that sounds like, “Fucking finally,” and eases up on the gas, turning abruptly once they enter the city perimeter.  

They’ve gotten good at this: losing tails, but Race still holds his breath as Spot loops around the backroads of the town, looking for a place to dump the car.  It’s a few minutes until Race can see the lights of the cop car reflecting off the drug store they’d passed upon first entrance and he hisses out another curse, jabbing Spot in the arm.

“Stop here,” He says, “If he finds the car, fine, but he sure as hell ain’t finding us in it.”

Spot looks like he wants to fight back, but instead, he surprises Race by pulling to a surprisingly quiet stop by an old auto-shop.  He gestures for Race to get out and swiftly grabs their duffels from the back seat, tossing Race’s to him, both pausing when the cop car cruises in front of the alleyway closest to them.  Inaudibly, they let out synchronous sighs of relief when it continues on. 

They cheat behind the auto-shop and are barely settled into identical crouches when a quiet, “Psst,” captures both of their attention.  Race jumps violently, only barely recovering in time to slap a hand over Spot’s mouth as he begins to shout in surprise.

“Over here,” the voice whispers again.

The two of them turn to look at where the auto-shop’s back door is now open and Race squints as the silhouette of a man comes into view.  He can see the man waving a hand in front of him, beckoning them closer, before exchanging a look with Spot.  A silent conversation passes between them, we’ve made bad choices before, what’s one more? And Spot shrugs a little before hoisting his duffel back onto his shoulder and tiptoeing towards the man.  Race follows behind warily. 

Now that he’s closer, Race can see that the man is about their age- young and a little rugged looking with hair that curls towards his jaw at the nape of his neck.  His face and arms are splattered with- well, Race’s first thought is that it’s blood, but upon further inspection, he sees that it’s paint.  Bright yellow and orange neon paint.

He has a lot of questions.  Like, how the fuck did you notice us lurking behind your building at four am? And, why did you think it was a good idea to interact with two obviously suspicious looking men? But all that comes out is, “why are you covered in neon paint?”

Spot drops his head in a groan and the guy laughs somewhat maniacally, “best not to ask, it’s a long story.  Well, actually it’s not.  You see, it’s my niece’s birthday tomorrow and she really likes lava lamps so I’m hand making a few for her and that includes painting the bases and she’s going through that quirky eight year old phase where everything rainbows and neon is super cool, so I’m making them neon tie-dye,” he says it all in one breath and Race finds himself struggling to keep up, “anyway, the names Albert.  You two look like you need some help.  Wanna come in?”

The whole situation’s fucking weird, but Race and Spot exchange another look, this one holding the quick debate of, what other options do we got? And a moment later, they’re hustling into the dingy auto shop.

The lights are dim on the inside, but it’s a surprisingly cozy set up.  The side dedicated to cars is immaculately organized, with a few hanging from the ceiling and others lined neatly on the ground, propped up on floor jacks where necessary.  On the other side is clearly where Albert lives, with a couple curtains sanctioning off a twin bed and desk, where sure enough, three lava-lamps, varying in color and size, are set on a few sheets of newspaper.  

Spot frowns as Albert locks the door, turning to them with a smile, “I’m assuming the cop car out there’s for you guys?”  When Race and Spot don’t answer, he continues, too lighthearted for the situation, “Yeah, figured.  Feel free to lay low here ‘til the threat’s passed.”

“If the police are clearly after us, aren’t we the threats?” Spot asks, “Wait, no, hold on, aren’t you gonna ask us what we did?  Aren’t you put off at all?”

Albert waves a hand, “Nah, I do this all the time.  Just don’t try to murder me and we’re good.  You look like nice enough people, just a little down on your luck.  I don’t mind you camping out here while ya need.” He sets off towards his desk, seemingly to finish the lava-lamps, “The door across from the supply closet is technically an office, but I stuck a mattress and some blankets there for people like yourselves.  Feel free to crash.  If the bull comes by, I didn’t see anything.”  With that, he’s gone.  Behind the curtain as if he’d never been there.

Race blinks, bemused, and looks at Spot.

“What the fuck did he mean, ‘I do this all the time’?  Who the fuck is this guy?”

Spot shakes his head, looking more lost than Race has ever seen him, “Hell if I know.”

The office-turned-guest-room turns out to be more spacious than Race had anticipated and he and Spot are sitting on the mattress, munching on granola bars that were placed unceremoniously in a bowl by the door, when they hear a knock from outside.  

Race feels a pit of dread form in his gut and he lowers his granola bar, appetite lost.  It’s the cop, it’s gotta be.  Who else would be knocking before dawn?  And oh god, they’d left the car right out front, how much more obvious can they be?

Race glances at Spot, who’s also stopped eating, and hisses, “If he catches us, run.  Go on without me.” 

He means it, but Spot just huffs out a bitter laugh, “As if.  Now shut up.”

They strain their ears, listening as Albert opens the door, feigning sleep they know he hasn’t gotten in his voice, “Officer.  Is there a problem?”

They can’t hear what the cop says, but Albert’s side of the conversation is fairly clear, “Hm? Oh, the paint?  I was working on a project for my niece and must have dozed off before cleaning up.  Anyway, how can I help you?”  There’s a pause, “Two- what? I haven’t heard anything about no bank robbers, that’s terrible! I- oh, that car, that’s…strange, that wasn’t here when I went to sleep.  Sure, you can check around back, but I doubt ya’d find anything.  I’da heard if someone were moving around out there and I didn’t hear nothing last night.  Yes sir, I- oh?  Nah, I’m afraid I can’t letcha search my shop.  Not without a warrant.  Mm, sorry officer.  Yes, I understand the caliber of the situation, but it is my legal right to deny your entrance to my home without substantial reasoning.  Mhm, but see, that’s a hunch.  I don’t see no warrant.  Okay, officer.  Yes. just around back.  Go ahead.  Alright, officer, okay.  Nice chat.  Goodbye.”

The door closes a second later and Race lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.  All at once, the adrenaline of the night hits him.  They’d almost been fucking caught, Christ, what if they’d ended up in jail?  What if they still end up in jail?  He couldn’t survive jail, fuck, he wouldn’t even be able to afford and lawyer and shit-

His body is shaking, vibrating really, and a weight is steadily growing on his chest.  Involuntary tears prick at his eyes and he brings a hand up to the front of his shirt, tugging as if that would release some of the pressure from his lungs.  

“Race?” Spot sounds distant and Race turns to him, knowing he looks panicked, but having no capacity to change that, “Are you okay?”

“I don’t know,” Race says, voice high and pitchy, “I can’t really breathe, I can’t-”

“Shit, hey, it’s okay.  I think you’re having an anxiety attack,” Spot says, sounding uncharacteristically gentle, “I know a lot happened tonight, but we’re okay,” He places a comforting hand on Race’s shoulder, “Just breathe, it’s okay.”

Race nods, closing his eyes and focusing on Spot’s touch, allowing it to ground him.  A few moments later, he’s feeling calmer, if still a little shaken.  

“You alright?” Spot asks, not removing his hand.

“Yeah, I dunno, man,” Race says honestly, “It’s been a rough ass night and all I want right now is something to drink and someone to cuddle with,” his eyes fly open as soon as the words are out of his mouth.  He hadn’t meant to say that.  He’s not sure why he said that.  It’s not even like he and Spot have that sort of relationship, nor is he particularly seeking that out.  But now that it’s out there, Race wouldn’t say no to some good old physical comfort.

Spot seems to sense that and laughs a little as he removes his hand from where he’s still gripping Race to sling his arm around his shoulders.  It’s a little more intimate than they usually are, but friendly and comfortable nonetheless.  Race takes a deep, shaky breath and rests his head back against the wall, leaning into Spot’s side.

“Yeah, it’s been a fucked up night and I think I’m still deciding whether or not it’s real or just some weird fever dream,” Spot says, “Like, who even is that guy?  What the fuck is his deal?”

“Lord even knows,” Race says, “But I think I got my fill of crazy for a while.”

“Yeah, me too.”

They lapse into silence and Race is just starting to drift off when the door to the office opens and Albert pokes his head in, somehow covered in even more paint than before and holding up a bottle of tequila, “hey guys, I’m here and I’m ready to bitch.  The cop is gone now, though I wouldn’t recommend skipping town just yet- better safe than sorry.  Also, bank robbers, huh?  Haven’t had your kind in a while.  You’re a fun type, though the arson that I met last week was pretty spicy.  Anyway, drinks?  I know it’s early for alcohol, but I get the feeling y’all need it.”

Spot doesn’t even try to lower his voice as he says, “Yeah, I don’t think our fill of crazy is over yet.”

-

don’t ask me what that was about, i genuinely don’t know

thanks for reading, chiefs

hmu to be added to my tag

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[lynelovespopculture]

The Chilling Adventures of Zelda Chapter 5-ROAD TO RECOVERY PLEASE REMEMBER TO COMMENT!

CHAPTER 5-THE ROAD TO RECOVERY

WARNING: Talk of suicide

 Zelda couldn’t sleep. She sighed as she turned to look at the clock, 2:45 AM. Zelda looked upper still to Hilda 3 feet away, lightly snoring. Zelda removed her blankets and put her feet into her slippers. She exited the bedroom before conjuring a little ball of light to accompany her down the dark hallway. It had been 2 and a half weeks since Zelda’s husband had been separated from his insanity curse and things were not going all that well. The plan had been to free Faustus and then kill the curse and they had tried their best. Zelda had been literally in hell as Prudence tried to stab it and Hilda came from behind with a heavy rock. However, the stab wound made no difference and the rock that broke in 2. It fell to Zelda to tell her family that the curse bore the mark of Cain, which made it immortal. Somehow, the curse got away. So, Blackwood, (to help avoid confusion, the family decided to call the curse Blackwood and the real man Faustus,) was on the run again but not for long. A week later, when all the coven was in the church to hear mass, a bloody Dorcas stormed in to tearfully inform the others that Blackwood stormed the nearly empty academy. Dorcas tried hard but Blackwood did manage to reclaim the twins before disappearing again. Poor Dorcas blamed herself, but Zelda tried her best to comfort the distraught girl. Secretly, Zelda herself wanted to cry. How could they lose the twins yet again, after a mere 8 days! Late at night on all 7 nights, Zelda would take care not to be caught as she sneaked into where the twins slept. She would tuck them in if needed, kiss them and just stay with them for a while. Wondering how Judas and Letitia, she knew the girl twin was calling herself Judith, but she would always be Letitia to Zelda, could possibly be teenagers, when their 1st birthday was still weeks away.  Agatha, who was already pretty hostile, grew even more violent and wild when she learned that Blackwood came to get the twins but not her. Knowing that Agatha was a danger not only to herself but to the other students and teachers, Zelda made the decision to put Agatha in the dungeon, for now.

“I’m really sorry girls,” Zelda told the other weird sisters about her decision. “I wish there was another way, but I need to put the safety of the coven first, plus if Blackwood comes back for her, it won’t be so easy.”

“We  understand, Sister Zelda.”  Prudence soothed.

Dorcas nodded. “Agatha’s in good hands. We trust you, Mistress  Spellman.”

Zelda smiled, she needed to hear that right now.

Zelda briefly considered getting in touch with their mysterious new ally, Gloria Rose but the idea was quickly dismissed for 2 reasons. First, Zelda had no idea where Gloria lived or how to get in touch with her and had a funny feeling that Gloria wouldn’t pop up again it was time for Lilith’s next appointment. Also, was the fact that Gloria had betrayed Blackwood by giving him to the Spellmans so it was unlikely Blackwood would go back to her.

 The cold hallway gave Zelda a chill, sending her back to the present. Zelda went to the end of the hall and opened the linen closet, grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around herself.  In addition to worrying about Blackwood, the twins, and Agatha, Zelda was extremely concerned about Faustus, only in a completely different way. Agatha’s behavior was violent and dangerous. Faustus was a danger to no one but himself. Zelda was with her husband when he asked the dark lord to put him under house arrest and stripped him of all his magical powers. Boy, Faustus was not kidding. He asked for house arrest but it was more like room arrest. Shortly after returning from hell, Faustus went down to the morgue and stayed there for 2 and a half weeks. The morgue was the lowest, coldest room in the Spellman house. Zelda suspected if Faustus could go lower, he would. He also absolutely wouldn’t hear of going near the church or school.

“I am no longer a high priest,” he said when Sabrina addressed as Father  Blackwood, “nor should I be. I betrayed a sacred trust when I poisoned the entire coven.” His head turned as his eyes grew misty.

 Faustus also insisted on being punished.  He even asked Ambrose to chain him up. Zelda quickly overruled that request. There was no self-torture Faustus wouldn’t inflict on himself. One day, he found a rope that he used as a  whip. By the time someone found him, his back was red, bruised and bleeding. He wouldn’t allow anyone to heal him but a sneaky Zelda did it while he was asleep. Zelda feared she wouldn’t be attracted to a powerless Faustus but she was wrong. I love him, she thought. I truly love him, more and more each day. People made sure that trays of Hilda’s famous cooking was brought down to him at least 3 times a day,  but Faustus barely touched any of it. Zelda spent hours and hours with him, begging him to eat, if only for her. It kind of reminded Zelda when she and  Hilda would do a good cop/bad cop routine when a 4-year-old Sabrina refused to eat her peas. On the days that were really bad, Zelda would take her own dinner to the morgue and refused to eat until Faustus did. Of course, her pregnancy and the fact that the baby needed to be fed, was her ace in the hole and soon found Faustus cleaning his plate.

 Zelda dismissed the ball of light as she went down the spiral steps to the morgue. There was a  full moon tonight and its light filled the room. Zelda sighed as she saw Faustus was, yet again, not sleeping in the cot that had been prepared for him but instead, sitting against the wall, wearing only his pants, trying to keep himself from nodding off. Why? Because sleep deprivation was a form of torture too.

“It’s like he’s broken, Aunt Hilda.” Zelda overheard Ambrose said one morning. Zelda said nothing as she entered the room but she knew whatever was ‘broken’ in Faustus, could be fixed.

“What are you doing here?” Faustus asked when he finally noticed Zelda standing on the last stair. “It’s late. You should be asleep.”

“So should you.” She returned firmly.

He shook his head. “I don’t matter, you do.”

“Yes, you do.” You matter to me. Zelda thought silently to herself. Zelda wanted to tell Faustus she loved him a thousand times since he been back but it never seemed to be the right moment. Sighing, she went over to him. “Oh, Faustus! Your hands are like ice! Here.” Zelda took off the blanket that was wrapped around her and gave it to him before going to the cot to pick up the rest of the blankets.

“No, I  don’t want it. I deserve to be cold!” Faustus whined like a child while pushing away the blankets. However, the blankets were tucked tightly around him once Zelda spelled it.

Then she sat down and snuggled next to him. “You know, Faustus,” Zelda said  before they both fell asleep, “you can’t go on like this much longer.”

  Zelda was right, of course, and Faustus knew it. It was Wednesday morning when it was when Faustus sneaked into the kitchen before anyone had come down. It was a lot harder to switch 2 bottles without powers.

“Well, Father Blackwood! It’s good  to  see you above ground level.” Faustus turned sharply around, keeping the bottle behind his back as he saw Hilda smiling at him. “Are you feeling better this morning?”

“A little.” He lied. “And call me Faustus.”

“Well, good! Fancy a bit of breakfast? The others should be right down.”

“No, thank you, Hilda. I’m not hungry.” That was true. It took a few more lines of small talk before Faustus was able to leave the kitchen without letting Hilda see the bottle he switched.  Out in the hallway, Faustus recognized a book on a bench that as headmistress,  Zelda would use. He picked it up and tucked it under his arm. Turning, Faustus almost ran into Sabrina.

“Oh, Miss Spellman, um, Sabrina, I’m glad I bumped into you. I just wanted to say that I am very ashamed of my behavior towards you when we first meet. I know now that I was just taking my anger toward your father out  on you and  that’s not fair to you.”

Sabrina was stunned. “T-Thank you, Fath, Mr. Blackwood. Perhaps we can start fresh going forward.”

Faustus smiled at the girl. He was back downstairs when he heard footsteps on the steps and Ambrose then came into view with a cardboard box.

 “I got you what you asked for from the academy.”

“Thank you, Ambrose. You’re a fine young man. My daughter could do a lot worse.”

Ambrose turned bright red.  “We aren’t back together or anything, not yet, I mean, not officially.”

“Nevertheless, I approve. Whatever you and Prudence decide to do.”

“Someone say my name? My ears are burning.” Prudence smiled as she entered.

“Hey, Prudence! What are you doing here?” Asked a friendly Ambrose.

“I just thought I would come round,  check on things here. Good morning, Father.”

Faustus returned his daughter’s smile. “Good morning, Prudence.”

“Do you want some company back to school?” Prudence asked Ambrose.

“Sure.”

They both turned to go until Faustus called his daughter back. Prudence turned and Faustus went up to his daughter, caressed her cheek before kissing her and giving her a big hug.

Prudence smiled. “What was that for?”

Faustus smiled back. “I just wanted to kiss and hug you just for no special reason, just once.”

Prudence’s smile grew bigger and she hugged him back. “Thank you,  Father.” She whispered in his ear.

She and Ambrose left then, passing Zelda on the stairs.

“Hello, Sister Zelda.”

“Morning, Aunt Z.”

Zelda came downstairs in a rush. “I can’t believe I’m going to be late again.” Zelda seemed to be  searching for something.”

“Lost something?” Faustus asked.

“Yes,” Zelda answered. “I   need a certain book for my 1st  class and I can’t  find it anywhere.”

Faustus held up the book he took from the hall. “Is it this one?”

Zelda looked up and immediately lit up. “Yes!” She took it from him and turned to leave.

My beautiful Zelda, Faustus thought. But I need 1 more look, just  1 more.

“Zelda?”

“Yes?”   She turned to him again and he drunk her in before he shrugged. “I forgot my thought.”

  It was half an hour before Faustus knew he was alone in the house.  It was only then that Faustus opened the cardboard box that Ambrose brought him to check if it had all the contents in it. Yep, it was all there. Every stomach-churning item. With 1 look, Faustus could tell that the old-fashioned potbelly stove was not going to be big enough to burn all this stuff. So, Faustus went upstairs to find something bigger. The fireplace in the living room seemed big enough but Faustus simply couldn’t do it.  It was on this exact spot, almost a year ago, that he kissed Zelda. It was by far, the very best kiss of his entire existence and that was the night that Faustus and Zelda started the affair that led to their marriage, 6 months later. Faustus continued his search combing all the upstairs but didn’t find anything that he needed.  Faustus was on the stairs when a stranger came through the door.

“Zelda?”  The stranger called.  “Prudence?”

“There’s no one here but me,”  Faustus said. “I think they’re at the academy.”

The strange woman looked up at him. “Who are you?”

I could ask the same thing of you. Faustus thought but he actually said “I’m an old friend of the Spellmans. I’m staying here for a few  days.”

“Oh, okay, nice to meet you. I’m Mambo Marie and I was just looking for Zelda. She’s been late a lot lately. I think she’s been avoiding me since we broke up.”

Faustus couldn’t stop himself. “Broke up?! You mean, the 2 of you used to be together?” You have no right to feel jealous. Faustus silently scolded himself. You have no right to feel anything but guilt and shame.

“Yes, we went out for a couple of months last spring,” Marie answered and sighed. “I still miss her sometimes. Zelda Spellman is proving a hard woman to get over.”

Try impossible, Faustus thought. Outloud, he said, “Would you like to get back together with  Zelda?”

Marie half-smiled and shook her head. “Not going to happen, even if I wanted it to. Our last conversation made that perfectly clear.”

“Oh, it couldn’t have been that bad.”

“Oh no?”  Marie challenged. “The last time Zelda and I were alone together, I tried to get her to take…an abortion potion.” She looked down at her feet.

“You tried to get Zelda to kill ou, her baby?”

“I do regret it,” Marie said quickly. “I got hurt that Zelda didn’t tell me herself and I got mad when she told me that the father was that bastard who wants to kill the whole coven.”

Faustus closed his eyes at the word ‘bastard’ but he forced himself to go on. “Have you told Zelda that you’re sorry?”

Marie shrugged. “No, I mean, what would be the point? Zelda would never forgive me.”

“Oh, I don’t know. Zelda can be very forgiving, perhaps too forgiving.”

“What?” asked Marie.

“Nothing,” Faustus dismissed. “You know if you act now you  could surprise Zelda with a romantic lunch.”

“You think that will work?”

“Can’t hurt.”

“Well, okay. I’ll try.” Marie smiled.

“Try giving her purple Primroses. They’s are Zelda’s favorites.”

“Thank you.”

“Bye,” Faustus waved until Marie closed the door. “Please take good care of all I love.”

 Half an hour later, Zelda walked into her office, studying some papers and looked up to see a set table and Mambo Marie was smiling and holding flowers. “Hello, ma Cherie.”

“Hi, what are you doing?”

“I know it’s been a while,” Marie started. “But I thought we could have lunch together so I could apologize for my behavior from last time.”

Zelda smiled. “I appreciate that.” Zelda closed the folder, tossed it on her desk and sat down on the chair Marie had pulled out for her. Then Marie sat down herself.

“I am sorry Zelda.” Said Marie. “I had no right to tell  you what to do with your  baby, it is your  body, after all.”

“Yes, Marie, it is,” Zelda said firmly.

“But that’s  not all.”  Marie put her hand on top of Zelda’s and smiled. “Ma Cherie, I think we should give us  another chance.” When Zelda said nothing, Marie said jokingly. “What? There’s not somebody else, is there?” Zelda looked at her guiltily.

“Unbelieve!” Marie snapped.

Before a fight could break out, Hilda ran into the office. “Zelda! Zelda!”

Zelda stood up. “Hilda, what is it? What’s wrong?”

“I was just in my herbalism class, showing how nightshade is poison in liquid form but when I opened the bottle, it was only dirt. Then I remember that I saw Father Blackwood in  the kitchen, near my purse and since this is the 1st  day he’s alone in  the house-“

“Faustus is going to kill himself.” Zelda finished for her sister.

Marie was utterly confused. “Wait, isn’t a good thing if Blackwood dies?”

“Blackwood and Faustus are not the same people anymore.”

“What?!”

“Hilda, you explain it to her. I got to go save Faustus.”

But Marie wouldn’t be put off. “Damn it, Zelda Spellman, if you walk out on me now, we are over! I mean it. I’m going back to New Orleans and I won’t be coming back!”

Zelda wasn’t one easily threaten but more than that, Marie didn’t seem to care about a potential suicide. “Have a safe trip,” Zelda said before teleporting home.

  Meanwhile, back in the morgue of the Spellman house, Faustus sat in a corner on the floor.  He held a picture of Zelda that he swiped from the mantle. “Goodbye, my love.” Faustus lifted the bottle to his lips but before he could drink anything, the bottle flew out of his palm and smashed against the opposite wall.

“What the heaven are you doing, Faustus?!” Zelda demanded, coming more into the room and gently shoved him. “You cannot leave me! You cannot leave me! You cannot leave me!” Zelda turned, covering her eyes to catch the fresh tears.  “What are you thinking of?”

“I was thinking of how you and everyone else would be better off without me.”

Zelda shook her head and crossed her arms. “That is so not true! You are needed, Faustus.”

“By  who?”

“By your children, by me!” Zelda returned. Faustus shook his head so Zelda went forward and held Faustus’s head so he had no choice but to look at her. “You are loved,” Faustus shook his head. “Yes, you are!” Zelda insisted. “Prudence love you, the twins love you, our new baby will love you and I love you.”

Faustus’s eyes widened. “In all our years, the centuries  we’ve known each other, that’s the 1 thing you’re never said to me, never.”

 “Well, I do, truly I do. I’m only sorry it took me so long to realize it.”

“What  about your girlfriend, Mambo Marie?”

“How do you  know about her?” Zelda asked. “Was she here? What am I even talking about? Of course, she was! She would never know to bring me purple primroses all by herself.  I won’t lie to you, Faustus. I did have a crush on Marie when we first met but crushes fade and in reality, we don’t know each other and lately, all we do is fight. Even now, when Hilda told me what you had  planned, she wanted me to stay and finish lunch with her but all I could think of was you and how I couldn’t bear to lose you, again.” Faustus stayed silent and Zelda got an awful,  horrible idea. “Have I gotten this all wrong? I know it’s only been a few months for us but it’s been 15 years for you. Do you no longer love me, Faustus?”

Faustus put an arm around her waist and for a second it looked like he was going to kiss her but forced himself to stop. “I love you so much, Zelda. Other than my children, I’ve never loved anyone else,  not for a second. Yet the fact remains that I don’t deserve you.”

“Deserve me or not, you have me!” Zelda said before she kissed him. Faustus tried to resist   but Zelda held him close and soon their bodies melted into each other. It wasn’t long before Faustus’s fingers found the zipper on the side of Zelda’s skirt. She stepped out of it and rolled her hosiery and panties down as far as they would go without breaking the kiss. Faustus, meanwhile, unbuttoned his shirt and let it fall off him before he scooped her up and gently laid her on the exam table. Carefully, he lowered himself over her. He began to kiss her, slowly. Beginning with the very top of her head and worked his way down to her forehead,  one cheek then the other and on to those sweet, sweet lips. As Faustus moved to kiss her neck, his fingers went to work, unbuttoning her blouse. Zelda’s view was blurry as he caressed her neck but when he skillfully took off her bra and embraced her breasts, Zelda saw nothing at all. Her sight returned when she realized that his kisses had stopped completely. Zelda looked up to see Faustus staring down at her swollen belly. Oh no, Zelda thought, the insecurity creeping in. Faustus wasn’t attracted to a heavyset woman. It was just a fact Zelda knew. Personally, Zelda never had to worry about it, until now. Does he find me disgusting, is that why he stopped.

Yet Faustus’s eyes were filled with wonder as he touched the mount of flesh that housed their child. “That’s our baby in there.” He kissed all around her stomach. “How far along are you?”

“I’m currently 9 and a half months pregnant.”

“It’s odd, isn’t it?” Faustus asked while he continued kissing. “It’s been 15 years for me but only a  few months for you, dearest. Hey! What is this?!”

“Oh, that’s just the wound from the gunshot.”

“What?! Who shot you?” Faustus demanded, instantly protective of his wife.

“It doesn’t matter.”  When  Zelda finally reached for his belt, Faustus grew nervous again.

“Zelda? Maybe we shouldn’t do  this.”

“Shh,” Zelda hushed. “You’re safe here. You’re safe with me, I promise.”

“Yes, but are you safe with me?” Faustus questioned.

Zelda only responded by kissing him and gently got on top of him. Now, it was Zelda’s turn to seduce. She kissed his chest, his hips and once she finally removed his pants, she went even lower. Faustus shivered with pleasure. When he couldn’t take it anymore so he rolled himself on top again and entered  Zelda. The couple was used to rough sex, but this wasn’t that. This was lovemaking, comforting and soothing lovemaking. The kind outlawed by the dark lord, but they didn’t follow him anymore. Zelda fell asleep in Faustus’s arms.

 When Zelda awoke, someone had covered her with a blanket, so she felt warm and safe. Without opening her eyes, Zelda reached out for Faustus but her hand couldn’t find him. Opening her eyes, Zelda discovered that he wasn’t beside her at all. With growing worry, Zelda prompted herself up on her elbow and scanned the room for her husband and found nothing.

“Faustus? Faustus!” Zelda cried out. Why did I fall asleep? She thought, panicking. Why did I leave him alone?

“I’m right here.” Came the calm reply. Zelda looked around and finally found him sitting on the floor, his back resting against the exam table. With a sigh of relief, Zelda wrapped the blanket around herself so she was at least semi-decent should anyone decide to come in before she climbed down to him.

“It seems that I’m always finding you on the floor.  We do have chairs, you know.” Zelda snuggled beside him but he made no move to embrace her nor did he push her away.

Finally, Faustus spoke. “We shouldn’t have done that.”        

“It’s okay,” Zelda soothed. “We don’t follow the dark lord anymore. Lovemaking should be fine.”

“I don’t give a flying fig about the dark lord!” Faustus cried, getting to his feet. “We shouldn’t have sex at all. Why can I never resist you, Zelda? Now it’s going to be next to impossible to go back.”

Zelda was confused. “I don’t understand, Faustus. Go back wh- OH!” Zelda instantly forgot what she was saying as her hand flew to her mid-section.

Faustus, too, briefly forgot whatever was troubling him as he went to his knees back to his wife. “Zelda? Zelda, what’s wrong?”

However, when  Zelda looked up,  she was smiling. “The baby,” she explained. “It just kicked.”

An odd expression came across Faustus’s face, one that was half horror, half awe. “Really?”

“Yes!” Zelda took Faustus’s hand and placed it on her stomach. “There,” she said after a moment. “Did you feel that?”

Faustus nodded. “Yes.” A tear fell from his eye as he stood, his head in his hands as he walked away. “This can’t be happening! Not now!” Faustus turned back to Zelda. “We’re finally married. You’re pregnant with my child. It’s all I ever wanted and I have to go back to him!”

Zelda was still completely lost. “Him? Him who?”

“My other half, of course,” Faustus answered. “I can’t thank you enough for…my little break, dearest but we both know that it could affect space and time if I’m not made whole soon. I just, I just can’t believe Edward was right. I’m, I’m just like my father.”

The mention of her brother made Zelda angry. “You are nothing like your father!”

“Oh no?”  Faustus challenged. “’ You forget yourself, my dear. A wife walks behind  her husband.’ I said that to you not even an hour after we were married. I cannot tell you how many times my father said exactly those words to my mother and my stepmother. I cringed every single time I heard it. I cringed twice as hard when those very words came out my own mouth. That moment I wanted to kick my own ass!”

“But Faustus, that was the curse  talking,  not you.” Zelda reminded him. 

“Curse? What curse?!”

Zelda’s eyes widened and put her hand over her mouth as the realization dawned on her.  “You don’t know, do you? Faustus do you what an insaniam maledictum spell is?”

Faustus didn’t need to think about it. “An insanity curse?  What’s that got to do with me?”

Everything! Zelda wanted to yell but instead, she said, “It’s getting cold. Let’s get dressed, there’s much to talk about.”

So the couple got dressed and sat side by side on Faustus’s cot.  That’s when Zelda told him everything. How Lucifer asked her to be Lilith’s midwife, how her payment was learning how Edward’s cursed their marriage, how she found his journals, the memory spell, how she confronted Edward and finally how she divided him from the curse.

Faustus, understandingly, was shocked for several moments before he spoke. “Do you mean even 16 years after his death, Edward was still trying to keep us apart?”

Zelda frowned but nodded.

“Why that little control freak! How dare he-“ Faustus stopped himself as he hung his head and his shoulders began to shake with heavy sobs. “For 15 long years, I  heard my voice use words I didn’t want to say and saw my body do things I didn’t want to do! I thought it  was my dark side was taking over completely but I never heard of such a thing!”

A  shiver ran down Zelda’s spine.  “You knew?” She whispered. “You knew but you couldn’t stop it.”

“Mostly. I  was only able to overpower his will when he tried to hit the twins and when he tried to murder you.”

“Faustus, from what I’m hearing,  you  were trapped in a curse that works like a cargarli spell.”

Faustus froze before he stood up and walked a few feet to distance himself from his wife.  “Oh heaven, the cargarli spell! How could I do that to you? I’m so, so sorry Zelda!”

She went to him. “It’s alright, Faustus. You were not responsible for anything you did under the curse. And for what it’s worth, I’m sorry too.”

“What? Zelda, what on earth do you have to be sorry for?”

“I remember thinking  after our wedding that it couldn’t be you but I let my anger and hurt cloud  my judgment.” She put her arms around his neck. “Plus, I’m sorry it took  me so long to realize that I love you.”

Faustus looked pained. “Zelda, I love you so much but we both know you don’t love me.”

Zelda felt like she had been punched in the gut. “But I do love you, Faustus, truly I do.”

He sighed. “Zelda, you yourself told me that you realized your feeling after reading my journals and performed the memory spell, I think those feelings are just pity.”

“No, Faustus, you’re wrong. Yes, I felt bad for the boy you were but I also realized how much I missed you. I lost count of how many times I want to inferred during the memory spell. I’m in love with you, Faustus and if takes me another 300 years to convince you of that, so  be it!”  She could see that he wasn’t convinced so she tried again. “You were right all along, Faustus, we do belong together. Think of all we’ve through already. Edward denies us permission to marry so you vow never take a wife. Edward tricks you into marriage with Constance,  but it doesn’t kill our feelings for each other or even slow them down. We finally marry and we defeat this insanity curse.  I’ve only forgotten my berries once in my life, barely a month after our marriage and that’s the very night I conceive our child. It all means something Faustus.”

He bit his lip. “Are you sure the curse is gone? I mean, just  because it’s not  in my body anymore doesn’t  mean it didn’t creep into other things.”

“Like what?”

Faustus sighed. “Like the baby. You just said you conceived 1 month after our marriage.  When the curse was on me. So did you even think the baby was fathered by the curse, not by me?”

“I did think of that, actually,” Zelda said. “Then I thought about how before every time we made love as husband and wife, your eyes would grow soft or you would get a nosebleed. I  didn’t know it then but it was you breaking through. Even if you knew it or not, you never let the curse touch me that way and when I realized that, I loved you even more. Secondly, it’s a curse.  We have to stop thinking of it as a real person. It may be wearing your skin and speak with your  voice but it’s only a spell, a parasite we will be well rid of.”

Faustus lowered his eyes. “How can you be so sure that I’m not the curse? You told me yourself that the light was too bright to see when we separated. What if you brought home  the  wrong Blackwood?”

Zelda shook her head. “You’re the real Faustus. I know it  and I can prove it!” Zelda poked around in some drawers and took out something, held it in her hand and went back to Faustus. “One of the things the curse wanted most is to end the Spellman bloodline. We both know I have Spellman blood. So if you are the curse,” Zelda pressed the knife into his hand and even guided his hand up to her throat. “Kill me.”

They silently eyed each other as Zelda let go of the knife and Faustus did nothing either way. Unafraid, Zelda leaned slightly, just enough so the knife bit into her skin and produced a single drop of blood. Faustus’s lip quivered before he threw down the knife and hugged Zelda to him with all his might.

Zelda kissed his cheek before whispering,  “See, darling? You’re not the curse or your father or Edward. You’re you. Faustus. My husband, the father of my unborn baby and the man I love.” Her comments only made him squeezed her tighter.

  Zelda was still holding Faustus when she looked up and saw a cardboard box. It felt oddly out of place because Zelda knew they didn’t keep deliveries down here. She was right; for this was the box Ambrose brought Faustus this morning.

“What  is that?” Zelda asked. Faustus turned, saw it  and moaned.

Faustus, you idiot! He thought. He saw Zelda go over to it but he held her back before she could open it. “No, no, no! I’m sorry Zelda, I meant to burn the contents of that  box before..” Faustus’s voice died out.

“Well, what’s in it?”

Faustus sighed and hung his head. “All your things from when you were Lady  Blackwood. As I said, I meant to burn everything before you got home but then Mambo Marie showed up and I got sidetracked and forgot. You were never supposed to see them again.”

Zelda was touched. Faustus felt so much shame and guilt that he refused to leave the lowest point of the house for weeks and would have killed himself if Zelda hadn’t stopped him. Yet,  somehow, he still had the presence of mind to want to destroy what he knew had been harmful to her. “Well, I’m here now so how about we burn these things together?” She suggested.

Faustus shook his head sadly. “Can’t. I looked all around the house but the only fireplace large  to do this in the living room.”

“So? Let’s go.”

“No!” He objected. “I don’t want to ruin the memory of where we had the most perfect kiss of my life.”

Zelda flashed him a smile. “Faustus, my darling, we have a million kisses ahead of us, possibly in every room in this house.” To prove her point, Zelda kissed him right there.

So, with Faustus carrying the box, they made their way to the living room. The box mainly contained those big, bright, colorful  50’s style dresses Zelda wore as Lady Blackwood. Faustus would just roll them up and toss them into the fire but he couldn’t help but notice that Zelda liked to rip up the dresses before feeding them to the fire. Then, at the very bottom of the box, they found it. The music box.

“I’ll take care of it,” Faustus offered.

“No, I’m okay.” Zelda reached into the box and put the music box on the coffee table and checked the drawers for a picture of herself, just in case. Then Zelda looked up at her husband. “Play it.”

Faustus’s eyes bugged out. “What?! No! I don’t want to!”

“Darling, it’s alright. I asked you to. Play the music.”

Unsure and with a deep sigh,  Faustus winded up the music box. The tune started to play and then Zelda smashed it all to bits with a poker iron. Faustus smiled and joined it with another poker. Then he helped pick up the wooden pieces and threw them into the fire before gathering his wife into his arms. “I don’t know what I was thinking. You look so much better in black anyway.”

“You weren’t  thinking anything, the  curse was.” Zelda reminded him.

  Despite now knowing about the curse, Faustus still had massive feelings of guilt and shame. He still refused to live anywhere but the morgue, but something had changed. For the next 11 nights, Zelda, without fail, would slip into the cot next to Faustus and stay with him all night. On  9 of those 11 nights, they made love.  Faustus had almost forgotten how Zelda’s sexual drive matched so perfectly with his own. On 7 of the nights, Faustus would awaken in a cold swear frightened by harsh nightmares and cruel memories. Sometimes, it took all of Zelda’s soft words and her soft hands to soothed and lull him back to sleep. Despite his promise to her never to try to commit suicide again, Zelda made sure there was at least 1 other person in the house with Faustus at all times since Zelda’s duties during the day were many and growing as this season would be her 1st feast of feast as high priestess. To curb his depression, the other Spellmans tried to interact with him more. Ambrose bought down piles and piles of books and remembered how much he liked to talk about magic and life with the older, more experienced warlock. Sabrina and Faustus struck a deal, to forget their ugly past and try to start anew.  Hilda often went to Faustus for help with schoolwork corrections and advice for the 1st time teacher from the man who had done it for centuries.

 On the 12th night, Zelda came downstairs with a piece of pumpkin pie. “Faustus, I  bought you something.”

Her husband looked up from the book he was reading. “It’s nearly 10,  you’re almost never this late.”

“Oh, Faustus. You see what happens when you live in a morgue. The days’ blends into each other. Today  was Feast of Feast.”

“Yes, and as if it wasn’t chaotic enough with  this being my 1st as high priestess, Hilda was chosen  as queen during the lottery.”

“Zelda, I’m so  sorry.” Faustus frowned.

However, Zelda smiled. “Don’t be, Hilda’s fine.”

“But you just said your sister was the queen of the  feast.”

Zelda nodded.   “I did, but as high priestess you know, it’s my right to change the rules which I did. Now the queen and the handmaiden prepares the meal rather than be the meal.  Then the coven sups together before hearing mass in Freyda’s name. I remember when the elders of the coven  would become enraged when Edward would outlaw things and replace it  with nothing.”

“So do I.  That’s why I put most of them back.”

“But with  my slight  changes, I made most of the coven happy plus we get to enjoy  the queen’s famous pie.” She handed him the pie and sat down next to him. “Blessed feast.”

Faustus kissed her. “Blessed feast, dearest.”

 “Father Blackwood,  I need a favor.”

“Hilda, if I have told you once if I have told you a 100  times, I’m no longer a high priest, it’s okay for you to call me Faustus.”

It was the following afternoon and Hilda rushed into the morgue.

“Okay, well, Fath-um, Faustus, I find myself in a bit of a jam. Zelda just called and with Mambo Marie leaving us in the lurch, there’s nobody to teach the next class but me. Normally, it wouldn’t be a problem but today is Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year for mortals and I already promised Dr. C that I  would help at the bookshop.”

Faustus frowned. “Normally, I would love to help you out but Zelda knows I just can’t look at those students after what  I’ve done. Zelda talks about telling them the truth about  me being here at one point and then try to slowly ease me  back into the coven but I  just don’t see it happening.”

Hilda bit her lip. “I know you don’t want to be seen at the academy and totally understand why. So, um, I was actually asking you if you might go lend Dr. C a hand.”

Faustus’s jaw hit the floor. “Go work at a mortal bookstore, me?  Certainly not! I wouldn’t know what to do. Besides, I couldn’t even if I wanted to. I’m under house arrest.”

“Are you?” Questioned Hilda. “Zelda had told me about you trying your powers to make sure they’re gone but you’ve been here nearly a month now  and you’ve rarely left this room, let alone this house. Plus you made that deal with the dark lord that no one serves anymore. It may not be valid. Please, just try, I’m desperate!”

“How?”

Hilda thought for a moment. “Well, when Ambrose was housebound, he couldn’t go past the driveway. We could try that.”

So, they did and  Faustus crossed the Spellman driveway and into the public street with ease.

“I don’t get it,” Faustus said, puzzled. “Why would the dark lord take my power but let me roam free?”

“Maybe he forgot,” Hilda offered. “Anyway, I’ll go call Dr. C and tell him you’re on your way!” She was gone before Faustus could remind her that he hadn’t officially agreed to do anything.

 The walk into town took 20 minutes. Despite everything, even Faustus had to admit that the fresh air and the change of scenery did him a  world of good. What did Hilda say? That it was the biggest shopping day of the year for mortals? Boy, she wasn’t kidding! From the moment he arrived, the place was packed! Apparently, it was a teenage hangout as well as a bookstore. Somehow, Faustus made his way to the check-out counter where Dr. C, who was expecting him, greeted him and gave him a vampire cape to wear. Despite the cape, despite the mortals,  Faustus actually had a pleasant afternoon. It was a very nice afternoon.  It was nice to be busy and have something to do other than just dwell on his own guilt and sadness. Secondly,  Faustus learned the ropes of working retail fairly quickly. Thirdly and perhaps most surprisingly of all, despite the fact that they only met that day, Dr. C and Faustus had an almost instant connection. They say that opposites attract in love but maybe it’s true in friendship as well. The shop was so busy that it was 6:30 that evening before the men could stop to eat.

“Thank you,” Faustus said as he reached for the mug of coffee.

Dr. C smiled. “I’m delighted to meet you,  Faustus. I have heard a lot about you.”

“Not all good, I bet,” Faustus muttered.

Dr. C ignored that comment. “I have a question for you, actually. When Hilda’s brother married a mortal, they got major hassle but it wasn’t a big deal when  Hilda and I got engaged. I’m not complaining or anything just wondering why.”

Faustus raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t you an incubus? That’s what Zelda told me.”

“Yeah. I mean, I am now but I  was born mortal. The demon stuff didn’t happen until college.”

“Doesn’t matter. The demon is a part of you and abled you to marry a full-blooded witch, like Hilda. Consider it a marriage loophole.”

Both men heard the chime of the bell above the door which meant more customers.

Dr. C  stood up. “I’ll go. Can you clean up?”

Faustus nodded and  cleaned up until he heard “Come on, old man, give us the money!” Faustus sneaked up to the storefront to see that Dr. C was being robbed at gunpoint.

Damn! Faustus didn’t know what to do. He no longer had magic to save him so  Faustus looked around and smiled.

Meanwhile, Dr. C was in trouble. “Let’s go, old man!” Ordered Punk #1. “This money  better be more real than your attempt to look like a vampire.”

Punks #2 & 3 laughed. “Good one, man,” Punk #2 said. “A fake vampire.”

“You’re right, he is a fake vampire,” Faustus came from the backroom, his hands behind his back. “Unluckily for  you 3, I am a real warlock.”

Punk #3 was in awe. “Cool! So you conquer lands and stuff?”

Faustus sighed.  “No, you idiots, not a warlord. A warlock, a male witch.”

“Right,” sneered Punk #1. “He’s a vampire and now you’re a witch. So,  what are you going to do? Hocus pocus us to death?”

“No. That term is utterly useless. Besides, everyone knows that the really strong spells are in Latin. Like”  Faustus shrugged and spoke some Latin words.

The punks sloppily repeated the words  back then asked, “What does that mean?”

“A  big, honking baseball bat!” Then, and only then did Faustus produce the Louisville slugger from behind his back. He chased the punks around the shop and finally,  out the door. He was so pumped up that he barely heard the gunshot. A moment later, Faustus came back in, the bat resting on his shoulder and he was laughing. “Well, we showed them didn’t we?” Silence. “Dr. C?”

 Zelda and Hilda ran into the ER entrance of the hospital.

“My fiancée has been shot! Where is he?” Hilda demanded of the woman at the nurse’s station. They got the room number and rushed to where Dr. C was with a doctor.

Hilda rushed to him with a hug and kiss. “Oh, love, are you okay?”

“He’ll be fine,” the doctor answered, “It’s just a flesh wound.”

“So, what happened?” Zelda asked, in a tone calmer than her sister.

“I was robbed,” Dr. C explained, “ladies, Faustus was amazing. He distracted the robbers long enough to activate the silent alarm, he chased them off with a bat. One must have gotten scared for the gun went off and glazed my shoulder. When I came back around, I was in the ambulance and Faustus was right there with me. The paramedic told me that Faustus applied pressure to the bleeding and saved my life.”

Hilda closed her eyes and sighed. “Thank Hecate, he was there.”

“Where’s my husband now?” asked Zelda.

“I don’t know.  He was here a second ago.”

In the next room, Faustus looked up at the silvery half-moon. “Hecate, mother, let him be alright. For  he feels one-tenth for Hilda what I feel for Zelda, they’ll be very happy together.”

“You’re praying to Hecate.” Faustus barely saw Zelda in the doorway before his wife was in his arms and kissing him deeply. “What was that for?”

“Are  you kidding?” She replied. “You saved Dr. Cereberus.”

“Saved him? I got him  shot.”

“Don’t be daft,” Zelda dismissed. “You saved him and without having magic, you were in just as much in danger as he was but you didn’t even think of that, did you? That’s what made you a hero tonight.”

“I don’t want to be a hero! I want to be perfect! For only a perfect man could ever be worthy of you.”

She kissed him again. “I love you so much, Faustus even if you are talking nonsense.”

 Hilda stayed overnight at the hospital so Zelda and Faustus took a cab home. Faustus immediately headed for the morgue but Zelda stopped him.

“No, I have a surprise for you and it’s upstairs.” 

So they went upstairs with Zelda explaining she had already planned to give him the surprise tonight but now he truly earned it. Zelda opened a door that led to a cozy bedroom with a double bed and an attached bathroom suite.

Zelda smiled. “Welcome home.”

“This is a whole new room. When did you do this?”

“I started the night after we first made love.”

His eyes bugged out. “You made a whole new bedroom and bathroom in just 11 days?!”

“Darling, some of us still have our magic.”

“Dearest, this is superb.  But I can’t stay here. I don’t deserve  such comfort.”

“Then, do it for me,” Zelda suggested. “I refuse to sleep apart from my husband but my back is crying out in protest at the thought of another night on that cot. Speaking of my increasingly pregnant body, I need to get off my feet. Care to help  me christen our new bed?”  It was only then that Faustus returned her smile.

Hours later, after they had made love and fallen asleep in each other’s arms, Faustus awoke in a cold sweat and a sharp intake of breath. “Damn these nightmares! Will they ever go away.”

“It’s alright, my love. There is no quick fix spell for trauma and you’ve been living with that  curse for some time now.”  Zelda snuggled closer and laced her fingers with his. “The good news is that we have all the time in the world.”

[celawrites]

Day 37

It’s 12am and my phone is buzzing and I cannot sleep. What the fuck is going on.

You have 20 new notifications

I click open our class chat first, and to my surprise, it’s all birthday messages.

Clown: Did you guys actually have to type me a whole essay? Thank you tho <3

Pebble: A well written essay!

Sam: Time well spent

My phone vibrates and I’m invited to a call from a handful of friends.

Joining Your Neighborhood Pizza delivery service’s call…

“It’s 12am let me sleep”

“Are you not happy that we’re wishing you happy birthday at 12am?”

“I am, it’s just I’m also exhausted for no reason”

“You’re going out for a McDonalds run right?”

“Yeah. You guys woke me up halfway through”

“Sorry”

“I’m sorry it’s 12am and I really wanna know who’s in this call right now”

“Ah! It would be Estelle, Beanie, Min, “

“Your son”

“Mint”

“Sun”

“What the fuck are you guys doing awake?”

“Admiring the stars”

“Sure. Totally believe you”

“Cressie it’s your birthday.”

“One year closer to my demise I guess”

“You’re insane”

“So I’ve been told”

“Ah. Check your mailbox in the morning! There should be a couple things in there”

I yawn. 6 hours of sleep isn’t enough to run on.

“Alright get to bed. Sleep your last 3 hours and I’ll be waiting for you at 3am”

“Mint you’re the most punctual out of all of us why are you picking me up?”

“I’ve never had a McDonalds run with you. Besides, It’s Friday.”

“Alright I’m sleeping now good night”

“Good night birthday girl!”

“That’s so cheesy ksjdfalfa”

Sure enough, at 3am, I wake up and find Mint outside my door, vibing in his car. I shake my head and lock the door.

“Good morning Mint”

“Morning”

“You’re mean you know that?”

“Happy birthday Mint”

“Right back at you”

“HEY REMEMBER WHEN YOU JUST STRAIGHT UP LEFT ME ON READ WHEN I WISHED YOU HAPPY BIRTHDAY-”

“I THOUGHT WE WERE OVER THAT ALREAY”

“My salty ass could never”

“Alright what do you want for your birthday?”

“Neither of us give anything-”

“Our Asian ass could never”

“HOnestly”

“Ah. I do have a present for you though”

My hand reaches into my backpack and I pull out a scrapbook.

“In true Crescent fashion, I present to you our scrapbook”

“What?”

“A collection of all the photos we have together with little commentary along the way. This is now yours” I beam.

“You’re joking”

“Nope”

“I didn’t even get you anything like his I-”

“You don’t need to”

He snickers and hands me a small box.

“I found it while shopping online, and it reminded me of that one time A gave you a rainbow rose so I figured I would give you an eternal one”

I stare at the rose. It’s rainbow, and I was surprised he even remembered that his brother had given me one.  I tear up slightly, maybe its because I wasn’t used to getting gifts from him, or the sudden change of heart but I mean-

“I’m crying”

“You’re always crying”

“SHUT UP KDFSKFSHDJF”

My hands clink at the glass softly, and Mint hums in appreciation as he flips through the scrapbook.

“Where’s this photo from?”

“Hm?”  He points at a photo where both he and his brother are jumping on the trampoline while I’m sitting.

“Your mom sent it to my mom a few years back”

“Ah”

There’s a comfortable silence that passes over us, and I decide to answer all the texts that I had received about my birthday while he flipped through the book.

After about a dozen thank you!’s and 4 conversations, I finish. Mint snickers when he flips to the last page.

“You just had to put that one last huh?”

On the last page lies Mint and I at Junior prom last year. It was a tradition to go with eachother, and my friend had taken a photo where we were pretending to make out.

”Why? Don’t want your future wife seeing it?”

“No. It’s just you saved the best for last” he snorts.

“Of course” I hum.

“Alright what do you want from McDonalds?”

“Ice cream”

“You’re literally bleeding this week no”

“Uhhh. Fries?”

“Sure”

Mint starts his car and we head off. The sky is a calm blue. A dark shade that leaves you wondering if there’s more out there. It was ironic that I had met him so long ago. It was even more surprising when he moved here for junior and senior year. I was horribly confused, and the only explanation he could muster out was a job change for his parents. But I was pretty sure they just wanted to have A mature in a different environment.

“Lost in thought again?”

“Mhm. You never told me how and why you moved here in detail”

“Nothing really. It was a job change on my parents part, and a new path for A”

“What about you?”

“I wanted to chase the only person who never gave up on me”

“You’re disgusting”

“Better than confessing to my crush every day for a whole year”

“LEAVE ME ALONE”

“You’re the one who brought up how I chased you all the way to California”

“I still wonder how you can pin after someone like me”

“At some point I realized you saw me as a brother”

“I wish I could do that.”

“You’re a hopeless romantic. Have some fun every once in a while”

“Are you implying I should have a one night stand?”

“Once you’re a legal adult sure”

“Bad decision making except it’s Mint giving me bad advice as a joke”

“I hate you”

“Love you too~”

“You’re disgusting”

“Bleh”

HE pulls up at the McDonalds drive-through and I scream.

“dEAR ARE YOU ALIVE?”

“OMG HAPPY BIRTHDAY DARLING! EVERYTHING’S ON ME TODAY”

“WTF DEAR NO”

“NO OBJECTIONS. IS MINT WITH YOU?”

“I’m here”

“Happy birthday Mint darling anyways what do you guys want?”

“The usual”

“Nothing new?”

“Nope”

“Alright! See you at the second window!”

“Cressie darling I got you a gift!”

“I- what?”

“Gift.” He tosses something through the car window and it lands in my hands.

“What is it?”

“Check”

I click open the box and I find a small pendant with a moon.

“I thought you were a broke high school student?”

“But the boss gave me a raise and told me to get something nice for my lover and like I don’t have one so I mean-”

“I don’t deserve you” I sniff.

“Stop crying darling you’re scaring me”

I really hope you find yourself a lover this year or I will fight everyone around me I SWEAR”

“You’re being too loud again Cress”

“Sorry”

He hands us our food and waves us goodbye. It was funny to me. I had so many friends around me now that I had grown.

“Are you gonna make a birthday post?”

“Oh for Serenity!” I gasp.

I type away and Mint steals a couple fries from me. I hiss at him while typing.

“Too bad” he shrugs.

School rolls around and I ‘m met with 20 happy birthdays and a couple gifts fro my other friends. Surprise surprise I have other friends. Z and Sun’s gift surprises me the most.

“Cress” Sun calls for me after school.

“Hm?”

“Happy birthday” He hands a medium-sized box to me.

“You always make us scrapbooks for our birthdays so I thought I’d try to make one for you”

“Have I ever told you how much I love you-”

“You remind me pretty often but yeah”

I open the box and a seat little scrapbook sits inside. There’s a white pen, a silver one, and a gold pen rolling around next to it, and there’s a small letter. Z tackles me from behind and I crash into Sun’s chest.

“Z what the f-”

“Language” Sun glares.

“Your gift!” Z hands me a small photo sized box.

“Photos?”

“You made a whole batch with notes on the back for me so I decided to print a bunch for you!”

“Thank you Z” I sniff slightly.

“What’s wrong! Do you not like it?”

“No no! I’m emotional haha” I muster up a smile. My cursed birthday luck was gonna catch up with me soon. I just felt it.

“No worries! It was the least I could do” Z smiles.

I nod in response. The rest of the day carries out like normal, and I find myself tired by the end of the day. My classmates threw me a party, and at the end of the day, my friends threw me another one. I enjoyed it, but I was waiting for my cursed birthday luck to catch up to me, I could never be happy until it occurred.

“If you’re thinking about that birthday curse of yours again, I’d advise you to know that with me, there’s no chance of having bad birthday luck” Mint hums. His birthdays had no bad things. It was like the universe favored him.

“I know. But I can’t truly calm down until I get to bed”

There’s a comfortable silence that settles down before Mint speaks up again.

“I’m sorry”

“Why so?”

“You had always wished me happy birthday so consistently, and I never replied and I just feel really bad and all-”

“Don’t worry about it.” I tap at the red solo cup in my hand. “I probably deserved all that”

“You don’t and that’s why I kind of. Um”

“Mint you’re my editor what did you do-”

“Bought tickets back home?” I gape at him. My jaw is dropped, and he seems to panic. “My home’s open and all! I know your house is rented out and the renters for my place just moved out and we have thanksgiving in a month so I figured I would take you back for the break and I’m sorry! I probably should’ve asked first and all but-”

A choked sob escapes my lips. I’m shocked, I hadn’t gone home in so long. How did he know? A stream of incoherent words escapes my lips and Mint tries to soothe me.

“You know.” I managed to force it out. “Some days I question why I stopped crushing on you. You spoil me rotten, and I don’t even deserve someone who cares for me and knows me like you and you always seem to know how I’m feeling and-”

Mint rubs soft circles on my back, and I let out my emotions. My birthday curse wasn’t a curse. It was a tradition. A tradition to cry at least once on my birthday, and for the first time, I was crying tears of joy. A couple minutes pass, and I feel my emotions slowly draw back.

“Thank you” I mumbled weakly.

Serenity made a new post!

It’s my birthday! Thank you to all of you who sent in birthday wishes (and death threats)! Another year has passed and I truly wish that I could thank you all face to face for the support!

Once again, my lovely editor Leaf shares a birthday with me so go ahead and send in some birthday wishes to him as well. For today’s gift from me, you all get a blast of joy! Much love!

-Serenity

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