#I guess this is a reminder there genuinely is no pressure to match my length when it comes to traded replies.

[gothamsaved]

Iiiiiii get a little scared me going off on long tangents in replies will scare some rp partners away. On the other hand, I love digging into a muses thoughts and emotions and especially for someone like Bruce, he has a lot going on in there while he also doesn’t typically say much unless he’s out actively socializing. It’s a strange thing where I’m still trying to find a comfortable balance or way to write both the Bat and Bruce, while making them sound like the same guy and also different, without smacking my head into a wall and overthinking things too much.

[uwuyangin]

my vows to you (changbin x reader)

✩ 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: the sound of wedding bells was always reserved for you because changbin would never want to live a world with anyone else. but that didn’t stop him from standing at the end of the aisle, waiting for his new bride to devote his vows to. however, it was in that moment that something sparked within him, letting him know this isn’t right; not when you were watching in the audience with his child.

✩ 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐫 + 𝐚/𝐧: this is a request! thank you for sending it in :) i enjoyed writing it! father!changbin ahead and angst themes. requests are open. (also, song recommendations while reading better off alone by jeremy zucker ft. chelsea cutler & i love you’s by hailee steinfeld)

—

the day was finally here. the day he would be marrying the love of his life.

was it right to call her that? or was it completely ludicrous? changbin wanted so badly to believe he was happy, and that he deserved this. he had taken many wrong turns in his life that he decided he would no longer stray away from his idea of a happily ever after. if that meant marrying her, then so be it. 

truth be told, changbin was struggling to cope with the aftermath that was his and your relationship. he wanted to forget every memory, kiss, touch, moment, and anything that reminded him of you. for the past three years, changbin erased the ghost of you. some days were harder than others, but some were okay. and okay was always better than nothing. soon, okay turned to content, and content turned to carefree. there were no longer chains holding him back, but instead a light at the end of the tunnel telling him it was going to be alright. that was all he needed.

the venue was filled with numerous amounts of people from distant relatives to friends and close family. everyone was chatting away about how excited they were for the wedding to begin with his mother in hysterics in the front seat. her baby was finally getting married and she couldn’t be more thrilled. his fiancee’s parents sat on the opposite side of the aisle baring the same emotions. today was going to be a rollercoaster of lows and highs, most weddings were. 

changbin stood in the groom’s dressing room with a sped heartbeat. not only was he nervous, but something about this wasn’t right. like his parents would say, it was only ‘wedding jitters’. changbin felt his palms were sweaty as he ran a hand through his hair while staring into the reflection. he looked sharp with a simple, black tuxedo. the bowtie was not tied for a bit of a fashion taste, he thought it looked better that way. he should be filled with joy but he felt stuck. now was definitely not the time to have cold feet. 

“are you doing alright? you look like you’re going to puke,” joked a familiar voice, making changbin turn to his left.

jisung had a coy smile on his lips. he was dressed just as neat with a tuxedo matching changbin’s. changbin chuckled and glanced down while shuffling his feet. it was obvious he was disturbed on something so jisung spoke up.

“but seriously, you don’t look so happy. shouldn’t you be psyched?”

changbin sighed heavily. how was he to answer that question? should he be honest or put up a front? he stuffed his hands into his pockets before turning to face jisung fully. 

“i don’t know. i think i’m happy.”

the younger male furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. this was his wedding day. that was not the type of response he should’ve received. where was the excitement? the drive? 

“that wasn’t the answer i was hoping for.” jisung said softly.

changbin was silent for a moment as he could hear minor disappointment coming from his friend. jisung didn’t even have to guess what was wrong because he knew. he knew the affects of changbin’s broken relationship with you, and what trauma it brought him. it should’ve never happened like this but changbin couldn’t change the past. he could only move forward and be grateful for what he’s been given.

“look, in a couple of minutes, you are about to marry a wonderful woman who you are going to spend the rest of your life with. it’s time to move on.” jisung’s voice was firm as he said words of advice.

“i can’t.” changbin muttered.

he sounded so defeated. jisung felt for him, he really did, but he wasn’t going to let his friend drown in his own self-pity. he was going to help him see the bright side of things and help him enjoy his wedding. jisung wrapped an arm around changbin’s shoulder reassuringly. 

“you can and you will. c’mon, it’s time. big breaths.” 

it was like changbin did the opposite of what jisung said as his breathing became heavier. anyone would confuse this as an adrenaline rush since this was the moment his life was supposed to change. it was, however, far from that. he was guided to the packed venue and with every step of the way, he felt his legs become heavier. he couldn’t back down now. changbin had to learn to face reality and to stop running from everything. when he entered the venue, he felt the room hush down until all eyes were on him. if he didn’t feel the pressure before, he definitely felt it now. he took his time walking down the aisle, even shaking hands with a few relatives here and there. 

as he began to descend to the end, he caught sight of a familiar set of hair. no . . . it couldn’t be. was he going mad? changbin blinked several times to clear any ideas that he might be hallucinating. but when he reached the end of the aisle and peered out into the crowd, his suspicions were confirmed as his eyes met yours.

and it felt like the world stopped. 

euphoria consumed changbin as he took in your appearance, and how overwhelmingly beautiful you were. you weren’t just glowing, no, there was a bright aura shining around you that he never noticed before. you looked happy, purely and genuinely happy. his heart ached at the way you sat there, innocently waiting to watch him confess his vows to another woman. he couldn’t even process how selfless you were to be here and support him in his path to moving on. that only made the crack in his heart break a little further. because this would be the last time he saw you without the opportunity of reconnecting. all of his chances would be thrown away, and for some reason, that hurt more than it should.

all the memories came flooding back like a movie playing in his head. like the way he would hold you and worship you to no end. or the intimate moments between the sheets when changbin wanted nothing more than to make you feel loved. every morning he spent waking up to you and your contagious smile, the way you would care for him when he would come home late from work, and how, no matter what, you continued to support every dream he ever had. 

his regret of losing you always ate him up at night. you were everything he could’ve asked for, and he let you go. you slipped through the cracks of his trembling hands, and he wasn’t there to catch you. he promised he would never hurt you, that he would take care of you until the end of your days. now it was him about to promise that to someone else. 

he watched as your cheeks flushed a red hue from the way he looked at you. changbin hadn’t even realized the breath he was holding until he let it go. he refused to break eye contact, too afraid to let go. but, as he watched you lean down to speak to someone beside you, he couldn’t help but to follow where your attention was now set.

there sat a little girl, around the age of three, looking impatient. she tugged on your arm with a pout, making it obvious the child was bored. changbin didn’t know who the child was, or why they were talking to you. his sight lingered there for a moment longer until he heard the infamous melody being played. he straightened up and focused at the end of the aisle. 

he had been staring at you for so long that he didn’t even notice the bridesmaids and groomsmen had already lined up at the alter. all that was left was the bride. 

as she came into sight, changbin took in her form. she was beautiful and elegant in her dress. it made her look stunning as all eyes were on her in the room. a few gasps could be heard as most people were in awe. changbin felt his lips curl into a small smile, yet it felt forced. he always imagined there would be sparks and fireworks. changbin was underwhelmed as his bride walked down the aisle with her father. he should’ve been fixated on her, not you. so why was it that he kept glancing your way?

you kept your eyes on him as well, admiring him like he was a work of art. you wanted to reach out and touch him, to make sure he wasn’t just a dream. you would be lying if you said you were completely over him. that didn’t mean you weren’t going to support him, though. you sat quietly and still while observing the scene before you. the bride was more gorgeous than you could ever imagine, and it didn’t come to a shock to you. changbin deserved to be with someone like her, at least that’s what you had decided.

you tried to mind your business as you sat in your seat. but changbin kept distracting you as he continued to turn his gaze to you when it should’ve been focused somewhere else. butterflies swelled in your stomach with goosebumps alinging the lengths of your arms. no- you had to push through. you weren’t going to ruin this for him. it would be unfair of you.

changbin had to be nudged by jisung who stood behind him as his best man. this made him come back to reality. his bride was now at the alter with him and all that was needed more was a priest. 

“we are gathered here today to welcome mr. seo and ms. (b/last name) to join together at the hands of marriage. before we move on, the bride and groom will give their vows.”

changbin swallowed the gulp digging at the back of his throat. his bride offered him a kind smile that should’ve been reassuring but it wasn’t. this wasn’t right . . . not for him, and not for you.

“mr. seo, will you please state your vows.”

changbin frantically glanced at the priest and nodded. this was it. everyone was counting on him.

“first off, i would like to say how beautiful you look today. i never would have imagined this is where we would be right now.” he nervously chuckled, the audience following in suit.

“but, i don’t think i ever thanked you for all that you’ve done for me. since the day i met you, i’ve never felt more complete.” 

changbin’s words were becoming more straightforward, and he let his heart speak for him.

“you’ve made me who i am today, and i cannot seem to imagine a world without you. you’re smart, loving, caring, kind, and funny. you’re so damn amazing that i don’t know what i did to deserve you. when i think of the future, i see your face. there’s never been a moment where i haven’t pictured you by my side and i-i-” changbin stuttered as he tried regaining his thoughts.

before he could stop himself, all of his emotions came pouring out of him like a tidal wave crashing into the unforgiving ocean. he was willing to let his words carry him if it meant being released from the anchor weighing him down. 

“i’m so sorry for everything i’ve done to you. i pushed you away like you were nothing. the day i lost you was the day i lost half of me. and i tried to move on, i did. do you see where we are now? god, i’ve made so many mistakes in my life but never one this big. i always believed i would devote everything to you but i let you down. we’re no longer one whole, but broken pieces trying to find their way back to each other. please . . . let me find my way back to you, (y/n).”

the room fell silent with shock.

changbin had openly admitted he was not over you in the middle of his own wedding. you couldn’t believe what you were hearing as your mouth was agape. the silence rose to murmurs as it settled in everyone of what just happened. some of which knew who you were fixed their disapproving glances at you. you couldn’t handle this. 

what sent you over the edge was the desperation in changbin’s brown orbs, begging you for forgiveness. tears were forming in your eyes as you shook your head. 

“i can’t do this,” you whispered.

with that, you grabbed your child in your arms and headed for the exit. your child was thrashing about, not wanting to be held but you didn’t want anything slowing you down from getting out of there. one hand was raised to muffle the sounds of your hushed sobs while the other balanced your child on your hip. you were beginning to head out of sight, and changbin wasn’t going to let you go again. 

stepping forward, changbin was ready to chase after you. a hand perched itself on his shoulder, making him whip his head around to the owner. his bride had tears cascading down her doll-like cheeks with pleading hues of brown. 

“please, don’t.”

changbin removed her hand from his shoulder. “i’m sorry.”

he was now running down the aisle while his parents screamed at him to come back. his legs worked themselves as fast as they could. he wasn’t going to just let you walk out of his life again. changbin was fed up with running away from his mistakes. weren’t you? his chest heaved as he pushed himself faster until he was completely out of the venue and outside towards the parking lot. you were so close, looking for your car to have an escape from here. 

“(y/n)!” he called out to you.

you whirled around, gasping at how changbin had met up with you. he was now standing in front of you with a determined expression painting his face. before he could even speak, you unleashed your hurt on him.

“why are you doing this? do you know how long it took for me to forgive you for what you did? you left me, you left us, and i hated you! i hated you so much for what you did. and here i am, looking like an idiot because i thought that what happened between us had been healed. but it’s obvious we aren’t on the same page.” you fumed.

changbin was so lost- he thought you would be relieved to hear his apology. everything he said was true to his heart and showcased how he really felt about you. wait a minute, did you say us? who else would you be talking about-

“what are you doing, bin?” this time your voice was softer and much less angry.

changbin closed his eyes for a moment, savoring the way you called him bin. he always loved it when you addressed him by that. it made him feel special even though it was a common nickname he went by.

“what do you mean what am i doing? i’m chasing after you.” it was his turn to sound irritated.

“no, i mean, what are you doing here? you should be inside there, marrying that gorgeous woman. she doesn’t deserve this. i don’t deserve this.” you replied.

changbin’s shoulders slumped at your words. did you still not get it that he was still in love with you? what more convincing did it take?

“i love you, (y/n). i mean it, i’ve lived by those words for years now. i never should have left you. i feel nothing but regret every single day for what i did to you, can’t you see that? i’m a mess, i need you.” he choked out.

changbin was beginning to grow emotional as he explained himself. this wasn’t the way it was supposed to go. you were supposed to come rushing into his arms and reunite together as one. his anxiety began to rise as you folded your arms across your chest.

“and i needed you. we needed you. where were you?” 

your words were so final to him, making him cringe. his heart only began to hurt worse than before. he felt it sink to his stomach, leaving him empty. 

“what do you mean by we?” his voice was gentle, barely above a whisper.

you let out a heavy sigh, gazing back at the car that was parked a few feet away from you. you hesitated but knew changbin had to know the truth. he needed to know what he missed out on and left you with. you began to walk to the car, leaving changbin confused.

“where are you going?”

“one second.” you called out. 

you disappeared behind the vehicle only to come back around with a child in your arms. that was the child from earlier . . . he took in the appearance of the kid: brown eyes full of light, chubby cheeks, and the most adorable nose. it began to settle within him of who this child was, and who it belonged to. his eyes grew wide in disbelief.

“i thought you said to wait behind the car,” pouted the girl as she reached up to rub her tired eyes.

“mommy wants to introduce you to someone, though.” god, changbin loved your mom voice. he wanted to hear it over and over like a broken record.

the child peered up at him with eyes of wonder. “who is that?”

“an old friend.” you breathed out.

changbin kept switching glances between you and his child. he couldn’t believe he had a kid with you, and he was only now hearing about it. he was now freely crying, overcome completely with emotion. he felt like a fool and nothing could ever describe the feeling he felt after grasping the fact that he missed out on being a father.

“mommy, why is the man crying?” much like other children, she was blunt.

you were hesitant before responding. “he’s going through some stuff. how about you get in your car seat and i’ll talk to him for a minute to help him out. okay?”

the child nodded as you set her down, watching her toddle off towards the car and open it with as much strength as she could. when she crawled into her carseat, that was when changbin flooded you with questions.

“she’s mine? what’s her name? how old is she? when did you have her? why didn’t you tell me?”

you chuckled a bittersweet chuckle, reaching up to brush a few hairs out of your face. “she is yours.” you confirmed. “her name is minji and she is three years old, turning four in a couple of months. i had her seven months after we broke up. i didn’t tell you because you walked out on me. i wasn’t going to let you do that all over again to her.”

changbin placed his hands on his hips, all he felt was guilt and lovesick with the thought of you. he wanted you so badly, but he didn’t deserve a second chance. he wanted nothing more than to see you thrive and live the rest of your life peacefully, even if it meant he wasn’t in the picture. changbin sniffled, throwing his head back to stop the tears.

“i just want you to be happy.”

you nodded, slowly walking forward until you were standing in front of him. your hand extended out to caress his cheek, directing his attention back to you. a sad smile decorated your lips. 

“not like this, bin. we’re better off alone.”

changbin rested his eyes closed as he stifled a cry. he always believed in the saying if you love something, set it free. and this was him, letting you go. 

“okay.”

holy shit i’m so sorry this took so long, i was debating how i wanted this to end and it’s like really shitty writing i’m so sorry ahhh :///

[moonlady9]

hump day prompt for bnha- aizawa sneaks women into his room friday nights but needs to make sure other teachers don't know. maybe he'll tie them up using his scarf thing 😏

Thank you Anon!!!

I was so excited to get to this request, Shota is my favorite!! ♥️ ♥️

As a reminder, I am doing one prompt per week, so please continue sending in asks for Hump Day Treats if you like these. I do them first come first serve. for details, rules, and collection click HERE.

This week's kink: Shibari (Japanese Bondage)

Emi/Shota

Rating: Explicit

About 1800 words

Sneaking Around

Friday night the kids either went home or stayed. Shota had just finished doing one last walk around the building making sure all the kids were in bed or gone for the weekend. He stepped into his own apartment; darkness chased out as he flipped on the light switch. There was a woman in his room, her aqua hair bright against his dark decorations.

"Emi, what are you doing here?" Closing the door behind him as he spoke so no one outside could hear.

He wasn't supposed to have guests, it would set a bad example, though, every once in a while he would sneak someone in. He was still a man after all. He just hadn't been expecting Emi, she had surprised him.

She gave him a wide smile, she was dressed in muted colors, contrary to the usual brights she usually wore. She was in jeans and a black tank top that showed off her curves.

"Hi, Shota. I was doing a special lecture and thought I would come see you after. I know how much you miss me and my sense of humor." Her light laugh filled the room as she stood up from the couch.

He hummed as he took off his shoes setting them next to hers beside the door. Feeling the atmosphere change, like it did when she activated her quirk, a light floating feeling filled the air. He narrowed his eyes and gave her a warning look, his eyes flickering scarlet.

Emi stepped forward, running her hands over his chest in mock innocence. "Shota, you should smile a little. You look so sexy when you smile."

A scoffing noise left the back of his throat. "You know how I feel about you making me smile with your quirk."

With a challenging smirk, she lifted her lashes, "So I guess I’ll have to make you smile without my quirk."

Pushing her back until they reached the wall, his eyes found hers. Her hands wrapped around the back of his neck, fingers curling around his long hair. They met each other in a searing kiss, his hands went down to her thighs lifting her up, her legs circling his waist.

She was always so bright, like citrus and sunshine, but deep and sweet like honey. He ate her up, tasting her, their tongues exploring each other. Unbridled moans escaped her lips as his mouth moved down to her neck.

"Shh, there are still kids in the building." He nipped at the juncture of her neck and collar, another groan filled the room.

"Shota, you know my weak spots and you taunt me. I can't help it." she gasped as he licked somewhere else that made her knees weak.

"Then maybe you need to be silenced." He stepped back watching her slightly dazed and confused look. His hands moved to the bottom of her shirt and pulled it off, her lace covered breasts teasing him. She had worn something sexy just for him. The knowledge increased the heat in his belly.

Noticing his reaction, she smirked, leaning forward to give him a better view of her cleavage, giggling, "Do you like it?"

An approving soft hum left him, unwrapping his scarf slowly, deliberately, never taking his eyes off her.

Her hands went back to his chest, finding the zipper and tugging it down until it reached his belt. With quick movements she flung the belt away, pushing down the top of his suit so it hung on his hips, his bare torso for her to feel under her palms. “Shota,” her sing song voice floating in the air.

He tisked, pressing his two fingers to her lips.

She kissed them lightly, with a smirk she flicked out her tongue.

"You have a sinful mouth." grabbing her chin forcefully, he pressed a rough kiss to her lips. It has hot and bruising, they were both panting when he tore himself from her. She whined as their separation and then she squeaked in surprise, his scarf now covering her mouth.

"You can’t be trusted with that mouth of yours," he whispered low into her ear as he knotted it behind her head. Her evergreen eyes wide with trepidation and excitement. He could feel her pulse quaking as his fingers lingered on her neck.

The corner of his lip quirked up. The look of victory on her eyes made his chuckle. He would have to punish her for it. His hands on her hips, he shoved her down on the couch, her sounds of surprise muffled as he buried his face into the valley of her breasts, moving down her stomach until reaching the edge of her jeans. In a few practiced movements the button and zipper where undone and he was yanking them off, leaving her in matching lace panties.

"Did you dress up for me?" he cooed against the inside of her thighs.

She made some sound of affirmation.

"Good, I like it. Now kneel for me."

She did as he asked. Taking the remainder of his scarf, he wrapped it around her stomach, pinning her arms to her sides. Then tying her thighs to her calves. She stayed still for him until he finished. She raised an eyebrow in question as he sat up, satisfied with his work.

Reaching to her lace covered breasts, He pinched her peaks making her moan again. She looked delectable all tied up, ready for him to use. "If you need out, just tap your hands on your thigh."

Nodding so he knew she understood, she gasped as he pulled down the cup of her bra and went down to suckle on them. His mouth was hot, his tongue teasing, and his teeth just the right amount of sharp. He was so good at making her feel good. His hands were firm and rough on her skin as he moved them down to the apex of her thighs. Squirming as he ghosted his fingers over her covered mound. She could feel the warm stickiness that she had created because of him. A low whining whimper came from her chest.

"You're soaked."

His low voice feeling her deeper with need.

He added pressure to his hand, her hips rocked as best they could into him. Her musky feminine scent reaching his nose. Taking a rosy peak between his teeth he tugged and released, doing the same to its twin making her cry out against the fabric over her mouth. Her full breasts enticing as he liberally left them wet until he was satisfied. Pulling off the rest of his suit, he stood in front of her in just his black boxer briefs, the heat in her eyes made him bite the corner of his lips. Without prompting she adjusted herself, so her chest was level with his erection.

Emi would have loved to run her tongue and lips over his length, feeling his velvety hardness, but considering her situation, instead she pressed her chest to his impressive bulge, grazing her nose over his defined stomach, down to were the trail of his rough curls started.

Unable to hold back any longer, he pulled down his underwear, her covered mouth teasing his length until he grabbed a fistful of her hair pulling her off. The sweet pleading whimpers that made it through the gag made his cock twitch. “You’re so pretty like this. All tied up for me.”

Her eyes flickered in amusement. Shota always had a way of making her want to laugh and beg him to fuck her all at the same time, and the worst part was he didn’t even realize she found it amusing. That’s what she liked about him, he was genuine, and that was hard to find. Rolling her chest forward, she heard his low growl as his length slipped between her breasts.

Her mounds were so soft and warm, slick from his saliva and precum being smeared. Wanting more, he let go of her hair and pressed her breasts together. His eyes captured hers, it was like he could hear what she was thinking.

Shota, use me

Shota, please…

Shota, I want more

She was so sexy it was too much. He let her go, shoving her down on the couch, her knees to her chest as he spread her open. His head dove down, tasting her slick that was dripping down her thighs. She jerked as his teeth gently nipped at her hardened clit. Glad that he had the thought to gag her, because he was sure she would be screaming if he hadn’t, he pressed forward. Two fingers slipped under the lace into her heat, curling to her sweet spot. Her walls pulsed around him, moving the rest of her panties aside his tongue slurped at her pearl.

She was writhing. His fingers, his tongue, it was so good. She wanted to dig her fingers into his hair, but she couldn’t move, her pleasure dependent on him, and it just turned her on even more. As he continued his maddening touches, she closed her eyes, head sinking into the cushions, the soft cotton on his scarf digging into her skin, but she knew if she tried to break out, the fabric was deceptively strong. Right as she reached the edge of pleasure, he left her. Her eyes flew open.

The look of disappointment made Shota grin. Yeah, she won, and he didn’t care at the moment because seeing the look of fury made it worth it. “I need a condom.” He smacked her thighs.

The hell with that! She grunted in pleading urgent whines. She didn’t care about a condom. She needed him.

“No condom?” he asked to confirm.

She nodded her head impatiently.

Moving up, settling his hips between her legs, rubbing his cockhead over her slit. “You taste so good, Emi.” He whispered into her ear as he sunk into her.

She arched to meet him, but he was holding her legs down so she couldn’t move as much as she wanted. She quickly realized it didn’t matter. He slammed into her, deep and quick, his thickness spreading her open, forcing her to accommodate for him, and she loved every aching delicious thrust.

Shota groaned and panted into her neck, filling himself with her scent. One hand went to her hair, cradling her against his cheek, the other on her ass, angling her up to hit her just where she needed it, and from her muffled sounds he was right on target.

“Emi, are you going to cum for me?”

A nod and a whimper. She was so close.

Her walls pulsed as ecstasy overflowed through her, clenching around him as she groaned. He pulled off the scarf from her mouth and held her head against his neck. She bit down.

“Emi, I’m going to…”

“Inside, Shota, inside.” She gasped.

With a few more powerful thrusts he released his own orgasm deep within her with a low groan and a heavy breath. In a few practiced movements, he released her from her bindings. Her legs wrapping around his as their hands moved over their bodies, their lips meeting in short breathless kisses.

“I made you smile twice.” She grinned in satisfaction.

“You did, but you can’t keep sneaking over on Friday nights like we’re teenagers,” he chastised gently.

“Fine, I’ll come Thursday’s instead.”

He scoffed in amusement.

[faean]

Adamance of a Dragon

Made in collaboration with @i-am-here-with-fanfic.

Rating: T+; Innuendos are always fun.

Word Length: 3,122

Chapter 4- A Different Perspective

           In the likely event that I would be teased for befriending Todoroki so swiftly (being bisexual and a dragon gave my adoptive family a lot of opportunities), I was not about to let Aaron ‘get off the hook’, so to speak. Besides, he had no need to worry about being kissed on the cheek; he was straight, despite the fact that many people back in the States thought he and I were dating. Bloody idiots, we are like brothers!

           Not sure why that was where my mind went, especially when mum began scolding Aaron.

           She was shocked to hear of the incident, pulling on her son’s cheeks as she questioned, “Do you have any idea on how many people you worried? Did you already forget the basics?”

           When she let go, Aaron rubbed his cheeks, a few tears welling up in his eyes. “I said I couldn’t contain myself… I’m sorry.” He slumped down in a chair nearby.

           Aria sighed as she shook her head. “Thank you, Faian, for letting me know. From what you’ve told me, I think he has been punished enough. In any case, how did training go for the both of you? Aaron, were you able to absorb your iron back into your system? And Faian, did you lengthen the duration you can wield your blades,” she asked, walking towards the kitchen to serve dinner.

           Getting up from his seat, Aaron followed and helped her set the table. He told her he was able to not only reclaim his iron but was able to create a dagger instead of just a needle. Mum congratulated him, sitting at her spot as Aaron and I sat beside her at the table. Turning towards me for my ‘evaluation’, I told her I increased my duration for each elemental stance by two minutes, a total of seven minutes for each element, forty-two minutes all together. She had a warm smile, and I could not help but smile as well, until she ruffled both mine and Aaron’s hair.

           Giggling while pleading for her to stop, we asked her about her day at work when she finally did. In between bites of food, she told us she was doing well at her new job, working at the police station as a private counselor for heroes. It was her first day since moving here, and she has funny stories to tell us; something Aaron and I are greatly fond of.

           Obviously, she must keep all the information of her actual work confidential, but many of the officers try to pry and find out the secret of the heroes she counsels (it being her first day, they likely thought she would slip up; she did not). So, her natural reaction to these attempts is to feign ignorance and act forgetful; which nearly broke me. I mean, Aria is like ‘Super Mum’- cooker of excellent food and kicker of ass. The mere suggestion that people could believe her to be incompetent is absolutely hilarious. Even Aaron was stifling his laughter. Well, trying to.

           Part way through dinner, I got up to get a drink from the refrigerator. It was at this time that mum asked me how my evening with Todoroki went yester night, and if I had any plans to visit him. I could feel Aaron smirking as she asked.

           I also no longer felt any guilt (assuming I had any) for revealing the train fight to Aria.

           “It went well. We shared some soba, he taught me the proper etiquette for a meal, and I met his elder sister. We also plan on having a training day together, should he have the time.” I said as I returned to my seat, hoping to avoid any jo-.

           “You’re going to spend an entire day getting hot and sweaty with a boy?” Aria insinuated.

           “And dream of your sweet Romeo on lonesome nights?” Aaron teased.

           Taking a deep breath, I first looked at Aria, staring into her dark blue eyes. Speaking with oversaturated sincerity, I inquired, “Ah, silly mum, you remember that I am near-immune to either extreme of temperature, no?” Turning to Aaron, I continued, “and dear brother, did you forget my dreams are of the fantastical variety? I have not any control over them.”

           It was silent for a few moments, my blatant sarcasm settling on their ears. Aaron was the first to speak.

           “I have some condoms from sex ed. before we moved. They’re good for another two or three years.”

           SMACK

           Aria slapped Aaron on the back of his shoulder, exclaiming, “NO sex jokes until you’re 18 young man! But good PSA.”

           “I am 14 bleeding years old!” I had shouted, slamming my fists on the table for more dramatic effect. Also, to show that I truly do feel abashed by this.

           Without missing a beat, Aria responded. “You’re also a dragon. And your ruts and heats are getting worse,” her voice took on a more concerned tone, “you’ve less than two years before you’re stuck indoors for entire months. Aaron and I don’t have the capacity to care for you during those times. I know you aren’t looking for a mate, but at least bond with more people. Please?”

           A heavy sigh escaped from me as I slumped back into my chair. I gave her a small nod and agreed with her once more when she asked me to start using my Prudentia form after I start class.

           She was the one person I simply could not defy. I mean, she had taken me in after the death of my entire immediate family. She raised me alongside Aaron and the three of us were content together. Even though I am not of her blood, I shall fight for her as if she had undergone those months of pain carrying me; just like my true mother had.

           After all, ‘The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb.’

           Aaron and I were washing the dishes while mum was tending to her garden. She had planted quite a few sunflower seeds, claiming they reminded her of her favorite hero- All Might. They had yet to start growing, but she was adamant about caring for them.

           Speaking of All Might, he smelled vaguely familiar. I could not quite place his scent, considering I was on the verge of sensory overload from being in the ocean and using my quirk to rid of some of the trash. Then, there was that blond skeleton who restrained Aaron at Tatooin Station (I am loving all the references in this town). He smelled a lot like All Might and I could barely discern Aaron from him. It is possible they just have similar scents, after all, there were dozens, if not hundreds, of people nearby. I would not doubt if I got confused.

           But there was the matter that Aaron looked fairly like the skeletal man. They had comparable striking eyes and Aaron’s hair before he started styling it would be nearly indistinguishable. My suspicions were raised even further when a bang fell from his hair, framing his face before he tucked it behind his ear.

           Before I could form any questions, my phone went off. I received a message from Todoroki asking me if I would like to spar with him, his sister acting as the referee. I replied, accepting his offer. Finishing the dishes, I told Aaron and went to tell Aria, letting them know I was about to head off. Fortunately, no attempts at innuendos were made. 

P.O.V. switch for the first time! Let us see how it turns out, and I shall leave it to you heathens to decide if you want more changes in perspective(s).

           I was sitting with Fuyumi while we waited for Nadal to arrive. She was happy that she’d be able to see him again and learn more about his quirk. Although he told me the basics of it, it was easy to tell he had a lot of hidden power; otherwise, he wouldn’t have gotten his license so early. Then again, I guess that doesn’t matter since he moved, and it was suspended.

           “Whoops.”

           That was, apparently, the only warning my sister and I got for Nadal’s arrival. He spiraled from the sky, catching himself last second with his crimson wings. Folding them around himself and sealing them away, he flashed a toothy grin, his sharp fangs rather noticeable. Fuyumi and I stood to greet him, walking towards him as he waved and gave a simple ‘Ello.’

           “Hello, Nadal. It’s good to see you again. I hope you’re ready for our sparring match.”

           Fuyumi pouted, “C’mon Shouto! He’s the first friend you’ve had in awhile and the first thing you tell him is to get ready to fight?”

           I have to admit, she had a point. Granchester and Nadal were the first people to genuinely be kind to me, and Nadal was peculiar. He doesn’t appear at all what someone with his power and stature could be assumed to be.

           I’m glad my old man had to stay late at his company so I could invite Nadal over, even with it being just the second day we have known one another. It’s refreshing to get to have someone else to talk to.

           “Well, I hope you are ready for a tussle. It has been too long since I battled someone other than Aaron. I am afraid he knows me much too well!” Nadal was still smiling, and he removed his jacket, tying it around his waist.

           I noticed the different colored bands around his wrists and on his neck, but it was Fuyumi who asked, “are those to help you control your dragon traits?”

           He nodded, stating, “I also use them to channel my magic. Overuse tends to break down my body as if it were made of porcelain, unfortunately. I am often constrained by time limits for a majority of my magic use.”

           Interrupting, I mentioned it would be better to see him demonstrate his quirk instead of just talking about it. Nadal agreed and I led him to the sparring area. We took our places, awaiting my sister’s command to start.

           “Fight!”

           I sent a wave of ice at Nadal, wanting to keep the pressure on him to prevent him from being able to retaliate. It didn’t work, though. With a simple kick, he sent a surge of electricity through the ice, shattering it and forcing me to create a wall to block the debris. Then, the wall of ice shifted until it was behind me, the ground unnaturally warped in its path.

           Nadal charged me with blinding speed, stopping in front of me before sending a spartan kick with his right leg. I was barely able to cover my abdomen in ice to absorb some of the force before I was sent flying into my previous wall. The force broke most of it, but it only demonstrated the amount of control Nadal had over his own power. He charged me again, sending more kicks charged with electricity. He kept me on the defensive, but he didn’t land any more serious hits.

           His fighting style relied on speed and emphasized powerful kicks, a dangerous combination as he only needed to land a single good hit to incapacitate someone, his speed giving him a better chance to do so. Fortunately, there was a break in his assault as he leaped back. I took notice of the cracks appearing on his ankles as his pants billowed with his movements. Before he landed, I covered the floor in ice, and he stumbled. Fuyumi briefly cheered for me before she composed herself, smiling widely as she watched us fight.

           My opportunity presenting itself, I moved in close, staying within his reach to prevent him from kicking effectively, despite close quarters not being my strongest point. I used my ice to enhance my punches and created walls to throw him against or restrict his movement even further.

           Unfortunately, I realized the battle was lost once he started to command the sky and earth in unison. Nadal had been sending surges of electricity into the floor as we fought, and with a snap of his fingers it evaporated, steam obscuring my vision. I tried to send a blast of ice around me to disperse it and push him back, but I couldn’t. Having used the steam to his advantage, Nadal concentrated it around me, dulling my senses and keeping me from noticing the vines and roots that sprouted from the ground and immobilized me.

           I was about to use my fire side to burn them away but thought it better to create a shell of ice around me and expelling it. Not only did I free myself, but I got a lucky hit off Nadal. Several of the ice shards had impacted with his legs, and he flinched. It was the first time I had caused any observable damage to him.

           With him currently distracted, I froze the area around him and tried to encase him in ice, copying his earlier attempt at restraining me. Instead, I was met with a coffin-shaped plate of light that pushed me back. Nadal changed his style, the band of white gold on his left wrist glowing and spinning slowly. The light plate flew back to him, resting near his forearm like a piece of levitating armor.

           Recalling that his light magic was used mostly for defense, I took advantage of the new distance between us. I sent wave after wave of ice after him from all directions, freezing the ground beneath me to slide around him, careful not to get close. With the relentless attacks and damage to his legs, the possibility of him slipping up and me getting a hit off and turning the tide of-

           “Piercing Light.”

           This was the first time Nadal spoke rather than huff or grunt, and his husky yet modulated voice caught me off guard. A shaft of light shot through all the ice and pierced straight through my chest, anchoring me to the ground. I was paralyzed but felt no pain, nor was I bleeding. It was as if the spear was acting as a focus for Nadal’s magic that kept me pinned.

           I was right. As Nadal walked out of the ice and neared me, he had several of those plates around him, another spear of light in his grasp. The closer he got, the more obvious the vein-like light that spread across my body, starting from the spear, became. It was in this moment that Fuyumi called the match and declared Nadal the victor.

           All of his light constructs dissipated, and I was able to move again. Fuyumi and I moved to congratulate him, but he toppled over. It was apparent why, as the cracks across his left arm reached his elbow. Fuyumi helped him sit up as I kneeled next to him, asking if he needed to rest.

           He rolled up his pant legs to see the amount of damage and, much like his arm, the cracks spread up to his joints. “Worry not. A few days of rest is all I need, along with suppressing some of my senses; however, I do appreciate the offer to rest here over night. Admittedly, I have faced far worse repercussions for using my magic like that. You certainly are a formidable opponent, dear Todoroki.”

           “That was amazing, Nadal! I thought Shouto had you there before you sent that spear! No wonder you’re getting into U.A. on recommendation. Although, are you sure you don’t want to stay to rest, even if only for a few hours?” Fuyumi’s concern was warranted, but Nadal appeared unfazed by his own condition.

           “Thank you, but my victory was not a result of my own skill. Todoroki Shouto, if I may impart some of my knowledge, a battle is like a balance. Only by tipping the scales in your favor shall you claim victory. If your opponent is faster, you must be stronger. If they are tougher, then be relentless. Should they be more powerful, then outwit them. The inverses are also true.”

           Nadal’s advise washed over me, as though it were embedded in my mind. I guess it has to do with him being a dragon.

           “I understand. My old man always told me that raw power and tenacity are all that matter in a fight.”

           This earned me an uproarious laugh from Nadal. It was contagious, and Fuyumi began to giggle as a I felt the corners of my lips tug upwards. “It may be true … to an extent! After all, you relied so heavily on your ice that I was able to formulate a strategy around it rather quickly. Todoroki, you may not want to utilize your flames, but there will come a time where your victory, and possibly your life, shall be determined by your use of the fire.”

           Again, Nadal’s words rang clear and true. It was weird how he made me feel, but I brushed it off, thinking it was due to him disagreeing with my old man’s philosophies. “Hopefully it doesn’t come to that. I will become a pro hero without having to use his quirk.”

           “Shouto…” Fuyumi was upset with how much we were insulting Endeavor, but Nadal responded before I could.

            He spoke softly, resting one hand on my shoulder, holding his free hand between us as he created a heart from fire. “Many elements have multiple facets to them. Air is kind yet ruthless. The earth can be compassionate or unforgiving. Light will blind and shadow obscure if your judgment is in question. Fire may be symbolic of anger and hate, but it also represents desire. Passion.

           His natural deep chocolate eyes gazed into mine, his touch was comforting and the fire between us warmed my very soul. Continuing, “With water, it is the culmination of life; it represents the will of a person. But it could easily turn to apathy and freeze one’s own heart.”

           Nadal demonstrated this with the flaming heart dying out, ice encasing it.

           When it was done it disappeared and Nadal looked down. “Forgive me, for I am certain I overstepped my boundaries.”

           Fuyumi and I stared at him. She held a look of utter disbelief at the sudden shift in his demeanor. I wasn’t sure how to react, and I didn’t get a chance to. We all heard the front door open, Endeavor announcing he’s home. Nadal took that as a sign to depart, but not before leaving my sister and I with one last piece of insight.

           “As payment for me sharing my knowledge, please, refer to me by my first name. Farewell, dear friends.”

Beta Reader, Collaborator, Owner of Aria and Aaron Granchester, and Creator of the Illegitimate Son storyline- @i-am-here-with-fanfic.

PS- I apologize for my inactivity. I have gotten back on track and starting next week, my schedule will be fixed.

[mackenzie-wolf]

It helps to look back.

This story was requested by @sidneyrockbell as centers around Kaitlyn and MC (Emily/milly) moving in together after the crash.

Kaitlyn could hear the faint hum of the car radio as she looked through Abbie's phone at some of the different types of artwork she's been experimenting with recently.

A few of them felt perfect for the album art she had been envisioning. Her band 'Suicide Notes' had won BOTB and much more. It was time to get serious about where to go next.

The streetlights flooded the inside of the car for less than a second at a time as they drove through the back roads. Kaitlyn's eyes were drifting from the screen to the street outside her passenger window. Feeling as though things couldn't be more perfect, her chest suddenly felt heavy.

Tyler yelled and Abbie let out a scream that could shake the ground as the car was lit up by a light growing constantly brighter....

Emily watched kaitlyn as she slept restlessly. Kaitlyn gripped the sheets tight in her fists while Emily stroked her back and whispered to her.

"You're ok Kait, I promise I'm right here"

Almost jumping from the bed, kaitlyn woke up. Sweat clung to her skin as she breathed rapidly, trying still to wake up from her dream.

"Hey rockstar" Emily's voice was soothing, like a mother caring for a hurt child. "You're ok. You're safe with me"

Kaitlyn blinked a few times before resting her head back down on her pillow.

"It was the same dream again" her voice shook with fear as she looked up at her girlfriend who was gently stroking her hair.

"I know. Its not hard to tell"

Kaitlyn moved closer to Emily, wrapping her body around her. Emily wanted desperately to ask if she was ok or if she wanted to talk about it more. Kaitlyn had told her countless times that she was ok, and there was nothing more to talk about. For the most part, it was true. Kaitlyn had come so far since the crash and was finally feeling over it. All except for that dream.

"Hey Milly..."

"Yeah?"

"I just remembered what day it is...."

Emily's face glowed with excitement. Mostly because today was the day they were moving in together. Something that for a short while, seemed just out of reach. Also because today was the first day since it all happened that kaitlyn smiled so quickly after waking up.

Emily threw off the covers and beamed at kaitlyn. "We're finally doing it! The next big step!"

"I was gonna say it's the day we can stop sleeping in James spare room. I mean seriously, reyna seems like a nice quiet girl but I'm going to be glad not to hear her and james at 2am anymore"

Emily let out a laugh as she got up from the bed and started to put her pyjamas on. "I'm pretty sure at least one of those times was James' idea of payback for our noise"

"Well that's hardly fair... We're goddesses! How else are we supposed to express how much we love eachother"

"Kaitlyn, only you could take something like screams of pleasure and make it sound like it belongs on a greeting card"

"It works the other way 'round too" Kaitlyn gave a sly wink to Emily.

With a giddy laugh, Emily began getting clothes ready for kaitlyn to put on. Her favorite jeans, the Children of Ill omen shirt that Edgar had made for her, and a cute denim jacket. All placed on top of Emily's favorite lace underwear that kaitlyn was wearing the day of their anniversary.

"Milly, you can stop doing that you know? I can get my own clothes"

"Sorry, old habits.. besides I'd do this for you anyway. Im still earning my girlfriend badge for 'most attentive'"

"You're such a dork.." kaitlyn looked under the pile of clothes and saw the matching set of underwear. "Or genius mastermind I guess!"

Emily blushed slightly. Kaitlyn's words, her body, her voice, everything about her still made Emily feel like it was the first day they met.

"You ready?" Emily watched as kaitlyn, still sat on the bed, pulled the shirt down over her torso before extending a hand to her.

"Sure am" kaitlyn said with a genuine smile.

Kaitlyn grasped Emily's hand and tried to keep the pressure off of her left leg as she stood. It was still painful but definitely bearable. With a slight limp, kaitlyn made her way to the full length mirror across the room and noticed her tshirt.

"You're killing me here Milly" Emily giggled and ran out of the room.

....................

Emily and Kaitlyn were at their new apartment in Downtown Northbridge waiting for the last van of their belongings to arrive. As they unpacked the boxes that had already been dropped off, Emily felt a pair of familiar hands grip her hips. She turned around to look at the smiling face of her girlfriend, whose eyes were filled with longing.

"Something on your mind kait?" Emily tried to hide the grin on her face as kaitlyn swayed her hips before her.

"Doesn't this place remind you of our first trip to Northbridge together?"

"Yeah. I hadn't noticed before but it does."

"I seem to remember you trying to get me in to bed the minute we got there..."

"I seem to remember you being more interested in finding a taco truck" Emily said with a coy giggle.

"AND I... seem to remember those tacos being amazing! So I win!"

"Win? I didn't know we were competing"

"Oh yeah I went off topic.." kaitlyn let out a nervous laugh as she spoke. "Well I don't think we're going to find the truck again just now... so I thought instead...."

Emily gasped over-dramatically. "Kaitlyn Liao! What are you suggesting?"

"That we've got at least an hour before the van gets here. Which means we should..."

"GET TACOS?!" Emily shouted with mock excitement.

"No... or... depends how you look at it" kaitlyn took Emily's hand and led her towards the bedroom. She had made sure the bed was set up before anything else was done. Emily didn't object, having a good idea of why she had suggested it.

Kaitlyn sat on the bed and stretched her leg out the way that she had been taught to exercise it. Emily sat behind her and started working her shoulders in a gentle massage.

Before long the two were sharing a heated kiss, kaitlyn's hands wrapped in Emily's shimmering brown waves of hair. Emily was working quickly to strip kaitlyn's clothes off, stopping at her jeans.

"Is this ok?"

"Has it ever not been?" Kaitlyn asked incredulously.

Emily slowly pulled the jeans off, exposing kaitlyn's beautiful legs. Kaitlyn blushed heavily as Emily started to kiss up her legs. Starting at her calves and kissing up past her knee, where the deep scar started to take form. Emily kissed higher, not missing an inch, as she held kaitlyn's hips and toyed with the waistband of her lace underwear.

Kaitlyn lifted her hips slightly as Emily pulled them down, peppering kisses as she did so.

Kaitlyn's hands moved over her own body as Emily's head sank between her legs, causing kaitlyn to shake with pleasure. Wave after wave of what felt like warm electricity rushed over kaitlyn's nerves, bringing her closer and closer to climax.

The two of them lay there, still with time to spare before they would be disturbed.

"Kaitlyn...?" Emily whispered.

"Yeah cutie" kaitlyn smiled back.

"I'm proud of you. I know you don't like to talk about it anymore and I get that you don't want to look back to that night. But I really am so proud of you."

"Its not that I don't want to Milly. Its just that I don't need to do it anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"When I think back to that night, I think of you by my side every minute. Everything you had to give up just to sit with me, even if I was asleep in the hospital. But that's not all. I look back to our freshman year when all you did was try to support me in coming out. And when you showed up for every gutter kittens gig regardless of how I was treating you. I look back to when I was nervous about Suicide Notes making it in to BOTB and you reminded me every day that no matter what; I couldn't fail in your eyes."

Emily's remained quiet, her eyes shone with tears as kaitlyn spoke.

"But I don't need to do that when I've got you right here with me. It helps to look back, but I'd rather look forward. That's where you are.

Emily reached up to kiss kaitlyn again.

@aryn-choices

[caspian-skye]

The Apoptosis Project: Winter Holiday

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate, and a happy holidays to all! I’ve always been a fan of the season, which ends up translating into obligatory Christmas-y chapters in my stories. So, here’s the (not) Christmas chapter from The Apoptosis  Project! 

This is from chapter 21, and references something from my old story as well, so it might not make 100% sense standalone. But still, it gives a good insight into some of the series’ most important characters.

With the end of December, the Winter Holiday came. Of course the holiday was created to celebrate the end of the Great War over a hundred years before, but Caspian was happy to have nearly two weeks off, and a chance to unwind from the constant assignments and training exercises of Sentinel. The dorms held nowhere near the luxury of his family home; glass walls with views of the ocean, marble and mahogany floors, and a bathtub large enough to lay down in, that he didn't have to share with three other teammates.

Lazula hardly seemed to be slowing down. Every day since break started she woke up at the crack of dawn, and trained until after Caspian woke up. He admired her commitment, but every night a small part of him feared she'd wake him up the next morning and drag him to her custom-built practice arena.

The night before the Holiday, every member of teams CRLN and LSLI --apart from Noxis, who disappeared the minute after their last class together-- came to Skye Manor along with their parents. All were dressed in their nicest clothes for the countless pictures that would inevitably be taken that night-- aside from Caspian, who wore the most repugnantly lurid sweater he could find in the discount store in Cyrreine Mall. Red bells attached to the tree sewed to the front of the green sweater jingled with each step, almost matching the sweater's crimson collar. To complete the look were thick brown pads of leather at each elbow. Extra protection, just in case.

He had been helping out with preparing the feast for dinner, and afterward sat on the bench of his mother's grand piano, a shining antique in the corner of the living room. After a few minutes of practice, Snow walked over with a curious look.

Caspian smiled. "Hey, wanna learn how to play?"

Snow nodded. "Okay."

Caspian scooted over to the far side of the piano bench, giving Snow just enough room to sit next to him. "Hm... where to start..." he pondered. He had played as a hobby for quite some time. Apparently he was drawn to the instrument when he was only a few years old, and his mother taught him from there. "Well, the piano has eighty-eight keys, and this might seem like a lot, but there are really only twelve notes so it's not that bad."

"Eighty-eight does not evenly divide into twelve," Snow noted. She cocked her head. "How are there eighty-eight?"

Caspian paused. "I... actually I'm not sure..." he replied. "But that's not important for now. Let's start with the C-Major scale." he pressed a key on the piano, and eventually worked his way up. "It starts at C, and goes down the alphabet until F. Then it wraps back around to A and B. This scale just deals with the seven white notes in its range, so it's a good place to start."

"There are an extra three notes at my side of the keyboard," Snow commented.

"What?"

"There are an extra three notes at my side of the keyboard. The keyboard starts with A, but its highest note is a C. That's why there are eighty-eight notes."

Caspian looked to Snow in surprise. "Well, mystery solved I guess!" he responded with a laugh. But how did she notice so quickly? He pulled a sheet of simple music out from behind the one he had been practicing on, and pointed to the first note. "Anyway, the C corresponds to this note, here. The next note is G, so I'd press this one. The whole song goes like this," he concluded, and began to demonstrate.

"May I try?" Snow asked after he finished.

"Go for it!" Caspian permitted, scooting further to the end of the bench.

Snow lowered her hands to the keys. Her eyes drew up to the paper, then back down. Caspian watched in confusion and surprise as her fingers moved deftly over the notes, striking them with both perfect cadence and accuracy.

"...You're telling me you've never played piano before?"

"I haven't."

"Huh. I remember being stuck on this song for weeks..." Caspian replied. He turned the page. "What about this one?"

"Actually," Uncle Douglas interrupted, suddenly appearing behind the two. "Snow, can you help your mother and I with something for a bit?"

Snow nodded and stood up, leaving Caspian at the bench. He glanced up with a disappointed look. "Maybe later then," he offered. Caspian sat for a few moments, and after deciding he still didn't have enough room for a slice of pie, shuffled through his music to find a song celebrating the Winter Holiday. He cracked his knuckles, and began to play.

A handful of measures in, a soft voice began to match his notes, singing the words accompanying his play. Lilly came to his side, leaning on the piano as she sang.

Determination struck Caspian. He could feel everyone's eyes on him. For them, for Lilly, and for his honor, he wouldn't miss a single note. The song played out for what felt like ten minutes, but couldn't have been more than a couple. When he finally finished, he leaned into the piano and let out a deep breath.

Judging by the applause, the duet went well. He and Lilly made a pretty good pair.

"That was pretty!" Laurel complimented. "You're definitely the better singer of the two of us."

Lilly smiled, but shook her head. "I'm flattered, but I have to disagree. That's clearly you. I don't have anywhere near your range."

"All I do is scream over a wall of guitar and drums," Laurel dismissed. "You can actually carry a tone."

Lilly held out the corners of her dress, looking at Laurel's thrashed black sweater and matching jeans. "Whatever the case, someone like me is no fit for a punk-metal band," she admitted.

Deciding the pressure of one song was enough, Caspian walked back to the couch and took a seat next to his sister. As he sat she eyed his sweater with disapproval.

"I hope whoever designed your shirt got fired."

Caspian threw his head back with laughter. His sister was hardly one for jokes, and this one was one of her strongest in a while. As he recovered, his eyes flicked to the doorway, where his father stood.

There was a peculiar look on his face. One maybe of shock, or sudden realization. As their eyes met, Headmaster Skye nodded, and turned back into the kitchen.

The night wore on for a few more hours before everyone began to settle into the many guest rooms of the house. Morning came, as did the time to exchange presents. Lazula was touched by Lilly's album of pictures of the two through the years, and was particularly amused by Rowan's joke gift of a cheap plastic trophy, "because she didn't have enough of them."

Caspian gifted Lilly a new set of tea cups. Vintage, imported straight from Mistral. It cost him a small fortune, but as his parents practically owned half of Port Cyrreine, and a sizable share of the Schnee Dust Company, money was never an issue. He had genuinely no idea what to get Laurel, but judging by her reaction to the set of high-quality guitar accessories he assumed she might use -a set of picks, straps, and a new stand- he did well.

His gift to Snow was one of the very last opened. He made sure to sit right next to her as she did, waiting and trying to conceal the eagerness in his eyes. She undid the wrappings slowly and methodically, undoing each length of tape and gently unfolding the paper in stark contrast to Rowan, who somehow managed to unwrap each gift in one savage tear.

Finally, Snow opened the box. She paused, and as usual her blank stare gave away nothing.

"Is this for me?"

Caspian grimaced. "Y-Yeah... I have the receipt if you don't want it..."

Snow set the box down, and pulled the plush doll from it gently. She held it to her chest, and a smile began to form. Small at first, but it grew into the biggest, cheeriest one he had ever seen from her. He glanced at the corner of her eye.

Crows' feet.

"I love it," Snow said, hugging the doll tighter. "Thank you so much."

"Of course," Caspian replied, his smile beginning to match hers. "I saw it when we went to Cyrreine Mall, and couldn't help but think about you."

Snow held the doll in front of her before setting it down on the box. Still kneeling, she turned to Caspian with arms outstretched. The hug lasted longer than he expected; probably because neither of them knew the proper amount of time for a friendly hug, and were waiting on the other to disengage.

Afterward, Caspian and his friends opened one of Rowan's new board games. Though Lazula and Laurel hardly ever played, after enough insisting that it was a holiday, and the game could be played with up to eight people, they joined as well.

Meanwhile, Caspian's mother and father walked along the path through their expansive yard, under its trees and through the bushes that would erupt with life in a few months' time. "Do you remember the vision I told you about, after I was almost killed in our last fight with Vladimir?" the Headmaster asked.

Headmistress Skye nodded. "Even before we had them, you told me you saw Caspian and Lazula, in our living room. Caspian was smiling."

"I saw that exact scene last night, after Caspian played that song," the Headmaster stated. He took in the cool air. Clouds had rolled in, but it hadn't yet started to rain. "I don't know if it means anything. I just wanted to tell someone."

"You saw the scene you saw all those years ago..." Headmistress Skye reflected. "It makes me wonder, but it also reminds me." Her gaze fixed on him, and she stopped suddenly. "When are we going to tell Lazula?"

The Headmaster turned to face his wife. "About?"

Her eyes narrowed. "You know what I'm talking about."

The headmaster sighed, then nodded. "It's best we wait for now," he decided.

Headmistress Skye's eyes clouded with doubt. "Not telling her just... doesn't sit right with me. We're lying to our own daughter."

"We haven't told her any lies," Headmaster Skye maintained.

"We haven't told her the truth, either."

Headmaster Skye shook his head. "I'm sure you understand what's at stake here," he insisted. "When the time is right, I'll be the one to tell her."

Without a reply, the Headmistress turned, and made her way back to the front door.

--

That night, once all gifts had been opened and a feat of leftovers was had, Snow stood alone in her guest room. She held the doll in her arms like a child, rocking her slowly back and forth as she watched her reflection in the mirror propped up on the dresser. The muffled tones of the piano from downstairs made their way into the room.

Snow paused, locking eyes with her reflection.

She quickly stepped over to the bedside, laying the doll down under the covers before returning to the dresser. She leaned over it until her nose nearly touched the mirror, and put her fingers to the edge of her eye.

The change was slight, but there was no mistaking it.

Her eyes had tinted the slightest shade of blue.

[samthewrestlingfan]

DIVE Part 3

Hey Lovebugs! 

Thank you for baring with me yesterday! I just had a long day, and the BEST time at RAW! 

Please enjoy this chapter you guys, I don’t know how long I’ll keep this going, but as long as you guys enjoy it, I guess I’ll keep writing!

Let me know what you all think! <3

Taglist:  @wrestlingbabe @caramara3 @alexahood21 @blondekel77 @isawthesights 

“Oh my God.” Seth breathed, his mouth forming into what can only be described as a confused smile. “Ella…I–I can’t believe you’re here.”

I nodded, “Neither can I.” Part of me wanted to embrace him, to have him pull me into his arms, and kiss me like he used to. But my memories were with the old Seth, I no longer knew the man that stood in front of me.

I cleared my throat. “Seth, just please stop. You’re causing a scene for no reason. I’m the one who asked Hunter not to let you know I was here.” I spoke as sternly as I could, despite my trembling voice.

He scoffed, “I’m causing a scene?!” Seth’s raised his voice again, “You knew I was gonna be around, so why are you even here? I thought you stopped coming to work because of me in the first place!”

Oh hell no. This son of a bitch is not going to have an attitude with me, he as no right.

“Not that its any of your concern, but I came back because Hunter asked me two. He and Steph offered me a job, and I took it.”

Seth opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by HHH, “May I suggest the two of you finish this conversation in my office. These sort of things should be discussed in private, Ella.”

I shoved my hands in the pocket of my sweatshirt, thankful for the bagginess of it, and placed them on my stomach. The baby was wiggling around like crazy, it always did when ever my blood pressure started to rise.

Seth threw the door open and walked inside, Hunter stopped me before I entered. “You need me, just yell.”

I nodded and walked into the office. Seth had perched himself against the desk, arms crossed, eyes locked on me.

HHH closed the door, and then it was just he and I. Something that used to feel so normal was now the most uncomfortable thing in the world.

I kept my gaze on Seth as he began to pace the length of the room. He punched the filing cabinet, and while it looked like it hurt, it seemed to help him calm down. He moved his way back over to the desk and let out a few breaths before speaking.

“How are you?” Seth asked, his tone much calmer now that he didn’t have to act macho.

I sighed. “I’m fine. Not that you actually care, but I am.”

“Don’t say that, you know I care about you.” He sounded offended.

I couldn’t help but let out a laugh, “Really, Seth? That’s the line you’re going with? Pretty sure when you care about someone–”

He opened his mouth to speak, but I cut him off. “Ya know what, I don’t even wanna get into that.”

Lie.

“I’m over it.”

Lies again.

Seth let his arms drop to his sides as he let out a chuckle. “Exactly what about this situation do you find funny?!” I said flustered.

“Nothing, Els. You just–well you still tap your foot when you lie.” He motioned to my moving right foot. “Dammit…” I mumbled.

A moment of silence passed between us as he stared at me. I did my best to ignore his gaze, but to be honest, I haven’t looked into his eyes in so long they almost hypnotized me.

Seth’s gaze drifted to the floor before he spoke, “Why did you come back? The real answer. Not the one you’ve been telling everyone.” Seth said pushing himself off the desk. “Better yet, why did you leave? You just up and vanished.”

I flopped myself on the couch, “No offense, Seth but I didn’t exactly owe you an explanation. I still don’t.”

Seth looked down and nodded. “So that’s it then? Is you’re plan to ignore me completely until you retire, or decide to disappear again?”

I sighed, “No, not exactly. I just–”

He ran his hands through his hair, then back over his face. “Ella, I thought it was my fault.”

I looked at him confused. Obviously I didn’t leave cause he cheated on me, but Seth seemed to think that was the case. He sounded almost…guilty.

“I asked anyone who would know anything and no one told me shit. Hunter stopped taking meetings with me that weren’t about business. I even offered to go to Smackdown if it would help you get back here.”

I stood slowly from the couch, “Why would you do that?”

Seth approached me slowly, “Because I know I hurt you, Ella. I didn’t want to be the cause of anymore pain in your life.”

I felt my heart skip a beat in my chest. Is he acknowledging what he did? “I appreciate that.” I said trying to sound as casual as I could, but all that was about to fly out the window.

I spoke suddenly, but softly. “I have something to tell you.”

He looked puzzled, “What is it?”

I inhaled and exhaled slowly, feeling as though I was going to throw up any second. “Please just listen for a sec okay?”

He nodded, and stepped closer to me. “I don’t even know where to begin to tell ya the truth.”

I began to pace, another sign to Seth no doubt that I was nervous. “I just need you to know that I didn’t find out about this until we were over. I was so angry and disgusted with you and I didn’t know how to tell you. I didn’t want you back in my life if I’m honest…”

I let out  breath I didn’t know I was holding in, “But I also didn’t want to disrupt your life.”

Seth shook his head in confusion, “Ella, what the fuck is going on?” He asked, sounding genuinely worried. I let out a deep breath and paused for what felt like an eternity.

As Seth’s brown eyes watched me, I slowly lifted the front of my hoodie. I stopped when Seth had a full view of the bump. “I’m a–I’m p-pregnant.”

Seth backed away from me slowly, “Y-you’re what?”

I held my stomach with both hands, “I’m pregnant. About 5 months.”

The color had drained from his face. “5 months…” He mumbled. “Is it–do you–are you sure it’s mine?” He stammered

I scoffed, offended at what he was insinuating, “Last time I checked I wasn’t the unfaithful one in our relationship.”

He stammered about for a moment, before he composed a coherent thought. “For fuck’s sake, Ella!”

He paced in small circles, “You don’t just fucking spring this on someone!”

“Look, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but I didn’t think I would ever have see you again! Then I find this out? That the father of my unborn child fucked another woman in the bed and home we shared together?” I felt the emotion welling in my throat, but I pushed it back.

Seth stopped moving and looked at me, “I’m sorry you weren’t the first person I ran to.” I shocked myself with how frankly I was speaking.

“Regardless of what I did, I had a right to know, Ella. Especially something like this! You’re 5 months? Would you ever have told me? Or would you just have given birth and kept me in the dark.” Seth sounded so hurt. Now it was me that was feeling guilty.

“That is my kid too. You should have told me the second you found out.” His voice trembled on those last words.

He was right. I sighed and sat back down on the edge of the couch. “You’re right. I’m sorry for that, but honestly can you blame me? Every time I thought about you, I wanted to throw up. I almost sold the house, because every thing, every room in it reminded me of you! I hated you, I think part of me still hates you.”

I sighed, “I didn’t think you’d want to be involved. I thought you just run when you found out.”

Seth flopped down next to me, “Ella I’m sorry. I’m sorry for what I did to you. But you know me, how could you think I would ever abandon you because of this?”

“Seth I knew you, I don’t know you anymore. You’re at a totally different place in you’re life than I am. I’m ready to be a parent, I’ve accepted it. I also prepared myself to be single parent if I had to.”

“You won’t have too.” He spoke quickly. “When we were together, we knew we would want kids someday. Granted it’s not the most traditional way of doing it, but we were never exactly traditional, Els.”

Seth grabbed my hand, causing me to flinch for a moment. “Ella I promise, whatever you need, I’ll be there. Not just for this–” He gestured to the bump, “But I’ll be there for you.”

I smiled at him, “Thank you, Seth.” I couldn’t believe Seth was being so caring. He made me feel so instantly comfortable. Now, here’s to hoping I can trust him again some day.

I slowly rubbed my bump. “Do you know what it is yet?” Seth questioned.

I laughed, “No actually, I haven’t wanted to know yet. But I do have a doctors appointment next month. Maybe I should have them tell me there, I am kinda sick of referring to him or her as ‘it’.”

He paused before he spoke, “Would you mind if I went with you?” He asked hopeful. I turned to see his eyes staring back into mine.

A smile spread across my face, “I would actually really like that.”

Seth laughed comfortably. He shifted his body so his chest was towards me, “Can–Can I hug you?”

My heart skipped a beat at the hopefulness in his voice, “Y-yes. Yeah, you can.”

He wrapped his strong arms around me slowly, I felt myself melt into his hug. I’ve forgotten what it felt like to he held by someone, it’s been so long.

I inhaled his scent, it was so unbelievably comforting, Seth jumped back suddenly. “Whoa! What was that?”

“What? This?” I asked, grabbing his hand and placing it on my stomach. The baby was kicking like crazy! Seth’s face lit up, and he had that big cheesy smile on his face.

“Oh my God. That’s crazy.” He brought his other hand to my stomach and placed it on it. “Hey little one…” My head shot up as I heard Seth speak to my stomach. “It still doesn’t feel real. I don’t know why I’m so happy.” Seth said smiling ear to ear.

I nodded, “Welcome to my world, dude.” He laughed with me.

“I know this doesn’t change things, but I’m really glad you’re here, Ella. And this, well this is just icing on the cake.”

My soft smile hid the inner turmoil my emotions were putting me through. I hated this man. Everything he did to me, how he broke me, and how he ruined what was the best time in my life by being so selfish.

“I have to go get ready for my match but if you need me, come find me. Anything you need, I’m here okay Els?”

I nodded, “Go kick some ass…”

“Hey! No swearing in front of the baby!” He joked, I laughed lightly as I rolled my eyes.

But I still have some kind of love for him. The baby is making it hard not too, but I couldn’t be in love with him again.

—

I opened my hotel room door after getting to the next town. I was so exhausted from being on my feet all night. I laid in bed, only to have a knock at my door not 10 seconds later.

“Uggghhhh!” I groaned out loud.

I opened my door to see no one there, but a bouquet of white tulips on the floor beneath me. I bent down, (and I’m using that term loosely) and grabbed them when I noticed the note.

I unfolded the envelope to see Seth’s handwriting as my eyes began to skim the note.

Hey Ella-Bella…

I hope you made the trip okay, I asked Nia to swap and let me ride with you, but she wasn’t having it.

You know I’m not that great with my words so I figured if I wrote them down it might sound a little better.

I am so unbelievably sorry for what I did to us, and to you.

I know I hurt you more than words can express, but you have to believe me when I say that I didn’t do it because I didn’t love you. I loved you more than anything in my life. I still do.

I know it will bring up a lot of pain, and a lot of hurt. But please let me explain myself to you. It might not change things, but I need to get this off my chest.

Let me know, you know where to find me.

         -Seth

My eyes welled with tears as I let out a sob. Can I deal with all of this again? I don’t know.

But I guess I’m about to find out.

[impracticaldemon]

@clerfait​ -- Chapter 2, because this one is even more out of hand than usual.

CC: @graylu-angstweek​

~ 4050 words  (Total so far: 8000)

I swear that Chapter 3, tomorrow, will be the final chapter!

Thank you to all readers--I’ve tried to make this story enjoyable for all Fairy Tail fans, with a special emphasis on Juvia’s strengths and Natsu’s friendship even in a story relating to Graylu.  Likes and (especially) reblogs are greatly appreciated!

Note:  The Fanfiction version has the original formatting, and is the one that will be edited if I notice errors.  Tumblr often “mislays” (read ‘gets rid of’) my italics and I often miss a few.  However, the tumblr version is below for quick reading! :)

Author's Note:

Also under the heading of "another one that got out of hand".

If you enjoy the story and have a moment, please don't hesitate to add a quick review/note at the bottom, or send me an ask with comments, or like and reblog! All feedback is greatly appreciated :)

~Impracticaldemon (same username on fanfiction.net)

Chapter 2—A Long Wait Until Winter

[I]

Summer had arrived in a blaze of scorching sun that year. Magnolia and its citizens had baked under the blazing light, the streets shimmering with reflected heat. To Natsu's disappointment, both Lucy and Erza had declared that it was time for a vacation. Undaunted by their lack of enthusiasm, Natsu had thrown himself into a series of smaller jobs, heading out of town for one and two day trips with Happy on a regular basis. Not surprisingly, the heat hadn't bothered Natsu in the slightest.

Lucy had decided that she would make a real effort to work on her writing during her break from taking on missions, and Erza had been encouraging—as long as Lucy was also willing to spend a couple of weeks down at the seaside with her.

"You can write just as well at the beach as here," Erza had told Lucy firmly. Not that Erza often spoke any other way. "And you might as well get out of Magnolia for a while. July is supposed to be especially bad this year."

There had been an unacknowledged battle of wills over the beach trip. Lucy couldn't deny that she wanted to get out of her rather stuffy apartment during the worst of the heat, but… Erza hadn't raised the real reason Lucy didn't want to go out of town for any length of time; Juvia and Natsu had not been so reticent.

Juvia had been the first. She had arrived at Lucy's apartment in the relative cool of the late evening part-way through June. With the sun down, and all the windows open, Lucy's home hadn't been too bad. Lucy had just sat down to try writing again—the day hadn't gone well—and she was frustrated when she heard the knock on her door. On the other hand, she hadn't been entirely sorry to put off her non-productive task for a while longer—at least, not until Juvia had explained the reason for her visit.

"Erza-san told Juvia that Lucy-san won't go to the beach this year. Juvia thinks that Lucy-san is afraid to leave the city in case Gray-sama returns."

Juvia had looked inquiringly at her blond friend, and Lucy had felt a blush rise to her cheeks. It had seemed like such a strange role reversal, with Juvia being calm and slightly knowing, and Lucy feeling unsettled about Gray's continued absence. There had been an important difference, however: Lucy still didn't know exactly how she felt about Gray; in fact, as the days had continued to pass she had begun to wonder if she had dreamed that parting kiss.

"It's not quite the way you make it sound," Lucy had finally responded. "It's not like I even know where we—where Gray and I—stand at this point."

"Does Lucy-san like Gray-sama?"

"Well of course—" Lucy had begun to answer, once again on the defensive.

"As something more than friends? No, wait, Juvia will change the question: does Lucy like Gray-sama as something different than friends?"

"I still like Gray as a friend!"

"And something else?"

"I don't know!" Lucy's voice had risen, and Juvia's smug look had made her want to kick something. Again.

Hadn't she felt the same way last time? Juvia could really manage to keep the pressure on while doing no more than sitting and sipping her drink. She had been looking extremely pretty that day, although unusually casually dressed. For Juvia, that had meant perfectly tailored navy blue shorts and a crisp, white, sailor-style blouse. Since it was Juvia, a matching white and blue sailor's cap had been perched at a jaunty angle on top of her vivid blue hair.

"Lucy-san is not paying attention!" Juvia had said at that point, with understandable (if unusual) irritation.

"Well, well, um, your outfit is very unusual and it looks so nice—I was wondering if you were going somewhere special today." Lucy had felt her blush deepen. It had been perfectly obvious to both of them that Lucy was avoiding the subject.

"Lyon-sama and Juvia are going on a cruise," Juvia had confided, blue eyes sparkling.

"Today?" It was nine o'clock in the evening.

"Oh no! After the wedding, of course."

Lucy had blinked at her friend. "And the sailor suit?"

Juvia had leaned forward, her usually pale cheeks more than a little pink.

"Lyon-sama saw some of the clothes that Juvia had bought for the cruise and wanted her to show him how they looked. Lyon-sama liked this outfit very much, and said that Juvia should start wearing it right away, so that he would not have to wait until the fall to see it again."

Juvia's happiness had been palpable, and suddenly Lucy had felt sad. Somehow, it wasn't quite the same showing her clothes to Plue and Erza, and Natsu rarely noticed what she wore.

"That sounds very nice," Lucy had replied, sighing. "I mean… it really does sound as though you and Lyon are a good fit."

"Oh yes. But Juvia does not forget that she spent a long time wanting Gray-sama to fall in love with her instead. Juvia tries to remind Lyon-sama often that she is happy with the choice she made."

Lucy had shifted uncomfortably. She had found more and more that remembering Juvia's strong devotion to Gray, and the way that Gray had seemed to be falling for Juvia, made her��� jealous? It had been absurd, because it wasn't as if she had clear feelings about Gray to be jealous about.

She had walked with Juvia out of the building and into the clear, warm, moonlit night. As a light breeze had danced across her bare arms, she had felt a sudden need to head for more open spaces where she could look up at the stars. Juvia had told her to be careful, but hadn't said anything more about Gray or Erza's proposed trip to the beach.

It had taken some time to get to her favourite place to stargaze, since she had to be far enough away from the town for the light pollution to be significantly reduced. As she had approached "her" spot, she'd sensed that she wasn't alone, and pulled a key from the pouch on her belt. A moment later, she'd recognized Natsu, and the slight adrenaline rush of wariness (and totally unacknowledged hope) had drained away.

"Natsu! Why didn't you tell me you were there?!" She'd been a little annoyed, because Natsu would have smelled her long before she'd seen his shape and finally realized who it was.

"Huh?" Natsu had seemed genuinely taken aback. "But you must have known it was me, Luce, right?"

"How?" Lucy demanded, sitting down beside him and giving him a light shove on the shoulder.

Natsu had thought about it for a moment and then dismissed the entire point.

"So how's it going Lucy? You've been kinda down. Maybe you should come out on a coupl' of jobs with me and Happy after all."

Lucy had given him a jaded look.

"Are you asking how I'm doing or trying to talk me into taking on a mission?"

"What?! No! I'm just worried about you is all? Geez you're suspicious!"

He'd pouted, but not for very long. Looking around, Lucy was surprised not to see Happy. Natsu must have read her gestures and expression—he was good at that.

"Happy's… well, I guess he's on a date?"

"With Charla? You're kidding!"

"Nope. I guess persistence does pay off, huh?"

"Yeah."

They'd sat in silence for a while, gazing up at the stars. Natsu could now identify quite a few of the constellations, but for the most part, when they'd done this in the past, he'd been quite content to stare upwards without chatting. It had suddenly dawned on Lucy that Gray had stopped coming on these impromptu stargazing trips a long time ago. She'd been disappointed but had never wanted to insist. Looking back, she'd wondered if maybe he had thought there was something between her and Natsu. Or maybe… maybe he'd mostly known that there wasn't, but hadn't wanted to intrude just in case? That had still seemed off, so Lucy had given up trying to understand.

Later that same night, lying in bed staring up at the ceiling, another possibility had dawned on Lucy. What if Gray hadn't wanted to go star-gazing because, as Juvia had said, he wasn't brave enough? It was a romantic enough setting; maybe he'd worried that he'd give himself away or even—could it be?—found it too difficult not to get jealous of Natsu. Natsu tended to be a physical guy with his close friends. With Gray it had always come out in fights, fist bumps, and the occasional arm around the shoulder. Lucy tended to complain about Natsu's more violent greetings, and for the most part he limited himself to holding her hand (often while trying to get her to run faster), and quick hugs.

She had fallen asleep with difficulty that night, wondering where Gray was and what he was doing. They had fought together and almost died together so many times. Gray had even developed some kind of friendship with the chief of her celestial spirits, Loke. Somewhere in there, according to Juvia, Gray had started to care about her as something other than "just" a friend. Why hadn't Lucy noticed?

[II]

Mid-summer had been as hot as predicted. Lucy had finally given in to Erza's desire to go to the seaside. It had been a good idea, as the days were considerably more bearable and it was far easier to sleep at night.

Even more men than usual had tried to hit on Lucy that summer, for some reason. There had been a few women, too, but they had been far more subtle, whether because they had sensed Lucy's mood better, or because Erza was a greater deterrent to them.

"Do I have some giant sign over my head that says 'single and looking for love'?" Lucy had demanded at one point, after a particularly annoying encounter.

Her scarlet-haired companion had shifted slightly on her lounge chair and sipped at her drink. Being Erza, she had taken Lucy's question seriously.

"No. But you look unhappy. Many men assume that a beautiful woman who is not obviously with a male partner must be unhappy over a man. Therefore, it is a good time to make advances. The better men do so with caution, not wanting to make things worse; the worst men do it because they sense vulnerability and seek to exploit it."

"You've been reading relationship books again, haven't you?"

"… Well, why not?" Erza had been just a little defensive. "Have you ever been in love, Lucy?"

Lucy had tried to roll her eyes and make light of it, but with Erza staring at her from just two feet away, she'd failed miserably and given in to her fate.

"I don't know. I suppose that means I haven't."

"Not necessarily. People are driven in different ways, after all. Somebody who is passionate about one aspect of their life may not be as keenly aware of a different kind of passion if it develops slowly. And our own minds play games with us, trying to protect us from caring too much if we've been hurt before."

Lucy had thought about this for a few minutes. Then she had stood up and grinned down at Erza.

"Well I still think you sound like a book on 'how to live and love better'. I'm going to get my writing things. After all, you talked me into coming here so that I could write."

Erza had waved an unusually lazy hand at her from her prone position.

"Good luck. Personally, I think it's too hot for serious endeavour."

As Lucy had walked away, still thinking about Erza's words despite herself, she'd heard her friend mutter: "And it was a good book."

Lucy had taken her notebook and pens to a secluded, shady spot away from the beach crowds. She'd started by writing short sketches about the people she'd observed over the past few days: the harassed but loving mother; the sick but kindly older gentleman; the man selling ice cream who had looked a little like Gray. She had dutifully included the last one so that Juvia—the mental Juvia in her head—couldn't accuse her of lacking courage. Maybe she did need to stop avoiding the issue.

A large drop of sweat had rolled down her face and threatened to blot her page. It really was too hot to write, Lucy had thought, pushing the back of one wrist across her forehead. Too hot, too airless, too bright, even in the shade. She wanted cool, crisp air and the hint of frost. Since when? mental Juvia had asked, with a smirk that Lucy was pretty sure that the real Juvia would never use.

"Since it got so horribly hot! Leave me alone! Go hang out with mental Lyon!" Then Lucy had laughed aloud. "Gray would say that Lyon's pretty much mental all the time…"

I really do miss him. As a friend or as something different, I don't know, but I miss him.

"But only because he made ice cubes for our drinks in the summer," she had said, still aloud, laughing at her own belligerence.

"You know, talking to yourself like this is not a good sign," a pleasant baritone had said from just a few feet away.

Lucy had jumped, even though she had identified the speaker almost immediately.

"Loke! What on earth are you doing here?"

The celestial spirit could come and go more or less at will, but he usually didn't.

"I couldn't take your pining over Gray any longer. You obviously need advice from somebody who knows what they're talking about."

Loke blinked in the strong sun—he had appeared a little ways from the rock overhang that was providing Lucy's shade. An instant later, he was wearing sunglasses. Of course. Lucy rolled her eyes.

"I do NOT need advice. I've already been given lots of advice. I'm swimming in advice. Now if you could conjure up a really cold drink and maybe a fan, that would help."

"Is it punishment time, Mistress?" It had been Lucy's celestial maid-servant, the lovely and rather masochistic Virgo, popping into being beside Loke. Virgo had clasped her manacled wrists together and bowed deeply.

"What? No! What is this, anyway?"

"We merely want to help you," Loke had murmured, at his most charming. "Milady would like a cold drink and a fan, Virgo."

Helpless, and torn between slight annoyance and greater amusement, Lucy had allowed Loke to fuss over her. To a point.

"I think you should give Gray a chance," he'd said, once Lucy was sitting on a soft cotton blanket with a cold drink in her hand and a bowl of cool, green grapes beside her to snack on. He was fanning her in a leisurely fashion with a large paper fan painted with—

"You painted Gray's face ON THE FAN?!"

"What, me? Not at all."

"But—"

"I didn't paint it; that was Aries. She quite likes Gray, you know. So do I, which would be convenient, since otherwise I might be tempted to interfere at inopportune moments." Loke had given her a slightly too-toothy smile and for a moment the sunlight had reflected strangely off his opaque lenses.

"Gah! Stop being so pushy! Besides…" Lucy had leaned forward, eager to make this one point very clearly. "You may not have noticed, but Gray isn't here. He left Magnolia seven months ago. I don't know why everyone thinks this has anything to do with me. GRAY ISN'T HERE!"

She'd stopped as soon as she'd realized that she was shouting. Then she'd blinked away sudden tears.

"Gray isn't here," she'd whispered. "And I feel like a part of my life is on hold."

Abruptly serious, Loke had leaned forward, keeping his actions slow and non-threatening. He'd lifted a hand and wiped away a tear that had escaped despite Lucy's best efforts. Then he'd kissed her gently on the forehead. Somehow, the sunglasses had vanished.

"That's exactly it, dear Lucy. And it's a very hard place to be, not knowing how somebody else feels, and being unable to ask. A person can talk themselves into many things and then discover at the last moment—if not too late—that they were just very good at self-delusion all along."

Lucy scowled at Loke, but without any real anger.

"I told you: I'm swimming in advice. I'm not an idiot—" she had swatted at Loke when he had pretended to look surprised— "and I think I know what you're saying. You're saying that Gray's been kind of confused about all this himself for a while, and it's no fun to feel this way, so don't go too hard on him when—if!—he comes back."

Loke had risen gracefully and bowed slightly. The tinted glasses were back.

"On the bright side, Lucy, if he does come back and if he does hurt you somehow, there will be quite a line-up of people out for his blood. I will have the advantage of being able to spy on you the most easily, of course, so I would get there first, but the Fire Eater and Titania wouldn't be far behind. You have a gift for making friends, and we want the best for you. We might be willing to settle for Gray."

Lucy had been torn between laughter, irritation, and tears.

"And I thought my dad was bad about trying to set me up with the right guy…" she'd said.

Loke had frowned at her.

"Fortunately, we actually care about what you want," he'd told her, in tone laced with anger. He wasn't Lucy's father's biggest fan. A moment later, he'd reverted to himself. "Well, that's that, then. Stop being so mopey, get on with your writing, and when Gray comes back—which he will, Flame-brain's right—then either he'll do the right thing and talk to you about how he feels, or we'll pound him. Good?"

"No!' But Lucy had been laughing, and that had felt good.

[III]

Lucy had managed to keep her emotions on a more even keel throughout the rest of the summer, and although she had dreamed rather often of winter and the scent of frost, she had tried to put it down to the awful heat—who wouldn't long for cooler temperatures? There were two or three dreams that had been more difficult to set aside, and those had forced her to recognize that Gray's kiss—her first—had made her personally aware of a form of intimacy that she had only read about in the romance novels that she, Levy, Juvia and Erza all shared and had solemnly sworn never to show another soul. Of course, Mirajane knew because she supplied them, but that was different.

The first two months of autumn had passed very quickly, thanks to Juvia and Lyon's wedding being set for November first. The cooling air also meant that it had been time to get out on more missions again with Natsu and Erza. Wendy had come with them from time to time, and on one notable occasion Juvia and Lyon had both joined them, even though it was rare for members of other guilds to be involved in guild jobs. Lucy had rapidly decided that the extra firepower hadn't really been worth it, because Gray and Natsu were a team despite their frequent brangling, while Lyon and Natsu were a continuous dominance match without the deep, longstanding friendship to take the edge off. Even Erza had contributed to the feeling of "too many leaders", because while Natsu and Gray generally deferred to her in tactical situations, Lyon didn't and Erza had tried to be polite because she hadn't wanted to offend Juvia. By the end of the job, Lucy's mantra had been never again.

Juvia had justified Lucy's faith in her by remaining constant in her affection for her Fairy Tail friends, although naturally she was around a lot less often. Lucy had also been more favourably impressed with Lyon than she had expected (the disastrous mission notwithstanding). There was no denying that he was completely devoted to Juvia, although he could still be rather harsh and emotionally distant with others. It was evident that he was making an effort to do better, however, at least with those that Juvia cared about.

As November approached, Lucy had begun to feel more and more anxious, and it hadn't helped that everyone close to her (including her celestial spirits) had made it clear that they were keenly interested as well. The question on Lucy's mind, of course, was simple: would Gray show up for the wedding? By any standard of friendship, guild loyalty and even a sort of kinship (in Lyon's case), he should be there. Only his absence had kept him from being in the wedding party, and Lucy had heard from somebody—though not directly—that Lyon was upset that Gray had not been in touch with him. Although the two of them had been rivals in so many ways, they were also foster brothers of a sort, and had a shared history and background in magic that was unique to the two of them.

Eventually, Lucy had gone to Juvia in desperation, and asked if she or Lyon had heard anything from Gray. Juvia had looked a little distressed, but eventually she had made up her mind and told Lucy that Lyon had received a note just the day before—within a week of the wedding itself—saying that Gray would be there, although he didn't want anybody else to know.

"I need to see him," Lucy had told Juvia bluntly.

Juvia had frowned. "If Lucy-san looks for Gray-sama and speaks to him then he will know that Lyon-sama or Juvia did not keep his secret."

Lucy had looked straight into Juvia's large blue eyes and told her:

"I don't care if I make a fool of myself or upset my friends… I need to talk to Gray."

Juvia closed her eyes, but then nodded firmly and opened them again.

"Juvia will help Lucy-san. Juvia thinks that Gray-sama will only be there for the wedding ceremony, not for the dancing afterward. Juvia will make sure that Lucy-san gets to see Gray-sama, in private, before he can leave."

Lucy had exhaled in relief. Then she'd hugged the other woman, a little overwhelmed by the kindness that she was being shown. It was Juvia's big day, and Juvia was going to devote some part of her attention to helping Lucy speak to Juvia's former crush. What friend could ask for more?

"Thank you, Juvia. Thank you."

Juvia had been pink and flustered but obviously pleased.

"Juvia hopes that in the end, all of Juvia's friends will be happy and even Juvia."

The way she had expressed herself had made tender-hearted Lucy give her another quick hug. Then she turned to business, and the rest of the visit had been spent making plans.

[END]

A/Note: I hope you enjoyed chapter 2! The third-and FINAL, I promise!-chapter will be up by tomorrow sometime. :)

[xottzot]

2018-04(APR)-15th--Sunday Midday and early afternoon at this hellhole area.

2018-04(APR)-15th--Sunday Midday and early afternoon at this hellhole area.

I'm sorry, I apologise for the last of my entries, they were entitled Sunday 13th when they should have been Sunday 15th.

I am under intense daily pressures and daily anguish.

Robert just a short while ago VERY violentally verbally abused me.

All I asked him was a simple question as whether he would be home in a day or two because I had to go to an appointment and he at first totally ignored me words to him. I repeated them and he VERY ANGRILY replied, "Of course I will be at home!!"

I calmly replied that I needed to know for genuine reasons of security. (which ANY normal person can ask any other person, but NOT Robert......he gets suddenly viciously violent for no reason at all. And it can (and HAS) lead i teh oast to vicious physical attacks upon people and to myself.

Did this ever happen to dear Fliss? --- NOBODY WILL TELL ME. And Fliss refused to ever say anything about anything like that to me.

Robert is STILL VERY LOUDLY whispering to himself as I am typing this, just as he has been ALL morning since I have been awake.

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Sown at the Koongamia School Oval there has been some sort of football? mtahc going on. The carpark is full of cars. And there has been inane vocal crap coming from the place as if there's some sort of primitives fighting over a football again.

Can you see why the criminals and thugs of all ages hang about this hellhole area and try to live here by any means?

As I type this, there is AGAIN, as always so many time, the high-pitched whine of an elctricial engine nearby as somebody cuts up metal.......it sounds to my like the SAME place that alwasy does it, is again cutting up pieces of metal scavenged from all about which is then taken off to scrap metal places to make money. This has been going on for many many years and was occuring when dear Fliss was here but did NOT exist beforehand.

The machine-cutting noise stops and starts. It's not constant. But it's loud and pervasive.

Dear Fliss and I alwasy thought it was builders at one of the 'new houses' in Bellevue (through the criminals pedstrian walkway, which used to be sheep paddocks long ago), Fliss and I always thought that the noise was coming from somewhere over there......but as the houses all about this hellhole are so packed in so tightly and the suburb region borders are so nebulous and fluid with regards to authority and services etc., NOTHING is ever certain.

Right now as I am typing this....there are car horns tooting & honking......why? - Because not only is doing so illegal, but also because those who have been at the football? match at the Koongamia oval next to the school are all leaving in drips and drabs.

Earlier the old guy who stands by his front gate all day etc., he was there.

And when a group of young thugs wandered past walking ON THE ROAD he vocalised something to them. He then of course turned about and walked away to the interior of his front yard or into his house.

The young thugs consisted of aboriginal chidlren, non-aboriginals children, youths and very small kids....about 11 of them I think there was in number. A right little 'gang'.......

An aboriginal kid tore away from them on a small pushbike, whether it's his or not makes no difference to him, and he rode of course without any bicycle helmet. Helmets are the law but never for the constant criminals it seems. That one on a pushbikle rode along the road, went through the intersection and went to ? whilst the others all slowly walked ON the road and not on any footpath and slowly followed. I didn't want to be noticed by them at all.

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Oh! - Typing all that in JUST reminded me of that which occurred with the POLICE vehicle on Saturday afternoon........did THAT involve the old guy as well?

In any event, the group of thugs and shitheads, 11 of them today, was certainly on Sunday. And once more they were clogging the road and almost stopping traffic from going past them all.

And once again as usual was aboriginals from the aboriginal households of Kalara Way, but also there was older youths from ? and non-aboriginals all amongst them. That is how things usually go. The young criminal aboriginals usually are attracted to groups of youths andor adults to see what they can find out/steal/whatever.

The old guy at his gate today was standing there very imperiously, leaning into the corner of his driveway area and watching all that was going on. From his deliberate chosen vantage point, the old guy can visually survey the entire Koongamia grocery store area, and the entire length of Kalara Road, and along Jinda Road, and across to other houses too. He does this sometimes even at night such as last night (Saturday night), especially as so many people wander about on foot, or tear about in cars.

I don't think he's a violent man at all. But he has a constant need to visually watch what the hell is going on all around. And I don't blame him for that at all. Really I don't. I've never really met him but we see each other quite often from our own vantage positions of our own homes. I've always thought of him as just another poor dear man a victim of this hellhole area. When dear Fliss was here she thought him a busybody, or what I don't know. - For her sake and mine we naturally always kept ourselves to ourselves in any case, nothing to do with the old guy whatsoever. But we were alwasy friendly to him nonetheless whenever we met....AND to his dear wife.

Fliss told me herself in person one day years ago that the old guy was 'related' to the aboriginals of Kalara Way. She never elaborated. I always thought Fliss meant distant cousins or something.

But one thing I DO know is that the old guy claimed that his son was in the Police force. He told Fliss and I that at the time when that prime-mover and it's huge trailer smashed into the power pole and PRACTICALLY SNAPPED IT OFF at it's base at the corner of Kalara Road and Kalara Way a year when Fliss was living happily with me here. Whether the old guy told us the truth of his son being in the Police force is anyone's guess. And I never faulted him for that or anything like that.

The power pole was removed, then repaired, but the actual broken power pole itself was laid down on the street verge next door and it lay there for YEARS AND YEARS. It became a sitting bench for all manner of wandering shitheads and idiots that flowed about this hellhole area. Fliss saw all this herself. (it wasn't until MANY years later that the power pole was removed and taken away when it was seeen by a wandering power pole repair crew truck. - REALLY!)

IMPOSSIBLE THINGS THAT NOBODY BELIEVES ME WHEN I TELL THEM, YET IT IS ALL TRUE. THE SAME WITH DEAR FLISS. I ALWAYS SPEAK THE TRUTH YET NEVER GET BELIEVED FOR TELLING THE TRUTH!

Another tiny example.....I just looked outside to see what is happening....AND......the old guy looks to be out standing there watching from his position......AND......a blonde headed short-cut youth was wheeling a pushbike along Kalara Way ON the road. - Why?

I'd suggest that Police had pullled him over earlier elsewehere for not wearing a bicyle helmet (his tyres were NOT flat) and so he was wheeling his pushbike along ON the roads. As soon as he got around the corner and near the old guys place, suddenly he got ON his pushbike and began pedalling away on the footpath AND on the road. -- DON'T TRY TO FIGURE ANY OF THIS OUT. - THIS IS NOW WHAT GOES ON AROUND HERE ALL THE TIME. - CRAZY THINGS. INSANE THINGS. CRIMINAL THINGS. POLICE LEVEL THINGS. IT'S RARE WHEN THINGS DO NOT GO ON AROUND THIS HELLHOLE AREA THESE DAYS.

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As I write this at this moment, Robert is lurking about the inside of this house doing things acording to his own timetables and loud whisperings. He has been playing video games all day and cooking in the kitchen at the same time and swearing and talking to himself all day.

For myself, I'm slowly getting tired enough to sleep. But I KNOW it never will be restful sleep or much of it at all for me. Poor dear Sam & dear Max have been sleeping next to Fliss's empty chair in the living room which is their location today that they associate with dear innocent Fliss.

I'm getting tears in my eyes from remembering all the happy years/decade of it all and becoming upset that I am not with dear Fliss which she promised me and promised to dear Sam & to dear Max and promised to herself.

It's getting COLD inside this hovel of a house.

When I'm dead I'll be cold forever but I have felt being so very very cold and chilled in my life countless times and none of it was good. My tears feel hot about my eyes and down my cheeks as I type this.

NOW...Robert is whispering VERY loud now that he knows I'm awake, not that he cares whether I'm awake or not or alive or dead. He is so utterly self-centered and utterly selfish and self-posessed all the time now. But please don't blame him for being bad.....because he is also a victim. And I'm a victim. And dearest Fliss is a victim.......

I'm going to take dear Sma & dear Max outside for their last-chance ablutions before the darkness of night falls.

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Please do not think that I am rambling all about for the sake of talking about nothing. - But I am alone. Abandoned. Through no fault of my own. I bear nobody illwill, least of all dearest Fliss who had so many terrible demons in her mind and memories which she was always afraid to tell anyone about (even her parents) and only let me know a very few of them at all. - We were going to get married. I WANTED to marry dear Fliss. BUT she kept putting ot off saying, "But we'll do it when things get better....when we can afford to get married......."......but that day never ever came........no matter what happened.......

So many tragedies happened when dearest Fliss and I were together, people getting ill (or old) and dying, our dear very much-loved pets being terribly suddenly killed, poor dear Fliss forever getting maligned and demaned by others all the time (but NEVER EVER by me!), dear Fliss constantly getting deceived by others she thought of as 'friends' only to have them use or deamean or try to use her for their own shitty ends, and THOSE people actually prospered...and THAT was another factor in dear Fliss's terrible state of mind and how she crashed seeing how bad people did whatever the hell they wanted and not only got away with it all the time but prospered over any and EVERY one else and STILL carried on exactly as they did so whilst good, kind, gentle people like Fliss and myself, never got anywhere no matter how much we earnestly tried. - God will know when I am dead that I always told the truth in all of this and to dear Fliss. I'm crying right now. - I'm sorry. - It's cold. I'm feeling the cold temperature. Hours ago I have eaten a little and given dear Sam & dear Max some. I'm aching. - Dogs outside are barking madly and angrily. RIGHT when I was going to take dear Sam & Max outside too......it will upset them. - I'm getting VERY cold now. I have to get into bed. Sam & Max will join me on top to keep warm themselves. - I have to get to bed early-ish...before all the criminals make getting to sleep impossible......again......they are already lurking about outside in the streets it sounds like.......and loud overpowered cars are roaring in the streets........a typical hellhole night........no wonder many people have been all moving out today in the fine rain-less weather. (no mention by me of specifics for security, theirs and mine)

Poor dear Cath in Queensland.......I think of you as the dear sister I never had in real life and I love you like that. Fliss also loves you BETTER than if you were her sister. Please always have dear memories of dear Fliss and myself in your large Queensland home with you on those months years ago and us all happy and full of life. I STILL have that gift of that candy tin behind me that you gave us at that time. I keep it for those happy memories and more.....

And STILL Robert loudly whispers LOUDLY and clucks his tongue as he plays his endless video games endlessly......

I love you dearest Fliss and want to be with YOU. - I want the world to know that and to remember. We are good people you and I dear Fliss and I want to be with YOU Fliss. - But nobody cares......

I must end this entry before my tears stop me from being able to see again.........

To any and everyone else reading this, please do not be sad. Be well. Be friendly to others. Be kind and gentle and thoughtful and giving. Do not be afraid. - I'm sorry for giving you all a 'sermon'. You have your own lives to live and it is not my place to meddle in anything. I'm sorry. -- To much noise outside!

I love you dearest Fliss and want to be with YOU.