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tobesobri · 4 years

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𝓣here was an ask meme going around about what scene was the sole inspiration behind your entire story and someone asked me what that scene was for Only Human and well it’s in this chapter and I will let yall guess which one it is :)

If you’d like a preview of Chapter 12 right now, you can join my patreon here! All proceeds will be donated to BLM. Thank you so much for all the love and support with this story ❤️

huge massive thank you to the incredible @youresogolden-h for editing ❤️

CHAPTER ELEVEN: ALL MY LOVE (4.7K)

Harry and Y/N are friends…. with benefits, but not the kinds you’re thinking of.

🥥MASTERLIST 🌃INSPO TAG 🌻ASK TAG 💃PLAYLIST 🛌

If she thought she was miserable before, there was nothing quite like quitting Harry Styles. Especially when his concerned texts had stopped, and especially when she had to hear about him every night since she’d made her decision to never end up in his bed again. It became a regular thing that Will came home with news about Harry’s album and how things seemed to be going really well.

Without her, she thought. Things were going well now that he didn’t have her hanging onto him all the time like a little parasite.

Keeping her distance was hard, but she knew it would be better in the long run. Even if she had to have a few days of trouble getting out of bed. And crying herself to sleep again. She’d deal with it. It was better than living in a fantasy world with Harry.

Some of his things still took up space in her room. A grey hoodie from Randy’s Donuts, a pair of his socks. His house keys. The former she unfortunately found herself sleeping in once or twice. She hated herself for it, but she needed something. It was like switching to vapor to try and kick a smoking habit. Still not great, but not as bad as letting the addiction run its course.

She kept his keys in her nightstand, where they’d always been, but now they were just a bitter reminder of the last decent day they’d had with each other.

There were no regrets in her mind when she looked back on all of it. Maybe falling for Harry was a contender, but she wouldn’t take back any of their nights together if it meant she didn’t have to deal with her shattered heart. He’d helped her so much more than he even knew. He’d opened her up, showed her that not everyone’s hands had bad intentions. And most importantly, she learned to trust him, with her secrets, with her body, her entire life.

Two entire weeks had passed since she’d seen Harry and it only just began to hurt a little less. Still, Fridays and Saturdays were the hardest for her to get through because they’d been her favorite nights with Harry. By the third week, post-Harry, she had finally stopped thinking about him every hour until Will backpedaled all her progress at dinner on Tuesday night.

“I’m throwing Harry a surprise party at his house on Saturday.” He’d started, taking a bite of his chicken before continuing, “All of us in the studio with him put it together since he finally hit the halfway mark with writing. It’s not done but I know how hard it’s been for him so we felt like it was time to celebrate something, you know. Anyways,” he took another bite, “you’re all invited. Especially you.”

Will narrowed his eyes at Y/N, being the most aware roommate out of them all to know that she’d only been in a good mood a few days after the last party he took her to. She was back to hiding in her bedroom most days after that, so much that the past two weeks he wasn’t even sure if she was still alive at times. Something had clearly looked up when she finally joined them for breakfast and he was taking full advantage of it.

“I um… don’t think I can do another party at Harry’s.” She cringed, all the bitter memories of her last couple days with Harry flooding back.

Will sighed, recalling their conversation in the car the morning after. Maybe it wasn’t his best idea to invite her to another party Harry would be at, but if it would get her to do something besides work and hibernate, he’d take it. Besides, she said she didn’t like Harry that way and Will believed her. “It won’t be like last time.” He assured, “It’s mostly just people from the studio and his manager and stuff.”

She considered it. Maybe Harry would be too distracted with everyone else to pay her any attention. It didn’t take long, but she didn’t even want to try feeding Will excuses not to go. She wanted to see Harry again. And she hated herself for it, for not letting him go like she’d promised herself to do, and for stupidly being excited about seeing him again.

The ‘For Sale’ sign was still up in front of his house. Will talked her head off about it too, about the apartment Harry had shown him last week that he saw the ocean from.

She hated every second of it.

When they walked through the doors and she spotted how everyone else was dressed, she felt a wave of insecurities crash on her. Nobody was dressed as formal as she was, and maybe she wasn’t all that formal objectively, but she almost never wore dresses. Everyone was in jeans and polos or casual button-ups. A couple of women had on dresses too, but not quite like hers. They definitely didn’t wear heels either. She hated Will for not telling her she didn’t need to dress up, but, glancing over at him as they walked side by side into Harry’s kitchen, she realized she should have known better. He was also in jeans.

Some of them looked at her while she stood awkwardly beside Will, but luckily it wasn’t long after they had arrived that Harry was due back and the surprise part of his party got set into motion. There weren’t many people at his house, but they still hid everywhere they could, in his kitchen behind the island, crouched into corners together so that they weren’t visible from the front door. Everywhere it was physically possible to hide they did.

Except for Y/N. She didn’t want to see everyone happy for him. She didn’t want to know about how great his album was going to be or who he’d written his songs about. And she didn’t want to be among the faces of people he worked with, feeling so fucking out of place in her stupid fucking outfit she’d worn for stupid Harry who still didn’t fucking like her.

So she went someplace where she didn’t stick out like a sore thumb. The room that welcomed her like a warm and unconditionally loving hug. Where she felt a wave of relief. Where she felt safe, sitting in his armchair at the end of his bed, staring out over the city lights in a way she didn’t think she would ever again.

She had no clue if he’d ever come up here and find her and she wasn’t sure if she wanted him to. She just wanted to see the view one last time before it was gone forever.

The shouting from downstairs caught her attention because it was clear he had finally arrived. He could enjoy his night celebrating something huge for himself, even if it was only a small step in the making. She’d be out of his room before he found her in it anyways.

At least, that had been her plan. Just a little while longer and she’d leave. Spend the rest of her night stealing hopeless glances at him from across the room until she’d finally had enough and begged Will to take her home. That was the plan.

But it didn’t go as well in real life as it did in her head. Not when she heard footsteps coming up the stairs and she panicked. She stood before they got there, spinning around the room for someplace to hide but it was no use.

Harry stood in his doorway before she even got the chance to think of another plan. Instead, he caught her red-handed in the middle of his bedroom, alone.

“I, uh…” she pointed her thumb over her shoulder at his large window, “wanted to see--”

“The lights, yeah.” He nodded, finishing her sentence. She couldn’t help the hurt inside to see the smile stripped completely from his face the moment he’d laid eyes on her.

“What happened to you? You packed all your stuff and never answered my texts.” He took a step closer, his voice a little more commanding.

“I can’t do it anymore, Harry.” She mumbled, and he stopped walking towards her, completely taken aback by her words.

“Why not?” He breathed, feeling the heartbreak of the last few weeks without her all over again in his chest. He had even got so bad that after constantly turning down Will’s offers to hang out at the apartment, he nearly found himself begging Will to invite him over just to see her, but he knew that would have been a mistake. She needed her space and the way he’d felt about her after she told him to forget the kiss was more than enough to keep him away. He needed his space to stop being so mad at her.

But seeing her again, it all came flooding back.

She let out an exasperated laugh like he should know why. “You kissed me. And then?”

With his eyebrows furrowed, he came back at her twice as hard. “You told me to forget about it. So I did. Why are you mad at me for doing what you asked?”

He was right and there was no denying it. There was no more arguing with him about it. She dropped her shoulders and stared out the window again. “Can you please just tell me you did it because you were drunk? So I can move on.”

“Move on?” He snapped, his tone harsh enough to get her to look at him again, “You moved on from me the second I got home from New York, Y/N.”

She started to panic again, but this time there was no possibility of escaping. She had to face him, with or without tears in her eyes.

He continued while she was quiet. “I slept with her because I couldn’t sleep without you. I don’t understand how you’ve not realized that.” He continued.

“I don’t care who you sleep with, Harry.” She practically yelled at him and it took every inch of his self-control not to leap across the room when he realized she was crying.

“That’s the problem.” He deadpanned, keeping himself grounded instead of letting his emotions get the best of him like they always seemed to do.

“Harry!” Someone unfamiliar to Y/N shouted from downstairs, garnering both of their attention. “Hurry your ass up already!”

Pinching his bottom lip between his fingers, he turned back to face her, finding the tears that had spilled gone from her face like they’d never been there to begin with.

“I need to get dressed.” He explained and she quickly maneuvered herself out of his way. Not saying another single word to each other while she left his room and snuck back into the party she didn’t want to be at.

Glances were, in fact, shared between the both of them. Mostly because he wasn’t finished with her yet and in reality, neither was she with him. She could wallow in her self-pity all she wanted, telling herself Harry never liked her this or it was all in her head that. But she was fucking lost again without him the past couple weeks. Her only regrets now were leaving and she’d take it back in a heartbeat if she could. Just get over herself and be with him anyways because if she truly did not care who he slept with, she wouldn’t have let that stupid text message get the best of her.

She wouldn’t have spent every morning in the mirror telling herself she did not have a face Harry could ever love and bringing herself down for no fucking reason at all besides finding comfort in her own miserableness.

Hindsight is a bitch though.

The party died down sooner than his last one had, after they brought out a cake with a photo of Harry on it from long before Y/N knew him, possibly when he was sixteen or seventeen, she’d assumed, and then they proceeded to shove his twenty-five-year-old face in it and start a cake throwing war in the middle of his poor kitchen. That was when things died down. When some went home because they had children or were covered in cake and it was getting late, and others, who didn’t get absolutely pummeled by chocolate cake, stayed talking amongst themselves in his living room with empty glasses of champagne.

Y/N, on the other hand, was in an almost lifeless position beside Will on the bar stools at the island counter, barely listening while he and Harry and some others discussed stuff she knew nothing about all while Harry was still trying to get cake out of his hair.

She felt the agitating urge to clean up the rest of his kitchen, too, mostly because she couldn’t stand to look at it any longer. And maybe if she and Harry were on slightly better terms, she would be.

It was when Will’s phone rang that it finally got a lot quieter. There was still music playing softly in the background and chatter from others in a different room, but once Will took the call and left them all alone in the kitchen together, it was almost silent.

“You’re going to need to shower for like… forty minutes to get that all out,” Glenne teased. Y/N had learned she was Jeff’s girlfriend, and that Jeff was Harry’s manager. And she thought about how well all three of them knew each other and for how long while Glenne ran a strand of Harry’s messy hair between her fingertips to remove some stuck-on frosting.

“Forty minutes is a typical shower for him, try two days,” Jeff scoffed, poking fun at Harry’s expense.

“Heyyyy,” Harry grimaced, pretending to be offended as they both fucked with him, “stop taking the piss, I’m not in there that long.”

She hated that she agreed with Jeff. Harry did take long in the shower.

It felt weird, though, just watching them all interact, like she was someplace she wasn’t supposed to be. These were Harry’s friends and she was nobody to him, at least not publicly. And maybe not privately either. She had no clue how Harry felt about her, if he wasted any time even thinking about her at all anymore when she wasn’t around.

But then all eyes seemed to land on her. “Sorry, I forgot your name, um…” Glenne looked like she was reaching for something across the counter in front of Y/N while she tried mentally sifting through all the names she had to remember.

Harry answered before anyone could, however. “It’s Y/N. She’s… Will’s roommate.” Harry’s eyes went from Y/N, to Glenne, and finally landed on his manager. Giving him a look Y/N didn’t quite understand. Mostly because she was too focused on how cold he’d been talking about her, like she really didn’t mean a thing to him at all. She was just Will’s roommate to him. Even so, she couldn’t help feeling like it was more than she deserved from him.

“Y/N! Right! Can you hand me that phone right there?” She pointed to a discarded iPhone with a blue case that had been sitting in the same spot for quite a while, and Y/N returned it.

She didn’t say or do anything else after that, just slipped out of her chair, grabbed her purse and started walking away from them to find Will. She’d sufficiently had enough.

But when she reached the foyer, where she distinctly remembered Will running off too, he was nowhere to be found. She looked around for him a few moments more before pulling her phone from her purse to call him. Before she could, though, she noticed the text from him that had been sent five minutes prior.

(Will, 12:03 pm)

I’ll come back to pick you up. Sasha called, her mom’s in the hospital.

Her first reaction was shock, hoping that whatever was going on wasn’t too serious. And then she realized she was stuck at Harry’s after having already made her exit. She didn’t want to be mad though, Will had an emergency and it wasn’t like she hadn’t spent countless nights in Harry’s house before.

This was just one night she didn’t really want to spend here any longer.

And instead of waltzing herself back into the kitchen, she stepped outside for some fresh air. Or rather, she leaned into the doorway because it was far too cold to spend any length of time outside.

“Where’s Will?” Harry’s voice appeared from behind her and she twisted around quickly when he startled her.

“He had an emergency.” She slowly stepped back inside his house. “Said he’d be back to pick me up later.”

“Oh.” He paused, swallowing the nervous pit in his throat while whatever bottled up anger towards her that had been festering washed away. Seeing her standing there alone reminded him of every single one of her secrets she’d shared with him and even if he was mad, she didn’t deserve to be treated poorly by him. “You know you can stay here.”

She nodded, crossing her arms around herself and avoiding his eyes.

“I want you to stay.” He added once he got closer to her and her breath caught in her throat. He wanted her. Those words and the sweet smell of chocolate cake in his hair and just… him being near her again like this was enough to make her dizzy.

She thought about saying a million things to him, but settled on something that was classically her instead. “And I want you to take a shower.”

It was possibly the first time in weeks that she’d seen his smile. A genuine, dimply, toothy, Harry smile that made her hate all the time she spent missing out on it.

“Don’t go anywhere.” He pointed his index finger at her and she nodded just before he ran upstairs, taking them two at a time.

She didn’t like his house as much with all the people in it she didn't know. Not a single face she recognized as they littered all the places she and Harry had once been. The middle of his living room where they danced together. His kitchen where he’d given her a glass of water the first night they slept together. His couch where he’d given her the keys to his house.

Sighing, she found a spot where she could be by herself and texted Will back not to worry about her, that Harry was letting her sleep on the couch. Stretching the truth was something she did well when it came to Harry after all.

More people left, being seen out by Jeff and Glenne instead of Harry until what few people remained lingered on the sofas around her, drinking the last bits of wine he had left to offer and watching the logs burn out slowly in his fireplace.

Jeff plopped himself down beside Y/N and Glenne next to him, and while she was wrapped up in a conversation, he leaned slightly towards Y/N, keeping his voice down.

“Harry told me about you, you know.”

She looked up from her phone, a bit frozen in place as she slowly craned her neck over to him. He looked at her with a reassuring smile even though she was terrified to death. What exactly did Harry’s manager know about her?

“He’s been a pain in the ass recently thanks to you.”

“What?”

Before Jeff could explain anything, Harry was making his boisterous entrance back into what was left of the party. All cleaned up this time though with fresh clothes on and dampened hair. He looked like he’d just been working out with water leaving a sweat-like appearance on his forehead and what could be seen of his chest. He was still just as hot coming out of the shower and she mentally smacked herself for thinking it.

“Not saying that you all have to go home, but you do have to get the hell out of my house now.” They all laughed at him for a short while until everyone who had lingered to say their personal goodbyes and final congratulations to Harry started trickling off as he walked them all to his door. Jeff and Glenne were the last to go, but eventually she was alone again.

And she stayed on her phone until she heard his front door close and the familiar sounds of him pressing the code into his security system keypad. Her stomach did all sorts of twists from somersaults to cartwheels knowing it was just the two of them alone again. Knowing he was closing up his house while she was still in it. That she wasn’t going home tonight as planned after all.

“Are you sleeping in here?” He asked once he’d reached the open entrance to the living room, hovering his hand over the control panel, waiting for her before he shut off all the lights.

She pulled herself up from the couch after taking a deep breath. They were doing this again. And she knew damn well whether or not anything had happened with Will that she was going to end up in his bed somehow anyways. He followed her up the stairs and into his room again, lifting his fingers to graze her arm and get her to stop once they were smack dab in the middle of it.

When she turned to see what he was doing, his entire mood had shifted. He wasn't fun, bubbly Harry right now. He stared at her the way he had before he kissed her, except this time they were both completely sober. And maybe that’s why she let him take one step closer. She let him reach his hands around her back and carefully pull the zipper of her dress down.

“You still clean up nice,” he whispered, sending goosebumps all across her skin, “but you look even better in my shirts.”

Without even thinking, he pulled the shirt he currently wore off and over his head, handing it to her like a peace offering. But he just hoped she still needed him enough for at least one more night of their bullshit. He hoped she wanted him too, as much as he wanted her and he hoped that this wouldn’t even come close to being their last night.

They stared at each other while she switched outfits, his eyes never wavering from hers while she changed. Not that he didn’t want to look, but that he didn’t expect her to do it all right there in front of him like she had never done before.

“Better?” She asked once clothed again, her dress in a familiar pile on his floor.

He just nodded, slowly, and like he was in some kind of trance, especially when she turned on her heel and went straight for his bed. Getting in under the covers on her normal side and patting the empty space next to her for him to join.

Swallowing thickly, he slipped in beside her. Just like old times.

She turned on her side, facing her back to him and scooting herself right up against his front, grabbing his wrist to pull his arm over her and his body closer. All the cold words they had exchanged earlier in the night melting right away.

They got used to each other again, folding arms around each other so that there was no telling where Harry ended and Y/N began. He breathed in the beachy scent of her hair and she felt his heart beating against her spine. The three weeks she thought she could quit Harry were a total waste when they fit together just the way they always had. Like puzzle pieces who needed each other to finish the bigger picture.

Harry shifted slightly behind her and she felt the brush of his lips at her ear.

“You know the songs are about you, right?” He spoke softly, forcing her eyes to shoot open. And when he did it again, he said something that truly made her heart burst into a million tiny pieces of rainbow colored confetti. “Know you’re the one I’ve been in love with all along, don’t you?”

She twisted her head around to face him, to meet him a lot closer than they’d been since his last party. To look into his eyes and make sure he was being serious. And when she felt his heart pounding against her upper arm and his eyes steady as ever, she knew he wasn’t fucking around.

All he had to do was take one glance at her lips for her to twist herself just the tiniest bit further and mend them both back together again. This time there was no alcohol, there was no doubt or self-pity. No rock between them.

She slid her hand up his neck to his jaw, pulling him in while she arched her back against him to reach his lips properly. His own hand found a home at the side of her face as well, rubbing gentle strokes across her cheek as they finished where they left off all those nights ago.

Except this time, he had actually said what he needed to say to her before it was too late.

She felt him start to pull her onto him, as slowly as he possibly could. He gauged every one of her reactions just to make sure he never pushed her too far. And when she was half on top of him with her leg wrapped around his and one of his hands on her waist, things got a little deeper.

She held his face in both her hands, breathing heavily every time she got the chance to before going right back in for more. And his lungs burned too, moaning against her lips every time he lost his breath.

This time when she pulled away, it wasn’t to apologize or give him a look like she regretted it. Instead, she laughed and let him get some oxygen back into his system.

He had her again not even seconds later, though, and she was too wrapped up in it to even care about anything else. She’d save it all for the morning. Right now all she wanted was his lips and his hands on her lower back, wrinkling the fabric of her shirt in his hold so much that he exposed her pale pink underwear beneath the covers. She didn’t really care about that either.

What she did care about, however, was when he snuck a hand up underneath the back of her shirt, feeling his fingertips on her bare skin there for the first time ever. And instead of feeling scared, she opened her eyes slightly and saw him. That it was Harry she’d learned to trust. To touch her, to hold onto her secrets, and keep them safe. And he made everything so much better than it already was.

She explored his body a little bit more too, grazing her hand over his chest while he kissed her harder. Feeling his heartbeat in her palm and then his biceps tensing beneath his skin.

She let him undo the clasp of her bra, both hands around her back to get it off within a second, even while he was distracted. He knew she didn’t sleep in it, so he was only doing her a favor. Because now was not the right time to do anything he wanted to. There were still a lot of unsaid words and he really couldn’t keep his eyes open much longer anyways.

They separated again when she pulled away to remove the straps and throw the thing off the side of the bed while he grinned at her.

Coming back to him, he caught her face in his hand before she violated his lips any further. “I could kiss you all night, but I’m genuinely exhausted,” he whispered sleepily.

She shook her head at him, “And people say I’m the lightweight.” Scoffing, she instead settled into his side, resting against his chest in her familiar spot and watched his chest move up and down rapidly until he eventually caught his breath and fell asleep.

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#harry styles fanfiction #harry styles fanfic #harry styles writing #onlyhuman

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cocastyle · 5 years

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Change - Ch. 1 | S E V E N

Pairing - Bill Denbrough x reader

Word Count - 4,475

A/N - it’s been a bit hasn’t it? I’m so sorry for the semi-long wait! it’s getting near the end of my basketball season so I’ve been busy with senior night (which went great but was very emotional) and trying to wrap the season up while also juggling the mounds of homework my teachers have thrown at me. anyways, here’s an update for you all! I really hope you like it! and for those reading Wonderwall (my Steve Harrington rewrite) I’m currently working on an update for that as well!

if you all would like to be added to the tag list, let me know!

C H A N G E

Change Series Masterlist

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S E V E N - Pictures

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Y/N was silent as she held onto her cousin's arm, standing close to him due to the bit of fear coursing through her body. Her eyes flickered over the missing poster in front of her, the name Edward Corcoran and the words 13 years old standing out almost as much as the thick bold letters spelling out missing.

Edward had been her age, a kid just like her and all of the other members of the Losers' Club. What had happened to him was still unknown, but Y/N couldn't stop thinking about that clown that not only her, but Bill, Beverly, Stan, and Eddie had seen as well.

"They say they found part of his hand all chewed up near the standpipe," Stan muttered as he shuffled awkwardly where he stood. His words made Y/N gulp and she gave him a questioning look as to why he would say something like that as she let go of his arm. Stan only gave her a look in response, confused by what she was doing.

"He asked to borrow a pencil once," Ben commented, and Y/N felt like she might be sick. Something about knowing that they had known Edward made the situation that much more real. After all he was a boy that had used to walk the same hallways as her cousin. He wasn't the first one to disappear like this and it didn't seem like he was going to be the last.

A commotion coming from the steeet caught Y/N's attention and she turned her head to lock eyes on Richie who was currently playing one of the band kid's instruments while the kid desperately tried to wrestle it out of his hands. The corners of her lips tugged up ever so slightly as she watched Richie, her eyes then flickering over the parade going by before a movement out of the corner of her eye had her turning back to the others.

Bill was walking towards the flyer and he hesitated before gently lifting the paper up to reveal another missing flyer for a girl named Betty Ripsom. Bill sighed before letting his eyes flicker over to his friends, his gaze instantly locking with Y/N's.

"It's like she's been f-f-forgotten because Corcoran's missing," Bill said, his words making Y/N frown slightly and look to her feet while Bill hung his head and put Edward's flyer back down.

"Is it ever gonna end?" Stan questioned.

"What the fuck, dude?" Richie's voice could be heard yelling out in frustration as the band kid tore his instrument away from the boy before running away.

"What are you guys talking about?" Eddie asked as he came up behind Y/N. The girl jumped in surprise and Eddie flashed her an apologetic look as he licked one of the ice cream cones in his hands.

"What they always talk about," Richie replied in annoyance as Eddie handed the boy the other ice cream cone.

"I actually think it will end, for a little while, at least," Ben told them.

"What do you mean?" Beverly asked, everyone's eyes now on the young boy.

"So I was going over all of my Derry research and I charted out all of the big events. The Ironworks explosion in 1908. The Bradley Gang in '35 and The Black Spot in '62. And now kids being. . ." Ben trailed off as his gaze fell on Bill. He quickly looked away and sighed as he said, "I realized this stuff seems to happen-"

"Every 27 years," Ben, Y/N, and Bill all uttered in unison, Y/N and Bill both making eye contact as those words left their mouths.

It was silent as the group stood there before Y/N shook her head and whispered out, "Shit." All eyes turned to the girl who put a hand to her head almost in pain before she turned and began to walk away, the action causing them all to look at her confused.

"Y/N?" Bill called out, his voice soft and filled with concern.

"I. . .I just need to sit down," Y/N replied with a wave of her hand as she walked down the street. The others all shared a look before quickly following after her, not wanting her to be alone.

Before long, the group had ended up sitting down at a park bench set up in the middle of town. Beverly, Stan, Mike, and Ben all sat on the green bench while Richie, Eddie, and Bill were seated on their bikes. As for Y/N, she was sitting on the ground by Bill's side.

She was resting her head against Bill's leg, something that hadn't gone unnoticed by Bill or Stan, and was pinching the bridge of her nose as she tried to wrap her head around everything that she had been told over the past couple of days and everything that she had witnessed since she got here.

Derry was definitely a little stranger than the last time she had been there that was for sure.

"Ok, so let me get this straight. It comes out from wherever to eat kids for like a year and then what? It just goes into hibernation?" Eddie finally asked

"Maybe it's like. . .what do you call it? Cicadas. You know, the bugs that come out once every 17 years," Stan suggested while Y/N removed her hand to scrunch up her nose and look to her cousin.

"I don't think it's that," Y/N muttered with a shake of her head. Cicadas and kids going missing were not the same thing at all.

"My grandfather thinks this town is cursed. He says that all the bad things that happened in this town are because of one thing. An evil thing that feeds off the people of Derry," Mike explained.

Y/N's stomach grew queasy again and she let out a soft groan as she laid back against Bill's leg, the boy reaching down to brush some of the hair out of her face almost automatically before the two shared a small smile.

"But it can't be one thing. We all saw something different," Stan pointed out.

"Maybe. Or maybe It knows what scares us most and that's what we see," Mike suggested.

"But I don't. . .I don't fear my father," Y/N argued.

"Did he do or say something that scares you?" Mike asked, wondering if it wasn't Y/N's father that scared her but something else that he might've done or said.

Y/N's face fell at that and a flash of pain flickering across her face before she looked down, the sudden realization of what fear her father was supposed to represent hitting her harder than she had expected. For one of the things she feared most in the world was being the reason her parents split up and for being the reason her family wasn't a family anymore.

It didn't take much for the others to know that she had realized what her fear was, but Eddie knew she wouldn't want to talk about it and was quick to speak up, "I-I saw a leper. He was like a walking infection." Everyone's gaze turned to him and Y/N gave him a thankful smile which he returned.

"But you didn't. Because It isn't real. None of this is. Not Eddie's leper or Bill seeing Georgie or Y/N seeing her father or the woman I keep seeing," Stan insisted, the others all looking down as they tried to believe Stan's words. For it was better to think that they were all hallucinating than to know that something out there was changing into their worst fears.

"Is she hot?" Richie suddenly asked in pure curiosity that made Stan scrunch his nose up in disgust and glare at his friend.

"No, Richie. She's not hot. Her face is all messed up," Stan explained with a tad bit of aggression while Richie frowned. "None of this makes any sense. They're all like bad dreams."

"Nightmares," Y/N whispered, her face pale as she ran a hand through her hair. By now she was thinking of all of her fears and what It could do to her that she was more frightened now than she had been five minutes ago.

"I don't think so, I know the difference between a bad dream and real life, okay?" Mike told them, the seriousness in his voice making them fall quiet.

"What did you see? You saw something too?" Eddie asked.

"Yes," Mike muttered, his head falling as his eyes glazed over as if he were seeing the memory before his very eyes. "You guys know that burnt down house on Harris Avenue? I was inside when it burned down. Before I was rescued my mom and dad were trapped in the next room over from me. They were pushing and pounding on the door trying to get to me. But it was too hot. When the firefighters finally found them. . .the skin on their hands melted down to the bone."

A heavy silence fell among the group and Mike let his eyes flicker over each of them before firmly saying, "We're all afraid of something."

"Got that right," Richie said causing Y/N to look to him.

"What about you, Tozier? What are you afraid of?" Y/N asked, her voice soft as she looked to the boy. He glanced down at her for a second before sighing and looking back at the stage behind them which had a clown on stage.

"Clowns."

- - -

Bill let out a small sigh of frustration as he struggled to keep the blueprints on the wall from moving as he pinned them up. Before he could yell at one of his friends to help him, a small and gentle voice said, "Here, I'll help."

Bill didn't even have time to blink before Y/N was sliding up beside him to hold the paper up while he was able to pin the blueprint to the wall. Once it was secure, the two brought their arms down and looked to each other. "Thanks," Bill whispered before the two smiled softly at each other.

"Okay, lovebirds! If you aren't going to fucking kiss then sit down!" Richie exclaimed in slight amusement and annoyance, a few chuckles escaping his lips at the sight of Bill and Y/N blushing a deep red before they walked away from the blueprint.

Mike pulled the door to Bill's garage down while Eddie flipped on the projector that Bill had him set up. The Losers then all crowded around the projector while Bill put a slide in. Y/N and Bill locked eyes for a split second before Y/N quickly turned away and sat down beside Eddie on the floor, the boy sending a small smile in her direction which she quickly returned before they looked to the blueprints which had a projection of an old Derry map on top of it.

"Okay. Look. That's where G-G-Georgie disappeared. There's the Ironworks and the Black Spot. Everywhere It happens it's-it's all connected by the sewers and they all meet up at the-" Bill began as he pointed towards the spots marked on the map.

"The Well House," Ben said in surprise.

"Well House?" Y/N questioned, not knowing what they were talking about.

"That's the house on Neibolt Street," Stan explained, his voice shaking slightly as he spoke.

"You mean that creepy-ass house where all the junkies and hobos like to sleep?" Richie questioned while Eddie began to panic. The boy quickly pulled his inhaler out and took a hit before breathing heavily beside Y/N. The girl frowned and was quick to put a hand on Eddie's back, gently rubbing up and down his back in a comforting manner and helping the boy to calm down.

"I hate that place," Beverly admitted. "Always feels like it's watching me."

Eddie was finally able to calm down enough to sit back up straight and he leaned into Y/N's touch slightly, seeking the sisterly comfort she seemed to be giving him and that he used to receive from her when they were younger.

"That's where I saw It," Eddie told them. "That's where I saw the clown."

"Tha-tha-tha-that's where It lives," Bill concluded, the statement being enough to make Eddie use his inhaler once again.

"I can't imagine anything ever wanting to live there," Stan muttered.

"Guys," Y/N said in warning as she noticed Eddie's panicking state, but the boy was already jumping to his feet and turning to look at his friends.

"Can we stop talking about this?" Eddie asked. "I-I-I can barely breathe and-and-and Y/N's not even able to calm me down like she always does. It's summer. We're kids, I can barely breathe. I'm having a fucking asthma attack and fuck doing this!"

Eddie turned around and quickly grabbed ahold of the blueprint map that Bill and Y/N had just put up and ripped it off the wall. "What the hell! Put the map back!" Bill yelled while Eddie shook his head.

Y/N sighed and quickly got up from her spot before walking over to the boy. "Eds, it's okay," Y/N assured him while the boy watched her wearily.

"Woah! Woah! Woah! How come she gets to call you Eds without you biting her head off?" Richie complained.

"Because she's not an asshole like you!" Eddie exclaimed while Richie frowned and muttered something under his breath.

It was at that moment that the projector flickered on and off, the slide changing to a blank one and causing the group to look to Bill who was staring at the projector confused. The projector did the motion again and a picture of Georgie and Mr. Denbrough appeared in the place of the map. Although this time everyone had noticed that Bill hadn't been the one to change the slides.

"What happened?" Bill asked confused as the slides moved again, family pictures of the four Denbroughs appearing before them. "What's going on?"

Eddie slowly began to back away while Y/N merely looked at the pictures in confusion before looking back at Bill. "Bill, what's happening?" Y/N questioned.

"I don't know," Bill shook his head as Mike came over and tried to stop the projector only to find that he couldn't. His eyes then flickered up to the screen and he muttered, "Guys. . ."

Y/N turned back around and watched as pictures of Bill and Georgie appeared on the screen before there was another family picture of the Denbroughs. Although this time it began to zoom in on Georgie in the picture with each click of the projector.

"Georgie," Bill muttered before the projector began to move faster.

"Uh. . .Y/N," Stan said in a panicked voice as he noticed that his cousin was still so far away from him.

However, everyone fell silent and seemed to become mesmerized as they watched the picture suddenly shift view over to Mrs. Denbrough. For a moment it seemed as if her hair was moving with each click of the projector and it didn't take Y/N or the others long to realize that it was moving with each click.

The hair quickly covered his mother's face before slowly starting to move away. With each click, the new face began to be revealed and Y/N felt her breath hitch in her throat once she realized the clown was suddenly coming into view.

It was like she was frozen in terror, the only thing registering in her head was her friends yelling out as they desperately tried to stop the projector.

"What the fuck?"

"It's It!"

"What the fuck is that?"

"I don't fucking know!"

"Turn it off!"

"Yes, turn it off!"

Mike was the one to react and he quickly kicked the stand the projector was on, sending the projector tumbling to the ground. The picture appeared again only the clown was now gone and all that was left was the empty background of the picture.

Y/N was breathing heavily as she finally blinked out of whatever trance she had been in. Her body was shaking as she looked back at the others with wide eyes only to find them all looking behind her with wide eyes before Bill looked to Y/N in fright and yelled out, "Y/N, get away!"

Y/N felt her whole body tense at that and for some stupid and unknown reason she decided to turn around only to find that there was nothing there. Her shoulders relaxed slightly and she went to turn back at her friends only for the clown suddenly to appear out of no where, it's body now ten times bigger and crawling out of the projected image.

A scream fell from Y/N's lips as the clown turned to look at her and she heard Stan cry out her name among the scream of the others. That was enough to have her moving and Y/N tried to scramble away only for something to grab onto her leg.

Y/N quickly slammed into the ground and turned only to find that It had ahold of her leg. Another scream left her lips and tears were filling her eyes by now as she felt an immense pain in her leg.

It let go of her for a split second and Y/N tried to crawl away as best as she could while It just watched her in amusement. She didn't know what her cousin or her friends were doing at that moment, but for a split second she thought that they had left her and that she was going to die.

Y/N was crying as she crawled across the floor only to get trapped in the corner of the garage while It stared directly at her, his hand outstretched in her direction as he went to grab for her.

"Y/N!" Bill's voice yelled out before he was suddenly grabbing onto the garage door and flinging it up, allowing the light to pour into the garage. The clown disappeared almost immediately and the last thing to be heard was an ear piercing scream from Y/N as she huddled more into herself in the corner of Bill's garage.

Once nothing came for her, Y/N allowed her eyes to flicker open only to find the garage was now empty. This alone was enough to make her break down and Y/N began to sob as she hugged her knees close to her body, the others all standing there breathing heavily as they tried to process what had just happened.

Bill was the only one unfazed and shoved past Stan who was staring at his cousin with wide eyes, a look of pure horror on his face as he had almost seen his best friend die before his very eyes and hadn't been able to do anything about it.

Bill was in front of Y/N in seconds and the girl didn't even hesitate before lunging forward and into Bill's arms, the boy holding her tight while she cried into his shirt. He tucked her head under his chin and cradled the back of her head against his chest as he gently rocked her back and forth, whispering softly to her that she was okay while she cried in his arms.

"It saw us," Eddie whispered once Y/N's cries has quieted. She was still holding onto Bill tightly, the boy having not loosened his grip at all either, but the two turned their gazes to Eddie who was gripping onto his inhaler. "It saw us and It knows where we are."

"It always knew," Bill muttered, those words making Y/N quiet once again. Bill looked down at the girl and his mind was instantly made up on what had to happen next. He gave the girl one last squeeze and even kissed the top of her head before reluctantly pulling away from her, ignoring the heartbroken look in her eyes as she desperately tried to keep hold of him.

Bill stood up and glanced at Stan who took the hint and rushed over to his cousin before helping her up onto her feet. Bill was just about to walk out when he heard a hiss from behind him that had the boy turning around to see Y/N turn her leg for them all to see. He, along with all the others, paled at the sight of two long scratches down the back of her leg, blood rolling down her leg and making Eddie stumble back slightly from the sight.

"Shit," Richie muttered, his eyes filling with concern as he looked at Y/N and gulped.

Y/N's injury only seemed to fuel Bill's rage and he shook his head before storming out of the garage with a new purpose. "Let's go," Bill demanded.

"Go? Go where?" Beverly asked.

"Neibolt," Bill explained and, not wanting to admit his feelings for Y/N and how desperately he wanted to kill that clown for harming her or his brother, added, "That's where G-G-Georgie is."

"After that?" Stan asked appalled as he held his cousin up steady beside him. "After Y/N just got hurt?"

"Yeah, Y/N's hurt and we should help her. Besides it's summer, we should be outside. . ." Richie said.

"If you say it's summer one more f-f-f-fucking time," Bill muttered before letting his eyes flicker over his friends. Each one of them obviously wanted to stay right where they were and it made Bill even angrier than he already was. But then his eyes had landed on Y/N and his face softened ever so slightly as he noticed the utter pain in her eyes as she tried to limp forward and to him.

Shaking his head and knowing that not only would his friends not come, but that he couldn't allow Y/N to face that clown again, Bill turned around and grabbed his bike before beginning to bike away.

"Bill?" Y/N called after the boy, shoving Stan's grip away from her as she desperately tried to limp forward as fast as she could just to stop the boy from leaving by himself. "Wait!"

But Bill was already gone.

- - -

It took a minute for Y/N to convince Stan to let her on to his bike and another few minutes of convincing Eddie to allow her to leave with only a bandage lazily thrown over her wound, but the group was eventually biking after Bill side by side until they reached the Well House. Y/N could see Bill walking up the old stairs and her eyes widened before she yelled out, "Bill!"

Bill turned around in surprise, his eyes locking on Y/N who struggled to get off Stan's bike before she limped over to the stairs as fast as she could, wincing as she did. "Bill, you can't go in there," Y/N pleaded as she reached the stairs. "At least not alone."

Bill looked to the girl with surprise still evident on his face but it quickly washed away once he heard Beverly cry out, "This is crazy." Beverly and the others were behind Y/N in seconds and Bill frowned as he looked at the group.

"Look, you don't have to come in with me, but what happens when another Georgie goes missing, or another Betty or another Ed Corcoran or one of us? Are you just going to pretend it didn't happen like everyone else in this town? Because I can't. I go home and all I see is that Georgie isn't there, his clothes, his toys, his stupid stuffed animal but he isn't. So walking into this house for me. . .it's easier that walking into my own," Bill told them, his voice steady although he had tears in his eyes.

Bill then turned and finished walking up the stairs while Y/N watched him go with a sad look on her face. Her leg was on fire, but she didn't care at the moment because all that mattered was Bill.

"Wow," Richie muttered.

"What?" Ben asked.

"He didn't stutter once," Richie pointed out.

No one made a move to go after the boy and Y/N glanced at her friends before shaking her head and limping over to the stairs. It was a struggle to get up the stairs, but now that the adrenaline was coursing through her body and the initial pain of the injury was gone, it was bearable enough for her to be able to get through the pain for this.

Bill heard the footsteps before he could get to the door and he turned, his face softening at the sight of Y/N limping up the stairs. He didn't even hesitate before going over and holding a hand out for her. She took it and he helped her up the rest of the stairs before she stumbled slightly into him. Bill was quick to steady her and the two stared at each other in silence before Y/N gave him a small nod and whispered, "I'm with you."

Her words were enough to make Bill smile and his heart couldn't help but skip a beat as his feelings for the girl grew even more. He couldn't even find it in himself to tell the girl she couldn't come, for the way she looked at him dead in the eye and the seriousness of her voice was enough to tell him that she really would be by his side through this all, that she wouldn't let him do this alone even if she was hurt.

Y/N eventually tore her eyes away from Bill and looked to the others almost pleadingly and it didn't take much more than Bill's words and Y/N's pleading stare to have them start moving toward the stairs.

"Wait!" Stan cried out, instantly stopping everyone in their tracks. "Uhhh, shouldn't we have some people keep watch. You know, just in case something bad happens?"

Y/N didn't blame her cousin for not wanting to go into that house. After all, a small part of herself was telling her to grab her cousin and get on his bike before pedaling far away. But something was stopping her from doing so and she actually found herself wanting to go in there and kill that clown herself.

"Wh-Wh-Wh-Who wants to stay out here?" Bill asked and everyone in the group except for Bill, Beverly, and Y/N raised their hands. Richie was the first one to notice this and sighed as he lowered his hand.

"Fuck."

* * *

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jesangel1503 · 4 years

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30 Day Challenge:

Day 1 Topic-

About feelings

Let’s talk about facts:

Many of us have an uncomfortable relationship with our feelings. We might stuff down our sadness or sweep away our anger. We might even have trouble identifying what we’re feeling in the first place. We’re socialized to mask our feelings. We learn that we must cover up our emotions “in order to behave appropriately, professionally, and to avoid conflict and navigate relationships.”

We worry if our emotions are wrong, bad or even crazy. We fear being rejected or perceived as needy or foolish and sometimes believe to be weak if we feel sad or scared, so we avoid these emotions. Or we may ignore other emotions, believing they shouldn’t be feeling that way. While feelings may be tricky and we may view them with unease or even suspicion, they’re actually important and valuable. So it is just important that we know we are attuned to our feelings. It’s exciting to discuss about this, and I might say this Day 1 task got me really puzzled about feelings and emotions. What are the difference?

The Difference between Feelings and Emotions

Emotions vs. Feelings

In English, these two words are commonly used interchangeably. Actually, from a scientific standpoint, emotions and feelings are completely different. An emotion is a hard-wired, physical, universal human response to change of some sort. Emotions are instinctive, arising from the limbic system of the brain, developed and genetically programmed over many generations of human evolution. Psychologists do not agree on the number of human emotions, but basic examples include anger, fear, surprise, disgust, happiness and sadness.

In contrast to emotions, which are measurable physical responses, feelings are individual mental processes that cannot be measured. Emotions actually precede feelings, our personal mental reactions to an emotion. Feelings are generated by thoughts and images that we have paired with a specific emotion over time. Emotions are usually short-term and fleeting, while the feelings they provoke may last and grow over a lifetime.

Source: Talktoteach.com

Emotions are measurable physical response and feelings are individual mental processes that cannot be measured

Have you watched Disney’s inside out movie? The main characters are the emotions in a little girls brain and the storyline focuses on how to recover joy after a traumatic experience.

The movie feels really good, and different. It flies on the wings of an almost too-real message — that sadness is an inevitable and necessary part of life.

It’s a good movie to watch with kids and parents, showing how important emotions are and the need to be validated and undertood as part of a child’s development.

The more you are aware of your emotions, the more they help you know yourself and understand the people around you. Noticing and talking about feelings is a healthy way to express them. It keeps difficult feelings from building up. Here is a feelingswheel for you.

Questions about feelings:

Are you a sensitive person? Are you more emotional or less emotional than other people? What makes you think so?

Tbh, I am quite a sensitive person. I think I easily feel all those certain feelings especially when I come across a sad state. I mean, who is not? Come on. Especially when I was young and immature. I am so much unstable when it comes to handling them. It was only now that I am soon 30, I have come up with ways to handle them in a graceful manner. Emotions and feelings are all useful in order for us to better express ourselves and conform ourselves well in the society’s norms and traditions. In some people, handling difficult situations ending in negative emotions is not easy for them, and that may lead to break down and eventually lead to depression. And it’s them that needs social and emotional assistance the most. But for myself, I think I am fine. It just gets better everyday and with age, so I think. What about you?

Can you control your emotions well? How?

Lately, I figured out how to handle them with ease. I’ve dealt with these emotions and savored them like I am tasting them bit by bit. And then I learned to linger to a particular emotion for a time, until I am over it. But I don’t let each emotion affect my day to day, i.e my job and my relationships. If a sad news came, to be specific, a break up of some sort, feelings of reject and self pity comes along. Well what I’m going to do is feel sad about it for some time, and then just be sad until i am not sad anymore. Then after that, I accept that there are things beyond my control so it’s basically not my fault why I’m being rejected. It’s always the mindset that saves our ass in times like these. When we think, “Yeah okay I get it. But my life is great. I can still be able to meet and know other people and it will be fine” And repeat that thought until you’re finally okay. I mean it’s ok to feel sad about it, but to feel sad about it for a long time is your choice already. So it’s up to you on how you want your life to go on. Though sometimes, hormones usually gets mixed with it in some situations, and then I tend to breakdown. It’s so hard to be a girl you know. But I am working on making it better lately, handling these emotions well plus the hormones is a must asap.

Are you generally a positive person or a negative person?

After the things I’ve been through, I realized that I need to choose to be positive ALL the time. Even in negative situations, there should always be a positive thing in a day, may it be a simple smile or giggle of the neighbor’s baby or the warmth of your blanket that hugs you after a long tiring and sad day. You see, if we start appreciating things around us, instead of looking at what’s lacking, then there could be one or more positive things in our lives to notice from. So yes, always choose and think positive, in a way, the universe conspires along with it too! Hopefully!

Do you find it easy to explain your feelings to another person? If not, why is it difficult?

I don’t know but I am really bad at it. I am always afraid what people may perceive and if they comprehend the message well enough that they actually GET me and my point. And so often, I get misunderstood. It scares me before to think what others may think of what I convey to them. But RN I am determined not too care so much about it. I mean, well, I am responsible of what i say not for what they understand. So i’ll eventually get tired explaining myself if they believe what they think their minds say. So if you have a technique, feel free to share. 🙌🏻

What makes you feel very good?

I feel very good when my needs are met. See Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs. And I realized it’s not love from a partner that completes you. It’s the love for yourself. And knowing it actually makes me feel really good.

What makes you feel sad?

There are many things. I get sad when people die. And things that comes to an end. But I’ve learned to treat sadness with respect. I mean, it is important, an emotional mechanism that is built on our DNA for human survival and adaptation.

If you're feeling down, how can you make yourself feel better?

I do a lot actually. I feed myself, buy some clothes, or sing my heart out. But I don’t sleep. Many people tend to go on a hibernation when they are sad. But I don’t. As i’ve said before, I treat sadness with respect so I try to overcome it not escape from it. But among the things that I do to make myself better, praying is the one that works best for me. It’s my complete therapy to full recovery. Talking to God everything that makes me sad helps a lot. You should try it.

What is the saddest movie, song, or story that you know?

It was Titanic for me, as the saddest ever. I mean, losing someone you love to death is quite tragic. But what’s more sad is when two people who love each other but cannot be together. I mean it’s a torture. Seeing each other with a different partner is never a pleasant sight. Trust me, it hurts to the bones.

Do people know how you feel by looking at your face? Are you good at hiding your emotions?

This is an exciting topic to talk about. Many people assume they could really know how I feel just by looking at my face. Well yeah, sometimes when I am really happy, I can be obviously happy and also when I am sad. Most of all, is when I like somebody. All the emotions I am feeling can be read on my face. Like yeah, how can you hide turning red when your crush approached you? Like how? So embarrassing hahaha. But anyways, what i am good at, is when I dislike a person. You will never know unless I tell you i don’t but that will not happen sadly. I am not frank, I was raised to not hurt people by being so frank and always choose to speak in a nicer way. And if not, I must resort to avoiding people in the end.

What is the best way to deal with feelings of anger?

When i get angry, I get realllllllly angry. But I have managed controlling my anger in a way that saves my relationships with friends and family. It’s always best to choose a low tone of voice, no matter the argument is about. Shouting, as i often tend to do and i’m avoiding, is not the best way to address anger. Relationships are more important than short time emotions like anger.

Have you been in love? What is it like to be in love?

Yes I have. There are many kinds of it. And almost all of the states of love below, I have already experienced it. You come across each of the states, and all have different feeling to it. And explaining them is hard, cause love is immeasurable. That is, for me.

Which is more powerful between feelings of love and feelings of hate?

I’m gonna end this blog by answering this question. Throughout the years I have been juggling with both feelings and I must say, the feeling of love is more powerful cause it makes us go on and look forward to life. Well, it’s upon one’s preference still. Cause for me, I will always choose to love instead of hate. These 2 are both powerful because hate feelings, are the feelings that weighs us down, and makes us regret and think back. Therefore pulling us in a state of negativity flow in our life where everything is just heavy, a burden, a baggage and a prison that imprisons and rusts us deep down inside. If you let yourself get eaten by your anger and hatred, it can really affect you to your core. Feelings and emotions are natural mechanisms that helps us thrive and adapt to certain situations. If only we know how to handle them properly, then we’re going to be okay.

#love #anger #emotions #feelings

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ladyfawkes · 4 years

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Stop Calling Him ‘Horace’! - Eugene Fitzherbert Appreciation Week | Day 7: Birth Day

Sooooo.... Basically, I planned to have this pretty little fanfic finished up for today, the final day of Eugene Appreciation Week. This fanfic is extra-special, specifically it features our Eugene at ages we’ve never seen him in canon. Allow me to sum up this “plan” of mine in one word: HAAAAA!!!! Suffice it to say that although fanfic is very old-hat to me (I’ve been writing it since 1991, fgs) the world of fic-blogging is still relatively NEW to me and several of my fics and headcanons that I’ve released the past several weeks are needing to connect and soon, otherwise the whole convoluted, many-headed Medusa won’t wind up making any sense at all. I’m not exactly certain how it’ll all come together yet but I have to say that getting to spend the past week with all of you fellow Fitzy enthusiasts on Twitter and Tumblr has been some of the BEST DAYS EVER that I’ve experienced on the internet in my entire online life!!!! (And I’ve had an internet presence since 1991!!!) You’ve injected me with serious shots of Inspiration Elixir and I’ve had soooo very many ideas pass through my mind just over the past 7 days that I can’t possibly hope to catalog all of them. I haven’t felt quite this inspired in, well, YEARS. I’ve enjoyed the heck out of sharing and exchanging headcanons, theories, ideas, essays, and even artforms. I’ve had a Tumblr account for more than ELEVEN YEARS and yet this is the first and only time I have consistently blogged and reblogged over the “heart-stopping” a time-span of 7 months **gasp** now (and counting). I’m a member of a couple dozen fandoms at least and this is the ONLY ONE that has consistently captured my interest AND managed to not scare the shit out of me so badly that I have to go and hibernate my account for the next, y’know, 3498349540 months. Until yet another worthy obsession captures my interest..... but Tangled the Series is still burning the brightest and I REALLY need it to right now, tbh. So THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to everybody with whom I’ve interacted on this....I have health issues that cause me to transpose and forget names. But if you wish me to personally tag you, please tag THIS particular post and I shall tag you when I have actually finished this particular scene sequence featured in THIS ficlet. So now!!!!! Without further ado, I shall give you a teaser of the drabble-turned-ficlet-turned-short-story that will eventually feature the actual Birth Day of one Eugene Fitzherbert!!! Click the keep reading link below to see the remaining text. =)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Edmund knew from the beginning that Alexys did not like the name “Horace”. At the time, the king had told her that it was family tradition that the first-born son should receive a strong family name. Despite her pointed protests, he was utterly immovable on the subject.

The more Alexys’s belly grew, the more her dislike for that name swelled too. Shouldn’t she have a say in their child’s name, given that she was putting in all the work of keeping him healthy and strong, so to speak? Shouldn’t her family names count as possibilities too? Unfortunately, Edmund’s childhood largely consisted of his father and grandfather basically hazing him into believing that he had to “take command” of virtually any subject matter, in practically any situation. As a result, he thought of just about everything in militaristic terms. Over the past 4 years, Lexy had slowly and subtly molded her hot-headed young 20-something husband toward different healthier, less uptight ways of handling life and looking at various situations.

They had finally settled on a great couple synergy and got along very well -- except for the times they had an ongoing argument, that is. And this was definitely one of those times.

“I don’t understand why you won’t see reason, Edmund!”

“Because it’s more than just a name, Alexys! It’s a birthright. It connects him directly back to us and these names might very well be the most important gift we could ever give to our children!”

“You don’t think I know that?? Just as sure as I know this child is a boy, I am equally certain that he will not live a traditional royal life. And his name must reflect that!!”

Apparently, entertaining the possibility that any son of Edmund’s wouldn’t want to grow up a devoted soldier completely servile to the Moonstone wasn’t a possibility he was ready to face. Alexys watched as Edmund drew in a long breath, held it, his face turning interesting colors. Slowly his hands balled into fists and rather than saying anything, he exhaled one very pent-up breath and stomped out of the room. She had never before seen him so agitated. Although she also sensed the naming subject wasn’t at the core of his ire that day, she never brought it up again. Alexys hoped that whatever it was eating at him, Edmund would be able to solve it by the time their child came. And that would happen any day now.

Alexys wanted so much to tell Edmund about the beautiful vivid dreams she’d been having about their future child the past few nights. But he’d been increasingly preoccupied, sullen, and distant over the past month. It was most unfortunate and Alexys was as yet at a loss of how to help him. Now....while it’s true every good mother believes their child to be exceptional, Alexys knew that their son was destined to shatter tradition. For the first time in millennia, she knew without doubt that he would be the one to bring light to the Dark Kingdom.

One of her dreams began with a small boy, age 4 or 5, who had floppy brown hair and very expressive round eyes just like Edmund. In the dream, Alexys and the boy were standing on a trail near the edge of a narrow rock crevasse....a location that somehow seemed familiar to Lexy....but she couldn’t quite place it. The little boy smiled up at her cherubically and reached out a chubby little hand toward hers.

“Play?” he questioned sweetly. He was happily bouncing on his feet, very subtly heel to toe, and even when he was in one place he barely stood still.

“Yes, of course!” Alexys replied, grinning in awe at this absolutely beautiful dream-child her mind was currently conjuring. She gathered up her long skirts and petticoats in her left hand and took the little boy’s offered hand in her right. As they walked, she noticed a small mole at the base of the boy’s neck and it matched exactly the one that Edmund had, only in miniature. So her suspicions had been confirmed; this was indeed their son. They approached what Alexys recognized to be a very-scaled-down version of The Great Tree....and the crevasse was apparently a much-scaled-down version of the gorge which held the actual Great Tree. Even though it wasn’t the real Tree, it still possessed a very substantial and robust trunk. It was about 30 feet high and could easily withstand the weight of a couple dozen grown adults, if they ever had the inclination to climb this dream tree from within my own mind, Alexys thought wryly. As they reached the ground level of this miniature Great Tree, the little boy let go of her hand and latched onto the tree base itself. He turned back to her and said, “Play?” again while pointing upward. Bounce, bounce. Instantly, Lexy’s mothering instincts came out. “Uh, little one, I don’t think it’s safe to climb--” but it was clear the little boy wasn’t really listening to her. And even faster than a real toddler could climb, he scrambled up and out of her reach in a flash, giggling with childish abandon. She kept pleading with this child to stop and to come back down instead, that he might get injured, but he clearly had no intention of heeding her. Not only that, she didn’t even know his name. One thing was certain -- he definitely did not answer to ‘Horace’. Poor Alexys hoped this nightmare of a fearless toddler wasn’t an omen of things yet to come. She fleetingly considered just tearing off her petticoats and skirts to climb and then realized it wouldn’t matter anyway; she was nearly nine months pregnant and thus not climbing anything that day. “Look!” She suddenly heard the little boy’s voice again. This time, he was speaking from some 30 feet overhead through the tree boughs. Alexys moved away from the Great Tree’s base to a better vantage point further out from the trunk. Shielding her eyes from the sun, the queen looked up at the tree to see that the little boy was now pointing out toward the opposite direction of the crevasse from where they originally came. In the distance, she could see what looked to be a miniature version of the impassable mountain range between the Dark Kingdom and the Great Tree. Just beyond was Black Crystal Valley and in the center of the valley, an exact copy of The Dark Palace, only much smaller. What happened next was nothing short of absolute surreality on toast. “Look!” said the little boy’s voice again, still giggling as he climbed even higher until it looked like he was physically standing on the canopy leaves of the fake Great Tree. Lexy’s breath caught in her throat as this little boy reached up and plucked a literal piece out of the sun -- yes, he plucked a PIECE out of the actual SUN -- straight out of the actual sky. The light emanating from the Sun and the Shard he had in hand didn’t seem to be affecting the little boy the way it was affecting Alexys. She was shielding her face from its overpowering brightness when suddenly, the little boy wasn’t in the tree canopy anymore. In the blink of an eye, he was standing miraculously in front of her. Alexys blinked incredulously and tried not to yell aloud in shock due to being so startled. She failed at not yelling, but at least the little boy didn’t appear to notice. Next, this little boy held out the Sun Shard toward Lexy. He must’ve done something to help it because now she could look toward its brilliance without being blinded. “You can finally see my friend!” her boy said happily. Bounce, bounce. “We hug her!” he continued, holding the glowing object against his heart, rocking back and forth a few times. “And we kiss her,” and he gave the Shard his sweet toddler kisses. “And we be very soft,” he toddler-whispered, demonstrating deft touch through voice as well as action.“Now you!” he insisted, his pudgy hand offering the Sun Shard to her. Bouncy, bouncy, bounce. “I -- I don’t know. Won’t it burn me?” This dream had already gone so warped, she didn’t feel too weird for asking. Lexy was somewhat concerned with accepting the offerings of a toddler but he didn’t appear to be covered in slobber or any other mystery substances, thank goodness. Neither did the Shard. “Burn you?” the child echoed. He suddenly burst into giggles and said, “Silly Mama.” Lexy’s breath caught in her throat. Mama. He actually said it! How her mother’s heart fluttered. This….this interaction required something extra special. She oh-so-carefully got down on her knees (no small feat in her condition) so she could be level with her son. “Yes, your mama can be very silly sometimes,” Lexy acknowledged. Then she pointed toward the Shard in his hands and said, “Will you show me how?” Instantly, he came to her and passed the precious glowing object to Alexys. “Hold her here,” instructed her little boy, pointing toward his heart. Lexy was surprised to discover that the Shard wasn’t a shard at all -- and while it was very warm to the touch, it wasn’t burning hot. Pliable with only mild bit of give to it….rather like warmed sealing wax without the tackiness. Upon tucking the glowing object next to her bosom, Lexy looked upward at her boy and said, “and now I…” “Cradle,” followed by his rapid rocking back and forth motions. Bouncy-bounce bounce. “Of course,” smiled Alexys, who had arranged both her arms to cradle this golden drop of sunlight. “Is that what you are now? Not a Shard -- but a Drop of Sunlight?” She was now talking to this object but again didn’t feel one bit silly for doing so. It seemed….alive, somehow. Slowly, carefully, she rocked back and forth while on her knees. “Sing, mama!” prompted her little boy, who was excitedly bouncing on his toes and clapping his chubby hands. A time-honored German lullaby sprang to mind and as she sang the words, the longer she sang, something rather remarkable happened. As Alexys looked down in her arms, she could’ve sworn she saw a ghost of an image, not more than a sparkling golden shadow really, of a completely different child in her arms. Only this child was much tinier and younger than the boy. This was an infant, a baby girl, one with remarkably long flowing golden hair. She appeared to have even more hair than her toddler son. By orders of magnitude more. Disembodied babygirl giggling and babbles filled the air around them. “You see her now!!!” Her little boy was more excited than ever! He clearly knows! Lexy could hear the rhythm of his feet in front of her. Bounce-bounce-bouncy bounce-bouncy-bounce. Alexys was afraid to look away, lest the wispy golden dust in her arms blow away before she could get her fill. “Who is she?” questioned Alexys in awe. “She is our friend. She is….Sun...shine. Yes. Sunshine,” the boy confirmed, tilting his head to one side as he spoke, as if he were listening for something only he could hear. ......to be continued!!!!......

#Eugene appreciation week #Eugene Fitzherbert appreciation week #fanfiction #fic #ficlet #WIP #eugene fitzherbert #dark queen #king edmund #ladyfawkes eugene fanfiction #ladyfawkes fanfiction

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spartanguard · 5 years

Text

you ain't gonna be lonesome anymore

Summary: Emma discovers that there's more to the guy who lives alone in the woods than the town would lead her to believe—and may have just found a kindred spirit. (Modern AU inspired by "Joshua" by Dolly Parton)

A/N: In the spirit of Dolly Parton's Heartstrings, this piece was inspired by her song "Joshua", which I heard and immediately knew needed to be an AU. I had intended to wait until closer to the release of the series but...I couldn’t. Hope you like it!

rated G | 5.6k | AO3

On her way into town, through the narrow forest road that just barely held two lanes of traffic, Emma Swan saw it—a tiny little cabin hiding among the trees. It probably wouldn’t have caught her attention were it not for the light coming through the windows, practically a beacon in the dimming dusk, and the bit of smoke coming from the chimney.

And she probably wouldn’t have given it another thought were it not for the people of Storybrooke being the way they were. She just assumed it was normal for hermits to live in cabins in the Maine woods, but once she realized this town was full of busybodys who knew everyone and made everyone’s business their own, she saw the oddity of it.

Not like she was much of anything normal herself; this was just another stop on the road to wherever. Neal may have left her with a broken heart and jail time on her record, but she also couldn’t forget his words: “Home is the place, when you leave...you just miss it.” So far, she hadn’t missed anywhere; not Arizona, not Tallahassee, not Minnesota, New York, Boston—anywhere.

And she was pretty sure she’d be able to add Storybrooke to that list. It was almost too quaint to be true, and the people, while hospitable, were one step away from cloying. But winter was approaching, and this seemed as good a place to hibernate as any other before moving onto the next.

So she got a job at the diner and began putting names to faces of just about everyone in town. The grumpy miner, Leroy, liked his bacon; the cute sheriff, Graham, stereotypically enjoyed doughnuts. And so on. She got the gossip about the romance between the teacher and the recently divorced manager of the animal shelter, and the equally scandalous teenage pregnancy that prompted the young lovebirds to elope.

It was on a quick trip out of town—because Storybrooke had a terrible liquor selection and she’d be damned if she spent her birthday drinking the swill at the Rabbit Hole—that she saw the cabin again, looking just as cozy yet standoffish as it had a month ago, and it got her wondering. Now that she knew everyone, just who lived there?

“Hey Granny,” she asked a couple days later (once she was over her hangover). “You know that cottage in the woods, out by the highway?”

“What about it?” the diner’s owner barked impatiently, even though they were in the middle of the afternoon lull.

“Who lives there?” She could see Graham tucking away out there, or maybe it was Belle, the sweet but reserved librarian.

“No one worth knowing,” Granny grumbled. “And you won’t see ‘em around here, anyways. Good riddance.”

Emma frowned; that was antithesis to just about everything she’d learned about this town. Everyone was so keen to make sure she knew everyone else—so what was going on there?

“You talking about the Jones place, out on the ridge?” Leroy asked, the only other person in the diner.

“I guess so.”

“Yeah, don’t bother. He’s a dick.”

“What did he do?” she asked, making a move to refill Leroy’s coffee mug.

“He just...is. Anytime anyone has gotten close to his property, they’ve been run off. The one time I saw him, he was glaring at anyone who dared to get too close. There's all sorts of weird sounds and smells coming from his property. He’s just a nasty piece of work. Don’t you worry about him, sister—just keep your distance and you’ll be fine.”

Well, Emma had a terrible problem with doing what people told her. Now she was curious.

She tested the waters. She started to ask people when it was slow if they knew anything about the cabin in the woods, and got all kinds of responses.

“Stay away from him, dear; his heart’s as black as his hair.”

“My cousin got lost hiking and ended up near the property; guns started ringing out and he ran the other way as fast as he could.”

“I ran into him down at the docks one night. No clue what he was doing there but it didn’t look like anything good.”

“I heard he’s a werewolf, and that's why he lives all alone!” (That one was from one of the kids in town.)

“No, silly; he’s a pirate, with a hook for a hand! He’s got his treasure out there so that’s why he protects it!” (And that was said kid’s friend.)

“He’s evil, plain and simple,” she was assured by the pawnbroker—but given that man’s smarm and apparent Napoleon complex, she didn’t take his word as gold.

Emma had seen a lot more of the world than the residents of Storybrooke, and a lot more people; while she hadn’t had the best interactions with all of them, she knew that no one was as terrible as they all made this Jones guy out to be.

She also knew a thing or two about keeping your distance from people and the reasons one might have to do that—especially the people here; there were some days she figured he had the right idea, particularly after she’d heard some nasty things about the teacher said by the prudish old ladies. God forbid they ever learn Emma’s romantic history; it might kill them in their vinyl-covered seats.

And Emma had always been a bit of a rebel; that streak had gotten her kicked out of more than a few homes growing up and into several scrapes, but even at 28, she had no desire to tamp it down.

So on one of the last crisp days of fall, early in November, she decided she’d see what the fuss was about.

She packed up a few pastries purchased with her employee “discount” (otherwise known as “take them out of my paycheck, Granny”), a thermos of hot cocoa, wrapped herself up in her leather jacket and a scarf, and then headed off on what she told people was a “fall colors hike”. Which wasn’t entirely a lie, even if more leaves were on the ground than the trees at this point.

“Don’t go poking around that Jones place, you hear?” Granny called as she was leaving. “I’m not gonna drag your carcass home.”

Emma just rolled her eyes. She’d be fine.

Wouldn’t she?

She couldn’t lie—some of the stories started sending shivers down her spine the closer she got to the property. She’d never really been an outdoors-y girl, at least not by choice; there may have been a few nights spent on park benches, but only in the summer. And she generally preferred to stick to marked trails, but this forest didn’t have any—at least, not that went where she was headed. So it took all her concentration to make sure she didn’t slip on a slick patch or some protruding tree root.

Or maybe it was the trees themselves; they were tall and a tiny bit foreboding, as if they were telling her she wasn’t supposed to be there. (Maybe she wasn’t quite as rebellious as she thought.) Somewhere, in the recesses of her mind, the voice of Legolas was telling her how old the forest was. But then she laughed aloud when she remembered a meme that changed it to “old as balls”.

Her laughter was quickly cut off by a growl, though. Up ahead was a large, shaggy black dog—and he was standing his ground. Emma saw the clearing—and the cabin—beyond, and realized she’d arrived. Crap, had that kid been right about the werewolf thing? This dog was huge.

She remembered something about not looking a crazy dog in the eyes and was trying to avoid contact, but then a voice called out that drew both of their attentions.

“Who are you?”

Standing in the entryway of the cabin was who she assumed was the owner and—damn. She was not expecting a guy who looked like that to be living out here. The old lady in the diner had been right about black hair, but where she’d been expecting long and messy, it was short and slightly tousled. He had a bit of scruff and even from far away, she could see the way his piercing blue eyes and furrowed brows were studying her. And a strong nose, sharp jaw, and high cheekbones left him with a face much prettier than anything she expected.

He was dressed for rugged living, in a dark plaid button up and worn jeans, but the way they hugged his biceps and legs couldn’t possibly be practical. She wasn’t complaining, though—whatever he was doing out here was clearly good for him. He was probably the most attractive person she’d ever seen in person.

“Lass?” he called out again, and took a step out from the house. He had an accent that definitely wasn’t from Maine—probably from the other side of the Atlantic—and his voice was more than on edge. “What are you doing here?”

He didn’t sound mean, though—just wary. She couldn’t blame him; she probably would be, too, if some strange person was standing in her front yard and staring.

Oh, right—she was the strange person.

“Hi! Sorry, I, uh, I’m Emma. Emma Swan.”

The dog was still growling; she hadn’t noticed in her ogling. “Easy, Smee,” he said, and the pup finally relaxed, then trotted back to the man. He gave the good boy a scratch behind the ears before ushering the mutt inside and turning his attention back to Emma. “Can I help you with something?”

She could think of a few lusty somethings but it was then she realized that she had no real plan for actually finding anyone out here, despite the fact that she knew the place was occupied. “Oh, no, not really; I, uh, just—”

“Just thought you’d come out and see if the one-handed old coot was real?”

Busted. Her eyes darted away, focusing on an old barrel standing in the yard—though not missing the prosthetic hook at the end of his left arm—and she was pretty sure she was blushing in shame. God, why did she think this was a good idea? He probably had enough gawkers and clearly didn’t like people and—and he was laughing. What?

She looked back up and he was chuckling at her, giving her a bit of a wry grin.

“What’s so funny?” she asked, starting to get worried that he really was crazy.

“You’re the first person who’s had the guts to do that in broad daylight,” he replied, still amused. “Do you want to come in?”

She could feel her eyebrows disappear into her beanie—that was not what she expected at all. There was still part of her waiting for him to produce a shotgun and run her off the property, or wondering if she was about to be chained to a radiator Black Snake Moan-style.

That said, this was also the most entertaining thing that had happened since she arrived here, and she’d certainly made it through shadier situations. That and there were zero creeper vibes from this guy—something she was all too good at noticing. “Sure,” she answered casually.

He smiled—a brilliant thing, really, brighter than the autumn sun shining through the mostly bare branches—and beckoned her to follow him into the house. Leaves and twigs crunched under her boots as she followed.

He paused at the door, though, and turned back to her. “Oh, you can call me Killian, by the way. Killian Jones.”

“Nice to meet you, Killian Jones.”

“The pleasure’s all mine, Emma Swan.”

He led the way in and she was right behind him, stopping only to swipe her shoes on the doormat; she may be awkward, but she didn’t want to be rude and track mud in—especially once she got a look around.

It wasn’t a large cabin, she knew that, but it was surprisingly spacious inside and clean—much cleaner than the rural setting would suggest. The wood floors were immaculately waxed and there wasn’t even the haze of dust motes swirling in the light from the windows; she couldn’t say half as much about her cramped apartment.

There was a tidy living space with a couch, a recliner, and an inviting fireplace with a large TV mounted above it; a small kitchen area to one side; and a couple doors on the other that she assumed headed to bedrooms. Smee was draped over one end of the sofa, his furry head resting on the arm as he watched her—still judging, but not aggressive, at least. Then the sound of wood scraping against wood drew her eyes back to the kitchen, where Killian was sliding another chair up to the small table. “Take a seat,” he said with a nod.

“Thanks,” she answered, and complied; the furniture was well-loved but also in good shape.

“Rum?” he asked, but he was already pulling glasses from a cupboard.

“Only if it’s good.” If anything, she’d be glad to leave Storybrooke for somewhere with better booze.

“Trust me, it’s the best.” He set the glasses on the table and then went back to grab an old-looking bottle off the counter; vintage was putting it lightly: it was scuffed and scratched and had no label, only a cork in the top to protect the amber liquid.

She had to bite her tongue when he deftly pulled out the cork with his teeth, because the extra attention on his mouth just highlighted how supple—and likely kissable—his lips were. He poured a generous amount for both of them before setting the bottle down and taking the seat next to her.

He lifted his glass, but then paused. “I feel like I should toast to something, but I’ve no clue what.”

It did feel odd to be making a toast with an almost-total stranger, but Emma agreed; that and it felt rude to not make one, and she’d already been that enough today. “To good rum?” she offered.

“Works for me. Cheers.”

“Cheers.” She took a sip and— “Damn,” she sighed as it slid down her throat. “You weren’t lying.” It was the perfect blend of sweet and spicy, with a light amount of burn that warmed up the bit of her that had been starting to numb in the chill autumn air.

“I make a habit not to.”

“Good to know.”

They took a few more sips in companionable silence, until he set his glass down and stared into it. “So, um,” he started, then scratched nervously behind his ear. “What, uh, what are they saying about me in town?”

“Nothing true.”

He arched an eyebrow at her in disbelief. “You hardly know me, lass.”

“No, but I can tell that your heart isn’t as black as your hair.”

“Someone said that?”

“Yup.”

“Well, it’s poetic; I’ll give it that,” he chuckled. “Anything else?”

“Mostly that you’re rude and combative, although the kids tell some tall tales.”

“Such as?”

“Werewolf, vampire, pirate—take your pick.”

He laughed again (a sound she was finding she enjoyed quite a bit). “I suppose pirate is the most apt of that list.”

“You do have good taste in rum.” Damn good; this reminded her of the stuff she bought on her birthday. “But I thought pirates lived on the high seas?”

“I do have a ship.”

“Okay then.” That explained why people saw him at the docks. “But then why would you live up here?”

He shrugged. “I imagine you’ve seen what that town is like.” She nodded; that she had. “I wasn’t in much mood for company when I arrived here, so they took that as a slight on their perceived hospitality. They wrote me off from there, and if that was how they were going to treat a newcomer, then I wanted no part of it.” He took another long drag of his rum. “And given that I wasn’t much in the mood for company, this place seemed perfect. So I bought the property, fixed it up, and...here I am. Well, me and Smee.”

She understood that; it was easier to keep people at arms’ length than to let them in and risk them hurting you. Casual, passing relationships were fine; intimacy was off the table, even platonic.

The thing she couldn’t figure out, though, was what was happening in the present.

“And what about now?”

“Pardon?”

“Are you in the mood for company...now?”

He was still studying his drink, but glanced up at her through his long lashes, and the corner of his mouth ticked up. “I suppose I am.” He paused a bit, then added, “Are you?”

“Not usually,” she answered quickly. “But it doesn’t seem so bad at the moment.”

The fine lines at the corners of his eyes crinkled as he gave her a sideways smile that, to her astonishment, made her heart skip a beat; she couldn’t remember the last time that happened. And—was it just her, or the rum, or were his cheeks pink? Was he blushing?

How did she stumble upon what might be one of the most adorable people on the face of the earth in the middle of the woods?

“So,” he continued casually, as if he hadn’t just possibly taken up residence in a part of Emma’s heart that she wasn’t sure worked anymore, “just how did you end up in Storybrooke?”

“I drove here,” she said nonchalantly.

“Ha. But really.”

She initially blamed it on the rum when she poured out her whole sob story to him, but in hindsight, the reality was that he was the first person she didn’t think would judge her too hard on it—which was confirmed when he relayed his own, which wasn’t terribly different: unstable homes, absent family members, and then broken hearts. When he found out about her nomadic lifestyle, he asked about the places she’d been; she followed suit when he told her he’d been in the Navy, which was where he lost his hand.

“Okay, but really,” she demanded, voice a bit louder than normal thanks to the influence of the rum. “Even if you’re not in the Navy anymore, you could go anywhere; why the hell are you here?”

He shrugged and licked his (delectable) lips. “Everyone has to make port somewhere at some point.”

She gave him a disbelieving look. “Yeah, but...Storybrooke? What even is there to do here? Why not go to a place like New York or Boston?”

Staring into his now-empty glass, he chewed on his bottom lip for a moment, then cast her a sideways glance. “Let’s just say...some ventures in life demand a fair bit of privacy, which is also something I quite value.” He was silent for another moment, but then continued, “If I show you something, do you think you can keep it secret?”

She held up her right hand in a Vulcan salute. “Scout’s honor.”

Killian’s jaw hung open at whatever the hell she was doing (frankly, she didn’t know herself, either), before chuckling, shaking his head, and coming to his feet. “Follow me.”

They headed back outside, Smee trotting behind them, over to the far edge of the property, opposite the way Emma had come from. Hidden between some trees was a small shack that was just as clean and pristine on the outside as the cottage was on the inside. As they got closer, she picked up on a smell that wasn’t the forest, but did seem familiar—and, she hated to say it, Leroy was right: there was a weird noise coming from it.

“What is this?” she had to ask.

“You’ll see,” he answered casually, pulling a key from his shirt pocket to unlock the door.

Inside wasn’t very big, and it was crowded with equipment on one end and bottle-covered tables on the other. The spicy scent overpowered her and almost stung a bit; it reminded her of her brief career as a bartender in a strip club and the smell of stale alcohol that wasn’t properly mopped after a spill. Wait—was this? “Rum?” she said, almost in disbelief, turning to look back at him.

“Aye.”

She assessed the operation once more; it looked more like the inside of the chemistry lab she was supposed to go to in high school than a moonshine operation. It was impressive, honestly. “So I guess you really are a pirate, huh?” she teased.

He gave a mock bow. “Captain Hook, at your service.”

She giggled, but then it was like a lightning bolt or whatever went off in her head. “Wait—Hook’s Rum?”

“Ah, so you’ve heard of it.”

She snorted. “I got drunk on it on my birthday. Best rum I’ve ever had.”

“It’s always nice to make an impression,” he said with a smirk. God, he was a dork.

“How many times have people tried to break in?” she wondered as he slipped past her inside and grabbed an empty bottle.

“Are you trying to rob me?” he countered as he fiddled with something on the still, flipping a lever with his hook and letting amber liquid pour into the bottle.

“Nope.”

“Then none.”

She leaned against the doorframe as she watched him work. “So, using your legend of infamy to keep your illicit business practices under wraps. I like it.”

“I have a license,” he tossed back as he shut off the flow once the bottle was full, then turned to another surface where an odd machine laid. “How else would you have bought it in the store?”

“Fair.” He twisted the handle on the contraption, which turned the bottle. “But is that how you’ve managed to keep this secret out here?”

“Indeed.” Carefully, he wiped the bottle down, then turned and handed it to her; now it bore the semi-familiar label that had caught her eye in the liquor store on it. “I can autograph that, if you want.”

“But then I can’t drink it.”

“Guess I better give you two, then.”

He did—somehow raising his dorkdom to adorable (adorkable?) levels—and directed them back to the house. The sun was definitely lower than it had been when she left and her stomach was starting to grumble; hopefully, those pastries weren’t crushed. But hunger wasn’t the first thing on her mind, oddly enough. “So,” she started, “if you keep that hidden, why did you trust me with it?”

He didn’t answer until they were back in the house. “You’ve been honest,” he answered simply. “And you have that look about you.”

“What look?”

“The look you get when you’ve been left alone.”

“Pretty sure we established that.”

“Yeah. But it means...I knew you’d understand.”

She swallowed and suddenly felt like his intense blue gaze on her saw every thought she’d ever had. “Yeah, I do,” she said softly.

And then her stomach rudely growled, interrupting what had been a soft but heavy moment.

Killian’s low chuckle eased her mortification, but only slightly. “I was about to make some grilled cheese, if you’d like; unless you need to get back to town.”

That look he’d just been talking about creeped into his eyes, and she saw it for the out it was. But what kind of monster turns that down? “Grilled cheese is my favorite.”

“Excellent. Pick out a movie and I’ll get that going.”

His collection was extensive, but she found herself more drawn to his book selection. Most people were surprised to know she was an avid reader, given her life, but she’d learned long ago that libraries were an excellent place to get out of inclement weather, and when you were strapped for cash, it was cheap entertainment.

Something he must have figured out, too, given the stack with Storybrooke Public Library stamped on the edges. “Really? You go to the library?”

“Is that really so surprising?” he called back from the kitchen, where she could hear the familiar sizzle of buttered bread on a griddle.

“Seems odd that the town hermit would go to the second-most welcoming place in the city center.”

“Only second-most?”

“After Granny’s.”

“Ahh,” was all he said, but then she heard the sound of dishes.

A minute later, he was back in the living room with a delicious, gooey sandwich on a plate just for her. “Well, there’s little that can keep me away from a good book, and Belle is the only other person in town that I like.”

“Other than…?”

“You, obviously.”

“I moved up your list that fast?”

“You’re second of three; let’s not get too cocky, love.”

“Yeah? Who’s third?”

“Belle. Smee is first.”

“Oh, I see,” she threw back, amused. It was kind of insane how easily they fell into banter after only...wow, had it really been 4 hours since she showed up here?

He invited her to take a seat on the end of the couch opposite Smee while he settled into the recliner and they started to talk about books. Then movies, then TV a bit, but it moved onto their respective educations (Emma: GED; Killian: the equivalent of a master’s or something crazy that he got from the naval academy and was decidedly not using).

He got another bottle of rum out once they finished eating and continued to drink and talk through the night, about...oh, everything. Emma knew she had been talking a long time because she was trying to use the rum to rehydrate (which probably wasn’t working all that well) but it was hard to remember what all they had discussed when it was literally everything. And when she was honestly enjoying herself more than any time in recent memory. Even Smee had finally warmed up to her, resting his head in her lap as she scratched behind his floppy ears.

Had she ever fallen into conversation this easily? Probably not. But then again, no one else was like Killian.

She’d been vaguely aware of the changing color of the sky outside his windows as the night wore on—orange to blue to black—but when lavender crept in, she finally took a glance at her phone and was shocked to see the time.

“Oh shit—I have to get to work,” she cursed.

“At this hour?”

“Breakfast rush,” she explained, showing the clock on her phone.

Killian’s eyes grew wide. “I didn’t realize...I’m so sorry to have kept you, Swan.”

“Quit being such a gentleman; I didn’t notice, either. The only thing is…” At this, she giggled for some reason. “I haven’t slept a wink and I’m slightly tipsy. This will be real interesting.”

He made a beeline for the kitchen and put a pot of coffee on while she gathered her things and shoved one of the day-old pastries in her mouth; she had enough time to walk back into town but she’d have to head straight to the diner. Assuming she didn’t stumble and hit a tree on the way. No—she was NOT giving Granny the satisfaction of knowing her warning had come true and actually forcing the old lady to drag her body from the woods. (She’d rather Killian do that, anyways.) (Or, you know, do her, but she got the impression he wasn’t the one-night kind of guy—or maybe she just didn’t want him to be that with her.)

She’d just zipped her coat when a thermos was being shoved in her hands; by smell alone, she could tell this was better than the cheap stuff Granny served. “Hope that helps,” he said softly.

“It already is,” she answered, then took a sip, not caring if she burnt her tongue. “Damn—is everything you brew amazing?”

“I try,” he shrugged arrogantly, but then the cocky facade washed away in an instant, replaced with something bordering on sheepish. “You know, if you wanted to come back later, or any other time, my schedule’s pretty clear.”

“Well, hopefully you’re going to get some sleep.”

“Well, yes, that. But, um,” he stammered, nervously scratching a spot behind his ear. “Don’t be a stranger, is what I’m trying to say. I’m...you’ll always be welcome here, if you want.” He was definitely blushing, the color visible even in the faint pre-dawn light.

“I might take you up on that,” she answered, trying to be casual but ending up much closer to sincere—because she had a feeling she would. She was already kind of dreading leaving, even if it was just because she didn’t like the idea of working on no sleep and with a questionable BAC.

“I hope you do.” The weight of the sincerity of that statement settled over both of them for an intense moment that in itself was enough to bring her back to sobriety, if the coffee wasn’t doing it, too. But then he was overtaken by a jaw-cracking yawn that effectively killed it.

“Go to bed,” she commanded, with a light shove on his shoulder.

“Yeah, yeah, I will. Be safe.”

“I’ll do my best. See you later,” she farewelled, hoping he could tell she meant it.

“Until then, Swan.”

She let herself out the door and headed back the way she came, at first afraid to cast a glance behind her because she thought if she did, she might not want to leave ever. But she finally did when she was back on the edge of the clearing, and saw him watching her through the window on the door. She smiled and waved, which he returned, but she didn’t miss the bit of loneliness in his gaze as he watched her walk away.

It took considerable effort, but she managed to put one foot in front of the other and continue on her way. The sun wasn’t visible yet, so she still had time, but she needed to hustle if she’d make her shift.

Between the coffee and the gorgeous sunrise, it was definitely a pleasant hike, and was definitely helping her in the staying-awake department. Still though, there was a feeling she couldn’t shake—something completely foreign, yet vaguely familiar, and she couldn’t lie—it kind of stung. What the heck was that?

She took another sip of the coffee as she tried to figure it out, letting it warm her as it slid down her throat. She’d almost forgotten what good coffee tasted like, let alone when it had been made fresh and just for her. It was going to suck going back to Granny’s mass-produced bean water; she’d miss this stuff.

Wait—miss it?

Was that what she was feeling?

Not just for the coffee, obviously (though that was certainly part of it). Did she already miss Killian?

“Home is the place, when you leave...you just miss it.”

No. That was insane. She’d only been there for, like, 12 hours. You can’t find home that fast, can you? (Not like she’d really know.)

But she couldn’t deny that it felt like part of her had stayed behind in that cottage. Or that she was already counting down the hours until her work shift ended and she could come back. Or that the ache got just a little bit worse with each step that took her away.

Damn. That had to be it.

Who knew she’d finally find what she’d been looking for in the middle of nowhere?

The sun finally broke the horizon as she reached Granny’s front steps and downed the last drop of coffee. She still had a couple minutes, so she quickly stashed the thermos in her backpack and used the selfie camera on her phone to make sure she didn’t look too haggard, lest Granny get some uncouth ideas.

(Actually, Granny was probably dirtier than Emma was, in that regard; and she had the oddest sense that the old lady might be able to smell the forest on her, or at least the rum.)

With one last deep breath, if only to make sure she didn’t reek too bad, Emma smoothed her hair and headed inside, for what was sure to be an arduous shift.

But, unlike most days, she actually had something to look forward to at the end of it.

Hours later, she pulled her little old Bug up the semi-hidden driveway on the other side of Killian’s property, bearing sandwiches and onion rings. Killian came out to greet her, but she didn’t let him get a word in before she’d pressed up on her toes and stole his smile with a kiss. (That he quickly reciprocated. Until Smee interrupted with a friendly bark, looking for his own hello.)

A few weeks later, her belongings, stuffed into a few age-worn duffel bags, accompanied her on her now-daily trip to the cabin in the woods; she was spending all her time there anyways, as Killian had pointed out—may as well just make the move permanent.

It took a bit longer for either of them to admit it out loud, but they both blurted it one night while cuddled close, watching The Princess Bride with Smee at their feet: she loved him, and he loved her. There was no denying it. And then they couldn’t stop saying it.

Eventually, they grew tired of Storybrooke and its whispers. Eventually, Killian’s not-so-discreet rum business got more notice. So they went onto the next place without much fuss.

She felt a bit sad when they first left the cabin, mainly because it was where they fell in love. But her home wasn’t those four walls. No, it was with Killian—and Smee, and whatever other animals or tiny humans eventually joined them—wherever that might be.

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thanks for reading! tagging some friends: @kat2609 @thesschesthair @optomisticgirl @xpumpkindumplingx @shipsxahoy @amortentia-on-the-rocks @mryddinwilt @cocohook38 @annytecture @wingedlioness @word-bug @distant-rose @wellhellotragic @welllpthisishappening @let-it-raines @pirateherokillian @bleebug @its-imperator-furiosa @fergus80 @killianmesmalls @sherlockianwhovian @effulgentcolors @laschatzi @ive-always-been-a-pirate @nfbagelperson @stubble-sandwich @lenfaz @phiralovesloki @athenascarlet @kmomof4 @ilovemesomekillianjones @whimsicallyenchantedrose @snowbellewells @idristardis

#cs ff #cs modern au #dolly parton au #my ff

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makeste · 5 years

Text

BnHA Chapter 248: Internships II: THE MENTORING

Previously on BnHA: Endeavor asked Deku and Kacchan to give him the rundown on their character arcs, and Izuku said that he was trying to master his new definitely-not-a-second-quirk quirk, while Katsuki explained that he was trying to find “what he lacks” because he is going for 100% completion in his redemption arc and will accept nothing less! Gotta finish all those sidequests! Anyway so Endeavor was surprisingly into the whole mentoring thing for both of them, but then his own son was all “dad I’ve got something to say too” and Endeavor was like “oh shit” and Shouto was like “I still don’t like you as a person or a father and I only came here to learn flashfire from you!” and fandom was like “HOLY SHIT RIP THAT MAN HAD A FAMILY” and Shouto was like “YEAH I KNOW THAT’S THE WHOLE PROBLEM.” Anyways then they went on a walk, and Endeavor told the boys to try and take down a villain faster than him before the end of the winter break.

Today on BnHA: Endeavor and the Rowdyruff Boys take to the streets and fight some crime. Endeavor spends a lot of time giving the youths advice about how not to be so fucking slow, and even though he’s a bit of an ass about it, he makes some strong points about how a split second can mean the difference between life and death in a hero’s line of work. Anyway so he tells Shouto and Kacchan to work on storing up their power and releasing it all at once, and he tells Deku to work on making his Air Force as automatic as his Full Cowl is. They all sit around and munch on some bread, Deku does a bit of monologuing, and then we cut to ONE WEEK LATER and FUYUMI WANTS TO INVITE ALL THREE OF THE BOYS TO A FAMILY DINNER!? Motherfucker why does the last fucking panel have more exciting content than the rest of the chapter combined. Well anyways, at least we’ve got that to look forward to.

(All comments are my unspoiled reactions from my initial readthrough of the chapter. I did a quick edit for grammar and clarity afterward, and added a few ETAs in the process, but aside from that there are no changes.)

YESSSS IT’S MY GIRLS

is this a new dragon form for Ryuukyuu? it seems like something in between her big ol’ Smaug form and her human form? or maybe this is just forced perspective making her seem smaller than she actually is here. anyways she kicks ass as always and still want to see her breathe some fire

I just realized everyone on this team can fly? except maybe Hadou? but I seem to recall her hovering over some bad guys when using her powers a while back though. I really don’t remember much about her quirk; I’m glad the anime will be getting up to that soon, because actually seeing it in motion will probably help it to stick more in my memory

(ETA: she can release her shockwaves from her feet to levitate! everyone on this team can fly confirmed! well Tsuyu can’t, but her quirk is basically an offshoot Spider-Man brand so it’s close enough.)

moving on! looks like we’re getting some DEKU INNER MONOLOGUE

okay, several things that I like about this before we continue:

look how fucking comic-booky this is. the main character parkouring through the city streets, thinking Deep Thoughts in square boxes? pretty sure this is the first page of every single comic book ever made and I LOVE IT

that metaphor about learning to walk when everyone else was already focused on where they were going to run. god I love me a good metaphor. though Deku, you were technically 15 when All Might actually gave you the quirk. that’s not on you though, that’s on Horikoshi who I’m sure has already realized the error by this point and is probably kicking himself and will write a 10,000 word apology in the volume omake

the fact that SIXQUIRKS!! IS FINALLY BEING ACKNOWLEDGED AS A THING AGAIN OMG. I’ve only waited like 5 million years for more of this, so pardon me if I lose my fucking shit depending on where this is all headed. omg. this stupid manga

anyway!

they seem to have stumbled upon a game of Mario Kart in progress. at least I’m pretty sure this is a Mario Kart character. actually it might be Knuckles from Sonic the Hedgehog

so now Endeavor is MERCILESSLY CUTTING OFF HIS PATH WITH A WALL OF FLAME forcing him to abandon his bike if he doesn’t want to die a fiery death!

Endeavor truly does not give a fuck! not that All Might was any better, punching huge dents in the hoods of cars and shit. the moral of this story is, don’t be a villain. just don’t. because the number one heroes will fuck you uuuuuuup

now Endeavor is yawning and looking over his shoulder at Kacchan and Deku all, “oh you guys were there too?” but not really but basically though

(ETA: oh my god I just noticed the “hit-and-runner” part. have the people in this town never heard of brakes? do they know that red means stop?? also does Endeavor really spend the majority of his day just flying around dealing with traffic violations. I guess technically it’s still New Year’s, so it’s probably a slow day and also everyone is probably drunk.)

god you kids are so slow. it’s because you’re on that social media all the time! and watching all that MTV. kids these days don’t play outside in the fresh air anymore! back in my day!! anyways tough luck you young whippersnappers

Kacchan is grumping that he’s at a disadvantage because of the temperature. I forgot all about that

hey Kacchan I think your best friend has something he wants to tell you there

loool

OF COURSE HE REALIZED but uh, go ahead and spill it anyway if you want. but he definitely did realize. whatever it is that you’re about to tell him

so Shouto says that Endeavor is propelling himself by shooting flames from his feet, and that it’s probably a compressed version of the “jet burn” technique he used in Kyushu. you know, the one he used to fly, and Hawks was all “Endeavor you can fly!?” and Endeavor was all “this isn’t flying, this is falling with style” and we all rolled our eyes

anyway guys. if this is the beginning of Shouto finally learning to fly as well, I will get up and do some kind of happy dance, I don’t even know. do you even know how long I’ve wanted this. PLEASE

lol so Kacchan is all “okay I actually did know that, are you telling me you only just figured that out now” aaaaand yeah. I wasn’t gonna say it, but. Shouto how many times did you sit there and watch Endeavor blast off before you finally said “oh my GOD he’s BLASTING OFF!” sob. IT’S ALL THAT MTV AND AVOCADO TOAST! that noise isn’t even real music! get off your phone and have an actual conversation!

Shouto is so handsome and so good at accepting criticism. what an all-star. please start flying around soon my little Canadian flag

so now Endeavor is blasting off again and sassily hinting at which direction he’s flying off to next. “there’s a major street in that direction”

so now they’re taking off after him

that’s an interesting way of saying that he’s setting the whole town on fire. how do the people in Endeavor’s territory all manage with their daily commute? “almost there boss be there in five... oh hold up... Main Street’s blocked off by a raging inferno, I’ll call you back”

Endeavor says that heroes must be able to do “anything and everything” on their own, which is a curious thing to say in this manga which has time and time again made a point of demonstrating how teamwork gets the job done! I’m not sure I agree with this, Endeavor!

though I guess he just means they need to be able to handle it all if necessary. but I mean, sometimes that’s just not possible. using his own example of Kyushu, there’s no way he would have been able to handle the Hijinks Noumu while protecting all the citizens and fighting off all the other cannon fodder noumus all at the same time. I’m not even sure All Might would have been able to do that. maybe this is an example of how Endeavor still doesn’t have all of this hero stuff figured out yet

lol oh my god

Endeavor that was like four chapters ago, why are you only now bringing this up. act your age

OH SNAP GUYS HE’S MENTORING BAKUGOU. AND BY MENTORING I MEAN PICKING A FIGHT OH MY GOD

DON’T MIND ME I’M JUST WATCHING THIS OLD GRUMP TEACH THIS NEW YOUNG UPSTART JUST LIKE TOMMY LEE JONES IN MEN IN BLACK OMGGGG

so Kacchan is again saying that he needs more time in the winter, but like. Kacchan that’s not like you to make excuses. are you just going to hibernate for three months out of every year and only save people when it’s warm out?? or what

and Endeavor’s saying the same thing

oh shit y’all he’s getting real with them now

oh shit

by the way how fucking dangerous is this town, jesus. supposing that Endeavor wasn’t out here on patrol, what would be the daily casualty rate? first we had that glass guy rampaging downtown earlier, then that motorcyle guy who probably hit a dozen people, and now Tommy and Gina here nearly get run over by a speeding truck. what is this, Gotham City

anyway now Endeavor is saying TodoBaku rights so I’ll shut up

BECAUSE SOMEBODY UP THERE LIKES ME KACCHAN THAT’S WHY! now hush!!

Shouto’s asking if this is related to him learning flashfire, because lest we forget, he’s here for ONE REASON and ONE REASON ONLY lol

so Endeavor says the two of them have to learn how to store up their energy and release it, and how to “condense” their power

you guys I am super hyped about this. not only because BEST FRIENDS PART TWO: THE FRIENDENING!!, but also because this will be the first time Kacchan has gotten a physical power-up in like, ever. (well, AP Shot I guess, but shh.) if he and Shouto are not both flying by the end of this arc then what even is the point!

anyway so Endeavor’s telling them all this technical shit about what to do, blah blah blah, but the short version is they need to be able to go from zero to sixty instantaneously, and release all the stored-up firepower focused into one single point, and to practice doing that until it’s second nature to them

omfg Deku’s so excited

BECAUSE HE HEARTS YOU KACCHAN lol this isn’t anything new, don’t be so shocked. ACCEPT HIS LOVE

though come to think, that really is impressive even for Deku that he knows about that particular technique, because Kacchan created AP Shot back when Deku was supposed to be developing his own ENTIRELY NEW FIGHTING STYLE, which you would think wouldn’t have left him with much time to spare to also keep tabs on his rival and write down his every move. so is his Big Hero Brain just that good, or is this chapter also promoting BakuDeku rights in addition to TodoBaku rights? you decide! but you already know which one I think it is lol

so now Endeavor is giving some bonus mentoring to Shouto

(ETA: why is Kacchan the only one who actually eats his lunch sitting down. these weirdos.)

you guys I love Shouto so much but does he really need it broken down for him to this degree? “son, you know all the things you do to control your right side? try doing those things to control your left.” Shouto: “!!!!” all those video games and participation trophies have fried his brain! too much Instagram! this new generation is going to the dogs

now Endeavor is turning his attention to Deku! but I’m more focused on the fact that they’re eating lunch, because my priorities are just like that

like lol, check out this panel of Deku talking with his mouth full

whole chapter was worth it just for this. boy you’re gonna get crumbs all over your super suit

Endeavor’s asking if Deku can raise his power level subconsciously, and he says he can for Full Cowl, but not for Air Force

so he says the first thing Deku should do is learn to control Air Force subconsciously, and forget about the Bloop for now

and Deku is all “what about parallel thinking” but more importantly, LOOK AT THIS

CAN I JUST GET A WHOLE CHAPTER OF EVERYONE EATING BREAD. LOOK AT THOSE CHUBBY CHEEKS. THIS IS AMAZING

Endeavor says a big part of parallel thinking is being able to do it without consciously thinking about it, and damn he’s right

IT’S ALL ABOUT THAT INSTINCT! also how does he know the man is yawning? you can see him from up there?? DOES HE JUST KNOW EVERYTHING

and he says that once Deku can do two things at once subconsciously, he just needs to add one more thing. damn, he really managed to break it down so that even this chronic overanalyzer can understand the concept

practice, practice, practice until it’s second nature. solid fucking advice

hey everyone Kacchan is still eating. just a PSA

that’s one for the family album. my handsome boy

okay like. it’s a nice speech, but we get it already dude. you can stop talking now and we can move on to something new

so then there’s some more Deku monologuing, pretty much the same stuff he was saying at the start of the chapter, and then Endeavor hits us with this little bait and switch gem

like, the first part sounded almost comforting, and then PSYCH!!!! but I guess he’s just trying to get them all fired up

(ETA: and like, just a few chapters ago we established how the success of these three kids is actually CRITICAL TO THE FATE OF THE ENTIRE WORLD, APPARENTLY. so yeah this is a total bluff. deep down he’s actually sweating and thinking “holy shit they better not fail.”)

and Deku’s finishing up his monologue by saying his maximum speed is doing things one by one. well that’s fine. so now will there finally be a segue?

YAYYYY

OH SHIT YOU GUYS!!!

are we gonna finally get into that TODODRAMA I have my popcorn ready to go!

lmao “and he’s even got friends with him, right?!” ah Fuyu you are the best. she’s so happy Shouto has finally found himself some good pals

OH MY GODDDDDD

HEY WHAT THE FUCK!!!

YOU SON OF A BITCH!! TWO THIRTEEN PAGE CHAPTERS IN A ROW, AND YOU FUCKING END WITH “NEXT TIME, IT’S A TODOBAKUDEKU DINNER AT THE HOUSE OF DRAMA!” AND THEN YOU HIT US WITH THIS. NEXT TIME I’LL JUST HAND YOU A KNIFE AND YOU CAN JUST STAB ME DIRECTLY IN THE CHEST TO MAKE IT EASIER FOR YOU, YOU BASTARD. WHAT AM I GONNA DO FOR THESE NEXT TWO WEEKS WHILE I WAIT FOR THIS CHAPTER OF EVERYONE SITTING AROUND AND EATING BREAD WHILE FUYU PRESUMABLY TELLS THEM THE STORY OF “THERE ACTUALLY USED TO BE A FOURTH KID BUT WE DON’T TALK ABOUT HIM ANYMORE BUT WE WILL NOW!” BECAUSE THEY GODDAMN BETTER

sob. this chapter was basically just a thirteen page trailer for the real meat of this arc. some nice mentoring did occur, I’ll give them that, and I very much enjoyed it. but I’m tired of feeling like we’re just treading water waiting to get to the next big thing! surely all of the set-up is finally done now, right? everyone has their goals established now, we’ve had a mini-time-jump and school is about to start again, and we’ve done our preliminary testing of all of the TodoBakuDeku dynamics and confirmed that all components are firing on all cylinders. basically what I’m saying is we are good to go! ready to get off of this bench! GO AHEAD AND PUT US IN, COACH

anyway guys so here’s a list of what I want to happen at this dinner:

Shouto being all “this is my sister Fuyumi” and Kacchan and Deku being all “COME AGAIN?” because they legitimately thought he was an only child

Fuyu chuckling about how Kacchan reminds her of her dad, and both Kacchan and Endeavor being grossly offended by this

Deku and Kacchan spotting a family photo on the mantel, and Shouto explaining “yeah, that’s my mom, and my brother Natsuo... AND... MY OTHER BROTHER, TOUYA” and then the camera rapid-fire pans to Fuyu and Endeavor and Shouto’s SUPER AWKWARD EXPRESSIONS, before ZOOMING IN ON THE PHOTO OF TOUYA, AND BOY DOES HE LOOK FAMILIAR OH MY GOODNESS

Deku and Kacchan eyeing each other all “holy shit wtf did we get ourselves into” as it begins to dawn on them that they wouldn’t have enough time to unpack all of this even if they had an entire crew of movers on the job. not even Marie Kondo could clean all this shit up. GOOD FUCKING LUCK BOYS

so yeah! lots to look forward to! so I’ll try and be patient. at least we’ve got the anime to keep us all occupied. who’d’ve thought the Basement arc would one day be our salvation. life sure is funny

#bnha #boku no hero academia #endeavor #midoriya izuku #bakugou katsuki #todoroki shouto #todoroki fuyumi #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #makeste reads bnha #and it says a lot that one of the reasons I'm so sure it's finally going to be That Time #is because out of all of the remaining unresolved plot threads #the todoroki 'our dead brother who isn't actually that dead and has now turned evil' plot #is actually the *least* effed up of the remaining plots #so like assuming that we're going to keep escalating from here #this is actually the natural place to start #and from there we can move on to the child experimentation and afo theory reveals and the end of the world #lol we sure are in for some good times #bnha 248

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raibebe · 5 years

Text

On the run

Genre: Fluffy smut Words: 3.343 Prompt: My head says no but my heart says ooh yes For @im-a-special-bebe A/N: This somehow got really out of control and is a lot fluffier than I intended, I hope you enjoy it anyways. ❤ Also if this looks weird on some devices, I’m really sorry but tumblr was really not cooperating well with me today...

You had been on the run now for more days than you could count. The first few all a blur of gunshots and running. Lots of running through the woods, a strong hand either pushing you foreward or pulling you with him.

When your father had assigned an officer to protect you at the base, you had laughed thinking it was a joke. But when you realized he wasn’t joking, you became angry. You didn’t need a babysitter and the base was the most secure place in miles. It didn’t help that officer Son - like he had introduced himself with a deep bow - was not only strangely quiet and followed his orders with great precision but also was breathtakingly handsome. He wasn’t as bulky as some of the other soldiers but he had brought shoulders and his legs were filling out the uniform pants quite nicely. Not to speak of those full lips that were meant to be kissed.

When the sirens suddenly got off in the middle of the night, he had wasted no time to first barricade your room to give you time to not only get dressed but to pack a few essential items before he managed to sneak you out of the base and into the surrounding woods.

You had never asked where he was leading you, didn’t care anymore as long as the place had running water and something different to eat then the cans you had been eating whenever officer Son seemed fit.

Right now he was walking in front of you, compass and map in his hands, big rifle strung up on his backpack. He had killed people with that. People who tried to either kill you or him. Probably you. You were the general’s daughter after all. But still it made no sense to you why they were hunting you like crazy persons. They apparently had enough people and weapons to attack a military base and take it over. Why would they keep hunting you?

Lost in your thoughts you didn’t pay enough attention to the narrow path your protector was leading you through and your foot got caught on a rather large root. Screeching you lost your balance and suddenly everything went black.

By the time you woke up again, it felt like your head had been split in two. Hissing you opened your eyes slowly and tried to sit up.

“Slowly.” A soft but stern voice told you and a handsome face appeared in your vision. “You tripped and fell down a hill. I’m assuming you have a concussion. You also managed to sprain some ribs and dislocated your shoulder as far as I can tell.” That explained why breathing hurt so bad.

“Are we Safe?” You asked softly, your eyes failing to completely focus on the room you were in. The face disappeared for a while before it was leaning over you again, wiping your face with a wet cloth. “I carried you to a little safe house. It wasn’t far. Can you sit up now?”

Nodding softly, causing your headache to get worse, you tried to push yourself up again. A strong hand was placed between your shoulder blades and officer Son basically pushed you up into a sitting position. “These are painkillers.” He explained, handing over some pills and a bottle of water. “Drink all of this please.”

After he handed both over to you, he disappeared from the room again, leaving you to take in your surroundings. You were perched up on a big mattress that was lying in a rather empty room with bare walls. The only other furniture was a really shabby looking green armchair next to the window and a dark brown wooden cabinet. Swallowing the pills that were supposed to make you feel better, hurt even more than breathing. When you tried to lift yourself up even further you hissed loudly. Your left arm was just dangling by your side, not responding to your commands, the shoulder seemed dislocated indeed.

Probably startled by the noise you had made, officer Son came back into your room. He had taken off his jacket and heavy black army boots, just leaving him in the cameo pants, a white t-shirt with rolled up sleeves - which really extenuated his muscular arms - and his dog tag hanging from a silver chain around his neck. “Can you put it back into place?” you asked him, pointing to your shoulder.

The soldier nodded and sat down next to you. “It’s easier when you lie down on your back.” He instructed you and helped you lie down again. “This is going to hurt a lot.”You nodded and gritted your teeth. “I can take it.” He only snorted and took your forearm into his big hands, softly pulling it away from your body. “Please don’t scream too loud.”

Without any further warning he first pulled your arm really hard and then pushed the joint back into place. Accompanied by the nasty crack of you bones you let out a bloodcurdling scream, loud enough to wake a bear from its hibernation in a five mile radius. Tears were prickling your eyes, the pain in your shoulder and your ribs just too much to bear and your vision went black once again.

When you woke up again, the room you were still in was dark except for the moon shining its silver light onto officer Son’s beautiful body. He had taken off his shirt and pants and was sleeping in the shabby armchair. Someone should be painting this. His facial features were relaxed, plump lips slightly ajar, strong chest moving with the rhythm of his breathing. He was breath-taking.

You had never asked for his first name, thinking it would stop you from feeling a certain way for him which was definitely not professional in any way. But you had heard his comrades call him Shownu which was probably a nickname but it somehow really fit him.

A loud growl originating from your stomach broke your shameless staring. Embarrassed you curled your arms around your midsection, which caused you to wince in pain because your ribs were still hurting.

“You should eat something and let me have a look at that.” A raspy voice cut through the silence. Officer Son had woken up and was stretching his long body. It took all your willpower to not make your jaw drop. The moonlight casted shadows in the dips of his muscular body, making his abs stand out even more. Swallowing dry, you nodded absently.

“I’m afraid it’s going to be canned food again.” He announced when he got up and put his shirt back on. Groaning in frustration - whether it was about the horrible food or him covering up, you weren’t sure – you carefully rose from the bed followed him into the room next door which turned out to be the kitchen – if you could call it that. It was basically a really old looking gas stove, a sink and a couple of cupboards. In the corner was a small table with two chairs that seemed rather unstable. But because of the lack of proper seating choices you sat down anyways.

“I’ve never asked for your name.” You tried to start a conversation because the silence made you anxious. “Everyone just calls me Shownu”, officer Son responded, not turning around from the stove. “But that’s not your real name, is it?” He let out a deep sigh as if it was a burden to actually tell you. “It’s Hyunwoo, but no one calls me that. So if you are uncomfortable with calling me officer Son, just use Shownu, please.”

With that he handed you the can he had been heating up together with a fork. You ate in silence, Shownu’s eyes constantly on you as if he wanted to make sure you wouldn’t choke on your food so he had to safe you yet again. When you were done, he wordlessly took the can and disposed of it.

“Could you take off your clothes so I can take a check you for further injuries?” Shownu asked without looking in your face, slight blush colouring his sun-kissed skin. You swallowed dry, a similar blush creeping up your neck.

“Turn around.” This was stupid. He was going to see you almost naked anyways, not saying anything, he turned to face the door to the room you slept in. Cautiously you pulled your sweater over your head, hissing from the pain that shot not only through your ribs but also your shoulder. “Shit”, you cursed when you saw the dark purple bruise that covered almost your entire left torso, you must have fallen hard. “How hard did I fall?” you asked while shrugging out of your pants as well and putting both items carefully on the table.

“You fell down a small portion of the hill until you were stopped by a rock” Shownu answered matter-of-factly. “Can I turn around?” “Yes” you gave your permission, but still put your arms around you in an attempt to hide yourself.

When Shownu turned around, he first furrowed his eyebrows before his lips formed a smirk. “I can’t check you like that” he stated when he came closer to you. Taking a deep breath you uncurled yourself.

His touches were light as a feather ghosting around the huge bruise and left an almost burning sensation that you were sure wasn’t because of the injury. “Tell me when I hurt you”, the soldier whispered almost, his breath tickling your naked skin and giving you goose bumps. Now checking every rib for fractures, his touch got more intense the closer he got to your still covered breasts. Your breath got stuck in your throat and your heart was continuously beating faster and faster as soon as he touched your upper ribs, fingers just barely grazing the flesh of your boobs.

“As far as I can tell nothing is broken but I can’t quite touch your upper ribs” Shownu confessed when he retreated his fingers. “Sh-Should I take my bra off?” you asked shyly, not meeting his gaze. “I would like to be sure that you are not injured”, he said calmly, “but you don’t have to, if it’s too uncomfortable for you.”

Wanting him to touch you further, to keep heating the fire burning inside of you, you turned your back to him. “Open it.” You whispered, not trusting your voice.

For a while no one was moving. Letting out a deep breath, Shownu suddenly closed the distance between you two and opened clasp of your bra, the garment falling to the ground the only sound in the room. Gently he began touching you, starting a couple of ribs below your breasts, still standing behind you, his warmth was traveling through his shirt onto your skin.

When he reached the flesh of your breast, you held in your breath. You hadn’t been touched like that since you had been ordered to life on the base for your own safety. A whine made its way up your throat and past your lips when his fingers were pressing down harder to feel your ribs. His fingers were stopping their movements for a while before continuing their work. The longer he as touching you, the harder it became to supress the lewd noises you were making and the hotter it seemed to get in the room and between your legs.

Clearing his throat Shownu stilled his fingers. “I don’t think anything is broken.” With that he retreated from you and took a step back.

Already missing his heat and his touch you turned around to face him, not covering yourself this time and looking directly into his eyes. “Are you sure?” You saw his Adam’s apple bobbing when he swallowed, his eyes getting darker and his gaze switching between your face and your exposed chest. “Do…Do you want me to check further?” he asked breathless.

Nodding you stepped towards him, closing the distance and pressing yourself flush against his chest. “You know, Shownu, it hurts a bit right here.” You whispered against his lips before placing both his hands on your chest and moaning softly at the sensation of his rough hands against your sensible nipples. Swallowing again, Shownu softly massaged your breasts and rolled one of your stiff nipples between his fingers which made you moan loudly and throw your head back. Wasting no time Shownu attached his lips to the exposed skin of your neck and sucked harsh before kissing his way up your jaw before he connected your lips in a fiery kiss. Sighing into the kiss, your hands found their way into his messy dark brown locks, pushing him closer to you whilst deepening the kiss. When his hands started roaming your body, it felt like he was setting you on fire with each caress of his fingers. “Hold onto me” he said breathless when he broke the heated kiss for not more than necessary before grabbing your behind and lifting you off the ground. Shrieking you wrapped your legs around him, now feeling his arousal through his boxers touching your ass.

Shownu softly lied you down onto the mattress in the room next door as if you were made out of glass, careful not to hurt your ribs further and ripped his shirt over his head. Pulling him down with your hands around his neck, you caught his sinful lips in another heated kiss. When he deepened the kiss further, your tongues dancing and exploring each other, you hooked your legs around him and pushed him even closer. Gasping you broke the kiss when his boxer clad hard-on was brushing against your hot core. “I want you.” You whispered into his ear before you raked your nails down his muscular back, making a moan escape his swollen lips. “I don’t want to hurt you further.” He voiced his concerns but rolled his hips down again, wanting to feel the sweet friction again. “But you want this too.” You pouted, pulling him flush against your almost naked body. “My head says no but my heart says ooh yes.” His last words were drowned in a drawn out moan when his clothed dick was sliding along your wet folds. Rolling your hips upwards again, you asked: “And what does your cock say?” That made him growl deep in his chest and attack your neck with kisses and bites, leaving angry red marks. Slowly he made his way down your body, teeth and tongue playing with your erect nipples before kissing down even further. Reaching your soaked panties, he took the cotton between his teeth and pulled them down. You gasped when the cold air of the night tickled against your hot core.

“Are you sure about this?” Shownu asked again, now kneeling above you. “My head and my heart both say yes” you mimicked his words and made grabby hands towards him, needing him close. He smiled fondly at you not moving from his position. You groaned in frustration, your hand reaching down in between your own legs. If he wasn’t going to touch you, you would do it yourself, sighing softly as your fingers slowly began to circle your clit. A curse left Shownu’s lips, his eyes focused on you shamelessly spreading yourself for him, one of his hands coming down to palm himself through his tight boxers. When you slid one of your fingers into you, both of you let out a deep moan. Slowly pushing the digit in and out more lewd sounds fell from your lips and your eyes fluttered shut when you added a second finger, moving them faster and faster when you felt your orgasm building. “Shownu” his name not more than a sweet whimper. “I need you” you added, desperate because your fingers just weren’t enough to make you fall over the edge.

When you pulled your fingers out, dragging them lazily over your clit and opened your eyes again you were met with a sight that made you even more aroused if that was even possible: Shownu was sitting on front of you, fist tightly curled around his erect cock and his wide blown eyes fixated on you. After dragging his fist up his dick one last time, he quickly sat up and positioned himself between your legs, teasing your wetness with the flush tip of his length. Hooking your legs around him again you pulled him close, letting out a needy whine.

Finally he slowly entered you inch by delicious inch, stretching your walls and giving you that wonderful feeling of fullness. When your hips where flush with his, he leaned down and placed a sweet kiss on your lips. “Are you okay?” he asked softly. “If you don’t start moving now, I’m gonna go mad, Shownu”, you hissed, wiggling your hips to get at least some kind of friction. Chuckling he captured your lips again in a deep kiss and finally started moving his hips in a slow, sensual rhythm. Breaking the kiss with the need of oxygen you gasped loud and arched your back off the bed, wanting to be even closer to Shownu, to melt into his heat, forgetting your injured ribs. The pain shot through you like lightning and made you whimper. “Let me do the work baby, just relax”, Shownu whispered in your ear before gently kissing your temple. “Then move faster, please” you begged him, raking your nails down his broad back. “I was so close.” Kissing you softly he promised: “You wish is my command, darling.”

Suiting the action to the word, he let his hips snap forward more forcefully, the sound of skin slapping skin filling the room accompanied by a symphony of lewd sound falling from both of your lips when they weren’t slotted together in a messy swirl of tongues and teeth.

Feeling your orgasm creeping up on you again, begs for Shownu to bring you your sweet release started mixing in with moans that were getting louder and louder. His touch too much but not enough, your whole body feeling like it was on fire. Parting from your lips, he moved to sit up and threw your legs over his shoulders, gripping your thighs for leverage and began slamming his length into you even more forcefully than before, hitting your sweet spot every time. Every coherent thought was wiped from your mind, Shownu reducing you to a moaning and sobbing mess. Releasing his bruising grip on one of your legs, he quickly licked his fingers before circling them fast around your clit. Screaming and lifting your hips off the mattress you were hit by your orgasm. White dots were swimming in your vision and your whole body began to shake and tighten up.

Shownu suddenly let your legs fall off his shoulders and jerked himself fast before spilling his release all over your torso, painting you white.

For a while the ragged breaths you both let out were the only sound filling the room, trying to collect yourselves and calm down from your highs.

“I should clean you up”, Shownu broke the silence, getting off the mattress and leaving the room. Returning soon with a cloth he cleaned his release off of you, still naked. Blushing you covered yourself with the thin blanket. Awkward silence began spreading between the two of you, just staring at each other. Clearing your throat you lifted the edge of the blanket and scooted over a little to make space for Shownu’s big body. Smiling so brightly, his eyes were turning into little crescents, he quickly climbed behind you and embraced you in his big, strong arms.

In this moment, just before you fell asleep, everything was alright: No thoughts were wasted on the fact that you were still on the run and that you had no idea where to go or what had happened to the rest of the people on the base. You were just surrounded by Shownu’s warmth and his comforting smell.

#monsta x #shownu #son hyunwoo #monsta x smut #shownu smut #shownu fluff #monsta x fluff #monsta x requests #monsta x reader #shownu x reader #monsta x fanfiction #monsta x fanfic #monsta x drabble #shownu fanfic #shownu drabble #military au #monsta x military au #shownu military au #mine

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pandawritespoorly · 5 years

Text

With Time: Chapter 22 - Christmas

Author’s Note: Kwamis honestly kind of screw with Christianity. Consider this more of a winter get-together-with-friends-and-family sort of holiday. I would say gift giving, but I didn't really write those scenes. Other than that, I'm pretty pleased with this chapter and I hope you'll all enjoy it! Just friends hanging out without angst or crying! Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, or just have an extraordinary day regardless of what/if you celebrate! I love you all! ❤️

Chapter Summary: Marinette, Adrien, Claude, Allegra, Felix and Allan all celebrate Christmas together.

First | Previous | Next

Marinette comes to slowly, blinking slowly at her surroundings. She has the distinct feeling that today is important. What is today?

December...20 something?

December 25th….

25…

Oh!

It’s Christmas!

She shoots up, regretting it when spots fill her vision. Ladybug-instincts don’t care if it’s Christmas - she’s still tired. Despite this, she manages to crawl out of bed, not bothering to change out of the very comfy pajamas she put on the night before.

She enters the kitchen where her Papa is making breakfast. He smiles when he sees her, giving her a quick hug before returning to the food. As her Maman enters the room he finishes, serving the family.

They play some games together afterward, before moving onto the gifts. By the time they’ve finished, Marinette is languidly stretched across her Papa, almost entirely spent. He carries her up to her room carefully, placing her in bed.

When she hears him leave, she almost allows herself to drift off to sleep before she remembers her other plans. Grabbing a bag, she takes a moment to gather herself, before she transforms, taking Tikki by surprise.

Ladybug exits through her trapdoor, wobbling a little as she adjusts to the fierce winds and snow. She takes off in one direction, only realizing after a few minutes that she’s going in the entirely wrong direction.

She’s so tired, she really wants to sleep.

But this is important.

She turns around, tempted to move faster, but well aware that’ll only trip her up. She arrives at her destination eventually. At least she got here, she’ll consider it a victory.

---

Adrien’s day has been very slow. Father is off who-knows-where for some out-of-country fashion event. There was no present from him.

Plagg had used his computer to order some merch for him of an anime he likes. Adrien had gotten Plagg a bunch of fine cheeses even worse better than camembert. It had been a very nice Christmas, and that’s about all he’d expected from the day.

Then Ladybug was knocking at his window.

He rushes to let her in, noticing the way she’s shaking slightly from the chill.

“Ladybug! It’s snowing - basically blizzarding - what were you doing out?!” She just leans into him, still transformed and barely awake. She’s coated in snow, which can’t be helping.

“Mer’y… chri’maaa…” she mumbles into his shoulder.

Plagg cackles from the desk, “Kid, your Bug came all this way just to wish you a happy holiday!”

“Mari you could have texted me.” he holds her a little further away, noting the way that she’s completely limp in his arms, “Mari?”

“Pfff, now she’s hibernating!” The Kwami floats to sit on his head.

“This isn’t funny Plagg!” he closes the window and leads her towards the couch.

“It is, because she isn’t in any danger now. She’s with her Cat, you’ll take care of her.” “But why didn’t she stay home? Going out as Ladybug - especially as Ladybug - she could have collapsed on the way over.” “She’s a Bug, Kitten. Stubbornness runs in her blood, especially when she decides it’s important for you.”

He only hums in response, opening his closet to get out blankets - he doesn’t use them much anymore. He grabs all of them. He might change the thermostat a little too.

Ladybugs break out of hibernation at 13° (55℉) - that’s a fact he’s memorized.

“She’s still transformed, give me a minute.” Plagg floats toward her head, touching the earrings and closing his eyes. As Adrien approaches, he hears the beeping and Ladybug is soon replaced with a sleeping Marinette and Tikki.

“As Ladybug she’s two sleeping bugs in one.” The God explains, “It’ll be better with them separated.”

Adrien only nods, tossing a heated blanket over their Bugs and turning it on before piling on the rest. He turns on a movie as he leans against the blanket pile. The background noise is nice. Plagg settles back into his hair.

Towards the end of the movie, he feels stirring from the blankets, turning to see her squinting at the room,”Hi Marinette. Welcome back to the real world.”

“???” It’s a difficult thing to properly voice three question marks in a row, but she’s got it down.

“Someone decided to run through Paris during a snowstorm, and ended up hibernating. I’m just glad you made it here.”

“Oh.” she thinks for a moment, “M’rry Christm’s?”

“Merry Christmas.”

She blinks tiredly, and he returns the slow blink, smiling at her. Despite the blankets, she is still dozy - there’s no escape from the winter outside. She’ll wake up a little more after more time indoors though, so Adrien turns on another movie for them to watch. His phone dings.

Sabine: Is Marinette with you? We didn’t see her leave. Adrien: Yes, she’s with me.

Sabine: Oh, that’s good. She can be so quiet! Enjoy your holiday!

Adrien: You too!

Yeah, she can be ‘quiet’. It certainly isn’t that she left through the balcony. He’d assumed she’d left the normal way and then transformed. Evidently he overestimated how much of her human common-sense is still with her.

“Mari, how did you get here?”

“Yo-yo.”

“I meant from which way did you leave the house and then come here?”

“I said ‘spots on’ and then it was col’ and then I wen’ the wrong way and then I went the right way and then it was still cold and snowin’ and then I got to your house and you let me in and then I was here.” Her story-telling skills are truly at their peak mid-winter. She hasn’t even noticed that she transformed when she spoke the words.

“Alright. Thank you. Can you detransform?” He smirks at her.

“I’m not? Transformed?” Ladybug looks at him as though he’s completely lost it.

“Okay, what do you say to detransform?”

“Spots off. Don’ you know?” As she says it, there’s a pink flash and Marinette returns. Tikki shoots out of the earrings bewilderedly and goes to rest beside Plagg. Adrien can hear the Kwami’s quiet purring.

“Sorry, I just wanted to double check. How are you feeling?”

“Blanke's.”

“How tired are you? Would you say you’re more ladybug or girl right now?” seeing as she went into hibernation, he should make sure she’s recovering properly.

“Tired.” She doesn’t seem to register the second question.

Before Adrien can think of another way to phrase it, Plagg interrupts, “Here, give me your phone kid, I’ve got a test.”

Adrien hands Plagg the phone. The Kwami taps at the screen for a little bit then turns it to face Marinette, “Alright Pigtails, what do you think of this?”

Marinette draws back initially, then returns hesitantly to her original position, glaring suspiciously at the phone the entire time.

“She’s doing fine.” Plagg shrugs and returns the phone. Adrien looks at the screen. There’s a picture of a crow, and the page it’s from is titled, ‘Ladybugs’ Most Common Predators’.

Ah. That makes sense.

By the end of their movie, Marinette seems to have recovered from her little stint outside.

“Presents?” she cocks her head at him, gesturing towards the bag she’d brought with her, “I brought yours.”

“Is that what that is?”

She nods, “It’s everyone’s presents.”

“You brought them all, huh?”

“Yep! I didn’t want to have to leave.”

“What?” He gets the feeling he’s missing something.

“Did you think we were going to let you spend Christmas all alone in this dumb house? I already got permission from Nathalie. Allan, Allegra, Felix, and Claude are coming over. Plagg and I have been plotting.”

“She gave me lots of cheese bread.”

He hugs her tightly, “Thank you Mari, you’re the best person I know.”

“Mon minou, you’re my favorite person, it’s the least I can do.” After a moment they separate and she gestures to the bag, “We should probably do the Kwami’s presents and Chat’s present before they all get here.”

“Let's do the Kwamis first-”

“Yes, lets!” Plagg interrupts him

Marinette shrugs, bringing the entire bag over and handing two small boxes to Tikki and Plagg. Tikki already knows what it is - having been required for sizing. They open the small boxes to find little cloaks to wear, each themed around their respective animals. Tikki chirps excitedly at finally getting to wear hers and flies to her chosen, hugging her cheek and resting on her shoulder.

Plagg has put his on and goes to sit next to her, “Thanks, Bug.”

Marinette grabs a rectangular wrapped package, “I didn’t make Chat anything in case I saw him wearing it in real life. Even if it’s not a problem anymore…” She shrugs and shoves it at Adrien.

He unwraps it, seeing a large book titled, ‘1001 Puns’, “Oh, I’m memorizing this!”

“I regretted it as soon as I bought it.”

Adrien has already opened it up to a random page, “What do you call a classy fish?” “No.”

“So-fish-ticated!” He looks so pleased that she can’t help but smile at him, “Ooh! Okay my turn!” He stands quickly and rushes over to his desk, grabbing a couple of boxes, ” I only got Tikki some cookies because I don’t really know her that well-”

“I like cookies!” She interrupts, “Thank you, Adrien!”

“I got Ladybug a necklace, with a ladybug on it! It’s almost as cute as you!” Her face flames at that, accepting it and trying to put it on, before handing it back to him for help.

With it clasped around her neck she takes a moment to look at it. She turns to him, “Please tell me you didn’t spend a ridiculous amount of money on this.”

“While no amount would be ridiculous for you, I didn’t.”

She looks at him suspiciously, then sighs, “I’ll allow it.”

“It’s too late anyways! Returning a gift is rude, m’lady!”

“Well, kitty, we’d better avoid the superhero nicknames when everyone else is here.” She pushes him back by his nose.

He pouts, then turns to her questioningly,”When are they going to be here? We need to get rid of the extra wrapping paper and stuff.” They should probably hide Tikki’s cookies too - they don’t want them to get eaten.

“I said I’d text them. I can do that now?” He nods and she sends out the message.

While they wait they clean up quickly, and put the cookies in a closet that the Kwamis decide to hide in.

Eventually the pair hear the doorbell buzzer. Adrien goes to answer it, leaving Mari in the warmer room.

“Adrien, has your house always had this little robot camera guy?” Claude is the first to speak when he gets to the doorbell.

“Yeah… Father can be a little …extreme?” He allows them in, “You can come in now.”

He waits a moment before he opens the main door, well aware that the walk will take a moment.

As he allows them in he notices that the snow has died down. That’s good. They all have gifts with them and are dressed in winter gear that’s dusted with snow.

“You guys can leave your winter stuff here - Mari wouldn’t appreciate snow getting into my room, and the gifts can come up to my room.”

“How’s she holding up? It was blizzardin’ earlier.” Allan inquires.

“My room’s pretty warm, so she’s pretty awake. She can only cheat the system for so long though, so she might get sleepy in a couple hours or so, and then be more awake. As long as she stays in the warmth it’ll just kind of cycle like that.”

He pushes the door to his room open, following them in. As soon as they’re in the main part of the room - before they even set the gifts down - the group gets tackled into a hug by a noticeably-not-sleepy Marinette. “I would have met you out in the entryway, but it’s almost as cold as Gabriel Agreste’s heart, so I just waited for you here.”

“Marinette, you can’t just insult my Father like that. He could be your boss one day.”

“Not if my company outdoes his and I steal his best model.”

“I’m with Mari! I like that plan!” Claude adds.

“Sorry dude, you’re the only one on your side.” Allan puts an arm around Adrien’s shoulder.

“I’m not saying she’s wrong necessarily…”

“She’s already stolen the model!” Allegra interjects.

“Yay!” Marinette throws her arms in the air victoriously, then gently pushes Adrien forward, “Be free my darling! Pursue your dreams!”

“I’m liking this plan more and more!” Claude joins Marinette.

“Anyway. Welcome to my room.”

“The room his Dad designed for him by googling ‘teenage boy interests’.” Marinette amends.

“You’re rather bitter today aren’t you?” Allan remarks.

“I always am - in regards to Gabriel Agreste!” Especially when she’d realized that Adrien’s awful father was also Chat’s awful father.

He’s just double-awful now.

“That’s a mood I can get behind.” Allegra adds.

“I’m going to stop this here before she gets the slideshow out.” Adrien gently shoves Marinette toward the couch, “You sit under the blankets for a little bit and calm down.” She complies sulkily, muttering about how she’d storm the office one day.

“What slideshow are you referring to?” Felix questions.

“Just one about my father. It’s kind of long. Especially with her notes.”

“Are you telling me she made an entire presentation on your father?” Allegra raises an eyebrow. “On how bad he is!” The baker interjects.

“Again, moving on, because we can do things that are more fun than stating facts.” Adrien raises his hands peaceably, “Any game ideas?”

“I brought some from home!” Claude raises one of their bags, “There’s also the internet for ideas!”

“I want to play board games! I need to get caught up on the years I’ve missed out on!”

“Oh, you poor boy. No board games for so long…” Allegra shakes her head.

“I guess you could say I was board?”

“No.” Felix, Allegra, and Marinette speak in unison.

“Alright, Adrien we’re playing Dixit now.” Claude takes one of the larger boxes out, setting it up, “Which bunny do you guys want to be?”

“Pink!” Marinette doesn’t hesitate in the slightest. She moves to be where Claude is setting up the game on the floor, taking a blanket with her.

“Wait, we’re bunnies?” Adrien still has no idea how the game works.

“It’s what represents your spot on the board. Basically like the hat, car, and stuff in Monopoly.” Allegra explains.

“I’ll be green.” Allan sits by the board, next to Marinette.

“I shall claim blue!” Claude claims his bunny and numbers.

“Yellow.” Allegra says, taking the one she chose.

“I will take either bunny. Adrien, do you have a preference?” Felix turns to the model as he sits as well.

After a moment’s consideration, Adrien takes the red one, “The Ladybunny!”

“Here, you’ll need these.” Allan hands him a red stack of six number chips as Felix takes the white bunny and corresponding numbers.

Claude hands everyone six cards, “Adrien, these are your cards. You can look at them, but no one else can. When it’s your turn, you put down a card face down and describe it in one word or so. Everyone else will put one of their own cards that fits how you described yours and when everyone has them down, we flip them over and everyone else has to try and figure out which is the original. Everyone puts down the chip that makes the number slot their guess is in and when everyone’s done, we assign points based on this.” they gesture at the top part of the board where it’s described pretty simply.

“I know it sounds complicated, but it’ll get easier when we get started.” Allegra reassures him. He nods, considering the directions.

“Alright… maybe I can go last.” He looks around, “Who’s starting?”

“Mari chose her color first, so she can go.”

“Sure!”

They get started, playing several rounds, moving a little faster as Adrien catches on. Towards the end it is an intense bunny race between Allan and Felix, but the white bunny gets there first.

“Victory!” Felix smiles, “Good game everyone.”

They pack up the game and talk for a moment before something occurs to Adrien.

“Hey, do guys want something to eat or drink? Like hot choco-” “Grapes?!” Marinette speaks over him excitedly.

“-late. Yes, Marinette, you can have grapes.” She cheers quietly as he continues, “So anything I should grab? I think the cook made a bunch of stuff in preparation for today before Father left so we’ve got a bunch of stuff.”

“Hot chocolate is good. Is everyone good with that?” Claude looks around as the group nods.

“Any finger food, or jus’ stuff that isn’t that messy would be fine too.” Allan suggests.

“Alright, I’ll be back.” Adrien exits, heading to grab the food.

“Surprised to hear you so excited about food, ‘Nette.” Allan says to the girl.

She shrugs, “I like grapes. Fruit, really. Or bugs.”

“Why not bring that as your lunch?” Felix suggests.

“I’m usually too tired to do that. Maman does it, but I think the doctor told her to try and give me things that are actually nutritious - like a balanced meal.”

“Huh.” Allegra considers this.

Adrien walks in, with various snacks, hot chocolate, and a bowl of grapes for Marinette. He puts them down near the group, and Marinette grabs her choice immediately, and everyone takes a drink.

“Should we get to the presents now? Before Marinette falls asleep?” Allegra suggests.

“Probably, I don’t think I’ve got long.” As she says this, Marinette yawns, which only supports her point.

By the time they’ve finished, Marinette is - as predicted - barely awake. She’s slumped against Adrien, her eyelids fluttering as she tries to remain awake.

“So what should we do now?” Adrien asks the group.

“Have any movies? That would give Mari a chance to rest.” Allan proposes.

“Sure, we can move to the couch then.” They all stand, Adrien coaxing Marinette to stand with him, she mumbles softly about nothing in particular.

“Going by the blankets, this is Marinette’s spot?” Allegra gestures at the pile of blankets upon blankets in one corner of the couch. At this, Marinette - who had been relying on Adrien to stand - flops onto the pile, claiming a few as her own before putting the rest aside for the others to use.

“Aw, thanks ‘Nette.”

Eventually they’ve all gotten comfortable and decided on a movie. Marinette is back to resting against her partner, blinking lazily at the screen that she isn’t paying any real attention to. She eventually drifts off as she gives in to her tendency. It only takes a few moments for her to be completely dead to the world, sleeping heavily and comfortably in the presence of her friends.

“How is it going at your school?” Felix asks the model.

“Ugh, I keep thinking they can’t get any stupider, and then they do. Lila spun the whole museum incident around. Apparently, Mari attacked her.” Adrien is still mad about what happened that day. Especially now that he knew Marinette had had to come back and fight her akumatized tormenter instead of resting at home like she deserved.

“And they believed her?!” Allegra looks ready to start a mob.

“They believe anything. People were still angry about Marinette before break.”

“Any ideas on when we’ll expose her?” Claude asks, clearly eager to unmask the girl.

“If we can get the date right we might be able to get a few choice celebrities to show up, so I’m not sure. I might be able to turn the media against her - if I’m careful I can do it without Father getting upset, or at least without him being able to punish me without media backlash.” “How you gonna’ pull that off?” Allan raises an eyebrow.

“Well the ‘no punishment’ bit could be harder, but Paris won’t exactly be pleased to find out someone’s been sexually harassing their ‘Sunshine Boy’.”

“Oh, I’m so glad you realize that.” Allegra sighs, “I was worried you thought she was allowed to do that.”

“I wasn’t entirely sure last year, but Mari made sure that changed.”

“Good job ‘Nettie.” Allan says, “Protect the Sunshine Boy.”

Marinette obviously doesn’t respond, but curls closer against Adrien as if aware he’s the current topic of conversation.

“See, she’s guarding him even in her sleep!” Claude says.

“Thanks, Mari. I feel safer already.” Adrien pats Marinette’s head, and she hums at them.

“I think she’s been doing better.” Allegra smiles, “I’m glad she told us about what happened, keeping that secret must have been tiring.”

“I’m glad she finally told you. You guys have been good for her.”

“She deserves it. She’s so sweet.”

“Mari~ Do you hear that? We love you!” Claude speaks to their napping friend.

Marinette doesn’t seem to hear, but when they brush her hair out her face, she leans into their hand, unconsciously aware of any heat as always.

“Hey, we never asked. Um, she said she ‘fell’ and that’s where the bruises came from, but…?” Allan trails off.

“But you don’t believe it?” They all nod, “Neither do I, but I wasn’t there. Stupid all day photoshoot - I didn’t find out until I got to my house, and I didn’t see her until the next day. Chloe and Sabrina only caught the tail end of everything and they missed what exactly happened.”

“So what do you think happened?” Allegra prompts.

“Well Chloe and Sabrina think Alya pushed her, but I’m not …entirely sure of that. I think it was an accident, but it could have been avoided if Alya had just let her go. Regardless of what happened, Mari’s wrong - she’s not at fault.”

“No, she is not.” Felix agrees.

They all look at her sympathetically, before eventually turning back to the movie. They’re halfway through another movie before Marinette begins to stir, blinking at the people around her in sleepy confusion.

“Hey, welcome back, Mari.” Adrien is the first to notice.

“Hi…?” She still isn’t fully awake, and looks about ready to return to her rest for a little longer.

“How awake are you, ‘Nette?” Allan asks her.

“No?”

“Alright. Good to know.”

She closes her eyes for a little longer, eventually opening her eyes and sitting up slightly, “How long was I asleep?”

Felix glances at his watch, “About 2 hours or so. A little more. We have completed one movie and have watched a considerable amount of this one.”

“Oh, okay.”

Once the movie finishes, Claude speaks, “So what should we do now? Another movie, another game, or something else?”

“I’m up for learning more games!” Adrien says.

“I still can’t believe you deprived of fun for your entire life,” they tell him.

“Time to introduce Adrien to more great games!” Allegra stands with Claude and they try to decide which game to play next. The others move to sit on the floor again, Marinette dragging a blanket with her.

“Wait!” Claude says when they’ve all sat down, throwing his hands in the air, “I almost forgot!”

“Forgot what?” Allegra asks. The others are similarly confused, though Marinette only blinks groggily.

“Adrien, team up with me here,” Claude ignores the question.

“On what?” Adrien wonders if he’s supposed to know what’s going on.

“I have been researching puns. That new knowledge combined with your efforts, I hope to complete my goal of making Marinette laugh at a pun!” Claude is clearly in a theatrical mood, gesturing wildly as he speaks.

Adrien’s face lights up, “Yes!”

Marinette only groans, “I should have expected this.”

“I will allow the puns - just this once - because it’s for a good cause.” Allegra acquieses, and Felix reluctantly nods in agreement.

Marinette glares at them.

Allan’s face splits in a mischievous grin, “Aw, come on ‘Nette, they only want to wish you a Mari Christmas.”

Adrien and Claude cheer excitedly, Marinette tries her best to look completely and utterly betrayed.

“Let’s start with some fun facts! Did you know that snowmen call their offspring chill-dren?” Claude turns to Adrien as though they are having a legitimate conversation.

“I did not. Though I have to ask, are you aware of how snowmen get to work?”

“No, how?”

“By icicle.”

“Ah! Of course, that makes perfect sense. Did you gingerbread men make their beds with cookie sheets?”

Adrien grins, “Do you know what a sheep’s favorite Christmas song is? Fleece Navidad.”

Felix turns to Claude, “Do not do what I presume you are thinking of.”

Claude doesn’t respond, “In this group, our favorite song is Felix Navidad!”

Felix glares, but the rest don’t seem particularly apologetic. Marinette grins slightly, Claude and Adrien high-five when they notice - she scowls.

“Speaking of sheep,” Adrien continues, “Be sure to wish any you meet a season’s bleatings.”

“Do you know why Dasher and Dancer like coffee? They’re Santa’s star bucks!”

“On the subject of reindeer, I’d just like to warn everyone that rude-olph has absolutely no manners!”

“He always steals Santa’s favorite snack - crisp pringles.” Claude shakes his head, clucking his tongue.

“Yeah, Rudolph has an F on his report card. He went down in history and all that.”

“There’s an elf that won the lottery, he’s very welfy now.”

“Do you think he could spare some change for Saint Nickel-less?”

“He actually just bought himself a new car, it’s a toyYoda.” Claude shakes his head regretfully. Out of the corner of their eyes, the two boys can see Marinette trying to smother a smile.

“Mrs. Claus’ detergent of choice is Yule-Tide, in case you were wondering. Great for soot stains.”

“Everyone gets so santa-mental this time of year.”

“If you see an angel, be sure to say ‘Halo!’”

“If a Christmas plant wants to be a star, they go to Holly-wood.”

“The North and South Pole aren’t as similar as some might think. There’s really a world of difference between them.”

No one misses Marinette’s snort at that.

“Scrooge won the football game - the ghost of Christmas passed.”

“The couple had their wedding on Christmas Eve so that they could have a married Christmas.”

“Oh I saw a new artist on Spotify, an elf! He’s a wrapper!”

“A kid who doesn’t believe in Santa is a rebel without a Clause.”

“Did you know the alphabet is different around Christmas time? There’s Noel.” Claude informs the group.

It’s the last straw, Marinette’s face breaks into a brilliant smile as she begins laughing quietly. Soon enough she, Adrien, Allan, and Claude are all laughing hysterically. Every time they begin to stop, a glance at one of the others sets them off again. An endless, vicious cycle.

Allegra and Felix watch their antics, amused. They’re both smiling, but manage to restrain themselves from laughing at a pun. One of Claude’s puns no less.

“Allegra, I guess it is up to us to decide upon a game.” Felix says to his only sane companion.

It’s a good day.

---

Author’s Note: Do they have a sleepover? You decide!

There you are! I hope that was satisfactory! I apologize I didn't write them opening presents, but I kept putting it off, and I didn't know what to get them, so I put it off more, until it was suddenly today. Sorry if that was disappointing, but I hope the rest of the chapter makes up for it!

As for Mari's necklace, (one of the only presents I actually wrote), you can find a picture here. The Kwami cloaks are something I've seen fanart of, and something I thought was a cute idea so I'm sure you can find drawings somewhere. The pun book is pretty self-explanatory.

When the Quantics arrived this became Gabriel salt. At first I was going to apologize for that, then Chat Blanc happened and I realized that the fandom now lives on Gabriel salt. There will be plenty of salt in this fic for many characters, and he is certainly one of them.

Once again, I just don't settle for games most people are familiar with. Sorry about that, but Claude has all of my favorite board games and I can't just not have my babies play. Dixit, in case you were wondering, is a fantastic game I would definitely recommend (yes you do play as bunnies). As for playing on the floor instead of a table, I'm sure I can't be the only one who plays board games on the floor? I honestly think I prefer it.

Next chapter is Saturday as usual! In case you want a bit of a hint (teaser? preview?) content wise (as a gift!), I guess I can say that there will be some cuddles and fluff, and someone has to stop at Master Fu's. I wonder why? Maybe I should come up with a chapter summary early and add it here.

Anyways, I hope you all have a spectacular day! Whether you celebrate Christmas or anything else (or nothing), enjoy yourself, your friends, your family, and smile! (Stay safe, especially if you've got icy roads like me, or rather, like I'm supposed to). Love you all! ❤️

For those of you over here on tumblr, you may or may not have noticed I added a page for With Time to my blog. I hope that makes navigation easier for reading/rereading! If it’s not working please let me know, because I will a) not be surprised b) do my best to fix it.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave any thoughts, theories, constructive criticism, or anything really in my ask box, in replies or through reblogs. I love seeing what you think!

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#miraculous ladybug #transfer #fanfic #with time #chameleon salt #miraculous tendencies #miraculous side effects #winter #christmas #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #ladybug #Tikki #plagg #quantic kids #ml Felix #fluff #friends #puns

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jancmalandra · 5 years

Text

On first encounters with adult Moomins

Part IV: The Snork

Snork Maiden was the first to tell her brother about Moomintroll and Snufkin leaving for the South together the previous Fall. She told Snork everything that Moominmama had said to her and asked if she could hibernate at his home instead of Moominhouse. She explained that it would be too painful for her to be that close to Moomintroll's family until she had a chance to ask for his and Snufkin's forgiveness in the Spring. Snork was completely floored by the implications of what she told him.

Snork had spent his life in pursuit of scientific knowledge. That he had missed all of the signs of how Moomintroll and Snufkin felt for each other for years bothered him. He prided himself on being impartial, rational and observant, but when it came to other's emotions he had to admit that he had a huge blind spot. Perhaps it was his upbringing. His parents were cold, unfeeling, and only interested in practical results from their children. They were also nobility and determined to protect their image and standing in society from any hint of scandal, so they had tried to pass all of their prejudices on to him. Had they been more successful than Snork wanted to admit?

No; that wasn't it. He had risen up through academic circles like a meteor through his staggering intellect not just because it suited his nature, but because he wanted to rescue Snork Maiden from their parents. She was their opposite in every way; imaginative, open-minded, artistic, sensitive, sentimental, and caring. She would have withered under their direct attention, so he bore the burden of tolerating all of their intolerance instead of her until he could make his own way in the world and find a place where both him and his sister could live out their dreams in peace and happiness.

Winning his first patent for his Personal Amphibious Vehicle gave Snork the money he needed to move himself and Snork Maiden to Moominvalley for good. His family had always thought of the tiny village as a vacation spot, but Snork knew it would be the perfect refuge for the two of them. He claimed his family's vacation home as their own and vowed never to see his parents again. He had wanted nothing to do with their twisted views.

When Snork Maiden and Moomintroll had fallen in love at first sight, Snork had pinned all of his hopes for her future on the two of them marrying when they were old enough. The thought that Moomintroll could also love someone else just as much, especially Snufkin, was one that he hadn't allowed to enter his head. He thought Snork Maiden might lose her chance at happiness. He thought that Moomintroll should only choose his sister. Admitting he was wrong wasn't going to be easy.

When Snork Maiden left their house on the first day of Spring, she had told him all about her intention to build a new kind of family with Moomintroll and Snufkin. He hadn't had the courage to say anything, even to wish her well. It was all too much to take in. As lunchtime approached, Snork decided he had to face everything head on and give his blessing to the three of them, so he headed for Moominhouse, filled with determination. The last person he expected to meet on the way and to change his plans was Sniff.

Sniff ran into Snork right in front of Moomintroll and Snufkin's tents. Sniff started raving about how everyone in the Moomin family had been changed somehow and that no one in the world really wanted him around anymore. Sniff was completely incoherent with fear and sadness and was weeping uncontrollably. What was worse, he was literally fading right before Snork's eyes! Sniff's fur went from brown to dull gray, then his whole body slowly became more and more transparent!

"Stop it, Sniff!", said Snork, "You're turning yourself invisible! Hold on to my paws, and I'll take you back to my house! I'll find a way to help you, I swear! Just don't let go of me, whatever you do!"

Snork's show of compassion kept Sniff just visible enough for Snork to get him to the spare room in his home safely. Snork ran to his laboratory and got his spare lab coat for Sniff. By the time he returned to Sniff, Sniff had become totally invisible! Snork quickly put the lab coat on Sniff. It was most alarming to see a lab coat seemingly floating in midair on its own, but it was all Snork could think to do at the moment to be able to keep from losing track of Sniff. Snork couldn't think of a single test he could try, a single chemical formula he could use to help Sniff. There was only one person he could think of who could possibly help Sniff now; Moominmama.

Snork headed back to Moominhouse at top speed after strictly instructing Sniff to stay in the guest room and promising him that he was going to find a cure no matter what. As Snork approached Moominhouse's front door, he quickly collected himself and tried to appear as calm as possible. He entered the parlor to find Snufkin, Moomintroll, and his sister holding paws on the love seat and Moominpapa and Moominmama seated at the parlor table, beaming happily at the three of them. Moominmama immediately turned to Snork.

"Oh! Snork!", she said, "You wouldn't have happened to run into Sniff on your way here, would you? He left very suddenly earlier, and we're just a little worried about him."

Snork knew that he was a terrible liar, so the best that he could manage was to leave the worst of the details out of his explanation so that he could spare everyone's feelings and prevent them from making Sniff's condition worse: "Actually, I did. He was in a panic and wasn't making any sense, so I took him back to my house to look after him. I came here to tell you that he's alright. However, it would be better if he didn't have any visitors for a while. He's worked himself into quite a state and he needs a lot of time before he'll be able to see everything the right way. This isn't anyone's fault, so there's no reason for anyone to feel guilty or blame themselves. I just need all of you to be patient and trust me to look after Sniff on my own for the time being. With any luck, he'll be completely better before the Summer is over."

Snork's response was so reasonable and calm that it reassured everyone for the most part, but it did put an end to the party. Snork congratulated his sister and Moomintroll and Snufkin on their new family and gave Snork Maiden his blessing to move into Moominhouse permanently. Snufkin and Moomintroll headed back to their tents and Snork Maiden went up to Moomintroll's old room a little reluctantly, but they were all exhausted after a very exciting day, so it wasn't all that hard for Snork and Moominmama to talk them into going to bed. Snork was then left alone with Moominmama and Moominpapa.

As Snork helped the two of them clean up the dining room and do the dishes, he explained about Sniff having turned himself invisible and he asked Moominmama for her invisibility cure recipe and thanked her for helping to keep the new family calm.

"The potion does help, but not in the way that you think.", explained Moominmama, "It gives the patient the sense that they're doing something concrete to help themselves and reassures them that the person who made it for them really does care. That's the really important part; that you keep showing Sniff how much you care. That's the real cure. You don't give yourself nearly enough credit for how compassionate and caring you are. I have complete faith in you. You will bring Sniff back to us, I know it!"

Snork took Moominmama's words to heart, and as he returned home, he thought carefully about all the things that he knew brought out the best in Sniff. Sniff liked tangible rewards and the hope of riches. Like his father, The Muddler, he liked shiny buttons and any other kind of small, collectible junk. Snork had always been astonished at the good results Sniff would happily deliver if he was promised a little reward that he could hold in his paws and admire. He had always enjoyed the games he had learned as a child and had never stopped playing them. Snork was going to have to appeal to all of these things that brought Sniff happiness every day in order to help him become visible again.

When he returned home, Snork made Sniff a simple offer; a place to stay, a warm bed, good food, play times together, and a piece of eight each week plus all the random small parts he could pick up from Snork's workshop floor in exchange for doing all of the housework and cooking and helping out in the workshop every day. Sniff responded more enthusiastically and effectively than Snork had hoped. Getting used to playing games and remembering to constantly praise and comfort Sniff also came more quickly to Snork than he had expected. Within a month, Sniff was completely visible again and Snork had gained a real sense of affection for and commitment to Sniff. Snork was pleasantly surprised to learn that Sniff had come to feel the same way about him. Both of them decided that they were willing to find out what these feelings meant together and at their own pace. They just knew that their new life felt really good and that they both wanted this new way of living.

The End

#moomin fanfiction #moomin #moomintroll #moominmama #moominpapa #moominvalley #snufkin #snufmin #snork maiden #sniff #the snork

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snufed-up · 5 years

Text

Moomin’s Vigil (Moomin FanFiction)

Summary: Snufkin arrives a few days into spring utterly exhausted. So exhausted in fact, he falls right to sleep once in Moomin's bedroom. Leaving Moomin's mind to worry over why he is just so tired.Moomin becomes determined to stay up all night to protect him.

Words: 1,484

Read it on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18899503

Based on this prompt:

It had only been a few days into spring. It was late in the evening, and the Moomin household had just finished their supper. Moomin was the last one remaining the table, continuing to pick away at his food. He as usual, had been feeling very under the weather ever since hibernation ended. As Snufkin, still hadn't returned. His mind started to ponder, wondering if his friend would ever return.

"Why, you've barely even touched your food Moomin." Moominmama chimes in, beginning to clear off the table.

Moomin groans resting his head on the table. "I just don't feel very hungry, Mama."

"I know you're feeling down in the dumps, but all this time you've spent like this could've been spent outside. The weathers been absolutely lovely." Moominmama suggests.

"But Mama, being outside is so boring without Snufkin here."

"Oh Moomin, he will be back as soon as you know it. You just need to find a way to have fun by yourself." Moominmama insists before starting to wash away at the dishes.

Moomin lets out a long sigh, eating only a couple more bites off his plate before removing himself from the table. Heading out onto the Veranda, he sat himself onto of the steps scanning his surroundings. Sure, it was defiantly a lovely day, but it would be a lot more lovely if... -Wait a second.

Moomin suddenly spots a figure emerging from the forest, that had to be him! Quickly bringing himself up, Moomin began to run towards the figure. He confirms it to defiantly be his friend, only causing him to sprint faster. Moomin hollers out Snufkin's name, getting closer and closer to him before finally reaching him. "Snufkin!" He calls out for a final time before he opens his arms to hug the boy, not expecting Snufkin to completely fall back. Causing Moomin to land right on top of him.

Moomin immediately picks himself up, attempting to help his friend do the same. "I'm so sorry Snufkin! Was I too rough? I didn't think I was!"

Snufkin eventually ends up back on his feet. "No Moomin... I just wasn't prepared I suppose" He said, in a rather monotone voice.

Moomin was a bit taken back, Why doesn't he seem happy? He's always happy when he comes back. "Are you alright, Snufkin?" He asks.

"Yes, yes. I'm just quite exhausted, and I want nothing more than to be asleep right now." Snufkin explained.

"Oh, well why don't we have a sleepover?" Moomin proposes. "So you don't have to set up your tent!"

"Why that's quite a wonderful idea. Thank you, Moomin." Said Snufkin, relieved that sleep was near.

"Hurray! This is going to be so much fun!" Moomin jumps with glee scurrying towards Moominhouse. Only to turn around to see Snufkin was still trundling his way over. "Come on, slow poke!" Moomin rushes back towards his friend.

"Moomin.. I really don't have the energy t-" Snufkin is cut off by Moomin pulling him by the arm.

"The more time we spend out here, the less time we spend at our sleepover!" Moomin explains, pushing open the door, he begins to drag the boy upstairs in such a hurry, he couldn't even give anyone else a chance to speak with him. "I guess you must have been on a real adventure huh? I've never seen you so tired before, what did you do? What did you see? Did you get into a fight? Did you see any cool monsters? Oh, please tell me everything!" Moomin questioned on and on before finally reaching his bedroom. What Moomin doesn't expect is for his friend to immediately collapses face first onto his bed. Moomin shook him lightly "You can't go to bed yet, you have to tell me what happened!"

Snufkin lets out a small yawn and lightly mutters, "I haven't laid on such a comfortable mattress in months..." Promptly, he falls asleep.

"Snudkin?" Moomin calls out, getting no response. Had he really been that tired? He shakes him once again only get get a very low mutter as Snufkin only snuggles more into the bed.

Moomin was in shock, what had happened to his friend that could've possibly made him this tired? Would he be okay? Moomin's mind races as he scanned him, the boy hasn't even gotten the chance to remove his shoes. So Moomin very carefully undoes his laces before sliding off each shoe. Removing his hat as well, placing it on his desk. Moomin thought to himself, should he should remove his scarf too? What if he were to get tangled into it and suffocate himself? Oh dear! Gently, he unwraps the accessory from his neck placing it with his hat.

Moomin's mind raced with thought, he hadn't the slightest clue on what could've happened to his friend, what if something was chasing him? That could explain why he was so tired, but what if it was still after him? Yes, that's definitely what happened, Moomin verifies himself. came up with a brilliant idea, he would stay up all night and protect him from any possible monsters in search of him. 'Perfect!' Moomin Thought to himself.

Of course, Moomin would've had to continue to get ready for bed. He wouldn't want Moominmama to know of his plan, as she would never allow how to stay up all night. But Moomin was determined nonetheless, nobody was going to stop him!

Setting his chair by his window, Moomin began to keep on the lookout. Every few minutes he would look over at Snufkin, making sure everything was okay. He pondered over what kind of creatures Snufkin could've encountered. The thoughts of giant and scary beasts frightened him, he considered hiding under his bed for a moment before scraping the idea immediately. No, he had to keep Snufkin safe!

Time went on and it was eventually way past the time Moomin would usually be asleep. Looking over at Snufkin, Moomin noticed how comfortable and rested he looked. It wouldn't hurt if he took a little break to rest his eyes, would it? Moomin thought, taking one last look out the window before heading into bed with the boy, snuggling close to him before closing. He was definitely not, under any circumstances falls asleep, he was just going to fall asleep. No matter how comfy the bed was, and how warm Snufkin's body heat made him. He was just going to rest his eyes.

***

Moomin awoke late in the morning with a yawn. He's quick to realize that Snufkin isn't beside him anymore. Oh dear, he had fallen asleep! Jumping up out of bed, he scrambles downstairs in a hurry.

"Moomin, you're up late." Moominmama exclaims.

"Where is Snufkin?" asked Moomin, frantically.

Moominmama giggles. "Outside on the Veranda dear."

"Yeah, after you basically stole him away from everyone last night." Little My chimes in.

Moomin immediately rushes out the door, to see Snufkin outside resting on the fence, cup of tea in hand. "Snufkin!" Moomin shouts.

Snufkin nods softly at him, greeting him a smile. "Moomin."

"Oh gosh Snufkin! I was so scared that the creature had taken you! Are you okay?"

Snufkin give him a curious look. "What are you on about Moomin?"

"Well, it's just that, you were so, so tired last night.I just assumed that you were being chased by something!" Moomin explained.

Snufkin can't help but laugh. "Why, of course not Moomin. I was just so exhausted from my travels back to Moominvalley."

"Oh," Moomin turns red with embarrassment. "I guess that makes sense too. I was just worried since I never seen you so tired. I was on the lookout for so long last night to keep you safe."

"Oh, Moomin. It was just a long journey, I would've told you but I was just too tired for my own good." Explained Snufkin. "Although I really do appreciate the gesture." There's a pause, Moomin takes a moment to let things sink in, almost disappointed there wasn't a story for his friend to tell. "But..." Snufkin takes a sip of his tea then looking over at Moomin with a small smirk. "There was one thing."

Moomin's eyes light up with excitement. "Tell me Snufkin, tell me!"

"I don't know..." Snufkin teases. "I wouldn't want you worried. It's quite the story."

"Oh, please tell me! I promise I won't get worried!" Moomin insists.

"Oh, alright." Said Snufkin with a smile, taking the last sip from his cup. "I suppose I will, but I must put this away before I do so."

"Hurray!" Moomin cheers. "Let me take care of that for you!" Taking Snufkin's cup from his hands, rushing inside to put it away. Snufkin chuckles at the sight.

Moomin is quick to come back taking Snufkin's hand before heading off in the forest where Snufkin spends the day talking to him all about his journeys of this years Winter.

(Hope you all enjoyed! Please send me more prompts!)

#moomin #snufkin #snufmin #fanfic #fanfiction #little my #moominmama

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thevoidcannotbefilled · 5 years

Note

Jm or daisira prompt: “I’m sorry I wasn’t fast enough.”

(I’m doing a 100 follower special!!! Send me prompts :D)

Daisira. Scars. Wounds. Surprising softness. Let’s gooooo~

——

Daisy tries not to look at Basira’s scars.

They’re a complicated matter, as everything in their lives. Daisy herself has no shame in scars, on others or herself. In fact, if a person hasn’t racked up a good scar or two by something or another, she didn’t consider them living enough. Soft skin meant easy lives, and nothing easy ever comes for free, especially in this world of monsters.

But on Basira…well, Basira is different. Before the Buried, Daisy hunted for the rush, the fight, and the inevitable kill. However, Basira is Basira and Basira is hers, and the idea of anything damaging what’s hers makes her blood rush far louder than any monster prancing about. If Basira were to even feel a twitch of fear from someone or something, Daisy would be on them faster than a starving bear after hibernation.

Which is why Daisy hates seeing Basira’s scars. It’s not that she isn’t proud that Basira knows how to defend herself, how to survive. It’s just this logic doesn’t stop the fierce protectiveness that fills in her mind when she sees the shiny scars that mar Basira’s skin.

Because scars at that point aren’t a sign of Basira’s success; no, they’re Daisy’s mistakes, Daisy’s inability to take care of the things that threaten to hurt them. It doesn’t matter how logical it is that Basira would have scars from times she worked in other sectioned jobs. It doesn’t matter that Daisy couldn’t have possibly protected Basira from every nick she’s gained between the Unknowing and now. It just…doesn’t matter. Every scar makes her grit her teeth, and even now, when she tries not to listen, the roar of blood is oh so tempting even if it means she doesn’t have to count any more shiny marks.

But she’s made her choice. This isn’t just about Basira. Isn’t even about Daisy really. That’s the point. Even if it meant she’d fade into nothing but bone only the most desperate dogs would gnaw on, Daisy would not give into the Hunt. She would not hurt innocents for her own satisfaction. Not anymore.

Her choice is harder to understand on days she has to take care of Basira’s wounds.

They sit on the ground near the one of the more permanent beds the post-Unknowing crew set up. Antibiotics, numbing agents, and piles of bandages surround them, and their clinical smell almost drowns out the blood in the air. Basira refused to go to a hospital, and Daisy wasn’t going to make her. Hunters attack when their prey was their most vulnerable, and the smell of blood makes Basira easy to find within the medical halls. No, the Archives, for the evil it holds is their evil, and right now it at the very least offers some protection.

Basira also refused Jon’s help. This Daisy found less wise, but the stony look on Basira’s face when she outright said she hadn’t wanted him here made it difficult to argue otherwise.

(Daisy and Jon would not-talk about it later. They would share a few looks, one bloody the other knowing, and he would offer this brittle smile that let her understand how deep his wounds cut. Despite not losing the world, neither technically won, and she’d wonders how long it would take until Jon would demand to see Martin safe instead of spending his days Knowing he’s upstairs, away from them on his own terms. They would share a space in a loud silence, not uncomfortable, but distracted nonetheless, until Jon would nod to the door. “She’s waiting for you,” he would say, “Have fun on your…date night,” and the awkward little grin he’d give would twist her heart. It’d be broken, but sincere, and it’d make her want to rip it off, in hunting or protection, she wouldn’t know. But she’d clap his shoulder, and a little smile of her own would sneak through when he nearly jumps out of his seat from the sheer force of it. Another look would be shared, but it’s different this time. They smile, and it feels real).

The worst of it is over now. Basira’s stitched up and the bandages are more for pressure than anything. Bright white and practically glowing against Basira’s dark skin, they wrap around her torso in a tight but practiced pattern. It’s not professional, but Daisy does know what she’s doing. Now, she’s just looking for the less pressing wounds.

At least, she’s trying to. She keeps getting distracted by the scars on Basira’s back.

There aren’t many. Certainly not as many that Daisy has, but Basira took off her shirt to let her get the bandages right, and with only a bra in the way, there’s nothing to hide the vast expanse of little scars dancing from arm to arm, and a few down the expanse of her back. Again, mostly nicks, and most of them look natural. But there’s definitely one on her back that is definitely from a stab wound.

Who patched her up then? Was it Martin before the Lonely? Or was it Melanie, angered filled and all?

Did Basira have to do it herself? Was it always there and Basira just never told her?

“Something the matter?” Basira asks, firmly, but not harshly. Daisy blinks, and she realizes she’s been tracing the outer edges of the largest scar. Well, formly largest considering the new one.

It’s easier to dwell on old scars, Daisy thinks. She could imagine pretend scenarios where she was able to save the day with a clinical eye. Strategy without emotion. Plans without context. Scars without impressions.

As gently as she can, Daisy traces the upper part of the bandage. She’s barely touching the fabric, but Basira tenses immediately. Daisy stops.

“I’m sorry,” she says automatically. She goes back to finding cuts. It’s easier.

Basira doesn’t grant her that reprieve. She shifts, and while she doesn’t face Daisy, Basira puts less of her weight in her lap. “It’s fine. Now what’s the matter?”

Daisy pauses, considers the question, and decides no, she will not answer fully. There are too many things wrong to list when Basira’s like this. She’d be shocked that Basira is as coherent as she is, but not much can be a surprise these days.

She cant mention anything big. Not the immediate dangers, but she knows Basira won’t be satisfied with the small ones either.

Daisy doesn’t trace the bandages again, but she eyes them with a frown. “I’m sorry I wasn’t fast enough,” she says quietly. It’s at the hint of what they should be talking about. She can still feel the rush of panic, at seeing Trevor and Julia. At seeing them, with Basira, knives and jutted teeth, ready to tear, ready to hurt-

Daisy takes a breath. Maybe if she breathes enough, her vision would stop going red.

“It’s fine,” Basira grunts our after some time, and both the silence and her tone tell her perfectly well that no this isn’t fine. Because of course it isn’t.

They haven’t been fine in awhile. Daisy doesn’t even know if she’s ever been fine.

Daisy doesn’t reply. Their conversations are left with too many words unsaid nowadays. It’s easy to stay within familiar territory. To pretend that no, they haven’t changed when they know damn well that everything is different. They pretend that they don’t talk with Jon about how exactly different they’ve become. They pretend to be Daisy And Basira because if they are just Daisy and just Basira, they would both be lost in their heads, following the call of calling blood and endless trails.

As long as both of them are alive, they’re Daisy And Basira. And so Daisy after cleaning up the last of the cuts, takes a moment to be just that. Careful not to touch her bandages, Daisy leans forward and presses against Basira’s back and wraps her arms around her neck.

Basira’s warm. So warm. Full of blood and life. Her warmth sleeps through Daisy’s chest and arms, and she can’t help but nuzzle into Basira’s neck for just a little bit. Just enough to feel her drumming pulse. It’s heavy, pumping faster than normal, and if it’s from her wounds or Daisy herself she can’t tell. She finds she doesn’t really care either, both bring a rush at the thought.

Basira on her part is tense. Her breath catches. Even if Daisy can’t see her face, she can imagine the thousands of thoughts running through her mind. But Basira was never much of a planner. She has no strategy other than to act, and as tired and hurt as she is, it doesn’t take long for her to relax against Daisy’s hold and lean back until she’s practically in her lab.

They’re quiet. Breathing. Basira takes Daisy’s hand and stares. Daisy wonders if she’s trying to count the bones that seem to jut out against her sickly skin. Basira holds it gently, and takes a considering look.

She guides Daisy’s hand to her lips, and presses gently. A kiss. It’s just as warm as the rest of her, just as soft, but so much more anyway. It’s feather-like, and faint, almost not there, but it makes Daisy catch her breath because this is hers. The kiss, the affection, all hers, all from Basira.

Even as Basira guides their hands away, Daisy doesn’t breath, too busy trying to memorize the way Basira’s lips moved against her skin and how the warmth blossomed under the single touch in a way far more fitting of her name than she’d ever be.

She only breathes when Basira intertwines their fingers. Hers look so small in Basira’s hand. Too pale. Too gone. But if Basira notices or cares, she doesn’t give an inclination. She just rests their hands against her chest, and gently dusts her thumb across the top of Daisy’s hand. It’s calloused, and there shouldn’t be an affection in them. But it’s Basira, and her palms are warm, and the callousness are not like scars. They’re not signs of a fight, but show dedication in a way that scars can’t. Years of practice can be known just from one look at her rough fingers.

Dedicated is a good word for Basira. And so callouses fit her. They make Daisy smile.

She buries her smile in Basira’s neck. She hears her huff in response. It’s a pleased huff though, and it only makes her hidden smile go wider.

They will need to move soon. Basira needs to rest, and the floor is never a good place to settle after getting stab wounds. There will be talks and discussions, and many things left unsaid in them, and the world will probably crash around them again.

For now, they hold on another, feeling each other’s warmth, their life, their forms, and just letting themselves be Basira And Daisy instead of be thousand other people they probably are at the moment. Scars are hidden from Daisy’s view and Basira can’t mistake being weak for being dead.

Here, there are no monsters. There is no apocalypse. The horrors of the world can wait another moment. For now, they are just simply them.

And it is quiet.

#the magnus archives #tma #daisira #ask the void #the amazing written word #100 follower special #the void's writing #jon and daisy friendship #though it's mostly just a mention of it #you cheated a little maddie but I'll allow it~#LOOK I DID A SOFT #maebmad

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lilulo-12fanfiction · 5 years

Text

Nothing Breaks Like A Heart- 4

So it’s been a hot minute since I last updated. I tried to not be all over the place. I’m not going to be following some of the movies and kind of doing my own thing.

As always- thank you for likes, reblogs, comments, shares, etc. please let me know if you would like to be added to my Marvel tag list. I write for Supernatural as well. I also do TVD/The Originals, Arrow & The Flash.

Requests are always open!

Tag list: @shreddedparchment @fanfictionjunkie1112

@this-is-mycrisis

Nothing Breaks Masterlist

Marvel Masterlist

Nora Stark was haunted, of that Steve was sure. He’d been staying in the tower for a month and every night he could hear her crying out or tossing and turning. Most nights she woke herself up before Steve had to come in and wake her up. Tonight was the worst he’d witnessed. She had tears on her cheeks, clenching the sheets with her hands.

“No! Please!” She cried out. Steve was certain he felt his heart crack. He never wanted to hear anguish like that from anyone. But from Nora? It was too much to take. He sat down on the edge of her bed next to her. The crutches she had been using had been replaced with a cane to help steady her. The rapidly healing wound would soon be a distant memory. A few more cries had Steve lightly shaking her.

“Nora, wake up.” He said quietly. It took a few tries until she woke violently. She shot up and Steve wrapped his arms around her sweaty body. “Shhh. It was only a dream.” She cried a little and the. He slowly felt her breathing return to normal and she slowly pulled away. He could tell she was embarrassed.

“I’m sorry.” She avoided his gaze.

“You have nothing to apologize for.” She nodded. “I’m sorry for just barging in.”

“Don’t be stupid Steve.” Nora had a slight smile on her face.

“You don’t have to tell me, but what were you dreaming about?” You sighed.

“When Tony went missing and we thought he was dead. And then everything with Obie. Colson’s death must have drudged it up. That’s about when we met. I had seen him before with Uncle Nick, but I didn’t really get to know him.”

“That must have been terrifying. Tony’s disappearance.”

“It was probably the worst moment in my life. It was harder than my dad. I knew he was dead. I saw his body. But with Tony...I knew he was alive. I knew it in my soul. Rhodey thought the same and didn’t stop looking. Obie had planned the whole thing so he made me feel like I was crazy. That kind of betrayal...it sticks with me.” Steve unconsciously tucked a piece of hair behind Nora’s ear.

“You’re kind of amazing.” He looked up at her and saw the heat radiating from her face. “To go through that...”

“It’s why I’m so protective of my Uncle and why I was so pissed at you. When he found out that our enemies had his weapons. Seeing what he saw, it changed him. He’s a good man. One of the best I know. He just doesn’t want anyone else to know. So he plays a character.”

“I’m sorry I said what I said. Loki’s staff may have pushed it along but I shouldn’t have assumed.”

“Steve stop apologizing. It’s okay. You’ve made up for it.” Nora placed her hand over Steve’s. That’s what the 3 weeks had entailed. Longing looks, shy flirting and touching each other in some way any chance they got.

“I should let you get back to sleep.”

“Or you could stay and I could make you watch another Harry Potter movie. I won’t be able to fall back asleep after that.” Steve smiled, handed Nora her remote and got comfortable next to her. He was dreading her telling him she didn’t need his help anymore. He hadn’t felt this at ease since he came out of the ice. He felt like he finally fit somewhere.———————————————————————

“Hello Nora.” Nora found herself standing in what appeared to be a dark room with a single light above her.

“Loki.” The God of Mischief grinned at her. “How are you doing this? How are you in my head.“

“You’ll soon understand. We’ll get there. I promise. I need to show you another memory. One that isn’t yours.”

“This is insane. I’m insane. That’s what this is.”

“I assure you Nora this is very real. And you are very sane. Come.” Nora threw her arms up as if to say “what the hell” and linked her arm through Loki’s so he could lead her. They finally came to a stop in front of what seemed like a floor to ceiling window. It was like someone was starting a movie. In front of her was her father and Nick Fury.

“Grant- this obsession will kill you.”

“I have to protect Nora. This is how I can do it.”

Nora looked at the board behind her father. There was some sort of formula.

“My father was close Nick. He may have even gotten it but died before anyone knew. I’m almost there. If I can figure out this formula, it will change everything. I can change everything. I promised her mother I would save her.”

Loki watched as Nora stared at her father longingly. She had her fingers pressed to the glass.

“What was he working on?”

“Go to the beach house. Search it. You’ll find his work there.” Nora turned and shot daggers at Loki.

“Why can’t you just tell me?! Why are you doing this to me? This is torture! Seeing him like this. He was obsessed, I can tell. What was he trying to save me from? How does my mother fit into this?.”

“Nora- you must put it together yourself. I can only lead you in the right direction. Go there. Find your answers.”

Loki was gone again.

Nora’s eyes shot open. She glanced to the side and Steve was asleep next to her, snoring lightly. They must have fallen asleep shortly after the movie started, the menu screen of whatever Harry Potter movie they had been watching was still on the screen. She never fell back to sleep after reliving Tony’s disappearance. What was it about this man that put her at ease?

Loki was screwing with her. She was sure of it. The sun was barely peeking out from the clouds. Soon it would be morning. She was exhausted, but there was no way she was going back to sleep.

She slowly pulled herself up in hopes of not waking Steve. She looked down at her leg after she peeled her blankets back and looked at it. “Nora- anyone else would have needed their leg amputated. Your rehabilitation should take you months, not weeks. That infection....the damage to the tissue. I can’t explain it. I wish I could” Bruce’s words echoed in her head.

She was missing a huge puzzle piece. There was a reason why she was healing the way she did. There was a reason why Loki could reach out to her. She had to find it. Maybe he wasn’t screwing with her. She had felt a connection with Thor, an unexplained one. Perhaps she had one with Loki too, but why?

She tip toed out of the room and into her office and sat down at her work space. She looked over the plans and tech she had been working on before Loki happened.

“Jarvis?” Nora whispered.

“Good morning Ms. Stark. You should be resting.” She smiled, it was hard to believe sometimes that it was an AI and not a real person.

“I know, but I’m awake. I need you to dig up as much information on my mother as you can. I mean really dig.”

“We’ve looked before.”

“I know. But we missed something. Let's look again.

“I’ll get on it right away.”

“Jarvis-“ Nora paused. “Don’t tell my Uncle. Something is going on. I don’t think he would keep anything from me. And if he doesn’t know, there’s a reason my Father didn’t tell him. I know he’s the boss, but just for now.”

“You can count on my discretion.”

“Thank you Jarvis.” When he didn’t respond you got to work on getting your software you had been developing uploaded to the Stark Servers. ———————————————————————

Steve stood in a tuxedo feeling as out of place as ever. Tony was putting on a fundraiser to help repair New York. He insisted that all of “The Avengers” be in attendance. He apparently also had an announcement.

Steve found himself looking for Nora. He had woken up in her bed alone that morning to find her in the kitchen, moving without the help of the cane. He didn’t mention it. He knew it was eating at her, the miraculous recovery. He was disappointed because he knew she could manage on her own. He wasn’t looking forward to being back in his apartment alone.

Nora, a Stark through and through, was making her entrance. He was stunned when he saw her. Nora’s hair, normally wild with curl had been painstakingly straightened and sculpted into a beautiful updo. She was clad in a spaghetti strapped black tulle dress that was covered in red flowers. Her makeup was simple and she was gorgeous.

“Wipe your drool Captain.” He turned to see Natasha shooting him a knowing smirk. Her red bobbed hair was curled and she wore an emerald green strapless dress.

“Shut up.”

“Tony will murder you, you realize that right?” Steve pursed his lips and looked down at Natasha.

“I’m not afraid of Tony.”

“You should be. When it comes to that girl. Well, woman, he’ll laser your heart out if you hurt her.” Natasha elbowed him. “She could do a lot worse than Captain America. You better go get her before some other guy steals her away.” Steve gave one more glance at Natasha and noted her teasing eyes and made his way across the room.

Nora hated these parties. She hated most rich people. The snobbery, the entitlement. She put on her best smile because it was her job to get them to write their big checks. Nora had a knack of charming almost whatever she wanted out of Tony Stark’s rich associates. Neither she or Tony would call them friends.

“Kid- you look beautiful.” Nora turned to see her Uncle beaming at her. She smiled and hugged him. “I feel like I haven’t seen you and you live under my roof.”

“I’ve been hibernating.”

“With our favorite Captain.” Tony quipped. He smirked as the color in Nora’s cheeks deepened.

“Steve has been helping me.” Tony rolled his eyes dramatically.

“When have you ever let anyone help you? It’s okay to have a crush on him. Both of our father’s did.” It was Nora's turn for a dramatic eyeroll.

“Oh shut up.” Nora shoved his shoulder.

“So when are you going to let me in on this project you’re working on. I saw you fiddling in my servers at 5am.”

“Good to know both of us don’t sleep. I’m almost ready.“

“Can I get a hint?”

“Nope” Nora popped the P and grinned at him.

“I hate how you’re so much like me sometimes.” Tony grabbed a glass of champagne from a tray and handed it to Nora. “Look, a walking fossil.” Tony grinned as Steve approached. Steve, ever unimpressed by Tony’s sense of humor, ignored him and smiled at Nora.

“Hi Nora.”

“Captain.” Nora greeted him with a smile in return. Tony rolled his eyes again.

“Make yourselves useful and get some checks.” Tony quickly made his exit. He knew what was happening between the two of them. He wasn’t sure how it made him feel. He wanted Nora to be happy, so of course she’d have eyes for Steve Rogers. Tony had to admit that with Steve she’d be well taken care of, he could protect her almost as well as Tony could and he would never disrespect her. He was literally the perfect man. He had to let go of the resentment he carried. It wasn’t Steve’s fault that Howard had idolized him.

“Ms. Stark!” Nora turned and internally grimaced. Alexander Pierce. She put on her best smile and turned to him.

“Secretary Pierce. Wonderful to see you.”

“I’m glad to see you up and about. I had heard you sustained quite the injury. You know, proper S.H.E.I.L.D. training could help.” He turned to Steve. “I’ve been trying to get Nora into the organization since she was old enough. It’s her birth right after all.” Nora hated how condescending she was.

“Stark Industries is also my birth right. I belong with my Uncle. I’m so glad you could make it. Enjoy your evening.” Nora quickly walked away before the man could say another word. She didn’t have it in her to continue false pretenses.

“Nora!” She felt Steve grab her arm and turned her back toward him. “You okay?”

“Yeah. He’s just a prick. It was his council that ordered the bomb that almost got Tony killed. I need a drink and then I really have to work on some donors, I’ll meet up with you later?” Steve nodded. “Use that gentlemanly charm on some of the ladies. The quicker we get donations the quicker we can get the hell out of her.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Steve still bad his hand on her arm. “You look beautiful.” He stared down into her light green eyes. Nora felt herself blushing again.

“You clean pretty nicely too Captain.” He let go of her arm and watched her vanish into the crowd.———————————————————————

Nora’s feet hurt. And she was sick of fluffing up obnoxious men. She had gotten quite a few hefty donations. She was done. She discretely grabbed a bottle of champagne and snuck out to one of the secluded balconies. As soon as the door shut she popped the bottle and took a long drink out of it.

Her Uncle had unveiled plans to rebuild Stark Tower and create The Avengers Tower. It would include his labs, training facilities and residences for any acting Avenger. Nora liked the idea. She could see him with Pepper and Rhodey through the glass, genuinely laughing. It made her happy to see him carefree for once

Her thoughts wandered to the image of her father and Nick Fury. She thought about confronting him but she knew he wouldn’t tell her anything. She knew Tony didn’t know anything about it. He wouldn’t keep that from her. They had one rule, they didn’t keep secrets. It was okay to take some time to fess up, but they were both always honest.

She heard the door open and stifled a groan but was pleasantly surprised to see Steve.

“Had enough?” He laughed when he saw the bottle in her hand.

“Ugh...yes. These people are obnoxious. But we need their money. I saw you talking to some of your peers.” Steve’s forehead scrunched in confusion. “The old ladies. They took a shine to you.”

“You and your Uncle think you’re so funny.”

“We’re hilarious.” They stood in a comfortable silence and listened to the music float out of the ballroom. Steve looked over to Nora.

“Dance with me.” Nora raised her eyebrows.

“Out here?”

“Do you really want to go back in there?” Nora considered his point. He took a few steps forward and put his hand out. She pursed her lips, set the bottle down and placed her hand in his and he pulled her to him. He had a placed firmly on the small of her back holding her close. Her free arm wrapped around his shoulder and they swayed to the music. Nora had made him want to dance with someone again. He made her feel secure, safe. His hand on the small of her back felt like it was always meant to be there. She hated herself for feeling like this so soon. But being with Steve Rogers, it felt right.

“I’ve really enjoyed spending so much time with you” Steve said after a few moments of silence.

“Why does it sound like you’re saying goodbye?

“Well, you’re quite literally back on your feet. I figured you don’t need me.”

“Well as my Uncle pointed out to me earlier, I’ve never needed anyone, not really. I like spending time with you too. And the tower will be done soon, you can have your own place to stay here, permanently.” Steve contemplated that.

“You think Tony would want me here full time? I feel like he doesn’t really like me” Nora scoffed.

“That Captain, is complicated. Howard felt responsible for finding you. He was obsessed. He also admired the hell out of you. He and my uncle didn’t have any easy relationship. And I feel he used some of your traits to, I don’t know, make Tony feel like he was less than. It has nothing to do with you and everything to do with that. But I saw the plans. He has a whole star spangled design plan for you. Steve, you’re the leader. You’re a natural leader. You have to be here.”

“Maybe you can get him to tone down the red, white and blue?”

“I make no guarantees.” Nora slowly pulled away when she realized she’d been standing there in his arms after the music stopped. She needed to figure out how to control her face. Every thing Steve Rogers did made her blush. She caught Nick Fury out of the corner of her eye. She quickly made an impulsive decision.

“Listen, I’m starving. The food here sucks. Can you run down and grab some food from that pizza place I like and meet me in my living room? I need to talk to someone quick.”

“Su...Sure. I’ll be back in a half an hour.” Steve was surprised by the sudden change but headed off the balcony and quickly to the elevator, eager to spend some more alone time with her.

Once Steve was gone, Nora approached Fury. While she was almost certain she wouldn’t get anything out of him, she had to try.

“I need to talk to you.” Nora said quietly.

“Sounds important.”

“It is.” He gave her a nod and she followed him to a balcony on the other side of the room. Once they were outside he turned and looked at her expectantly.

“What was my father working on before he died?”

“I’m not sure. Your father had a few open projects.”

“What was he working on that wasn’t assigned to him. He was worried. He was trying to protect me. I need to know how. And why.” Nick didn’t flinch. Nora wasn’t surprised. No one had a better poker face than Nick Fury.

“Where is this coming from?”

“Just answer the question.”

“It’s classified.”

“Bull shit. My father being obsessed with something or someone threatening me and having a secret project that would keep me safe is classified?”

“Who told you that?” There was no way Nora was telling him Loki was visiting her in her dreams and showing her memories.

“That’s not important. I need you to tell me.”

“You need to let this go.” Nora stared him down. He might not tell her but it at least confirmed it was real.

“I can’t. I need to know the truth.” Nick grabbed her arm and pulled her close to him.

“You have to leave this one alone. Please. I promised your father I would keep you safe.” Nora yanked her arm away.

“And that is precisely why I can’t leave it alone. If there is something or someone out there that is coming for me. I need to know. I need to prepare. I can protect myself. And if by some chance I can’t, we’ll, I live with Iron Man. I think I’m good. She stormed off the balcony. Nick stood for a moment with his head in his hand. He had to weigh the risks. Grant didn’t want her to know, but he also knew there was the chance she would find out. Better that he be the one to tell her. He pulled out his phon

“Agent Hill- I need you to get the package from

Grant Stark I have locked up. I’m going to need it delivered.” Nick Fury wasn’t scared very often, but he was terrified he would be putting another Stark in the ground.—————————————————————————

Steve opened Nora’s door carrying in pizza and some wings to find her pacing in her living room.

She was still wearing her dress that was dragging behind her because she had ripped off her heels and thrown them on the floor. She had one hand on her hip and was nervously chewing on her thumb. She was trying to work something out.

“Nora?” She snapped her head up like she was surprised to see him. “What’s wrong?”

“How do you feel about a road trip?”

“A road trip?” This was not the Nora Stark he had come to know. She was disheveled, frantic almost.

“Yeah. My dad had a beach house in Cape Cod. I haven’t been there in a really long time. It’s my favorite place. He always worked a lot. He always left me with Tony for work. But- for two weeks every summer, around The 4th of July we went there. Sometimes Tony would come. I miss it. It hit me tonight that I haven’t been there. I’m really missing him.” Steve set the food on the counter and slowly walked over to her. He put his hands on her upper arms to get her attention.

“Nora. What happened in the 35 minutes from

me leaving the party and getting back here.” She had a panicked look in her eyes.

“Nothing happened. I just really want to go. I wanted you to come along.

“Nora...if you don’t want to tell me. That’s okay. But I can clearly tell something is wrong.” She looked up at him, her green eyes clouded with conflict.

“I can’t. Not yet. I just really need to go there. I need to find something.” She couldn’t tell him she was seeing Loki. It was irrational and probably trauma related. Maybe Loki was her way of her subconscious bringing things up.

“Will you tell me eventually?”

“Yes- I just...I need to figure some things out first.”

“Okay. We can go tomorrow.”

“I want to leave tonight.”

“Hey- look at me. It’s late. You’re tired. We can leave first thing in the morning.” She sighed in defeat.

“First thing?”

“First thing. Go get changed and we’ll eat. You need some sleep.” Nora nodded and headed down the hall to her room to change. She paused and slowly turned and walked back to Steve. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him. It took him a moment to get over his shock before he placed his arms around her waist and hugged her back. She trusted him enough to take him along, even if she wasn’t ready to tell him why. He assumed she didn’t trust easily. Not after the betrayal Tony has faced, so not being completely shut out was enough for him. He just had to trust that she would trust him enough to eventually confide in him. ———————————————————————-

Was 5am too early to wake up Steve? She had fallen asleep for maybe an hour or two and was wide awake. She packed a bag for herself and packed some things for Steve. When she realized he wasn’t equipped with beach wear she dispatched Charles to get her what he needed. She had no idea where he managed to get them at 3am. She knew the Stark name held some weight and some poor girl working for some major department store was woken up in the middle of the night. She rarely used her privileges for selfish reasons and she hated doing things that came across as spoiled. Charles was excited that she actually needed him. He had slipped in and out while she was in the shower. She texted him a thank you and made sure he got a bonus in his paycheck. She’d track down whoever helped him when she got back and express her gratitude.

She was sitting at the counter drinking coffee as her mind was running through the places her father could have hid things in that house. She looked up when she heard foot steps. Steve Rogers fresh out of bed was a sight. If she wasn’t so focused on family secrets she might not be able to hold herself back. His bed head and sleepy eyes were about the sexiest thing she’d ever seen.

“Did you sleep at all?” He threw his hands up when he saw her and the bags by the door. She tried to hide her guilt.

“A little.” Steve had one hand on his hip and the bridge of his nose pinched. She kind of likes making him exasperated. “I mean you did say first thing.”

“I thought first thing meant like 9am. After you rested and cleared your head.” She hopped off the stool and grabbed a cup of coffee and poured some for Steve and handed it to him. “Don’t even try batting your eyes at me.” She grinned and handed him the coffee.

“I’m a Stark. We only need like 2 hours of sleep a day. It’s in my DNA or something. C’mon Captain. I’m up, I’m caffeinated, I got us both packed. Wheels hitting pavement in an hour.”

“I’m not even going to ask how you got things together for me. I don’t even own that suitcase.”

She turned him back toward where he came. “Fine. But I’m driving.”

“Deal. Move your ass.”

They were on the highway at 7am with the address to the Beach House plugged in to her Navigation.

“I hope you know that I don’t let just anyone drive my baby.” Steve was worried. She had tucked the frantic and emotional Nora back inside, but he could still see the chaos running behind her eyes.

“Well I did drive army vehicles in WWII.”

“And then spent 70 years frozen in ice. I’m just saying you break my car and I’ll break you.” He laughed and looked over at her. “Eyes on the road.”

“I’m pretty sure you could afford a new one if you can afford to get me a bunch of new clothes in the middle of the night.”

“Touché Captain.” Her phone started going off and she looked down to see her Uncle’s name flashing at her. She didn’t even have a chance to say hello before he started talking.

“Where the hell are you?”

“Well good morning to you too.”

“Don’t start. I’m standing in your apartment and you’re not here at 6am, your Jeep is gone and you sent Chuck on a middle of the night adventure.”

“Am I 12? I’m going to the beach house.” Tony was silent for a moment.

“What happened with Fury last night? Rhodey saw you having a heated argument and then you stormed off. You didn’t even say goodbye and now you’re leaving town without telling me?”

“Nothing happened. He just thinks I’m pushing myself too hard. I disagree.” She clenched her jaw at the lie, making herself feel better by promising to come clean when she knew the truth. “I was going to call you later. I thought you would still be a sleep.”

“Sleep is for babies. I only need like 2 hours.” Nora smiled. She sometimes forgot how alike she and Tony were. “Is he with you?”

“Who?”

“Seriously?!” She could see the annoyance on his face in her head. “Put the phone on speaker.” As soon as Tony could hear the difference in reception he started. “Rogers- you take care of my baby. Do you hear me?”

“Oh my God! You’re acting like we’re driving into a war zone! We’re going to Cape Cod...to the beach!”

“You got it Tony.” Nora gave Steve an incredulous look.

“DON’T ENCOURAGE HIM!” Steve grinned at her.

“I’ll see you when you get back.” And then Tony ended the call. Steve looked over at Nora who’s face was dripping with irritation.

“You know- I was trained to fight, to defend myself. Nick and Rhodey made sure I could take care of myself. I’m an impeccable shot. And he acts like I’m this helpless damsel.”

“Nor...” Steve let the nick name hang in the air and when she didn’t protest he continued. “I don’t think that has anything to do with it. He lost his parents, his brother. He’s seen some crazy things and then everything that happened with New York. You running into the line of fire. I think he’s just scared he’ll lose you too. So he holds on a little tighter and wants to make sure you’re protected.” She let out the air of defeat.

“I know...it’s just slightly infuriating. My whole life everyone, including him, made sure I was equal to, if not better. I’m not scared because between what I can do behind a screen and what I’ve been taught...I don’t need to be. I just hate being treated like I’m helpless.”

“He knows your not helpless.”

“It’s weird hearing you defend him.” Steve laughed.

“We all make assumptions about people and usually are proven wrong.” Nora turned to look out the window as the world zoomed by. Steve felt his skin tingle when she placed her hand next to his and linked her pinky with his. ——————————————————————-

Steve was surprised at how normal the beach house seemed. It was a a small raised cottage on the beach. It had 3 bedrooms and a bathroom. The living room and kitchen were an open space. It did, however have an extensive deck that wrapped around the house with an impressive outdoor fireplace that led to what seemed to be a beach shared by the residents on the strip.

“You expected something huge huh?”

“I guess so. This place is great.”

“If Tony had picked it out it would have been ridiculous. My parents bought this place before they had me. My mother was more practical. She also like her privacy so didn’t want to draw attention to herself with flashy things.” Her voice trailed off as she seemed to contemplate that. “Do you want to run down to that grocery store on our way in and stock us up?” She handed him a credit card.

“I can pay for food.”

“I dragged you here. Stop.” He knew it wasn’t an argument he was going to win. He was quickly learning what battles to pick.

“Are you trying to get rid of me?”

“I just haven’t been here in a while. I just need a moment.” Steve nodded.

“I’ll be back in a bit.” He studied her face for a moment and then headed out. As soon as he was gone, she approached the bedroom door she hadn’t been able to open since he died. She stood in the open doorway for a moment and noticed a package on the bed. She pulled the note attached to it off and opened it.

Nora-

I’m sure you’ll find other things here. Things he didn’t want you to know. But this package. This is what you were asking for. He asked me not to tell you, but said if you ever came looking to give you this. Hunting would put you in more danger. Please be careful.

N.F.

Nora set the note aside. She peeled the brown paper off of the package and opened the box and was greeted with another letter.

Hi Nora-

If you’re reading this, then I’m gone. Which seems so dramatic to write and completely ridiculous. However, it’s the truth. There are many things you don’t know. I didn’t ever want you to know. If Nick gave you this, then you put some pieces together and the Stubborn Stark gene has you investigating.

Your mother was special. That’s all I will tell you. She came to New York to hide and we found each other. There are things in this world that are beyond what we have ever believed. Some day...evil beyond your wildest imagination. This...this might be able to protect you. My father was working on it before he died. I picked up where he left off.

You cannot share this with your Uncle. It would put a target on him. I know my brother, he won’t be able to keep it to himself. Which is probably the right thing. As much as he pretends, he always wants to do the right thing. He needs to be safe to be there for you. You need to keep this to yourself unless you come to the day that you need to use it. Please stop digging.

I love you. I am so sorry that I am not there with you. But I know my brother has taken care of you better than I ever could. I can only imagine the woman you have come to be. I know, whatever path you have chosen, I would be proud. But please- don’t take my path.

Always,

Your Father

Nora choked back a sob as tears poured down her face. Her hands trembled as she pulled out a hard cover journal and started reading her father’s research, experiments and eventual success. She didn’t even hear Steve come back or hear him calling her name until he was in the doorway of her father’s room.

“Nora?! What’s wrong?!” She looked up at him with a tear stained face and handed him her father’s letter. She waited for him to finish reading it.

Her father was right. No one could know about this, Tony couldn’t know about this. But she had to tell Steve because she was panicking.

“Nora...what was he working on?” Steve wasn’t sure he even wanted to know. She cleared her throat and wiped her face.

“Howard was trying to replicate the super soldier serum before he died. If he figured it out...he didn’t write it down. When my father found his research...he continued it. Steve...he figured it out. He replicated the serum. He knew it worked because he tried it on himself. And then he died. I think he was killed for it.”

“He wrote down what happened to him?”

“He wrote down everything. His other failed experiments he tested on rats. His thoughts. What happened when he realized that he had succeeded. And he wrote down the formula.”

“What?”

“I have the directions to remake the serum that turned you into Captain America right here in my lap.”

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geminiamethyst · 5 years

Text

Nightmare.

Sorry it’s been a while, my brain has not come up with much inspiration lately. So I’m just gonna do a few short stories here and there and I’ll see where I can go from there. This story takes place after Possession. If you haven’t read it yet, I’ll post a link at the end of the story so you guys are up to date. Please read it if you haven’t as there are some spoilers ahead in this story.

Enjoy.

The day had seemed pretty normal to Snufkin. It was a normal Autumn afternoon. The once lush green leaves were now in various shades of oranges and yellows. The beautiful flowers that had graced the valley during the Spring and Summer have shrivelled, leaving nothing more than bare stalks and dead petals on the ground. The trees themselves seemed to have followed suit, some bare completely of their leaves while others were just barely clinging onto them. Even the grass was dying, their green had become yellow from the cold. The skies were completely silent apart from the occasional whisper of a harsh wind, as the birds have all flown south, wanting to not get caught up in the snow. The clouds in the sky seemed to have taken on a grey hue, threatening to open up and rain upon the valley. Animals hurried about, squirrels collecting nuts and burying them and hedgehogs hurrying to finish their dens for the Winter. The residents were no different. They all collected the essentials that they needed such as firewood and other rations should they wake up from their Winter hibernation too early. Everything seemed fine.

Snufkin felt the fishing rod tug in his hands. The float bobbed under the surface furiously as the fish down below tries to savagely yank the bait off of the hook. Snufkin was stranger though as he pulled on the fishing rod, sending the fish flying through the air. Being quick, he grabbed the line and as the fish was thrashing wildly, he unhooked it into the bucket that he had beside him. Five small fish were swimming around in circles, their cycle almost interrupted by the unexpected arrival of the sixth. Snufkin smiled at how many he had already caught before turning his attention to Moominhouse. It was slowly starting to become dark already, the day already gone too quick for anyone’s liking. The sky was becoming a light shade of orange and pink blended together. He wondered if Moominmamma would like some fresh fish to cook for her family. With that in mind, he stood up and carried his fishing rod and bucket towards Moominhouse. As he slowly approached the house, he could hear laughing on the veranda. He could see Moominmamma, Moominpappa, Moomin and the Joxter, the father he reunited with last year there, laughing at something and enjoying some hot beverages. Joxter was sitting on the railing whilst the family was sitting at the table. Moomin seemed to have caught sight of Snufkin because he had gotten up and started waving at him. Snufkin waved back, the smile he had on his face growing a little bigger. Joxter turned to see what the young troll as seeing. Upon seeing his son, he too started to wave at Snufkin. Snufkin waved back. Everything was perfect.

Too perfect.

Snufkin stopped waving abruptly. He stopped walking too. His smile faded. A foreboding chill ran throughout his entire body. He remembered nothing of the prior events that had taken place before he went fishing. He couldn’t remember waking up and having breakfast that morning. He couldn’t remember going for a walk or seeing his friends. Nor could he remember playing his harmonica, if he did at all. He couldn’t even remember getting his fishing rod. The one thing that he couldn’t remember most importantly, was seeing Joxter return to Moominvalley. Joxter was away somewhere, most likely causing trouble. So, if he was outside of Moominvalley, why was he here?

Snufkin felt his heart stop as he heard something behind him. It sounded like...laughter. Very familiar laughter. He slowly turned around to see a large black mass behind him. Snufkin felt like his body had turned to stone, even his breathing stopped all together. Two, blood red eyes opened up and a toothy grin spread in the black mass. The eyes shined with demonic glee as Snufkin felt all the colour drain from his face. His hands stopped responding as he dropped his fishing rod and the bucket. Water splashed over his feet and the fish flopped uselessly on the ground. He barely noticed it. He could barely hear anything, only his heart beating louder than a drum.

“Hello, mutt.” The shadowed figure grinned at the traveller’s expense. That was the push Snufkin needed to finally move. His legs snapped out of their stone like state and worked faster than he ever thought they could. He could hear the ground behind him cracking and crumbling. The house in front of him seemed to be further than it was a minute ago. Snufkin tried to run faster, but no matter how hard he tried, he seemed to be going slower than he did faster. The family on the veranda didn’t seem to notice and just continued to smile and wave at him, taunting him in a way. The ground vanished under his feet and he fell into a deep, seemingly bottomless, black pit. Snufkin didn’t react to it other than his lungs not taking in air and hand outstretched uselessly for someone to grab him. He didn’t even have enough time to scream. The pit closed up, closing off all light.

Snufkin didn’t know how long he fell but he stopped very suddenly when something wrapped around his arms. Gravity had taken such an affect on him, that he thought that his arms would be ripped completely off of his body. He looked around seeing nothing at all but darkness. He tugged at his arms to try to free them.

“I’ve got you now.” The voice taunted him. Snufkin stopped struggling and looked on ahead. There were those blood red eyes again. Snufkin couldn’t help but feel that fear creeping back up into him.

“No. You’re not real! You’re gone!” He cried out, tears threatening to fall down his face.

“You can’t get rid of me! I’ll always be there, in your shadow.” The figure taunted, leaning in too close for Snufkin’s comfort. “And one day, you’ll be my little puppet once again!” Suddenly, Snufkin felt something moving his legs, forcing him to walk on invisible ground that had just appeared underneath him. He tried to stop his movements but it was no use. The invisible force that held him forced him to move literally like a marinette puppet. Snufkin looked around blindly for something or better yet someone to help him.

“Snufkin!”

Snufkin looked to where his name was called from. It was Moomin. Snufkin almost wept in joy at seeing his best friend.

“Moomin! Please! Help me!” He begged, desperately trying to fight back against the strings.

“Why should I?” Moomin suddenly scowled, an angry look crossing his face. Snufkin could only stare wide eyed at him. What? “It’s not like you’ll pay me back for it! You’re useless!”

“No! Moomin! Snap out of it! This isn’t you!” Snufkin protested, his eyes threatening to leak.

“Shut up!” Little My suddenly yelled as she stood next to Moomin.

“My!” Snufkin cried out, shocked that his older sister had said such a thing to him.

“What did I say, you useless crybaby?!” Little My barked. There was a noise of a zipper and Snufkin suddenly found that his mouth was zipped up tight. “That’s better! I’m getting sick of you just by your whining!” Snufkin shook his head, trying to scream as loud as he could for this to end. “You pathetic crybaby!”

“Is the jerk crying again?” Snorkmaiden asked as she appeared next to Moomin. Sniff joined her quickly afterwards.

“Yeah! The loser is here to grace us with his tears!” Sniff scowled, pointing at Snufkin. The traveller only responded by shaking his head furiously, trying desperately hard to not believe that these were really his friends shouting such abuse at him like this.

“The tramp is finally leaving is he?” Moominpappa enquired as he appeared behind his son, with his wife standing next to him. “Good. It was about time too. He was never good enough for this family anyway!”

“We don’t need trash like that around Moominvalley. Life will be better without him!” Moominmamma uncharacteristically snarled. Snufkin shook his head again and tears escaped his eyes as he couldn’t fight them anymore. The family took as an opportunity to continue shouting insults at him.

“You’re worthless!” Moomin yelled.

“You’re pathetic!” Snorkmaiden spat.

“You can’t do anything right!” Sniff sneered.

“You’re weak!” Moominmamma shrieked.

“You’re a burden on this family!” Moominpappa insulted.

“I wish you weren’t my brother!” Little My stabbed the blade of insults deeper into Snufkin. The traveller continued to weep, tears streaming down his face faster than ever, as the insults kept coming at him like a horrendous storm. Some were repeated and some weren’t, bring new cruel names to label him with. He kept repeating over and over again in his head that this wasn’t truly the ones that he called family for the harsh words. Each one was sharper than a knife cutting into his flesh, tearing his heart into thousands of pieces. He was forced to stop moving, being forced to hear the verbal and emotional abuse even more. Only his foot was hovering in mid air. He didn’t understand why, he didn’t even think as to why. All he could try to do, was to block out all of the abuse thrown his way. He suddenly jumped, letting out a muffled yelp when he felt a pair of hands lamp onto his shoulders. He shuddered as the person behind him leaned over to his ear, their hot breath tickling his ear.

“I wish you had never been born.” A familiar voiced hissed down his ear, filled with pure loathing towards him. It was heard above everyone else, filling the boy with more despair. Before Snufkin could whip his head around to confront the abuser, there was the sound of snapping strings and the hands shoved him over an unseen cliff edge that he had been standing at. The voices of his loved ones continued to hurl abusive words towards him and he plummeted through the air. He hurled through the darkness, screaming as loud as he could.

“NO!” Snufkin screamed as he sat up, petrified. He lungs were constricted, making it extremely difficult to breathe. It was so hard that Snufkin thought that from the shire pressure was going to snap all of his ribs in half. His heart pounded so rapidly that he felt like he was going to pass out. His stomach was tied into so many knots that he literally felt like throwing up his supper. He blindly looked around his tent, panic overtaking his mind. Where was he? Where was his father? Where was everyone?! Without thinking of putting on his hat or his boots, he stumbled right outside, tripping over his own feet. He landed onto the half frozen ground, frost already creeping onto the grass. The change in temperature was just enough to have him stop and try to breathe again. He laid there on the ground, taking deep breathes as steady as he could. His breath turned into white mist in response to the cold. The mist faded within seconds, along with his panic. Slowly, he sat up, his heart beat slowing to its regular rate and his chest was less tight. The night seemed peaceful enough with its star decorated sky and the almost full moon. There was not a single cloud, making the night more cold than it would’ve been. The crickets played in time with the rapids of the stream, creating a harmonic melody. Owls hooted into the night, playing their own midnight melody. The stream looked like multiple moonstones as it reflected the moon.

Snufkin shivered a little in response to the air. He wiped the cold sweat that trickled down his face as the reality of the nightmare he suffered set in. He wanted to scream so loud that the valley could hear him but his voice got caught up in his throat. He looked over at his tent, wondering why Joxter hadn’t come to comfort him like he had done so before. However, he remembered once again that his father was away. Sitting on the frozen ground, he glanced over towards Moominhouse. While, the rest of the house was dark, the lights downstairs were still on. Someone was still awake. Snufkin looked over at his tent. Normally it would be his own place of sanctuary in a way. A place for him to feel safe while he slept. Now however, the dark inside of it reminded him of the black abyss he fell into in his dream. Steeling himself from the cold, Snufkin slowly got to his feet, the thin socks he wore made his limbs feel almost like ice in response to the frost, and carefully stumbled towards Moominhouse.

Moominmamma hummed to herself quietly as she scooped out the pumpkin on the kitchen counter. Beside her were a few jars. Some of them were full of pumpkin filling, being ready to be made into soup whilst others were waiting to be filled. Pumpkin husks were laid empty on the other side of the counter. There was also a bowl with pumpkin seeds filling it. The mother planned to plant them for them to be grown into full pumpkins for next year. The fireplace in the drawing room was lit to help warm up the house downstairs as the night was bitterly cold. Normally she wouldn’t be up this late at night, in fact right at this moment she would rather be curled up in her warm bed and do this in the morning with her family. But there was this nagging feeling that wouldn’t leave her alone, so she decided that she would tire herself out so it could leave her alone by keeping busy. However, even while she was keeping her hands busy, the feeling wouldn’t leave her be. She didn’t understand what it was but had a sense that she would figure it out soon.

Suddenly, there was quiet knocking at the door. The mother looked up from her work. At first she thought that she had imagined it, but when she heard the knocking, a little louder this time, she knew that it wasn’t the dark playing tricks on her. As she quickly washed her paws, clearing them of the pumpkin and its seeds. As she shook her damp paws dry, she hurried to the drawing room where the knocking had come from. She gently opened the door, revealing a familiar, green dressed figure, shivering from the night’s cruel coldness.

“Oh! Snufkin! This is a bit of a surprise.” Moominmamma exclaimed, seeing the young traveller standing in front of her. That’s when she caught sight of his pale face and damp skin, his fringe sticking to his forehead. She noticed that his scarf, hat and boots weren’t there either, as if he had literally just woken up and didn’t think about putting on these things. “Are you alright? You look awfully pale dear.”

“Moominmamma...” Snufkin started before his voice failed him. He cleared his throat quietly so he could try again. “I’m sorry to disturb you, but...” He trialed off involuntarily, fiddling with a loose thread on his sleeve.

“Is everything alright?” Moominmamma gently probed, seeing how uncomfortable Snufkin had suddenly become.

“N-n-no...and I need to talk to someone. Please?” Snufkin stammered, becoming more out of character just by begging that. Moominmamma only looked at him out of pity, before she delicately placed an arm around his shoulders.

“Come inside, dear. Let’s get you out of the cold.” She said as she gently nudged him inside. She wordlessly guided him to the fireplace and have him sit down before it. Snufkin welcomes the heat from the fire, the coldness from outside seemed to fade away like a forgotten memory. Moominmamma draped a blanket over his shoulders, helping him to warm up better.

“Thank you.” He smiled a little, clutching the blanket to the point where his knuckles became whiter than a pearl.

“Now dear...tell me everything.” Said Moominmamma as she consolingly sat next to the traveller and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. Snufkin didn’t answer right away. Moominmamma didn’t rush him as she could tell by his trembling frame under her paws, she knew he was badly shaken up.

“Before I do, can you answer me this honestly?” He asked, his head bowing a little in shame. Moominmamma only responded by nodding her head, her eyes flashed with confusion. Snufkin took a deep breath before he blurted his question out. “Do you think I’m useless?”

“What?! No! Snufkin I don’t think that. Neither does my family. Why would you ever think that?” Moominmamma exclaimed, gently tilting his head up to look at her. Snufkin’s eyes went downcast. “Snufkin, if you don’t talk to me, I won’t be able to help you.” Snufkin looked at her, and she felt like her heart would break. He was wide eyed and seemed to look like a frightened child. She had seen this look before. That was the night before he met his father for the first time, the night he had a nightmare about the events that caused him to be separated from those who love him. He became an emotional wreck after that, and it looked like he was relapsing into it again.

“It was a nightmare.” Snufkin finally started, slowly. Moominmamma didn’t force him to let it out at once. She knew to take her time with Snufkin, he had every right to be slow with this. “At first, it was just me fishing and coming up to your house to see if you wanted any fish for your family. Then I saw Father on the veranda with you and that’s when it got bad very quickly. I heard him.” Snufkin shuddered at that, feeling like he was going to be sick. Moominmamma didn’t feel the need to ask what the traveller had meant. The previous year in Autumn, Snufkin was possessed a vengeful spirit, a spirit of a boy who died when Snufkin was an infant. A boy who made his father kill Little My’s father just so he could have her mother. A boy who was so spoilt that he have a tantrum worse than that of a toddler’s to get what he wanted. A boy that was so hate filled when attention was drawn way from him, that he would do anything to get it. That included trying to murder Snufkin one night whilst he was sleeping in is crib. The spirit was so filled with hate that he didn’t cross over, biding his time for his revenge. He had possessed Snufkin with the intent on getting rid of everyone for he blamed everyone for his life going wrong and his death. With the help of a spirit medium, Madame Portia, they were able to get Snufkin back and send the spirit to the other side for good. They had almost lost Snufkin but they were glad to have him back after such a long and tortuous night.

“I fell down a dark pit before the spirit caught me. He said he’d be back, to take me as his “puppet” again. He forced me to walk as if I was one on strings. That’s when Moomin, Sniff, Snorkmaiden, Little My and you and your husband came. I thought you’d help me but instead....” Snufkin had to pause, his throat collecting a heavy lump inside of it. “You all called me names, saying that I was worthless and weak and a burden on the family. So many awful things. I kept trying to block it out, but the words just got louder, and I couldn’t do anything or say anything to stop it. I was forced to stand still with the words being yelled at behind me.” Snufkin had to stop again with his explanation. Moominmamma only started to rub his back consolingly, her heart feeling like it would shatter instantly. “Suddenly someone came up behind me. They said that they wished that I had never been born. I didn’t need to see them. It was Father. I know he wouldn’t say anything like that to me really but it didn’t stop it from hurting. He then pushed me over a cliff and that’s when I woke up.” Snufkin feverishly wiped his tears but they wouldn’t stop coming. “I know it wasn’t real, but it felt like it. And I hate it!” That’s when Moominmamma couldn’t hold back anymore. She carefully wrapped her arms around Snufkin. The boy only responded by leaning into the warm embrace. He could faintly smell pumpkin on the mother, telling him what she was more than likely doing tonight. His tears dampened the mother’s fur as she combed her fingers through his messy hair. Now she understood why that nagging feeling kept her up this night. She somehow knew that Snufkin would be having this night terror, and knew that he would seek comfort while his father was gone.

“You are strong. You are not worthless, you mean so much to us. And you are not a burden on this family. You have changed my family’s life, especially Moomin’s for the better. He has never been so inspired to go on adventures so much more than he was before he met you. Just by meeting you and hearing your stories has opened up his eyes to so much in the world.” Moominmamma whispered to Snufkin, rubbing his back in a smooth circular motion. Snufkin listened intently, her words breaking down the emotional barrier that held him. “You are and always will be a part of this family. We all love you very much Snufkin and there is no power on Earth that can change that.” Snufkin felt the tears coming down his face quicker, but out of the joy and comfort that he was feeling.

“I just...hate feeling trapped like this. I just want this nightmare to be over.” He cried, trying to make his hoarse voice as loud as he could.

“I know, Snufkin. Believe me, lately I’ve been concerned about it too, especially now. I think everyone in fact has been like this. And remember what Madame Portia told you?” Moominmamma sighed rubbing his back gently. She then carefully took his wrist and pushed back the sleeve of his coat, revealing a turquoise beaded bracelet. “She said that as long as you wear this bracelet, no spirit will possess you again.”

“But what it doesn’t work? What if I lose it? I don’t want to hurt anyone like that again.” Snufkin cried, snatching his hand back and curled in on himself.

“That’s enough Snufkin. It won’t happen. If it does, then we’ll be ready for it.” Moominmamma suddenly said in a stern tone as she gently forced the traveller to look at her. Snufkin blinked a couple of times before wiping his tear stained face.

“Sorry. I’m being ridiculous, aren’t I?” He sniffed quietly, feeling ashamed with himself.

“Not at all. This is normal, Snufkin. And I’m glad that you came here after your horrific ordeal tonight.” The mother whispered soothingly. She gently brushed a thumb over his cheeks to clear his face of his tears. “However, I think that right now, you need something a little better than a mother’s love.” With a gentle pat on the head, Moominmamma got up from where she was kneeling. She hobbled a little, the blood flow returning to her legs. Without waiting for Snufkin to ask what she was doing, she made her way upstairs, disappearing into the dark. Without the comfort of the mother, Snufkin suddenly felt very cold and alone once again. He tightened his hold on the blanket, almost making a cocoon to warm him back up again. He stared into the fire, watching the various shades of reds, oranges and yellows made in its infinite number of patterns. He tried to find further comfort in the fact that he was safe in Moominhouse. His eyes drifted over to a talisman that hung on the wall. Another gift from Madame Portia to protect the household and its family. Snufkin wasn’t normally a superstitious person, but after last year, he had a different perspective on things. He shivered a little before curling further into himself. He was so wrapped up in trying to clear his mind of those awful memories, he didn’t realise that someone had come down the stairs and approached him. A paw gently rested on his shoulder. He looked up, expecting to see Moominmamma again, but instead he saw Moomin standing next to him. A tired smile was on his face, saying that Moominmamma woke him up to comfort his best friend tonight.

“Moomin...” the traveller smiled tiredly, standing up to greet the young troll.

“Mamma said that you needed a hug.” Moomin smiled. Snufkin let out a small stifled laugh (his throat still felt like there was a lump inside it) before he and Moomin enveloped their arms around each other. They stayed like that for a while, welcoming the warmth that each other shared. “I won’t ask what happened tonight, but I know that you don’t want to be alone right now.” Snufkin nodded meekly, wishing that his tears didn’t threaten to come once again. The young troll patted his back consolingly as the traveller noticed Moominmamma standing by the stairs. His red sore eyes looked at her, saying his thanks silently. The mother only smiled, wiping a small tear from her cheek. Moomin slowly broke away and took the traveller’s hand in his paw.

“Come on. You can sleep in my room tonight.” He said as he gently dragged the tired traveller up the stairs. Moominmamma watched them warmly as both her son and her unspoken adopted son disappeared in the darkness.

Snufkin almost sank right into the bed as he laid down in it. Both he and Moomin were under the thick covers, grateful that they were warming up once again in the dark, cold attic room. Moomin often hated this time of year because it meant that Snufkin was going to be leaving. However at the same time, he loved it because it meant that he can have moments like this with his best friend. He desperately wanted to know what happened to make Snufkin suddenly come to Moominhouse so late, but he knew better than to ask about it.

“Snufkin?” He asked. Snufkin only groaned softly as he opened his tired eyes. “I won’t ask you about what happened, but if you ever want to talk about it, or anything else that is troubling you, I’ll always be ready to listen.”

“Thank you...Moomin...” Snufkin tiredly smiled before he drifted back to sleep. Moomin gently held his hand, watching his friend return to a peaceful sleep. The young troll smiled a little at how relaxed his face looked. He yawned as silently as he could before his head sank into the pillows.

“Happy Halloween, Snufkin.” He whispered, before he slipped right back into a blissful sleep.

And nightmares didn’t plague the household for the rest of the night, as if all the spooks that were to come the next night decided that one horrifying nightmare was more than enough to scare the vagabond.

Happy Halloween everyone!

Possession Chapter 1: click HERE

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