#I’m so sorry Artemis this is all you’re going to hear about for the next week | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

the-al-chemist · 2 years ago

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Artemis Hexley and the Return to the Riddles

Chapter 8: The Capture

A/N: Artemis attempts to gain two separate victories, but instead manages to find something else entirely… Ellie Hopper belongs to @thatravenpuffwitch and David Willows and Amelia Booth to @that-scouse-wizard. Warnings: Ableism and poor sportsmanship.

The Halloween Feast had been just as much fun as Artemis had expected, and she was grateful to Merula for persuading her to go. She was even more grateful the next morning, when Merula approached her at the Hufflepuff table over breakfast and promised to keep an eye on Victor Ketsueki’s mysterious extracurricular activities for her.

“Really?” said Penny, with a sigh. “Honestly, Artemis. I really don’t believe that Victor is the thief.”

“And I really believe that he is.”

“That’s only because you don’t like him. Why would he even steal all those things?”

“I dunno. Maybe it’s to pay for all his stupid new clothes,” Artemis suggested.

“But Jae said half of the things weren’t even that valuable. You know what they all were, though?”

“Shiny?”

“Reflective,” Penny corrected her. “Which means that it wouldn’t make any sense whatsoever for Victor to take them, because vampires don’t even have a reflection.”

Artemis sighed. There was no point in arguing. At least this month there would be a good distraction from the search for the thief and the endless N.E.W.T. preparation: along with the dark nights, cold winds, and morning frosts, November brought with it the first two matches of the Quidditch season.

The first match saw Andre Egwu’s debut as Ravenclaw Captain, and his team’s defeat by Gryffindor. The following weekend marked the Hufflepuff’s first game, in which they were up against Slytherin.

“Last week’s match was a relatively close run thing, which means that although Gryffindor is in the lead, it is only by a small margin,” said Murphy, as the team gathered in the changing tents before the start of the match. “Now, I’ve been hearing the odd rumour about the Slytherin team’s strategy this year-”

“Penny told me that they’re planning on cheating!”

“There are only so many fouls they will be able to get away with,” Murphy said. “Keep level heads, work steadily on getting that points advantage, and the match should be ours.”

“Will be ours,” said Tonks, a confidence in her voice that didn’t quite match the white knuckles that gripped her Beater’s bat.

“Well, we can’t know that for sure. There are no certainties in Quidditch, after all. But you’re a strong team, and our strategies are sound. I’d say that the probability of our success is fair to good.”

“Thanks, Murph. Great pep talk.”

Murphy beamed at the compliment, and led the team out onto the pitch, where the whole school had gathered to watch the match. Up in the commentary box, a second year Gryffindor boy had taken over Murphy’s former role, and Artemis saw Murphy’s eyes flicker upwards as the boy began to speak.

“And here comes the Hufflepuff team, captained by Murphy McNully, who taught me everything I know. The Hufflepuffs actually have the greatest ratio of female to male players, with Beater David Willows being the only wizard on the team. A very lucky bloke, if you ask me. I’m sure that he’s been having the time of his life in those changing tents…”

“Jordan,” a second voice, which Artemis recognised as that of Professor McGonagall, growled into the microphone.

“Sorry, Professor. What I meant to say is that I’m sure David Willows has been behaving like a perfect gentleman, and that this respectful behaviour is bound to carry through onto the pitch,” the new commentator said quickly. “Whether the same thing can be said for the Slytherin players remains to be seen. New Captain Marcus Flint has put together a rather formidable side, but I have been reliably informed by one of the final year girls - I didn’t catch her name, but she was very pretty, blonde, great-”

“Jordan!”

“- personality, Professor McGonagall. I don’t know what you thought I was going to say there. So, my charming seventh year friend told me that someone else told… Anyway, rumour has it that Slytherin’s Bakari Nyoka has quit the team after a disagreement with Flint over some of his more unorthodox strategies for the game. Whether Flint has anything dodgy up his sleeve, and whether new Seeker Terence Higgs will go along with his shady schemes… Wait, what was that, Professor?” There was a dry whisper through the microphone, before Jordan sighed audibly and added, “Professor Snape has asked me to point out that these comments are merely - what was the word? - conjecture, and that there is no evidence to suggest that the Slytherin Captain intends to engage in any form of foul play. Okay, but I’m just saying what I’ve heard, Professor. What now?”

As Jordan continued to have a hushed argument with Professor Snape in the commentary box, both the Hufflepuff and Slytherin teams lined up in the centre of the pitch. Murphy wheeled over to shake hands with Flint, the Slytherin Captain, who made a point of bending down to reach him, a patronising smirk on his face. Behind him, a couple of the other players sniggered. Artemis glared at all of them, especially the Seeker, Higgs.

“I’m going to catch the Snitch from right under his big, ugly nose,” she murmured to Tonks.

“I’ll throw my bat at him,” Tonks concurred, already brandishing the Beater’s bat.

“Isn’t that a foul?”

“Dont know, don’t care.”

The two of them, along with the rest of the players, rose into the air, high above Madam Hooch and Murphy, who remained in the centre of the below. Madam Hooch placed her whistle in her mouth, and took hold of the Quaffle in her hands. With the blow of the whistle and an upwards throw of the Quaffle, the game began.

“Look at them go!” Jordan shouted. “Hufflepuff’s Ellie Hopper takes possession of the Quaffle, dodges a near-tackle, passes to Beatrice Haywood. Haywood takes the Quaffle towards the Slytherin goalposts - oh, that was close - and she passes to Cordelia Costa. Ooh, tough luck, Hufflepuff! Pass intercepted by Flint; Slytherin now in possession.”

The Slytherin Captain passed the Quaffle to one of his fellow Chasers, who carried the ball towards the Hufflepuff goalposts, flanked by Flint and the third Slytherin Chaser. She kept hold of the Quaffle, not passing to either of her teammates, and therefore not giving the Hufflepuff Chasers a chance to intercept. Ellie Hopper flew beneath the group as Bea Haywood attempted to fly into their formation, clearly looking to knock the Quaffle out of the Slytherin Chaser’s hands for Ellie to catch, but she was elbowed out of the way so hard that she was almost knocked off her broom.

As the Slytherins approached the scoring zone, Flint suddenly accelerated towards the goalposts, where Amelia Booth was guarding the three hoops. Her eyes widened as he flew straight at her, and seconds later, he had collided with her, knocking her clear out of the way of the goal as the Chaser with the Quaffle took aim. With no Keeper to stop it, the Quaffle flew through one of the empty hoops, and a roar of applause rang out from the Slytherin stands.

But above the din of the spectators came a sharp whistle. On the ground, Madam Hooch was calling to the Slytherin Chasers and Amelia, beckoning them down to the ground to talk to her. Keeping one eye out for the Snitch, Artemis flew lower so that she could hear what was being said.

“I didn’t know it was a foul, Madam Hooch,” Flint was telling the umpire. “That’s how my family always used to play.”

Madam Hooch pursed her lips. “Stooging has been a foul for a long time-”

“Since 1888,” Murphy interjected.

“- a fact which you, as team Captain, should be well aware of,” continued Madam Hooch. Flint opened his mouth to argue and she held up a hand to stop him. “And don’t think I didn’t notice the excessive use of elbows on Miss Haywood, either. I know that you know cobbing is a foul, Flint, I’ve penalised you enough for it over the last two years.”

“It’s not my fault she got in the way of my elbows…”

Madam Hooch blew her whistle again, drowning out the Slytherins’ protests, and the players took to the sky once more.

“Slytherin score, but because the goal was the result of a foul, it is disallowed,” Jordan announced. “Hufflepuff is awarded two free penalties, one for the foul of Keeper Amelia Booth, and one for the foul of Beatrice Haywood.”

Bea and Cordelia lined up to take their penalties, and though the Slytherin Keeper saved the shot that Bea aimed at the goal, the Quaffle soared past his outstretched fingers after it left Cordelia’s hands and went straight through the hoop behind him.

“Costa scores!” shouted Jordan, over the applause from the Hufflepuff stands. “After all that, the score is ten points to Hufflepuff, nil to Slytherin!”

Artemis took both her hands off her broomstick to clap, but quickly replaced them as a Bludger soared past her, the turbulence it caused in the air buffeting her sideways. She frowned, looking in the direction from which the Bludger had come. The Quaffle was not back in play yet, which meant that the Beaters should not have been aiming Bludgers at other players.

It seemed that once again, however, the Slytherins were not playing by the rules. Behind her, one of their Beaters still had his bat raised, a hard expression on his face. But it was not Artemis that his glare and his Bludger were aimed at: it was Cordelia. Artemis’ mouth dropped open.

“Cordelia, look out!”

It was too late; the Bludger that had just flown past Artemis continued its trajectory, soaring through the sky towards Cordelia Costa, who was facing the other way. The Bludger hit her over her hip, and the force with which it did so sent her lurching forward and to the side, and off her broomstick. She fell downwards, slowing magically as Madam Hooch put down the Quaffle to cast a spell.

Artemis turned back again to look at the Beater who had aimed the Bludger at Cordelia, but he had already lowered his bat and was looking the other way.

“Ouch! A rogue Bludger makes contact with Costa, knocking her off her broom and out of the game! What a rollercoaster this game is turning out to be!”

“What’s a rollercoaster?” Tonks asked Artemis, flying to her side.

“No idea,” replied Artemis, “but that wasn’t a rogue Bludger, it was that Beater hitting it at her!”

Tonks’ yellow eyebrows furrowed. “You’re sure?”

“Positive.”

“We need to tell Madam Hooch.”

But with Artemis as the only witness, and the Slytherin Beater swearing blind that he hadn’t done it, Madam Hooch was unable to do anything about the foul.

“It’s one person’s word against another, I’m afraid,” she said, eyeing the Beater sceptically. “As you were, everybody.”

The match recommenced, but now it was more like a battle than a game, with both teams fighting tooth and nail to get a lead over the other. Though the Hufflepuffs were down a Chaser, they were able to hold on to their point advantage. Thanks to the combined efforts of Tonks and David Willows, the Slytherin Beater who had knocked Cordelia off her broomstick suffered the same fate himself, and due to several incidents in which the Slytherin Chasers were caught cobbing Beatrice and Ellie, they were awarded even more penalties.

“Hopper scores again, making the score seventy to thirty,” Jordan informed the crowd. “But what’s this? It looks like Hexley has eyes on the Snitch!”

Jordan wasn’t wrong; Artemis had indeed seen the Snitch, and was already in hot pursuit of the little golden ball, accelerating across the pitch in order to catch it before Higgs the Slytherin Seeker, who was already on her tail. But Artemis was faster, and she was gaining on the Snitch, almost there now, so close to reaching out and -

“HEY!”

Artemis shouted as Marcus Flint the Slytherin Captain moved straight into her flight path, too quickly for her to brake in time before she hit him. Luckily, she had her body flattened against her broomstick into a diving position, so rather than being thrown off it, she was able to grip and roll with the broom as she veered off course. In doing so, however, she had lost sight of the Snitch.

Unfortunately, Higgs had not, and before Madam Hooch had the chance to blow her whistle to award Hufflepuff yet another penalty, the Slytherin Seeker had captured the ball. The game was over.

“Flint blocks Hexley, allowing Higgs to get the Snitch! Hufflepuff end the game with seventy points, but Slytherin win with one hundred and eighty!”

The Slytherin stands erupted with cheers, and the Slytherin players all soared over to Higgs to congratulate him. Meanwhile, the Hufflepuffs flew back down to the ground and trudged back to the changing tents dejected, disappointed, and angry.

“I don’t understand why there can’t be a rematch,” said Chiara, frowning over the top of her Butterbeer. “If the Slytherin Seeker only caught the Snitch because their Captain tried to knock Artemis off her broomstick, then why wouldn’t they say that it didn’t count?”

“Because that’s not how Quidditch works,” Penny informed her. “Besides, Snitches have flesh memories. They are issued for each game, so they know exactly who caught which Snitch when. They’d have to order a new Snitch to call a rematch, and it’s not like they’re cheap. And anyway, Marcus Flint has already been telling everyone that he didn’t mean to block Artemis, he was moving out of the way of a Bludger, and that’s why he ended up in her way instead.”

“But that’s a lie!”

“Well, yes, I know that. But it’s what he told Laila Farhat and Waveney Wiley, and they seemed to believe him when I spoke to them.”

Artemis rolled her eyes and finished her Butterbeer. One week after the Hufflepuff’s defeat, the match was still anyone could talk about in the Common Room. She had hoped that going out to the Three Broomsticks would give her and her friends something else to discuss, but clearly, she had been wrong.

“Anyone want another?” she asked, seeing that Rosmerta was free at the bar. “It’s my round.”

Madam Rosmerta greeted Artemis as if she hadn’t seen her in years rather than in weeks.

“I’ve been hoping you’d pop in,” the landlady told her, after she had released her from a tight hug. “I’m starting to really book up for Christmas, and I was wondering-”

“If you can rent out my room?”

“Whether you wanted to stay here over the holidays,” Madam Rosmerta said pointedly. “If you don’t, I’ll rent out the room, but I thought I’d offer it to you first.”

Artemis wrinkled her nose. “Why?”

“Because I like having you here, love.”

“Oh,” Artemis bit her lip. “The thing is, Ros, my friends are all staying at the castle, because it’s our last year to do it, so…”

“That’s what I thought,” Rosmerta smiled. “I just wanted to check.”

“I can still come and visit you, though. Because we’re seventeen we can leave the grounds as long as we sign in and out and are back before curfew.”

“I’ll look forward to it,” said Ros, summoning over a set of pint glasses. “Four pints?”

“Five,” Charlie Weasley walked out from behind the bar and placing another glass on the counter. “I’m just going on my break. I’m guessing you lot won’t mind me joining you?”

“As long as you don’t mind everyone talking about last week’s Quidditch match,” Artemis rolled her eyes. “Yeah, we lost. I don’t know why we need to keep going on about it.”

Charlie’s lips twitched. “You know, you can’t catch the Snitch every single time you play Quidditch, Artemis.”

“I know, I just… Hang on. You’ve never played a game and not caught the Snitch.”

“No, that’s why said you can’t do it. I obviously can,” Charlie grinned. Artemis pulled a face at him.

“I liked you better before anyone fancied you,” she said, before sighing heavily. “Anyway, it’s not my fault that Flint got in my way.”

“No, he definitely blocked you on purpose. But luckily the point margin was fairly low, all things considered.”

“That’s what Murphy said. He’s gone through the numbers and if we manage to do well in the next couple of matches we can still win the Cup.”

“That reminds me,” Madam Rosmerta stopped pouring out Butterbeers and reached into her pocket. “Talking of winning… I saw this and thought of you.”

She handed Artemis a folded scrap of newspaper, and frowning, Artemis unfolded it and read aloud:

“‘This marks the Daily Prophet’s Forty-Ninth Annual Photography Award, and this year, the theme is ‘Beasts’. Entries due by the thirty-first of December 1990. First prize award of fifty Galleons.’”

“I thought you might like to enter,” Ros smiled. “Put that camera of yours to good use, maybe win yourself some money.”

“Yeah. I might be able to take a photo in Care of Magical Creatures class,” said Artemis, nodding slowly.

“Or you could try tracking something,” Charlie suggested. “Your Great-Uncle must be great at tracking.”

“Yeah, but he’s not back from South America until the new year, and the competition closes at the end of December. He took me with him tracking a couple of times when I was little but I never learnt that much. Not enough to find anything by myself, anyway.”

“Well, I could go with you.”

“You wouldn’t mind?” Artemis asked, and Charlie shrugged in response.

“Course not. It would be good to get some real practice in,” he said. “We can take our broomsticks into the forest tomorrow evening, if you like?”

Artemis smiled and pocketed the newspaper.

“Hopefully, I’ll have more luck getting this photo than I did getting that Snitch,” she muttered darkly.

Unfortunately for Artemis, it quickly transpired that tracking was much harder than she remembered it being.

“Any luck?” she asked Charlie, who was crouching next to the roots of an old and incredibly gnarled tree.

“None,” he grimaced. “Sorry, mate. I was expecting to find more than this. Maybe we should come back some other time.”

“Might be for the best. We’ve been here for three hours and all we have is one picture of an owl and a few of Borf.”

“I really like the ones of Borf.”

“They’re good, I just don’t know if a wolf is what the Prophet means by ‘beast’. They might be looking for something more magical,” Artemis frowned. “And anyway, I don’t think they’re good enough to win.”

“They might be,” Charlie shrugged. “Tell you what. How about we go to the next clearing and if we still haven’t found anything, we try again next weekend?”

It was worth a try, Artemis supposed, and so the two of them made their way deeper through the trees to the next clearing. It was lighter here, and the shadows of the trees cast abstract shadows on the ground, which was strewn with the remains of the autumn leaves, their fiery colours contrasting with the still green pines. If it had been the scenery alone she needed to photograph, she would have been happy, but sadly, there was not a beast to be found.

Or was there? From somewhere in the undergrowth came a rustling noise and the sound of of a twig snapping. Artemis looked across at Charlie, her mouth already open ready to ask him if he had heard the noise, but he placed his finger to his lips, frowning. Clearly, he had already heard it.

“What’s the matter?” whispered Artemis. “Why do you look-”

Artemis’ question was answered before she had finished asking it. From out of the trees stepped a centaur, his dun coloured fur blending into the tanned skin of his bare chest. Recognising the centaur’s face, Artemis breathed a sigh of relief, and she saw Charlie’s shoulders relax as he did the same.

“Torvus,” said Charlie, lowering his head slightly as he addressed the centaur. “It’s good to see you. How have you been?”

“Unsettled,” came the centaur’s answer.

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“We live in unsettled times,” replied Torvus, and his dark eyes rested on Artemis momentarily. “It has been a long time since we last saw each other, Charles Weasley. You are grown. You must take more care in the forest, now.”

“I will do so. Thank you,” Charlie nodded.

“As must you, Artemis Hexley. You must take particular care.”

Artemis’ nose wrinkled. “Why?”

“We live in unsettled times,” Torvus repeated himself. “There are many who might blame you for this. Thankfully, many others will see that you could be the one to find the solution, and will protect you as such. Do you still have the amber I gave you when you were a foal?”

“Yeah, I do,” Artemis said, choosing not to mention that she had never been a foal.

“Do you have it with you now?”

“Um, no...”

“You should have it with you every time you venture into the forest,” said Torvus, and his dark tail swished. “Why haveyou come to the forest?”

“I’m taking photos,” Artemis told the centaur, holding up her camera to show him. Torvus shifted on his hooves, frowning at the camera.

“Photos?”

“Yeah, I have to take a photo of a beast. It’s for a competition, you see.”

“I do not see,” said the centaur. “What are photos?”

“Oh, right. Well, a photo… It’s a sort of picture, but not painted or drawn or anything, it’s real,” Artemis’ eyebrows furrowed. “It’s like you can capture something you’ve seen, a memory, and hold it so you can keep seeing it, so you don’t lose it or forget it.” Torvus still looked confused, so Artemis held up her camera once more and told him, “Here, let me show you. Just stay still a moment.”

Artemis raised her camera to her eye and pointed it at Torvus, who tensed up, eyeing the item with a look of mistrust on his face and one hand instinctively resting on the bow at his hip. She pressed the button, and when the photo printed from beneath it, held it against her chest for almost a minute before looking at the result and handing it to the centaur.

“Here,” she said. “This one is of you.”

“It is like a reflection,” Torvus murmured, looking at the photograph of himself. “The likeness is uncanny.”

It was a good likeness, and an excellent photo, far better than the one Artemis had taken of the owl, and even better than her favourites of Borf. The dappled light was shining on Torvus’ fur, his muscles tensed and his face hardened as he looked directly at the camera. He looked dangerous and wise and wild, human yet animalistic.

“Torvus, I was just wondering… As a centaur, would you say that you are a being or a beast?”

“A beast.”

“Why is that?“

“To menfolk, putting a name to something is a step to understanding it. For them, understanding something a step to controlling and exploiting it. We centaurs understand that there are many things that we will never understand, nor be able to control. We abide by the laws of nature, not those of men. If that makes us beasts in the eyes of wizards, I would prefer to be a beast.” He scraped one hoof on the ground, his tail whipping suddenly. “I understand now. You wish to use this likeness that you have captured for this competition of yours.”

“No. Well, not necessarily,” Artemis shook her head, although now that Torvus mentioned it, she realised that she could well do just that. “I was just asking because I meant to ask you the first time we met, and I never did. I should have done, because my friend wanted to know. She was interested in the answer, you see, and now… Well, she died, and now she won’t ever know, but I still wanted to find out for her, even though she’s gone.”

“This friend meant a lot to you,” Torvus said quietly, and Artemis nodded her head. “You have suffered a great loss.”

He held the photo out, offering it back to her. But even though Artemis knew that it could well be the photo to win her the competition, using it - using Torvus - felt wrong somehow.

“You can keep it,” she said to him. “It’s a photo of you just as you are now. One day you can show it to your foals and they will know what you looked like when you were young.”

Torvus placed the photo into his saddlebag, a pensive look on his face.

“Perhaps I was wrong about you, Artemis Hexley,” he murmured. “Maybe we need not be so wary of you, after all. We shall meet again, I am sure of it. Take care of yourself, Charles Weasley.”

“You too, Torvus,“ said Charlie, but Torvus had already turned from him and returned to the trees from whence he had come. Charlie watched his leave with his head tilted to one side. “That’s strange.”

“I mean, he’s always been a bit strange,” Artemis replied.

“Not his behaviour,” Charlie shook his head. “I just thought I heard something on that side of the clearing, and he came out from this side.”

He fell silent and seemed to be listening for something. Artemis followed suit. Charlie was right. There was a noise coming from the other side of the clearing. The two of them exchanged dark looks, and both raised their wands as they walked across the clearing to investigate.

At the base of a tree, a patch of ferns was rustling, and a soft snuffling sound was coming from it. Charlie pointed at Artemis’ camera, and she held it in position to capture another shot. She nodded at Charlie, who waved his wand, and the foliage parted to reveal…

“A Niffler?” Artemis said out loud, lowering her camera. “What in the name of Merlin’s hairy back is a Niffler doing here?”

“I dunno,” Charlie said, and the Niffler ran up to him, snorting at his boots. He frowned deeply. “Artemis, I know one Niffler looks very similar to another, but… You don’t think that this one looks really familiar, do you?”

Artemis tilted her head as she looked at the Niffler, who looked at her and chirped excitedly.

“Sickleworth, is that you?” she asked it, and the Niffler jumped up and down, making a noise like coins jingling as it did so. “It is you, Sickleworth!”

Sickleworth ran over to Artemis and leapt into her arms. He had not grown since she had last seen him, but he was heavier than she remembered him being. Far heavier. Frowning, she reached into his pouch, ignoring his indignant snorts, and took out the first item her fingers reached: a gold pin-badge shaped like a Snitch. She rolled her eyes and laughed quietly. Why had no one thought of this before?

“You know, Charlie, I think we’ve just captured our thief.”

#artemis hexley #hogwarts mystery #hphm fic #hphm #the hexley saga #murphy mcnully #ellie hopper #david willows #amelia booth #nymphadora tonks #beatrice haywood #penny haywood #chiara lobosca #charlie weasley #madam rosmerta #torvus

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timextoxhajima · 4 years ago

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Love Me A Little Less: Chapter 1 - Frankenstein

LOVE ME A LITTLE LESS CHAPTER MASTERLIST

Member: (3rd person pov) arranged marriage au with Lee Juyeon

Genre: angsty wangsty

Taglist: @hyunvelies

“We buried you.”

The feast before Kim Jang Won is absolutely stunning. Lemon meringue tarts, strawberry smoothies (with actual strawberry bits in them), pancakes and freshly buttered croissants, a gorgeous transparent glass pot with the golden shade of chamomile tea and a beautiful tray of puffs and eclairs.

It would be even more stunning if it wasn’t her view every morning though.

“Hey, um, don’t we have like alternating menus or something for breakfast? I feel like I’m eating the same thing every morning now, it’s kinda getting tacky.”

“Miss Kim, I hope you know you’re the one who decides what the menu is. You chose this set like a week ago and you told us not to change it for the next two weeks.”

Jang Won sneers at her butler, arguably the only person on the property to has the guts to talk to her in a way that could get her fired.

“You’re lucky I can trust you.”

Ro Il Jung purses his lips into a thin white line, scratching his cheek with one of those knuckly, wrinkly-skin-covered fingers of his. “You seem to forget that I wanted to retire last year, Miss Kim.”

Jang Won huffs childishly, sticking her tongue out, now a gentle, thick shade of smoothie on her tongue. “I’ll let you retire when I find someone else I can trust, Mr Ro. It’s just too bad I don’t have anybody in mind right now.”

Mr Ro shakes his head like a parent disapproving of his child, but a house guard pulling the heavy doors of the entrance over accompanied by some urgent yelling tears his attention away from the owner of the mansion.

Jang Won looks up from her butter and croissant, at Mr Ro, who excuses himself before heading for the entrance hall.

“Sir,” He begins before he can even note the visitor. “If you could--”

“Mr Ro!”

Jang Won hears her butler’s words fade to a complete silent, only listening to their visitor talk. But it’s strange, because it’s a familiar voice...

Mr Ro cannot believe the sight before his eyes.

“I can’t believe you’re still working here. It’s so great to see you again!” Then the visitor pulls Mr Ro into a hug, harshly patting the space between his shoulder blades.

The lady of the house cannot take it anymore, not when she can’t eavesdrop on the conversation occurring in her own halls. So she gets up from the table, heels clacking against the marble floor as she heads into the entrance hall.

“Alright now, who’s got the guts to stop me in the middle of my French breakfast this morning?”

Mr Ro turns in silent shock, eyes wide and glaring while Jang Won processes the face of the visitor.

The man hadn’t looked like he aged a day since he was--

“I’m sorry,” Jang Won scoffs, waving her beautifully done manicured fingernails in the air. “If this is some impractical joke, please do tell because my brain is just about to explode from the sight right now. Y’know,” She gestures to her head and mimics the sound of a bomb.

“Jang Won...” The visitor strides towards her, arms wide. But she raises a palm and shifts backwards, a cautious half-smile mixed with a frown plastered to her flawless skin.

“Not another step, nuh-uh,” Waving a finger before his nose, she shakes her head. “There is no way in Hell you can be standing here.”

“Oh, but I am, love,” Once a warm voice that sang her to sleep, Jang Won cannot decide if the tears in her eyes are welling from relief or fear. “I’m home.”

“No... no!” She slaps away his outstretched hands. “We... we buried you...”

“And I can only imagine what you’re feeling right now, my child, but... we have more important things to worry about.”

Mr Ro’s face is contorted with a mess of confusion and anxiety and he watches the first tears fall down Jang Won’s cheeks.

“What...? ‘More important’-- No, how is anything more important than you... standing here?” The last word comes out like a final breath, at a volume just enough for him to hear.

“I came bearing news, Jang Won. I-- Well...” He rubs the back of his head, eyes tilted down to his feet. “Because I’ve return to the board of administration now... part of the company now comes back to... me--”

What?

“And... you cannot inherit any part of the company unless you are married to someone from a family from the same administration board.”

Jang Won’s tears solidify into fumes of anger as the thought runs through her neurons. The middle aged man begins to panic when he can read the rage in her eyes, her fists now clenched and the markings of her rings probably embedded into the flesh of her palm. Her knuckles begin to turn white as does his face, ever so slightly.

“Now, now, love. I know what you’re thinking and we can sit down and have a chat about this--”

“‘Sit down and have a chat’?” Jang Won scoffs miserably, lower jaw hanging agape. “Why don’t we sit down and let me ask you whiCH SCIENTIST MADE YOU FRANKENSTEIN?!”

The hallways of the mansion echo the shouts, the sound waves bouncing back and forth between the marble walls mostly adorn with gorgeous, one-in-a-million paintings.

“That’s not important now, hun. I just need you to understand that without this marriage, you will lose the house and everything you own from HERA & ARTEMIS.”

“I built HERA & ARTEMIS after you were fucking bURIED! Who are you to tell me that you will inherit it ownership and I can’t just because I’m not married?!”

“These were instructions from The Board, Jang Won. I had absolutely no say over this--”

“BULLSHIT! If you have the power to take ownership of HERA & ARTEMIS just because you climbed out of your own grave, why don’t you have the power to help m-- Oh, oh...” Jang Won frowns in disdain, disgust welling her lungs and her gut.

“What?” His eyes widen and shoulders shrug.

“You came back just to tell me this... because you want HERA & ARTEMIS for yourself.”

“What-- No--”

"You... low-life... scumbag!" The sharp shatter of the glass cabinet behind him echoes through the entrance hall of the mansion. One of the palm-sized statues sitting on the table in the middle of the circular hall lands amongst the billion pieces of glass on the marble floor.

"You give me my freedom and now you tell me I have to get married?!" The final word is literally pushed through her teeth when she cannot clench her jaws even harder. The tremors vibrating up her fist and into her arm and then her entire body makes her look like a volcano ready to erupt, so if these people haven't gotten enough, they have yet to see what's in store.

"Just who the HELL do you think you are?!" Grabbing another one of those tiny statues, Jang Won throws it into the other glass door of the cabinet.

"Jang Won, will you calm down?!"

"Don't you DARE tell me to calm down! You waltz back into this house after GOD knows how long- Hell, we BURIED you!"

"There was a mistake of the body identification and frankly, I expected a warmer welcome from you!"

"HA! A ‘warmer welcome’?! What do you want me to do? Set the entire house on fire? Do you want me to? Because I will!" The man has his brows furrowed back, palms out stretched to her. The mansion staff have all gathered a safe distance around the two of them, Mr Ro and some of those closer to Jang Won trying their best to get to her and calm her nerves but there is just absolutely no way she isn’t going to hurl a brick at her father.

"I can't BELIEVE you're standing there as if you own this place," The muscles around Jang Won’s nose twitches as the frown sinks deeper into her forehead. "I want you to hear this mighty well and crystal clear. You may have been the one who gave me life, but you will never EVER be my dad.”

The huffs that are billowing out Jang Won’s nostrils are starting to hurt.

"There is not a single cent you're stepping on - or touching, for that matter - that belongs to you. The only reason why I haven't fucking put a bullet through your right eye is because I'd go to jail and every thing I've worked for would be thrown out the window.”

“Now, now, love, we can sit down and be civilized about this—”

“Fuck you,” The anger surges through her, and she picks up one more palm-sized statue from the blue resin table. The heavy bronze weight leaves her fingers, and before it can hit the slightly aged man, someone reaches out and catches it instead.

“What the HELL are you doing?!” The scream echoes through the hall of the mansion. Younghoon sighs heavily, hand retreating back to his side as he hands the statue to one of the house staff.

“You have no right to get involved in this—”

“Jang Won, let’s go,” Younghoon strides across the space and grabs her arm, back-facing his father and trying to pull her in the opposite direction. “We can talk about this in your office.”

“How are you thinking straight?! We BURIED him! We watched his coffin get lowered into—”

“I know! I was there!” His eyes flutter shut in frustration, shoulders raising as he sucks in a deep breath, flaring his nostrils. “There’s no point destroying your own property over this. We can carry out some investigations, figure out what really happened, then we’ll work from there.”

The grip on her arm tightens when her instincts try to writhe away from him, but obviously, he doesn’t relent.

“Don’t do it. It’s not worth your time, or mine.”

He stares down at Jang Won, but it doesn’t scare her, not when she has a ghost standing right in the middle of some shattered mess. Not one cut on him.

Younghoon grimly shuts the door as Jang Won stomps over to her office desk and rests her palms flat against the Agar Wood surface. With a sharp, swift feat, she swipes nearly all the documents off the furniture. But when she misses the empty glass (that would usually be filled with some kind of alcohol or soda), she doesn't hesitate to pick it off the desk and propel it into the marble by the television mounted to the wall.

The shatter startles Younghoon as he whips around, eyes darting frantically between her and the mess she’s made.

"Jang Won!"

"Should I be concerned you don't seem one bit bothered that a dead man is standing in our living room - MY living room?"

"That dead man is our father."

"No, that dead man WAS our father before he ditched us! How are you not- UGH!"

Frustrated, furious and absolutely exasperate, she plops down into one of the two sofas sitting in the middle of the office, feet almost tempted to kick the frosted glass table in the middle but she holds herself back. Younghoon manages to get a few house staff into the room, who hurriedly help clear the glass and return the documents to the table. Fingers pressed into her temples, Jang Won could only imagine the gratification she could receive have if she had the chance to ram her first into someone's face.

Younghoon waits for the staff to leave, then stands by the sofa opposite her, one hand on his hip and the other running through his hair. The late morning sun reflects off his soft, dark brown locks when he absent-mindedly rubs the back of his head and he proceeds to unbutton his blazer to allow him a seat. The leather squeaks under his weight before he leans his elbows on his knees, knuckles resting under his lips and chin.

"Please tell me you're actually thinking and not just trying to look pretty. You're in my house now, not some studio photoshoot."

"I'm thinking about where to put a whole person for you."

"Don't bother, he's moved half his things into the first guestroom. He's probably holding a conductor's wand right now and asking the staff to help him with the second half."

"Have you called the funeral services?"

"And say what? 'Hey sir, have you... perhaps mis-screwed a coffin about 2 years back and now we might have a problem of a zombie'?"

"I'm just saying someone might've paid someone to replace the bodies!" Younghoon frowns, eyes stuck to the rug under his feet. "We don't know how it happened but someone MUST know, right?"

"I think your best bet is the asshole living down the hall now."

"He's not gonna budge, we both know that."

"Well, Sherlock Holmes, thanks for pointing out the obvious."

"I'm just trying to help. You need to stop your nonsensical whining and use your brain like how you used it to get all this money."

Jang Won picks up a pillow and hurls it into Younghoon. “You’re lucky you still stick around, else I’d have the both of you screwed over.”

Younghoon catches the pillow, holding it to his side. “The day I stop looking out for you is the day I die, alright? So you can be rest assured I’ll--”

“Miss Kim!” Mr Ro’s voice calls out from outside the office.

“What is it, Mr Ro?” Younghoon turns and returns the call, head tilted towards the door. It croaks open, and Mr Ro’s eyes are tired, wary as he sticks his head in.

“Your father just left and... and I think you should see the news.” Mr Ro pushes past the heavy door and reaches for the remote sitting on the frosted glass. The television screen mounted above the fire place flickers on, and there it was, her father’s face.

“The Board has just confirmed the ownership of HERA & ARTEMIS will thus forth be returned to Kim Jo-Pil, father of Kim Jang Won, the current owner. Investigations as to Kim Jo-Pil’s supposed death two years ago are still ongoing.”

“I’m gonna kill him.”

“You can’t.”

“Watch me.”

“We’ll be-- Wha-- The Board’s just come in with some new information! Kim JO-Pil has announced a marriage between Kim Jang Won, current owner of HERA & ARTEMIS and Lee Juyeon, the next-in-line to becoming the next Director of Apple, South Korea.”

Younghoon’s eyeballs are about to bludgeon out of his eye sockets. “Jang Won... I know what you’re thinking... But don’t--”

“I’M GONNA FUCKING KILL HIM!”

#lee juyeon #the boyz lee juyeon #lee juyeon fanfic #lee juyeon scenarios #the boyz fanfic #the boyz scenarios #tbz juyeon #tbz lee juyeon #juyeon #the boyz juyeon #juyeon fanfic #juyeon scenarios #love me a little less

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all-my-love-for-harry · 4 years ago

Text

And now we’re four.

summary: a family of three becomes a family of four.

word count: 2.9k

Based on these requests:

“i love my little shy boy, it's so cute!! what do you think about artemis getting a little sibling? like maybe one of his friends is getting one and he asks y/n and harry if he can have one too? or maybe y/n and harry are actually trying for a baby? the thought of artemis with a little baby sibling is killing me omg”

and

“I absolutely love your shy!boy series! Harry, Artemis, and Y/N are just so damn adorable together. I was wondering how all three would handle if (Y/N) was pregnant?”

and

“Hii ! I’m in love with your shy little boy series !!!! I was wondering if maybe you could write something about Y/N being pregnant, and Harry being over the top obsessed with her pregnancy/ the little bub and how Artemis would react?🥺👉🏼👈🏼”

and

“Hello! I’m absolutely obsessed with the My Shy Little Boy series! Can we get a blurb about Artemis calling Harry, on Y/N’s phone, in the middle of the night because he’s scared?”

and

“Can you do one where Artemis is curious as to why one of his classmate's mum has a bump on her tummy and when he finds out why he keeps asking for a little sis/bro🥺”

a/n: i’ve got many request to expand this little family so i thought i’d give it a go! Sorry for taking so long!

you can find more of my shy little boy here

*:･ﾟ✧ ✧ﾟ･: *:･ﾟ✧ ✧ﾟ･:*:･ﾟ✧ ✧ﾟ･: *:･ﾟ✧ ✧ﾟ･:

February, 2020.

Ever since signing those papers, no one could wipe off the smile in Harry’s face. The endless amount of love he had for his family only seemed to multiply. Despite how sad he felt after he couldn’t give the concert the night before his birthday, he still spent the best day with the love of his life and his son.

Unfortunately, that was the calm before the storm. The following weeks Harry would be very busy doing promo for the album. He had some interviews and shows between Los Angeles, Washington and the last stop would be New York.

Y/N and Artemis had to go back to London when their long weekend was over, to return to their normal routines. Although at first the little boy tried to throw a fuss, Harry was quick to promise it would only be for a short time and he’d call every single night before he went to bed so Artemis could talk to him about his day.

It was always the same with them, Artemis had this strong attachment to Harry, one that he devolved as soon as he started trusting him more. Not that Harry would ever complain, the feeling was mutual honestly. The two of them were inseparable, Artemis wanted to do whatever Harry was doing all the time and the latest loved every single second of it.

One year into their relationship, Harry started buying matching outfits for him and Artemis, claiming he wanted them to match at all times. It was the cutest thing for those who get the chance to watch it.

“Promise you’ll call every night?” Artemis asked Harry, who was crunched down at his eye level. He had big, crocodile tears rolling down. Harry’s heart broke as he pulled his little boy for another hug, squeezing him tight to his chest.

“I promise, monkey” After one last squeeze, he let go of Artemis and went back on his feet. “Please call me as soon as you land” He now told Y/N before embracing her.

“I will. I love you so much” She said before closing the short distance between her lips and his. Harry hummed into the kiss, memorizing this exact moments so the following weeks won’t be so hard to live. “Have a safe flight”

“You too, baby” He pecked her lips one more time before looking down at his son. “You gonna take care of mummy for me, champ?”

Artemis nodded while whipping his tears and taking a deep breath. A voice called their flight and that was their call to leave. Harry would be flying to Los Angeles later that day so he needed to get going too.

He looked at his family one last time and sighed, already missing them. It will definitely be hard, but he was confident they’ll pull through.

*:･ﾟ✧ ✧ﾟ･: *:･ﾟ✧ ✧ﾟ･:

Harry woke up in the middle of the night because his phone wouldn’t stop ringing. He groaned before sticking one arm out of under his pillow and started to look for it. When he found it, he groaned even louder when he saw what time it was.

Without even looking at the ID, he answered the phone. His voice was deeper than usual and he was still half asleep but he managed to mumble ‘what’ to the other line.

“Daddy?” a shaky voice in the other end of the line answered him, making Harry jump out of the bed, immediately alarmed by the tone of his son’s voice.

“Hey, bud. What are you doing awake? Where’s mummy?”

“Daddy, I’m scared”

“Everything’s okay, baby. Tell me where you are”

“In yours and mummy’s bedroom” he mumbled.

“And where is mummy?”

“In the bathroom” he paused to take a deep breath. “I asked the voice in mummy’s phone to call you” Harry and Y/N had been teaching Artemis how to call them during an emergency using Siri.

“It’s okay, sweets. Can you tell me why are you afraid?” Harry was really hoping Artemis just had a nightmare or something, because he already felt powerless being miles away from them.

“I couldn’t sleep so I wanted to ask mum if I could sleep with her but when I entered the room she wasn’t there” He paused to breathe. “She’s throwing up in the bathroom, daddy. What do I do?”

In Artemis’ little six year old mind, he was responsible for his mum because Harry told him to take care of her. Before Harry could respond he heard how a door was opened and Y/N’s voice at the other end of the line.

Harry waited until Y/N had her phone back to talk again. “Hey, I’m sorry he woke you up” She said.

“He told me you were throwing up, are you okay?” Now he was worried for her.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I think I caught a stomach bug” She sighed. Y/N was now laying on her side of the bed while Artemis was cuddled to her side. “But I’m okay now”

“You sure?” Harry passed a hand through his face, rubbing the sleep off.

“Positive” She hummed. “When are you back?”

“Just two more weeks, baby. Please tell me if you’re still feeling bad tomorrow”

“I will. I bet it’ll be gone by tomorrow” She covered a yawn with the back of her hand.

“Would you put me on speaker? Wanna say goodnight to the lad” She did what Harry said and moved the phone closer to Artemis so he could hear clearly.

“Daddy?”

“Hey, monkey. Will you get some rest now?” Artemis hummed a yes. “I’m counting down the days to see you, kiddo”

“Me too, daddy”

“Good night, baby. I love you”

“I love you more” He yawned, cuddling even closer to Y/N. He was much more relaxed now that his mummy was okay.

“And I love you, Y/N”

“I love you, H. Sorry for waking you up again”

“No, please. Wake me up anytime, lover”

*:･ﾟ✧ ✧ﾟ･: *:･ﾟ✧ ✧ﾟ･:

March, 2020.

Y/N’s stomach bug hasn’t gotten any better. She kept throwing up every day, so Harry decided to change his flight and come home earlier than planned. He was supposed to go to Los Angeles for another week, but it was mostly to visit some people while he was still in the States so he figured he could do that other time.

He was waiting for his flight to be called, bouncing his leg anxiously. He couldn’t wait to go back home and do absolutely nothing but spend time with his family until it was time to go on tour.

His phone started ringing so he grabbed it from the pocket of his jacked and smiled when he saw his mum was calling him.

“Hi, mum” He said cheerily.

“Hi, darling. How are you?”

“I’m good, waiting in the airport for my plane”

“I thought you would stay there until next week?”

“Y/N isn’t feeling great so I’m flying early” He shrugged. Taking the decision to change his flights wasn’t a hard one, his girlfriend was sick and it was his job to take care of both her and his son.

Anne smiled even though Harry wouldn’t be able to see her. “That’s nice. I’ll give her a call to see if she needs something”

“Thanks mum. I’m sure she’d appreciate that”

They kept talking for a little more, catching up. He was looking forward spending more time with his mum once he was back. “Harry” Anne called him.

“Yeah?”

“When are you gonna pop the question, son?”

“What question?” He asked, accent thicker.

“You know which one” He could feel his mum rolling her eyes. “When are you gonna ask Y/N to marry you?!”

“I won’t discuss this over the phone, mother” he chuckled. “Besides, I just made you a grandma recently, woman. Give me a break” Harry joked, making her laugh.

“I’m sorry! All I’m saying is you already have a son together, why not tight the knot?” she paused, dramatically sighing. “I’m getting old and I’d appreciate to watch my children get married”

He rolled his eyes. “One, you’re not old so stop that. And two, you have other child” A voice called Harry’s flight. “I gotta go, mum. I’ll call you when I land”

“Please do. I love you, honey”

“I love you more”

A long trip was waiting for him so he got comfortable on his seat after sending a quick text to Y/N. He’d be landing before lunch, meaning he would be able to pick Artemis up from school. He closed his eyes, hoping to take a quick nap during the flight.

*:･ﾟ✧ ✧ﾟ･: *:･ﾟ✧ ✧ﾟ･:

Harry landed one hour before Artemis was supposed to get out from school, so the car he called drove him directly home. He thanked the driver and got his stuff out of the car, when he crossed the gates of the house, he saw Y/N’s car parked.

Y/N had told him she called in sick again because the headache she had in the morning was too strong that one of her mothers had to take Artemis to school. He was starting to get worried, thinking it could be something else and not just a stomach bug.

Opening the door, he called for his girlfriend but got no answer so he walked right upstairs to the master bedroom where she found her curled up in the middle of the bed.

“Hi, baby” He cooed, soothing her out of her sleep by caressing her cheek. Her eyes flutter open and a smile appear on her face when she saw him knelt down beside her, inches away from her face. “How are you feeling?”

“A little better. Gemma was here earlier actually, she brought me soup”

“That’s nice” He smiled softly. “I’ll go pick Artemis up, okay? Then we’ll go to the doctor”

“The doctor? Why?” she said, supporting her weight on one of her elbows.

“To check up on you. Perhaps isn’t a stomach bug” he shrugged, sitting on the empty space of the bed.

She wanted to protest, but she knew Harry would insist until she said yes so she nodded, flashing a little smile at him. “Okay, we’ll go”

He leaned to kiss her forehead, pleased with her answer. He looked at the clock in the wall and sighed. He should leave now to make it on time to Artemis’ school. “I’ll go for the monkey, okay?”

Y/N cuddled back in bed, sighing happily because Harry was finally back home. Her boyfriend smiled at seeing her getting cozy as he stood up from the bed. Harry went back downstairs and out to his car to drive to Artemis’ school.

Walking inside of the building, Harry greeted a couple of parents he knew. When he reached Artemis’ classroom, his smile grew bigger at the sight of his boy chatting with a little girl who was sitting next to him.

Artemis looked up and his eyes lighted up when he saw Harry. “Daddy” He stood from the little chair and ran towards him. “Daddy, you’re here!”

“Hey, monkey” Harry caught him in his arms. “I missed you. Are you ready to go?” His son nodded excitedly. “Go pick your backpack up” When he went back on his feet he recognized someone entering the classroom. “Cece?”

“Harry? Hi?” The blonde, pregnant woman smiled at him. “How are you?”

“I’m great, how are you? When’s the baby arriving?”

“Two months or so, we’re very excited”

“Well, congratulations. Hope it goes well”

“Thank you. Worst has already happened anyway, morning sickness was a bitch” She laughed. Harry chuckled too, something clicked on his brain, a small possibility crossing through his mind.

Could Y/N be…?

“Daddy, let’s go!” Artemis came running back.

“I’ll expect you and Y/N for the baby shower” Cece said.

“Of course. Take care, okay?” Harry smiled one last time before taking his son’s hand to walk out of the classroom.

“Daddy, what happened to Ximena’s mum?”

“What do you mean, mate? She’s pregnant”

“Pregnant?”

“She’s gonna have a baby. Ximena will be a big sister”

“How does it work?” he asked confused. “She looks… different”

They reached Harry’s car and Artemis let his dad pick him up to put him in the car seat. “Well, is because there’s a baby growing inside of her tummy”

Artemis let out a little ‘ohh’, processing the information his daddy had just told him. “So Ximena will get a sister or a brother?”

“I didn’t ask Cece, baby” Harry went in the driver’s seat and started the car, driving away. “But either of them will be perfect”

“Can I get one?” He suddenly asked, kicking his legs back and forth.

“One what?” He already knew the answer but he wanted Artemis to say it anyway.

“A brother or a sister. I’d like one, please”

Harry breathed a laugh at his boy’s politeness. “Is not that easy mate. Takes a while”

Artemis didn’t say anything for the rest of the ride, singing along to the songs on the radio. Harry kept thinking about the possibility of Y/N being pregnant herself. It would make sense to him, all the mornings she’s been waking up to throw up, how she said to him over the phone that her nose was very sensitive lately, how her boobs kind of hurt all the time and lastly, one that Harry didn’t want to mention, how she’s been gaining a little weight.

They passed through a drugstore and Harry made an impulsive decision to stop there. “Are we home?”

“Not yet. I need to grab something real quick, let’s go”

They went inside and Harry grabbed a couple of pregnancy tests of one of the shelves. “What are those for?” Artemis asked.

“Nothing, baby. Let’s go” After he paid, they walked back to the car to continue their drive home.

The arrived and Harry sent him to clean up so he could go with Y/N. When he entered the room Y/N was exiting the bathroom. “You threw up again?” He asked, setting the plastic bag on the bed.

“No, I just wanted to pee” She smiled. “Where’s my baby?”

“Washing up” He smiled back. “So, I saw Cece today”

“Really? How is she?”

“She looks great. She also said she wants us on her baby shower, by the way” She hummed. “She mentioned how at the beginning of her pregnancy she had terrible morning sickness”

“Where is this going?” She asked confused. She sat on the bed and saw the bag. “Harry…”

“Look, it’s a possibility”

“I’m not pregnant” She assured him.

“Just take the tests, please. If it’s negative, then it’s negative”

“What if it’s positive?”

“Then we’ll figure it out” He took her hands. “Please”

She sighed. “I already know this will be negative” Y/N rolled her eyes but took the bag anyways. “And I just peed, fuck” Harry chuckled, shaking his head. “Go check on Artemis while I take these”

Harry nodded and walked out of the room and to his son’s bedroom. He found him sitting on the floor with a picture book in his hands. “Daddy, I’m hungry”

“Let’s get you some lunch then, kiddo”

They went down and Harry let Artemis help in the kitchen, he was fixing something quick for lunch while waiting anxiously for Y/N to finish taking the tests.

“Harry?!” He heard from the top of the stairs.

“In a minute!” He exclaimed back. “Wait in the living room for us, mate. Turn on the telly, we won’t take long” Artemis nodded, walking towards the bedroom and doing what his daddy told him.

Harry ran upstairs to where Y/N was. “Have you look at them?”

“No, not yet” she sighed. “You do it”

“One line means negative, two lines mean you’re pregnant” He repeated the sentence over and over again. He closed his eyes for a second before letting out the air he was retaining.

He gasped when he opened his eyes and saw it.

Two lines.

With tearful eyes he took another test and saw the same result so he took the third one and smiled when he saw every single one of them had the same result. He looked at Y/N, no words needed.

“We’re having a baby” He said as he let tears roll down his eyes.

Y/N smiled before tears formed in her eyes as well. They were having a baby. She was going to be a mother again. Unconsciously, her hands travelled to her stomach. “Well, it wasn’t a stomach bug, wasn’t it?”

They both laughed through the tears as Harry took her in her arms, careful to not squeeze her too tight.

Harry’s heart was about to explode for the amount of love he was feeling right now. There was an actual baby growing inside of Y/N. He bowed to himself he’d be at all times for her, he won’t leave her side for any reason. He wanted to live the whole process. He could already imagine himself with his future newborn in his arms, so delicate and pure.

His heart and soul belonged to his family. But it wasn’t divided in two anymore. Because they weren’t three anymore. And that couldn’t be more exciting.

☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁

taglist!!

@myfavfanficsever @odetostep @la-cey @cock-a-doodely-doo @awkwardbullfrog @mellamolayla @moorgannn @bagtan-serendipity @awesomebooklover17 @finelineribs @sunnybusiness @beanholland @sweetenerstyle @cronias13 @vhsharry @maisley @seasidecrowbar @stylesfics-xx @autumnpauley20 @fineline-hs1

#harry styles imagine #harry styles #harry styles imagines #harry styles one shot #harry styles x reader #harry styles x y/n #harry styles fanfic #harry styles fic #harry styles fluff #harry styles fluffy imagine #harry styles x you #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles fluff fic #dad!harry

1K notes · View notes

imonthinice · 3 years ago

Text

The Criminal Psychology Majors, Jason Todd x Fem!Reader Part 13/?

Word Count: 3.2k

Author’s Note: Part 13? The unlucky part??? I’m evil

Y/N - Your name, A/N - Any name ( your best friend’s name).

I don’t know when this will be posted because time is dumb! But I do think I’ll have something prepared for Jason’s birthday<3

Hope you’re all well!

Warnings: Swearing, Eludes to sex, Mentions of injuries, Mentions of underage drug use (Do Not Condone), Mentions of sexual assault, Eludes to trauma, no beta bitch we die like Jason Todd

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4) (Part 5) (Part 6) (Part 7) (Part 8) (Part 9) (Part 10) (Part 11) (Part 12) (Part 13) (Part 14) (Part 15) (Part 16) (Part 17) (Part 18) (Part 19) (Part 20)

The next morning, Jason and Y/N would wake up in the same bed. Y/N would get up and stumble her way into his ensuite, trying not to wake him as he was still injured. It had been 4 days since his injury, and he was hoping that the next day he’d get his stitches removed. She would grab the clothes she wore the day before and walk into the ensuite.

She would fumble with her makeup a bit, realizing it had run slightly from the night before. Before just realizing it would be a lot easier if she took it all off. She wasn’t wearing heavy makeup, but it was just enough to hide what she thought were imperfections.

She wasn’t wearing anything, so she just threw on all of her other clothes and threw her hair up.

When she exited the ensuite, he was still sleeping in the bed, but his clothes were strewn across the room. She paused her thoughts to clean up his clothes and put them in his laundry basket.

She touched her nose to test if it was still warm and painful, which brought all the pain to the forefront, and it was still warm to the touch, she knew it was inflamed from the head-butting incident and looking in the mirror.

She didn’t think it would hurt this much, and she winced at the pain.

Jason would start groaning in his sleep, she assumed it was because they didn’t close the blackout curtains before they had their fun the night before. So she went to go close them when he went and grabbed her thigh, she laughed quietly.

“Good morning, Jason,” she said as she closed the curtains before leaning down to see his face, and what was obvious bedhead.

“Hi,” he whispered before pulling her back into his bed.

She laughed, “Sorry, baby. I had to get up and get dressed.”

“Lame,” he whispered and curled into her.

“Jay, you’re naked,” she said.

“Thank you Sherlock Holmes.”

“Oh shut it, you should get dressed,” she suggested.

“Yeah, I should,” he said as he left the bed, crawling over her and going to his dresser, thank God he didn’t have any IVs and blood bags anymore, so he could walk without having to drag those around anymore.

She didn’t stare at him, because he nose started pounding and she whimpered.

“You alright, Y/N?” Jason asked her.

“Yeah sorry, my nose is killing me.”

“Well that’s what happens when you head-butt someone.”

She laughed, “I’m sorry okay, I panicked.”

“That part’s obvious.”

“You could pretend to care that I’m hurt, Jay,” she joked.

He laughed as he put on his boxers and his pants, “I could, but I also think you were being reckless, I worry,” he searched for a shirt, “I worry that us being together is putting you in danger,” he said as he found a shirt.

“Well, I like the danger, if there is any.”

“I’m pretty sure there’s a danger,” he put on his shirt and fumbled with his hair, “It’s obviously because you’re attached to Bruce, you heard that man ‘I wonder what Bruce will give me for you’ he knew we had money. You need your car back.”

“I can’t afford the fees,” she sighed.

“Bruce can pay them, you know.”

“God no, I would feel so bad, I’ll just take the subway or something.”

He sighed and went back to her, cupping her face, “Please let my dad pay the fees, it’s dangerous out there,” he leaned his forehead against hers and closed his eyes, “I can’t stand that you got hurt linked to your shenanigans with me,” he kissed her.

“I guess it’s me being protective,” he said, “But I think it’s a reasonable thing to be concerned about, Y/N.”

“I’ll figure it out, I swear.”

“You figuring this out involved you head-butting your attacker, I get it was quick thinking, but my god woman, that was dangerous,” he said.

“You literally got stabbed protecting your best friend,” she argued.

“Okay, good point, but I’m prettier than you so I win,” he joked.

“What kind of fucking logic is that you bastard!” she joked.

“The kind of star-crossed lovers or something, I don’t know, I don’t write, you do.”

“I’ll sell our story to Warner Brothers, we’ll make millions off of us.”

“Two lovers, harassed by the press in the media, spend most of their time hiding and protecting themselves from the disgusting eyes of the media and the man who attacked one of them,” he said in a news broadcaster voice, “Amazing, isn’t it?” he joked.

“The kind of story Artemis said Dick would eat up.”

“Oh, he would. Man’s a sucker for a romantic story.”

“Well, maybe he can sell his and Barbara’s romantic story to the Warner Brothers, he’d probably make millions too, if it’s worth anything.”

“Well, they’ve known each other for years, and when they finally started dating, myself, Steph, Cass, Tim and Damien all celebrated to an extent, we all saw it coming from all those years of them knowing each other,” he paused, “They actually fought a lot when they were younger before they dated, it would be normal to hear Dick and Barbs going at it about how they hated each other.”

“That’s such a meet-cute stone-cold-woman meets goofy guy story that I hate it.”

He laughed, “They’re so gooey, it’s so cute that I want to vomit.”

“That’s valid. We should be cuter so that they want to vomit.”

“I like your thinking, Y/N.”

“You always do, I have good ideas, Jason.”

“Only sometimes.”

She laughed. It was true, someone with always good ideas wouldn’t have head-butted her attacker, but it’s not like she carried knives or guns around to defend herself. She was considering getting a conceal-carry permit, just because she truly was shaken up by the event.

But a little trauma makes for good stories, and her story with Jason was just starting.

--------------------------------------

Dick decided he’d drive her to her class that day, she didn’t think it mattered that much, her attack, but she realized that a lot of them didn’t want to see her hurt, even if they barely knew her.

She figured it was a kindness that they all possessed. She heard stories of the Waynes paying off waitress’/waiters’ student debts. She heard stories of the Waynes being polite to their ‘lower’ counterparts of the world. She knew they wer kind people, so she wasn’t shocked when Dick insisted he drive her to her class.

“So, Y/N, what are your intentions with my brother?” Dick joked.

“Oh no, not this, I haven’t prepared my answerers for this exam,” she retorted.

“No, its a pop quiz, you have no chance to prepare.”

“Fuck. Can I drop out of this class?”

“How would you even accomplish that?”

“Tuck and roll out of the car, probably,” she joked.

“You ever done that before?”

“Nope, you?”

“Did it on a dare, Jase dared me.”

“And he calls me reckless,” she laughed.

“Well, we were still in high school at the time, we’re supposed to be reckless,” Dick said.

“You ever met a college kid? We’re supposed to be reckless too.”

“He’ll get over it in time, Y/N. I promise. He just needs time to accept that you’re going to be as reckless and opinionated as he is, no one really refuses each other like you two do, and I’m sure you don’t mean it to be like that.”

“I think you’re reading too far into it, Dick, we make compromises.”

“Then why is your car still an issue? Bruce can cover the cost no questions asked.”

“I don’t know,” she admitted.

“Maybe it’s something to think about.”

“Are you always this brotherly? I need to know what I’m getting into here.”

He laughed, “You really do keep out of the press, don’t you?”

She took that as a yes, he is that brotherly and would continue to be. She didn’t mind, she never had a brother growing up so this would take some time to get used to, but she did not mind at all. She just figured she’d have to keep her partying ways even further down in the depths of her secrets.

They didn’t need to know what she did and what was done to her, she even ignored those problems herself. If they came out, then so be it, but if she could keep them hidden, she would.

“What were you like back in high school?” Dick asked, trying to fill the silence.

“Probably not the type of person that your dad would want Jason to be with,” she admitted.

“Care to elaborate?”

“Honestly? I don’t want to talk about it. You’d probably have to get me hammered to talk to you about it.”

“Well, maybe one day you’ll go to a gala. And after you’re wasted, I’ll ask you about it.”

“I’ll hold you to it.”

“I’m sure you will, Dick. I’m sure you will.”

“Well, we’re here,” he said, “You have my number right?”

“I do, I do.”

“Good, call me if you need me to come get you and take you home, or to the Manor. Either or, no questions asked,” he laughed, “I expect the same when you have your car back, to be fair.”

“Consider it a deal, thanks Dick.”

“Anytime, really.”

She closed the door and waved him off, but when he pulled out of the lot, the press was at Y/N’s ass. She ran though, she ran far to get out of there.

Class was the usual. She wrote her normal psychology notes, sitting in her class, concentrating as she scribbled down the notes that she struggled to read.

When she was done and getting read to call Dick to come get her, her old friends from Metropolis showed up at her school.

“Hey! Y/N!” Christopher yelled when he saw her leave her class.

“Oh my god?” she said before running to hug him, “What the fuck are you doing here, dude?” she questioned, before looking at the rest of the car and seeing Justine, Kaitlin and Thomas, “What the fuck are all of you doing here?”

“C’mon party girl, we’re taking you to your pale, you get dressed, and we’re going out,” Justine urged Y/N to join them, “Just like old times, man.”

“Yeah! We haven’t partied in weeks since you got your scholarship! We know you’re busy and trying to discipline yourself, but we can go party every once in a while, girl!” Kaitlin added.

“You know we miss you too,” Thomas finished.

“Alright, I need no more convincing, let’s get going,” she said as she hopped into the car and they went going to her house. She thought on the drive there, What if I fall back into old habits, and I’m doing so well, what if I fall off?

She couldn’t have more thoughts because before she knew it, she was in her house sending Jason a quick text,

Hey baby, I can’t come over tonight. Old friends came by.

Oh. I hope you have fun, I’ll probably be with my brothers. how did you even get home?

They drove me. I promise I’ll be over tomorrow and you’ll have me all day and night long, though.

That. That is exciting.

It should be.

She got dressed.

And she sent Jason a photo of what she was wearing (like the picture above) just to get him going. Before running out of her place and hopping back into the car.

“You always dress to impress, don’t you?” Thomas asked.

“I dress like I know what I’m doing,” Y/N joked.

“Never change, Y/N, never change,” Justine joked back.

------------------------

She walked into the club she frequented back when she was in high school, but the Gotham one. She had a fake ID, and she used it well and was in the club before the rest of her group knew it.

Justine would grab her hand and take her to the bar, Fuck, she thought, Here we go. And they ordered drinks.

The rest of the night was a blur of people, drinks and her friends.

She knew she overdid it from the minute she woke up, in her bed, feeling around for her phone in her messed up and torn up sheets. Het body was covered in bruises, she noticed between harsh blinks from the pouding headache she was nursing. She remembered why she didn’t party as hard anymore. She didn’t even know how she got home that night. She found her phone and turned it on, 8:00am it read. She checked her messages, adn there was Jason, at 7:00am he said;

Are you awake yet?

To which, she replied: I am, why?

How drunk were you last night?

I think blackout. I don’t remember much.

I can tell.

Tell me I didn’t do anything stupid.

You did something stupid.

What did I do?

You called me at 3am and told me you loved me, followed by saying you threw up at one of your friends. I don’t even know how you got home.

Well that’s not that bad.

You told me about your past.

Oh.

When were you going to tell me you’re a recovering alcoholic?

I don’t know.

Come here. Come over. We need to discuss this.

Alright, alright. I’ll be there soon.

Dick will come get you in an hour, actually. Don’t leave the house without him.

I won’t.

She got up and looked at the mirror at herself. She was covered in bruises, her makeup was smudged, her eyes looked sunken in and her hair was a mess. She sighed, knowing she fucked up, and wiped off her makeup and got in the shower. She quickly showered and put on a turtleneck and a pair of jeans.

It was to hide the bruises from Jason. She assumed someone had physically assaulted her, possibly sexually. She only had that thought once before she pushed it very far down and swallowed it. She went to go make coffee, but her head was racing at the ideas of last night and what she said.

She was fucked up and she did fuck up. She knew she shouldn’t have drank. but she did. And she knew Jason was either really pissed or really sympathetic. She was scared at how much she might have discussed when Dick honked his horn and she left the house.

In the car, Dick tried to break the silence, “You should have told someone, anyone. We’re all really good at listening, Y/N.”

She wiped away a few tears that were pooling.

“You didn’t need to hide from us, Y/N.”

“I do.”

“No, Y/N, you don’t. Jason’s probably more mad that you didn’t tell him over you actually being a recovering alcoholic. You called him last night and let it all spill out. Everyone knows, you don't need to hide anymore.”

“Of course I did,” she said, swallowing more tears and her voice breaking.

She wanted her past as an alcoholic to die when she moved out of the city, because she didn’t want everyone to know how broken she was, fighting with addiction. A lot of her anxieties and treatments of people make sense with her past addictions, but that doesn’t mean she liked them.

She hated that girl, the wild party child who almost drank herself to death, her body was just recovering fully from her escapades when she went out clubbing. She knew this was going to be an issue, but she didn’t know how to fix it.

He looked over at her and caught eye at one of her bruises that was peaking over her turtleneck. He tried to not stare, but she noticed.

“Don’t ask about it, Dick. I don’t know what happened.”

“I think you two will get through this.”

“I hope we do, but realistically,” she paused.

“Don’t think like that.”

They pulled into the driveway and the minute Dick unlocked her door, she was out of there, speed walking to the door and then to Jason’s room.

She opened the door to find him reading a book, she would have smiled at this, had she not been certain that they were about to fight.

“Jason?”

“Oh. You’re here.”

“Yeah, I just-”

He cut her off and got up from his bed, looking ever-so disappointed in her as he walked to the door of his room. She expected the fight to take place in the hall, so she tried to step back when he grabbed her forearm with one of his hands and yanked her into his room. She assumed maybe, just maybe his room was soundproof so his family wouldn't have to hear the yelling. He closed the door once she was in and stared at her.

She gulped, expecting him to let loose on the argument now about her drinking and her confessing she was a recovering alcoholic, but instead, he pulled her into a hug, which she yelped at.

“Jason?” she said, shocked.

“Shh,” he broke from the hug and cupped her face, “It’s okay, really.”

“But I hid it from you...”

“You know, we’ve only known each other two weeks or something, right? I get you hiding it, I just wish it didn’t come out like that,” he laughed and kissed her quickly, “Besides-” he noticed the bruise on her neck, “What’s that?” he asked, grabbing her hand and clutching it.

“There’s...”

“There’s more?” he asked.

“What, I mean, uh... uh... no?” she stuttered.

“Take your shirt off.”

“Jason...”

“Or tell me the truth.”

“Baby-”

“So there’s more, who hurt you? Did you fall?” he asked, getting a little bit heated, really squeezing her hand.

“I don’t know.”

He cupped her face, “That’s okay,” he leant his forehead against hers, “It’s okay, I promise, I do. I just really don’t want you to get hurt.”

“I don’t try to,” she said.

“Seems like trouble likes to follow you,” he said.

“Well, you found your way to me so I’d have to agree,” she joked.

“Ha ha. How’s your nose?” he said as he broke contact with her to go sit on his bed, she followed.

“It still hurts, but I can’t tell if that’s from last night or from my shenanigans with the attacker.”

“It could honestly be a combination of both, depending on what happened to you, have you asked your friends for the full story yet?”

“No. I’ve been scared to.”

“I don’t blame you.”

“I’m going to. Right now.”

“I support your decision on that,” he said as he turned on the TV in his room, but then Y/N paused.

“Y/N?”

“Reports are in of a group of friends, who all got arrested last night, for bodily harm of a man who attempted to rape their friend, Police say., the suspects in the attack are Christopher Green, Justine Wong, Kaitlin Benoit and Thomas Harthrew. More to be coming soon.”

“Thank god that girl had those friends.”

She turned to Jason, “So,” she paused, “I’m glad you think that, because, those are my friends.”

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valentineforlemonandcherry · 3 years ago

Text

Foxtail & Wolfsbane Part 4

Summary: Your lifelong obsession to hunt down the Nine-Tailed Fox has not gone as expected, and seventeen years later, you find yourself coming back to the place where it all started: Hogwarts. However, with Sirius Black’s escape from Azkaban and Headmaster Dumbledore’s hire of a certain Professor R. J. Lupin, you suddenly find yourself intertwined in the fates of those with whom you thought you had parted ways with long ago. [Multi-Post Story] [Rowan Scamander x Reader] [Remus Lupin x Reader] [Young Sirius Black x Reader] [Tristan Graves x Reader] [Severus Snape x Reader] [Warning: Story Contains Explicit Smut.] [Warning: Mention of Rough Sex.] [Warning: Non-Consent.] [Warning: Reference to Bullying.] *Note: Rowan Scamander and Tristan Graves are OC characters. *Please do not repost or copy my work without my permission. Thank You!

☾ Click Here for Foxtail & Wolfsbane Home Page (All Chapter Links) ☾

In fact, you got a rather wicked revenge on Sirius only a few days after he’d attempted to “negotiate” with you. Once Sirius had landed himself in detention (two of them), which was quite easy for him (a ‘stray’ Dungbomb here, an immaculately thrown crocodile testicle at Snape there), you approached Slughorn and apologized profusely for your behavior– profusely enough to get out of your own detentions.

Thus, two days later, when Slughorn called, “Mr. Black, stay so I can inform you of your detention time, and everyone else, you may go,” Sirius turned and looked at you with wide eyes.

“Have a good one,” you told him, flashing him a bright smile as you left.

* * * * * * * * * *

To your surprise, Remus showed up later that evening to your hiding spot.

“Remus?”

“Hi,” Remus replied. “It’s just me. Well, obviously, because here I am... Um.”

You couldn’t help but be amused as you cocked your head to the side slightly and agreed, “Yes, here you are.”

Remus paused and awkwardly ran his tongue along his upper lip for a moment before asking you, “I’m not being a bother, am I? I thought you said I could come here whenever, so…”

“No, you’re fine,” you responded. “I wasn’t expecting you today, but truly, you’re welcome here whenever you want.”

“Yes, well, I did mean to come up every month or so, but I read something today that I wanted to tell you about.”

You looked up curiously at Remus. “Is it about the Nine-Tailed Fox?”

“Er – no, not that. Sorry,” Remus answered. “Rather, it’s about our fox.”

Our fox. You knew that you called the fox ‘our fox’ too, since you and Remus had managed to bring it down to Hagrid’s together, but somehow, hearing Remus say it made you tummy feel a little warmer...

Remus sat down next to you on the floor, cross-legged, and he flipped open the book he was holding in his hands. It was a book titled: “Greek Mythology Reimagined into Magical Myths.” Remus showed you a page featuring a woman holding a glowing bow, with an arrow expertly notched against the line. The book was magical, and the image showed her moving, running lithely through the woods with a sleek silver wolf at her left side and a majestic stag leaping forward before her.

“This is Artemis, goddess of animals and wilderness, and of hunting,” Remus explained. “And I thought that maybe we could name our fox ‘Artemis.’ That way, it’d be a sort-of blessing for when you start your real hunt for the Nine-Tailed Fox.”

“Remus, that’s perfect!” Your eyes lit up. “Artemis! I love it. Can I read more about her?” Without waiting for an answer, you instinctively scooted closer to Remus and you leaned over towards him to read the page.

Remus was still holding the book in his lap, and when you leaned towards him, your shoulder touched his. Instinctively, he looked over at you, with his gaze now falling onto your face, and he watched you as you excitedly read the page before you.

“Artemis… goddess of the hunt, animals, wilderness, chastity, childbirth, and of the moon,” you recited. “Wow, the moon, too. I love the moon.”

“You do?” Remus murmured. “Why?” He hated it. It was his worst enemy, his worst fear…

Still reading the page, you explained distractedly, “Because it has to borrow light from the sun. Unlike the stars, the moon can’t produce its own light, and yet its this bright, singular thing in the sky, right? It’s kind-of touching. Although I’m probably just reading too much into it…”

You finished reading the page a few seconds after you stopped talking, and it suddenly hit you what you’d said out loud. You hesitated, a bit embarrassed, as you looked back up at Remus.

Remus was looking at you with a slightly awed expression.

“Sorry,” you mumbled. “That was a bunch of nonsense, wasn’t it?”

Remus merely shook his head at you, and you assumed it was his attempt to be thoughtful with you. But in truth, Remus was praying hard in his mind, wishing, I hope not.

* * * * * * * * * *

Seeing how much you liked it, Remus let you borrow his book for the evening. You preceded to devour the entire book with such intensity that you skipped dinner. Remus, who was casually studying next to you, felt it was his duty to bring you dinner up from the kitchens to make sure you were fed properly.

You thanked him as you stuffed your mouth full of food, but your eyes never left the book in front of you. Once Remus had settled in (in the corner opposite yours), he found himself watching you thumb through page after page eagerly. Sometimes, you’d blurt out a fact that you found interesting, and Remus would give you his full attention, even though he knew that book front and back by heart already. Remus couldn’t quite explain it, but seeing you so excited about things like the Nine-Tailed Fox and Greek mythology made him feel lighter, somehow…

* * * * * * * * * *

When you finally finished the book, it took you a minute to realize how late it was. Remus was quietly yawning behind his hand. You pulled out your pocketwatch and looked at it.

“It’s midnight? Oh Merlin, I’m so sorry for keeping you up!” You quickly gave Remus back his book, apologizing and berating him all at once. “You should have said something! I could have finished it tomorrow, instead of keeping you up so late.”

“I didn’t mind,” Remus replied, even though dark circles were appearing beneath his eyes.

“I’m sorry,” you said again. “I tend to get lost in things, so…”

“I know,” Remus responded.

You paused. His voice was all sleepy and soft, and…

Before you could take that thought any further, Remus stood up, though he had to hunch over to keep his head from making contact with the ceiling. He tucked the book underneath his arm.

“Will you be all right going back?” you asked him, worried. “I mean, Ravenclaw Tower is right there so I never get caught even if it’s past curfew, but Gryffindor Tower…”

Remus waved your worries away with his hand. “I’ll be fine. Really.”

“Okay…”

Remus looked like he was going to go, what with his books tucked underneath his arm and his chocolate wrappers stuffed all messily in his cardigan pocket. But he simply stood there for a moment longer, head now cocked to the side a little as he looked at you.

“Yes…?” you asked. You reached over and casually poked back in a chocolate wrapper that was starting to fall out.

“Well,” Remus said slowly, gazing down at your hand poking at his pocket. “I was just thinking that I actually have a lot of books on Greek mythology. Would you… If I were to bring you some tomorrow, would you…?”

“Oh yes, please!” you said quickly. “I was going to go to the library to see if they had anything on Greek mythology, but I’d much rather read your collection, if you’d let me.”

“All right then,” Remus replied, giving you a soft smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

You waved at him as he went down the stairs. As his head disappeared from view, he reached up and stuck his hand through the entrance hole to give you a quick wave.

You laughed a little, and you found yourself waving back even though you knew he couldn’t see you anymore.

* * * * * * * * * *

“Traitor.” Sirius glowered at you as you sat down in your seat for Potions the next morning.

“Ah, and how was ol’ Slughorn last night?” you asked him, smirking.

“You know what?” Sirius said peevishly. “I don’t think I want your forgiveness anymore. I try to be nice to you, and you - ”

“Sirius,” you interrupted him out of the blue, breaking the rhythm of his rant. “Hm… Sirius.”

Sirius frowned at you. “What?”

“Your name. Sirius Orion Black.”

“Yes…?”

But you didn’t say anything more, and Sirius was left completely confused by your strange antics. Still, he was quite mopey and irritated with you all throughout class.

* * * * * * * * * *

Later that evening, when you and Remus were curled up in separate corners of the small attic-like room, each reading a book on Greek mythology, you took it upon yourself to search for the word “Orion.” You thought you’d seen a reference to it yesterday when you read about Artemis.

Flipping to the relevant page, you began to read:

“Orion is a famous Greek hero, who is often referenced as the godfather of hunting. His loyal hunting dog was named Sirius. Orion is the lover of the goddess Dawn, and Orion’s constellation setting and rising with the sun is often used to mark the days and nights of the year.

Orion’s hunting skill was said to be such that he could hunt any creature in existence successfully. However, such ability became problematic when Orion hunted with the goddess Artemis and her mother Leto, and in their hunt, Orion threatened to kill every creature on earth. Apollo objected and sent a giant scorpion to fell Orion. The scorpion succeeded, and Zeus memorialized both Orion and the Scorpion in the night skies as constellations.”

Reaching the end of the page, you found yourself mesmerized by the deep tragedy of the story. Slowly, your eyes left the page, and you looked towards the window, beyond which the sun was setting over the Forbidden Forest. You gazed out of the window for a long time, and the deep orange sunset filtered in through the dusty window to lay across your face and shoulders.

You sighed softly, and then you made to look back at the book, when you suddenly caught a pair of hazel eyes staring at you. You turned your head towards Remus, who abruptly started. A watercolor tinge of pink began to wash over his cheeks, and spread up onto his ears, but you couldn’t quite tell that he was blushing – first because of the strong sunlight coming in through the window, and second because Remus snatched up his book and furiously stuck his face in it before you could so much as blink.

* * * * * * * * * *

When Slughorn reminded Sirius at the end of class that his second detention was that evening, Sirius positively glared at you. You pretended to cower, but then you winked at him and left the dungeons. Still, you couldn’t deny that you actually felt quite bad about what you’d done to Sirius.

But you couldn’t find it within yourself to be too empathetic at the moment because you were somewhat distracted by the morning news today. Featured in today’s Magizoologists’ Digest, Rowan and his father, Newt, were congratulated for having made a breakthrough discovery about how to heal hippogriffs. Your heart clenched when you saw the photograph of Rowan, beaming and waving at the camera. He seemed to have grown quite a bit, though it was hard to tell just from the photographs. He was taller, certainly. And all the while, you felt like despite your best efforts, you’d shrunk inside of yourself a little. You hadn’t made any breakthroughs on your singular project on tracking down the Nine-Tailed Fox, and you suspected that part of your lack of focus lately was due to how distracted you’d gotten since Rowan had shown you how much you cared for him, and then just… left.

Deep down, you knew that you couldn’t blame Rowan for what you were going through right now. It was your fault for not paying attention to your own feelings, and it was your fault for being so closed-off to everyone around you. In truth, you were angry at yourself. Still, at this point, you wished you could forget about Rowan, and all of the insecurities that he had opened up for you by making love to you in that train compartment and taking all of your firsts before suddenly disappearing from your life… And to be even more truthful, it wasn’t even that you regretted making love with Rowan. Not at all. Rather, the truth was that you just… missed him.

As you left Slughorn’s classroom, you crumpled up the newspaper in your hands and tossed it into the garbage can besides the door. Let’s hope Professor Slughorn Evansecos that, then, you thought, and you walked out of the room.

* * * * * * * * * *

However, that gnawing guilt you felt for tricking Sirius into two detentions would not leave your conscience alone, and when six o’clock, the time for Sirius’ detention rolled around, you made your way down to the dungeons. Sirius had been given the task of cleaning out old student files from who-knows-how-far-back, and Slughorn sat at his teacher’s desk, grading papers.

You entered the room and knocked on the doorway brightly.

“Hi, Professor Slughorn!” you chirped, in a manner most unlike you.

Professor Slughorn looked up at you. “Ah, if it isn’t the other delinquent. What may I do for you?”

“Well,” you said, with a seemingly innocent smile, “Peeves the Poltergeist is making a right ruckus of your Potions stores, sir - ”

“What!?” Slughorn leapt out from his seat and barreled down the hallway.

Sirius watched you warily as you sauntered over to him. “What?” he grunted at you. “Why’re you here? To get me a third detention?”

You dropped your innocent-student act and went back to your normal, matter-of-fact self. “No,” you stated. “I came to give you a prize.” You held out a dangling keychain. It was a cheap piece of paper cut out in the shape of a heart, taped on both sides to “preserve” it, and best of all, it was a ghastly pink color. Written in ugly red crayon, it read: “FOX-STEALER-AND-DUMPER.”

“There you are,” you announced.

Sirius’ expression clearly said to you, “fuck off.”

“What?” you asked, as you watched his mood sour. “You don’t want to wear it? But I worked so hard on it.”

“You didn’t work hard on shit,” Sirius growled at you. “This is – what? Paper, tape, and crayon?”

“But you promised me you’d wear it,” you reminded him.

“That was before you abandoned me in detention.”

You tsk’ed at Sirius. “Abandon? But here I am.” You lifted yourself back on your feet and slid back onto the desk behind you, just besides Sirius.

“Yeah, but Slughorn’s going to come back any second now, and you’ll have to leave again. Then, it’ll just be me and ol’ Sluggy,” Sirius grumbled.

“Not for a while,” you said honestly.

Sirius paused. “What d’you mean ‘not for a while’?”

“I really did have Peeves mess up the Potions storage cabinet a bit,” you admitted.

Sirius gazed down at you, not sure whether to be impressed or terrified of you. You were sitting on the table, leaning back on your palms, and with your legs spread as if you were a carefree teenage boy.

“I do have to pay Peeves for his help tonight,” you were saying, sighing a little. “And I asked Peeves not to go too far. I really don’t mean to be such a pain in the ass to Slughorn, but…” Your voice trailed off as you realized where Sirius’ eyes had fallen to.

“Eyes up here, Black,” you said suddenly.

Sirius looked up at you to see you smirking at him.

“Don’t get the wrong idea,” Sirius warned you.

“Me? The wrong idea? Never,” you replied cheekily.

Sirius scoffed. He crossed his arms, and then he bit on the inside of his cheek for a moment, as though weighing what to say. Finally, he asked you, “Why’d you let me do that anyways? If you hate me so much.”

You raised your eyebrow at him. “Do what?”

“You know perfectly well what.”

“Oh, up against the window?” you said, rather bluntly.

Sirius nodded. “Yeah. That.”

You shrugged. “I don’t know.” You looked up at him, locking eyes with him. “But don’t worry,” you reassured him, “that will never happen again.”

“No?” Sirius smirked, for as you’d been discussing all this, he had ever-so-subtly pressed his palms down on your thighs and slowly been inching his fingers up towards the hem of your skirt.

Feeling the warmth of his palms sliding up your skin, you looked up at him suspiciously. “What do you think you’re doing, Black?”

“You’re smart,” he murmured, with his hands now disappearing under your skirt. “Smart enough to put me into two detentions all by myself. So, you figure it out.” But Sirius paused when his fingertips met fabric sooner than he expected. Sirius looked down at you and said gruffly, “Still wearing boyshorts, I see.”

“Of course. I’m not going to start changing what I wear for you, Black, and certainly not my underwear.”

“Mm, in that case - ” With a deft tug, Sirius ripped open your boyshorts.

You gasped, and you quickly closed your legs apart. “What’re you -?”

Grasping your thighs, Sirius impatiently yanked them apart. Then, he pushed your legs up onto the desk, and suddenly, you found yourself exposed to Sirius. He was gazing down at you hungrily.

“Black, I can’t believe you just - you - you ass!” you berated him, while you furiously pushed yourself back up so that you were sitting with your feet up on the table and your hands out behind you.

But as soon as you came back up, Sirius reached down and gently ran his finger along your clit. You suddenly shivered. And of course, Sirius noticed. His eyes flickered up to your face and he murmured, “Let me make you feel good, to make up a little for all the times I made you feel bad.”

You stared up at him in disbelief. It was only your second time being touched like this. And Rowan, well, he had been your best friend for six years, but what was Sirius Black doing, touching you between your legs?

What right did he have to - ? Uhn! Your thoughts jolted to a stop, and for a moment, only that pleasant, fuzzy sensation of a man’s warm, strong, fingers slipping between the folds of your tender heat to give you pleasure occupied your mind.

You blinked furiously, trying to steady yourself, but it was too late. You were biting down on your lower lip, holding your breath, and your toes were clenching in your worn-out sneakers. And Sirius was whispering to you, “There you go…”

“Ah…” You breathed out, as you squirmed atop the desk.

“Fuck, you’re way more sensitive than I thought,” Sirius murmured, almost to himself.

“Everyone is more sensitive than you, you unfeeling b-bastard,” you managed to choke out, as Sirius’ fingers rubbed your bare pussy so good, so incredibly good.

Sirius could see you melting, though, and his eyes flashed victoriously down at you. “Mm, maybe,” he considered. “But it makes me a good giver, if you know what I mean.”

“I doubt you’re – Ah!” You gasped loudly when Sirius suddenly slipped a finger inside of you.

“Fuck, that’s tight,” Sirius realized, slowing down immediately when he felt your pussy clench around his finger at once.

“Oh, God,” you breathed out. “I can’t – I can’t - ”

“You’re all right, love,” Sirius said to you, watching your chest rise up and down and the sharp line of your jaw trembling as your head slowly fell back on your shoulders. While Sirius’ voice was firm, there was a gentleness there that surprised you. He promised you, “We’ll go slow, and I’m not going to fuck you.”

Your eyes flashed open, and your head came back up. “What?”

“I don’t plan on being inside you at all. Since you hate me and all.” Sirius flashed you a mock-innocent smile. “I’m trying to be a good boy for you, if you can’t tell. And that’s not usually my style, I’ll have you know.”

“No, it’s not,” you agreed. “And you can’t just pretend like you’re not a jerk now that you get to ‘apologize.’ You’re an asshole, Sirius, and I do hate you and… and… Oh… ”

* * * * * * * * * *

Five minutes later, your arms were locked around Sirius’ broad shoulders, and you were moaning into his chest. Your shoes were up on the edge of the desk, knees bent, skirt hiked up to the very tops of your thighs. Yes, your boyshorts had been ripped open, courtesy of Sirius Black, and as his reward, his thick, long, handsome fingers were buried deep inside of your tight little cunt.

A soft little grunt escaped your lips as you had them pressed together, not wanting to give Sirius the satisfaction of knowing how deeply he was affecting you just yet.

But Sirius knew better. As he kept pumping three of his fingers in and out of you, Sirius taunted you by leaning down to your ear and whispering knowingly, “You’re about to cum. I can tell.”

Your arms broke apart from around his neck. With one hand, you gripped hard onto the front of Sirius’ shirt, and with the other, you grasped onto his hand, whether to stop him or encourage him in finger-fucking you so roughly, you weren’t sure. Sirius smirked and kept going, knowing that he was pushing you closer and closer to you cumming right here on top of this desk for him.

Sirius was thoroughly enjoying the view, thoroughly enjoying seeing your perfect little pussy all laid out for him, with your ridiculous boyshorts finally ripped open for him to take you as he wished, your school skirt flouncing ever so slightly around your hips as his fingers pulled out of you only to greedily plunge back into your warmth and wetness, and your dumb little sneakers (with the soles all worn-out and your shoelaces frayed, thanks to your frequent nightly romps in the Forbidden Forest) struggling to keep their grip on the edge of the desk as he fucked your pussy good with his fingers.

And now, Sirius wanted to see you cum for him. He wanted to see your cum gushing from your little hole and drenching the tabletop below you, until you’d flooded the cute little indents and scratches in the wooden desk saying things like “L + N” and “M loves R” with your cum. So, he pushed you hard, not letting up even when you were clearly breathless, with your breasts now straining at your cute school blouse, and your thighs beginning to shiver.

“C’mon. Let yourself go,” Sirius coaxed you. “You’re getting all slick on my fingers, love. I know you need to moan. Let me hear it. I swear I won’t tease you for it… much.” He laughed lowly as he finished taunting you.

“S-Shut up, it’s not because of y-you,” you stuttered out at him.

“You sure about that?”

You bit down hard on your lower lip, trying your best not to make any noise, but it really was getting so hard, what with the intense pleasure starting to build inside of your throbbing pussy…

“Uhn…” When you finally surrendered a bit of ground by letting out a low moan, Sirius said to you, with an arrogant smiirk plastered across his face, “There it is. That wasn’t so hard now, was it?”

Then, Sirius reached out with his other hand and ran it up your body, passing his warm, large hand over your sweet breasts, before finally finding and grasping your throat. You gasped slightly as Sirius abruptly pushed your head back by tightening his grip on your throat, until he was holding you in a slightly slanted sitting position, with your head and torso leaning back, but your knees bent and your sweet, glistening pussy now facing up for him. Both of your hands flew up to grip onto his wrist, even as Sirius squeezed your neck in his hand. By closing up your airway a little while continuing to piston his fingers roughly into your wet little hole, Sirius was forcing you to pant out loud for him.

When Sirius started to hear your soft, but ragged little pants consistently fill the air, he finally looked up from your pussy to smirk once more at you. “Knew you had it in you,” he said meanly, with a glint in his eye.

You glared at him as you choked out, “E-Eat shit, Black.”

Sirius grinned back at you. “Good one. Very original insult,” he said carelessly. “But I think I’ll pass. I might, however, eat out this sweet little pussy of yours – if you beg, that is.”

You meant to let out a “pshaw”-type of noise to indicate how fucking ridiculous he was being, but all that escaped you was a soft, traitorous, “Ah…!”

Oh no, I’m losing it, you realized. I’m so close, so fucking close – No, actually, I’ve been close this whole time. Oh, God, I almost feel like I need to – to go to the bathroom – Nngh… Fuck, how do I hold myself back? It’s too early to cum. Right? Right…?! Uhnnnn…How fast do girls usually cum when they’re being finger fucked? How fast did I cum for Rowan? Shit, I can’t remember. There was no – no sense of time in that train compartment when we – when we… made love…

“Hah… Ah… Hah…” You panted out, blinking furiously. Did it feel like this with Rowan? Did it? I can’t remember now.

But a moment later, Sirius’ fingers thrust back into you, and your thoughts went awry, leaving you vulnerable to your deepest thoughts, the one you wouldn’t admit to even yourself. No, yes… Yes, I can, you thought miserably. The truth is that I can remember everything – his kisses, his touches, his cock thrusting so heavily inside of me… I remember it all.

“Ah…” you whispered out a moan as Sirius continued to stretch you out on his fingers. In your mind, you thought blurrily, I wish I could forget.

Sirius’ eyes traced your body for a moment, noticing your tight abs rippling softly under your shirt and your breasts stretching out at your buttons as you fought to breathe. Sirius swore that he heard you breathe out under your breath, “Make me forget,” but he couldn’t be sure…

Sirius then looked back up at you, and for a moment, his gaze held yours in an unexpectedly tense way. Because Sirius was beginning to catch on. Staring at you, Sirius realized that while your eyes were fierce and your nails were digging into his wrist mercilessly, your body language clearly denoted that you didn't know what to do with yourself. Your thighs kept stuttering, as if you weren't sure whether you wanted to close them or open them even more, and instead of chasing your climax by rutting your hips back against Sirius, you kept shifting, almost sliding back on the desk, as though to get away from your own pleasure. But you always came back, because you missed his fingers as soon as you’d moved even a little bit away from him. Still, it was telling that you weren’t sure how to respond to something as simple as his fingering you. You obviously hadn't receive this kind of pleasure often, and you clearly hadn't yet figured out what to do with all the tension building up inside of your tight little tummy.

So, Sirius told you simply, in a neutral voice that was neither coaxing nor dominant, but simply matter-of-fact, to help you: “Cum. Let go. It’ll feel good, I promise you.”

With his palm against your throat, Sirius felt you suddenly still and hold your breath. You pants cut off, before the softest little “nngh” escaped from somewhere deep inside of you and then –

“Oh, fuck,” Sirius whispered, surprised. “You’re so wet. So wet. You’re gushing.”

You turned your head away, refusing to look at Sirius, though there wasn’t much to hide anymore when he could already feel for himself how wet you were, how you were cumming for him.

After a moment, Sirius pulled his fingers out of you, causing your pussy to clench hard one last time before – “Ah.” A little whimper left you, and you couldn’t help but look down at yourself, and both you and Sirius watched as, without his fingers plugging you up anymore, your slick, sweet cum began to steadily drip out of your throbbing cunt, until it was pooling on the table underneath you.

“S + L” disappeared first, and then “D hearts M”… Cum slowly overfilled these indents, and then began to drip off the edge of the table.

“So. Turns out you can be a good girl.” Sirius reached back out with his hands and spreading his fingers into a V shape, he pressed his fingers down on you and stretched out your pussyhole even more and watched it throbbing as you finally came down from your high. “Fuck,” he cursed under his breath, and he felt his cock throb in response to the vision of your dripping wet cunt. “Look at you, puppy… All wet, and so sloppy all over, mmm.”

You lay there, watching Sirius watch you. You didn’t know what to do with yourself. You just knew you were a mess, all sopping wet between your thighs…

Just then, a bright voice interrupted the two of you. “Excuse me, Professor Slugh -? Oh!”

You and Sirius both jumped, with you jumping hastily off the desk. Unfortunately, your legs weren’t as steady as they usually were, and you stumbled, tripping over Sirius. He instinctively caught you in his arms. Although you were caught in his arms, you still quickly turned around, praying that it wasn’t a professor. It wasn’t. It was Marlene McKinnon, a sixth-year Gryffindor. You only knew her by sight and name; that was all.

But upon seeing her, Sirius suddenly became very fidgety, hastily stepping away from you and then anxiously pushing his hair back from his face.

“Marlene,” Sirius said. He cleared his throat. “Um, Professor Slughorn, he – ah – that is - ”

“Had a quick errand to run,” you completed for Sirius, as you eyed him curiously.

“Oh.” Marlene blushed when she looked at the two of you. Clearly, she had realized that she’d caught you two in a compromising position. “Well, I’ll be - ”

“No,” Sirius said quickly. “Don’t go.”

He wouldn’t look over at you. Or Marlene.

That was what gave it away for you. Since when has Sirius ever been shy about eye contact? “Yeah…” you said slowly, thinking it through. “Actually, Sirius has to stay and finish his detention.” Turning to Marlene, you asked her, “If you’re not busy, would you be so kind and stay with him?”

Marlene hesitated. “What about you?”

“Me? Oh, I need to go pay Peeves.”

When Marlene cocked her head at you in puzzlement, you waved it off and said coolly, “Don’t worry about it.”

With that, you left the room.

* * * * * * * * * *

You held onto that nonchalant feeling all the way back up to Ravenclaw Tower. But once you got back, upon realizing that the dormitory was empty because everyone was at dinner, you stood in front of the body-length mirror and dragged up your skirt.

You took in the state of yourself in your reflection: boyshorts ripped wide open, cum drenching your thighs, thighs still trembling slightly…

This is me, you thought to yourself, and that realization stunned you.

* * * * * * * * * *

When you came into Potions the next day, you quickly discovered that Sirius was mad at you once again. After you had left, Marlene had pointed out that Sirius had a gaudy little pink heart right over the back of his black jeans, dangling over his arse. Sirius had been adamant that she was wrong, until she reached over and unhooked your ridiculous handmade keychain from his belt loop.

Marlene had been very confused as she asked him what “FOX-STEALER-AND-DUMPER” meant. Sirius had blushed – blushed, and stuttered through some nonsensical explanation in front of her.

“Hmpf,” you said, “you must have some speck of conscience, then. Since you felt guilty enough that you couldn’t tell her straight-up what had happened.”

“That’s hardly the point! When did you even put that stupid thing on me anyways, huh?” Sirius asked you indignantly.

You leaned close to him and whispered, “When you thought I was losing my mind from having your tiny fingers stuffed inside of my pussy.”

Sirius’ mouth dropped open.

Falling back into your seat, you smirked and continued, “I told you, you overestimate yourself, Sirius Orion Black.”

You giggled as Sirius growled at you, as he was wanting very much to rip your head off in that moment.

“I’m sorry,” you said, half-sincere and half-teasing him. “My intentions were pure. I meant to give you time with McKinnon. You like her for real, don’t you?”

Sirius was quiet. About a minute later, he muttered, “Well, now you know how I feel. Having good intentions, only to figure out that you messed up.”

“This doesn’t even compare to what you did to me,” you said flatly, not having it.

Of course, you didn’t know for how long Sirius had had his eyes on Marlene, how he felt so vulnerable in front of that sweet, kind, and yet spunky sixth year Gryffindor, that he hadn’t even told the other Marauders about it (though they all suspected, of course), and how seeing the way Marlene’s face fell when she realized the keychain was from you hurt him badly.

At the same time, he knew that he didn’t have a shot with her. Marlene McKinnon was a Muggle-born, and if news got out that Sirius was dating her, the Slytherin purebloods would give her hell to no end. Sirius might be able to protect her for the rest of this year, but when he graduated, and she was still here, the abuse would continue, and Sirius couldn’t let himself do that just for his own happiness. So he played the “big brother” role to her and she played along in her “little sister” role, but it wasn’t that at all. Or at least, Sirius didn’t want it to be just that.

But Sirius would never admit all this, not in a hundred years, to you or anyone else. In fact, he was pretty sure he didn’t even know how to explain what he was feeling. All he knew was that it hurt – hurt bad.

And of course, what Sirius didn’t know was the sense of relief you felt when you figured out that Sirius was deeply in love with Marlene, because it meant that whatever had happened between the two of you wasn’t love at all. I want to seek out that meaningless physical touch with Sirius deeper, you thought to yourself. It feels like the only way to forget about Rowan. The deeper I fall into Sirius, the more Rowan fades away, because I can convince myself that sex is just sex. Rowan never loved me. And, when I’m with Sirius, and he’s just having me however he wants, without a care in the world for how hard he’s grinding against me, or how much he’s stretching my cunt out with his fingers to make me cum all over the desk, I feel like I’m myself again – indifferent and uncaring, which was the way I was before Rowan, before I opened my heart just in time to fall down a horrible rabbit hole I wish never existed.

* * * * * * * * * *

You went to the next Hogsmeade trip. You usually didn’t participate in Hogsmeade trips, preferring to make use of your time in the Forbidden Forest instead, but you had run out of standard parchment, and you knew full well that Slughorn would be looking for any excuse to give you another detention.

So, off you went, trailing after the others, intending to go down to Scrivenshaft’s Quill Shop. However, as you passed Quagley’s Quidditch and Other Sporting Goods, you happened to notice James and Sirius through the large store-front window. They were laughing and joking with each other as they examined different gloves. Behind them, Peter had gotten his head stuck in a Keeper’s helmet, and Remus was doing his utmost to get his friend out. You paused and started to laugh at the sight of Remus huffing and puffing, with his hands around the helmet on Peter’s hand, and his foot braced against a nearby shelf.

Finally – pop – and Peter was out. With a yell, he fell backwards onto the floor. James raced forward to help Peter up, and that was when Remus unintentionally caught your eye through the window.

You blinked, surprised by the sudden eye contact.

Oh bollocks, what do I do now? Clearly, I’ve fully stopped and am staring through the store window. You bit your lower lip for a moment, thinking. Well, nothing for it now, I suppose. With a sigh, you walked forward and entered the store yourself.

Unfortunately, you opened the door and went in right as Remus had raised his hand to you, and you didn’t see him wave to you. Sirius, seeing Remus’ hand go up, looked over his shoulder and out the window, but there was nobody there.

“Moony?” Sirius asked. “What are you doing?”

“Oh… Um, nothing.” Remus awkwardly let his hand fall, and he tried to play it off by nonchalantly brushing his hand through his hair.

“I’m starving!” James exclaimed. “Let’s get out of here and head to the Three Broomsticks, yeah?”

Peter chirped enthusiastically, and they began to set off.

Sirius paused. “Moons, you coming?”

“Yeah, but just… go on without me for a moment,” Remus said.

Sirius’ brow furrowed. “You want to stay here? Since when have you played Quidditch, Moons? Been hiding your secret talents from me, eh? Other than sock-folding, I mean.”

Remus wasn’t really listening to Sirius. Though he couldn’t actually see you through the shelves, he was busy watching your soft shadow flicker against the wall. You seemed to be pacing back and forth, thinking hard about something.

“Er – yeah, sock-folding, right,” Remus murmured vaguely. “I’ll catch you later, Pads.”

* * * * * * * * * *

You were pacing back and forth in the shelves, hidden from view, and wondering what the hell had gotten into you. What the hell am I doing? I’ve never even played Quidditch, let alone perused a shop for Quidditch equipment. You groaned softly to yourself, thinking, idiot, idiot, idiot, when suddenly –

“Hello.”

Startled, you jumped a little.

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to surprise you,” Remus said, his gentle smile falling quickly from his now-anxious face.

“No,” you replied at once, shaking your head back and forth. “You didn’t… Um…”

Remus looked over at the shelves you were facing. “Having trouble picking out a bat?”

“Hm?” You looked up to see that you were, in fact, standing before a row of bats.

Remus came and stood next to you. “I didn’t realize you were interested in Quidditch.”

You remained silent, not knowing what to say.

Remus paused, wondering why you were being so quiet. Does she not like me talking to her in public like this? She doesn’t seem to want me to be around her right now. Did I say something wrong? Remus wracked his brains as to what he’d just said to you, but it only made him more puzzled. It wasn’t offensive to ask you if you liked Quidditch when he found you shopping in a Quidditch store, right? That didn’t breach any rules of etiquette… right?

Meanwhile, you were wracking your brains as to how to reply. Finally, not wanting to dig your own hole any deeper, you confessed, “I don’t know anything about Quidditch, actually.”

“Oh.” Remus paused. “Then, can I ask what you’re doing here?”

No, you thought bluntly. But after a moment, you mumbled, embarrassed by your pathetic lie, “Buying a gift.”

You were one hundred percent sure that Remus was going to catch you on your lie. He knew, after all, that you didn’t have any friends to buy gifts to. But he simply said, “Oh.”

Before you could stop yourself, you asked, “Will you help me pick something out?”

Remus looked over at you. “Well, I’m not that knowledgeable about Quidditch, either, to be honest. James is the Quidditch Captain and Seeker, and Sirius is a Gryffindor Beater. I figure they’re better suited to help you.”

“No.” You shook your head firmly. “I’d rather you help. It’s all right if you don’t know much.”

Remus hesitated. Then, he shrugged and said, “All right. So, what are we looking for?”

“I don’t know…” You walked forward and picked up a bat. “What’s this for?” You gave a mighty swing, and Remus leapt backwards.

“Merlin!”

“Sorry!” you said hastily. You made to put it down quickly, but the way you tossed the bat back onto the pile made the bats underneath start to slide… right off of the platform that they had been stacked on.

“No!” you cried, and you raced forward and put your arms out to stop the impending cascade. But you could feel the bats starting to fall, anyways. In particular, there was one bat starting to slip out just past your fingertips. My arms aren’t long enough, you realized.

“Shit,” you cursed.

“Wait!” Remus called to you, and a moment later, you felt his chest press warmly against your back, and his arms reached over yours. As his arms were clearly longer, he helped you from behind to hold up the bats, stopping them from falling.

You let out a sigh of relief. But just then, Remus remarked, “Er – don’t think we’re out of this yet.”

Famous last words, you thought wryly, for the pile of bats collapsed on top of both of you just then.

“Ah!” you cried out, throwing your hands up over your head as you and Remus fell down onto the floor. But to your surprise, nothing came clonking down on your head or even glanced off your arms. Instead – “ow,” Remus whispered, as the whole pile came down on his shoulders and back.

“Remus!”

“I’m okay,” he reassured you hurriedly, as he finally removed his arms from around your head (he’d tucked you into his chest to shield you) and scooted back on the floor.

“That was… incredibly stupid on my part,” you apologized sincerely. You felt humiliated. “Remus, I’m so sorry.”

“What are you talking about?” Remus asked you, with a soft chuckle. “Those bats were made to be swung. You weren’t going to buy a Beater bat without trying it out, were you?”

“Remus, I have no idea what you’re talking about,” you sighed in exasperation.

“Ah, well, ask Sirius sometime,” Remus said, still smiling at how funny and cute you looked sitting on the floor, surrounded by bats, and looking both confused and grumpy beyond comprehension.

At that moment, however, the store employee came running over. “What’ve you done? What’s going on here?”

You hastily got to your feet. “Don’t worry! It was a mistake, but - ”

“Did you break anything?”

This store employee’s very excitable, Remus thought to himself, as he awkwardly got to his feet. He’s practically yelling at her.

“No, look!” you said loudly, trying to calm the man down. You whipped out your wand, pointed it at the pile of bats, and murmured, “Accio!”

The first bat that you’d picked up flew back to your hands, and you caught it, surprised, but the rest of the bats re-stacked themselves into a perfect cube, balancing amazingly well back atop the platform.

The store employee fell silent. Then, he turned a suspicious eye on you and said gruffly, “Well, all right. But you better buy that bat you’re holding.”

You looked sullen and pissed-off for a moment, but then, you reluctantly nodded.

Remus waited for you to buy your bat. Then, when you two stepped out of the store, Remus remarked, “You know, that was pretty brilliant magic. How’d you get a Summoning Charm to organize the bats like that? I’ve never seen Accio used that way.”

You paused, clutching the bat a little harder in your hands, as you replied, almost in a whisper, “Oh… I suppose it’s all about the intent. At least, that’s what a friend of mine taught me.”

Remus hesitated, not sure what you meant by that. Finally, he cleared his throat and said, “Listen, I have to meet the guys at the Three Broomsticks - ”

“Oh! Right. I’m so sorry for holding you back. Yes, you should go.”

Remus stared at you, slightly open-mouthed, for he had just been about to invite you to come along with him. But you were already gone, having given him what was ironically the cutest little wave with the beater’s bat, and now you were nearly sprinting down the street back towards Hogwarts, still clutching that Beater’s bat in your hands. As Remus watched you running off without him, he wondered absent-mindedly what you intended to do with that Beater’s bat you’d bought.

* * * * * * * * * *

As you ran off – or more accurately, away – from Remus, you found yourself what the hell you were going to do with this Beater’s bat that you’d bought.

What am I doing? I spent all of my allowance on this dumb thing that I’ve got absolutely no use for. I even admitted that I don’t know anything about Quidditch, and I still ended up with this stupid thing. Why’d I let that happen?

But you already knew exactly why: you had wanted to have an excuse to spend time with Remus. You liked him besides you. You didn’t care that he didn’t know anything about Quidditch. And you had kept wanting to prolong your time with him, doing increasingly stupid things until… you’d knocked over the entire display and ended up with this worthless bat.

Reaching Hogwarts, you sighed and fell back onto one of the stone benches in the courtyard. Seriously, what were you thinking?

You leaned forward and buried your head in your hand, ashamed of yourself.

* * * * * * * * * *

The following Monday, you trudged into Potions with the bat sticking out of your satchel. Class had not yet begun, for Slughorn wasn’t in the dungeon yet. Everyone knew Slughorn liked to spend a long time at breakfast, so class often started a few minutes late. Turning to Sirius, you said grumpily, “I might have something for you.”

Without any further delay, you pulled out the bat.

Sirius immediately put his arms over his head. “Don’t hit me!”

“Shut up!” you hissed. “Do you want Slughorn to put me in detention again?”

Sirius paused. Then, he deadpanned, “Well, yes. Yes, I do.”

“Fine then,” you said irately. “Never mind. I won’t give it to you.”

Sirius paused. “You were going to give it to me?”

You reluctantly nodded.

Sirius looked at you with a skeptical look in his eyes. After a moment, he asked you, “Why?”

You huffed out impatiently. “I don’t know – I just – Listen, d’you want it or not? ‘Cause I’m about this close to giving it to the Slytherin Beater - ”

Sirius’ eyes widened. “Zabini? No, you can’t! That’s a good bat, and we’ve got a match coming up and - ”

“Did somebody mention me?”

You and Sirius turned around to see none other than Malik Zabini standing behind you both. However, he seemed to be staring at you.

Sirius bristled. “Get out of here, Zabini. No one wants you here.”

Malik’s lip curled up in a cruel smirk as he said, “Or what? Will you run away from your Potions class to avoid me, just like you ran away from home?”

Sirius’ large, bear-like form was suddenly shivering all over with intense fury.

“Sirius.” You kept your voice low in warning. You could tell that he wasn’t just irritated, but actually infuriated. You quickly turned to Zabini and said sharply, “Get out of here. We were having a private conversation.”

“A private conversation?” Zabini repeated suggestively. “Speaking of, now that your loyal lapdog Scamander’s not here, how about you and I go somewhere private? I wouldn’t mind giving that blue hair of yours a tug, if you catch my drift – Hey!”

You shoved Zabini hard in the chest, pushing him away from you. He stumbled back and nearly fell. Holding up the Beater’s bat to shoulder height, you said, “Beat it, or I will.”

“Fuck,” he cursed. “You are as crazy as they say you are.” Then, hitching up his bookbag back onto his shoulder, Zabini moved past you both and to his own desk.

Ignoring the blood pounding through your veins at his insult, you sat back down next to Sirius. Sirius’ jaw was still clenched quite tightly. You sighed quietly. Well, this got out of hand. I’m not sure what Zabini meant when he talked about Sirius’ running away from home, but clearly, it went way too far.

“Merlin, relax,” you said thinly to Sirius, a moment later, trying to break the suddenly harsh tension in the air. “Of course it’s yours. I was only joking.”

Sirius was quiet for a long moment, trying hard not to let his anger get the best of him. Finally, he managed to wag his finger at you in a somewhat playful, if not forced, fashion as he chided you, “You don’t joke about Quidditch, love.”

You snorted. “Figures. The one thing you’d be serious about is a stupid sport.”

“You hardly have the right to talk,” Sirius retorted, “when you entire life mission is about a fox that doesn’t exist - ”

Your eyes flashed in fury. Without realizing it, you stood up from your seat as you said to him forcefully, “Take it back. It does exist! The evidence shows that - !”

Sirius was now fully laughing at you. He loved riling you up. He always had. You knew this, and you hated that he could send you into such a state.

Why do I ever take him seriously? you wondered to yourself.

“Shut up!” you snapped at him.

But he only laughed harder.

With a growl, you snatched up the nearest flask and smashed it down on his head. It didn’t hurt him in the slightest, you knew, but the glass gave off a pretty shimmering effect, and Sirius looked so surprised that for a moment, you could just imagine that you’d finally shown up Sirius Black, except – except Slughorn decided to walk in at that very moment.

You silently sank down into your seat again, accepting your fate as Slughorn yelled at you and assigned you another detention. Meanwhile, snickering joyously, Sirius subtly reached over and snatched away the Beater bat from your hands. “Thanks, love,” he whispered. “I’ll make sure to get good use out of this. I’ll take on Zabini for you.”

I’m a fool, you told yourself, barely hearing Slughorn’s rant at you. I’m a fool. I’m a complete and utter fool.

* * * * * * * * * *

Remus had stayed in bed that morning. It was the two days before the full moon, and he could sense the tingling in his blood. The days leading up to the full moon were always incredibly strange. At the same time that his human body felt exhausted, his werewolf senses were beginning to wake up, so that despite his tired body, he couldn’t help but react to nearly every single scent, sound, or vision that came his way.

So, when the other boys returned to the dormitory, James’ loud whispers of “Shut up! Moony’s sleeping!” caused Remus to instinctively jolt upright in his bed, though he winced when he did.

But as he blinked awake, he realized that his three friends seemed even more rambunctious than usual – and then, he saw the bat in Sirius’ hands.

Remus paused, mind not really very coherent, as he struggled to sort through his memories with you at the Quidditch supplies store. Wait a minute, Remus thought, so the reason that she was in there, trying to buy a Beater’s bat even though she didn’t know anything about Quidditch was because she wanted to impress Sirius? Something inside of Remus’ deflated, making him feel even worse than he already did. Well, she certainly wasn’t in there for you, Remus said bitingly to himself. You don’t play Quidditch, Remus Lupin. You can barely keep your limbs together as it is. He let out a soft sigh, and he tried his best to go back to sleep.

But the image of your soft shadow pacing up and down between the shelves had shown a softer side of you, as opposed to the normal spunky, feisty, and strong-headed you (which Remus admired, too, of course), and the contrast made Remus feel like he knew you better. But realizing now that it was all for Sirius, that you had become shy in your own way and willing to branch out to suddenly learn about Quidditch for Sirius, left Remus feeling distinctly… uncomfortable.

* * * * * * * * * *

Remus didn’t come up to your spot at all this week. Not that it bothered you… in the slightest. No, not at all. It wasn’t like you raced up to your hiding spot, hoping to see Remus sitting there, looking up at you curiously and kindly as you plopped down next to him to update him on your theories on the Nine-Tailed Fox or Greek mythology. No, of course not… You sighed. A small voice in your head whispered caringly, hope you’re okay, Remus.

Tagged Users: @areomalfoy

#fanfiction #fanfic #harry potter smut #harry potter imagine #foxtail and wolfsbane #marauders era #Marauders #rowan scamander x reader #remus lupin x reader #sirius black x reader #sirius black smut #Sirius Black #young sirius black #young sirius x reader

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mochegato · 4 years ago

Text

Capturing a Dream

Chapter 1

Chapter 2 - First Mission

She was late. She was late. She was sooooooooo late. Stupid last minute fabric misorder that caused a backup in production, which left everyone scrambling and rushing to figure out a solution. Bright side, they figured out a solution that was better than the original and Marinette was a huge part of it, gaining her accolades from her supervisor and the director of design. Down side, Chimera was now extremely late for the mission briefing. Her first mission briefing. She would be lucky if she made it there before it was over.

Marinette ducked into an alley close to the zeta tube and transformed. She grimaced as she stood in front of the opening. There was no way to make this discrete. It was going to announce her lateness for everyone to hear. She couldn’t portal in just to avoid embarrassment because that was considered “personal use” and she didn’t know how much time they would have before they had to leave so she couldn’t take the chance that she would have to detransform, feed Kaalki, then retransform. So she was just going to have to deal with the extreme embarrassment. She took a deep breath and walked through the opening.

“Recognize Chimera B12”

Chimera let out a deep sigh. Yeah, there was no way they didn’t hear that. She looked at the Team and noted their expressions. Not as bad as she had been expecting, but she still felt terrible. She rushed over to the Team, standing behind everyone and trying to give Batman’s image on the screen her full attention.

When Batman paused to pull up a schematic of the area they were focusing on, Superboy leaned over to her. “You’re late.” He said in a quietly gruff voice.

She looked up and scowled at him. “I’m aware,” she hissed back. “Couldn’t get away.”

“Right. It’s not like we’re doing anything important here.” He sniped quietly.

“I know we are. But my personal life is important too. If I don’t keep my… outside deal happy, I don’t stay here. I get sent home and I am no longer on the Team.” He furrowed his brow in surprise. She frowned at him, feeling guilty for not being faster and looked back toward Batman. “It’s a balancing act. A balancing act I’m clearly failing at. Sorry.”

He watched her for a few more seconds before returning his attention to Batman as well. “Sorry,” he grumbled out of the corner of his mouth.

“Now that Chimera has arrived, I’ll review roles. Aqualad, Artemis, Kid Flash, Robin, and Superboy, you will all be on tracking duty. You will work together on the ground to track the subject.” They nodded at him.

“Chimera, you will be on distance reconnaissance, observing the team from a distance. I don’t want you interacting unless necessary. Nobody knows about you yet and I want to keep it that way. I want you calling out positions when needed and using mirage if necessary.” She nodded at him. “When you find him, report in, and I’ll recover him. DO NOT ENGAGE. If at any point you need assistance, CALL IT IN. Don’t try to prove yourselves by doing it on your own. Everyone needs help sometimes. Make sure you are reporting your movements.” His voice made clear there was no room for argument or leeway in his statement. He stared at each of them to make sure they all understood how serious he was. “You leave in 5.”

The ride to the site was shorter than Chimera expected. As soon as they landed, they tested out their coms and moved off the ship. Aqualad and Superboy led the way off the ship. Artemis and Chimera followed behind, with Kid Flash and Robin bringing up the rear. After a few seconds they heard Kid Flash over the coms “What do you think I need to do to get Aqualad to pair me up with Chimera on the next mission? I’d kill for some alone time with her.”

Everyone froze immediately. Kid Flash’s eyes went wide in embarrassment looking at each of them as they reacted. Aqualad shot him an exasperated look. Superboy stared daggers at him. Robin chuckled and moved away from him, leaving him to deal with the repercussions on his own. Chimera stared straight ahead, her eyes wide in shock. Artemis continued looking straight ahead as well, but instead of staring at nothing like Chimera, she stared at Superboy. “If he gets alone time with you, I get alone time with Superboy.” She grinned at him when he gave her a confused look.

Chimera groaned and let out a frustrated breath. "Are you guys kidding me?” She exclaimed loudly looking at them. “It’s like Felix all over again. Can we focus on the mission, please?"

Robin stopped walking and turned back to her. "Felix?"

Chimera’s eyes bugged out for a second chastising herself for giving away that clue to her identity, before her face went slack. She turned away from the group and started walking away. "How about we agree whatever personal information we find out about one another during a mission we ignore? Now let's track this guy down. I’m moving to my position." The rest of the Team looked at each other and nodded. They would table that conversation until later. Right now, they needed to focus on the mission. Once Chimera was in her position, they’d move to their own positions.

After about 5 minutes Chimera still hadn’t checked in. The Team gave each other anxious looks. They were ready to get moving and didn’t appreciate having to wait to move. “Chimera, are you in position?” Aqualad asked through the coms.

There was a full 20 second pause before her response came. “Having a bit of trouble getting into position. I’ve come across a problem.” She grunted.

“If you are lost, you should be able to follow the map on your flute. Get in position. We can’t start until you are.” Aqualad chastised her.

They heard a few noises coming from Chimera’s com but no response to Aqualad’s question. “Chimera! Stand down and get in position.”

“Your first mission and already disobeying orders?” Artemis snorted. “Damn, I’m not even that cocky.”

Chimera’s com finally crackled to life again. “To be clear, you want me to stop fighting the guy that jumped me and is currently trying to kill me?”

“There’s a guy attacking you?” Robin whipped around toward the direction he thought she was in.

“You thought I was making these noises for fun?” She huffed at him.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Superboy demanded starting to run towards her position.

“I’m just getting my breath back. He caught me by surprise and got in a lucky hit.” She grumbled.

“Who is it?” Aqualad asked sternly moving toward her as well, but slower than Superboy.

“I’m not sure. Hey scary looking guy trying to kill me, my teammates want to know your name… uh huh. Really? I would have thought… I mean, not to criticize,” she grunted a few times as she jumped away from him or struck him, “but isn’t that a little… You know what, I really don’t have the right to critique names as being too on the nose. He says his name is Killer Croc.” She paused for a few seconds giving a grunt before speaking again. “He says to say hi.” She said slightly strained.

“Damn it.” Robin cursed.

“We’re on our way.” Aqualad assured her and nodded to the Team to start moving.

“Here already.” Kid Flash reported. “He’s not even part of the mission! How did you find him?” He asked incredulously.

“I didn’t go looking for him! I’m just lucky apparently.” She chuckled out wryly. “Look out, Kid Flash!”

“I’m almost there.” Superboy called to her.

“Take your time. We’re just getting to know each other. He said he wants to have fun with me later.” Chimera commented with a fake casualness.

“I think your definitions of fun might not match.” Robin remarked drolly.

“Only one way to find out.” She shrugged.

“We’re super excited you’ve decided to come out from the sewers. We’re looking forward to chatting with you.” Kid Flash added coldly, running to hit him. Killer Croc turned just out of his reach and caught him with his tail instead, sending Kid Flash flying down the street.

“Kid Flash!” Chimera yelled moving toward him.

“I’ll be there in about 20 seconds.” Superboy stated.

Chimera nodded even though none of her team could see it and turned back to Killer Croc. “I’ll have him ready for you.” She whispered to her coms. “Hey evil killer guy, I heard you were difficult. You’re really embarrassing yourself here. I expected better.” She loudly taunted Killer Croc.

“What are you doing?” Superboy yelled into the coms.

They could hear Killer Croc growling at Chimera before she whispered, “Mirage…” but nothing around her seemed to have changed. Slightly louder she said, “Superboy, expect him from above you in 3, Voyage…. 2, 1.”

Killer Croc lunged at her, throwing his full weight at her in an attempt to break as many bones as he could with his impact. Instead of hitting her, he found himself falling from a portal in the sky a few stories up. He braced himself to hit the ground, but it never came. Instead, he got hit from the side with the force of a building collapsing. He hit a nearby building with a sickening crack. The force of the impact crushed the bricks where he hit and caused cascading cracks radiating out from the impact site.

Killer Crock shook his head as he fell to the ground on all fours and looked over where the first hero had been. Everything looked exactly the same until suddenly she disappeared and a portal stood where she had been. She reappeared a few feet away at Kid Flash’s side. He shook his head to try to make sense of the change and looked back to the building that had hit him. He barely had time to take note of a boy in a black shirt and red ‘S’ stalking toward him, eyes glazed with rage, before the boy raised his arm and punched him again, knocking him back into the building.

Superboy hit him again and again until Killer Croc passed out from the beating. Superboy raised his arm again but stopped when Chimera laid her hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay,” she said softly but firmly. “He’s down. He isn’t a threat anymore.”

He lowered his arm breathing heavily, still glaring at the villain.

“Where do we want him to go, Aqualad?” Chimera spoke quietly into her com. “I need a destination to move him.”

“We’ll do it the old fashioned way today and call the police. I’ll make sure they show you Arkham later.” Aqualad stated calmly coming around the corner to observe the scene.

“Guess you’ll never know if your definitions match up now.” Artemis commented coming up next to Chimera.

“Shame. He looked… interesting.” Artemis let out a quiet laugh.

“How’s he doing?” She asked nodding toward Kid Flash as she moved to check on him. He was now starting to push up onto his knees, though he was still swaying a bit.

“He seems okay, more dazed than anything. We’ll have to give a better checkup when we get back.” Chimera reported. “I have to recharge anyway. Should I take him back to the ship?” Chimera asked Aqualad. He nodded.

“Artemis, go with her. Robin, I want you here to deal with the police. This is your town, I’m sure you know them. I’ll call it into Batman and see what he wants to do with the original mission. Superboy, I want you to keep an eye on him until the police get here. Do not hit him again unless he wakes up.” Superboy nodded, never moving his glare from the villain’s collapsed body.

Superboy waited restlessly to check on Chimera, his hands curled into white-knuckled fists the entire time they spoke to the police. After about an hour, Superboy, Aqualad, and Robin returned to the ship. Superboy automatically sought out Chimera. She was sitting with Kid Flash and Artemis, Kid Flash talking and making wild gestures while Artemis and Chimera laughed at him. Superboy looked up to meet Chimera’s eyes and kept eye contact for a few seconds. When she smiled at him, he let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding since she was first attacked and relaxed his hands. Chimera walked over to him and gently laid her hand on his arm. “You okay?” Her eyes were filled with concern.

“I’m fine.” He growled. “Are you okay?” He looked her up and down, searching for any signs or injury. “How could you let him get you like that?”

“I’ll be fine. I’ve had worse and still won the fight.” She gave him a small smile. “He hits hard, but not as hard as some super teammates I’ve gone up against.” He huffed at her, his eyes still furrowed and frowning at her. “He got a lucky hit in. It happens. I recovered and I had teammates there to help. Thank you.” Her eyes were shining with gratitude and softness. Superboy’s eyes softened too and nodded at her.

She could see he was still tense. Watching a teammate get hurt had that effect on people. She certainly had that reaction when Adrien or Alya or Nino or any of her old team took a hard hit. “Can I give you a hug?” She asked tentatively. Hugging her friends after the fight had always calmed her down. She hoped it did the same for him.

He stared at her uncertain how to respond for a few seconds but finally nodded again and opened his arms to her. She smiled at him and walked into his embrace, holding him tightly. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her firmly to his chest. He rested his head on hers, holding her close for a few minutes, slowly relaxing in the knowledge she was safe and close.

<><><><><>

Superboy watched Chimera as she sketched in the common room. She sat with her back against the armrest of the couch, her legs stretched out across the couch. Luckily, she was short enough that it still left room for Superboy. She had turned on some old looking movie she was barely paying attention to.

He walked in, sat on the free cushion, and watched the movie for a few moments. “What even is this? This is terrible.”

She looked up startled like she hadn’t noticed him sit down. “Hey. This is Highlander.” He looked at her with a raised eyebrow. She gave him a sheepish grin. “One of my friends is a movie guy. He thought I might like it. Good period costumes, he said. Fun sword play and light shows.”

He nodded and looked back to the movie. After a few minutes of glancing at Chimera from the corner of his eye he finally asked the thought that had been on his mind since their mission. "So… who's Felix?" He didn’t look away from the movie when he asked.

Chimera glared at him. "I thought we agreed we forget any personal information we find out during a mission."

He finally looked over at her with a dubious look. "No, you suggested that. None of us agreed to it." He leaned back and rested his elbow on the back of the couch. "So, tell me about Felix and how do I find him? I just want to talk to him."

She snorted. “You’d be the first. Most want to punch him in the face. Which is exactly what I did and I can assure you it is in fact as gratifying as you hope it would be.” She gave him a grin. He huffed out a laugh before turning his attention to the movie.

After a few more moments, she looked back up at him. “So… are you excited for school?”

He groaned. “No.”

She furrowed her brow. She really wished she could go with him to help him at school. She was nervous about making friends in her new school too, but at least she was used to school. This was going to be Superboy’s first time going to school at all. She really wanted to forget about the whole identity issue and go with him, or get them to send him to her school so she could keep a covert eye on him, but they wanted to keep him close. “Sorry,” she mumbled instead. “Do you know what you’re going to wear?”

He looked at her for a second or two as he thought about it. He motioned to his shirt and gave her a confused look. She looked back at him in horror. “You can’t wear that! Secret identity. You have to wear something different.”

He groaned and huffed at her. He thought for a second then took off his shirt, turned it inside out, and put it back on that way. Her eyes opened wide in surprise and she blushed heavily before turning back down to her sketchbook. “Yeah, um… No.” She stammered out, focusing solely on the blank page in front of her and willing her blush to go away. This is not how teammates react to other teammates. “I’ll come up with something else for you. What colors do you like? “

He furrowed his brow and looked down at his shirt. “Black… red…dark.”

She nodded, “Broody colors. Got it.” He scowled at her. She gave him a cheeky grin. “I’ll have something for you tomorrow. We’ll work on what your style is as you decide what you like. I should get your measurements though.” She looked down at her notebook and started sketching again. After a few moments of sketching, she looked over shyly. “But, so you know, maybe don’t do that at school.” She said motioning toward his shirt.

He frowned at her, “Why?”

She stared at him incredulously for a few moments, trying to decide if he was serious or not. She finally realized he was when he continued to frown at her, confused about her concern. She wasn’t sure whether his innocence was incredibly sweet or concerning. “Oh, my sweet summer child, I really wish I could be there to protect you tomorrow, but… identity, you know? So I’m going to need you to protect yourself.”

“I’ll be fine.” He grumbled, turning to the movie.

She continued to stare at him a bit longer before speaking up again. “You know you’re handsome, right?”

His head whipped toward her, his eyes wide. “You think so?”

She let out a disbelieving laugh and smiled at him. “I know so. Extremely handsome and broody. A bad boy with a good heart.” His cheeks started turning pink as she spoke. Every word turned them darker. “People are going to be falling all over themselves to get close to you. Boys, girls, thems. You’re going to get all of their attention. Some will show it like Artemis, some more subtle, some less subtle. You’re going to get a lot of attention at school, people wanting to get close to you because you’re handsome, not everyone, but some.” She paused to look at him earnestly. “Just be careful. Make friends with people who make you feel better, happier, lighter. You don’t have to make friends with anyone, but if you meet someone you like, you should. Although if it seems like something someone says is too good to be true, it probably isn’t.” She warned him with a dark look crossing her eyes quickly.

“I don’t need more friends. I have enough friends. Friends who think I’m extremely handsome.” He grinned at her.

She burst out laughing not expecting him to be that bold. She rolled her eyes. “You don’t need more friends, but more friends can make life better sometimes. If it’s the right people.” He grunted and turned back to the movie.

They sat in a comfortable silence for a while, Chimera sketching different outfits for Superboy, Superboy watching the movie and frowning occasionally. The silence was broken occasionally with Chimera asking him if he liked some element of a character’s costume or not. About half an hour into the movie Superboy grumbled, “This movie is depressing.”

Chimera looked up from her third sketch and took notice of the movie again. “What makes you say that? The effects aren’t that bad, not for that time anyway. I mean the sword fighting could use some work and the accents are terrible, but… I think it’s fun.”

Superboy continued to watch the movie for a while longer. “I don’t age either.” He said quietly. Chimera looked at him questioningly. He sighed and looked down. “I’ll be this age, physically at least, for the rest of my life. Part of the cloning process.”

Chimera gave him a sad look and reached out her foot, the only part of her body that was close enough to touch him, to pat his leg. “At least you’ll be hot.” She offered with a sympathetic smile. He huffed at her and returned to watching the movie, but he couldn’t help the small smile on his lips.

She watched the movie with him for a while longer watching as the main character’s wife died of old age in his arms while he was still the same age as when they met. She frowned at the screen and said quietly, “I’ll age, but much, much slower than everyone else.” Superboy looked over at her in surprise. She offered him a mirthless smile. “It’s part of the powers I have now. I’ll live for centuries if I want to.” She looked back to the movie and frowned as the main character buried his wife. “I’m not so sure that’s a good thing.”

Superboy nodded at her. “At least you’ll be hot.” He offered with a smile.

She laughed out loud at him. Once she settled down she gave him a crooked smile. “I’d take that more to heart if you had any idea what I look like.”

He gave her a small smile and watched the rest of the movie in silence. When it was over, he looked over at Chimera to find her examining him with her eyes narrowed as though sizing him up. “What?” he demanded.

“You should use the name Conner for school.”

“Like the guy in the movie?”

“Yeah. You need a name. Conner’s a good name. I think it suits you.” She nodded as she said it, like it was decided.

He fought the blush that wanted to appear again. If she liked the name, that’s what it would be. “I can live with Conner.” He nodded nonchalantly, trying not to give away how significant he thought it was.

“No, I live with Conner.” She gave him a cheeky grin and started laughing at her own bad joke. He groaned and threw a pillow at her. Thankfully, she was in her suit because he threw it with enough force to burst the pillow open when it hit her. She laughed harder as the fluff rained down on them.

“But, so you know, maybe don’t tell jokes like that at school.” He said in mock distain.

She smiled wistfully at her sketchbook. “Yeah, I think my old partner rubbed off on me. He would have loved that joke.”

“Old partner?”

“Yeah… um… I don’t think… identity secrets, you know?”

“Okay. Can you say, is he still alive?”

“Yes, he is.”

“What happened? Why isn’t he your partner anymore?” He paused for a few seconds to gauge her reaction. “If you can say.” He added quickly.

“I can’t…identity.” She gave him an apologetic look. They sat without looking at each other for a while. “He’s not a hero anymore.” She whispered after a few minutes. He looked up at her with wide eyes. “Oh, no. He didn’t become a villain.” She rushed to reassure him. “He just… he went through a lot and decided to walk away.”

“Do you miss him?”

“Um…I miss…” She thought how to word her response. She wanted to answer him honestly, but it wasn’t safe for anyone to know they were still close. “Yes.” She answered instead.

“Sorry.”

“It’s okay. He was my teammate, my best friend. I’m happy he did what he had to do to take care of himself. He’s happier now, or he will be eventually. And now I have a new team and more friends. We both did what we had to do.”

Conner nodded and looked around the room trying to figure out how to make the air feel less awkward. His eyes landed on the end of the credits. “He’s not the guy that recommended this movie is he? Because that is not a good friend.”

She barked out a laugh. “He’s not. But the one that recommended it is like a brother, so watch it.” She narrowed her eyes at him and pointed her pencil at him in mock threat.

“Maybe I’ll get to meet him someday then.” He kept his voice light but gave her an uncertain look.

She gave him a brilliant smile and nodded. “I hope so.” He smiled back at her and helped pick up the pillow fluff that surrounded them.

Tags:

@mickylikesstuff @mystery-5-5 @roguishredaxion

#maribat #marikon #connerette #connette #konmari #conner x marinette #capturing a dream

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onlyswan · 2 years ago

Note

how can you always, always make me turn into a puddle with the tiniest gesture and gentleness.

a tattooed arm protectively wraps around you to keep you glued to his body each time he leans forward. his careful movements, along with his mellifluous voice, fool your senses into believing that you’re being carried out by the ocean waves to the shore of dreamland.

he climbs on the bed, knees sinking in the mattress as he gently lays you down. and there’s an inexplicable emotion stirring in his chest as he covers you with the blanket, accompanied by the epiphany that he is doing this at 2am not because time has arrived to daunt him and he needs to leave your bed to go home. not anymore. whatever this is, it feels so fucking good. oh my god, he looks forward to spending the rest of his life feeling you breathe next to him, getting lost in how peaceful you look asleep when he randomly wakes up in the middle of the night.

this part made me cry (of happiness) because bro.. he loves oc so much that he won’t be / feel home unless they’re together - not even when he is physically in his home.

“psh. always gotta keep me on my toes, don’t you?” he smooches your cheek, and then once more, lingering and refusing to part away. you feel his lips curling up against your skin.

“so fucking cute.” he muses, rewarding your cheek with another kiss before securely tucking you back into his embrace.

i’ve had enough of all of these cheek kisses. i want some tooo >:[

and no, jungkook, you can’t win for your white cloud light because you’re too tidy and would pay too much attention to the wrinkles of your undies. and love, pink and yellow lights would be better for your eyes and so much cozier. imagine having a lil sum 👀 💋 with those lights on. issa yes from me.

hello my lovely human! everything has been hard for me and your new drabble was a much needed tenderness for me. and thank you for the concert tips! i decided to turn the nervousness into excitement since our brain can’t tell the difference💀 have a great weekend artemis ♡

-🌷

TULIP ANONIEEEE <3 is it obvious that my love language is physical touch 🫣

why do i cry whenever one of you says that he loves oc so much like of course i know but seeing someone else say it makes me so 😭💔 YES YOU SEE IT TOO HELL YEAH HE DOES. he deserves to be happy with oc always :(

something about this couple and cheek kisses my heart actually aches writing about them </3

omg you get it!!! you even see oc’s vision too!!! and team oc is leading with two points right now btw lmao 👩‍💻 i really am counting

noooo i’m so sorry to hear that beloved :( sad i can’t do more but i hope the drabble helped even a little bit to make your heart feel lighter 🫂 i hope you have better days! and you have the show to look forward to i’m so excited for you <333

#🌷 anon

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the-al-chemist · 3 years ago

Text

Artemis Hexley and the Circle of Khanna

Chapter 2: Homegoing

A/N: Artemis returns home and makes a decision that will affect her future. Warnings: child neglect and mentions of violence.

August passed in a muggy haze of trips to the beach, of four-a-side Quidditch matches, and of Mrs Weasley’s home-made cooking. All too soon, it was time to start packing up ready to leave for the start of the next year at Hogwarts.

Artemis had left her school trunk at her mother’s house in London at the beginning of the summer, so after dinner on the last night of the holidays, she and Fergus travelled back via the fireplace in the Weasleys’ living room. The Floo network took her to the fire in her mother’s kitchen, and as she clambered out of the hearth, brushing the soot from her clothes, she heard voices in the sitting room. That was strange. Her mother never had visitors.

She decided to take a look and see for herself what was going on, and so she pushed the door ajar and looked through the gap between the door and the frame to see who her mother was talking to. As soon as she recognised the dark-haired newcomer, her heart skipped a beat.

“Jacob?” she said out loud, before she could stop herself.

She hadn’t expected to see Jacob at all, definitely not here, and possibly not ever again. The two of them had hardly parted on good terms after he left her in the Buried Vault at the end of her fifth year.

“Missy. Artemis,” Jacob quickly corrected himself, with a strained smile. “Where’ve you been?”

“At my friends’ house. Bill and Charlie, you met them, remember?”

“I remember,” Jacob nodded, curtly. “Look, about what happened in the Cursed Vault. I’m sorry for taking off like that. I just had to find Rakepick.”

“You said,” Artemis muttered. “You didn’t say why, though.”

“No. There wasn’t time. Why don’t you sit-”

“I’m fine standing, thanks.”

Artemis raised her eyebrows as she stared defiantly at her older brother. She wanted to forgive him, but she couldn’t give in, not until he had explained himself.

“I had to go and find Rakepick,” Jacob said, one hand shaking slightly. “She and I worked together before, and I thought maybe if I talked to her, I could make her see sense.”

“See sense? Jacob, she’s evil. She tried to kill me.”

“I know she did, but she never was evil when I knew her. I thought that if I found her, I could bring her back to our side. I know it felt like I was leaving you, Miss- Artemis, but I really was trying to keep you safe. I promise.”

The look in Jacob’s eyes was completely sincere. He wasn’t lying, Artemis could tell.

“Okay,” she said, nodding slowly. “I believe you.”

“Did you find her? Rakepick?” Sara Hexley’s sharp voice echoed across the room. Artemis turned around. She had almost forgotten that her mother was there.

“No,’ Jacob shook his head and moved closer to his mother, looking at her earnestly. “I’m sorry, Ma. I tried, I really tried.”

“I’m sure you did,” said Sara, reaching out to place a hand gently on her son’s arm. Jacob placed his free hand onto hers and knelt down next to her.

“I’m not done, Ma. I’ll keep trying, and I won’t stop until I find her. I’m going to make sure that Artemis is safe.”

Sara Hexley said nothing, just pressed her forehead to Jacob’s, a single tear rolling down her cheek. Artemis watched them, a peculiar feeling growing in her chest as she did: part envy, part longing, part loneliness, part hope. Perhaps now that Jacob was home, their mother would start to feel better. Maybe now she would be more like how a mother should be, like Aunt Tina, or Mrs Weasley, or even Madam Rosmerta.

“I’m sorry,” Jacob whispered, and his mother half-smiled before whispering something back to him that Artemis couldn’t hear, but wished that she could. Jacob kissed his mother on the forehead before straightening up.

“Wait,” Artemis frowned. “You’re not going to stay?”

“I can’t. You heard me, Rakepick is still out there, and she’s dangerous. I need to find her. Until I do, you need to be careful, okay?”

“But-”

“Please, Artemis. For once, just do as you’re told,” Jacob said. Artemis opened her mouth to argue, but the strain in his voice made her stop. Somewhat grudgingly, she shrugged, as Jacob sighed. “Good. That’s good. I’ll let you know as soon as I find her and talk to her, yeah?”

“What if you find her and she hurts you?” Artemis asked him.

“She won’t.”

“You don’t know that.”

Jacob shared a look with his mother before replying: “Yes, I do.”

Artemis looked between them, feeling hurt and left out, as if she were watching people enjoying a party that she hadn’t been invited to. There was something that they weren’t telling her, she could tell. But before she could ask them what it was, Jacob had planted a kiss on her cheek, and picked up a bag from the floor beside him.

“Stay safe, both of you. I love you.”

With that, Jacob left, and Artemis watched her brother walk away from her. Again.

“He will be back, won’t he, Ma?” she asked. “Ma?”

But now that Jacob was gone, her mother had returned to staring straight ahead. Artemis sighed. She shouldn’t have got her hopes up.

“Come on, Fergus. Let’s go upstairs and pack.”

As she climbed the stairs to her attic bedroom, Artemis’ sadness turned into resentment, and then into anger. What had she ever done wrong? Or, what had Jacob done right that she hadn’t? Why couldn’t she be the one who was whispered words of encouragement, who got to have a hand placed on her arm and a forehead pressed to her own?

By the time she had reached the top of the dark, narrow house, her mind was made up. This time, she wasn’t just going to pack the things she needed for school. She was going to pack everything that she owned.

The previous two years, Artemis hadn’t bothered to wake her mother to say goodbye before leaving for the school year. After a night of fitful and intermittent sleep, she debated whether or not she should this year, too. On the one hand, Sara probably wouldn’t care that she was leaving, even if it was indefinitely, but on the other, it seemed rude not to at least try to say goodbye properly to the woman who had raised her, albeit grudgingly.

In the end, the choice was made for her. Artemis arrived downstairs in the morning to find her mother sitting at the kitchen table, two suitcases at her feet.

“Oh,” Artemis frowned. “You’re leaving.”

“Yes,” replied her mother, looking at the back of the chair on the opposite side of the table.

“Right. Well, so am I.”

“I know you are.”

“Yeah, but this time I’m not coming back.”

If Sara Hexley was upset by the prospect of her daughter leaving home for good, she didn’t show it. If anything, she seemed almost amused, letting out a soft, hollow laugh that made Artemis’ blood boil.

“I mean it,” she said, angrily. “I won’t be coming back here ever again.”

“No, I suppose not,” replied Sara, closing her eyes and taking in a deep, shaky breath. “I might not be, either.”

“Why not? Where are you going?”

“Home.”

“America?” Artemis asked, and her mother nodded. “You’re leaving the country for good?”

“Possibly.”

“So that’s that, is it? You’re just going to go?”

“You’ll be seventeen this year. An adult. You don’t need me anymore.”

Artemis had heard enough.

“Need you?” she said, her voice shaking with rage. “As if you care whether I need you or not! You’ve never been there when I’ve needed you, not even once. All you do is sit here in this house, pretending that I don’t even exist. Well, I do exist! And I’m sorry that my existence is such an inconvenience to you. I’m sorry that I’m not Jacob, and I’m sorry that I could never make you love me like you love him. I’m sorry that dad died, and that Jacob left, and that you got stuck with me. I’m sorry that I was born and that you had to be my mother. Not that you’ve been a very good one.”

Sara said nothing, just rested her forehead on the tips of her fingers, her eyes screwed shut.

“Great,” Artemis rolled her eyes. “Of course you’re not going to say anything. You never do, do you? Not even the last time you left the country. Well, don’t worry, Sally. Now you’ll never have to say anything to me ever again. Good for you.”

With that, she turned on her heel, leaving her mother at the table.

“Wait,” said Sara, and Artemis turned back. Her mother’s eyes seemed almost tear-filled, and her mouth was parted slightly, as if she were about to say something.

But the second she made eye contact with her daughter, Sara Hexley shook her head, closing her mouth and her eyes once more. Artemis sighed, and left her alone. For good, this time.

Artemis’ bad mood persisted as she walked through Camden Town to Kings Cross Station, and even the sight of the Hogwarts Express waiting to depart from Platform Nine and Three Quarters did little to lift her spirits. She could have used a few hours of sitting in a carriage with her friends, eating Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans and playing Exploding Snap, but being a prefect, there would be little time for that.

Having stored her luggage, she and Fergus went to the carriage at the front of the train to meet with the other prefects and the new Head Boy and Girl, ready to spend the day patrolling the train. One of the last to arrive, she took the seat that Charlie had saved next to him, and scowled at Diego Caplan, her fellow Hufflepuff prefect, who winked at her in way of greeting.

“What is his problem?” she hissed at Charlie, who peeled his eyes away from the window and shrugged in response.

“I really don’t know,” he replied, quietly. “I think that’s just him. Don’t take it personally.”

“I’m not taking it personally, I just don’t like it, that’s all.”

“Can’t blame you for that.”

“Do you want to patrol together?”

“Yeah. Course,” Charlie smiled, but he didn’t look as carefree as usual. He looked tired, Artemis thought. “I need to talk to you about something, anyway.”

“What’s that?”

But Charlie just shook his head. Artemis turned to look at the other inhabitants of the carriage. Aside from Diego, there were several faces she recognised, but only a few she could put a name to. Still, she smiled at Badeea Ali, the Ravenclaw prefect, who she was friendly with, and nodded in recognition at Merula Snyde.

Merula, with whom Artemis had previously had a somewhat strained relationship, raised her eyebrows. Artemis smirked. That was about as friendly a greeting as she could have hoped for. As soon as the Head Boy had finished his speech and released them, Artemis made a beeline for her.

“What do you want, Hexley?” drawled Merula.

“Just thought I’d see how your summer was, that’s all,” Artemis said, and Merula looked at her scathingly. “Well, you didn’t come to our party, so I thought-”

“No, because we aren’t friends.”

“But we are…” Artemis’ voice tailed off. No, she and Merula weren’t exactly friends, but they weren’t colleagues anymore, either, not now that Rakepick wasn’t around.

“Exactly, Hexley,” Merula muttered. “We aren’t anything to one another, so stop pretending that you care about whether or not I came to your stupid party. I don’t even see how you can think about having a party when Rakepick’s still out there, anyway.”

“What else am I supposed to be doing, Merula?”

“The same thing that I’m doing.”

“Which is?”

“Becoming as powerful as I can be,” Merula said, shortly.

“Really, Merula? This again? I thought you were over the whole ‘most powerful witch at Hogwarts thing’ now.”

“I don’t want to be the most powerful witch at Hogwarts anymore, Hexley. I want to be more powerful than Rakepick. I want to find her, and show her that she can’t beat me.”

“Right,” Artemis frowned, and Merula walked away without another word. Artemis blinked and returned to Charlie, ready to patrol. “Shall we go? Quickly, before I end up getting stuck with Diego again.”

“Don’t worry, he went off with one of the fifth year girls,” Charlie told her, and he nodded his head in the direction of Merula. “Was she alright?”

“Not really. She’s plotting revenge on Rakepick, apparently.”

“Well, that’s one way of dealing with things.”

“She’ll have a job finding her. Jacob said he’s tried everywhere.”

“Jacob?” Charlie’s eyebrows shot upwards. “Your brother Jacob?”

“No, my Grandpa Jacob,” Artemis rolled her eyes. “Of course my brother Jacob. He was at my mum’s house when I got back last night.”

“Oh. What else did he say?”

“Not much. He was mainly speaking to our mum, but he did say sorry for leaving me in the Vault.”

“That was nice of him,” Charlie said, his eyes fixed straight ahead. “How did your mum take-”

“The usual. Well, with me, it was the usual. With Jacob she was like a proper mum.”

“Right. Well, I’m sorry.”

“Why? It’s not your fault,” Artemis wrinkled her nose. “Anyway, it’s fine, because I’ve moved out now, anyway, and my mum is going back to America, so-”

“What?” Charlie stopped walking and stared at her, his eyebrows knitted together. “What do you mean, you’ve moved out? Where are you going to live?”

“Hogwarts, I guess. And I’m going to Rowan’s for Christmas, and probably a week in the summer. Maybe a week at yours, too, if your family doesn’t mind, and I guess I’ll just pay for Fergus and me to stay at the Three Broomsticks for the rest of the holidays. That’ll be nice, because there’ll be loads of Butterbeer.”

“Artemis…”

“It’s fine, Charlie,” said Artemis, rolling her eyes. “What did you want to talk to me about, anyway?”

Charlie sighed, and shook his head.

“Er, nothing. It’s nothing, really,” he said, before faltering under Artemis’ quizzical stare. “Alright, I just thought… I thought you might need to look out for Penny a bit. What with Bill not being here and everything.”

“Was that it?”

“I told you it was nothing,” he shrugged. “It sounds like you’ve got enough to deal with as it is. I can talk to Tonks about it instead.”

“Oh, no. I don’t mind,” Artemis told him. “Penny’s my friend. And to be honest, I’d rather look after her than think about… Yeah, I’ll make sure she’s okay. Don’t worry.”

Charlie nodded, but he definitely still looked worried.

Artemis and Charlie patrolled the train together for the rest of the journey back to Hogwarts, having had to stop no less than five times to curtail the activities of Charlie’s younger brothers, Fred and George. At Hogsmeade station, they made sure that the unruly twins were safely in the care of Hagrid the groundskeeper, along with the rest of the first years, before setting off to find their other friends.

The carriages that took the students from the station to the castle were gathered and ready to leave. Artemis saw the unmistakable bright pink hair of her friend Tonks climbing into one of them, and so she ran to join her.

“Where’s Penny?” Artemis asked, climbing into the carriage alongside Tonks and Rowan.

“She wanted to go with Beatrice,” Rowan said, eyebrows raised sceptically over the top of her glasses.

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Beatrice sat with us the whole journey here,” Tonks muttered. “At one point Penny followed her to the toilet to make sure she got there safely.”

She and Rowan shared a knowing look, and the carriage jolted into motion, bouncing down the path to Hogwarts castle as if it were being pulled by an invisible trotting horse, which in fairness, it was; only those who had witnessed a death could see Thestrals, the winged horses that pulled the carriages.

In the Great Hall, Artemis spotted Penny sitting amongst a group of second years, including her sister Beatrice, whose short blonde hair was much less tidy than it had been the last time Artemis saw her.

“Is she not going to come and sit with us at all?” Artemis asked, frowning as Penny reached across the table and poured her sister a glass of pumpkin juice. “We’re her best friends!”

Penny’s three best friends took seats further along the Hufflepuff table, and were soon joined by Chiara Lobosca, a girl in their year who slept in a dormitory opposite them due to having a bleeding condition that left her in poor health. Judging by the colour in Chiara’s cheeks, the school holidays had given her plenty of chances to rest and recuperate.

Artemis didn’t have the chance to tell Chiara how well she looked or to ask her about her summer before Professor McGonagall entered the Great Hall with the first years ready for the Sorting Ceremony. Artemis ducked just in time as Fred and George Weasley walked past her, and a second later the table in front of her was covered in something wet and sticky. Tonks leant forward and sniffed.

“Melted acid pops,” she whispered, nodding proudly at the backs of the twins’ heads. “A classic.”

As much as Artemis enjoyed the company of the Weasley twins at the Burrow, she found herself feeling relieved when both were sorted into Gryffindor and not Hufflepuff. Cedric Diggory, the little bronze-haired first year boy who had taken a seat on the other side of Rowan, seemed much politer than Fred and George Weasley.

Not that Artemis was going to be too involved with the first years this year. The fifth year prefects were in charge of rounding up the new students, and she and Diego merely had to make sure that the second years were settling back in well enough. Seeing her opportunity to disentangle Penny from her younger sister at last, Artemis made a point of escorting Beatrice and her friends to their dormitory, as Tonks and Rowan frogmarched Penny to their own.

By the time Artemis had seen that the second year girls were sensibly getting ready for bed and no longer running up and down the corridors, there was no noise at all coming from her own room. She was surprised to find that when she opened the door, all three of her roommates and Chiara Lobosca were all sitting in their pyjamas in the middle of the room playing a noisy game of Exploding Snap, each of them halfway through a bottle of Butterbeer, with music playing from a small gramophone in the corner.

“Silencing charm,” Rowan said, seeing the confused look on Artemis’ face.

Artemis grinned, pulled her own pyjamas out from underneath Fergus the cat, and changed into them ready to join in the fun. She changed the song on the gramophone and sat cross-legged on the floor between Rowan and Penny, where Tonks handed her a Butterbeer and Chiara dealt her a handful of cards.

Finally, thought Artemis. She was home at last.

The sixth years may have returned to the castle for another year of school, but they couldn’t start their lessons until they had chosen which subjects they would continue to study now that they had finished their O.W.L.s and were progressing to their N.E.W.T.s. The morning after the start-of-term feast, the sixth year Hufflepuffs awoke to a note from their Head of House Professor Sprout, inviting them to have breakfast with her in the greenhouses instead of in the Great Hall, so that they could discuss their options together.

Artemis and her friends took seats on a bench under branches of Professor Sprout’s Wiggentree, and when their teacher had finished pouring each of them a fresh cup of tea, she conjured a plushy armchair out of thin air and sat on it to talk with them.

“I was very pleased to see your results,” she told them, beaming from ear to ear. “Well done, girls. I hope you’re all as proud of yourselves as I am.”

Artemis, Rowan, Penny, Tonks, and Chiara all murmured their assent. Professor Sprout took a sip of tea and a bite of pain au chocolat before continuing to talk to them.

“Now, have all of you had a chance to think about what subjects you’d like to take through to N.E.W.T. Level?

Naturally, Rowan and Penny were the first to have made up their minds. Penny only really cared about Potions and Alchemy, but she had also decided that Charms and Herbology would be useful, and that Muggle Studies would be an easy option, given her Muggle heritage. Rowan was planning on continuing with almost everything, and Professor Sprout had to point out that only had room for so many subjects on her timetable before she narrowed down her options to History of Magic, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, Charms, Potions, Astronomy and Herbology.

Artemis frowned. She too had already decided which subjects she wanted to take for her N.E.W.T.s, and they weren’t at all the same as the ones Rowan was taking. She hadn’t thought about that until now; the two of them had always had the same timetable before, and she had assumed that they would continue to attend all their lessons together. They had always made a good team: Rowan was more academic, Artemis more practical. It was going to be strange, not having Rowan with her at all times, like she was going to have a part of her missing. She didn’t like the idea of it one bit.

“Which subjects will you be continuing with, Artemis?” Professor Sprout asked her.

“Well,” said Artemis, quickly rethinking, “Charms and Runes, definitely, and Potions as well…”

“I’m afraid that Professor Snape only accepts students with Outstanding in their Potions O.W.L. on his N.E.W.T. Course, so-”

“Wait, what?” Tonks interrupted Professor Sprout, looking horrified. “But I only got Exceeds Expectations! Does that mean that I can’t take Potions this year?”

“Unfortunately so,” the professor nodded sympathetically, and Tonks scowled. Artemis shared confused looks with Rowan. Tonks had never shown any interest in Potions before.

“But that’s so unfair! None of the other teachers have that rule.”

“No, most of us are happy to take students provided that they have Exceeds Expectations or above, although Professor Flitwick and I do make some exceptions if students show a real dedication to the subject or they need it for their selected career paths,” Professor Sprout turned her attention back to Artemis and gave her a pointed look. “I don’t believe that Herbology is a prerequisite for Curse-Breaking, is it?”

“No, but-”

“You did particularly well in Transfiguration and Defence Against the Dark Arts, Artemis. Outstanding in both subjects. I’d suggest that you continue with them. This is your future, and no one else’s, after all.”

Artemis sighed. Professor Sprout had figured her out.

“Yeah,” she agreed, somewhat reluctantly. “I guess that makes sense.”

“And you’ve always liked your Creatures, if my memory serves me correctly,” Professor Sprout continued. “I think Professor Kettleburn would be most upset to not have you back in his classroom this year.”

There was a note of finality in Sprout’s voice that made it clear that there was no point in arguing. Artemis would just have to get used to not spending every moment of every day with Rowan. At least they would still have Ancient Runes and Charms classes together. Besides, she could hardly see Charlie giving up Care of Magical Creatures, and Tonks was fully intent on continuing with both Transfiguration and Defence Against the Dark Arts, so she wouldn’t be alone in any of her lessons.

“What about you, Chiara?” Sprout asked. “Have you had any thoughts about what you’d like to do?”

“I’ve been thinking that I might like to be a Healer,” Chiara said. She didn’t look particularly happy about the idea, however. If anything, she looked apprehensive. “I just don’t know if I’d be able to be a Healer, what with me being sick. They might not want me to be one.”

Professor Sprout put down her cup of tea and looked Chiara in the eye earnestly. Artemis tilted her head as she recognised another emotion in her teacher’s eyes: a strange, pitying sadness.

“I understand your worry, Chiara, but someone with your intelligence and your good heart shouldn’t be put off from trying. You would make an excellent Healer, I’m sure,” Professor Sprout smiled and leant across to gently squeeze Chiara’s hand. “We will sort something out for you. Let me talk to Madam Pomfrey, see if she would like to take you on in the Hospital Wing as a volunteer.”

Chiara’s eerily pale eyes were a little dewy as she nodded her head and she talked through her subject options with Professor Sprout. By the time the bell rang to mark the end of breakfast, all of the sixth year Hufflepuffs were full of pastries and had their new timetables completed, ready to start the new year. The girls turned to leave, but before she could follow her friends out of the greenhouse, Professor Sprout called to Artemis once more.

“Artemis, I’m sorry that I didn’t think to ask before,” she said, frowning deeply. “I just assumed that you still wanted to be a Curse-Breaker, but after last term, I suppose that you might have changed your mind.”

“Why?”

“Well, because of Patricia Rakepick.”

Artemis thought about it. She hadn’t really considered whether or not she still wanted to be a Curse-Breaker. She never had actually really considered whether she wanted to be a Curse-Breaker at all, it was just what she did. And she was good at it, too. It was a part of who she was. Rakepick couldn’t change that, could she?

“No,” she said, vehemently shaking her head. “I still want to be a Curse-Breaker.”

“Very well,” replied Professor Sprout, though she looked doubtful. “I just thought-”

“I’m a Curse-Breaker, professor. That’s just what I am.”

#artemis hexley #hogwarts mystery #hphm fic #hphm #jacob hexley #charlie weasley #merula snyde #penny haywood #rowan khanna #nymphadora tonks #chiara lobosca

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statticscribbles · 4 years ago

Text

Misunderstoond

Summary: Newt Scamander/Reader; Nothing’s worse than a family misunderstanding

“Dougal can you not sleep?” You frown when the Demiguise tugs at your leg and then slowly clambers up to rest in your arms. He makes a soft chittering sound and you frown; he was still sick and no matter what Newt had given him it didn’t seem to help. You were hoping it was just a mild flu. You wrap him up in a blanket and place him in the hammock you normally sleep in when you need to stay in the case. You sigh running your hands through your hair before thinking maybe a warm bath would help the Demiguise; considering he had quite a few aches and pains from how he whined and mumbled to Newt. You watch as he blinks, his eyes glowing blue before he smiles slightly and rolls to his side, managing to cover himself in the blanket fully so he’s just a lump on the hammock. You leave him when you hear the door open.

“I’ll be just a second; I bet that’s your daddy with everything.” You chuckle at the joke, Dougal having acted like a clingy toddler the minute he first sneezed. You turn watching Thesues awkwardly standing there. “Y/N. I was wondering if uh, Newt was around.” He breaks the silence. “Oh no, I’m sorry Theseus he stepped out for a minute; had to get some stuff. I’m really sorry we haven’t visited; we’ve been swamped here. Dougal has some sort of cold and we don’t really know what’s wrong; I’m convinced it’s the flu but Newt says it’s something else; so he went off to go get whatever herbs he needs to treat whatever he thinks is wrong. Sorry I’m rambling.”

“No I; uh; Dougal?” Thesues question; you can see what you think is a faint recognition on his face and you smile. “Yes; I don’t think you’ve been properly introduced; the last time we saw you was what about six or so months ago; Dougal wasn’t really that comfortable around new people. I really am sorry we haven’t stopped by. Oh but he’s sick; I’d hate for you to see him when he’s grumpy.” You frown and Thesues looks increasingly surprised. “Really Y/N; it’s alright; just come round when he’s feeling better. We can all talk over dinner. If you and NEwt can make it next week?” You beam at him, turning slightly when you hear a faint whine from the hammock. “Give me a second sweetie.” You offer but Thesues shakes his head smiling. “Don’t worry about it, tell Newt I stopped by.” He smiles waving and you nod turning to Dougal as Thesues leaves.

You mention to Newt that Theseus stopped by and he sighs nodding pinching his nose. “He’s been bothering me about a family dinner.” “I know he mentioned it to me.” You smirk when Dougal lifts his head and Newt chatters softly to him. “Did you miss me huh Dougal?” He grins offering out a potion he’d mixed and Dougal frowns reaching towards you. “Aww you’re gonna have to take some medicine Dougal; it’ll make you feel better.” You assure him as he wraps his arms around your neck.

It had taken a week and another two days of the potion Newt had created but Dougal was fully recovered although he still looked wary when Newt would walk around with the bottles he used for medicine. You’d been surprised to find four bright red letters all addressed to Newt; as well as two plain envelopes addressed to you from three separate owls. “Newt. Do your family normally send Howlers?” “No did they?” He peers from where he’s feeding the mooncalves. “Yes; one from your mother, one from your father and two from Thesues.” “Did one get lost in the post then?”

“No they were sent at the same time; apparently he has very strong feelings about you not taking him up on his dinner offer.” You chuckle and Newt nods. “He was very odd when I ran into him at the ministry the other day.” “Really? Did you talk about the dinner? Maybe he’s bothered about that or maybe that you weren’t in?” “We didn’t; he did ask about Dougal though; seemed really concerned about him. He asked me how old he was; seemed horribly offended with my answer.” “What did you say?” “Well I told him that age doesn’t really matter in my line of work; but Dougal was very young in comparison to most of the other creatures here.” You nod along with his explanation.

“He then complained it was rude to you that I forget; and ‘preposterous’ that” he mimics Thesues’ voice and you chuckle “I couldn’t remember Dougal’s age; since you said it had been around six months since we last seen him and taking care of him couldn’t have scrambled my brain that badly.” You furrow your brow but nod for him to continue. “He scolded me for not informing him and that he’d told mother and father and they were furious with me as well. He glared at me when I left after I said we’d make it to dinner this week, and I could bring Dougal if he wanted to see him so badly.” “Did anything else happen? Maybe someone told him what a demiguise can do; and he wants to see it in person?” “I can’t think of anything. Maybe we should check the letters.”

“Maybe let’s open mine first and see if they give us any clues.” You peel the envelope from Theseus open. “Oh no.” You sigh scanning back over the letter that Theseus has written, before turning to Newt. “Good news it’s all been a huge misunderstanding.” “So it explains the Howlers?” “Yes. The bad news is; Theseus doesn’t know what a Demiguise is; at all. He thinks Dougal is a human child; specifically our child.” “Oh.” Newt nods slowly turning in horror to the Howlers. “So which one is the worst?” “Which one did Thesues send second?” You hold up one of the letters and he sighs pushing it away. “Let’s start with my fathers first.”

You’re sitting with Newt trying not to laugh at his fathers stuttering anger and his mothers cutting tongue both describing how horrified but unsurprised they are that they haven’t met their sweet grandson Dougal. You can hear the overlap of the letters; the ending outrage the same sentence reminding you both that they need to meet Dougal. “How upset do you think they would be if we brought him?” Dougal appears at the edge of your vision before vanishing and you watch one of the nifflers run past; a small shimmer in it’s mouth, you watch Dougal, invisible yank the niffler up and pull whatever the shimmering object is back towards his habitat. “Oh they’d be furious. I think Theseus might actually faint from anger. Which I would pay to see; maybe we should bring him. If he’s our son after all.” He laughs about to open the first letter from Thesues.

“NEWTON ARTEMIS FIDO ; I AM APPALLED that this entire situation has transpired! I just-“ You chuckle when Thesues trails off muttering in anger before sighing and resuming his yelling; you let it go on for fifteen minutes of him repeating how horrible it is that Newt left you alone to care for Dougal; and he should take more pride in his son and everything being a parent to a human child entails. He’d spent a further twenty minutes explaining how he had to be the one to tell not only their parents but also his own friends. How Queenie was so shocked she didn’t actually say anything despite reading his thoughts. You’re trying your best to keep quiet with your laughter Newt looking more and more ashamed as Thesues continues to berate him. “Now the second letter I sent. Is just for you Newt. I don’t want Y/N to hear any of it. And you don’t either.” He snaps and you tilt your head confused Newt rolls his eyes and the Howler tears itself up and you pass him the other one. “Do you want me to go tend to the Kelpie?” “No I’m sure he just says a curse word or maybe swears to hex me next time we see him.” Newt laughs and you nod. “Alright; here we go then.” He nervously tears the seal on the howler and grimaces when it forms and there is silence before Thesues voice snarls from the paper tongue.

“What on earth happened to you wanting to marry her!! You had a plan! Bring her to New York to meet everyone under the guise of a MCUSA meeting; and then show her Frank! Have a nice dinner and ask her to marry you! You’ve gone and muddled that all up! I know you’ve never been one to do anything traditionally but think about how Y/N feels in all of this Newt. She loves you. She loves you so much and you probably never considered how alone she might feel! She hasn’t even met our parents and she already has a family to take care of! I’m ashamed of you Newt; I hope when we see each other next you’ve apologized to Y/N properly.” The letter goes silent and tears itself up. Newt stays just as quiet.

“I’m sorry Y/N Thesues is-What?” He looks confused at your face which you’re sure is flushed. “You want to marry me?” Newt furrows his brow. “Of course; that’s a silly question dear; but what Thesues was saying; about me not considering your feelings about-“ “About Dogual? The Demiguise?” You chuckle a bit and he shakes his head. “No about traveling; about running across every continent looking for creatures and never staying n one place long enough to see the towns; let alone find a home or friends.” “Newt; if I didn’t want to be with you out here discovering these creatures with you; then I wouldn’t be. Thesues was right; I love you; I love you so much; and that means I love travelling with you, and sleeping in the case and running through god knows what forest to find something everyone thinks is going to kill us but was really just scared because it doesn’t like copper.” “Oh well since we don’t have a son to show my family when we visit; how about;” He pauses whistling softly and you watch Dougal appear nest to Newt and hand him whatever the shimmering thing the niffler had earlier. “Y/N; will you marry me?” He offers out the ring and you nod tearing up slightly. “Of course Newt.” He grins, pulling you up from the hammock and spinning you around. “So; would you like to meet Frank?” “The thunderbird?” “Yes; as well as my friends.” “I would love to, shall we respond to Thesues and your parents about joining them for dinner?” “We should; but maybe a quick trip up to the market; the prices of some of the magical herbs they have is so low. i could restock everything and- Right. What do you want to do?”

“Well personally I’d love to go check out the market; I got a really good tip off that they have incredibly low prices on some herbs we need.”

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timextoxhajima · 4 years ago

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Love Me A Little Less: Chapter 8 - Hypocrite

LOVE ME A LITTLE LESS CHAPTER MASTERLIST

Member: (3rd person pov) arranged marriage au with Lee Juyeon

Genre: angsty wangsty

Taglist: @hyunjaethereal @sunwoowuvbot @suzy-rainbow

“Why did you come back?”

Jang Won’s consciousness had been flitting in and out of a state of being awake when Juyeon slides the door of her bathroom open, the rolling noises waking her up from her drowsy trance.

“Sorry, just go back to sleep,” Rubbing his damp hair with a towel, the pajamas that Mr Ro managed to salvage from the Manor’s guest closet (that part of the closet used to belong to Younghoon) somehow fit him better than expected. “I know you had a long day, so.”

“It’s been a long day for the both of us so just shut up and get in bed,” Jang Won mumbles, loud enough for him to hear. Her back rests against the bolster placed in the middle of the bed, and a light clicks off somewhere in the room as Juyeon turns it off. The room was painted in a gentle mandarin shade from the nightstand lamp on his side; it reminds her of sunsets and fruit baskets.

She feels the mattress on the extreme end sink as Juyeon shuffles in, then the room dims when he turns off the lamp on the nightstand.

The distant chirps of crickets in the courtyard down below where the wedding was held manages to seep through the gaps of the balcony doors, and Jang Won could just barely make out the glowing ring of the moon if she pushed her head into the pillow a little more.

“Jang Won.”

She sucks in a deep breath, eyes still fixated on the glow in the sky. “What?”

“I’m sorry.”

Surprise. Chirp. Blink.

“What for?”

“Calling you a hypocrite.”

Jang Won turns, and Juyeon turns as well, upon hearing the shuffling. His eyes are two orbs of glass from the bare illumination from outside.

“I... can never understand how much you’ve gone through, and so I have no reason to call you that, and I’m sorry.”

“Forget it-”

“No, please,” There’s a hint of desperation in his voice that keeps her from turning away. Chirp. “I said something I cannot take back and-”

“I know. And... I’m sorry you were dragged into this mess. I really am.”

“Fruits from the same tree,” He whispers, and Jang Won can hear his gentle scoff. “Look forward to our Guatemala honeymoon. I promise you’ll have the time of your life.”

“I haven’t heard someone make a promise to me in a long, long time.”

And even in the shitty lighting, Jang Won can make out the little smile he has on his face.

“I’ll be the new standard. Trust me.”

“That’ll probably the first and last thing I’ll do.”

Juyeon quietly chuckles in the darkness.

“Goodnight.”

“Night.”

If Jang Won had a choice, she definitely would’ve had chosen another way to last remember her mother, even if it meant the same outcome. It had been any normal day for her - school at one of the most prestigious academies. At the time, Juyeon’s name had already been spread far and wide for being both a chaebol and somewhat of a likeable personality in school. Jang Won would know, since she’s spent countless of days listening to the likes of her friends swooning about Lee Juyeon from the Stanford Academy.

On the days they were a little bolder, they’d ask Jang Won to strike up a conversation at one of the events The Board likes to organise. Of course, being the girl she is, she doesn’t care.

“Sure,” She’ll always say, but empty-handed she’ll return to her friends. Jang Won would be lying if she said she didn’t gain some kind of sickening pleasure from seeing disappointment wash over their faces when all she did was basically nothing.

That should’ve been the prime thing about being 16. That should’ve been it. Teasing each other about boys, boys that she couldn’t care any less about.

That really should have been it.

But the ghastly outline of her mother’s skull had been etched into her head as the days passed, and before she could realise it, Jang Won had lost all memory of how her mother used to be like; how she even looked like within the walls of The Kim Mansion.

Her mother belonged within the cream, marble walls of the monument erected in the corner of street where the country’s tycoons all lived in. She belonged in the safety of a living hall with a rug made from bear fur and a fireplace keeping her and the cup of hot chocolate on the coffee table warm.

Not here. Not letting the amber strips of light pasted into the ceiling shine through her paper-thin skin, as if Jang Won couldn’t already see the blue veins under her mother’s forehead.

The first major thing that Jang Won would never forget was watching her older brother fight with her father. That was the one time she had seen Younghoon yell at Kim Jo-Pil, as if they weren’t related, as if Kim Jo-Pil wasn’t the adult in the room.

While Jang Won wished with all her heart that she could remain angry with what her brother said, she knew that it was the best choice. Her mother was on a ticking time-bomb anyway. It had been a matter of time before she took her last breath.

Yet, for some reason, it was the one time that she had seen Younghoon been so coldly caring, and her father so warmly unbothered. The scent of the expensive, first-class hospital ward is still stuck in her nose, and probably would for the next year or so. As she listened to her brother beg her father to let her mother go peacefully, without having to live through the pain, she let her tears stain the bedsheets by her mother’s hands.

“Won-ie.”

Jang Won looks up upon the hoarse voice, eyes tearing when she can see how resigned her mother is. The fight is no longer glimmering in her eyes, because she knows she’s fighting a lost war.

“After this, you’ll only have your brother left, and you must promise me you will do everything you can to protect him, like he will for you.”

Jang Won shakes her head, fingers interlocking with hers, and for a split second, she’s almost afraid she could tear her skin. “No. You’ll do that for me. I’m not old enough to take care of him.”

“You’re a smart girl, Won-ie,” She manages a grin, and it tears Jang Won apart to see how hard she had to try. “I know... that this wasn’t what we wanted.”

“Yeah, it’s not,” Jang Won frowns, swallowing the chunk of tears and snot in the back of her throat. “Nobody’s gonna help me build Hera’s Manor if you don’t. What’s Younghoon gonna do? Sit by and eat popcorn?”

“He probably would, wouldn’t he?”

Jang Won can feel her lips quiver, brows furrowing and her head slowly becoming heavier.

“Listen, Jang Won. The Board will not be kind to you, and we’ve lived by The Board for more than 7 generations. Things will not go your way but I promise you... not everyone is as venomous as we think they are. Some, yes... but not everybody is out for blood. These people will come and help you when you most need it, and you must be kind, whenever you can.”

“Why are you telling me all this?” Jang Won’s voice cracks and she doesn’t notice that the bickering outside the ward has ceased. Younghoon enters alone. “Tell me this again next time. I’m not gonna remember it.”

“I’ll always be with you, whether you know it or not, okay? I love you, Hera’s princess. Oh, my little girl.”

It’s a monumental effort on Jang Won’s part to keep herself from physically doubling over as she sobbed, her mother’s hand pressed into her cheek.

She shuts her eyes, letting her face contort into a horrid mess of emotions when her mother turns to look at her son.

“Hoon-ie... Promise me you’ll take care of Jang Won?” She holds out an arm, and her son cannot bring himself to take it, in fear that it would be the last.

“I’ll always take care of her anyway,” His voice cracks, only worsening the hiccups in Jang Won’s chest. “You can remind me some other time.”

And again, with more effort needed, she smiles. “Come here, my Prince Artemis.”

Younghoon feels like there are roots coming from the ground and holding him to the concrete, but he manages to drag himself to her bed, kneeling down to rest his arms on the mattress.

“You both... have been my everything. Thank you for teaching me what love is, when I thought I’ll never know what it is. Thank you for teaching me how to be a better mother than any other role I could ever have.”

Younghoon winces and looks down. “Stop-”

“I am... so proud of the two of you, and I’ve been so lucky to have the two of you as my children. There’s nothing I would change. Absolutely nothing.”

Finally, Kim Jo-Pil enters the ward. Hands in his pockets. Eyes unable to look at the breathing corpse on the hospital bed.

“Jang Won, Younghoon, let’s go. The two of you still have school tomorrow.”

“No, wait, please,” Jang Won shakes her head, tightening her grip on her mother’s arm. Her father already has one arm around Younghoon’s shoulder, but even the most obedient son looks reluctant.

“Father, please,” Younghoon frowns, tears brimming.

“Let us stay for the night, please?” Jang Won’s brows furrow back, pushing herself back towards the wall as her father rounds the end of the bed.

“Father,” Younghoon anxiously tails his father, now trying to get a hold of Jang Won. “Just let us stay for this one night.”

“No, your mother would not approve of you staying here tonight.”

“Mom,” Jang Won whines, wrist already being pulled. “Please...”

“Mother, please. Please, please, please let me stay.”

Juyeon halts the brush in his mouth, instantly turning to exit the bathroom. The late morning sun drizzles across the length of the room as he watches Jang Won twitch and shudder under the thick blanket.

“Younghoon... do something...”

He frowns, returning to the bathroom just to get the toothpaste foam out of his mouth. Walking around the bed, he now notices the pool of tears stained into the pillowcase beneath her cheek. Her face is puffy and her cheeks are pink from the anxiety.

It’s a pinch in his gut, when the only time he sees this vulnerability in her is in her sleep.

“Jang Won,” He whispers, resting one knee into the bed and gently tapping on her shoulder. “Hey.”

“No, no, no... don’t make us leave...”

“Jang Won.”

“Mr Lee.”

Juyeon turns to the bedroom door, surprised to see Mr Ro already entering. Automatically backing off, Juyeon watches as the butler presses a warm cloth to her cheek and shove a mini canvas into Jang Won’s hold.

It was painted, with bumps from acrylic paint, and signed Yoo Se Kyung.

Her breath slows, but her grip around the canvas tightens, and she stops talking. Mr Ro shifts back, clearing his throat and gathering his palms before his abdomen. He bows to Juyeon, eyes plastered to the floor.

“Does this happen often?”

Mr Ro resumes his upright stance, eyes glancing at Jang Won. “Every year, around late spring into summer, it comes back to her. The memories of visiting her mother in the hospital. I wouldn’t disclose too much - that’s for her to share when she finally trusts you, but I’ve been meaning to tell you about it before you leave for your honeymoon. I just didn’t expect it to come so quick.”

Jang Won’s tears have stopped, and her grip around the canvas has loosened. Mr Ro removes the cloth and bows to Juyeon, turning on his heels to leave the bedroom.

“Mr Ro.”

The butler halts, head turning to look back over his shoulder.

“‘Finally’ trusts me?”

Mr Ro offers a weak smile.

“I haven’t seen her share a bed with anybody, nor care so much, ever since her mother passed.”

Juyeon sighs exasperatedly, scratching the skin on his cheekbones as his eyes flit to her for a split second. “That’s only because you have nowhere to house me, and that she needs me for the marriage.”

The elder lowers his head and shakes it gently. “I’ve known Jang Won for the entire 22 years she’s been alive. Some part of her trusts you, and I know you don’t see it, but I can.”

Pity washes over Juyeon first, then pleasant surprise, and finally, obligation. Is this how it feels like to have someone you want to protect?

“Breakfast is in the dining hall. Jang Won will wake up soon and she’ll confirm the itinerary for your honeymoon in Guatemala next week.”

“Oh, did she say if I needed to be there?”

“Only if you want to. Jang Won’s instructions were to keep it optional for you in case you had other obligations to tend to.”

Mr Ro walks off after giving one final bow to Juyeon, leaving him awkward by the bed. His heart sinks when he turns to her, sound asleep and holding almost no hint that she had been previously crying, having nightmares.

It’s a punch to the gut when he realises he’ll never be able to fully comprehend her pain, and even then, he wouldn’t have the autonomy to tell her that he knows how it feels - because he doesn’t.

Sitting by her edge of the bed, his brows furrow across his forehead as he gently pushes her hair out of her face. He needs to remind himself that sympathy and pity is the last thing she would want, so he makes it a point to remember the promise he made Younghoon.

Juyeon’s care for Jang Won has far exceeded his own expectations, and thus, will far exceed hers. Unable to erase the idea of himself that Jang Won had previously implanted in his head, that he was a coward, from that conflict they had in her office the previous day made Juyeon a little more rigid and his head a little clearer. The resolution he makes to protect her will far supersede his ability to care for her.

Kim Jo-Pil’s gaze cannot be torn from the sight of Lee Juyeon, gently stroking the head of hair of his daughter. The door had been left ajar when Mr Ro left and he had partially heard the conversation between his new son-in-law. He had expected Juyeon to be colder, conservative, as poisonous as his daughter had seemed to be.

So when Juyeon touched Jang Won with the weight of feathers and cotton and looked like he was memorising all the features on her face, the exact color of every strand of her hair and making one of those silent promises in his head, Kim Jo-Pil cannot help the twist in his left eye-lid.

He pulls away when Juyeon finally removes himself off the bed, backing away from the door and hurriedly scurrying away. Just before he can reach the stairs that lead down into the main hall, he hears the door down the corridor he was just in creak open.

“Mr Kim.”

Kim Jo-Pil stops, turning to face the source of call.

“Juyeon,” Kim Jo-Pil bows deeply. “I... Didn’t know you were staying for the night.”

“It wasn’t planned,” Juyeon shakes his head. “But... I must ask.”

Kim Jo-Pil sucks in a deep breath, already knowing what was in his head.

“Why did you come back?”

#multifandomnet #destinyverse #the boyz juyeon fanfic #the boyz juyeon imagines #the boyz juyeon scenarios #the boyz #the boyz juyeon #tbz juyeon #juyeon #juyeon fanfic #juyeon imagines #juyeon scenarios #tbz juyeon fanfic #tbz juyeon imagines #tbz juyeon scenarios #love me a little less

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dccomicsimagines · 4 years ago

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Date Trap - Kaldur x Reader

Requested by Anon - Hi, would you write something fluffy with Kaldur please? If you need a plot then maybe where they flirt constantly and the team ships them and tries to get them together? If you don’t need a plot then ignore that haha. Thanks :)

Author’s Note - I made this one Halloweenish too. Sorry.

***

“Kaldur, let me help you with that,” you said shyly, coming over to help him adjust the collar of his shirt. He smiled, blushing slightly.

“Thank you.” Your touch lingered on his collar before pulling away. Artemis snorted at the sight. You jumped, forgetting the rest of the team had been watching. All of you were by the zeta tubes at the cave.

Robin laughed his creepy little laugh. “Are you two ready? Remember you’re supposed to be on a date.”

“We know.” You adjusted your own outfit. “Why does it have to be us again? I mean M’gann and Conner are actually dating in real life.”

“Supes is too scary. The date stalker won’t come after him,” Wally said, coming into the room with a camera. “Besides, he wouldn’t handle the fancy dinner and everything.” Conner growled in response. Wally smirked at him before holding up the camera. “Smile, lovebirds.”

You and Kaldur froze like deer in headlights. The camera flashed, blinding both of you for a second. “I do not understand why you all seem to be enjoying this so much,” Kaldur whispered in Robin’s ear once he recovered.

“Because it’s fun.” Robin laughed again. He pushed Kaldur toward the zeta tube. “Stay whelmed. It’s going to be great.”

Kaldur cleared his throat. He glanced over at you to see you getting a jacket from M’gann. You waved, putting it on as you joined him. “Are we ready to go?”

“Yes, it appears so.” Kaldur looked back at Robin and Wally. Both of them gestured for Kaldur to offer you his arm. He frowned, confused by the gesture.

“Okay then.” You walked off to the zeta tube. Kaldur shook his head at Wally and Dick before running to catch up with you.

“I don’t know if this is going to work,” M’gann said through the mindlink. “They both don’t even realize their feelings for each other. How are they going to fall in love and be convincing to the Date Stalker?”

Artemis shook her head. “Kaldur is not that dense. He knows he likes (Y/N). I mean he blushes every time he looks at them. If we can tell they like each other, the Date Stalker will fall for it too.”

“But what if they don’t notice that they like each other? What if it’s just as awkward as them leaving was?” M’gann bit her lip. “Maybe it should have been Conner and I as bait?”

“Nah, they’ll be fine. This will spark their romance. Kaldur isn’t a completely fool. I mean he won’t sweep (Y/N) off their feet like I could, but he can be charming when he wants to be.” Wally smirked, striking a proud pose. Artemis flicked him in the forehead. He winced, pouting.

“Shouldn’t we be going? I mean we’re supposed to be backing them up.” Conner crossed his arms, glancing at the clock. Wolf barked impatiently as well.

The rest of the team snapped to attention, and hurried to the zeta tube eagerly. “Remember pizza for a week if this has them dating afterwards,” Robin teased. Artemis smacked him across the head. “Ouch.”

***

You poked at the food on your plate. What if you chewed too loudly? What if you spilled on yourself? Would Kaldur think you were a pig? You found you couldn’t take a bite.

Little did you know, Kaldur had the same thoughts going through his head on top of wondering what his food was. Surface food was strange to say the least. He poked at his food, copying you.

The silence weighed heavily on the two of you. You wished M’gann and Conner had done this part of the mission instead.

“Are you enjoying your food?” The waiter asked, stopping by when he noticed neither of you had taken a bite.

“We are fine. Thank you.” Kaldur gave him a tight smile. The waiter glanced at you. You nodded hurriedly, bumping the bottom of the table with your leg. Everything on the table jumped. Kaldur barely caught his water in time before it tipped over.

“Sorry.” Your face burned. The waiter shook his head, mumbling something about kids as he walked away. “Sorry.” You kept your eyes on your plate.

Kaldur cleared his throat. “It is fine.” He bit his lip. “Are you enjoying your food?”

“Yes.” Your stomach growled. Tensing, you hoped Kaldur didn’t hear. You took a dainty bite of your food. It took you a second to swallow. “How’s yours?”

Kaldur studied his plate. “Interesting.” He took a bite, encouraged by the sight of you eating. “I have never had something like this before.”

You smiled, relaxing slightly. He was probably as out of his element as you were. “Well, do you like it?”

“It has an different taste to be sure.” Kaldur took another bite. He glanced out the window, frowning when he saw a group of kids walk by in Halloween costumes. “I thought Halloween was in a few days?”

“It is. They must be doing something early.” You shrugged. Finally, you relaxed enough to eat normally. “Have you celebrated Halloween before?”

“No.” He smiled at you. “I was invited to join M’gann and Conner’s school dance, but I declined. The idea of Halloween as a holiday concerns me.”

“Really? Why?” You tilted your head at him.

Kaldur blushed. He loved when you looked at him like he was the only one in the room. “People dressing up in costumes and pretending to be people other than themselves is worrisome. In Atlantis, we would only do such a thing for plays or ceremonies.” He pursed his lips. “Not to mention, I have concerns about strangers giving candy to children.”

You hummed, thinking about it. “I guess it would be strange to someone who didn’t grow up with it, but Halloween is mostly about having fun.” You smiled. “Maybe after dinner, we could go see what’s around to do for Halloween? I mean we’re just supposed to keep pretending to be on a date until the Date Stalker attacks us, right?”

“Hush.” Kaldur looked around. “Remember we are undercover.”

You laughed. Kaldur chuckled along with you. The two of you enjoyed the rest of your dinner without any interruption.

***

“Well at least they are finally looking like they are on a date,” Artemis said, shaking her head as she put down her binoculars. “But no sign of the Date Stalker yet.”

“Of course not. He’s not going to attack them in the restaurant. That goes against his MO.” Robin perched on the edge of the roof. Artemis stood next to him, both on the roof across from the restaurant. “Anything on street level, Miss M?”

M’gann was quiet for a second. Her voice came over the mind link. “Nothing here. Kaldur and (Y/N) are paying for their meal. Kid Flash is already moving to the park.” Out of the corner of Artemis’ eye, she saw M’gann in camouflage mode in the alley next to the restaurant.

“Why couldn’t we just have Kaldur and (Y/N) walk around right away? This is a waste of time.” Conner grunted through the mind link. He and Wolf were on the bioship, hiding in the park. The rest of the team deemed them too outlandish to be outside with them.

“Because then they wouldn’t discover that they are perfect for each other,” Wally retorted. “Park is clear. Perfect for the love birds. Ready to get us that pizza, Rob?”

Robin snorted. “I’m going to have to order it by the truckload for you, aren’t I?”

“Hello Megan,” M’gann said. “They’re leaving the restaurant, but they got stopped by kids in Halloween costumes.”

The team watched as Kaldur and you talked to the kids. One of the kids handled you a flyer. You talked to Kaldur excitedly. He smiled, love sick. Eventually, you both started walking in the opposite direction of the park.

“Wait, where are they going?” Robin snapped. “Miss M, connect them to the mind link.”

“No!” Wally’s voice echoed through the mind link. Artemis covered her ears on reflex. “It will ruin the date magic.”

“That doesn’t matter right now.” Robin tensed, running to jump across roofs to catch up with you and Kaldur. Artemis struggled to keep up.

“Robin, slow down. Not all of us are good at this height, okay?” Artemis panted, almost stumbling over the edge of one of the roofs. Robin slowed once he came to the street.

M’gann giggled. “It’s okay. (Y/N) dropped the flyer so I could get it. They’re going to a haunted house.”

Wally laughed over the mindlink. “Shut up, Kid Flash,” Conner growled.

“See? It’s not bad.” Artemis leaned on her knees, still catching her breath. “How do you move that fast?”

“Miss M, what’s the address? We need to move into position.” Robin ran a hand through his hair, taking a deep breath.

“At least they aren’t going off to make out somewhere,” Wally teased, sensing Robin’s tension.

“Pervert.” Conner grunted. Wally gasped before starting in on how he was not a pervert. Artemis laughed, nudging Robin. A smile crept onto Robin’s lips.

***

Kaldur bit his lip, eyeing you as you both walked down the street into an neighborhood. “Do you know where we are going, (Y/N)?”

“Yeah, the kids said the haunted house was over here. Apparently, it’s a local thing.” A trash can banged behind you. You jumped, grabbing Kaldur’s hand.

Kaldur blushed. His hand stayed limp in your grasp for a moment before his fingers tightened around yours. Your hand was cold. “Are you cold? Your hand is freezing.”

“I’m fine.” You smiled at him sheepishly, but you didn’t pull your hand away. “The others should know we changed plans and adapted.”

“We should not have changed plans.” Kaldur glanced around. “This may get dangerous.”

You waved your free hand. “Stop looking so nervous. Besides, it’s more natural for us to change out plans if we were really on a date.” You bit your lip. Kaldur realized at the moment that he had been staring at your lips for quite some time. He looked away quickly. “It’s kinda weird those kids only seemed to talk to us though, isn’t it?”

“Strange, yes.” Kaldur tightened his fingers around yours. “It was like they were waiting for us.”

You shivered. “Well, at least I’m showing you something to do on Halloween. Haunted houses are fun, even if this is just one in someone’s garage.” The two of you turned a corner to find a nicely decorated house with a line of people outside. “You’ve never been to a haunted house before, have you?”

Kaldur blinked, taking in the surroundings. “No, but I do understand the concept.” You pulled Kaldur to get in line. When you got to the table, you dug into your pocket for a few dollars to donate as admission. He frowned when he noticed a suspicious figure in the shadows. “(Y/N), I think we may have gotten some attention.”

“Good.” You led him toward the haunted house, joining the line to go in. From your pocket, you removed two glowstick bracelets. You cracked one and put it around Kaldur’s wrist. “Hope the team can see these.” You put the other one on your wrist.

“Interesting.” Kaldur stared at the bracelet. “I do not know why we could not use comlink or at the very least the mind link.”

You shrugged. “Honestly, it confuses me too.” A smile grew on your lips. “At least we’ll have a souvenir from the mission.”

“Kid will be jealous.” Kaldur smiled back at you. “(Y/N), I am...pleased I was put on this mission with you.”

Your eyes sparkled. Kaldur’s heart skipped a beat. “Me too.” You pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. Kaldur froze. “Come on, it’s our turn.” You took his hand and pulled him inside the creepy, dark haunted house.

***

“Oh my god. (Y/N) just kissed Kaldur’s cheek.” Artemis almost dropped her binoculars.

“And they put on the glowsticks, so the Date Stalker is onto them,” Conner said bluntly. Artemis was on the roof of the house next door. Conner joined her as it had been decided he could finally leave the bio ship.

M’gann squealed. “They kissed!”

“Pizza here we come!” Wally cheered.

“I knew they would feel the aster.” Robin laughed, swinging onto the roof of the garage. “Any visual of the Date Stalker?”

“No, but (Y/N) and Kaldur entered the haunted house.” Artemis frowned. The team waited for about five minutes, but you and Kaldur didn’t exit the haunted house.

Conner tensed. “I heard (Y/N) scream.”

“Move in,” Robin ordered, sobering. “Miss M, connect Kaldur and (Y/N) to the mind link. I don’t care if we mess with their date.” The team moved in.

***

“Sorry,” you said as Kaldur groaned beneath you.

“It is alright.” The pressure of your weight on him lit his entire body on fire. He swallowed hard. “Are you alright?”

You rolled off him, rubbing your head. “I think I bumped my head.” The room was only lit with the glow from your bracelets. “Did the floor just give out or something?”

Kaldur sat up. His back ached from the fall. “It appears so.” He glanced around. “The reports said the Date Stalker tries to isolate their victims. This could be one of their tactics. Lure people into the haunted house and trap the ones they want.”

“Crap.” You hissed, rubbing your temple. “I don’t feel good at all.”

Kaldur reached to touch your temple, but stopped when lights suddenly came on the room. Both of you were blind. “One short sleep past, we wake eternally And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die,” a voice echoed into the room.

Suddenly, gas filled the room. “Stay close to the floor.” You pushed Kaldur back down, half laying on him. “The gas should rise first.”

Kaldur’s eyes adjusted. He caught a seam of the trap door that dropped the both of you in here. “I have an idea.” He took out his water-bearers that were hidden in his shirt.

“Kaldur, (Y/N), where are you?” M’gann asked over the mindlink.

“We fell through a trap door. (Y/N) is injured and toxic gas is filling the room.” Kaldur activated his water-bearers into a whip and threw it at the trap door in the ceiling. It broke through the wooden door easily.

“I’m fine.” You tried to get to your feet, but stumbled, holding your head.

“They are not fine.” Kaldur wrapped his arm around you. “We need an extraction now.”

Robin’s creepy laugh filled the room. “You two seem comfortable.” The gas disappeared out of the broken trapdoor. He appeared beside you and Kaldur.

“Miss Martian, Superboy, use your abilities, find the Date Stalker. Artemis, call the authorities. Robin, help me get (Y/N) out of here.” Kaldur took charge. His arm stayed around you. Robin took your other arm. He smiled cheekily.

“What are you smiling about?” You blinked several times, unable to keep your balance.

Robin nodded to Kaldur’s arm. You blushed. “And it’s nice to have Kaldur in charge again.”

Kaldur hummed, taking Robin’s grapple gun from him to use it to help you up. Throughout the escape and the capture of the Date Stalker, Kaldur never left your side.

***

“It’s just a minor concussion, Kaldur. I’m fine.” You walked to your room at the cave. Kaldur hovered beside you, his hand holding yours.

“I do not want you to fall again, (Y/N).” Kaldur studied you worriedly. He helped you into your room and sat you down on your bed. His face burned when he saw your messy bedroom.

You smiled shyly, laying down. “I enjoyed myself today before...you know, falling and getting a concussion.”

Kaldur bit his lip. “I did as well.” He stood awkwardly beside your bed. Part of him knew he should leave, but the other part wouldn’t let him.

“I still am going to take you to celebrate Halloween with me. We’ll go to a real haunted house where we won’t walk into a death trap, maybe carve a pumpkin or two.” You closed your eyes, smiling lazily.

“I would enjoy that.” He slowly sat down on the edge of your bed. You reached out to take his hand.

“Thank you.” You whispered before your hand relaxed, going limp in his.

Kaldur’s heart skipped a beat, staying where he was. He squeezed your hand. “You are welcome, (Y/N).” He leaned down to kiss your cheek before pulling away and leaving your room.

Noise from the kitchen brought him there, he frowned in confusion at the sight of what was happening inside. Boxes of pizza were piled on the kitchen table. The rest of the team were sitting around, pigging out. “What is this?” Kaldur asked, stepping into the room.

“Rob just kept his promise,” Wally said with his mouth full. Artemis elbowed him, glaring.

“So you and (Y/N), huh?” M’gann giggled, leaning into Conner’s side.

Kaldur blinked. “You all planned this to occur, did you not?”

Robin snorted, getting another slice of pizza. “Well, we had to do something. You two weren’t going to get together on your own and there is only so much we can take.”

The rest of the team laughed. Kaldur shook his head before joining them. He knew he should be mad, but he had to admit, he was grateful for their interference.

#kaldur #kaldur x reader #kaldur imagine #kaldur'ahm #kaldur'ahm x reader #kaldur'ahm imagine #aqualad #aqualad x reader #aqualad imagine #dc comics imagines #dc reader insert #young justice #young justice imagines #yj imagines #halloween

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lala-ladybug · 4 years ago

Text

Healing Hands: Chapter 3

Happy finals week, ugh. As always, reblogs are appreciated!!

Jasonette Sword Art Online AU

Read here on AO3

Tag list: @iloontjeboontje

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Chapter 3: Well shit Babs, maybe I like ponies

Marinette sat on a rock and paddled her bare feet in the water. It was a beautiful day, the sun was warming the top of her loose, dark hair and the ocean in front of her stretched for miles and miles.

A noise disturbed her peaceful moment. A distant cry, probably a seagull.

She sighed and leaned back on her hands to breathe in the smell of--

Marinette choked. Why was there smoke in the air?

The cries grew louder as she looked back at the water before her. She started when she saw that they came from her friends, who were in the now-tumultuous water, trying to keep themselves afloat. They were only a few yards away, she could make it if she just--

A force around her waist tugged her hard as she leapt to her feet. Her face collided with the concrete beneath her-- the top of a building, she realized. If the water level was up this high, then....

From where she lay, she could see directly down into the water. It was no longer clear, but a deep crimson. There were dozens of figures scattered about, some still struggling and some motionless. She scrambled to get up as her eyes snapped to Alya’s hand disappearing below the waves.

That damn force jerked her to the other side of the building, farther from her friends.

“No!” Marinette cried out desperately. The force released her and she whirled to find her attacker.

A flash of red caught her eye, and--

Oh.

It was Ladybug.

Marinette shook her head, not understanding. If that was Ladybug, then.... No, it couldn’t be Ladybug, because she was Ladybug. She fumbled for her earrings, but felt nothing.

Ladybug stalked deliberately up to Marinette and pushed her to the ground. Marinette landed on her hands and knees, both of which were now shaking.

“Look at them,” it was her own voice that spat so harshly from Ladybug’s lips. “Look at them.” She grabbed Marinette’s hair from behind and forced her head up.

Marinette could now see Adrien, Kagami, Luka, and Chloe in the ocean in front of her. Their lifeless faces floated just below the surface, the bloodied water doing nothing to conceal their frozen expressions of terror.

Marinette sobbed and closed her eyes. Ladybug pulled sharply on her hair again, and looked into Marinette’s eyes.

“Look at them. Don’t you dare take your eyes off the mess you’ve made. You will never be able to save them all,” Ladybug’s eyes, her eyes, blazed with the vehemence of her words. She opened her mouth to speak again, but a loud beeping sound was all that came out.

Marinette gasped and sat up in her bed, the alarm sending her heartbeat into a frenzy. Tikki flew up next to her as she slumped over with a hand over her eyes.

It was just a dream.

Another Kwami must have turned off her alarm because the beeping had stopped, but Marinette could still hear the echoes of her friends’ dying breaths ringing in her ears.

“Marinette... are you okay?” Tikki placed a delicate paw on her chosen’s arm. “We heard you cry out while you were sleeping.”

The girl lifted her head and gave the little god a shaky smile. “It was just a dream.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” Tikki floated back down to where the other Kwami were piled on the side of the bed with similarly worried expressions on their faces.

Marinette exhaled a bracing sigh. “Okay.... It was Syren. Or-or Chat Blanc, I’m not really sure.” The Kwami exchanged a look at that. This was not the first time she’d had a nightmare about water. “But Ladybug was there, and she was attacking me.”

Tikki looked especially concerned about that new piece of information. She opened her mouth to say something when Marinette’s phone lit up with a call. The ringtone was Alya’s.

Marinette picked up, trying to control the shaking of her hands. “H-hey girl, what’s up?” Her tone was deceptively cheerful.

“Hey Mari! Just checking to see if you’re awake. Nino and I are ready, he even put on the goggles already!” Marinette instantly relaxed as she heard Alya’s excited voice bubbling out.

“Yeah dudette, they feel really weird. But comfy!” Nino must have leaned over to pitch in.

Marinette shook off the last vestiges of the nightmare with a giggle. “Yeah, it’s kind of tricky to get the headset to fit over your glasses, but you’ll get used to it!”

“Well if you’re not ready yet then you’d better hurry up, girl! The game launches in five minutes.”

Marinette scrambled to check the time. “Oh crap! I gotta go, see you guys soon!” She hung up and rushed to untangle herself from her blankets.

“Good thing you set three alarms, huh?” Tikki followed her down from the loft and watched her brush out her hair.

Marinette stuck her tongue out at the god of creation.

* * *

Red Hood stalked into the Batcave, nearly running Oracle over as she wheeled herself up to her station at the Batcomputer.

“Woah Jaybird, don’t let me get in your way there,” Babs glared at his retreating back. “Asshole,” she muttered to herself.

Jason hurled his helmet onto the floor of the bathroom and began shucking off his suit with far more force than necessary. He started a shower and looked over his new wounds in the mirror. He’d been stupid, so damn stupid, on patrol.

“Red Hood, report in,” Batman’s gravelly voice cut through on his comms. “Hood, you are not to engage alone. What is your location?”

But Jason couldn’t hear him. The only thing he could hear was blood rushing in his ears, but it wasn’t his blood. No, it was the blood of every monstrous, corrupt asshole in this city. And he wanted it to run on the streets.

The Joker had sent thugs out to a meet-up. Well, Red Hood could send them back in a casket. He crouched beside a gargoyle and watched for the arrival of the van he’d tailed. There were only two men. They left the vehicle and waited outside, lighting cigarettes. Too easy.

Red Hood swept down the building, guns never leaving their holsters. He wanted this to hurt. Them or him, he wasn’t sure. But he got his wish as he beat the two men to a pulp. He wasn’t sure how far he’d have gone if not for the arrival of the gang the Joker’s men were supposed to meet with.

They slashed his back with knives. Shallow wounds, easy to manage. By the time Red Hood turned to face them, the others had arrived-- Batman, Nightwing, Robin. And boy were they pissed.

Jason winced as the hot water hit the cuts on his back. He rolled his shoulders and just let the steam ground him. He didn’t kill again, even if every time that green-haired bastard got involved, he went off the rails.

He would get to choose his own path, not the one Bruce wanted for him, but damn well not the one Thalia wanted for him either. This story was his, he reminded himself while gingerly toweling off. Even if he couldn’t look his own reflection in the eye.

He gripped the countertop, staring down as he let his hair drip into the sink. No, he wasn’t feeling desperate enough to see if his eyes were green again.

Damnit, he had to apologize to Babs. He felt calmer now, but he’d been a real dick when he came in. Jason dressed quickly in sweatpants and an old shirt, then padded quietly back to where he knew his sister would be at the computers.

“Hey,” he said, knocking softly when he entered to announce his presence. Barbara didn’t respond for a moment. She was leaning forward in her chair, typing something into one monitor while listening to police chatter, then nodded to herself and sat back.

“Hey.” She raised an eyebrow at him. “Robin told me what happened on patrol.”

Jason scowled. “That little tattletale.”

Barbara offered him a reassuring smile. “That little tattletale is the only reason I didn’t hack into your bank account and order a damn pony.”

“Well shit Babs, maybe I like ponies,” Jason snarked back, but his heart wasn’t into it. “Listen... I’m sorry about earlier. If replacement talked to you already, you know what kind of mood I was in, but that’s no excuse.”

Babs turned her chair to face him and held out her hand. He stepped forward and took it, and she said, “We know you’re trying, Jay. Stuff like this? This is who you are. A year ago, you wouldn’t have been caught dead apologizing to me!” She cringed. “Ah, no offense.”

He chuckled. “None taken, it’s about time you started getting in on the undead jokes.” He patted her hand before walking away back to the main space of the cave. “But thank you, it means a lot.”

“Took the words right out of my mouth!” She raised her voice and turned back to face the computer.

Dick and Tim were already waiting in the cave. Tim was fiddling with some beds and what looked like opaque ski goggles. He always fidgeted when he was nervous.

“Hey replacement,” Jason shouted across the room. He noticed Dick bristle, but cut him off before he could get the patented older brother speech. “How much time ‘til the launch?”

Tim’s eyes lit up, and damn him for caring, but Jason just didn’t want them to be afraid of him.

* * *

Connor and Zatanna were washing dishes in the Cave’s kitchen after dinner. Connor heard the distant sound of someone arriving via zeta tube. He let Zatanna know as they finished drying their plates, then followed her to go greet their visitors.

Wally and Artemis staggered into the room, both weighed down by overflowing boxes of equipment.

“Oh thank god, please help me!” Artemis said, spotting Connor. He obliged and easily took the heavy box from her. She rubbed her arms and smiled gratefully as he held it aloft in one hand.

“It must be so handy having him around,” she sighed to Zatanna.

The magician giggled. “It certainly has its perks, but....” She lifted her hands and said clearly, “Flesruoy egnarra.” The contents of the boxes, some assorted cots, VR headsets, and computers, floated up and placed themselves into a neat formation. “A girl can get by by herself.” She gave Artemis a fistbump.

The zeta tube activated and they all looked up to watch it. The AI announced Wondergirl, and Cassie Sandsmark walked out. She looked up from her phone and waved. “Oh hey guys, whatcha doing?”

Wally zoomed around the set-up Zatanna had created. “We’re just setting up to play this new virtual reality game that’s coming out at midnight! What about you?”

“Oh, what a coincidence, I was just--”

Cassie was cut off by the zeta tube activating again. This time it was Bart, carrying Jaime bridal style, and running at full speed. He skidded to a halt, put a very ill-looking Jaime down, and ran a hand through his windswept hair.

“So totally crash! What’s poppin’?” He made finger guns at Connor, Zatanna, and Artemis.

Zatanna started explaining, “Well, like were just telling Cassie, there’s this new video game coming out at midnight and we--”

She was interrupted by the screech of a green pterodactyl swooping in from the zeta tube. It circled once around the high ceilings of the hollowed-out mountain, then landed and shrank into Beast Boy.

“Just a heads up, Arsenal’s right behind me and he’s a little angry-- oh what are you guys doing?”

Connor was getting frustrated now. “We’re trying to get set up for this new video game that’s launching in five minutes, so if you guys wouldn’t mind--”

A small explosion sounded from the door to the exterior of the island. Roy burst in amidst a cloud of dust.

“Hope I’m not late, I lost my phone.” He sounded like he was in a bad mood.

Bart whispered to Connor, “He means he destroyed his phone.”

Roy dusted off his pants, then looked to Wally and Artemis and asked, “The hell are you doing here?”

“AUGH,” Artemis had had enough. “We’re here to play the video game coming out at midnight! If you want to join us, fine, but if you don’t then get out.” She pointed to the zeta tubes.

Garfield tried to placate her. “Sheesh, it’s just a game! No need to get so worked up.”

Jaime gave him an incredulous look. “Weren’t you just throwing a tantrum yesterday about Bart kicking your ass halfway to Bialya in Smash?”

“...Noted.” Garfield answered.

“Well, looks like we’ve got plenty of hands to help get everyone set up. Let’s get to it!” Cassie expertly maneuvered the two teams away from setting off their more explosive members. They distributed headsets and assigned reclining positions without further delay.

* * *

Marinette put the headset on and laid down on her bed.

“Ready to go back?” Tikki asked her.

She gave the little god a grin. “Definitely.”

In the distance, the bells in Notre Dame chimed six times, but Marinette couldn’t hear them. Her mind had gone somewhere far, far away. Somewhere new.

#healing hands #jasonette #sword art online au #virtual reality #maribat #maribat fic #batfam #batfam fic #yj #yj fic #young justice #young justice fic

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msdanvers · 4 years ago

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Apollo x Daphne AU — goddess of music

A gentle breeze touches Lena’s flushed and clammy skin, but it brings no relief – even the air itself is stiflingly hot today. Tree leaves brush against her arms and her cheeks, tickle the soles of her feet, get tangled in her hair. Lena breathes in slowly and lets the scent of the mountains ground her as she makes her way home.

Time has given her the opportunity to memorize the world around her in ways no mortal ever could. She knows the ways rivers flow in winter, after a rainstorm, during a draught. She knows the way they used to flow, and remembers every change. She knows where they end, where they start, when they started.

She would know the way through these mountains blindfolded, on the darkest nights.

Her connection with these forests allows her to notice when something has changed within them – a new presence, or the loss of an old one. Today is one of those moments. Lena isn’t sure what it is. The grass is still scratchy and yellow in the same places as yesterday, still green and soft in others. The cypress trees are still in the same place, and so are the barn owls nesting in their hollows. Even the gray wolves haven’t moved from their resting place since this morning when she left.

Whatever it is, she decides, there is no use dwelling on it now. Lena lets her thoughts drift as she climbs over a fallen tree. Its mossy trunk feels warm on her thighs and hands – familiar, she imagines, like the touch of a lover would feel after centuries of closeness. Intimate, trusting, in a way she herself has never felt with anyone. The thought of it feels familiar even so – she has dreamed of a love like that so often, she can almost feel its warmth.

But romance happens in stories, and a watered-down version of it happens to the other nymphs around her, and nothing like it will ever happen to Lena. She has made peace with that knowledge a long time ago, and if you asked her, she wouldn’t say she’s lonely. Lena treasures the time she spends in solitude, free of judgement and expectations, free of performances. The sweltering heat of today’s noon should be spent just like that, alone.

As she makes her way across a grassy glade, she finally hears the murmur of her river. Lena sighs in relief. She has detested the summer for as long as she can remember, and today’s blinding sun does nothing to change her mind. She can’t wait to dip her tired body in the cold, rushing river water, floating in it with her eyes closed and her mind wandering.

Which is, of course, when she hears it.

Lena stops in her tracks to listen. It’s barely noticeable at first, drowned out by the sounds of singing birds and flowing water, but once she picks it up, it’s unmistakable. Music. Who could it be? Who came to her small corner of the world, only to fill the usual silence with their lyre?

She starts walking again, a bit quicker this time, frowning as she tries to follow the sound to its source. It’s an instrument she has always enjoyed listening to and yet, Lena realizes the longer she listens, this is like nothing she has ever heard. All the satyrs that have played for her seem like children in comparison, now, like novices trying their hand at an instrument they don’t fully understand. No, this, this is what music is supposed to sound like.

Lena pauses when she catches sight of the river, one hand touching the rough bark of a tree. Her last lingering thoughts of turning the other way slip from her mind the moment she looks upstream, and finds a woman.

On a rock in the middle of the river, with her back to Lena, is the white-dressed and golden-haired lyre player. Sunlight plays with her curls and it almost looks like she’s glowing, like the source of light is not the faraway sun but this woman, playing a melody for herself and the world, unaware of her audience.

Silent, transfixed, Lena walks into the water, barely noting its cool touch as she makes her way upstream.

When the woman stops playing, there is a split second of silence in which Lena realizes there is only a few feet of space between herself and this complete stranger. Is it too late to turn away now? Why did she come this close anyway – could this woman be some kind of siren? Did she walk right into her trap?

Those nervous thoughts are forgotten the moment the woman turns around, lowering her legs into the river with a smile on her face. If she is a siren, Lena finds herself thinking, then let it be so. Let this siren lure her in with the sweetness of her song, let her ship be wrecked in the unforgiving ocean waves. She will not resent her for it.

But, like good things tend to do, the smile on the woman’s face vanishes the moment she lays eyes on Lena. Of course. This is not one of her daydreams, this is reality, in its usual painful bluntness. An all too familiar feeling takes hold of Lena’s heart – if she had to choose a word to describe it, she would say it’s disappointment. It’s deeper than that, though, and more expected.

Lena opens her mouth to say – what, she doesn’t know, but something cruel and yet indifferent enough to get this stranger to leave her alone. She doesn’t get the chance.

A sudden note, strange and off-key, paired with the sound of crushing wood, makes Lena look down at the woman’s hands. Her knuckles are white, and the lyre is completely destroyed. Lena feels her eyes widen at both the loss of such a beautiful instrument and the strength it must have taken to break it so easily. The woman doesn’t even seem to be aware of it, her eyes still focused on Lena.

This time when she studies the stranger’s face, Lena starts to wonder if she was too fast in interpreting her expression. Her smile might have fallen, but it never fell into the uninterested, slightly repulsed look that other nymphs generally give her. What she finds is more like shock, or maybe… awe? Lena feels embarrassed even thinking something as hopeful and desperate as that.

“You broke your lyre,” she says, at loss for anything bright to say.

The woman seems startled at her voice, and for one breathtaking heartbeat, she keeps staring at Lena. Then she looks down at the broken pieces of lyre in her hands. She doesn’t seem too bothered as she lays them down behind her and looks back up. “Hi.”

Lena chuckles. “Hi.”

“You have a leaf stuck in your hair.” The woman blinks after she speaks, like she wasn’t expecting herself to say that either.

“Oh.” Lena combs through her hair quickly, suddenly aware that she spent the morning walking through the forest, and probably looks the part. “Where–” she starts, but when she looks up, she suddenly finds herself face to face with the stranger’s very distracting blue eyes.

“Here,” she answers. The woman’s hand brushes against Lena’s before she runs her fingers through her hair. Lena’s eyes flutter closed unconsciously at the woman’s touch, and she exhales slowly, feeling tension leave her body that she hadn’t even been aware of.

“Look.” Lena opens her eyes to the woman’s radiant smile, and she can’t help but return it. She reaches for the leaf that the woman is holding, accidentally-purposely touching her hand more than necessary in the process.

“Thank you,” she says, unconsciously lowering her voice, and – is that a blush on the woman’s cheeks? “You play beautifully, by the way. Sorry for listening in.”

The woman smiles at her. “Well, I’ve had some practice.” It sounds like she’s joking, but Lena missed the punchline. She smiles back anyway.

“What’s your name?”

“Kara,” the woman answers.

Lena laughs, but her smile vanishes when the woman doesn’t join her. “What?” she says, feeling the leaf slip from her fingers. Water splashes around her thighs as she takes a hurried step back. Oh, no. “Kara?”

The woman nods. “What’s yours?”

“You’re an Olympian,” Lena whispers. It makes sense, in the end. Who else but the Olympian goddess of music, the inventor of the instrument itself, could play the lyre so skillfully? Who else but the goddess of the sun, Zeus’ favored daughter, could have such divine beauty – such entrancing charm?

The stranger before her is no stranger at all, but the twin of Artemis the huntress. She is the goddess that killed the mighty Python, son of Gaia herself.

“Yes. And you must be a naiad. I mean, this is a river, and you are very –” the goddess cuts herself off suddenly, frowning a little. “Are you all right?”

Lena takes another step back, her heart beating in her throat. “Forgive me,” she says. She tries to recall everything she said to Kara. Has she offended the goddess, thinking her just another nymph? Should she have bowed for her, paid her respects, offered her food?

Lena knows enough about the wrath of gods to be cautious.

Zeus pursued a girl, refused to take her ‘no’ for an answer, and in retaliation Hera transformed the girl into a cow and drove her to madness. Artemis was disturbed by an unsuspecting hunter while she was bathing, and he was torn to pieces by his own dogs. Kara herself, joined by her twin sister, had slaughtered all fourteen children of the mother who had dared to insult theirs.

Will Lena become the next name to be whispered around fires, remembered for ages for her misfortune and mistakes?

“You are frightened. Of me.” Lena looks up, but finds no ire in Kara’s eyes.

Surely, that can’t be right. Lena has laughed at her, tried to flirt with her. She can only think of one reason the goddess wouldn’t have minded that, but she doesn’t let herself believe it.

“Forgive me,” she says again, because she doesn’t know what else to say.

“There is nothing to forgive. And I’m not going to hurt you.” Kara gently puts a hand on Lena’s arm. “Look at me? There is nothing to forgive.” Lena can’t believe the goddess of archery is looking so… tender. While looking at her. “Breathe.”

Realizing that she did, indeed, forget to do that, Lena takes a shaky breath. “I’m sorry.”

“Stop saying that,” Kara laughs.

“Are you sure I haven’t offended you? I didn’t know…”

“I’m sure.” Then she smiles mischievously. “But I could exact my revenge anyway, if that would make you feel better.”

Lena opens her mouth, and gets hit in the face with a splash of water before she can ask questions.

She spits the water out, too startled to react at first. But Kara is biting her lip, clearly trying not to laugh, and a high and nervous giggle escapes Lena’s lips before she can stop it.

Her hand shoots up to her mouth immediately, as if she could still cover up the sound that has already escaped. But Kara bursts out laughing too, loud and lovely, and Lena couldn’t keep a straight face while hearing that if her life depended on it.

“Now, I bet even a water nymph can’t have better aim than me.”

Lena smiles at her, one eyebrow raised. Her hands are already underwater, her muscles already tightened, before she thinks – this is a god, what am I doing? – and redirects the throw downwards at the very last moment. Managing to avoid Kara’s face, unfortunately, has the side-effect of splashing water all over her dress instead.

Kara looks down at the wet linen clinging to her figure, then back up at Lena, who is trying very hard not to look at it. “I must say, I was expecting better.”

Kara has barely finished her sentence when Lena hits her again, square in the face this time. Lena lets out a short, joyous laugh at the shocked expression on Kara’s face. Then, before the goddess can retaliate, she dives into the river and swims away as fast as she can. She feels the water shift behind her and knows she’s being pursued.

The muffled sounds of the underwater world mix with the fast beating of her excited heart as they shoot through the river. The water gets deeper the further she goes, rocks and plants flashing by as she swims and swims and swims. She feels strong and alive and her smile doesn’t fade until she finds her way blocked by a school of fresh-water fish.

Lena doesn’t really feel like swimming into them face-first, so she dives down to the bottom of the river. Her hands disappear in squishy mud before finding solid rock, and she pushes herself upwards again.

But the move slowed her down, and when she looks over her shoulder, a flash of white and gold is all the warning she gets before muscular arms catch her around the waist and a body slams into hers.

She barely has time to register Kara’s closeness before she realizes what’s happening. Kara was coming from beside her, and now they’re going way too fast in what is decidedly not the direction they should be going. They’re headed straight for the shore.

Kara manages to turn Lena around in her arms and pull her close before they collide with the riverside pebbles, spraying them everywhere.

It doesn’t hurt – both her head and her back have somehow made a soft landing, even though Kara ended up on top of her. They’re both panting when she opens her eyes and finds Kara’s face close to hers, her cheeks flushed and her eyes concerned.

“Are you okay?”

Lena nods and smiles. Kara smiles back and they don’t say a word, but then they’re laughing again, uncontrollably and without shame. She doesn’t just hear Kara’s laugh, she feels it, reverberating through the parts of their bodies that are touching.

When Kara wriggles her arms free from under Lena’s body, one of her hands disappears from its place under Lena’s head.

Oh. That explains the lack of pain. Kara must have taken the brunt of the impact.

“Are you okay?” Lena asks, frowning.

“Of course,” Kara answers with a lopsided smile. She is leaning on her forearms, now, hovering over Lena. The sun above her is like a halo, a crown of light that paints the edges of her silhouette golden. Lena breathes in the forest air, the familiar scent of the river joined by an unfamiliar sweetness, a sweetness that must be Kara.

Their bodies are intertwined, the river still flowing past their legs while most of Lena’s body is resting on the sun-warmed shore they crashed into. And most of Kara’s body is resting on Lena, her warmth seeping through the fabric of their clothes.

A drop of water falls from Kara’s nose and lands on Lena’s cheek. Lena chuckles, and Kara smiles with her whole face, her eyes twinkling as she wipes it away with a finger. It’s unnecessary, seeing as Lena’s whole face is still dripping with river water anyway, but she can’t bring herself to care.

Then Kara breathes out and Lena feels it.

The air brushes against her lips, and her eyes flick down to Kara’s mouth. Her heart beats in her chest like it’s trying to escape, and Lena briefly wonders if Kara can feel it too, wonders if some of what she feels is Kara’s heart, not just her own. Then she wonders what it would feel like if Kara were to lean down just a little, what she would taste like if they closed the distance and…

“I’m sorry. I should go,” Kara says.

Lena’s hands slip away from Kara’s waist when she pushes herself up, leaving Lena behind, startled and breathless. Her wet dress feels sticky and cold against her skin in the absence of Kara’s touch, the pebbles in her back suddenly too sharp, the sunlight too bright.

How could she have misread the situation so badly?

Lena sits up too, feeling her whole face flush in embarrassment. She can’t bring herself to look at Kara. She lets her hair fall between them like a shield, and looks down at her fiddling hands instead.

“Can I visit you again?”

Her gaze shoots up when Kara breaks the silence, and she finds the goddess looking at her with a tentative smile.

Lena is silent, stunned, for a long moment. Too long, probably, because Kara nods to herself and starts to get up.

“It was lovely to meet you,” Kara says, and it sounds like a farewell – why does it sound like a farewell?

“Wait,” Lena says softly.

“Don’t worry, it’s all right. I’ll just –” Kara starts walking away, and Lena’s heart skips a beat.

“No, wait!” Lena captures Kara’s hand and she almost forgets how to breathe when Kara’s eyes meet hers. “I’d… love to see you again.”

For a moment, all she hears is the rustling leaves and the river. Kara’s hand is warm and soft and still dripping with river water, and Lena wishes it were hers to hold for as long as it took to dry, and for longer after that.

“Really,” Kara breathes.

“Really.”

Kara breathes out a laugh, and it almost sounds relieved. “Then I’ll see you soon.”

Smiling, Lena squeezes Kara’s hand softly, something fluttering inside of her when Kara squeezes back and strokes the back of her hand with her thumb before letting go. Lena watches her walk away, watches her turn around one last time when she reaches the trees, watches her smile. Then she watches her disappear, like all of this was just another daydream.

But it wasn’t. Lena lifts a hand to her face, touches it where Kara touched her, and sits down slowly. She closes her eyes, and sighs.

#listen if you read all of this know that i love u ok.#supergirl fic #supergirl #supercorp fic #supercorp #apollo x daphne AU #supercorp fanfic #kara x lena #kara danvers #lena luthor #supercorp au #my words #supergirl au #kara #lena #mine

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