#Locked chapter 6: Earthquake

[maddymoreau]

Garten of Banban 0 Discussion:

To understand Chapter 0, first we have to go over Banban's backstory. Mind you everything in it happened to this little guy:

Longer Analysis on Banban: Click Here

Summarizing the reports:

Banban, Case #6, was created. He is able to recall memories and events belonging to his original genome donor, Dr. Uthman Adam. He also has an identical level of intelligence and is capable of speaking as fluently as the original genome donor.

However, Banban doesn't recognize himself as a non-human. When addressed as a non-human, he is confused. Even when presented with a mirror, Banban still sees himself as Dr. Uthman Adam.

A meeting between Banban and his human genome donor is arranged. During this, Banban became extremely agitated and attempted to attack Dr. Uthman Adam.

After this Banban refused to communicate with anyone outside Dr. Weverly Mason. However, this request was denied.

From there, Banban's mental state became unstable. He was placed in solitary since he'd attack anyone and anything that attempted to approach him. Along with not respond to any instructions delivered through speakers.

Whenever released from solitary, he'd stay huddled in the corner of his chamber, pacing around his room, and whispering to himself "Givanium", "Pancreas", "Weverly", and "Uthman".

To help Banban, Case #7 Banbaleena, was created to encourage cooperation. Although not hostile towards Banbaleena, Banban's rebellious behavior remained unchanged.

So they used a newly-modified Givanium solution on Banban which was engineered to lower the functions of self-thinking. The results weren't what they expected, and instead, it caused Banban to fall victim to his primitive instincts, AKA his Devil Form. This Devil Form would be referred to as Case #6B.

At the start of Chapter 0 there's a vote. All the scientists, excluding Syringeon, voted to have Banban repurposed for parts and replaced. This was primarily due to Banban's inability to control himself.

However, since Banban the mascot, is such a crucial role in Banban's Kindergarten, instead of completely getting rid of the character, they planned to remake Banban.

Which would be Case #6C, Flumbo.

Syringeon and Banban didn't want that to happen.

So, during Chapter 0, while waiting for the results of the voting Banban gained Flumbo's trust: More detailed explanation here.

After the voting results came in and revealed Banban would be replaced. Syringeon came up with the plan for Flumbo to "accidentally" be killed by the Experiment Ramamba.

It's somewhat implied that the Ramamba was (partially) made using the Givanium blob that Syringeon took:

Syringeon informs Banban of his plan however Syringeon can't be there during it. So Banban later lures Flumbo to where he'll be killed lying that he has a surprise for him. Things don't go according to the plan since Nabnab sacrifices himself to save Flumbo.

Ramamba eats Kittysaurus, Bittergiggle, and Nabnab.

Before this, all the human Scientists were evacuated from the area. This was due to earthquakes causing something to break making the tranquilizing gas leak. The earthquakes were most likely caused by Ramamba due to its large size.

It was important to make sure no Scientists were around since the Experiments aren't supposed to be out:

The Scientists care so little about the Experiments that they left a baby Bittergiggle to die when evacuating, who Flumbo saves.

(BITTERGIGGLE'S FACE IS KILING ME 😂😭 I LOVE IT!!!!)

Banban later transforms into his Devil Form which helps him kill Ramamba and save everyone (including those eaten).

Afterwards, Banban thinks that maybe the scientists are right about him needing to be repurposed, but changes his mind. Banban desperately wants to live so he does something horrible . . .

Banban, who considers himself the group's leader, suggests another game of hide and seek. Banban takes Flumbo to his best hiding spot, tricks Flumbo, and locks him in a closet.

Banban makes the decision to focus on moving forward instead of fixating on what he's done to Flumbo:

Banban: "Best not to dwell on the past and only focus on the future."

Here no one will be able to find Flumbo, resulting in him being LOCKED UP THIS ENTIRE TIME!!!! Which is extra devastating when you consider Flumbo viewed Banban as his friend!!!

With Flumbo gone, they HAVE to use and keep Banban around. Especially with all the money invested into Banban and the Kindergarten's release date quickly approaching.

Hence, why a lot of the decorations in the Kindergarten have Flumbo's name, but Banban's face.

In the meantime Syringeon is secretly working on creating a cure for Banban's issue with controlling his primitive instincts.

Fun detail: Banban repeats Syringeon's words in Chapter 4:

It's unclear WHY but Syringeon is heavily invested in Banban.

Throughout Chapter 0 it's shown Syringeon has secretly been working with Banban. While the other Experiments like Banbaleena are scared of Syringeon. Since he takes away their friends and are afraid they're going to be next.

Banban plays this middle man roll "scaring" Syringeon off and saying:

Banban: "I've managed to scare him away this time, as I'm sure you saw. And as long as I am around, I always will."

Banbaleena: "How many more of us will he snatch and take away?! It's only a matter of time before it's my turn!"

Banban: "I'll make sure that never happens."

There's also a secret area where Flumbo can meet a baby Slow Seline!! Who talks about seeing visions of the future featuring the Player and Flumbo together. Along with unknowingly predicting that he'd be locked away by Banban.

Other fun details: Tarta Bird is Case #21, Syringeon helped create Banban, Flumbo gave Banbaleena her bow, NABNAB HUGGING FLUMBO, Banban calls Nabnab his best friend, Banban gave Banbaleena flowers (they were plastic mushrooms lol), Banban says Truffletoot is one of the few cases that he truly considers a friend, AND TRUFFLETOOT WAS SO CUTE!!!!

Banban's little nubs ARE HIS EARS??!!!

[anotheroceanid]

Timeline of WTHB

(WIP, updated alongside the fic)

Since WTHB is a very long story with multiple plotlines that not necessarily are happening at the same time, I made this for my readers to understand more or less when things are happening. I know this can be a little confusing by only reading the dates in chapters.

Things won't be super detailed in the timeline. Some things here will make more sense as the story advances.

If you haven't read all the chapters plublished... Spoiler alert!

August, 2010

18th: Percy's birthday. Celebration at CHB for the one year since the end of the 2nd Titanomachy. (Chapter 4: Our Last Summer)

December, 2010

21st: Percy goes to the island. (Chapter 1: The Day The Music Died). Winter Solstice Council of 2010.

July, 2011

18th: Andromachus is born. (mentioned in Chapter 5: Runs In The Family)

21st: Summer Solstice. Triplets are born.

December, 2012

21st: Mist is put down and the gods are revealed. (mentioned in Chapter: Our Last Summer)

September, 2014

Between 23rd and 27th: Camp Half-Blood is attacked by Romans. Annabeth and Athena falling out. Annabeth is blinded and cursed. Annabeth is rescued by Dionysus and taken to Rhode Island, where eventually she's turned into a sea monster by Triton. (Chapter 5: Runs In The Family)

----

Unknown date: Percy and Hector have a fight. At night, Hector sneaks out of home. Percy wakes up and follows him to the beach. Hector and Milo are kidnapped. (Chapter 2: Crying Like Cassandra)

January, 2028

19th: Earthquake in Rome, depots of food compromised. Jason sends a letter to the Greek Queens asking for resources. Hector arrives at Rome. Jason is wounded and infected by Bacchus Plague. (Chapter 6: Eat Our Young)

Between 20th and 31st: Jason and Hector in coma. Hector is locked up in a stadium in San Francisco by Reyna, and Octavian wants to take him to trial. Hazel takes care of Hector. (Chapter 6: Eat Our Young)

February, 2028

Between 1st and 8th: Jason wakes up (Chapter 6: Eat Our Young). Annabeth receives letter from Jason asking for support (mentioned in Chapter 5: Runs In The Family). Grover writes to Annabeth asking for weapons for the fauns in the Mexican Front (mentioned in Chapter 5: Runs In The Family).

5th: Annabeth receives letter from Nico about Poseidon feeling Percy's presence again. Silena and Penelope find Dusty, the bird. (Chapter 5: Runs In The Family)

15th: Leo, Chris and Andromachus return to Perses. Annabeth start plotting to sabotage the Greek Roads and send weapons to the Nature Spirits. (Chapter 5: Runs In The Family)

March, 2028

3rd: Dusty is lost, so Silena, Penelope and Leander go to the Old Camp to search for him. Annabeth, Leo and Clarisse go to Old Camp to search for them. They're attacked by the Nemean Lion when Milo reveals himself and saves them. (Chapter 5: Runs In The Family)

April, 2028

12th: Percy, Luke and Orion arrive at Medea's Department Store. Medea and Orion reveal what happened during the past 17 years. (Chapter 4: Our Last Summer )

[madwomansapologist]

AUTUMN THUNDERSTORM | CHAPTER 6 — TOMORROW

check it on ao3! ★ check the pinterest board! ★ check the playlist!

thranduil thought the recent attack of spiders on a periphery village was the only thing deserving of his attention. if he could've imagined what he would found there, who he would found there, the elvenking would wait a millenia in front of that river so he could see you sooner. or: how gandalf managed to keep a secret for 14 months.

Few things are eternal in this life. Lands disappear after earthquakes, seas dry up with the seasons, stone fortresses are invaded and conquered. Not even the star lighting up the day, is a certainty. There’s no way of knowing whether it will stay there tomorrow or disappear without an explanation.

You’re not an exception. Your face has changed, the same for your body and mind. Hair grows, clothes wear out, skin collects scars. Things keep changing. Now your mouth speaks a new language, just as your mind carries the weight of friendly words and your body knows the excruciating pain of near death.

And your endless gratitude reached its limits.

In the silence of dawn, you knew exactly where to step on the flooring so it wouldn’t wake anyone up. You crossed the room, stepping on your toes where the wood was older, and held the doorknob. Slowly, carefully, you locked the door. Part of your anguish permeated the wood.

You eased your mind. You don’t know how long it took until the thick layer of ice was done. How does someone who freezes a river find it difficult to do something like that? Although eternity is a completely impossible target to hit, your ice will be of lasting a few hours.

It was easy to pack. To see everything you knew, all those things that for so long were part of your life, and leave it behind… You don’t have time to waste. Not with which you can’t carry, or with people you don’t want near you.

Clothes folded carefully, you approached the table and removed the letter hidden inside the drawer. His last one. You tucked it between the pages of your most prized book and realized how little you have to carry. You opened the window and sat on the frame.

“Goodbye”, you whispered. “Thank you.”

Despite the spite still boiling inside your veins, you left something behind. You couldn’t pretend to forget about them. Two letters, one for Gandalf and another for Aerin. A goodbye. Or something close to it.

A cold fog made it difficult to see the path. You’d crossed it many times, never you felt so lonely doing it. Not even your memories accompanied you. All you had was your handbag and yourself. And still, you didn’t look back.

The sun set so the moon could shine in its place, and all you did was watch the fire turning your letters into ashes. There you were, motionless, staring at the remains of your treasures. She didn’t need to do such a vile thing. To burn them before your eyes. Aerin was cruel. She chose to be.

You chose the unknown future. You chose incertitude. A life of joy, peace, harmonica. A life of sadness, wars, losses. You chose boredom. You chose heroism. You chose evil. Parsimony and excess, eternal nature and imminent death, painful truth and necessary lies. You chose a life where you’ll be afraid forever and ever more.

You chose tomorrow and whatever it has for you.

That night after the fireplace ceased you came back to Luthien’s house and asked her to send a letter. The letter she sends was marked with tears and written in a hurry. It was made of lies. It said you were spending the last few days at Luthien’s house because of the bite. It was also made of omissions. It said nothing about what had happened to you. And it was the truest, most honest letter you ever wrote. 

Because it started with a yes.

Even though fear hurts your soul, you have never felt so determined to live. Any fear is better than a life of imposed limits. You prefer a million butterflies in your stomach than a withered certainty. Infinite looks nice and all but you want more.

And Thranduil offered you that. Does he know that he did that? That he gave the possibility of learning more about your powers, about the nature around you, the chance of a fresh start. Thranduil gave the unmissable chance to discover the world beyond the valley. But Thranduil also changed old certainties.

You were sure you’d never see him again. Now the only thing separating you from him is the path ahead.

He lingered with you. The way Thranduil hides his harshness on his politeness. Or the way he never made you feel than him even though he’s a king. And his accent, hard and projected. His handwriting showed you the care and effort he put into making his soul clear for you. 

Does he miss you as much as you miss him? Does Thranduil know that even if he couldn’t help you, if his realm had nothing to add in your life, it would still be worth it? Does he imagine that seeing him again is enough for you? Does he feel the same way about you?

Luthien was waiting for you, sat on the stairs of the village entrance. “Did you get everything you needed?”

“Everything I have”, you showed the handbag you carried.

“Does that have space for more?”

You nodded, and Luthien entered her house without closing the door. You waited outside, glaring at the sunrise. Everything was golden.

“I will miss you”, you said once Luthien returned. “I need you to know this. I really will.”

Luthien gave you two different ointments. One was greenish, very liquid, and the other almost transparent. As you held them, Luthien caressed your hands. “If everything works out for you, I will never see you again”, Luthien whispered. “I need you to know I’m counting on it.”

The hug you gave her almost crushed Luthien’s ribs.

Noise put an end to morning’s tranquility. A double-decker carriage drawn by four horses made its way towards you. The red paint covered the cabin perfectly, curtains hiding what was inside it. Above it, the Woodland banner roared. 

“Until never again”, said Luthien.

The charioteer took your handbag. You felt guilty that he left his post to help you with something that small. The elve opened the cabin and gesture for you to enter it. Both the guards greeted you. You approached, and he extend his hand for you to get on. For the first and only time that morning, you looked back. You had tears begging to roll down and you smiled anyways.

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If the Elvenking’s Halls staff were forced to vote—and had their right to privacy guaranteed—ninety eight percent of them would decide that life was easier when Thranduil was away. That equation has a two percent error margin.

Ancient tapestries telling stories from other eras have been brushed. New chairs ordered from the royal carpenters, tables sanded in all their details, every wooden wall was cleaned with warm fabrics. An entire court working until every corner was absolutely perfect.

And the Elvenking was never easily satisfied.

Thranduil made a point of personally analyzing each room, his criticisms were cruelly honest and his praises came accompanied by new orders. Tidy up the stables, brush the horses, check the library’s organization. Royal painters were invited to spend the next few months at the Halls, just as the best singers will be part of the dinners and dances.

No part of the Halls was left untouched. Not even the Elvenking’s chamber. The curtains were washed, the table organized, candlesticks replaced with new, more polished ones. Who lives in it mattered more. Thranduil took measurements for new robs, shining jewels were cast into rings, his hair was brushed to perfection. 

What changed the court’s opinion was his concerns proving to be million times stronger when it came to that empty chamber. The moment Thranduil needed advice to choose whether the bedsheet should be golden or navy blue, it was easy to conclude.

The Elvenking was reduced to a man in love.

And even though he made it everyone’s problem, it was a good change. It made the Elvenking become obsessed with every minor detail, it also made him younger. It made him want something new than to just enduring. And Greenwood seemed to blossom with its king.

Tuor followed the carpenter’s carrying furniture to the once empty chamber, dodging workers trying to gather dust and maids removing curtains. That room was busier than war trenches as the dark-haired knight stopped beside his king. Tuor watched him instruct where the cabinets should be placed.

“There is more important matter to discuss, your grace. Things that will last longer than a braided cloth”, Tuor whispered to him. “And it should be golden.”

Thranduil sighed. He knew it was the wrong choice the moment he spoke. “Golden it is.” Thranduil hesitated before turning his head towards Tuor, his eyes still glued to the chamber in front of him. “The sun runes were translated?”

Tuor took a step back, indicating that they needed privacy. The king led the way, following the passages of wide halls carved from living trees. The corridors became emptier as they moved away from the chamber, and after a few minutes of silence Thranduil stared at him.

“How much they know?”

“Everything that matters”, Tuor sighed. “How our watch shifts work, where the wall is weakest, our combat strategies. They traced spider nests near us. I don’t understand, your grace, why sun runes. They’re goblins, orcs, vile creatures. Shouldn’t it be moon ones?”

 Thranduil crossed his arm. “Tell me: why is the Halls under the ground and not high on it? Would it not be more difficult to attack something you can’t reach?”

“In some cases, yes”, replied Tuor. “But this doesn’t mean our defense will be at loss. It’s impossible to enter without us knowing, and from below we can evacuate the entirety of our realm without arousing suspicion. Even if our enemies were stronger or more numerous than our army, our passages are deeper and safer. Our trees are strong, your grace. And those creatures we fight haven’t begun to understand that.”

Thranduil agreed, noticing how quickly Tuor turned his thoughts into words. There is no way for him to be a great ruler if he isn’t surrounded by great minds. “It means you understand that not everything is as simple as it seems. Think again. Why sun runes?”

Tour hesitated. He opened his mouth but couldn’t think of anything smart to say. Not when he felt so cornered. Then the realization came. There is a reason why those maps aren’t written in a way those monsters could understand. “They’re not meant for them.”

The Elvenking moved towards the council hall. Thranduil already knew the amount of work they will have for the next weeks is equivalent to the work the Halls’ court had for the last days. “Do you understand what that means?”

“What, your grace?”

The doors to the council hall opened. He turned to his old friend and gave him a smirk. “It means that our traitor will be easier to find.”

This friendship is old enough for Tuor to be able to understand the things Thranduil prefer not to speak out loud. Easier to find? It was Thranduil’s way of saying it will be easier to kill.

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It was easy to fall asleep in the cabin. The benches were comfortable, there were soft blankets inside them, and the constant movements of rocks and holes on the path turn it into the perfect environment to rest. You started to spend nights awake and days asleep.

Going down the mountain and away from Rivendell, both the climate and the river changed. There was less water for the trees and more heat. Light green faded and thick branches thinned; flowers had not yet bloomed.

Your fertile imagination couldn’t create all those different places. Every idiosyncrasy was marked in your memory, the most common scenarios meant something to you. It was a reminder that whatever happens from now on is part of your deal with tomorrow. 

A few times you placed your head over the window, eyes closed and winds ruffling your hair, stretching your hands as far as you could. It was as if you could uproot one of the distant trees and bring it to you. The guards kept ordering you to keep your entire body inside the cabin, but you couldn’t help it. You could, you simply didn’t want to. Not when you feel so light, as if the right wind could make you fly away.

Your mouth stays shut for most of your days. The charioteer and guards are away from you. Inside the cabin, you got used to listening. To the world around you—at night, you swear you can hear its engines turning—but also at what the three talk about when they think you won’t hear. The charioteer is anxious about his daughter’s pregnancy. One of the guards, Lhoris, fell in love last spring with a singer. He calls her his siren. The other is more reserved. A few times they whispered about the Elvenking. About how Greenwood seemed to blossom after his arrival.

Maybe because you know nothing about kings, maybe because you heard a few things about Mirkwood, but you thought Thranduil’s subjects would fear him. Your opinion changed as all you heard from them was gratitude and relief.

It happened during sunset. They thought you were sleeping, and on any other day they would be right but green leaves turned brown and you wanted to see more of it. Bari, the quiet guard, wondered what made his king chose him for this task. What have I done to receive the honor of protecting someone dear to him?

Sleep, observe, listen. All ways to stop you from spending your time thinking about him. Every day that passes get you closer to him.

You woke up when the carriage suddenly stopped moving. You had just got on your feet when the charioteer knocked on the door. You fixed your hair before opening it. “Another stop?”

“No, unfortunately no”, Tanyl reached for your hand.

 All four horses were free from their restraints. Walking towards them, you saw it. You saw everything. “Apparently rained in Greenwood last night, and some trees fell and blocked out the path for carriages.”

It was autumn. You know it has just begun. The citadel reported the change of seasons. Cold wind became more common, leaves started to fall, fruits stopped growing. Summer ended, autumn begin, but this… Even someone who only heard what autumn is would recognize it.

This place was autumn itself.

Burgundy leaves, twisted brown branches, greenish swallows. A speck of blue shook the branches, and soon the butterflies separated. Its blue wings became multi-colored with the sunset reflection. The wind made everything feel so alive. Of course, plants are living beings, you know that, but they seemed to breathe just like humans do.

That made you blood boil. Your fists clenched, ready to start a fight with anyone who dared to say something bad about this realm. And maybe you really would, at least for this place.

Mirkwood. This place does not deserve such a horrendous name. How did those bad rumors make a way into everyone’s mind? Mirk. It’s a land invaded by spiders with cursed waters and intoxicating air. It’s also beautiful and delicate. It endured this long.

That word will never escape your mouth anymore. You swear on this. From now on, it’s Greenwood. As it should. As it deserves.

Lhoris guided the group, he knew the path better than any of them and made sure your horse stays close to his. “A few hours more, and you will be able to rest inside the Elvenking’s Halls.”

Time never took so long to pass. It was a beautiful view, a stunning one, but at every corner you expected to see his palace. To see him. And at every corner all that waited for you was more of the marvelous forest. Within time you noticed it. The enchantment on the path. Gandalf showed you something similar, and smaller, before. Aerin tended to be mad at you whenever you spend the night reading, and when you told him that… All Gandalf heard was a chance of mischief. He made it so easily. When you are in your armchair, you are protected. No one can see you or notice what you’re doing. You feel like a child whenever you use it. Like a rebel.

“Rae, dimwë”, an intricate harmony woke you up from your thoughts. You looked around, but the sound seemed to be coming from everywhere at once. “Tolo, govano ven!”

Bari, after seeing how startled you got, rode to you. “They’re welcoming us.”

You remember hearing once about how music is important to elves. “What did they sing?”

“Smile, sad lady”, Bari recited. “Come, join us.”

You tried to force a smile, and after a few seconds it felt real. They’re welcoming you. Why get sad thinking about yesterday when you could be thinking about the present? Welcoming. “Does that mean we are near?”

Tanyl nodded. “Almost there.”

You almost went faster than Lhoris. The only thing that stopped you was the fear of taking the wrong path and ending up in trouble. Your hands sweated against the reins, and the birdsong was replaced by the strong beating of your heart.

The trees were old deep in the forest. So long, bigger than houses. Even your horse took a good few seconds to cross the entire length of one. And they were so high the sky had already disappeared. As the minutes piled up, the long bridge came into view. It was perhaps older than those trees. And passing over the waterfall, it led to the gates that separate the forest from the Elvenking’s Halls.

So that’s a palace. You have seen engravings in books but nothing would make you understand how tall it would be. Just the entrance, placid blue windows and heavy gate that could only be touched by those allowed to do so, was a luxury you never thought possible to witness.

And inside the Elvenking’s Halls, you understood what Thranduil meant by a birdhouse.

It was as if the trees were born for this. All the bridges, stairs, walls and ceilings: everything was alive. Everything was a plant growing and expanding. The engineered columns, the perfectly sized doors, the constant moat that showed that the great asset of it was not the height of the palace but its depth.

Your traveling companions left to look after the horses. You followed new guards, who welcomed you by name and instructed you on the path. Your nails were at the brick of penetrating your skin. They opened the door, and inside was the first person that was not a guard to welcome you.

A beautiful, elegant woman. When her eyes met yours, they seemed to shine like a million stars. She got near you, took your hands between hers, and squeezed them lightly. “It’s so nice to finally meet you. Please, call me Lorie.”

Her hands felt so warm on yours. “It’s nice to finally be here, Lorie.”

“You must be so tired.” Lorie stood next to you, and you imitated her as she started to walk. Lorie guided you to a staircase. “You travelled for three days, right?”

“Four”, you said. “Bari, Lhoris and Tanyl are way more tired than me. All I did was wait.”

“You won’t fool me”, her laugh made your smile grew bigger. She had an alluring way of being. “I saw you. Horses see me as an enemy.”

 Lorie turned into a corner, and you tried to make yourself pay attention to her face but everything was so beautiful. So different than anything you ever saw. “You deserve to rest. And to bathe and eat. It wouldn’t be very polite of a king to welcome a guest that would rather sleep on the floor than to be part of a conversation.”

You licked your lips. “When will I… see the king?”

“At night, during banquet.” Lorie smirked. She guided you to another stair. “Our king has granted me the honor of being your lady-in-waiting. I hope to meet your standards.”

You thought about saying you didn’t have any but that sounded a little bit rude.

At some point she entered a corridor, turned at a crossroads, climbed another staircase. You were too caught up in the conversation to pay attention. The only thing that made you take your focus off Lorie was her stopping walking. The tall door had elks carved into it. You felt tempted to touch them before she opened the door.

Sun reached your eyes. The long balcony allowed you to see the forest from above. The sight moved you. All the colors and sound that accompanied you were even brighter and louder from there. There was a mountain in the distance, the river that led to the waterfall in front of the gates, the immensity of that corner of the world. 

The room was large, bigger than any room you had ever been in until today, and so warm. There were candles scattered throughout the room, candelabra decorating each piece of furniture. You followed the lights and slid your finger through one of the shelves on the wall. They were all books with the common language and elvish in it.

A long tapestry telling an ancient story covered the floor, and it broke your heart when you had to step on it to reach the wide bed in the center of the room. If Lorie wasn’t there, you would’ve jumped on it. Instead, you sat on your bed and caressed the golden bed sheets. “So pretty”, you whispered to yourself.

Lorie closed the door behind her. She got closer, hands supported at her bottom back. “We can change anything. From the curtains tissue to whatever book, you may desire. All you need to do is inform us.”

You hid your smile behind your hand. “It won’t be necessary.” You took a deep breath. It smelled like pomegranate and cinnamon.

A knock on the door made you get up from the bed. Lorie opened it, you couldn’t see who was on the other side. The person handed her a handbag, and Lorie closed the door one more time.

Lorie placed it on your bed. She walked away and opened the gigantic closet doors on the wall in front of your bed. Carefully, you took out your books from your handbag and placed them on a shelf. When you turned, Lorie was snooping through your things.

“What is your favorite color?” Lorie asked you. “It doesn’t need to be an eternal answer, tell me just about today. What is your favorite color today?”

 “Green. Why?”

Lorie nodded towards the closet, and only then you realized it wasn’t empty. You could’ve come without any bags and it wouldn’t be a problem. “I thought it would be easier for you to choose.”

“Is all this mine?” Lorie agreed. “All of this?”

Lorie approached and squeezed your shoulders while you admired everything. It was one thing when Thranduil gave you a dress as a gift. It was something occasional. But this… So much jewelry, gold, chains. Silk, velvet, cotton. This is a treasure hidden inside a closet.

“I think green will suit you perfectly”, Lorie whispered. “Shall we get you ready for tonight?”

Your heart ached.

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Thranduil’s usually responsible for making meetings last longer than they’re supposed to. He doesn’t accept leaving one without all the answers he wants. And even when he has them, the Elvenking is not easily satisfied. You don’t reign for so long without being able to gather all the knowledge necessary to make the best decisions.

In a moment as disastrous as this, with the discovery of something moving between the free kingdoms and gathering information for the Enemy, it would be expected the Elvenking wouldn’t stop until he was sure he had done everything he should.

Watch shifts have already changed, blacksmiths have been informed about the creation of new weapons, fighters will be trained in different styles. But that is not all. It is necessary to find a way to stop the spy, to ensure that he is not inside Greenwood, to protect this realm from any harm.

And still, it was Thranduil who ended the meeting. As soon as he was informed, Thranduil didn’t allowed the discussions to continue. He gave his advisors no other choice. Thranduil headed to his chambers, not listening to frustrated grunts and whispered complaints. It’s over, they can mourn it if they so desire.

Centuries are mere blinks in an elve’s life. Hundreds of years are nothing more than brief moments for his kin. Still, the few hours that followed from the end of the meeting until the banquet never took so long to end.

The banquet hall had been built so that moonlight can penetrate the roots of the trees and take a seat at the table. Surrounded by depth, it functioned like an island in the middle of the ocean. All the residents of Elvenking’s Halls who were invited had already arrived, and the musicians played in one of the layers above so the sound could reach the whole hall.

“Calm down, your grace”, muttered Tuor. Gentle words, mocking tone. “Do you fear she has ran away? It seems a very likely concern to me. A lady with good instincts would make that decision.”

“I think it’s better that you move to the end of the table. Distance makes you more bearable.”

With a dry laugh, Tuor slid his fingers across his glass. “Would you rather be alone with your thoughts?”

Thranduil downed his wine. For Tuor, it served as an answer.

When the doors opened, all the guests stood up. Thranduil should not have done that, a king does not need to get up to welcome someone, but he was still the first to get up.

The first thing Thranduil saw was your eyes. They had not changed. There were violets in your eyes. They flourished. You flourished. Thranduil will never forget the first time he saw you. Your dress wrinkled and muddy, the lightness of your smile illuminating the inn. He had never seen anyone so beautiful. Not in all the millennia of his life.

The silk dress adorned your body like running water. The fabric hung from thin straps, folded over your body. It was the color of emeralds, and the belts had diamonds sewn into it. The tail glided over the stairs as you descended it, shining like hundreds of stars.

Thranduil’s opinion remains the same.

With your hands hidden behind your back, you swallowed thickly. You blinked a few times, your hands sweating, and looked up at the spot you feared the most. You looked at Thranduil. His robe was made of noble silver and black brocade, with silver piping and light gray embroidered vines. The burgundy coat was so different from anything you did ever see him wear. So much stronger, more imposing. More natural.

You bowed. Thranduil called your name, and his voice gave you goosebumps. You lifted your posture and when you looked at him again, a subtle smile occupied Thranduil’ serious face. Thranduil pointed with an open hand to the armchair on his right.

You bit your tongue. You’re afraid that if you started to smile, if you let the happiness of your soul take place on your face, your cheeks would tear apart. Your next steps were slow until you were next to Thranduil. One of the servants pulled out the seat for you. Without looking away from him, you sat down. “Hi.”

Thranduil sat on the edge of his armchair, not noticing how his posture had bent. Conversations resumed for the rest of the table, which meant the two of you had privacy in some way. “How was your travel?”

“Stunning”, your eyes shone. “Greenwood is so beautiful. I must have almost left the path a few times as I admired it.”

Thranduil sighed. “We were not able to clear the path after yesterday’s storm. I’m sorry you had to complete the path on horseback.”

“Do not be”, you bit your bottom lip. It felt strange talking to Thranduil when there were so many people around you. It felt wrong that your conversations weren’t private. That they were not yours. “I loved it. Truly.”

He let out a giggle. “Will your honesty always continue to amaze me?”

“I imagine so”, you replied. “At least I hope so.”

Silence has never been so profound. Thranduil’s eyes seemed to look deep into your soul, and perhaps they really could. It was strange and new, but it did not bother you. Not in any way.

You removed your hands from behind your back, revealing the book you were hiding. Holding it with both hands, you showed it to the Elvenking. “A gift.”

Thranduil would normally have accepted vehemently, but without caring about it. Anyone else would have received an empty thank you. But upon hearing your words, Thranduil felt his heart skip a beat. “You do not have to.”

“Maybe”, you answered him, shaking the book lightly. “But I wanted to.”

Thranduil took the book, his fingers brushed against yours. He prolonged the contact for a second, an infinite second, and then he leaned back. He ran his thumb across the leather cover, reading the title in gold. His heart barely let his mind function.

“It is about an exiled soldier. I will not tell you too much about the story, but he is on a journey to prove his innocence and avenge himself”, your toes curled under the table. Your happiness was not contained withing your body and was trying to escape wherever he could. “It is my favorite. And I thought maybe, you might like it. I did not know what to give a king, and I do not think there is anything you need, so maybe it is not-”

“It is perfect”, Thranduil reassured you. He was not lying. He would not lie to you. “Thank you, maenwë.”

You giggled. “It has been a long time since someone called me that.”

Thranduil remembered the terrible way people got used to not call you by your name. It made him burn with anger for a moment, but he chose to turn it into something more useful. “Was it difficult to say goodbye to Aerin? It is a shame that you had to make this journey alone.”

Your peace of mind was shaken. Lying to him was necessary. You may not have known Thranduil for a long time, but you do not think he would react well to what Aerin did. Or that he felt good letting you travel for so long without anyone to support you. Still, just because it was necessary does not mean it was right. “She is a very busy woman. If I had to wait for her, I would never come here.”

The banquet was served, and for a long time the number of employees walking around the room made it impossible for you both to talk. Your cup was served with wine, your plate had the greatest variety of food, and there were so many different foods that a thousand dinners could be given and there would still be leftovers. 

But as soon as the staff left and you started eating, you just waited for a hint that it was acceptable to talk during the meal in that part of the world. The food was magnificent, but that was not the reason why you are here.

“Were you able to rest after your arrival, vendë?” The man next to Thranduil asked. He had a dark, velvet skin, and kind eyes. You have a weak point for things that look delicate.

“This is Tuor, and old friend”, Thranduil introduced him. Looking at Tuor, he hoped the elven could understood to not put him on shame.

“Nice to meet you, Tuor”, you smiled. “And yes, I managed to rest. I did not realize I was so tired until I approached the bed.”

“If I am not mistaken”, Tuor began. “Those chambers have golden sheets, no? Was your sleep comfortable?”

“Yes, they are golden. Very comfortable. As well as beautiful.”

Tuor’s smile made Thranduil roll his eyes. “I am glad about that, maenwë.”

The rest of the night passed with the two of you eating and talking. More talking than eating. Sometimes Tuor was part of the conversation, but mostly not. And you both talked about everything. 

You questioned Thranduil about his quest, if he had not been hurt. He told you stories of how he hunted the creatures, but only because he noticed that you would like to hear them. You are the kind of person that does not mind hearing disgusting stories over dinner.

And Thranduil asked you about your recovery, if you wanted something to change in your chambers, if you needed anything for that matter. Thranduil heard you talking about anything that you wanted to. He did it gladly.

Over time, the guests left. One by one, the hall shrank. Music continued to play throughout the night. But you did not notice any of those things. You only paid attention to Thranduil, the raspberry pie stirred on your plate, and the glass of wine that was never emptied.

Thranduil accompanied you to your chambers. That made you feel relieved. If you needed to find your way alone there you would never be seen again. “Now I understand. Birdhouse”, you heard Thranduil sighing. “It is actually a good comparison.”

“You are too kind”, Thranduil stopped walking. You only knew it was the door for your chambers because of the elks carved into the wood. Now, a little bit affected by the wine, you touched it. It feels nice. “Good evening, maenwë.”

You got the chance to say something you have spent weeks fantasizing about saying. You took a deep breath, just to make sure it came out exactly how you imagined. With a smile, and a polite bow, you looked at him. “I see you tomorrow.”

And this time it was not a fantasy. It was just a fact.

next chapter!

SUBSCRIPTION: @ferns-fics @notanalienindisguiseblink @rayrlupin @elvyshiarieko @graniairish @h0ly-fire @whore-of-many-hot-men

all rights reserved to © madwomansapologist

[puffyducks]

DCRC Week #6

It's time to read PKNA #3: Day of the Cold Sun! Yippee woohoo yahoo this is a good one!!! Also the last one that got printed in English :(

Genuinely what the fuck is he wearing here. How to look inconspicuous step 1: dress in bright neon green. Step 2: wear some kind of weird top hat jester combo??? A top hat with little dangly bells on it??? Like yeah Raider SHOULD be arrested just for putting this fit together. I don't know who your tailor is but I suggest you sue.

Camera 9 finally gets the recognition he deserves, he's been carrying this entire series as far as I'm concerned. Way to go little dude!

NNOOOOOOOOOOOOOO NEVERMIND 💀 I HATE IT HERE

I love angry fucked up robo strength Lyla, defend him he's done nothing wrong!!! EVEN THO YOU WIPED HIS FUCKING FOOTAGE-

TWO ANGUS FANGUS????? MY NIGHTMARES ARE COMING TRUE

Did he just pull up at her apartment window 😭 He knows where she lives????

clucklehead.... I'm really gonna miss these goofy ass insults from the official translation

cop moment 💀💀💀

Raider I'm literally begging you to ditch Fangus in the neolithic period, you'd be doing us all a huge favor

oh. that's PROBABLY not good- Also somebody please buy Donald some brown contacts I'm literally begging

2017? I thought it was the 90s... actually you know what ELSE takes place in 2017? Have you heard of Disney's Duckta-

Fuck... she saw through our master plan of stuffing Donald in a duffel bag and putting on a Spirit Halloween mask

I have no idea who this reporter is but she ate and left no crumbs. kinda gagged tbh

The way Camera 9 is just watching from the corner 😭

AND CAMERA 9 STAY WINNING BITCH 💯 THAT'S WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT

I think this chapter is excellent, my only complaint is that it has quite a few twists and turns and can be kinda confusing on first read. I had a GREAT time reading through it again though, it's an incredibly interesting story. I do feel bad for Lyla about being kept in the dark by the time police, who were gonna fucking SCRAP HER which is just mean. Also shoutout to the Raider for going to time jail AGAIN, I'm sure he'll definitely stay locked up this time guys! He's not going anywhere I promise!!!

This is also my open letter to IDW to please please continue printing these comics in English. The people weren't ready in 2016 but they're ready now, I swear. I'll buy 10,000 copies if I have to. We can start a campaign you guys, I believe in the power of me and the like 20 other American PK fans on here. WE HAVE TO AT LEAST GET THEM TO PRINT THE NEXT ISSUE MAN IT'S LITERALLY ONE OF MY FAVORITES-

Anyways, see you guys next week when we read Earthquake which I'll be super normal about. Buhbye!

[awindandtruthliveblog]

[Wind and Truth: Chapter 146]

Uh oh scary chapter name

Yeah KoWaT author doesn't know. Wind whisper? Who's the second account?

"Even to you" he's dealt with him before

Oh! Okay. Right. The Dawnshard.

He did bring it here, huh.

Huh. Does it actually like Sigzil? It's a mindless pull, but. Huh. Because he used to have Lashings?

Exist.

Ooh, device to enter the Cognitive? Guess he'll hand it over to Shallan like, immediately.

Ha! Didn't even bother pretending Wit's death was dramatic. Hoid'll be fine.

I gotta read Sunlit Man.

Huh. Tower locked down, and not in a weak way like before. Also, heartbeat? In a... rhythm, perhaps?

Oh? They're trapped in the Tower?

Killed off a lot of tech real quick. Couldn't have Roshar eclipse Scadrial.

Wow, Renarin. Yeah. Confident. Nice job.

Aw, Renarin. Dad died :( (not the first hug you've had with him. very powerful)

And excellent Renarin set up. Can't wait. I think he's book 6?

Man, Roshar sucked before, but with this Everstorm? And earthquakes, which is wild because they don't have tectonic plates? Brandon write a planet I'd want to live on challenge (modern scadrial's cool actually)

Nightblood! You're fine buddy. You helped a lot more than you hurt.

...destroyed by Retribution? No? Nightblood's just wrong?

Szeth's gotta be so confused. He doesn't have any information. But he can live, now.

Ohh Day Seven excerpts were Wit to Jasnah. Cute.

Oh, Jasnah. You must feel so awful. You'll have people soon. Shallan's like, right there. You like her. And you've got Towerlight to bring her back, if you notice. Sigzil's there if not.

Uh oh. Odium's gonna be worshipped by the listeners in like, two generations. If there's even time for that.

Page 1309 typo sort of? Italicized like "That group included the Husked One she'd seen". Weird.

Oh? The perpendicularity was empty? Mishram taking it again? Or, with the Ascension, it empties? Still, he kept it in the same place.

[tsukimefuku]

Right, wrong and the in-between (Part 2)

Previous chapter | Next chapter

You and Higuruma were assigned to investigate the disappearance of women around Shinjuku. This led to a dicey situation regarding what place Jujutsu sorcerers occupy in this world and what is their role to play when non-sorcerers get involved.

This is part of my "Jujutsu Partners Canon Divergence AU". There is currently a sequence of short stories and random drabbles for a fic I'll eventually write (eventually). To see the ever-growing list of one-shots, please visit my masterlist :)  The "Right, wrong and the in-between" will be a 4 (maybe 3) part short-story set in this AU. I hope you enjoy! The tags below will be applicable to every chapter.

Tags: oc/f!reader, soft/implied Higuruma x reader, soft/implied Nanami x reader, slow burn, mentions of violence and non-con/abuse among side characters, canon typical violence, some angst, some fluff, just characters being themselves driving the plot (and me) insane. Some philosophical debate will be in place.

WC: 1.9k

Nanami had been tracking down this curse for what seemed like hours underground, and he started to become tired and annoyed. It was a little before 6PM, and if he didn't end it soon, he'd be caught up in overtime for the third time that month.

The sorcerer removed his tie and started to wrap it around his fist, just to be ready in case he needed to use his collapse technique.

What a bore, he thought to himself, as he kept walking underneath the streets of Shinjuku following the semi grade 1 curse through the sewers. This curse was detected that morning by an assistant that worked for Jujutsu High, and it was a yet unregistered one. It probably sprung into existence not long ago, and was using the sewage system to move around Shinjuku's area.

Nanami heard a faint noise of a possibly slimy large body dragging itself a few meters ahead. He pulled his blunt sword from its support, on his back, and started to walk quickly to meet the curse. As he turned the corner to the tunnel, Nanami was met with an unsightly vision. The curse was a giant crimson and black worm, covered in holes, and had no eyes, only six sets of arms spread across each side of its body, which it was currently using to drag itself around. Even if the thing was big, it moved rather quickly.

Nanami charged at it, dealing a 7:3 blow perpendicular to the ground, but the curse reacted swiftly and crawled its way around the tunnel, getting glued to the top. At that moment, it spurted a green, thick liquid in the sorcerer's direction, which he managed to dodge. The liquid started to slowly melt the ground it hit, leaving a deep hole behind. Nanami sighed as he saw his wristwatch marking 6:02PM. He felt his cursed energy output increasing, and jumped from the side of the circular underpass, bearing his blunt sword, in a new attempt to hit it. The curse sensed him, and once again, evaded his blow by letting go of the walls and hitting the ground. It started to make a run for it, and Nanami promptly followed suit.

As it turned left, so did he, and then — nothing. Nanami heard some ruffling above him, and saw a sort-of manhole for ventilation. The creature had lodged itself in there, and was trying to escape the sewer. From what little Nanami could make out of the grids that covered the hole, it was in a secondary street, and no one walked or passed by during the time he observed it.

He calculated his odds and decided to risk a 'collapse' strike to bring the worm curse down.

***

"Wow, what was that?" You asked Higuruma, yelling, as you both felt the ground tremble underneath your feet.

"Perhaps an earthquake." He answered, nearly screaming too to make himself heard under the club's loud music.

The moment the robe woman took the girl inside the building, you both followed them, just to find that the door auto-locked itself. The cursed energy traces were all over, and matched the ones found on the other scenes. Higuruma considered bashing the door in, but you dissuaded him, arguing it would be a bad idea if the woman was truly the curse user behind the disappearances. You had no idea what her ability could be, so you had to have a smarter and less confrontational approach. He sighed in agreement.

"Let's wait for the club to open and find them from the inside, okay?" It was your suggestion, and it was exactly what you both did.

Now inside, the place was dark, neon, sweaty, noisy and filled with an assortment of women spinning on shiny poles. You knew this was a club in the red-light district, but you didn't expect to be caught up in that situation with Higuruma by your side. One of the waitresses had already offered her services to him, and you had to hold your laughter at that scene while he refused.

"Come on, that seems to be the back part of the operation." He said, tapping you lightly on your arm and pointing to a more illuminated part of the club, covered by a folding door. You both made your way inside, when suddenly you heard an older woman's voice.

"Sleep."

You nearly fainted at that moment, falling to your knees, and Higuruma began to collapse just like you.

Shit, shit, shit! 

It was a cursed speech user, and you both fell right in her trap.

"Higuruma, run!" You shouted, as you conjured one of your grenades, putting your hands together, and threw it upwards, exploding a lot of dust around you both. He seemed to be more resistant than you, and started crawling his way out with the chaos that ensued, being able to get up and walk away, with all the people screaming outside from the blast and all the running around. He looked behind and decided it would be safer to pretend he left, just so he could avoid being imprisoned too, and squiggled his way under the bar counter, deciding to hide behind a few boxes of booze until the cursed speech effect had dwindled enough. Higuruma had to focus all his will into not passing out.

As you started to drag yourself to the door, a hand grabbed you from the back of your neck and bashed your head directly on the ground, removing all the air from your lungs and leaving you completely disoriented as you felt a drop of blood making its way down your face.

"I said sleep, now." The female voice grunted. You heard two sets of footsteps making their way to you, one carried with them the familiar robe, and the other seemed like a male pair of feet wearing sneakers. You couldn't lift your gaze anymore, as you fell unconscious.

***

"Hey, wake up." You heard, while you were tied to a chair, both arms to your back, separated by ropes, and both legs wrapped together. The woman was standing in front of you, smoking on her cigarette, and the guy was leaned over on the edge of the room. It kind of looked like a shady interrogation room, and smelled terribly.

"Ugh, this place stinks." You said, trying to weave your way out of the ropes.

"No use. I tied these up myself, and I have a lot of practice in doing so, honey." She answered, while puffing her cigarette smoke directly onto your face. "Where is that fella of yours?"

"I hope that he's miles away by now." There was a clock on the wall, and it read 6:25PM. You were out for just some time, thankfully. "Who the fuck are you?"

"Oh, darling, I'll ask the questions." She slapped you hard across the face, leaving a bad burning sensation on your cheek. "How did you find us? Tell me."

The urge to speak suddenly took you over, and you had to bite your lip again in order to not rat out on Jujutsu High. 

"Feisty one, huh? Well, let's try it again." She leaned over to your ear, while you were completely helpless against her technique. "Who sent you?"

"Jujutsu Tech." You blurted out, defeated. 

"The what now?" She asked. This woman has no idea what Jujutsu Tech is? You figured out a couple of things from that. Matching the sloppiness of her kidnappings, this woman was probably a newly awakened sorcerer, unaware of the full extents of her power. Also, given she had no idea what Jujutsu Tech was, you could use that as leverage, being careful not to lie in case she pushed you to relay more information about anything. Her cursed speech seemed to be pushing people to do things, like sleeping, waking up, or telling them something, but it was much weaker than Inumaki's power overall.

"I'm a jujutsu sorcerer, like you, and I work with them. They're probably sending people our way as we speak, to rescue me. So… You should really let me go."

"Jujutsu? Hm." The woman seemed to contemplate her options for a moment. "Do they have the money for a ransom? Tell me the truth."

That urge again. It was pretty strong. "Probably," you spat out. What a fucking nightmare.

She smiled and said, "it's settled, then. Toshio, grab her phone and call... Who should we call to inform you've been captured and request the money, darling?" The woman asked, while looking at you. You thought about your options, and who could get there faster to your aid.

"Nanami Kento. Call him." I'm sorry, Nanami, but you're the closest and one of the smartest. Please, may you talk to Higuruma before you get here. 

***

As Nanami finished climbing his way out of the sewer, after exorcising the cursed spirit, he saw many people running out of a nightclub, screaming about an explosion. He felt residuals of cursed energy over the building, and grunted as he decided to investigate, given that he was already on overtime clock hours.

He went inside, and chaos was the word to better describe the scenery that ensued. Nanami started to walk around and search for more cursed energy residuals, as he stepped inside the same room you were attacked with Higuruma minutes prior, now empty, but with vestiges of your cursed energy all over. As he was ready to walk out, Nanami felt somebody behind him. He turned around, ready to punch the person, and found Higuruma still recovering.

"Not so nice to see you." Higuruma said, supporting himself by putting a hand over Nanami's shoulder and bearing a half smile on his face.

"Same to you." Nanami replied, unimpressed. "What happened? Where is she?"

Higuruma's hand tightened around Nanami's shoulder. "They got her. There is a cursed speech user here. We need to hurry."

Nanami tensed up immediately, even though his vacant stare was the perfect disguise for the anger that had bubbled up. "It's bewildering how you never fail to disappoint."

Nanami's phone rang, and it was you on the other side of the line. He pushed Higuruma's hand out of his shoulder as he answered it.

"Nanami, I've been captured, and I need help." You said. There was some fumbling on the line, and a man started to speak. "We demand a ransom to let her go." He then proceeded to demand some absurd sum of money and wait for a few seconds.

"Of course," Nanami bluffed, knowing that would be their best alternative for rescuing you, "but where and when should this… ‘exchange’ take place?" 

They gave him an address that was near enough to where he and Higuruma were currently, and said, "meet us there in half an hour, sharp". The line went silent, and he ended the call, inhaling deeply. 

"Accompany me and make yourself serviceable, for once." Nanami sharply said at Higuruma. "This is the place we have to go. Let's see, however, if we can get a few things sorted out before we leave."

Higuruma sighed deeply and agreed to work alongside with Nanami, albeit begrudgingly. "Fine. Let's do this."

They had their first encounter right after you saved Higuruma by injuring yourself in the process, due to Higuruma's irresponsibility, and Nanami held some kind of resentment against the man since then. Nanami was still reluctant regarding Higuruma’s acceptance as a whole — a curse user that had actually killed people before coming to Jujutsu High, had his sentence suspended, and acted irresponsibly with colleagues in the battlefield. 

"Help me locate something we can use to our ears properly."

[yoyeolears]

it's okay not to be lonely//chapter 3 pt. 2

zhang hao x sung hanbin

genre: angst & fluff

warnings: death, cursing, a bit suggestive

masterlist: summary | 1 | 2 | 3 pt. 1 | 3 pt. 2| 4 | 5 | 6 (final)

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chapter 3 pt. 2: so i allowed myself to fall

word count: 1,945

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Walking to his place was filled with Hanbin chatting up a storm. Meanwhile, Hao would just sweetly smile at him while offering his own little thoughts about whatever topic the other male decided on here and there. He wasn’t oblivious. He knew Hanbin was being chattier than usual to keep his mind at bay and from entering dangerous waters. 

“Well, this is me.”, Hao announced once they approached his building. 

The five-floor apartment that Hao stayed in was situated on the outskirts of the city. It was primarily known for being one of the rough areas, however, Hao who had now lived here for more than two years couldn’t really agree. Sure, it was poverty-stricken and that attracted people with all sorts of socio-economical issues, but he had never felt unsafe or threatened. Although, he supposed there was one exception and that was his unruly neighbours, who still refused to let him sleep at night. 

Hao unlocked the front door to the apartment complex fairly easy despite the ever growing shaking of his hands. He beckoned Hanbin to follow him as he shut the door behind him. 

“I am up on the second floor. There isn’t an elevator though, so we will have to walk. I hope you don’t mind.” 

“Lead the way.”, Hanbin saluted him. 

Hao laughed before leading the way upstairs. His flat was located at the very end of the hallway on the second floor, its windows facing the bright lights of the city. 

Hao brought out the second pair of keys. His hands’ trembling was almost reminiscent of the shakes of an earthquake, and he felt quite embarrassed as he tried to push the keys into the lock but failed every single time. A hand reached out to stop the tremor in his body. 

“Hao Hao, you are okay.”, Hanbin reassured him. 

He took a deep breath, and with the other's help successfully twisted the key in the lock. Pushing the door open, he ushered Hanbin reluctantly into his flat. 

It was small. Almost claustrophobically small. But he thought it was cozy. He’d spent a lot of time trying to turn it into an actual home, not a place he just slept in. There was a tiny kitchenette tucked away in the corner of the room with a window above it, blinding city lights illuminating the rest of the space. His bed sat on the opposite side, an array of plushies littering it. Across was the desk lamp he had forgotten to turn off in the morning, accompanied by all his books that were messily spread out on the cramped desk. 

“Is that a photo of you and your parents?”, Hanbin asked, eyes taking in the space. 

Hao’s eyes fell onto the picture frame next to his bed. Indeed, standing there was a photo of him and his parents on the day he got accepted to study abroad. He smiled at it melancholically. 

“Yes, that was the day I found out my application for the University had been accepted.” 

Hanbin gave him a affirmative nod,  “You look a lot like your mum.” 

Hao felt his eyes burn but decided to push the tears back. He was determined to not ruin the mood with his crying. 

He was about to give the male a response when the latter practically screamed out loud. 

“Oh my god, is that you in a suit, holding a violin?” 

He laughed, the sound almost bitter. 

“Yeah, I used to get booked for weddings quite a bit back in China.”, he shyly admitted. 

“You still play?” 

“Hypothetically, yes. But I don’t own a violin anymore. Had to sell it to pay for my parents’ burial and to support myself.” 

His confession hurt Hanbin, his smile turning into a frown. 

“I am sorry Hao Hao.” 

He didn’t want Hanbin to be sad because of his miserable past. So, he smiled back at him reassuringly. 

“It’s okay. Maybe one day I will have the money for another one.” 

“Hmm, are violins that expensive?”, Hanbin asked, feet on the move to explore the rest of his flat. Not that there was much to explore. 

Hao nodded, “They are expensive, yes. Depends on your level though.” 

“What level are you then?” 

“Actually, I have a teacher diploma.” 

Hanbin's hand, which was busy flipping through a book on his cluttered desk, retracted at lightning speed. 

“You are that good? I don’t get it then. Why not get a job as a teacher?” 

“I thought about it, but I needed the money urgently, so selling the violin seemed like the best option at that time.” 

The male's attention fell back onto the photo of him holding the violin. He knew what’s coming next. 

“Do you regret it?” 

There it was. Such a simple question with such a complex answer. 

“I don’t know.”, he settled with, “I know I needed to pay off my parents’ burial somehow, but I also know that playing is my escape. Sometimes, I think about how different my life might have been if I still had this part of my life unchanged.” 

“I get it. Sometimes you don’t get to do what you want to do, right?” 

Hao agreed, “Right.” 

Hanbin clapped his hands, smile returning on his precious face, “Anyway! Shall we watch a movie then?” 

He huffed out a little laugh as he watched the excited man fumble through the bag looking most likely for his laptop. He took a sit on his bed, waiting for him to finish setting up. 

Hanbin let out a long sigh as he flop next to him. 

“I swear I need a bigger bag. Getting that laptop out was a proper work out.”, he complained. 

Setting the laptop on his lap, Hanbin pressed the power button, waiting for the machine to come to life. Only it didn’t. The daunting low battery icon flashed on the screen for a split second before the screen went black again. 

The male groaned, “Fuck. I thought I charged it last night. I am such a disaster! I didn’t even bring my charger with me because I was so sure it was all fired up and ready to go.” 

Hao smiled at Hanbin sympathetically, “It’s okay. You are not a disaster. Things like this happen all the time.” 

The latter pursed his lips in thought, “But then what are we supposed to do?” 

He honestly didn’t know. It’s not like he had a laptop. His old one broke down ages ago and since then he hadn’t been able to replace it. 

All of a sudden, he felt Hanbin's body bounce on the bed. 

“I know! I will do your hair with those hair clips!”, Hanbin cried out, proceeding to pick up said clips from his nightstand. He didn’t even remember leaving these there. When did the other even notice? 

“What do you have these for anyway?”, Hanbin asked, inspecting them. 

“Well, I used to wear them while practicing the violin. My hair got in the way quite a bit.”, he explained. 

“Makes sense. Come on then. I will turn you into a pretty doll.” 

Hao’s ears flushed their red usual, but he accepted defeat and turned his body to face Hanbin's. 

The male excitedly took a teddy bear shaped clip and gently grabbed a few strands of hair. He clipped it into place, hands already reaching for a second one to repeat the process. Part of him wondered why Hanbin had decided to stay. Surely, putting hair clips in his hair wasn’t this entertaining. Yet, one look at his face was enough to confirm that he was genuinely happy to do this. To be here with him. He felt the familiar warmth circulating through his body. 

“I am doing splendid work in my opinion. You look cute.”, Hanbin commented, taking a quick look at his progress. 

“I am sure it looks amazing.”, Hao chuckled. 

“Wait, I need to put some on the back of your head.”, he exclaimed, bending to reach over Hao's head. 

He was so close. He could practically feel Hanbin's toned chest, most likely due to his impressive experience in dancing, grazing his shoulder whilst more hair clips were being put into place. For a second, Hao found it hard to breathe. His chest felt tight, and his hands started getting clammy. He bit his lip trying to ease his anxiety. 

“There you go. All done.”, Hanbin announced. 

Hao was seconds away from releasing the longest exhale in his life, when he found the latter inches away from his face. Hanbin was looking at him with such an emotion-filled expression. He felt his mouth part, ready to say something, whatever, but Hanbin's hushed tone stopped him in his tracks. 

“Hao Hao.” 

For the few seconds that followed, he was certain he blacked out. One minute, he was looking at Hanbin, eyes alert, the next he felt warm lips on his. Trying not to panic too much, he reluctantly circled his hands around the other man's neck. He pondered about the last time he kissed someone. It had been so long ago, he sincerely prayed that his skills weren’t lacking that much. Although, judging by the barely noticeable trembling of Hanbin's lips, he felt just as nervous. 

Feeling a little bit braver, Hao swiped his tongue against the other's lips. He noticed him exhale heavily, most likely due to nervousness, before softly pressing his heated hand on his Hao's cheek, finally granting him entry. 

He was addicted. He was addicted to the warmth Hanbin always provided him, kissing him only fulfilling that sense of comfort. He wanted more and more. He wanted the other to stay close to him forever until all he could feel was the blazing fire in his chest. He needed himself to be the reason for the crackling fire igniting between Hanbin's breasts. 

Hanbin softly whined in his mouth, spurring Hao on to greedily pull the male even closer to him. The latter, clearly just impatient as him, decided to take matters into his own hands, driving Hao into his lap. 

Still, it almost didn’t seem like it was enough. Maybe nothing could ever be enough. Perhaps nothing he could do would sufficiently show Hanbin how much he made him feel. 

“Hao where are we going with this?”, Hanbin asked, doubt laced in his voice. 

For once he was going to be brave. This time he was going to scream the truth if he had to. 

“I want you. I want to show you how much you mean to me. Will you let me do that?” 

Hanbin visibly gulped, “I have never-“ 

Hao’s eyes softened, “Neither have I. We can take our time. There is no reason to rush. And if you don’t want to, that’s okay as well. I just want to make you as happy as you make me.” 

Hanbin softly brought their foreheads together, hands reaching to gently cup his cheeks, “Your own happiness is what makes me the happiest.” 

Hao's lips jutted into a soft pout, eyes full of fondness and warmth turning to look at the man before him. He gently caught a strand of stray hair falling in front of Hanbin's face, pushing it behind his ear. 

“I am happy. I have you and that’s all I need.”, Hao sincerely confessed. 

Hanbin's eyes lit up in glee, genuine emotion dripping from them. Hao couldn’t tell if it was love yet. 

The male's tight grip on his hoodie snapped him out of his thoughts. The smile on Hanbin's face had been wiped off, his brown irises exposing all his deepest thoughts. 

‘I will love you.’, Hao thought to himself before Hanbin's lips engulfed his once again. 

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

A/N:

Yes, I did say I would release this in the start of February. Did I intend to? Absolutely? Did I manage to? Clearly not. Also, how rude of me not to even greet the people that may be reading this. So, hello! For those who don't know I am always fashionably late at updating this story.

In all seriousness, I am very happy that I at least succeeded in eventually putting this out. My life has been in a bit of topsy-turvy state. I sincerely hope that anyone who reads this chapter loves it, especially since this is my favourite one of the ones I have written so far.

I will be going back to edit some of the previous chapters and making some minor changes, because I realized after 4 months of writing this story that I switch back and forth to present and past tenses quite a bit. Personally, I believe this confuses the narrative and makes the story seem more messy, sooooo...

I cannot promise when the next chapter will be out as 1. I am too bad at sticking to releasing new chapters on time and 2. I haven't even started chapter 4.

Frankly, and I don't mean to cause any concern, I don't even know how to proceed after this chapter. I know how I want the story to end, but I have no clue where to go with what happens in-between. Hopefully, I will figure this out shortly and the next chapter will not be released as late as July or anywhere near that date.

See you soon!

-Jina

[darkx-the-dragon-kn1ght]

Chapter 37- Part 6

And that's just talking about Arceus creating the world (and probably the Lake and Creation Trios), fair enough. Speaking of…I see that Light Shard in the display there!

And that's just talking about…well, it could be talking about Arceus’ rings, but it could also be talking about the red, green, blue, and purple cross sigil associated with Reborn. Maybe it's both!

But that…seems to be all to see in the museum, but it was incredibly enlightening. Let me see if I have this right: a long time ago, the Reborn region was the location where a meteor connected to Arceus landed, leading to the world's creation. A civilization living in the region revered Arceus and the meteor, building whole structures and underground passages around the crater to protect the site of impact. To that end, they also built a stone gate of sorts, which was locked with four keys made from ruby, sapphire, emerald, and amethyst; the meteor itself is probably sealed away behind that gate.

However, this civilization died out eventually, their structures becoming ruins and being buried by time (quite literally), until eventually Reborn City was constructed on top of these ruins- probably over the site of the meteor’s landing as well.

That seems to be the story, with a few guesses/assumptions of my own thrown in. And it definitely paints Team Meteor's actions and motivations in a new light, if those assumptions are right. To rebuild the world, erasing this one in the process…they probably wanna use the meteor's power to do that, hence why they need the key jewelry to get that underground door open- if that is where the meteor is located. In addition- I wonder if any of the Team Meteor leaders are maybe descended from those ancients…? Could be extra motivation in the form of “how dare you build a whole city on top of my ancestors’ hard work” or something.

Oh! Oh, another idea! Okay- remember how last time, I suggested Team Meteor was behind the teleportation and earthquake issues in Spinel Town? Well, Team Meteor clearly considers the Reborn region “sacred ground” because of the history of the land (as I just described above), they consider the construction of the city upon it an affront…what if they feel similarly insulted by the taking of the artifacts displayed in the Spinel Town Museum? I mean, Sirius was all like “these jewels were ours before you were ever born” to Anna about the Pendant, surely the same sentiment would apply to these artifacts! 

And what if that one planned PULSE from Mosswater- the one called “Seamless Transportation”- was designed to use teleportation to steal the artifacts right out of the building (although Team Meteor would probably consider it stealing them back)? But then something went wrong somehow, and the PULSE is just teleporting random stuff everywhere instead? I mean, that doesn't explain the earthquakes, sure, but…hey, half of a theorized explanation is better than nothing!

Buuuuut I think it's time to take a break from worldbuilding. Let's turn our attention back to looking for that lady's furniture. We've found one bookshelf and the table, so that leaves:

One TV

One bed

Two chairs

One cabinet

One bookshelf

So…most of the items, still. But that's okay, it still shouldn't be too hard to find the rest of them. Look, I see one of the chairs right there!

Ah…well, hope no one was living in that house.

Chair down! Next, uh…well, I'm just gonna run around town and touch stuff as I see them.

There, already two more items, four overall, we're doing great!

I'm upset I didn't notice that chair earlier, it's literally right there-

But now, I'm running a bit low on places to check…maybe one of them landed in the PokéMart? Xera needs to go there anyways, so might as well check in there too.

Oh! Ooooh…oh, oh that's not good, oh no- we needed that Herbal Extract too!

Not too far from here, huh? I sure hope so- guess we're looking for the Mart now too, on top of the furniture…

Well, at least we found the TV, on the edge of that roof there.

And that was the cabinet, cool, at least we're making progress on that front.

So I think I'm just missing the last bookshelf? And there's still the matter of the PokéMart, but I still haven't found it…

I wonder- did anything get sent to Chrysolia Forest? Stuff was teleporting there too, so I'd say it's possible.

That's…not the PokéMart, but maybe there's a bookshelf in there? No? Just a guy?

Um…well, you know what? Props to this guy for making the best of a weird situation!

Previous

Next

[devilofthehounds]

God Eater 3 Character Novel | Beginning of a Vow: Chapter 5

[image id: A novel cover. Hugo Pennywort from God Eater 3 is leaning against the bars of a prison cell. He is holding up his hand and looking at one of his armlets as if reminiscing. On the other side of the bars is a faded image of a young Hugo looking off into the distance. The text, when translated into English, reads “God Eater 3 Character Novel | Chapter 1: Hugo Edition | Beginning of a Vow”. /end id]

This is a fan translation. Original text here.

Masterpost 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Four people were assigned to the urgent Vajra subjugation mission.

Me. Luca. Din. And...

"...Thank you, Oulu. I didn't think you'd come with us."

"I told you on the way here. Without you and Luca, our plan's sunk. Besides... if Din's in, then so am I."

Carrying his Sniper Gun-type God Arc, Oulu shrugged and smiled.

The landscape of the old city stretched out before our eyes.

Fiery Oracle Cells could be seen clinging to buildings here and there.

We were camped out on top of a crumbling highway.

From this vantage point, our goal was to look around and catch sight of the Vajra.

"How about it, Oulu? Can you see it yet?"

Din stood next to Oulu, handling his aptly named Heavy Moon-type God Arc with ease.

"There are a lot of tall buildings... Just give me a minute..."

Perched atop an abandoned car, scouring the cityscape for signs of the Vajra, Oulu looked like a hunter. Gone was his typical unreliable atmosphere.

"Were the two of you friends before coming to Pennywort?"

Luca tilted his head as he asked. Din snorted.

"Yep. Our parents were Fenrir staff, working together on research to counter the Aragami. Oulu and I have been friends ever since we were kids."

Fenrir—an organization of God Eaters that ruled the world before the Calamity.

"Our parents died protecting us... That day, we swore a vow. We'd carry on our parents' will and become heroes to protect the world from Aragami!"

"That's right. Once we break free from the prison, we'll build a place where dreams can come true. That's why we need the help of not just you two, but all the AGEs."

I was taken aback by how eagerly yet firmly the two of them discussed such lofty ideals.

"'A place where dreams can come true', huh..."

It felt as though I'd found new direction, even though I'd only vaguely dreamed of freedom thus far.

"...! Found it!"

At Oulu's sharp voice, we all tightened our grips on our God Arcs.

"Alright, Hugo, we'll follow your plan. Don't let us down!"

"That's my line. We'll all make it back alive!"

It was meant to be a rallying cry to boost our morale, but... it was hard to suppress the sense of fear growing inside me.

Four kids versus a Vajra.

We'd surely be dancing with death during this mission.

I could tell Din and Oulu were nervous.

My own breathing had become heavy as well. Then—

"Let's all go home together. Then... we'll see tomorrow together, too."

Luca's gentle voice suddenly eased the tension in the air.

Oulu nodded confidently. Din's cheeky smile returned.

I, too, felt a certain power in my hands as I gripped my God Arc.

"Oulu, open fire!"

The sound of a gunshot announced the start of the battle. The accompanying bullet—our will to defy death—pierced the Vajra's body in the distance.

The next moment, a guttural roar that echoed in the pit of my stomach shook the silent city.

"Hit confirmed! It's noticed us!"

"Hugo, Luca, leave the finishing blow to us! Don't die!"

Luca and I jumped off the crumbling highway, exposing ourselves to the still-distant Vajra.

Earthquake-like tremors signaled its approach.

Limbs developed like armor. A vermilion cape fluttering wildly.

The eyes of a predator, never one to lose its prey, locked onto us, causing the earth to tremble furiously.

This was the bestial god—Vajra.

"S-So big...!"

Its divine authority felt as though it could blow away any sense of strength in an instant. I was frozen in place.

But then—

"Hugo."

Time to move.

The sight of Luca looking back at me, only a step away, gave me strength once again.

"...Yeah. Our future lies just beyond this! Let's go!"

The Vajra, now close enough that we could look up at it, leapt toward us.

Escaping the earth-shattering impact, we fired on the Vajra from both sides.

We had one objective. To defend this point with our lives and buy a few precious minutes.

Vajra were said to be able to control electricity. To be specific, if someone were to be hit by an attack from a charged Vajra, they'd be knocked unconscious, ultimately leading to their death.

Our strategy was based around a gunfight at a distance. Between the two of us, Luca and I would be on the lookout for any possible openings to devour.

However, the two of us were at the Vajra's mercy, hopelessly trying to keep up as it continued to outspeed us. Amidst the constant running, we could never get a chance to go on the offensive. We were starting to run out of steam.

At that moment, the Vajra suddenly stopped running and made a threatening motion toward us.

Seeing an opening, Luca rushed forward like an arrow, thrusting forth his God Arc.

At the same time, though, a flash of lightning coursed across the Vajra's cape.

"Luca, no!"

I quickly jumped out and pulled Luca back.

A moment later, countless thunderbolts rained down on the Vajra with a deafening roar.

I'd saved Luca just in time, but we both fell to the ground.

"Ah! Hugo, run—"

Luca's cry came too late as the Vajra kicked up off the ground without mercy.

The bestial god's huge body came down from overhead to crush us.

I was certain we were dead. In the heat of the moment, I at least tried to shield Luca's body.

The next moment—

A bullet came speeding through the air and hit the Vajra in the side, causing its body to crash into the rubble.

"You guys okay?! Move, quick!"

Oulu, who had somehow shifted his position to the roof of an abandoned building, had stopped the Vajra in its tracks.

"Hah... Haha... That was crazy... Thanks, Oulu!"

"Thank you, Oulu!"

Miraculously, he'd managed to save our lives. But even though the battle had just started, we were already down to the wire.

If we stopped for even a moment, we'd be cornered in an instant.

As I grit my teeth, Din's voice rang out above the highway.

"We're ready to go! Don't get caught up in it, you two!"

"Good timing, Din! Luca, let's get out of here!"

Luca and I immediately fled the area.

Right then, the wreckage of the collapsed highway came crashing down with a deafening roar—right on top of the Vajra.

Din's Ray Gun and Heavy Moon had destroyed the crumbling highway, causing it to fall on top of the Vajra.

It was Pennywort's modus operandi: using whatever was available—and it had worked brilliantly.

"Now, everyone!"

Luca, Oulu, and I fired all of our remaining ammo at the Vajra's exposed upper body.

Then—

"Make way for the hero! Eat this!"

Din jumped down and slammed his God Arc—now in Raging Moon form—directly into the Vajra's head.

The Vajra's scraped Oracle Cells danced around like droplets of blood.

I continued pulling the trigger on my God Arc, desperately praying this would end it.

At the end of what felt like an endless offensive, the Vajra finally let out a dying roar, rattling my eardrums. Din stopped the Raging Moon.

An empty silence filled the air.

Facing the Vajra's motionless corpse, I finally let myself speak.

"We... won... We won, right? Right?!"

"Yeah... We did it... We won!"

Without thinking, I yelled out to the sky.

We'd achieved results. The four of us had connected our hopes for tomorrow.

"Phew... Everyone, thanks for your hard work. Guess we're pretty good."

"Heck yeah, we are! We're all here! We made it! Hugo's plan rocked!"

"...Hugo. Will we be able to stay together?"

"Yeah... I still can't believe it, but... no one can complain about results like this."

Luca smiled like always and raised his arm. I moved to respond in kind.

The sound of our armlets colliding would echo throughout the Ashlands, signaling victory.

Or so I thought.

The first thing I noticed was light.

A flash of light that made me reflexively close my eyes.

And immediately after—thunder.

We watched, unable to turn away from the deafening roar.

From the roof of an old cathedral, towering in the distance.

Looking down in our direction, as if taunting us.

Another Vajra.

"...Oulu?"

At the sound of Din's voice, I turned to look.

Oulu, who had been smiling carelessly just seconds ago, had collapsed, his back completely scorched.

"Oulu... Oulu! Hey! Stay with me!"

It was here. Another Vajra, completely unexpected, was here.

It wasn't until I realized that that my mind finally processed the situation.

"Run!"

I screamed the word in a daze. But where could we run? How could we protect ourselves?

In the midst of my panicking, I saw a large, white van that had happened to fall from the highway earlier, inconceivably upright.

"Luca, can you drive?!"

"I'll figure it out!"

Miraculously, the van started. We all got in and sped through the city.

From behind, though, the Vajra was in hot pursuit, running at a tremendous speed.

"Damn you...!"

Din kicked open the door and fired his Ray Gun at the pursuing Vajra.

His remaining ammo pierced the Vajra. However, it wasn't enough to halt the Aragami's momentum as it aimed a ball of lightning at the tires, causing the van's body to bounce violently.

The van crashed into a rock and began to tilt. No matter how hard Luca pressed down on the accelerator, it wouldn't respond.

The Vajra was just around the corner.

"...Oulu's still breathing. It'll be safer for him to stay hidden in the van. We gotta get out of here, regroup, and then come back for him. That's the only way we'll all make it through this alive!"

With that decided, we followed Din, who took the lead and rushed outside.

No matter how hopeless this strategy seemed, we had no choice but to execute it.

Wielding our God Arcs, we forged ahead.

However, as if to trample even our mere illusion of hope, the charged Vajra rushed forward.

"Crap!"

In an instant, Din jumped in front of us and deployed his shield.

But it wasn't enough to stop the full force of the attack from the Vajra's body. The three of us were blown away by a burst of lighting.

Din was hit head-on and crashed into the rubble. Luca's body was sent flying, and he fell into a large hole in the ground.

It had all happened in an instant. And in that instant, it felt as though our thin thread of hope had been ripped to shreds.

"Din... Luca...?"

Barely staying conscious, I managed to get to my feet, leaning on my God Arc for support. But.

"You... You...! Aaaaaaaaaaah!"

Despite my dizziness, I swung my blade down with all my might, but I only managed to nick the Vajra's body.

Right in front of my eyes, it raised its paw.

I was going to die. I was certain. But just as I had that thought—

A bullet came speeding through the air and hit the Vajra in the head, once again saving my life.

Beyond my line of sight, Oulu had somehow managed to crawl out of the van. He smiled as he held up his God Arc.

"You idiot!"

The Vajra lunged toward Oulu and swung its charged paws down.

With a tremendous thunderclap, the entire area shook. The shock caused the ground nearby to completely cave in.

"Oulu...!"

I was alone.

The Vajra slowly turned. Its eyes met mine.

There was nowhere to run. Inescapable death approached with an earth-shaking tremor.

My friends. My friends were dead. Was there no choice but to stay quiet and wait for death...?

"...You gotta be kidding me."

Unable to suppress the emotions that welled up within me, I faced the Vajra, unflinching.

"I made a promise to them."

With a vow burning in my heart, I thrust my God Arc head-on at the raging god.

"I'll live and make it to tomorrow!"

At that moment, golden Oracle energy erupted from my body.

A golden ring surrounded me, and a voice echoed inside my head.

"Hugo!"

Luca's voice echoed inside my head. I could feel his strong will.

"Yeah. We'll definitely make it back alive!"

The moment I let out a cry of determination, there was a flash of light behind me.

A thread of golden light extended from my body.

As if tugging on that dazzling connection.

"...Sorry to keep you waiting, Hugo."

Luca came flying in, carrying his God Arc and blasting away the debris.

"Hah... I don't know how, but I knew you'd come."

I didn't know what this sudden phenomenon of light was, but there was one thing I was sure of.

Neither Luca nor myself had any intention of giving up.

"Hyaaaaaah!"

Our voices overlapped, our movements synchronized, and together, we unleashed our God Arcs in predator form, charging the Vajra at lightning speed.

In an instant, Luca's thoughts flowed into my head, and I knew exactly what he was going to do next.

The Vajra couldn't react to our simultaneous attack. I went into Burst with Luca, then immediately fired a Link Burst Round into his body, transferring the devoured Oracle energy.

Luca, Burst Level increased, slashed the Vajra with his Biting Edge, now transformed into glaive form.

Even the Vajra's counterattack was halted by the tip of Luca's God Arc.

"Hugo!"

Responding to Luca's call as he pushed the Vajra back, I quickly slipped in front of the Vajra.

Luca's warm hand supported my pitiful back in preparation for the recoil.

"This... is for them."

Din and Oulu. Their attacks were still visible on its face. I took aim.

I repeatedly fired off the Impulse Edge in rapid succession.

The Vajra's head was blown to pieces from inside its mouth, and it collapsed helplessly on the ground.

The thunder and roars could no longer be heard. Silence returned to the city.

At the same time, the ring of light connecting me and Luca disappeared.

"Hugo..."

We'd won. We'd stood up to the Aragami and won through sheer force of will.

But.

"Damn it... Damn it!"

We could no longer share in that joy."

"Yo... You alive...?"

I managed to find Din. He was laughing, bleeding profusely in the rubble.

No matter what I did, it wouldn't make a difference.

All I could do was stand there, not knowing what to say.

"...Take this."

With trembling hands, Din removed the choker from around his neck and offered it to me.

"Don't forget... that there was a hero here."

I held tight to the feelings that were offered to me.

"I won't forget... Never!"

Hearing my words, the brave hero finished his mission with a smile on his face.

"...Hugo."

Luca, who had gone to find Oulu, returned with heavy steps.

In his hand was a choker identical to Din's.

This was the Ashlands. Within a few minutes, even their bodies would turn to ash and disappear.

We wouldn't even get the time to mourn their deaths.

Still, there was one thing we could do.

"...We'll take you there."

I swore a vow, clutching the choker entrusted to me.

A place where everyone's dreams could come true.

We would build a place where everyone's wills and wishes could be protected, and deliver the feelings entrusted to us there.

Their dream... We'd make it come true, for sure.

It was the only way in this world. The only way to connect our wills.

"Luca, will you... will you help me?"

Instead of replying, Luca lifted his hand that was clutching the choker.

Fighting back the tears that were starting to well up, I, too, raised my hand with a wish.

The sound of the vow echoed throughout the sky, where the heroes had returned.

Translator's Note 1 Translator's Note 2

[allisonbaelfire]

Hope and Destiny - 3

Pairings: Steve Rogers x Reader / Bucky Barnes x Reader / Tony Stark!Brother

Summary: After the Sokovia accords, were you teamed up with your boyfriend, Steve Rogers, instead of your brother, Tony Stark… You and the rest of Caps Team had to go into hiding. For a while it went well, you continued to protect civilians, tried to have a normal everyday life and Steve and your relationship seemed okay in spite of everything that happened.

One day Steve gave a Quinjet route, you didn’t know. He flew to Wakanda and dropped Bucky and you off and left. Years later he comes back, now where Thanos was on his way.

Chapter Summary: Wakanda is in an unprecedented state of emergency. A magnitude 6 earthquake spreads faster and faster. In Y/N's hospital room, the life support machines are hardly in their place, but nobody but Shuri dares to go near Y/N, but she is also "locked out" of the room, Bucky and Hope are the only ones who don't feel like as if Wakanda were about to collapse.

Words: 1,873

Authors Note: I’m so proud of this one, hopefully you all leave some love <3

__________________________________

Rooms were shaking, the palace was quaking and the people of Wakanda were behaving as if they’re experiencing a level 6 earthquake.

Shuri arrived at Y/N's Hospital room. The machines hardly stayed in one place, the room trembled so much, the emergency systems grew louder, and Y/N was convulsing.

“I’ve never seen something like this, in my entire life…” One of the nurses said, covering her mouth in fear.

Shuri ran to Y/N but as she tried to touch her, she felt some kind of barrier… in the same second, she flew across the room and landed hard on the floor. Shuri held her head tight and grimaced in pain, but she quickly got up again when she saw her friend begin to convulse even harder. The other nurses ran out screaming while Shuri just shook her head in disbelief. No one knew someone like Y/N, but that wasn't an excuse not to help her.

Caught by the situation of not being able to touch Y/N to help her, “Get me Bucky Barnes!”  Shuri shouted.

It was the middle of the night when Bucky and Ayo felt the trembling ground beneath them on the borders of Wakanda. His gaze quickly met Ayo's, Bucky wiped the tears from his face, and they ran back to the village.

Inside Wakanda, the quake got worse and worse. Bucky felt a strange but protective feeling come over him.

“We’ve to go to the place and protect the King” Ayo suggested while the Villagers ran past them.

But Bucky didn't follow Ayo, instead he ran in the opposite direction. It was like he had no other choice, Bucky didn't want to ignore Ayo’s orders, especially not after tonight, but something was pulling him in Hope's direction.

More and more Villagers were crossing Buckys path, but he didn't seem to care, he was still confused as to why his legs were running in the direction of his house without his will. When Bucky had a thought, a goal, nothing could stop him. The ground was shaking again and his legs were speeding up.

A Dora Milaje fighter saw Bucky from afar and held the sleeping Hope in her arms.

He was relieved to see his little light, but his protective feeling was only strengthened. It was surprising for him to see her sleep so calmly.

Bucky felt her pulse and made sure she was still breathing. Inside he knew that Hope was fine and if not, the Dora Milaje warrior had brought her to Shuri long ago, he still had to make sure the little miracle was alive.

The Dora Milaje warrior gave Bucky a a worried but friendly look. “Can I?”

Not wanting to complain, since Hope was truly loved by all Dora Milaje and she was a very peaceful baby, Wakanda was still on alert and that meant the warrior had to take care of the village.

Bucky twitched and nodded. “Su-Sure!” He took Hope and had a little smirk escaping his mouth.

“JAMES!” A familiar voice shouted.

He winced. “Ayo, I’m so sorry, but-“

“It’s Y/N!” She took a deep breath. “She’s doing this!”

He didn't have to think twice and ran after Ayo. He tried to follow her as fast as possible but still as carefully as he could. Hope was still asleep in his arms, which made it a little easier for him.

Arriving at the hospital, Bucky looked around in shock, there was hardly a doctor or nurse to be seen. Other patients were taken to safety.

Lights crashed to the ground, machines fell over and chaos reigned. This was not a place for a baby, but Hope didn't seem to mind. On the contrary, she just snuggled closer to Bucky.

Bucky, Ayo and Hope reached the room where Y/N was lying, not knowing whether to take Hope in or not, Shuri stood in front of the door already giving him the death stare.

“You brought her?!” Shuri couldn’t believe her eyes. “Why does she sleep?”

“She’s fine” Bucky replied while trying to catch a glance of Y/N.

Ayo poked Bucky slightly on his arm, “Hope is awake.”

Bucky looked at her and Hope started smiling.

Without noticing it, he entered Y/N's room and with every step he took forward, it only trembled worse, but Hope started to laugh.

“Bucky wait!” Shuri tried to stop him, but the door shut in front of her face.

Ayo and Shuri banged at the door, they even tried to break it open, but nothing happened. Bucky barely noticed how loudly they yelled at the door. It must have seemed like the end of the world for Shuri, Ayo and the rest of Wakanda, but Bucky stopped noticing anyone outside the room except Hope and Y/N.

Hope was giggling. A warmth pervaded his body. He couldn't stop admiring the little miracle.

In the back of his mind, he knew that all of Wakanda was in a state of emergency, but inside Y/N's hospital room it was quiet, almost peaceful. The closer he got to Y/N with Hope, the more secure he felt.

He didn't know why but he carefully laid next to her. He placed Hope between the two of them and gently held Y/N while Hope snuggled up to both.

Bucky felt some kind of veil brush against him, and the trembling stopped. Everything went quiet. If he didn't know better, he would have said there was never a quake.

He closed his eyes and embraced the moment. An almost unknown, almost forgotten feeling came over him. In that moment Bucky felt at home, like this was his own little family in his arms and he sure wouldn’t let go of it.

“Bucky.”

He felt someone tighten his grip and pulling him closer.

Within H.Y.D.R.A., Bucky was taught not to believe anything he wouldn't see with his own eyes, Bucky opened them and met Y/N’s gaze. After waiting 6 months for Y/N's eyes to open, he couldn't believe that today was finally the day.

“Y/N..” He spoke still not trusting his eyes.

She gifted him with a smile he missed so much. Her smile for him stopped as she heard her Baby laughing for the first time.

“Hi, Hi Baby.” Y/N’s eyes filled with water.

Y/N was still a bit shaky, other than that she had never seen her own baby. She had never seen Hope, touched her, or heard her laugh. Y/N was overcome by fear. Fear of hurting the baby or not being able to do justice to this beautiful creature.

Bucky noticed her careful body language and smiled softly. He took her hand and placed it gently on Hopes cheek. Hope started smiling, she leaned in her mother’s touch and started laughing.

If there was one thing Y/N hated, it was showing weakness, but the moment she touched her daughter for the first time she couldn't contain her tears.

“I’ll never, never leave your side again.” She whispered.

Bucky kissed Y/N forehead while she turned to hope. He held both of them, while a single tear rolled down his face. Bucky felt Y/N’s breath against his, he heard Hopes giggles and it seemed like everything he had ever had to go through, all the pain and torture was gone. It was as if the monster, he was made to be, was never there. His only mission now was to protect Y/N and Hope and make them happy for the rest of their lives.

Shuri and Ayo were finally able to open the door, they smiled as they saw the little family together. Both of them had tears in their eyes.

“Now I understand why you always say “Miracle” to the little one, White Wolf.” T’Challa said relived.

Y/N looked at Bucky, “What’s her name?”

Bucky realized with Y/N's question that he had choosen the name for a baby that wasn't his. He was afraid Y/N wouldn't like the name, maybe she even hated it and it would all be Bucky's fault.

The others looked at Bucky as if it was his job to tell the name. He met her gaze while the baby started giggling again, Y/N smiled slightly while she still looked at Bucky.

“Her name is “Hope””. He replied soft.

Y/N looked into Hope's ocean eyes. They seemed so familiar to you and reminded you for just a short moment of the painful past.

“Is that okay?” Bucky was scarred to ask.

The warmth in Bucky's voice ran down your spine like a shiver, pulling you out of your memory. Your eyes met Bucky's and for the first time in a long time you saw, security, a future and hope again.

“It’s perfect” You answered soft.

   Weeks after Y/N came out of the coma, she was still helping with Wakanda's repairs. Y/N regained control of her powers, ate normally again, and began to grow as a mother.

At first Bucky thought he had to distance himself from Hope since he had 6 months more with her than Y/N, but he couldn't stand it for long. Not only that, Y/N and Hope didn't want any distance, on the contrary, Y/N wanted to make their two homes into one.

Bucky and a few volunteers from Wakanda helped to change their houses and build a bigger one for the tree of them.

Bucky and Y/N both agreed to always stand by Hope, but while everyone in Wakanda could see that not only was Hope growing every day, but the feelings between Bucky and Y/N were immense, the two still didn’t spoke about it.

Another 6 Months passed.

“Who’s my good girl?” Y/N smiled while she feed Hope.

The door opened and Hope stopped looking at her food.

“Dada!” Hope giggled.

Y/N turned around and her eyes winded. Bucky looked at her, ready to get hit at any moment.

“Say that again!” Y/N laughed.

Hope looked confused, she lifted up her arms and pointed directly at Bucky “Dada!”

Bucky walked over to Hope and picked her up, “You get me in a whole lot of trouble little light”

“Her first words are for you.” Y/N looked kinda sad.

Bucky wishes he could be happy that Hope saw him as a father and that her first words were addressed to him, because inside he was bursting with joy. But he knew it reminded Y/N how much of Hope she had already missed.

Y/N stood up and hugged the two. Bucky wrapped his arm around her and kissed her forehead.

“I’m glad we’ve you.” Y/N spoke softly.

[elphiej]

Be My Light- Chapter 6: Truth and Lies

*Genre: Mafia, angst, slow burn, eventual smut (?)

*Warning: Mentions of violence, death, drugs 

Author’s Note: Hi Everyone! I won’t lie, this chapter was difficult. Not because of the subject but because of the world just seeming to want to test me. But I do hope you like it. We are about to learn some back history of the Mafia families as well as what is expected of our girl from here out. My editor wanted to kill me at the end of this. I hope you enjoy it! it is a bit long but after the wait, I hope it’s fine. How are the boys reading to you guys? Last chapter, we got to meet Hwasa. This time, we get to meet someone a bit less... intense. Once again, thank you to all those who had left me a comment or reblogged this. We have reached close to 1500 hits on AO3. THAT”S MIND BLOWING. Leave me a comment with what you liked. I love interacting with you guys. Love you all. Borahae!!

Tag list: @lolalalooo @bangtan-sonyeonddaeng @barbikatherine ​ @mrsfortune1306 @lovesick-heart0 @iamnamjoonsbxtch @deathkat657 @deeepvibes @sugamonster22 @weiinihao @hemmofluke @rainbow-zebra-unicorns @joyfullyobsessed @elvencantation @thefreddieman @whateveritis616 @crewzie-chan @wyomingphantom @killbillv1 @grovr  

                                          Chapter 6: Truth and Lies

Annyeonghaseyo! Bangtan Sonyeondan-imnida

                       You froze. Your suspicions had been confirmed, officially. And it was worse than you expected. These boys were a part of a gang. But not just any gang; they were the most notorious mafia group in all of Central. You couldn’t turn on the television or read a news article without their name coming up. Even your coworkers had mentioned them when discussing some of their patients. You had counted yourself among the lucky few who hadn’t been around any gang activity outside of the hospital. But now, you had placed yourself directly in front of the worst. No wonder Choi was so intent on killing Suga. Then it hit you; based on all you had seen, Choi must have been the head of another gang. Which meant that you ran into the middle of a mafia turf war. You couldn’t have done any worse, could you? The only saving grace you could cling to was that Choi had no way of knowing that it had been you that had called the police and hid Suga from him. Of course, you were the one who blocked him when he infiltrated the hospital. But you were just a nurse doing your job while the hospital was on lock down, doing what any other observant employee would do. Surely, that wouldn’t cause you any trouble, right? In one fell swoop, you had gone from a quiet background character to stuck in the spotlight that was focused on imminent danger. Why was life so unfair? Had you not suffered enough over the past year? Could these boys, who seemed so friendly and sweet, be as brutal and ruthless as the stories claimed?

           You guessed you really couldn’t judge a book by its cover.

           Your mind was buzzing with some much that you hadn’t noticed your breath starting to race or your hands shaking like they were in an earthquake. You only noticed when you felt someone’s hands take yours. RM looked concerned as he tried to assure you everything was fine. You really wanted to believe him. But your mind kept racing. Your professionalism was being put to the ultimate test and you were sure you were failing.

           A chuckle brought your attention from your anxiety-driven imagination back to the men before you. Jimin’s angelic façade had altered with the appearance of a mischievous smirk. “Judging by the look in those pretty eyes, you’ve heard of us,” he remarked as he tilted his head to the side, golden hair spilling across his sharp gaze.

           How is this the same person?

           You had learned that any professional in this line of work knew how to keep a mask of indifference when patients said something shocking. Though, you doubted any of your coworkers had been trapped in a room with seven men who could make you disappear in more ways than you cared to think about. You caught Suga’s eyes, narrowed in a judging way. As if to challenge your earlier statement to him. The logical part of your brain countered that that was when you thought he was just a general punk who ran into trouble. Not a member of a Mafia family.

           However, the combative part of you wanted to wipe that look off of his face.

           “I’d have to be living under a rock to have never heard of you!” Though, you mused, none of you fit how the news describes you. You continued to the group after a calming breath that RM prompted you to take, “But as I told him, when you enter the hospital, what you do on the outside doesn’t matter.”

           “And we appreciate that. We know this is unusual and scary,” RM assured you, “but you don’t need to worry. We are not going to do anything. No funny business. We are just family visiting our brother. Remember what I told you last night? This is a safe place. We’ll make sure that it stays that way. And the only thing relating to our ‘business’ is what we as a group have decided to tell you.”

           “As a group, huh?” Suga fixed RM with a cold stare that spoke volumes. Despite allowing RM to introduce who they really were earlier, he still had some feelings about the situation. “Can you give us a moment, Y/N? There is something we need to discuss, privately.”

           You perked up at his request. As much as your combative side wanted to win, the sensible one came surging back to take control. Despite how nice they were being, they were still dangerous. And you were at your limit for dangerous experiences. You needed to separate yourself. Technically, they had requested you be his nurse so they could talk to you. Since you had done that, you shouldn’t be needed, nor did you want to discuss what RM meant about repayment. And you could live with the unanswered questions if that meant you would be safe. You had to get to Henry. If he truly cared about you, he would not force you into anything if you felt unsafe.

           And Suga had given you an opportunity to escape, whether he meant to or not. And you would be stupid not to take it. You had to think about your safety now. And being in this room with seven incredibly handsome men who claimed to owe you a life debt may not be the safest course.

           “Of course,” you answered, trying to keep your voice even and professional, “that may be best. I feel like you have a lot to talk through. I’ll just step out. Maybe I could make you guys some tea. That should keep me busy so you can talk freely without some stranger hanging around.”

           “I don’t think you’re strange,” V commented, flashing you a big, boxy grin as he looked you up and down.

           RM was still locked with Suga’s gaze. “Thank you, Y/N. That would be nice. We won’t take long.”

           “Oh please, take as long as you need,” you said as you moved towards the door.

           Because I need enough time to run and hide.

           “I’ll go with you, Y/N,” J-Hope said, hopping up from the couch and crossing over to you before you could protest. He pulled the door open for you.

           Well, there went that plan.

           “They don’t need me in here for this,” he continued. “Besides, what kind of gentleman would I be if I allowed you to do all that work after all this?”

           You clenched your jaw and nodded, trying your best to keep your professional mask from slipping and showing your disappointment and fear, and led him from the room.

           Once the door was shut again, you went to start down the hall towards the small kitchenette. You only took one step before you felt him grab hold of your arm, halting you. You turned and saw the smile had disappeared, replaced with something more serious. He pulled you back towards him. What was he doing? Was this why he really went with you, so he could scare you into submission?

           “Please don’t hurt me,” you found yourself pleading before your brain could process what was happening. “I’m not a fighter but I can bite…”

           You found yourself crashing into his slim chest and his arms wrapping around you in a tight hug, his chin resting on your shoulder. He leaned, heavily, against you. You hadn’t expected that at all. And you found your cheeks growing hot in embarrassment from what you had said. Though, he seemed to ignore it.

           “Thank you,” he said, voice full of emotion and relief.

           You found yourself relaxing and patting his back in acceptance. For a moment, he wasn’t J-Hope of Bangtan. He was just a normal person who was thanking you in a simple but effective way. His embrace was full of so much unspoken gratitude that it was comforting. And you let him hold on for as long as he needed to. You’d be lying if you said it wasn’t nice.

           “I’m sorry,” J-Hope said when he let go and stood up straight, “I’m just really thankful for what you did. When Taehyung called us and told us Choi was at the meeting, I got worried. He’s always had it out for Suga-hyung. And I got jumped by him last month, so I knew what he was capable of. So when Jimin and Taehyung came back with an unconscious Jungkook and no Suga, I feared the worst. Hyung would put himself in the way to save the babies, you see. We just felt so helpless and lost. If I hadn’t been tasked with keeping the two soulmates from having a double panic attack, I would have gone after that bastard, no matter what it meant for me. Suga-hyung is my best friend, my brother, and I would never want anything to hurt him. And when you answered his phone, it was such a relief. I don’t think there’s any way to repay you.”

           You reached out and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay. I didn’t do this to be repaid. I’m just happy that I could help.”

           J-Hope pressed his palms against his eyes, trying to keep his emotions from further spilling out. “Sorry, it’s been a rough couple of days. I’ve been so focused on keeping the babies from freaking out that I couldn’t process my own emotions.”

           “It’s fine, really. I see a lot of emotions here so don’t worry about that. It shows how much you care. I’m really sorry about what I said before. I really didn’t mean it.”

           His smile returned as he chuckled softly. “It’s okay, I get it. Being in a gang, it’s a given to have people think the worst. That’s why we only tell people we trust. Just don’t bite me though. I’m not into that. Unless I’m the one doing the biting.” He winked at you, before bursting into a fit of laughter at the shocked look on your face. “I’m kidding! Just trying to lighten the mood.”

           Before your face could get any redder, you hurried down into the kitchenette and started making the tea. J-Hope was quite helpful as he listed off the other’s preferences. Apparently, Suga liked his strong, Jimin and RM loved sugar in theirs, and Jungkook would prefer the juice he saw in the fridge to tea.  You would like to say that you and Amber were as close as could be, but you couldn’t list off her perfect cup of tea the way J-Hope could for six people. They must be closer than you thought. As you set up the cups on a tray, he started telling you a story about when RM had tried to make tea for a sick Jin and left the kettle on for so long that all the water had evaporated and burned a hole in the bottom. With that, you understood why Suga had RM in his phone as ‘God of Destruction’. As he talked, you found yourself relaxing more and more. Which you thought was odd, since the knowledge that they were still a mafia family was still fresh in your mind. There was something about J-Hope that just made it seem unimportant. Maybe that’s where the name ‘Sunshine’ came from.

           Once all the teas were finished, you left the kitchenette and made your way back towards the room with the tray in your hands. J-Hope had tried to take it from you, but you insisted. Though, he did swipe his cup of tea and the bottle of juice before you could stop him. When you stood in front of the door, glad he was there to open it for you, he held up his hand to halt you. The smile had slipped from his face again and he was all seriousness again. He must be worried about what may still be happening in the room. He dropped the bottle into his large pocket, motioned you to stay quiet, and opened the door just enough to not be noticed. The room still felt tense and you could hear them still locked in conversation. Clearly, J-Hope didn’t deem it as private as Suga had and motioned you closer to watch with him.

           “Hyung,” RM pleaded, “I promise that Jin-Hyung and I talked about this all night. And we both believe that it’s the best course of action. Please, try to be understanding.”

           “Why tell her at all? We’ve never felt the need to open up before.”

           “There’s never been a civilian before. Normally, it’s someone who wants to work with us or someone who owes us that are so willing to jump into the line of fire.”

           “I just don’t see the point in telling her anything. Wouldn’t that be safer?”

           “She risked her life to help you. Surely answering some of her questions is a simple start.”

           “Oh, in that case,” Suga said, sarcastically, “by that logic, we should include the doctor who patched me up.”

           “Hyung, I already have something for him. But this is not the same thing.”

           “Then just pay her off like you did when Moonbyul and the others helped Hobi.”

           “And how much is your life worth?!” You saw J-Hope flinch as Jin raised his voice. “You know for a fact that, unlike Hoseok, he was not going to let you leave that building alive. You almost died, you jackass. That girl ran in with no other motive than to help you. And according to Joon, she stood up to Choi when he snuck in under a disguise to finish you, all to protect you before she even knew what you were. She put herself, albeit unknowingly, in the direct line of fire. Unlike when Moonbyul and Shownu stepped in, she gained nothing nor expected it. The very least we can do is to make sure she has the information to help herself if anything comes from her decision.”

           “He’s right,” RM agreed. “Believe me, I wouldn’t have brought it up if I didn’t think it was necessary. You didn’t see how Choi had her pinned when I got here last night. And yet she still protected you, when others would have believed him. We don’t need to talk about everything. We’ll just give her the basics and go from there. I’ll handle it. Just trust me.”

           “Hyung,” Jimin piped up, eyes pleading with his elder, “she did what we couldn’t. She got to you and protected you. I think it’s a good idea. Based on her reaction, she had no idea about us until then. Even if she did, she didn’t let anything happen to you. I don’t feel like she’s going to do anything. Our name carries enough of a threat to dissuade her from saying anything if that’s what you’re worried about. We can handle that if it comes to that. But it’s different than before. Please, hyung.”

           “That should do it,” J-Hope whispered to you. “No one can say ‘no’ to Jimin. It’s like a siren song. Especially when he gives you the eyes. Even if hyung is stubborn, he will cave for Jimin.”

           You could believe that; even you could feel the pull of Jimin’s voice imploring Suga to do anything he wanted. It must be nice to have that power to make someone do something with just a bat of an eye or the sweetness of that angelic voice. And as expected, Suga sighed and rolled his eyes, making Jimin smile. “Fine,” he grumbled, “I’m out numbered anyways. I just hope this doesn’t turn out to bite you”

           “It can’t be any worse than running into the middle of a gang war to save your ungrateful self,” V lovingly joked, earning him a sharp glare from the so-called ungrateful one.

           “Moving on,” Suga muttered, shifting the conversation and his attention towards the shadow who remained on the couch. His eyes were locked on the floor, and he was hunched over. He looked miserable. “Jungkook, what’s going on with you? I don’t get a ‘hello’ after all this?”

           The room seemed to hold their breath for the response. J-Hope was hyper focused on the youngest, which gave you the impression that this was not normal shyness, that it bordered on abnormal. The shadow hugged his arms tighter around his body, knees bouncing, teeth gnawing at his bottom lip. He was stuck between wanting to speak and wanting to just vanish into his depression. Jin went to go scold the younger for his attitude, but RM held him back. It wasn’t something the eldest needed to interfere with. It was something Suga needed to do. And he was going to figure it out.

           “Listen, I guess you’re upset with me,” Suga continued. “Are you angry that we didn’t finish the mission? Or that I didn’t follow the escape plan? Or could it be that you’re pissed we let Choi get away? Whatever it is that has you acting like the world is over, I apologize.”

           “It’s not that,” he said in a whisper that you had to strain to hear.

           “Then is it because I scared you? It’s not like I planned for that. But I’m sorry. So, please, don’t hate me anymore.”

           Jungkook’s eyes narrowed in confusion. “How could you say that? It’s not you, hyung. I could never hate you.”

           “Then, tell me what it is so I can fix it.”

           “It’s me. I’m the problem,” he admitted, his shoulders sagging from the weight of his own guilt and shame. “If it hadn’t been for me, you wouldn’t be here. If I had been more observant, you wouldn’t have had to jump in front of a bullet for me. When we were running out to the car, we were supposed to stick together. You were already hurt, and I left your side. Jimin-hyung and Taehyung stayed together, took care of each other, and were able to get out safely. But I left you in there. Look what Choi did before she stepped in. I should have done my job and protected you, not some civilian. But I didn’t and you almost died. What good am I? Hyung, I’m so sorry. I’m sorry.”

           He thinks Suga getting hurt is his fault? Seriously, are they really this dangerous gang if they feel guilt this strongly? Choi didn’t seem to care about anything, you wondered.

           “So, that’s what this is all about,” J-Hope muttered. “When he woke up after Jimin and Tae brought him home, all he wanted to know was what happened to Suga-hyung. Barely conscious, and that’s all he was concerned about. But once Namjoon came back after talking with you, he told us about his injuries. And Jungkook went all quiet. This morning, it took us literally dragging him from his room to see him. I thought he was just in pain but he’s never let that stop him from being with the others. Even downstairs, Namjoon had to lead him up. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have set foot in this room.”

           You remember going through all the messages last night after RM had left. The one labeled, ‘My Favorite’ had asked you for an update and how ‘no one will tell me anything’. After that, that contact name didn’t send any other message as the others had. You concluded that it must have been Jungkook. And once he got his answers, that’s when his guilt started.

           Suga shifted to sit up straighter and reached his good arm out for Jungkook. The youngest stared at the gesture with large, shining eyes. He didn’t look as if he was planning on moving, but Suga was not to be ignored. Slowly, Jungkook stood and moved within arm reach, eyes still down casted like he was preparing for some kind of reprimand. But Suga grabbed the fabric of Jungkook’s hoodie and pulled the youngest into an awkward hug. He held on tight.

           “Don’t talk like that, Jungkook. Knowing the outcome, I wouldn’t change anything. I made you run ahead. I would do anything to make sure he couldn’t get to you, even if it means getting beat up. One of those bastards told me they cornered you in the stairwell. I was worried they would finally get to you. I couldn’t live with that guilt if you didn’t get out. I’m so glad you’re okay. So, don’t keep blaming yourself for this. As long as you are alright, that’s all that matters.”

           It took a moment for his words to sink in, but then, the tension seemed to drop from Jungkook’s body as he clung to his hyung. The feeling in the room changed as the others relaxed. J-Hope’s smile broke out across his face as he watched the scene. And now, you were even more confused about this so-called Mafia. They were closer than most families you saw walking in, they held guilt for their actions, they felt so genuine. Perhaps it wasn’t right to think all stereotypes were true.

           J-Hope, finally, pushed the door open and bounded into the room. “Aww, so cute. I should have brought a camera!”

           Jungkook’s ears glowed a deep red color as he stood up straight and Suga rolled his eyes at his companion. J-Hope flung himself around the youngest and smothered him back down onto the couch, fussing over him and teasing. You followed him into the room and started to pass out the drinks. You had swiped some mild painkillers from the nurse’s station and handed them to Jungkook.  He, shyly, accepted them from you with a soft ‘thank you’ that only made J-Hope laugh even more as he passed him the bottle of juice from his pocket.

           “Alright, enough with the cute stuff,” RM said, gesturing for you to have a seat. “Shall we get down to business? Where shall we begin?”

           “I suppose wherever you feel is best.”

           “Sure. Just let me say what I can assume is obvious; what we talk about in here, stays in here.” You nodded. “Okay, let me ask you a question. Do you know anything about the Great War?” You shook your head. “Almost sixty years ago, there were no Mafia families, no feuding, no wars. The whole country was pretty peaceful if you can believe it. The country was governed by one family with three sons; they became known as the Big Three when the trouble started. The family’s hope was that the sons would work together to keep the country and its citizens in perfect balance. Clearly, that didn’t happen. Each son wanted total control. But they weren’t going to get it just by asking nicely. In hopes to deter the inevitable, they were given a section of the country to manage. You can probably guess how that turned out. The Big Three wanted more and more, so in order to seize, you need an army to prove you were stronger. And that is how the first Mafias were created.”

           “So, it started because of egos?”

           “Isn’t that what all wars start over,” he asked, flashing you a nonchalant smile. “Anyways, the Big Three were stuck in this never-ending loop of skirmishes that all had the same outcome. They all determined that they needed more bodies. But they could only look after so many. So, whomever was deemed the most loyal General got to create their own gang under the big boss. Think like a tree branch that has a bunch of little one splintering off of it.”

           “Is that where you guys come in?”

           “Not necessarily. See, the Big Three didn’t care how they recruited their army. So it wasn’t long before the whole population was either dragged away to be forced into service, threatened with violence, or shot dead. The balance that was desired was destroyed and the country was going down. The Great War did nothing but cause so much pain with no sign of ending. Until some people with enough determination tried to push against the chaos. Civilians and those who ran from the secures joined their own gangs to protect themselves. Eventually, more and more opposed the Big Three, until even some of their own trusted men turned on them. Two of the brothers stepped down and dissolved their empire. But the last was too power hungry.  He became unhinged and implemented more and more devilish methods to break his new recruits as the years when on. What ended his reign was an assassination executed by his youngest and most trusted General, known as Ji.”

           You couldn’t help but notice the distain that crossed everyone’s face at the name.

           “So,” Jin interrupted, “after years and years of pain and death, the Big Three were defeated. But the new problem was that the country had become so used to the Mafia regime, that it couldn’t just fall back into how it was prior to the Big Three’s uprising. The city went into chaos, Mafia families against the unaffiliated gangs against civilians. Ji’s group decided to take on the responsibilities of trying to bring everyone together. In an effort, they gathered the heads of the largest or most powerful families and set down borders and rules to help enforce the safety and bring peace. Like Hallowed Ground, for instance, that way no innocent lives would get hurt.”

           “Then, history decided to repeat itself,” RM continued. “Ji was tired of no one respecting him, despite what he had accomplish or was trying to do. Slowly, he became as ruthless as his maker. No one wanted a second coming of the dark ages, so many of the independent Mafia families started fighting back to protect their territories. Our group started coming together ten years ago and were a main target of Ji and his Royals due to our past dealings. And we, also, made their job as difficult as we could. Soon, we were the head of the Uprising against him. And after a devastating blow against them eight years ago, we led the other families to push the Royals down. After three years, our uprising succeeded, and the Generals all scattered. Ji never left the battle ground.”

           You nodded, letting all of it sink in. “Ok, got it. I mean, I could have guessed they were bad news from the way he cornered me. Makes sense psychos would come from psychos. But why would you willingly walk into somewhere with those guys after fighting them for so long?”

           “Here’s where we get to fill in some gaps about what happened from when the guys left out hideout until now. See, over the last few months, henchmen of the Royals, known as Suits, have been acting up. A week ago, we caught some kid they scared into spying on us to find the location of our hideout. Sadly, the kid was no good against Suga-hyungs surveillance system. After their defeat, the Royals have been hurting for bodies, so they requested a tradeoff: the kid for money. Normally, we would have done the trade on Hallowed Ground. But they insisted their men needed the security of their own turf. Jimin and Taehyung have told us their side. Take it from when you guys split up.”

           “We were trying to get to the back stairwell,” Jungkook continued, his voice stronger than the last time he spoke to you, but his eyes were elsewhere. “I was trying to make way through all the chaos, but one of Choi’s Suits got in my way. He had me so distracted, I never saw Choi aiming at me. Next thing I knew, Hyung had shoved me out of the way and got shot in the shoulder. I was able to get us out and I figured it was best to follow Jimin-hyung and Tahyungie-hyung down through the floors. The Suits were everywhere. I was able to hide us in one of the shops on the second floor trying to figure the best way out. But they were swarming. I wanted to try and lead them away and double back for Suga-hyung, but he pushed me to go. He said he would meet me at the car. So, I started to head towards the fire stairs, but they caught up with me. They blocked me from all sides. The only way out was to bust out the window and jump, and just keep running. I think I lost them after weaving around in the alley ways. I remember making it to the meeting point before everything went dark.”

           “He got a severely sprained ankle from the landing,” Jin listed off, “as well some bruised ribs and deep cuts from the glass. All of them have cuts and bruises. But that is to be expected. Not to mention it could have been worse. Now, what exactly happened to you?”

           “After I made Jungkook leave,” Suga answered, “I tried to just make my way to the exit. I set off a couple traps to distract them. But someone grabbed me from behind. They must have beat me up pretty bad; everything then is still fuzzy. But I remember hearing a gunshot, so I assume that’s when he shot me in the side. And there was a flashing light. But that’s all I remember about until I, somehow, made it to the ground floor. I was bleeding so bad that I kept slipping. I could hear someone behind me, but I kept going. That’s when I noticed her crouching with a crowbar. She actually beat one of the Suits that found us so bad that I’m not sure if he got up again before the police arrived.”

           It was hard not to notice Jimin and Jungkook looking you up and down, trying to imagine you swinging a weapon around to take down a highly trained gang member. “He said some things that really affected me. I’ve never done that before.”

           “We’ll try not to get on your bad side,” Taehyung said with a giggle. “What were you doing there anyway?”

           “I was on my way to the bus stop. I had an early shift and don’t have any other mode of transportation. I knew it wasn’t the best part of town, but it was all I could afford. I have to take the early bus because of how far it is from the hospital. I had just made it when I saw a car speeding away and heard the gun shots. I knew it was stupid. Even when I was in there, hearing all the chaos, I was trying to run away. But when I saw how hurt he was, my protective side took over. I hid us behind a counter when that monster came stalking. And when the cops came swarming in, I kept pressure on the wounds until they got him here for Dr. Na to take over.”

           “What about when Choi came here? How did you stop him? He’s so slimy, he normally gets away with his lies,” J-Hope asked. RM nodded in agreement, wanting to know the answer as well.

           “Oh, he showed me a fake police badge. I think my dad had taught me to see the difference. Speaking of, should I be expecting the real police anytime soon? I’d prefer to be prepared so I don’t forget to omit all this.”

            “Knowing RM,” Suga grumbled with a roll of his eyes, “he made a few calls and pulled some strings. Don’t worry about it.”

           “What do you mean ‘think’ your father taught you,” RM asked over Suga’s comment.

           You let out a sigh, shrugging your shoulders as you contemplated how much to tell them about such a sad part of your past. But since they had shared so much with you, you figured it was fair. “I was involved in a car accident two years ago with my dad. I was the only survivor.”

           Jungkook looked at you with large, sympathetic eyes. “We’re sorry to hear that.”

           You waved him down. “Thanks, but it’s ok. I don’t really have a lot of memories from before. I do get some flashes here and there. But when he showed it to me, I just… knew. I was hoping he’d just go away after I sounded off some legal stuff that any police would understand. I’m really happy you came along when you did.”

           “It was no problem,” RM said. “Though we may have to keep an eye on you just in case.”

           “Oh,” you shook your head, trying to be polite, “that’s not necessary. I’m sure he’ll forget about me. I’m pretty forgettable.”

           “Not from where we’re sitting, you’re not,” Jin commented. “Besides, ensuring you’re safe is the least we can do. We are indebted to you, after all.”

           “No, really, you don’t need to do that. There is really no need to be indebted to me. I just did my job.”

           “Oh, come now,” V said, leaning further into the couch with his arms stretching behind his head, eyes dancing between playfulness and pure seduction. “Surely there is something you want. You know who we are, and what we are capable of. Money is no option. And it would be a pleasure.”

           “I’m fine really.” You could feel your heart racing as his eyes burned through you. “I mean, unless you have some magic way to get my memories back,” you laughed. You noticed them pass a look between each other, and Jimin looked unhappy about it. “Honestly, though, it’s not necessary.”

           “At least, let us take you home tonight. Just to make sure everything is alright,” RM implored. You gave him a nod, though you weren’t really sure how comfortable you were with a gang knowing where you lived, even after all the close conversation and little gestures that you wished changed your mind. “Excellent. Now, is there anything else you’d like to know? Otherwise, I think we need to meet this Doctor Na and hear what he has to say.”

           “Yes,” Jin said, crossing to Suga to examine the bindings. “I’d love to know what his limitations are, so I know how far to push this one’s punishment. Seriously, you are so lucky you got shot in this shoulder and not the one with your mark. It would have been much harder to fix.”

           “Mark?”

           RM rolled up the sleeve of his jacket to show a dark, lined tattoo on the inside of his wrist. It was two trapezoids that looked like a door opening. “Each mafia family has their own insignia. Those a part of the main family always had it somewhere to show their devotion to the family. A lot of the new generations of gangs have opted for a more permanent, discreet way. So many people nowadays have tattoos, so it’s easy to walk around the public and not draw so much attention. We all have one in different places.”

           “Want to play doctor and find mine,” Jimin asked with a devilish wink. He couldn’t deny that he enjoyed the shade of pink that rushed into your cheeks, or the shy way you tried to look anywhere but at him.

           J-hope elbowed him in the side. “Spoiler alert: it’s on his ribs,” he said, earning him a whine from Jimin as he reverted from the devil back to the large eyed innocent, who was mad his hyung ruined his fun.

           You decided that was the que to go find Doctor Na. You weren’t sure how much longer you could take before one of them made you say something else embarrassing. You excused yourself and made your way back towards the nursed station to locate Henry. To your surprise, he was just stepping off the elevator. Seeing him after the long morning with the notorious gang was like a breath of fresh air. He was normal and safe. You gave him a brief run down, leaving out everything gang related as requested. He gave you a smile and assured you that everything was going to be fine. It was enough to relax you. While he went to check on his patient and talk to the rest, he told you that Jax was going to go over a new schedule with you and there was some paperwork that needed your attention. He promised once he was finished talking with the seven guys, he would find you to check up on you. He was being so considerate. This was what you needed to focus on, not the dangerous, handsome strangers, no matter how nice they seemed.

           Jax had informed you about the change to your schedule; until further notice, you were under contract of Mr. Kim, which one you were not sure, and would be overseeing the care of Suga until they determined your service were no longer needed. You would help with rehabilitation, as well. You would start in the morning and be allowed to leave in the evenings. After he was released, you were to do some inhouse care until Mr. Kim terminated your services. Your pay was being taken care of by Mr. Kim, and it was far more than you were currently receiving. Jax had pulled some strings to get some more help so you wouldn’t need to worry. When you tried to request that you could return to your regular shift and have someone else help the Kim’s, Jax looked at you like you were insane for turning down the amount of money they were offering. Without explaining the real reasons you didn’t want to accept, you just sounded foolish. You wish you could talk to Amber. You felt like you had no other option. Jax had you sign a bunch of different papers, from release forms to nondisclosure agreements. It took a while to read through all of them.

           Once all had been signed and reviewed, you felt so overwhelmed. Half the day was gone, even though it felt like it should be much later after all that. You hoped Henry was finished talking and whatever checkup he needed to do. Maybe he could help you. Or maybe you should take him up on his offer to get you some antianxiety medication in place of your old since he was still looking. Either way, you found yourself heading back up. You needed to do what Henry had tried to tell you before; just try to look for a positive. You tried to focus on your dinner date. It would truly be your first major step forward. Perhaps you could look at that as your reward for putting up with the good-looking mafia. You wondered what he wanted to talk to you about. Was Amber right and he liked you way more than you had actually anticipated? Or were you just getting your hopes up? No. No more self-doubt. There had been enough of that with your ex. Good or bad, this was better than Daniel.

           When you stepped out from the elevator, you walked over to the nurses’ station and filled out some chart information. You had just started when you heard a door open. You leaned over and peered through the glass of the doors that lead to the hall of rooms. Henry had left the room, with RM behind him. Both were having a quiet conversation, but you couldn’t hear anything. He must be whispering to not disturb the other patients. You noticed RM look around before leaning closer to Henry, face serious and lips moving fast. Whatever he was saying seemed to be important. Then, the Mafia leader reached into the pocket of his jacket, and you could see him withdraw something. He dangled it in front of the doctor’s face. It was a small plastic bag filled with a white powder. You watched Henry’s eyes go wide before he loudly exclaimed, ‘is that euphor…’, before RM forced his hand over the doctor’s mouth, looking around wildly. RM was dealing U4-1A? Was he the one spreading it among the city? It was a gang drug. And if they were paying your new salary, their money had to come from somewhere. Your distrust and caution came surging back in. This just proved they couldn’t be what they seemed to be. You waited for Henry to push him away or tell him off. Only, to your horror, to watch him open the bag and examine the powder between his fingers. He lifted his fingers and smelled them, only to look at RM in disbelief.

           If you didn’t know any better, Henry looked happy. He shook the Mafia leader’s hand! He put the bag of drugs in his pocket! Henry was using U4-1A? No way! How could he after all he had witnessed? From where you were, you could make out that Henry had asked if there was any more and RM answering that he would have more soon, as long as he does his job. You felt like the rug just was pulled from under you. Henry, this paragon of perfection, was accepting illegal drugs from a Mafia boss. You weren’t sure who you were angrier at; the members of Bangtan for luring you into liking them when they were the ones behind the number of U4-1A cases that filled the ward, Henry for accepting it with a smile like he wasn’t the one trying to help those cases, or yourself for believing that either party was something to trust after all you had been through? You weren’t going to be able to look at Henry the same way after this. You felt conflicted; You should tell the director and have Henry dealt with. However, Henry was one of the few doctors making progress in the surge of cases. If Henry was removed from the hospital, other doctors wouldn’t be able to take on his load. It would do more harm then good to report him. You had terrible luck. And after this discovery, you were questioning your luck with men, as well.

           “Oh, Y/N.” Henry’s voice broke through your internal struggle as he pushed through the security doors. You noticed him wipe his hands on his coat, as well as the lumpy outline of the baggy in his pocket. That intensified your rage. Then it hit you; if you couldn’t rat him out without hurting others, you could remove yourself from his focus. “How long have you been back?”

           “Long enough,” you answered, curtly, busying yourself with the paperwork so you didn’t have to look at him.

           “I hope it wasn’t too long. I know it can be boring out here.” His sincerity made your heart hurt. “I’ve finished with our patient for now. I know it’s only been a day, but he seems to be healing just well. Mr. Kim has requested some privacy for a bit so they can spend time with their companion. He doesn’t require his next round of medications for a couple of hours, so they said that would be enough. Which means, you will have some free time. You’re welcome to monitor the floor and assist any of the other private nurses, or just hang around. Or, if you like, I get a break in another thirty minutes, and we could get lunch?”  

           “I have paperwork. Besides, I am not hungry.”

           “Oh, okay, that’s fair.” You tried to ignore the disappointment in his voice. He shook it off. “You really are a dedicated worker. Especially, with the circumstances. Everything is overwhelming. I suppose Jax went over the new schedule they set up for you, right? It’s not too bad. You come in at 7:00 am, hang around with the patient, then go home after his evening medications are administered around 8:00 pm. It’s long but it’s consistent. It seems like some of them are going to be hanging around, so you will have someone to conversate with since it seems like our patient isn’t so talkative. But if any of them give you any trouble, you let me know and I will not hesitate to take care of them.”

           “Thank you, Dr. Na. But I can handle them.”

           That seemed to grab his attention more than your cold behavior. He looked at you with such confusion as he closed the gap between you. “Hey, is something wrong? Did something happen? You can talk to me.”

           You refused to look at him as he tried to catch your gaze, knowing the hurt in his eyes would break you. “Nothing’s wrong, Dr. Na. We are at work, so we should just behave a such, don’t you think?”

           “I guess. But, please, talk to me? I’m sorry about all this weirdness. I tried to get you out of this but they didn’t give me a choice. Look, I promise I will make it up to you. I’ll take you to the best restaurant in town on Friday, and you can have whatever you want. I’ll make sure to treat you extra special after all of this. Anything to get that smile back on your pretty face.”

           You stepped away from him. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea. I will not be able to go with you. Now, if you excuse me,” you tried to move behind the desk, ending the conversation, when he reached out and grasped hold of your hand.

           “Wait, what happened? Please, Y/N, tell me what I have done wrong so I can fix it.”

           You whirled around, eyes flaring with rage. Why couldn’t he just take the hint. “Gee, maybe accepting drugs from a criminal was a wrong step. Did he help you find ‘euphoria’?”

           His eyes went wide as the color drained from his face. “You saw that? I can explain. Please, it’s not what it looks like?”

           “Oh, so it doesn’t look like the head doctor in charge of trying to save the addicts, that are out of their mind with this sex drug, doesn’t have a bag of white powder that was given to him to by a member of a crime syndicate? Because that is exactly what it looks like. No, you don’t get to try and talk your way out of this. I can’t believe you would do this. I really liked you. You were one of the few people who were there for me. How long have you been doing this? Always or after how many patients did you have to see before you got curious? Actually, never mind, I don’t want to know. I may have metaphorically shot myself in the foot and am, now, stuck helping these guys. But you literally have lost all respect for me when you took that and asked for more! Don’t try to talk your way out of this. You know all I’d have to do is scream and someone will come, and everyone will know about you. So, I will tell you how it’s going to happen. I will work with you, professionally. And nothing more; no little conversations outside of patient updates and absolutely interaction outside of that. I will say nothing about this, and you will leave me alone.”

           You didn’t give him time to process before you dropped your finished papers on the desk and leaving through the elevator. Your whole body was shaking from the rage. In the past day and a half, you had lost yourself in emotions you didn’t realize you could have. Emotions you wished you could have unloaded onto your ex after what you had gone through. You needed to get some air and calm down. You wiped some stray tears from the corners of your eyes. It was so hard to see someone you had all but idolized, someone you had been so close to, someone you had could see getting romantically involved with fall so hard. Perhaps this was how it was with Daniel; you couldn’t remember what had drawn you two together in the first place, only that he was there for you. Maybe you weren’t supposed to have a relationship. Your anger was starting to calm into a smoldering emotion in the pit of your stomach as a wave of depression washed over you. You were trapped in a deal you couldn’t remove yourself from, in more possible danger you couldn’t even begin to fathom, and the one positive you thought you have turned out to be rotten. You wanted to see Amber. Perhaps she could talk you out of talking a walk off a short edge.

           The elevator opened on your old floor, still bustling with people as it always had. Since Mr. Kim and his lackeys had requested privacy, who knows what they were really up to, you had time to do whatever. You wanted to see if Amber still had a break around this time and go have a nice talk somewhere. Or you could go hide in the locker rooms and cry out all your frustrations. Thankfully, you caught a glimpse of her messy hair at the desk. You were so distraught that you barely noticed anyone else as you raced over, dropped in the chair next to her, and wrapped your arms around her like a koala.

           “My baby returns to me,” she cheered, hugging you back with all her might. “Girl, you need to dish. What the Pineapple is going on? Jax just redid my whole schedule and won’t tell me anything. I cornered Henry earlier asking about the mysterious Agust Doe since he has disappeared from our computers along with you, but he isn’t talking. Now, I hear that you are not on the shift board and that you’re doing some private care for some V.I.P upstairs. What is going on?”

           “So much is going on. I had to sign a bunch of NDAs and pretty much signed my life away. And I feel like I’m trapped and could really use a hug,” you whined into her shoulder. “I really wish I could tell you everything. What I can say is that the guy I saved has six powerful friends who are paying me more than I make in three years to take care of their friend. But they are so intimidating, and I can’t stay in a room with them for more than a minuet without feeling like I’m going to die. And now I’m concerned that someone’s going to find me and make me pay for just trying to be a decent person. So long story short, I’m not having fun.”

           “Oh, you poor thing,” Amber cooed, letting you whine as much as you needed. “So what you are saying is, I’m going to need to supply you with a bunch of cheap wine to get you to tell me about all the NDA stuff, huh?” You nudged her with your knee, knowing she was kidding but never putting it past her if she really wanted to know. Amber had her ways. “Hey,” she continued, trying to lighten the mood, “just think about that hot date you have with the most perfectly handsome man in the hospital on Friday. That will make all this bad go away.”

           You made a noise before moving away from Amber, the look on your face all telling.

           “What happened,” she asked, all worried that she was about to have hunt someone down, “what did he do? Did he say something bad? Do I have to hide a body?”

           “No,” you moaned, shrugging your shoulders to make it seem less than it was. “Let’s just say I found out something that really changed my mind about dating right now.”

           “What, does he have some freaky fetish?” You set her with a look that made her laugh. “Okay, I’m sorry. No jokes. But I am sorry about that. You seemed so interested. But don’t worry. There are better people out there. We can start friendly and work our way there. And speaking of friendly, you remember Chris, right?”

           Your head shot up. You were so lost in your own misery that you didn’t even realize that Amber had been talking to someone when you walked up to the desk. In front of you, with a polite smile and messy brown hair, was Amber’s friend Chris, Chris with the cute accent. You sunk further into your chair. You had met Christopher Bang once before, briefly, not long enough for him to get a good impression from you. Surely, he had an interesting take on you after all this. Amber had talked about him a few times since you had moved to Central; it hadn’t been the first time she had mentioned him while trying to get you to start dating again.

           “Hey, how you going? Sorry you are having a bad day. From what Amber told me, you’ve had a wicked time, yeah?” Yeah, you mused, his accent is kinda cute.

           “Chris came around to say hi to a friend of his. But no one told him that she got released yesterday. So, we’ve been talking about work and plans to hang out this weekend. Oh, and the new tattoo he wants to add to his sleeve.”

           Oh boy, you rolled your eyes, thinking back to the talk you had with Bangtan, everyone who has a tattoo I’m going to think is part of a gang. Like either of these two would ever do something like that.

           “It’s too bad I missed Sana,” Chris sighed. “I went to the trouble of making all of her favorite foods to cheer her up. It would be a shame to have it go to waste,” he dropped the full bag he carried onto the desk. Your eyes went wide at the delicious smell that radiated from it. Amber pretty much attacked the bag. “Not sure if the hungry one mentioned it, but I work at a restaurant in the inner city with some of my mates. It’s kind of like halfway house for runaways. Our motto is ‘we make stray kids stay’, help give back to the community. Give them a job, a purpose, an avenue for creativity. We do pretty well for ourselves. Maybe when you guys are not too busy, she can bring you by so you can see us at work.”

           You tried to ignore Amber’s coy, pointed look. Seriously, what was with her trying to set you up with her friends? “So thoughtful,” she cheered, “I’m sure your friend won’t mind you sharing this lovely food with the nurses who worked so hard to keep her comfortable. Come on, we’ll show you to the quiet spot where we like to eat and chat. Though, you can’t smoke in here Channie,” she chided with his nickname as she pushed you and Chris along the halls. “I know how you are when you’re relaxing but it is too cold out there to allow your habit.”

           “Oh, no worries. You haven’t heard. I started the patch a few weeks ago.” He rolled up his sleeve to show off the plastic patch stuck to his arm. You remembered Amber mentioning that he had started smoking at a young age because of the intense stress he had been under. And how she had gone all big sister on him in attempts to get him to stop. “Felix and Han have been bugging me about quitting for so long, so I started using the ones you gave me for my birthday this year. One of my regulars thinks he’s got a new brand that is supposed to make you a whole new person.”

           “As long as I don’t have to smell like an ashtray after seeing you anymore, I’m happy,” Amber laughed. “And your future will thank me later. But now, let’s eat.”

              Having lunch with Chris and Amber was definitely a good distraction from all the things swirling in your head. You listened as they chatted about whatever they did in their spare time, just letting their conversation wash over you. By the end of it, after Chris had said goodbye, Amber turned her mothering towards you. She tried to get more out of you about what happened with Henry but you couldn’t bring yourself to talk about it. If Amber knew about the U4-1A, after all she had told you the other day, you would have to bail her out of jail after she jumped Henry. Or worse, she’d figure out that it had something to do with private patient and get herself on their hit list. You brushed her off as best as you could. What you really needed was just to curl up in bed and try and forget everything. Amber became quite insistent about you not going back to your apartment after all the activity down there, pulling on her old rant about just living in her loft. But when you mentioned how your clients were going to drive you home, she all but demanded you have them drop you at her place for safety. And truth be told, it wasn’t the worst idea. Especially since they were being so adamant about not letting you go alone.

           Problem was that you were not willing to get into their car now that you knew they were not just a mafia family, but drug dealers as well. No matter what they said, you wanted nothing to do with them outside of the hospital. When you entered the room to administer the evening rounds of medications, Bangtan had made themselves at home. In your absence, they had brought different pajamas for Suga to wear, a black zip-up hoodie was placed on his shoulders, a different blanket was draped over him, a laptop was resting on the side table, and he had a container of homemade food next to him. Did they just have everything waiting in the car? Jin was fussing at him to eat, all but force feeding him. Jimin and Taehyung were playing music on the laptop, while Jungkook seemed to be engrossed in some mobile game. Ignoring their profession, they had made the cold hospital room seem inviting. RM and J-Hope were talking quietly in the corner of the room. However, you did hear them say that whoever they had watching the building hadn’t seen anything outside to worry about.

           You wore your mask of polite professionalism as they chatted with you while you finished checking up on your patient. He was still as quiet and cold as he was earlier. When no one seemed to have any questions, J-Hope hopped up and declared himself your designated driver for the evening. You tried, again, to tell them how it wasn’t necessary, insisting that if he took you home that the others would be stuck there.

           RM was quick with a response, as if he was sure you would bring that up. “One of us is always going to stay here with Suga-hyung, just in case. Jimin’s going to camp out here tonight. We drove over in two cars this morning. And if we really needed it, one of our men could drive us home. Really, Y/N, it’s okay. Let us do this for you.”

           And that is how you found yourself marching down the hall, bag slung over your shoulder, with J-Hope humming happily next to you. No matter how much happiness he radiated, he couldn’t put you at ease as he had earlier. You didn’t want to be alone in a car with them or have them in your apartment. Sure, you could have him take you to Amber’s, but you didn’t want him to have her on his radar should anything happen. Technically, you could walk to Amber’s. The one downside was that it had turned freezing cold as the sun went down. And, thanks to your private patient, you no longer had a jacket to protect you. As you stepped on to the lobby floor, your long-sleeved undershirt was barely keeping you warm. But you would rather suffer a bit in the cold then put yourself and your friend in anymore danger.

           Then, it hit you.

           “Hey,” you said, coming to a stop, “I forgot my jacket in the locker room. I need to go get it.”

           “Want me to come with you?”

           “No, it’s okay. I’ll be right back. Just wait here,” you gave him a smile before sprinting off back into the depth of the hospital’s halls. Only you weren’t heading to the locker room for a jacket that didn’t exist. You were sneaking out the back ER doors to avoid all the problems. By time he would realize you were gone, you would be half way to the subway that would take you to Amber’s building. By the time you arrived in the morning, you would figure out some excuse to your disappearance and why you were not going to be in a car with them. But for now, it was in your best mental interest to just avoid and escape.

           Slipping out amongst the parked ambulances was easy. Nothing was out of place. You waved at the EMTs sipping their coffees as they said ‘good night’. You wished you had one just to warm your hands. It was colder now than when you had left your apartment. You pulled your arms tight around you as the wind bit against your skin. Just add this to the list of smart things you’ve done recently. You ducked behind a covered alcove of the hospital and sent a quick text to Amber, letting her know you were walking to her loft. You didn’t need to read her reply to know she was yelling at you again for making dumb decisions. It would be fine; once you got to the front side of the building, you’d be able to blend into the crowd so no one would see you, then it was a ten minuet walk to the station, then two stops to Ambers building. You could walk it in your sleep.

           But as you walked past the darkened dumpsters in a not so populated side of the hospital, something grabbed ahold of your hair and yanked you back against a solid body. You couldn’t even let out a scream of surprise before a gloved hand came up clenched your jaw shut.

           “Thought I smelled something pretty. Let’s finish that conversation, little girl.”

[seyaryminamoto]

Underneath Starlit Skies: Sokkla Saturdays 2021

Day 6: Pregnancy

On FF.net//On AO3

(This chapter is a direct sequel for my Loyalty prompt from last year. It takes place 12 years after that story, and features certain mature themes that were absent in the original story. If you need to revisit it, you can find it here!)

Sweat trickled down his brow as he held onto her naked waist: desire pulsed through him like the thrumming of an earthquake, and he was moments away from giving in…

She fared no better than him: her desperate hands clawed at his loose hair, legs strained after spreading them as far as they could go, and she wished she could spread them wider still… though he had perfect access inside her, as they were. His manhood would be sheathed to the hilt with every grind of his body against hers, prompting her to moan with bliss when his pelvic bone brushed against her clit, when his balls slapped against her rear with the force of every thrust. More, she only wanted more, she had climaxed thrice already in this round and yet she was so greedy, sopping wet and burning with uncontrollable heat, that she wanted even more than what he had already gifted her…

He was tireless, relentless, and surely as greedy as she was. They rolled across the dais, changing positions often, with her straddling him whenever she was strong enough to lead, and with him pinning her down on the throne whenever her excitement left her with shaking limbs and virtual inability to move… and he was voracious with his mouth as he pressed it upon her throat. He dragged it over her breasts later, then he returned to her lips… and she would be waiting, always waiting, arms tight around his strong, muscular body, tongue twirling with his, all sense of decorum and dignity well and truly discarded…

“I’m… close. So close…” he groaned, unsure if she’d understood his words when their lips remained so closely engaged. Her hum of acknowledgement, and the thrust of her hips into his, conveyed she had.

“Do it, then… do it. Give me everything you’ve got…” she gasped between moans, reaching for his hands, busy fiddling with her nipples as they had been: he intertwined their fingers and pinned their hands down on the dais, hoisting his hips to find the perfect entry angle to drive her mad with pleasure.

“Gladly… my Fire Lord,” he hissed: she shuddered and tightened her grip around his hands when he sped up his rhythm, well beyond reason.

They did love kissing non-stop while they had sex, whether it was tender lovemaking or wild, reckless fucking, but in the case of the latter, it was certainly necessary in order to muffle the very melodious sounds that would pour from her throat. Even the muffled sounds echoed in the Throne Room, but more than anything, they would be traded between the pair, their voices vibrating together with each relentless sway of their hips.

She had no more sense left in her head, she knew so, completely blinded by passion and reckless desire: words that made no sense surely spilled from her lips, as she begged him to go harder and faster, to wreck her as best he could, to give her his everything, in every sense of the word… and he obeyed each time, her brain swimming with so much bliss and excitement she couldn’t want anything else… and yet she did. She wanted him, again and again, at every waking moment, every single time…

She shuddered with each climax, her body jolting in impulsive ways, and she didn’t give it any respite, regardless: more, she needed more of him, she refused to believe her body couldn’t take it any longer…

“I’m there, I’m… oh, fuck, Azula…!” he cried out.

A familiar thrill rushed through her body as his hardened shaft unleashed its load inside her, so deep inside… her legs tightened around him, locking him into place, as good as demanding that he didn’t dislodge their bodies, not even for a second… so he complied, thrusting further, harder, finishing the throes of his orgasm by delivering another one for her, just so…

She almost screamed at the last of her climaxes – how many had it been? She’d definitely lost the count after five –, but the moans devolved into laughter as she finally came down from the heights of reckless, mindless pleasure.

“We did it again… didn’t we?” she dared ask. He snorted, pressing his face to her shoulder, nibbling softly on her neck.

“We always do,” he replied, a very light tinge of guilt coloring his words. “Is this how we’re going down in history, Azula? The Scorching-Hot Fire Lord and her perpetually horny husband…?”

“Hmm… I like the sound of that. I’ll ensure to introduce us with those titles at the next council meeting,” Azula smirked. Sokka snorted and shook his head as he rose from his position: he supported his weight with his elbows as his hands trailed over her forearms, his blue eyes glued to her sweat-streaked face.

“I could really go for this all day…” he whispered. Azula snorted and raised an eyebrow.

“I have no idea how long we’ve been at it already. Though… yes, I’m not quite sure I know how to stop, either,” she responded, looping her arms around his neck. “We probably should get dinner by now…”

“We ought to clean up together, first,” Sokka grinned, nibbling on her neck. Azula laughed and shook her head.

“You insatiable man…” she caressed his strong back, marveling in the build of his muscles… muscles he certainly had cultivated marvelously over the decade following the end of the war. He hadn’t been remotely that strong when they had first met…

“Can you blame me?” Sokka smirked, rising over her cheek, trailing kisses everywhere she went. She moaned and groaned: heat started stirring inside her again, and it wouldn’t be long before he had his wish and she took to pleading for him to do as he pleased with her waiting body. “If you had a wife half as hot as mine…”

“If you had a husband half as hot as mine, you’d never get anything done. And as far as I can tell, I barely ever do lately,” Azula smirked, kissing the side of his head. “I know it’s a wonder you still want me this badly after all this time, and I should be grateful…”

“Say WHAT?! A wonder? Why would it be a wonder? You’re amazing!” Sokka squeaked, prompting Azula to laugh as she cupped his face.

“Sokka, we’ve been together since we were kids,” she smiled, sliding her fingers through his hair. “It’s been well over a decade by now, you realize…”

“What about it?” Sokka said, smiling back as he prodded her nose with his own.

“That most people can’t handle a relationship for two months, let alone twelve years,” Azula teased him, kissing his lips promptly. Sokka chuckled as he returned her affection, rolling on the throne with her and fondling her body as boldly and daringly as he ever did.

“Most people aren’t as awesome as we are. I think that goes without saying,” Sokka grinned, kissing her brow next. Azula sighed happily, all thoughts of cleaning up or dinner dismissed as she rested with her head upon his broad chest.

“Fair enough, you most certainly have a point there,” she said, closing her eyes. “Though most people aren’t Fire Lord and Prince Consort. And most people can’t have sex in a throne room after a meeting gone well…”

“Or in the garden’s fancy new gazebo at midnight, just for shits and giggles,” Sokka smirked. Azula laughed.

“Or in meditation chambers in the Temple…”

“We are a hazard, aren’t we?” Sokka concluded. Azula only continued to laugh, her face pressed against his chest. “I bet we’d be so pissed if other people were as bad as we are, so outraged by their lack of decorum and propriety…”

“But that’s why it’s great to be us. If we’re going to abuse our power, might as well be for the sake of fucking each other’s brains out wherever we may be,” Azula smirked, hoisting herself up to kiss Sokka’s lips lightly.

Their voices echoed far more subtly now in the Throne Room, no longer with the same urgency, desire and recklessness as before. Thus, it was the ripe moment for those outside their careless cocoon of bliss to remind them that, even if their loins compelled them to think so, Sokka and Azula weren’t, in fact, the only people left on the planet, let alone inside the Palace.

The man waiting by the room’s threshold knew better than to march into the Throne Room just yet: instead, he cupped his mouth with his hands and spoke, quite loudly, across the curtain:

“I see you’re as lively as ever, my niece!”

Azula winced, immediately alerted by Iroh’s voice. Sokka pouted slightly, but he smiled, nonetheless. It had been an intense tryst, of the very best kind… so, as much as he would gladly distract Azula from important business all day, he couldn’t complain too much over this interruption.

“It was about time he dropped by, I suppose…��� Azula mumbled, willing the blood to stop flowing to her cheeks. It was hardly the first time Iroh would catch them red-handed in such a manner, but she never failed to feel slightly embarrassed whenever it happened.

She climbed off the throne’s dais and stepped around the expanse of the Throne Room, searching for their scattered clothes. Sokka joined her in doing so, canvassing in the opposite direction: they tossed their clothes at each other from one end of the room to the other, until they were presentable, more or less… barring the many love bites, the messy hair, the redness on their cheeks and Azula’s slightly uneven walking rhythm – it was embarrassing to feel so weak on the knees whenever Sokka did her in quite as well as he had this time, but it was typically the sign of absolute satisfaction for her. All fluster aside, she certainly had enjoyed herself thoroughly with him.

“Ready yet?” Sokka asked, fastening his navy tunic – his changshan certainly helped conceal the marks on his neck, but his face was covered in Azula’s lipstick shade. She laughed at the sight of it, reaching up to brush off the markings on his face while he fastened her formal clothes for her.

“I’d say we’re almost done. Just missing…” Azula said, glancing about herself, looking for a misplaced object.

“Ah…” Sokka grinned, taking the five-pronged hairpiece out of his pocket. Azula smirked knowingly. “Guess you meant this?”

“How very sneaky of you…” Azula said, leaning her head forward so Sokka would place the golden hairpiece before her half-knot. “Am I wrong to think my crown appears to spend more time in your pocket than on my head, these days?”

“Well, considering we spend more time being naughty than we used to, lately, I guess it makes some sense if it does,” Sokka smirked.

“Got to take our victories wherever we can,” Azula said: Sokka positioned the crown perfectly upon her head. “Is it really any fault of ours that things are moving along smoothly, these days?”

“Considering it literally took twelve years before we could genuinely think so, I’d say we should be proud of that, if anything” Sokka chuckled, wrapping an arm around Azula’s shoulders as they marched to the Throne Room’s exit together.

The years after the end of the war had been busy and complicated: learning how to be Fire Lord had been no easy feat, no matter how diligent Azula was about studying everything she had needed to know for the role. Her uncle had helped in numerous ways, giving her time to grow used to her upcoming responsibilities and keeping her at his side while he served as regent for three years before Azula finally became Fire Lord herself. Iroh had to handle many immediate problems that came up during the end of the war, though the support of Ba Sing Se, whose king was thoroughly grateful for their help in stopping the schemes of the former Fire Nation regent, had been invaluable in making several challenges more bearable for the Fire Nation. Making amends for the harm done throughout a hundred years of war would take a long time, but the majority of the immediate problems had been handled successfully at last…

Which was why Azula and Sokka could be so bold and reckless as of late. They had been wed shortly after Azula’s 20th birthday, and while their relationship had consistently strengthened across the years, it had been boosted with no end of excitement and joy after they were married at last. Six years had passed since then, and their passion only seemed to grow stronger every day… which could result in escapades such as the one they had indulged in just now. Now that certain pressures had diminished, it was so much easier to bask in their privileges… and what was more emblematic a privilege to a young ruler, deeply in love with her husband, than to have trysts with him wherever and whenever the urge arose?

“Ah, and there you are!” Iroh shot them a knowing grin once they exited the Throne Room. Sokka smiled back awkwardly, Azula sighed and stepped away from the curtain with her husband. “Not that it was difficult to track you down, of course…”

“No need to remark on what we already know,” Azula sighed, shaking her head and waving a hand dismissively at her uncle: discussing her sex life with Iroh certainly wasn’t among the things she had grown accustomed to, in her life as Fire Lord. “Everything going well so far?”

“So far, so good,” Iroh confirmed, grinning and, to their relief, seemingly letting go of the subject relatively easily. “Though I heard you hadn’t been feeling all that well lately, Azula. Strange, considering what you were up to… perhaps my information was inaccurate. Still, I’ve brought you some tea, in case it helps!”

“Your remedy for everything. Even for when there’s no illness to speak of,” Azula smiled, shaking her head. “I did feel slightly off two days ago, but I’m fine today. No need to worry.”

“Clearly,” Iroh grinned, and Azula sighed as Sokka chuckled behind her. “No judgment here, of course…!”

“You sound like you’re judging, and like you’re very amused by doing so,” Azula said, poking her uncle’s forehead with a fingertip, at which the man laughed heartily. “Come on, then. Time for your weekly tea brewing?”

“It is, indeed!”

Azula hadn’t truly grown to appreciate tea remotely as much as Iroh did, but unless things in the Capital weren’t going particularly well, Iroh would typically spend his days in his teashop in the city, visiting the Palace once a week, on whatever given day it struck his fancy to do so. As he had visited today, though, the mischievous plans Sokka had thrived in scheming would have to be postponed for the next day, at best: he kissed Azula’s brow, retiring briefly so he could clean up, while Azula sat with Iroh as he started brewing his tea – Azula would take her own turn washing up once Sokka returned, and that way they’d both have time to talk with the old man before sharing their afternoon tea properly.

“Are you quite sure you’re well, then?” Iroh asked, once Sokka had taken off to his shower. Azula nodded.

“It was probably just something I ate,” she said, dismissively.

“You’re sure you don’t want me to send word to Katara?” Iroh said. Azula snorted.

“If I thought it necessary, I’d call her myself,” she responded. Iroh chuckled.

“I suppose Sokka would, if anything. You, my dear…”

“What? You think I wouldn’t ask for a physician even if someone chopped off my head?” Azula asked, before frowning. “Huh, well, evidently I wouldn’t in that case, I’d be long dead by then…”

“And it’s entirely accurate to say that, short of such a tragedy, you might never do it of your own volition, Azula,” Iroh smiled fondly at her. “Come on, now: just do it for your own sake, will you? If she checks and confirms all is well, I will stop being a busybody and you’ll be free to, uh… well, continue doing your husband willy-nilly, as you have.”

“Heh, thank you for giving me permission to sleep with Sokka. Just what a twenty-six-year-old needs to hear from her uncle,” Azula said, with a dry grin. Iroh beamed brightly at her.

“You’re welcome!”

“I’m kidding.”

“I know.”

“Ugh, you’re annoying,” Azula groaned, running a hand over her hair as Iroh laughed still.

“And you love me, even if I am,” Iroh decided. Azula shot him a narrow-eyed glare, as though to threaten him that she might just contradict that statement, but the old man was far too perceptive to let her get away with such threats. “It’s only a precaution anyway…”

“I know I’m not exactly prone to sickness, and that’s why you’re worried, but really…?”

“Uh, no, that’s not what I’m worried about at all,” Iroh said, blinking blankly. Azula raised an eyebrow. “I do realize that you’re having the time of your life, as is obvious by how often I’ve caught you and Sokka as of late…”

“Must you bring that up again…?”

“Why, yes, I must. What, exactly, do you think happens if you aren’t cautious when having such an active sex life, Azula?”

For a moment, Azula fell silent. She glanced at Iroh uneasily, and he raised a knowing eyebrow. Her jaw dropped.

“No.”

“I’m only saying…”

“No way!”

“Azula…”

“I’ve been very careful about calculating things!” Azula exclaimed, paling as she stared at her uncle in chagrin. “And Mai’s aunt has sent me these herbs that supposedly reduce the risk of pregnancy too, so…!”

“When did you last drink those?” Iroh asked, raising his eyebrows. Azula’s own eyebrow twitched. “Huh. No more questions are needed, I suppose…”

“It’s not possible. It’s not…!”

It was, though. It absolutely was. Antics like those they had indulged in during that afternoon were, of course, conducive to the very outcome Iroh was spelling out most delicately to her: yes, she drank infusions of those herbs often, but she had forgotten about it on the most part lately because… oh, because waking up naked with Sokka somehow resulted in spending most the morning naked with Sokka, until a servant came calling or a meeting was so urgent she had to go at haste.

As for her calculations for her cycle… yes, she did that, before. Ever since their latest roll of high intensity and frequent sex had begun, well over two months ago, she had lost track of it, completely…

“I can’t be. I can’t be pregnant,” Azula said, looking at Iroh in chagrin. Iroh sighed and shook his head.

“You can be. And you don’t have to worry so much, Azula, really…”

“You know exactly why I’m worried,” Azula said, her brow furrowing. “It’s not just over something stupid like my insecurities of being a terrible mother because my mother outright tried to kill me…!”

“Is that really stupid…?”

“Having a child is simply not a good idea, right now,” Azula said, firmly. Iroh sighed. “And you know why that’s the case.”

“You’re worried about what he’ll do, aren’t you?” Iroh asked. “You fear he’ll resurface again, if word about your pregnancy spreads…?”

“I don’t even want to imagine it,” Azula said, rubbing her brow with her fingertips.

“I know you’ll say I’m soft and biased, Azula, but…”

“You don’t think Zuko could do anything bad to his own niece or nephew?” Azula finished for him, with a sarcastic grin. “Considering the kinds of chaos he had been up to in the Earth Kingdom as of late, I have a hard time believing that.”

“You’ve built up proper defenses for his attempts to sabotage the alliance between Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom,” Iroh recited, staring at her sternly. “The moment he turned up with his new gang of…”

“Brigands? Misfits?” Azula suggested, still smiling the same way. Iroh sighed.

“Companions in chaos, I suppose, you’ve responded proactively to the point where now you’re always prepared to counter whatever he may be ready to do,” Iroh finished. “You’ve shared that wisdom with Kuei, too. Zuko has been scarce ever since we strengthened our defenses to that extent, hasn’t he?”

“It doesn’t mean he’s not a threat or a problem,” Azula said, scowling. “The last thing I need is for him to bide his time, waiting for me to lower my guard so he can come after my child once it’s born…”

“Azula…” Iroh sighed. “You have always taken pride on your intellect, your ability to see through dangers, to come up with clever solutions to every problem. It’s going to be the same this time, too. You won’t fight on your own, and we will help you keep Zuko at bay if need be… and beyond that, your child will be a proper child, and not just some hostage or bargaining chip for your brother to use against you. It will be more than a political tool: it will be your baby…!”

“I… I know that. I do, I… I get it, though it doesn’t sound real yet. And maybe it’s not real anyway,” Azula said, staring at Iroh apprehensively. He shrugged.

“Maybe. But if it is, Zuko is only a secondary problem, something you can ignore, on the most part,” he said, with a weak smile. “We would tighten the security in the Palace, ensure no one can attack you or the baby, once it’s born. And you would raise the little tyke to be a wonderful prince or princess…!”

“I would try to, at least,” Azula sighed, rubbing her forehead with her fingertips. “I’m not sure I’m ready for this, though. It’s… tricky.”

“Maybe you’re not, but you weren’t ready to be Fire Lord either, once your mother was defeated,” Iroh said, with a shrug. Azula raised an eyebrow.

“Will I have three years to adjust to my new duties, the same way I did back then?” she asked, skeptically. Iroh smiled and shook his head.

“Nine months, rather… or less than that, depending on when you conceived the baby,” Iroh laughed. Azula groaned, burying her face in her hands. “Now, then… you don’t have to make such a face, Azula. You don’t know what’s happening yet, not for sure… and that’s precisely why I’m saying Katara ought to be contacted. Would you rather do it yourself? Talk to Sokka about it, perhaps?”

“I… don’t know. I don’t know how to bring it up,” Azula said, eyes flickering away towards the gardens that expanded before them.

She was certainly a selfish fool for thinking it was better to keep Sokka in the dark just for the sake of continuing their very lucky streak from the past month. That streak was the very reason why they might just be expecting a child, right now… she sighed and groaned again before nodding at Iroh.

“Fine, then, I’ll talk to him. And I guess, if you can reach out to them…”

“Oh, no problem whatsoever! They keep correspondence with me, as you know,” Iroh smiled. “I believe they’re nearby at the moment, too: Aang’s initiative to restore the Western Air Temple has taken the three of them quite a lot of time, so they might be happy to have a short break from that challenging project, if possible. Perhaps they can stay nearby during your pregnancy, if you truly are expecting a child…”

“Well… that would be a relief, yes,” Azula conceded: she wasn’t particularly willing to give Zuko more credit than he was due, but she’d feel a lot more comfortable facing off against him if Avatar Aang, Katara and Toph were close enough to deal with him and whatever forces he had rallied to his cause.

“Then I shall get to it right after tea,” Iroh grinned: footsteps approached them by then, revealing Sokka was returning.

Azula glanced at him wistfully, and her stupid, impulsive heart skipped a beat, as it ever did, upon seeing her husband in his newly showered glory, a towel around his neck, still with a few beads of water pearling over his face, his hair glistening and wet. Curses, she couldn’t be quite so stupid as to want to pin him to a wall right then and there when… when they had to talk. About something very serious, something life-changing, if it was really happening.

“Something wrong?” Sokka asked, rubbing the towel lightly over his hair. Azula swallowed hard.

“We… uh, there’s something we should discuss,” she said, rising to her feet. Sokka blinked blankly. “Mind accompanying me back to the bathroom?”

“No problem,” Sokka said, surprised: they didn’t usually leave guests unattended, but Iroh was family, and it was apparent something was bothering Azula. Had Iroh said anything worrisome? Had he shared news about Zuko, maybe? It would have been fine for them to discuss that sort of thing in front of Iroh, though…

Azula ushered him to follow her, and so, Sokka did exactly that. They didn’t simply march to the bathroom, though, instead walking in the roofed corridors in the Palace gardens… wordlessly, to Sokka’s confusion. It was clear Azula was going to say something, and whatever it was, it couldn’t be easy to bring up.

“So…?” he finally blurted out, when his patience ran out. “I’m not going to be delusional and hope you’re trying to have a go at it with me in broad daylight, I know the gazebo is there and all, but…”

“I wish. I really wish,” Azula said. Sokka snorted.

“Wow. I mean, we’ve been pretty adventurous lately, but seriously? Out in the open, like that?” he asked… though she didn’t follow up with any comments of her own. Nothing could have been more ominous. “Azula, what’s wrong?”

“Sokka…” Azula gritted her teeth, raising her head towards him. “I… have failed you, in a myriad of ways. Ways that… that may not be apparent right away, but I’ve failed you indeed.”

“Uh… huh?” Sokka blinked blankly. “What does any of that mean? Are you going to switch us to a vegetarian diet or something…?”

“I… don’t know. I don’t think so, but I don’t know,” Azula admitted, grimacing before shaking her head. “You remember that, well, two days ago, when I woke up, I was, uh…”

“Extremely indisposed,” Sokka recited, nodding. “I was worried sick about you, but…”

“When I felt better, I jumped your bones again, yes.”

“About five hours afterwards, that’s right.”

“Well…” Azula grimaced, stretching her arms nervously. Sokka raised an eyebrow, following her every aimless footstep with his gaze. “Iroh heard about it. Bet a servant mentioned it, I don’t know, but that’s why he’s here today.”

“Well, nice of him to check on his niece, if that’s why he came,” Sokka said, with a simple grin. “Not sure how that’s supposed to translate into you having failed me in any way, though…”

“Iroh has suspicions about what my malady might be, is all,” Azula said, slowing down as she finished her sentence. She eyed Sokka warily… to find he stared at her with even more apprehension.

“Wait… this isn’t some weird firebender disease, is it? Or worse than that, a Royal Family disease? Azula…!” he gasped, reaching for her hands in worry. Azula grimaced. “Please tell me now that I’m going completely crazy and making a bigger mess than need be…!”

“It’s… not a firebender-exclusive condition, no,” Azula said. Sokka blinked blankly. “As for royals…? You could say about half of them are, uh, expected to go through this, at some point in their lives. I know, yes, that I was expected to do it too, but… I didn’t think it was the right time and I thought I’d be able to tell if the time was right for it, eventually? But, uh…”

“Wait. Wait…” Sokka frowned, narrowing his eyes. Azula breathed deeply as she tightened her grip on his hands.

“Iroh thinks I might be with child.”

Sokka blinked once. Azula bit her lip.

He blinked twice, and she drew in a deep breath.

He blinked one more time… and then his eyes widened as he stumbled back, jaw dropping at the most obvious outcome for all their latest, reckless escapades.

“Oh, damn. Oh, hell… I forgot all about…!” Sokka whimpered, hands going to his head. “Shit, two months on a streak, even after you were sick, we got back to it afterwards… Azula, you didn’t have a period in all that time!”

“I… I didn’t, did I?” Azula realized, eyes widening. “S-so it must have happened well over a month ago… maybe it was that day, in the dojo?”

“Or the spa,” Sokka frowned, stroking his stubble with a thumb. “You know, that day when we set down all those towels and then it was no use because we wound up at the other end of the room…”

“The night after that boring play we ran away from?” Azula asked.

“Or when we went stargazing and you got a little too cozy under the blanket…”

“So did you, don’t pin it all on me,” Azula pouted, cheeks red. Sokka groaned.

“Or just about every night or morning of any of those days, come to think of it,” he said. “We’ve… really been unstoppable lately.”

“And it’s been great, but… I was careless,” Azula said, grimacing. “Too careless…”

“Oh, no. No, no, no,” Sokka huffed, stepping forward and wrapping his arms around her smaller frame: her body instinctively reacted with delight when she was swept into his warm embrace. The scent of his soap tingled her nose pleasantly. “Don’t you dare hog up the blame here, Azula. I’m just as responsible, alright?”

“Fair… or maybe you’re more responsible,” Azula said. Sokka pouted.

“More…?”

“I’m just kidding,” Azula laughed, pressing a kiss to his chest. “I know, I know, we’re married and we’re equally responsible for our irresponsible choices. It’s only…”

“What?” Sokka asked, rubbing her arm gently. “Is it… you’re worried about your mother, maybe?”

“Ugh, partly, but also about my brother,” Azula confessed, eyeing Sokka warily. “I don’t even want to dwell on the fact that I might turn out to be a terrible mother because of my mother…”

“You’re a brilliant Fire Lord, and her performance as regent didn’t affect yours,” Sokka huffed, kissing her brow. “Same thing will be true for when you’re a mother, Azula. Don’t doubt it.”

“I do doubt it. And my main problem is Zuko, anyway,” Azula grimaced. “He’s out there, on the run, has been on the down low for a few months, and as much as I love gallivanting with you the way we have, I keep thinking maybe our brief respite from chaos is just the calm before the storm. Any moment now, Zuko’s bound to show up with some army of renegades, and if I’m with child, or if the child is already born, then…”

“It’d be a mess,” Sokka concluded. Azula nodded, a grimace across her face.

“I don’t think it feels safe, bringing a child into this situation when I can’t assume their own uncle won’t do something terrible to them. But at the same time… I don’t want to be scared of anything, let alone of my damned brother…”

“He’s nowhere near as smart as you,” Sokka said, cupping her face. “You can plan ahead for every possibility, everything he might try to do to attack us. Though… you know what? I can do it for you if you’re too stressed to think about this. I can deal with every damn thing Zuko tries to throw our way.”

“Sokka…” Azula said, grimacing. He raised his eyebrows.

“What? Are you trying to say, by any chance, that no matter what we do to prepare ourselves, you won’t ever feel ready to be pregnant?” Sokka asked. Azula grimaced and lowered her head. “Azula, I know you felt we shouldn’t have kids right away, and we haven’t. So…”

“Sokka, I’m not ready to have kids and the reasons for it are more than obvious,” she said. “First, I’m worried Zuko would try to do anything awful by taking advantage of my pregnancy or motherhood. Second, I’m terrified of being an awful mother just like mine was. Third, I never truly have tried to think about this, I haven’t really pondered it, to the point where I was entirely neglectful about our contraceptive methods because I outright forgot that having sex often results in babies… and fourth and worst of all: a kid would get in the way of our reckless, fun escapades, and the fact that I’m worried about not having those escapades anymore no doubt speaks for itself regarding what a deplorable mother I’d be: I should be thrilled. I should be ecstatic! I should be…!”

“Societal expectations aren’t the ones that dictate how you should react to the very surprising news that we may have conceived a kid by accident,” Sokka spoke sternly, and Azula grimaced, falling quiet. “It’s okay, Azula: I’m scared right now, too. I… don’t think I’m anywhere near as scared as you, sure, but I’m worried anyway because I’m a reckless idiot too who would love to keep on having sex with his wife without consequences, but clearly, the reckless idiot isn’t about to get his way. It’s not something you need to punish yourself over, Azula: I’m no better, and I’m pretty sure lots of people feel this way too…”

“Not likely. Most people can’t afford having as much sex as we did over the past two months,” Azula mumbled, blushing. Sokka sighed but nodded.

“I concede, that’s true. But still…!” he said, clasping Azula’s shoulders. “The signs say it’s likely, but we’re not sure yet, right? So, let’s not jump to conclusions, for one thing… and let’s talk about this well and thoroughly, okay? We’ll handle this carefully, properly, if it’s really happening. We’ve literally worked together to patch up a world after a hundred years of war: how much harder can it be to raise a baby, eh?”

“I… have no idea. Don’t even ask that question. It’s bound to be a thousand times worse,” Azula groaned, collapsing against his chest. Sokka laughed and shook his head, patting her back kindly. “Iroh’s going to contact Katara, tell her to come here to check on me soon. I guess we’ll know for sure, by then…”

“And we’ll talk about what to do, by then,” Sokka agreed. Azula sighed loudly against his chest.

“I’ve spent ages ignoring the whispers of nobles and pressures from the council…” she said. “They complained over our relationship at first, then you were so popular with the people they couldn’t hope to put up any protests anymore, let alone once we were married… but they always did say, whether subtly or not, that I need an heir, especially while Zuko’s still lurking out there. So… maybe I should just accept this, if just to get them to leave us alone. But… I’m really not sure about anything right now.”

“We’ll figure it out. I have no idea how to handle this either, you know,” Sokka smiled, caressing her face. “We’ve been together since we were kids, you said it just now. Since that night in the Northern Water Tribe…”

“Are you going to try romancing me again? You may have already knocked me up by doing that, Sokka, you don’t have to give it another shot,” Azula said, with a teasing smirk. Sokka laughed, shaking his head before kissing her lips softly.

“Too late. I’ve been romancing you over and over again every day of our lives, Azula, whether you like it or not,” Sokka declared, with a proud grin. Azula laughed and shook her head, leaning in again to press their lips together.

“You’re impossible. Look at where this has landed us, damn you…”

“Uh, we’re the hottest, happiest, healthiest Fire Lord and Consort in the history of your nation? Yeah, I like where it’s landed us, come to think of it,” Sokka smirked, prompting Azula to laugh again at his shamelessness. “Come on, love. We’ve been through so much, as it is. This can be one hell of a challenge, yes… but we can handle it together, for sure.”

Azula sighed but nodded: it should have been no surprise that talking with Sokka would help, especially when it came to such subjects, but she was relieved to see her beloved husband had retained his common sense, his strength of mind… he hadn’t gone utterly wild over the prospect of having a baby, just as he hadn’t let her get carried away by worries and fears. As always, Sokka anchored her to reality… or, at least, he did that whenever he wasn’t soaring and floating in bliss with her, both so entirely careless and reckless that they’d forget their every shred of self-control when the powerful call of desire took hold of them.

Azula cleaned up quickly after their conversation and they rejoined Iroh without leaving further chaos in their wake. The man offered them what Azula hoped would be unnecessary advice for taking care of a baby, though it seemed Sokka found his tips helpful and amusing. He surely did want a child, Azula guessed, even if he’d never pressured her about it, aware of her many grievances and the drawbacks she saw in becoming a mother. Still… they were old enough by now. In a couple of years Sokka would be thirty. Perhaps the time for having children wouldn’t be better than it was now… perhaps she was making too big a deal out of the notion of becoming a mother, too. What was one child, anyway? Tiny, innocent, unable to understand the world around it: thus, destructive, chaotic, crying and loud and…

She didn’t get much, if any, sleep over the next two days. Sokka soothed her with his warm embrace when they were in bed, but Azula remained tense, her back against his chest, her eyes wide open as the panic over becoming a mother continued to flare up. It couldn’t really be happening, could it…?

When Katara, Aang and Toph finally arrived, Azula had another bad day: she had spent the bulk of it in the bathroom, clinging to the privy as her breakfast’s natural path reversed and she returned the meal. She had hoped that the discomfort would fade after a first round of puking right after waking up, but within five minutes of finishing her meal, she had been running for the bathroom again. Now, with large bags under her eyes, she laid down tensely on a futon as Katara examined her. Sokka held her hand, while Toph and Aang sat back, watching as the waterbender’s healing waters glowed, highlighting the chi flow for Katara to analyze.

“Okay… I’ve eased your symptoms slightly now,” Katara announced, and Azula tensed up. “But the chi’s flow… I’m afraid it can’t really be anything other pregnancy, Azula.”

She closed her eyes tightly and threw her head back. Of course. Iroh had said so, Sokka had realized she’d missed her periods, but even then, she had been so stupid as to cling to the hope that this wouldn’t mean anything, in the long run…

And now it meant everything; her life had been upended, and she was expecting a child.

“Well, um… should we congratulate you guys?” Aang asked, with an awkward grin: Toph, beside him, snorted.

“I’m not sure our Firecracker’s all that happy about it,” she smirked. “I’d have helped tell you if you were pregnant, but I don’t think your little storm’s got a heartbeat yet, so I can’t say I’ll feel a thing…”

“It’ll be a while before it develops enough for you to do that,” Katara said, smiling at Toph before looking at Azula. “I know it’s a big change, but… you’re pregnant! That means you guys are going to be parents, and I’ll be an aunt, and…”

“And what about us?” Aang blinked blankly. “Are we, uh, honorary uncle and aunt, too?”

“Well, Toph’s a bit like Azula’s long-lost sister or cousin? And Iroh’s sort of adopted her. So maybe she’s more of an aunt than you are an uncle…” Katara smirked at Aang, who gasped in horror.

“Just means you gotta wizen up and marry either one of us, Aang,” Toph said, elbowing him in the ribs. Aang flinched, face flushed. “Otherwise, you can’t really be an uncle!”

“T-Toph! That’s not fair, and it’s really weird, and…!” Aang winced still, glancing between the two girls with horror. Toph laughed as Katara eyed him with undisguised outrage.

“Oh, really? Well, then, if it’s that weird, Toph and I should be the ones getting married!”

“Oh, you’re so stuffy, Sugar Queen, I don’t know…”

“Wait, are you rejecting me?!”

“Stuffy, see?”

The silly argument between her three friends couldn’t fail to bring a smile to Azula’s face, despite the circumstances barely seemed to bring her joy – pregnant, expecting a child, with so many problems to resolve and so many more yet to come –, but it helped thinking maybe some things wouldn’t change too much, even if her life was bound to shift enormously because of this.

Nervously, she dared venture a glance at the one member of their group who had stayed quiet so far… to find he was speechless, sitting beside her, her hand in his. Azula bit her lip, gazing at his blue eyes… eyes that were fixed on her exposed belly. She always exercised, both in responsible ways and with him, in every single one of their sexual encounters… and so, her abdomen’s muscles were outlined and marked smoothly. Said chiseling was sure to vanish within a few months, once her belly bump began growing… she shivered, hoping Sokka wouldn’t find her entirely unappetizing by the time she was heavily pregnant.

There was, she thought, a spark in his eyes… a beautiful one, at that. But it wasn’t until he raised his free hand to her belly that she confirmed she wasn’t imagining things. He had often touched her affectionately, lustfully, playfully… this time, though, he seemed to be emotionally overwhelmed. A soft laugh left his lips as he caressed her belly gently… acutely aware of the small miracle they had created, a miracle that grew, day by day, inside his wife.

Who thought of it as an accident rather than a miracle, but they’d probably settle on one thing or another, eventually…

“Sokka…” Azula called him. He laughed and glanced into her eyes, and a surge of sudden happiness, pouring from him, seemed to infuse her with the need to smile, too. She wasn’t sure she was happy, she probably wasn’t happy at all, and yet… and yet seeing her husband smiling so beautifully could fix everything wrong in the world in one fell sweep.

“We’re having a baby,” he said, softly. A laugh shook him, as tears sprung up in his eyes…

Before she knew it, half exposed as she still was, Azula found herself reeled into Sokka’s tightest hug, gasping in disbelief as he laughed joyfully in her ear, hugging her and swaying her from side to side…

“Sokka…!” she blurted out, with a slight laugh of her own.

“I love you. I love our baby already, and I love you,” he chuckled, burying his face in her shoulder. “I know this isn’t going to be easy, but…”

But they were going to do it, yes. There was no question about it, Azula had known so from the start. She refused to let her fears control her. Her apprehension might continue to swirl and grow, but she would do her best to face this challenge without backing down. Her child, their child, would have opportunities many others didn’t: they would be the Fire Lord’s heir, which didn’t simply mean they would want for nothing and find as good as their every dream easily fulfilled… but that they would be loved, profusely, not only by the father who couldn’t hold back his enthusiasm, but by their three best friends, who would indeed be their aunts and uncle, whether surrogate or not. And they would have Iroh, too, and…

And her, of course. Even though she wasn’t sure she had the slightest clue of how to be a mother – well, she did have one clue: don’t attempt to kill your child, but that one went without saying. Doing the opposite to everything her own mother had done while Azula had been growing up didn’t sound like the worst way to start off this new stage of her life.

Their family would grow, then, and she would need to adjust to the changes, little by little. Whether it would be easy or hellish, she wouldn’t know until the baby was here… but she’d do best to prepare for that moment, across the months they had left to prepare for the child’s birth.

She tightened her grip around Sokka and smiled. It was terrifying, yes… but fear hadn’t paralyzed her in the past, and it wouldn’t do so now, either. They’d handle this challenge… and they would raise their baby safe and soundly, no matter what.

...

“So? They were here, huh?”

Sneers nodded, eyeing the Western Air Temple’s surroundings. It was a magnificent location… and it had certainly seen worse days, for now it appeared so much more cared for, with clear marks of earthbending everywhere he dared glance. Pipsqueak marched back towards them, his hands behind his back.

“Saw bunks, and that earth tent their earthbender always builds,” he announced to their leader. “Bet they got called away for something or another…”

“Not our doing, even if that’s the case,” Jet said, eyebrows twitching. He glanced to his left, where their stern leader stood, glaring at the horizon. He stepped forward, placing a hand on his lower back. “What do you make of this?”

“Nothing to make of it. They’re probably back in the Fire Nation. Means… we can’t take action until they’re not,” said the dark-haired man, scowling heavily.

“You sure about that?” Jet asked, biting his lower lip. “Do you even know where this asset you’re looking for might be?”

“I’m pretty sure I do know where it is. We can’t close in until the Avatar’s gone, though, you and I, so… I guess Sneers ought to go with the Duke and find whatever information they can about when they’ll take their leave again. Nothing more to it.”

“We won’t let you down, Zuko,” Sneers said, firmly.

Their group had been profoundly affected when they’d come across the runaway, fallen prince. Jet had immediately wanted to slay him where he stood… only to hold back when Zuko declared he wanted to destroy the Fire Nation every bit as much as Jet did. In fact, Jet was shocked to find the prince appeared even more willing to obliterate his nation than he was. Little by little, he had learned more about who Zuko was, about how he had lost everything he had… and now, twelve years into their association, it was clear the man’s willingness to destroy the world in retaliation for the struggles he’d been through wouldn’t weaken anytime soon.

They had stirred up chaos, they had rebelled, they had attempted many terrorist acts against the Fire Nation, of which only a handful had succeeded. Still, Zuko wanted one thing, and one thing alone. He had never been forthright about what it was, but Jet had followed him willingly, eagerly, this far. Whoever his asset was, surely Zuko needed them in order to topple his sister’s regime and bring about the scourge of Azula’s Fire Nation…

So Jet decided, yet again, to trust Zuko. His friends did the same thing. And now they would have to wait, patiently, until the right moment to strike finally arrived…

...

Azula had thought it natural that, on the first night since her pregnancy was confirmed, Sokka would simply lie awake in bed with her for hours, talking both about her fears and his hopes, discussing countless things until they fell asleep, smiling brightly. The second night, she had been quicker to fall asleep – she needed it direly too, after her previous sleepless nights and her body’s many changes, which demanded proper rest.

On the third night, he had a book. He was reading it very attentively. On the fourth night, he finished the book when she had already fallen asleep. On the fifth, he had another book.

On the sixth, she snapped.

“Sokka: I get it. I know it’s weird, I know it must be uncomfortable, but…!” she blurted out, not knowing how to speak without getting choked up as she paced in front of him: sitting on the bed, Sokka could only stare at her blankly. His cluelessness only emboldened her further. “I’m pregnant, yes. Which means… y-you can’t knock me up again, right?”

“Yeah, doesn’t look like that’s how twins are made,” Sokka said, with a goofy grin. Azula glared at him. “Hey, it’s just a joke, no need to be upset…”

“Sokka… do I look that bad?”

“What? Bad? Azula, you can’t possibly look bad, not even if you try…!”

“Don’t even challenge me, it’d absolutely be possible, and…! T-that’s not the point! I don’t look awful, then?”

“Of course not!”

“Then isn’t it a little late to play it safe now?” Azula asked, almost pleadingly. “I…! I…!”

Sokka finally appeared to unveil the problem: his eyes narrowed, and he regarded Azula warily.

“Azula… do you think I’m avoiding sex because I somehow don’t find you desirable anymore?” he asked.

Her heart seemed to drop so fast, so hard, she almost felt it tugging her into the core of the planet. Not only was it ridiculous, embarrassing, to admit something like that… but that Sokka would say it with that tone didn’t help matters at all. The fact that he read through her fears perfectly… didn’t it suggest they weren’t as unfounded as she had dearly hoped they’d be…?

She couldn’t say anything. She couldn’t respond at all… and then her shoulders shook. Sokka gasped in horror, jumping to his feet:

“Azula…!”

“I’m… I’m fine! I’m fine!” she said, dabbing her eyes with her fingertips. “It’s okay! It’s completely okay, I get it, we’ll wait until the child’s born, if you even think I’m any good by then, it’s creepy to do it beforehand anyway, so…!”

“Azula, you’re going off the rails here!” Sokka exclaimed, clasping her shoulders with his strong hands. “That’s not what I’m saying and… oh, I know what this is. It’s the hormonal response!”

“The… the what?” Azula repeated, tears blinking in her eyes.

“You’re responding with excessive emotion to things, it’s one of pregnancy’s symptoms,” Sokka explained. Azula’s brow drew together.

“And you know this because…?”

“I read about it. Yesterday, actually,” Sokka explained, with a weak smile. Azula’s eyes widened.

“T-the… the books you were reading were about…?”

“Pregnancy,” Sokka nodded. Azula gasped, covering her mouth with her hands as more tears spilled down her eyes. He smiled fondly at her, wiping the tears with his own thumbs. “And you want to know the main thing I was looking for? Bet you do: I wanted to make sure we can have sex safely while you’re pregnant without affecting the baby. But, uh, apparently I’m picking prudish books that assume you either already know the answer to that question, or they believe people expecting babies lose their libido somehow, but…”

“Y-you were looking into it…?” Azula asked, horrified. “And I just went and…”

“Azula…”

“Oh, I’m the worst…!” she exclaimed, tears spilling down her cheeks as she hugged him tightly. “And I’m being utterly hysterical! Where’s my rationality? Where’s my level-headedness?! I want it back!”

“Hell, you’re adorable, beautiful and I want nothing more than to pin you to our bed and make love to you until you feel better,” Sokka laughed softly, cradling her in his arms delicately, pressing many kisses to the side of her head. “I love you, silly. You’ve got no idea how badly I want to go for it, but…”

“B-but you’re being responsible. While I’m being… the worst mother ever,” Azula whimpered, burying her face in his neck. “I only thought about myself, not about the baby, and… hell, we’ve been going at it like crazy for the last two months, without even knowing I’d conceived anything, and… w-what if we hurt the baby, Sokka? What if…?”

“That’s exactly what I’m trying to confirm,” Sokka said, kissing the top of her head now. “I don’t know if the baby’s too small to be affected yet… probably is, going by what I keep reading. Maybe it’s the size of a small seed, or a bean? I don’t know for sure yet, depends on when we conceived for sure, but… anyway, don’t be silly now, will you? You’re not the worst mother ever because you weren’t thinking about this…”

“But I am. I really must be. I just… wanted to sleep with you,” she whimpered, clinging to him greedily. “And I’ve been doing that for all this time too, so… why am I being so utterly stupid now, when there’s reasons for us to hold back, so many reasons…?”

“Well, that’s also because of your hormonal response, I suspect,” Sokka said, smiling kindly as he walked them back to the bed: he sat on it, compelling Azula to sit across his lap, face still buried in his shoulder. “You want things to go back to normal, too… so it’s not that strange, alright? And not something you should punish yourself over: treat this as a bit of a test run, how about it?”

“A test run?” Azula repeated, raising her eyebrows.

“This is the first hurdle we face as parents,” Sokka smiled. “And we need to resolve it, simple as that. Once this is done… I bet everything else will feel small and easy in comparison.”

“Well… sure, but how are we going to resolve it?” Azula said. “Will we read more books about pregnancy? Or do you have something else in mind?”

“I intend to read every book I can get my hands on, yes,” Sokka admitted, with a light blush. “But, uh… this does feel a bit urgent. I guess maybe we could ask Katara…”

“Would she know?” Azula asked, grimacing. Sokka blinked blankly. “She’s not a mother herself … has she assisted someone else throughout pregnancy this way, before?”

“Uh… no idea. Not in my presence, at least,” Sokka admitted. Azula sighed.

“Maybe she won’t know either. Maybe we should just ask someone who had a baby successfully… though I can’t say I know a lot of women who have given birth. At least not personally enough to ask that sort of thing,” Azula admitted.

“Hmm… guess the most obvious answer is utterly ruled out,” Sokka said, bitterly. “But surely there’s other people we can ask. Like… huh. Like Gran-Gran!”

“Your grandmother?” Azula asked, puzzled.

“Say, things did wind down a bit around here lately, so… how about we take a brief trip, to the Water Tribe?” Sokka asked, with a giddy smile. Azula couldn’t hold back a small smile of her own. “I think I don’t want to tell my dad he’ll be a grandfather through a messenger hawk, to be honest… I want him to hear it directly from me.”

“Sounds good,” Azula smiled, placing her head on his shoulder. “Then… we can plan for a short trip to the Water Tribe.”

“We can keep on reading books while on our way there… and once we know for sure whether we’re allowed to have sex or not, we can come back and all will be well,” Sokka said, with a proud grin. Azula smiled and nodded. “See? Problem solved. No need to think you’re the worst over any of this, love.”

“I’ll try not to… I’ll try not to,” Azula sighed, tightening her grip around him. “Thank you. For not thinking I’m, well…”

“Undesirable?”

“Nuts, rather. But that’s important too,” Azula pouted. Sokka laughed and tilted her chin up delicately, placing a loving kiss upon her lips.

“Come on, now, how could I ever believe that?” he smiled, as he rolled them carefully into bed. “Seriously, you have no idea how badly I want to go all out on you, ever since we learned the truth, but… I think it’s for the best if we wait until we know if it’s safe. And even then, it’s possible we won’t get the chance to do the things we used to do…”

“Which things…?” Azula asked. Sokka chuckled.

“Whether the excessively intense sex or the very reckless kind, in totally crazy places?”

“Oh, bummer. What’s the point, then…?”

“Seriously, now?” Sokka smirked, raising his eyebrows as Azula laughed in his arms. “You’re too damn mischievous for your own good. Here I thought you were sickly and kept feeling dizzy, but instead…”

“I bet it would heal all my ailments if you just pinned me to a wall and had your way with me…”

“You… quit tempting me, Azula. Please, stop…”

“Fine, then. Fine,” Azula smiled, caressing his cheek delicately. “I’m sorry I made a… sort of scene?”

“It’s just the two of us in here,” Sokka smiled, shaking his head. “It wasn’t a scene, it was an uncharacteristically emotional exchange for our standards. But we’ll sort this out, Azula. You’ll see.”

She hummed in agreement, caving in to kissing him gladly. Knowing she had misunderstood something had never been a greater relief for her. Usually, she could be level-headed in the face of any crisis, but today… she really had gone off the rails this time. She had to regain her center and to stop being so ridiculously emotional – she swiped off a tear spilling down her cheek as she kissed him, curses, what was WRONG with her? – over every single trigger out there. Yes, Sokka loved her dearly, deeply, she had always known as much – and there she was, crying again, and now he was worrying, though when she told him she was fine he smiled fondly and took to kissing her tears away, which made her laugh and cry even harder, and…

Oh, being pregnant was weird. It was so very, very weird.

...

The Duke and Sneers returned after five days, on the fishing boat they had confiscated for the purpose of carrying out their investigations. Zuko was immediately on edge upon glimpsing their approach: their group had made camp by the shore of the Western Air Temple’s islands, and while the mist blocked their vision at times, it wasn’t quite so heavy that they couldn’t possibly see their boat in the horizon.

About twenty minutes later, the boat had docked safely: everyone crowded around them, knowing they’d have answers.

“The Fire Lord’s on the road,” Sneers said: Zuko’s eyes widened, and then he frowned quickly. “Apparently, headed to the South Pole, from what we could gather. Riding the Avatar’s beast.”

“That… that means a quick trip, rather than a long-term one,” said Jet, frowning. “But if she took the Avatar’s beast…”

“The Avatar should be with her!” Smellerbee chimed in. Zuko nodded.

“Him… all their damnable group,” he hissed. “The Capital is going to be unprotected.”

“Then it’s… it’s time to strike, isn’t it?” Jet asked Zuko, his voice trembling with excitement: finally, they’d learn what Zuko had in mind. Finally, the devious plan of the Fire Lord’s greatest detractor would come to fruition…

Zuko breathed deeply, releasing a few sparks through his nose when he released the air:

“We’re moving in. Now.”

...

There was so much to prepare, so many things they needed to do before taking off on their hopefully quick trip to the Water Tribe. They would only stay for a couple of days, but there was much they had to brace themselves for, beforehand. Azula left Iroh in charge of the Fire Nation, as ever, he was her go-to Interim Fire Lord whenever she and Sokka had to travel anywhere. Yet they knew, all too well, that one of Azula’s main fears could, presumably, come to pass while they were gone…

And so, she had taken it upon herself to think thoroughly about every possible choice and course of action the enemy might take. Sokka had helped her, and then he had given out the commands in her stead – she was indisposed on most mornings, the flu was truly a pain – and prepared the Fire Nation’s defenses as thoroughly as possible in case anyone attempted to attack at all.

Thus, after the preparations were finalized, Katara guided Appa herself to the Southern Water Tribe, accompanying her brother and her sister-in-law back to the icy landscape where they had first met Azula, so many years ago…

...

Whatever people might have assumed about him, the truth was that Zuko knew the Fire Nation fairly well. He knew the right places where their little fishing boat could safely dock at, without anyone’s awareness, far from the watchful gaze of the armed forces, and he knew, too, the exact place where his asset would likely be kept at, based on an information leak from a few years ago. He hadn’t been able to confirm that information, but it was the only choice that made any sense. Surely Azula hadn’t been as stupid or as extreme as to act any differently.

Thus, he guided his troops, the Freedom Fighters, to the Prison Tower. They waited for a shift change, and then they barreled through the building’s entrance, startling the guards who had been about to take a brief break.

“Intruders! Intruders…!” shouted one guard… and then he fled, cowardly, instead of fighting back. Zuko scoffed but sneered: that was how Azula’s great forces behaved? Pathetic.

They marched into prison without facing any true dangers: a bell rang, no doubt an alarm requesting reinforcements, but it seemed as though the guards were truly such fools they were merely running away… was it they hoped to assemble some sort of defense well after he and the others had broken out the prisoner he was looking for?

“It’s… it’s too easy!” Jet suddenly called, but Zuko ignored him. “Zuko!”

“Keep moving!” he shouted, rushing up the stairs. “Follow me! If she’s too stupid to guard our ally properly, it’s not my problem!”

Jet snarled, exchanging a glance with his friends: Zuko was reckless and impulsive, but never before had they truly dreaded he might be leading them astray. They still understood nothing about whoever he was supposed to find in this prison, and his willingness to make the most of the situation was almost gluttonous, to a fault. He was mindlessly barreling through… and that couldn’t be good, not when they were closer to the heart of the Fire Nation than they ever had been. This was a moment for caution, not recklessness… but their fearless leader couldn’t seem to understand that. They had to continue following him wherever he might go, if they hoped to keep him safe from his own impulsiveness, somehow…

His destination, it seemed, was the topmost floor. Guards cowered in corners, escaping through side stairs, never engaging, never giving them reason to be violent. Longshot kept an arrow at the ready, but the enemy constantly scurried away before he could fire… and it was such a bad sign. It had to be a bad sign…

“This is a trap. It has to be a trap,” Longshot spoke, something that rarely happened. Smellerbee, next to him, tensed up too.

“Jet, tell your boyfriend to cut it out: let’s get out of here before we get killed!”

“Quiet!” Zuko bellowed, and Smellerbee shrank in place. “We’re doing this now, and that’s final! We’re not getting a better chance than this one!”

“You don’t have to yell at her like that,” Jet chided him, frowning: sometimes, Zuko listened to him. Usually, he’d listen to Jet when he didn’t listen to anyone else. Today, though, it seemed that trend would break completely.

“I do if she’s being a burden! You’re not going to be one too, are you?” Zuko growled. Jet’s scowl grew sharper yet. “Move!”

Despite his better sense indicated otherwise, Jet obeyed. And as he did, all his friends followed, too: finally, they reached a corridor, a doorway… and Zuko kicked it open with his firebending, tearing it off its hinges as he strode into the large prison chamber with heavy strides.

It was the biggest of the chambers in the Prison Tower… and just so, the most isolated one. A single shape, huddled against a wall, was visible through the cell’s bars… a shape with long, dark hair, and undoubtably female curves.

“Mom… MOM!”

It was at that very moment that Jet’s group knew they had wasted their time, and potentially their lives, following this leader.

All six of them stood on the threshold of the prison room, jaws dropped, as Zuko rushed towards the cell, readying his hands to melt the cage, if need be…

“Oh, no. Oh, it’s so wrong for you to call me that!”

A totally unexpected voice came from the cell… from the female figure crouched by the wall. A voice that didn’t belong to the fallen regent, Ursa… but that did belong to someone else Zuko knew. Someone he didn’t think had committed any crimes that would warrant winding up in a jail cell, let alone the most secure of them all…

His jaw dropped when the crouching woman finally raised her head. Her face was definitely more mature now, much more adult, than when he’d last seen it… but it was familiar too, despite it didn’t belong to Ursa. The hair… it was a wig, of course, perfect to sell the trick that he had fallen for, mindlessly, recklessly…!

“Wow, look at you, Zuko! You really haven’t gotten proper food in years, have you? So fierce, but so gaunt too! Don’t worry, I can lend you some makeup when you’re in prison so you can look much, much lovelier…!”

“Ty Lee?!”

He roared her name with such outrage she fell silent at once, blinking at him. She cocked her head to the side and shrugged.

“Well, yes. You don’t have to say it so angrily, but that’s better than ‘mom’, for sure,” she said, with a teasing grin.

“What are you…? What are you doing here?!” Zuko exclaimed.

“What the hell are we doing here, if this isn’t your mom and…?! What they hell did you mean, ‘mom’, anyway?!” Jet screamed, marching into the room and clasping Zuko by the shoulder: he wrestled his own arm away from Jet’s grip, snarling. “That’s who we were supposed to be freeing today?! That’s what you were after, for twelve damn years?!”

“Oooh! Look at that, he’s kinda cute too…!” Ty Lee grinned, though her voice hardly affected the impassioned exchange happening before her eyes.

“You led us on… you led me on! You don’t want to fight the Fire Nation, you just want your damn mom!” Jet gasped.

“Yeah, how could you trick us like that?!” Pipsqueak groaned, marching into the room menacingly, followed by Sneers and The Duke.

“I knew it. I knew he was up to no good!” Smellerbee exclaimed, already inside the room too. Longshot, beside her, aimed his arrow at Zuko.

“Oh, no. Look, now, you’re all very fun and quirky people, I can see that…! But you’re not about to kill my childhood friend right in front of me, are you?” Ty Lee said, with a raised eyebrow.

Zuko snarled, glancing back at her, intending to tell her not to barge into what didn’t concern her… when he realized there was a lever, right at the wall Ty Lee had been crouching at, when he first saw her. His eyes widened.

“What are you…?”

“Look, I really didn’t want to do this, Zuko, I really didn’t, but… that’s why I’m here, actually, so here we go!”

None of them had so much as thought to look at the ceiling. None of them ever considered that the door Zuko had torn down might not be the sole means to defend this isolated room.

The rattling of chains revealed a system of cages had been dangling right above their heads… and it fell heavily on the group. Pipsqueak’s attempt to brace himself for it saw no success: in a matter of instants, all seven infiltrators were pinned to the cell’s floor, their movements highly restricted by a system of cages that adapted to their body shapes perfectly… and the doorway behind them was suddenly sealed by a heavy, metallic door that had slid down, right behind the one Zuko has torn down earlier.

“To think Sokka really designed all this wacky system, and he did it so damn well, too…” Ty Lee said, tapping her chin while swaying her feet at a beat only she could hear inside her head. “Azula really hit the jackpot with him, huh…?”

“G-get this off me, ow!” Pipsqueak whimpered: his large frame saw him pressed flatly on the filthy prison floor, his movements fully restricted, though Jet wasn’t much better off: he had landed with his face in Zuko’s chest, and the metal behind him pressed against the back of his head kept him pinned in place.

“Someone do something! I can’t reach my swords!” Jet shouted.

“We’re all… stuck!” Smellerbee cringed: she had fallen in a very awkward position, and her leg was twisted badly: Longshot, next to her, whimpered over his bow – the string had snapped.

“Ty Lee! Pull that thing again!” Zuko bellowed. Ty Lee whimpered and pouted. “And where the hell is my mother?!”

“How should I know?” Ty Lee pouted. “Azula simply called me and asked me to serve as a decoy because she thought I could pull it off, you know? I’m trying to transition from circus to theater, and she said, you see, that if I helped trick you and your group, she’d give me a commendation for the next audition for the Royal Troupe of Actors in the Fire Nation…!”

“I don’t give a shit! Just get this off me!”

“Oh, hey now, that’s just plain rude,” Ty Lee pouted: Jet scoffed.

“Well, rudeness isn’t even the least of what he’s capable of, believe me!” he roared. “So much sobbing over how your uncle betrayed you, right? So many nights weeping because everything you loved was taken from you, and look at what you’ve done to us now, you bastard!”

“Shut up, Jet!” Zuko spat out. Jet huffed, his furious eyes rising to meet his with difficulty.

“You shut up! You betrayed us! You betrayed me! We’re Fire Nation prisoners now, thanks to you and your bullshit! You didn’t even tell us what you were up to! You didn’t say a damn word…!”

“Well, that’s really rude, Zuko. Worse than rude, he’s right,” Ty Lee said, shaking her head with a deep sigh.

“And you don’t even know half of it!” Jet huffed. Ty Lee eyed him compassionately.

“You would be better off without him, you know?” Ty Lee said. “Mai was very sad about it, when Zuko first took off like that, but I helped her, encouraged her to move on, all that… I kinda had hoped Zuko would find someone nice for himself too, but you can do better than this, Jet!”

“You’re right! Yeah, I can!” Jet scoffed. Zuko rolled his eyes.

“Good. We’re over, then,” he determined. Jet blinked blankly.

“Y-you… you don’t get to say that! I do! I’m the one breaking up with you!”

“What’s the big difference if I say the words myself?” Zuko groaned, rolling his eyes.

“You’re supposed to be… begging me to change my mind! I’m the one who should be in charge right now!” Jet huffed, glaring at him. “You’re the one who wronged me, so I’m the one who dumps you!”

“That is, indeed, how it works,” Ty Lee confirmed.

“Why are you still butting in, Ty Lee?!” Zuko exploded, glaring at her. “Just pull up the damn lever and…!”

Ty Lee hadn’t moved at all, but the metallic door at the cellblock’s threshold rose anyway: Zuko couldn’t move his head much, but he still glanced back at the door… to find three people, flanked by many guards, standing behind the rising, metal door.

“Well, well. I don’t know who anyone else is… but we just keep bumping into this guy in prisons, huh, Aang?” a young woman with arms outstretched in a bending kata smirked. Beside her, the Avatar chuckled… he actually had the gall to be amused, did he?

“Can’t believe it worked like a charm. And we didn’t even need to resort to plan B!”

“Azula did say her brother was terribly predictable,” the earthbender declared. “It’s kinda funny to see she was right.”

“I’m not…!”

Zuko’s attempt to protest, to defend himself and his dignity, went nowhere: Toph’s hands moved carefully, and they unraveled the network of heavy chains and bars that kept the group restricted, flat on the floor… until they found themselves shackled, both at the wrists and the ankles, after Toph was finished with her metalbending. She snickered proudly as the Freedom Fighters moved around, with Smellerbee particularly keen on rubbing her aching leg… and Jet particularly keen on grabbing Zuko by the scruff and yelling at him.

“You’re an idiot! You’re the worst kind of asshole! I should’ve never agreed to joining forces with you! I shouldn’t have…!”

“Shut. UP!” Zuko rebuffed, shoving Jet off now that he could do so: Toph tightened his shackles for it, though, and he cried out in pain. “Ugh! Quit that!”

“You quit that, you pissbaby,” Toph huffed. “Bad enough that you’re doing stupid shit all over the world, you’re also an ass to your friends?”

“His boyfriend!” Ty Lee chimed in, and Zuko scoffed.

“Not anymore, I’m not!” Jet roared.

“Oh, just shut up, all of you…!” Zuko growled, turning to Toph and Aang. “You bastards set me up but I’m going to make you pay, all of you are going to…!”

“I’m afraid there’s not much you can do to threaten and intimidate us at this point, dear nephew.”

Zuko’s eyes widened, and his already pale complexion seemed to lose what little color it had left. The third person at the head of the guard squad stepped forward, out of the shadows of the prison’s archway… and, of course, it was no one other than the uncle who had chosen his sister over him. The uncle whose choices could have seen to Zuko’s perfect world falling apart, twelve years ago…

Iroh breathed deeply, taking in the scene before him. The Freedom Fighters appeared furious… and it was clear they resented Zuko for leading them astray. The firebender was starting to react to Iroh’s presence, though he seemed more emotionally conflicted than Iroh had expected him to be… good, then. Perhaps he didn’t hate Iroh as badly, as completely, as Iroh had feared he did.

“It’s been a very long time, Zuko.”

...

Hakoda had the feeling, from the get-go, that they were about to announce exactly what they were about to announce. He was ready to react even before they spoke, and he did as much mere instants after the words came out of Sokka’s mouth:

“A baby! My first grandbaby! Ahahaha, you two wonderful kids, you!”

Out of respect for the Fire Lord, the Chief of course chose to pick up his son only, twirling him in midair as he laughed in sheer delight. Katara laughed, as did Azula and Kanna, while Sokka smiled awkwardly, squeezed tight in his father’s arms.

“Have you felt well so far, dear?” Kanna asked Azula, taking her hand in hers. “Any discomfort?”

“Mostly morning flu, but Katara is of the opinion that I’ll be fine,” Azula smiled, nodding positively at Kanna.

“Good. You are a very strong woman, after all,” Kanna smiled brightly, patting Azula’s arm gently. “Though you don’t look like you’re all that confident, eh?”

“Well, I may have had a part in ending my mother’s tyranny and putting a stop to a hundred years of war…” Azula recited, with an awkward smile. “But I’ve never raised a baby before.”

“Oh, compared to that, I bet it’ll be easy! Though, huh, I haven’t stopped anyone’s tyranny and stopped a hundred years of war, myself,” Kanna pointed out, to Azula and Katara’s amusement. “Hmm. Guess I can’t really say which is worse, come to think of it.”

“Come on, don’t say that. I bet you have lots of great stories to share with Azula and Sokka,” Katara smiled.

“And you too, if you’re ever ready to settle down, dear!”

“Oh, still thinking about it, but sure, Gran-Gran,” Katara smiled awkwardly. “For now, though, ask these two for great-grandkids, clearly that’s going to be much more successful…”

“It already is, and I didn’t even need to ask!” Kanna laughed. Azula smiled awkwardly: yes, it was true that she was carrying a child now, but that didn’t quite mean she intended to have twenty kids, especially not if it meant she might not indulge in her typical overindulgences with Sokka quite so often…

… Which kept coming to mind, of course. There was no chance they could do anything quite that reckless while on Appa’s back, and Katara was around, so of course they held back from doing anything too stupid while they were on the road. They would probably only stay in the Water Tribe for about two days at most, as she had to return to the Fire Nation at haste, for she couldn’t leave her uncle to handle all her duties for too long. The sooner they asked Kanna about the actual reason they’d come here, the better…

And yet she listened to Kanna’s every story with a smile once they were inside the igloo, and throughout dinner: Sokka kept eyeing her with uncertainty, as though expecting her to breach the subject soon… but how? Was he seriously asking her to bring up sex during pregnancy while his sister and father were literally right there? She couldn’t possibly do that…

“I know it’s uncomfortable, I do, it’s just…” Sokka started that night, as they were slipping into the covers of his bedroll. Azula gave him a pointed stare.

“How exactly would you feel if your sister gushed about her sex life in front of you?”

“Eh… uncomfortable, probably, but…”

“Do you really think your father wants to know if your grandmother was getting laid while she was pregnant… as in, when he was the baby growing inside her?” Azula asked, with a sarcastic grin. Sokka’s eyes widened. “Thought so.”

“Okay, point taken. Not in front of Dad…”

“Or in front of Katara, though I doubt she’d be too bothered, at this point. We’re not exactly subtle, we haven’t been for years…”

“Ah, remember our early days, when we made out carelessly and cutely, and held hands like the silly lovebirds we were?” Sokka sighed, gazing at her with playfully fluttering eyelids. Azula snorted and laughed, shaking her head.

“We still do that these days. Just… we do other things too unless I’m pregnant. Then we want to do those things anyway, but we don’t because…”

“Because we haven’t asked Gran-Gran if sex is fine during pregnancy. Yep,” Sokka sighed. Azula bit her lip.

“We’ll do it tomorrow. We’ll wake up early… once she’s awake, we’ll go help her up and, once we do, we’ll ask her.”

“Really? First thing in the morning?”

“Come on, do you really want to keep delaying it? At this rate, we’ll leave the South Pole without any answers,” Azula scoffed. Sokka sighed and shrugged.

“Okay, okay. We’ll do it, then,” he decided, rubbing his hand over his hair before scooping Azula into his arms and warmth. “We’ll do it tomorrow.”

Kanna’s morning routine proved a much more complicated matter than either Sokka or Azula anticipated it would be: the old woman would spend at least half an hour in the bathroom, then she needed help getting out of the small ice chamber, then she would choose what to wear for the day, brush her hair carefully, and then walk out either to prepare breakfast or eat it, if the others had already finished making the meal while she was getting ready. Thus, when it became obvious that they’d get no better chances to talk than when she was brushing her hair, Azula and Sokka exchanged an urgent glance.

“Uh… Gran-Gran?” Sokka called Kanna, with a nervous smile. Kanna grinned, brush in hand. “Azula and I were wondering if, uh… if you need help with that?”

Azula cursed inwardly at his sudden change of subject. Kanna laughed and accepted his generous offer, and Sokka was left to glance at his wife apologetically as he brushed each strand of snow-white hair carefully.

“Actually… what Sokka wanted to ask was something else, though he also wanted to help you with your hair, of course,” Azula smiled awkwardly. Kanna turned her gaze on her.

“Oh? What is that, then?” she asked. Sokka flinched, blushing behind his grandmother, who thankfully couldn’t possibly see it so far.

“W-well, it’s, um… gee, I don’t remember anymore! Azula, maybe you should do it!”

“You remember! Of course you remember!” Azula huffed, and Sokka flinched behind Kanna. “Seriously? Do I really have to do it?”

“W-well, no, but maybe you’re right, this is weirder than I expected…” Sokka pouted, taking to composing Kanna’s hair into the proper braid she always wore it in – of course, he didn’t forget the hair loopies either, taking two strands of hair over her forehead expertly before sliding the adornments into place.

“Then the sooner you ask, the sooner the awkwardness will go away, right?” Azula said, with a skeptical smile. Sokka huffed.

“For that matter, you could…!”

“Oh, goodness, so much frustration and pent-up energy!” Kanna interrupted, and the two of them froze in place. “You two clearly have been putting off sex lately, haven’t you?”

“W-we just…! I mean, w-well, do you really want to know that…?” Sokka asked, his voice growing smaller with every passing moment. Azula simply froze solid… and then her face became just as red as her usual Fire Nation robes. It suited her current blue parka just as well, in Sokka’s opinion, but he doubted she’d take well to hearing that…

“Goodness, you two are so silly,” Kanna laughed, shaking her head. “I’ve served as a midwife for years, Sokka: do you really think a seasoned midwife like myself would so much as blink at the thought of her grandson’s nighttime activities with his wife?”

“W-well… it’s not always at night. But that’s not the point…!” Sokka exclaimed, flustered again. “It’s just… w-well, we’re not sure if we, uh, should, um… try doing it anymore? Because, well, the baby is very small and all, but…”

“Ah? That’s what’s bothering you both, then?” Kanna asked, glancing between them. Azula, still flustered, only nodded once in her direction. “Oh, dear. Well, now, how bad is your morning sickness, Azula?”

“Not that bad…”

“Any dizziness?”

“Not often.”

“Did Katara give you any heads-up about it looking like a delicate situation, after she used her waterbending to check your chi?”

“Not really?” Azula answered, glancing at Sokka with uncertainty. He simply shrugged, and then Kanna smiled.

“Well, then… as long as you’re not too energetic, and you don’t do anything too outlandish, it should be fine,” she said. Azula’s eyes widened, and she smiled in relief too.

“S-so, um, if we did some outlandish things before Katara did the chi-reading thing… do you think the baby could have been affected by it?” Sokka asked, with an awkward smile. Kanna blinked blankly before letting out a hearty laugh.

“Why, it certainly must have been affected, but surely not in any detrimental ways,” she smiled. “Think of it as, uh… as if someone knocked on the door of your big Palace back in the Fire Nation! If you’re at the other end of the building, you wouldn’t notice it at all, right? But as the baby grows, it comes closer and closer to that door, so…”

“So, we have to be careful anyway,” Azula said, biting her lip. Kanna smiled and shrugged.

“By the time you’re nine-months along you won’t be able to do anything outlandish at all, dear, trust me on that. Lying on your side and letting Sokka do all the work will be your only choice, if you’re anything like me…”

“Okaaay, thank you for your help, Gran-Gran!” Sokka smiled, blushing again as he patted Kanna’s shoulder. Her hairdo was perfect already: Sokka, the expert hairdresser he was, always flowed through the motions smoothly when he was helping Azula with her hair, and it was clear it was the same with his grandmother. Kanna turned and smiled at him, broadly.

“You’re welcome. Have fun…” she said, wiggling her eyebrows teasingly at her blushing grandson, who whimpered and squirmed away from her gaze, covering his face with his hands. Azula, delighted not to be the center of Kanna’s attention right now, could only laugh at her husband’s reaction over his grandmother’s inappropriate taunts.

They didn’t exercise their newly gained permission for intimacy in the South Pole, anyway: the time they spent in the growing and thriving village was restful and soothing in many ways, as Hakoda and Kanna showed them the growth of the Southern Water Tribe. The war’s end had seen to wonderful changes in the world around them, and Azula had been particularly keen on offering as much aid to the South Pole as possible. After having seen the large city the Northern Water Tribe boasted of, the Fire Lord was determined to help her husband’s hometown to become just as successful, if not more so, as its sister tribe was. Sokka usually helped plan such business ventures thoroughly, and whenever they visited, they could witness the growth of the Tribe after their many efforts at a distance. Yes, it was only a start… but it was a good one, and Hakoda and Kanna couldn’t have been prouder of their nation and their people.

Thus, all was well as they said their goodbyes on the next day and returned to the road. All continued to be well as they traveled with Appa all the way back to the Fire Nation, with however many stops as they had needed to make, along the way…

And perhaps because of how promising and happy the last few days had been, Azula should have known, she should have absolutely suspected, that something had to be wrong in the Fire Nation, once they finally returned to the Palace. Yet she had been hopeful, utterly, stupidly hopeful, that it wouldn’t be the case… yet once Iroh welcomed them back with slightly urgent news, she knew her hopes would go to waste.

“Zuko… he did it? He attempted to break out our mother?!” Azula exclaimed, staring at Iroh in chagrin.

“And he failed!” Iroh smiled, though there was a tinge of obvious nervousness in his voice as Azula nearly stumbled back: Sokka caught her before she could do so, while Katara glanced between Iroh’s group – comprised by himself, Aang, Toph and Ty Lee – and her own, as they all stood in the middle of the Palace’s gardens. “Azula…”

“I knew it. I knew he was going to do something the minute I lowered my guard…! And then he did! He did, and if anything had gone wrong…!”

“Nothing did,” Iroh pointed out, blinking blankly. “The safety mechanisms in the prison worked perfectly, we caught him and all his co-conspirators, it was the smoothest plan…!”

“I didn’t even get hurt at all! For a moment I thought Zuko might try to attack me, but…” Ty Lee acknowledged, tapping her chin, but Azula clearly wasn’t listening to her.

“If he’d broken out my mother and started an uprising against me, we would be returning to a Fire Nation going up in flames…” she recited, as though in a trance. Sokka sighed, hugging her warmly as Iroh scoffed.

“We had about ten different traps and plans set up, Azula, you know we did. You and your husband designed most of them yourselves!” he reassured her, but it didn’t seem anything he could do or say would help: Azula was absolutely losing her composure, and Sokka grimaced as he sensed his wife’s panic, and mood swings, were flaring up in a dangerous way.

“I could’ve made a mess, this could’ve been a mess…” she mumbled to herself, and Sokka sighed, turning her in his arms so she’d face his chest instead.

“Is this supposed to mean she didn’t trust my acting at all, or…?” Ty Lee asked Toph subtly, who shrugged in her direction.

“I mean, you just had to put on a wig and sit in a cell for a few days, what’s so hard about that?”

“I know, I…! Hey, there’s a method to it! There really is!”

“Alright, you guys? Thank you all so very much for ensuring Plan A paid off perfectly!” Sokka said, smiling as he cradled Azula against his chest. “Good work, everyone! I’m sure Azula will be responsive and offer you her gratefulness well and properly very soon, too. Though… the cage system did work out? Really?”

“Almost didn’t for one of them, he was smaller than the others,” Toph admitted – she had sensed The Duke squirming far better under the cage than the rest of the group, and he was the first one she had bound up with metal because of that. “But yeah, all around, it paid off pretty well, Meathead.”

“Great. Then I’m sure you guys can regale us with more tales on how things turned out later…”

“Wait, but we have to know what he’s doing now! Where is he?” Azula tried to stop Sokka from dragging her inside the Palace, and she glanced back at Iroh desperately. He smiled and shook his head.

“Safe and sound, behind bars, as expected. Same as all his friends. He’s not getting out anytime soon,” Iroh assured her. Azula grimaced.

“Are you sure he…?” she started… then she had to stop talking when the world shifted suddenly, and her body wound up stretched across Sokka’s arms. “Sokka!”

“Later, Azula! An intervention is in order, right now!”

She couldn’t protest anymore as Sokka marched with her in arms, bridal-style, into the Palace. She grimaced, as her panic flared and made her head spin… Zuko had made his move the minute she had left the Fire Nation. He was truly so bold, so obvious, as to do such a thing. He had someone keeping watch, gathering information about the Fire Nation, otherwise he couldn’t have found out she’d left at all… and he had attacked. He had truly done it. He had meant to free their mother… he had absolutely hoped to take advantage of her absence to strike at the heart of the Fire Nation and take over it with Ursa’s help. Curse him… curse him for his damned recklessness, for being so power-hungry and for endangering the Fire Nation and the hard-earned harmony and peace of the world with his actions, with his dreadful choices…

She held back her words, her rampage, until Sokka closed the door to their room and set her on the floor. Azula snarled, turning towards him, eyes glowing with a mix of determination and outrage.

“He’s going to pay for this. He’s going to…!”

“Azula,” Sokka called her, hands cupping her face quickly. She fell silent at the gesture… and she lost her train of thought entirely when he pressed a long kiss to her lips.

Was he trying to soothe her? Was he seriously hoping to distract her from the danger Zuko had attempted to bring to their family, to their calm lives, to the Fire Nation itself…?

She would rebuff him, tell him to stop, she absolutely would do that once he broke off the kiss to catch his breath – though for now she kissed him back because… why would she waste such an opportunity? She could reason with him later, of course she could, his lips and tongue and fingertips couldn’t possibly entice her fore-…

His hands shifted: one tilted her chin towards him, and the other slipped down to her left breast.

Well… maybe she would let him entice her. If just for a little while.

Of course, she was being ridiculous and irresponsible yet again, no one would need to tell her as much for Azula to realize it… but she leaned into his touch regardless, and her boiling fury suddenly found a new outlet when she kissed him harder, arms around his neck, pulling him in with the force of a hurricane. Sokka didn’t waver, didn’t hesitate to respond in kind, just the way she needed him to: when her lightning struck, his tempestuous rains accompanied it. Neither one fell behind when the other picked up speed: his hand kneaded and squeezed her breast, and the other trailed over her back, once he had made sure she would continue kissing him fiercely, on its way to cup and fondle her rear.

Azula moaned… though it wasn’t a whimper, a wistful, tempting sound, but more of a roar, instead. If she was upset over how he had chosen to distract her, and that was what her vocalization meant, it didn’t seem her actions matched her unspoken words in the least: she grinded her hips against him even as they stood up, as though to push him to their bed… but Sokka didn’t relent: he stood his ground and slipped a leg between hers.

The friction between her groin and his thigh caused her voice to hitch, her kiss to be interrupted with astonishment over the burst of pleasure he had offered her: Sokka should have backed down then, he supposed… but he had lost his common sense now, it seemed, for when she was stunned by his bold move, he simply chose to be bolder yet. He kissed her again, dragging his mouth over hers, letting his tongue probe her own, while his hands fondled her curves eagerly. It was Azula’s turn to startle him when she took to grinding against his leg, now… when one of her hands trailed down his chest, squeezing his strong pecs, sensing every ridge of his ribcage, of his abdomen… and then she cupped his manhood firmly, enough to make him yelp with pleasure. Clearly, she wasn’t giving him the reins of this endeavor completely… and that, of course, was how Sokka preferred it.

They stood there, swaying back and forth in a complicated, strange dance, defined by the relentless thrusting of their still-clothed bodies, by the sharp and voracious kisses that only grew hungrier every time their lips parted – thus, they joined again in no time –, by the devious heavy petting, as their hands sought every weakness, every single spot that would make the other shudder with pleasure… and also every place they relished on touching, their every favorite part of each other’s body. Azula’s breasts fit ever so smoothly in Sokka’s large palms, Sokka’s rear was perfect for Azula’s hands to cup and spank, whenever his own deviousness went too far…

Their foreplay usually was much more subtle, much tamer, than this. Typically it was a game of seduction, where the intensity ramped up as time went by: today, a thrumming, powerful energy appeared to circulate between them, strengthened upon each loop it might make, and they were entirely controlled by it. Possessed by desire and need alike, the world seemed to spin around them – or was it the two of them, moving fast and quickly, twirling in place with their strange, erotic dance…? – as they almost toppled over upon reaching their mattress.

Sokka fell on the bed first, but Azula followed quickly, climbing on his lap and kissing him fiercely, as though to steal his breath away. Sokka’s hands fell upon her rear with a resounding slapping sound, and Azula moaned as her skin thrummed under his heavy touch. Again, his thigh slipped between her legs, parting them, offering her a slight respite by providing friction between her sensitive clit and his strong body, and Azula moaned with utmost delight at the pleasure he offered her so generously.

Her hands worked on his sash quickly, tugging it undone and setting it aside. His sleeveless changshan, his preferred apparel in the Fire Nation’s tropical climate, spread open and exposed his strong body for his greedy wife to take in: her fingers toyed with his taut nipples, fondling his smooth skin playfully as she swayed against him. By then, Sokka experienced new urges, new calls to action, and he obeyed them by fisting Azula’s hair and trailing his hot mouth over her chin, then down her neck, which she exposed with a breathy moan.

His free hand saw them switching places: now she was pinned down on the bedding while he straddled her. She hoisted a leg deliberately, intending to tease his hardened shaft, and Sokka’s deep groans revealed she was succeeding at that task: he undid her belt and tossed it aside, then yanked her long tunic up, forcing them to disengage from most their exciting, erotic oral exchanges for a moment. While Azula struggled with the tunic, however, Sokka took advantage of the opportunity to shove her shirt up too, and to begin undoing her breast bindings. By the time Azula had shrugged off both the tunic and shirt, her chest was almost fully exposed, and Sokka’s mouth already trailed over her mounds, quick to suck on her nipples as soon as they were in plain sight.

She arched her body upwards, into his mouth, and he took her in without hesitation, dragging his mouth back and forth between her breasts, toying with her nipples until they were fully erect reddened over his teasing. That Azula had taken to shoving down his trousers with her feet, and removing his hair tie, was as good as irrelevant to the man who remained latched upon her breasts, savoring them as though he had never tasted quite as delectable a feast as the one she presented for him. And this was but an appetizer, as far as Azula was concerned… but her ravenous husband always found pleasure in every inch of her body, it seemed, for he pressed his face to her well-endowed chest, basking in their softness, in the way they bounced upon each teasing, playful tug he dared do with his lips. Whenever he slowed down during sex, whenever he wasn’t particularly loud – or Azula, for that matter – he could hear her heart racing, too… but right now, the agitation made it impossible. He kissed and sucked, letting her strip him bare without complaint… letting her play devious games, too, games he knew better than to protest against once he felt the smooth fabric of his forearm bandages peeling off his arms… only to tighten them by his wrists, again once she was a mere instant away from undoing them completely.

She loved doing this to him. She had taken a liking to it relatively quickly, once their relationship had turned so physical. He would return the favor sometimes – he could swear she enjoyed being on the receiving end far more than she liked being the one doing the binding –, but right now, it was clear his wife wanted one thing… and she worked quite diligently at it, while enjoying every wonderous caress Sokka’s mouth bestowed up her chest.

“Need me to… woah, need me to turn us around?” Sokka asked, head swimming in delight after Azula’s body swayed against his building erection. She groaned, trapping him with her legs before finally turning them in bed.

His willingness to be tied up certainly didn’t sit badly with her: depriving herself from his eager touch would only make her welcome it more eagerly once she released him. Thus, she rode up over him on the bed, tightening the bandages properly on his left wrist while his right hand unbuckled her heavy boots and yanked down her leggings.

She complied with his wordless request – or demand –, rising to stand up before him, exposing her naked body to his greedy eyes, dark with need and longing. Her leggings and underwear fell in one go, pooling by her ankles, over his chest: Sokka delicately raised her feet, one at a time, to do away with the clothes that would certainly get in the way…

“Come here, now… get yourself over here right now,” Sokka grunted, hands traveling over her calves, and up to her thighs…

She complied, dropping heavily on the bed just as she tugged his bandages, hard. Her wet core loomed closer: Sokka leaned in and began devouring her while Azula fastened, at last, the bandages on the bedposts. Sokka’s head fell smoothly on their pillow, giving him a perfect angle from which to feast on her wet, warm folds. Azula whimpered slightly, body shuddering with pleasure as she worked on each fastening, delighted both by his ministrations and by his instinctive, impulsive attempts to wrestle his hands out of confinement. Twice he sabotaged her intentions, making the binding come undone, all be it because he needed to caress her so direly… twice Azula laughed about it, letting him get away with a moment of greedy touches, of kneading her skin, before yanking his hand back yet again towards the bedpost.

The fastenings weren’t quite too restrictive, but they certainly were restrictive enough. Sokka’s hands shook with the mighty urges to embrace her, to caress her… and Azula responded to them by intertwining her fingers with his while she rolled her hips over his face. Giving herself to pleasure so recklessly was undeniably, impossibly fun…

Halfway through her thrusts into his mouth, through his tongue’s relentless teasing and probing of every weak spot he had pinpointed since ages ago, Azula realized he had well and truly succeeded at his plan. Yes, she had genuinely set aside all her furious worries about her brother and his schemes… and right now, it seemed as though it didn’t matter whatsoever. Why would it? Sokka was here with her, their baby would be fine, and Zuko was in custody, at long, damn last…

How strange that clouding her mind with the intoxicating pleasure of unbridled sex would happen to clear it from so many doubts, just as well. She gave herself entirely to bucking against Sokka’s mouth, as he continued to bury his face gladly in her core, jaw open as he opted to offer her no end of open-mouthed kisses, his tongue delving into her depths. She whimpered between moans, hands sliding out of his to fist his hair, to caress his body, fully hers to take advantage of…

She leaned back over his larger frame, legs spread wide, head resting on his abdomen as she moaned longingly: her hands traveled over his flanks, back to the fully erect manhood that awaited her… she pumped it slowly, feeling the twitches of his legs as the pleasure she provided proved too much to take. Impulsively, she pulled back from his mouth, and he even had the gall to whimper miserably, as though deprived from his very favorite meal when it was right there for the taking: she turned around, so her breasts would rest on his abdomen… so the hands holding his cock could help direct it towards her mouth.

“Fuck, Azula…!” Sokka gasped: his next words were inaudible, for she lowered her hips on him again, and whatever he spoke, he did to her very core.

From this new angle, his approach changed: mouth wide open anew, her dripping juices would fall from her opening directly into his mouth while his tongue rubbed knowing circles around her clit. She whimpered again over the excessive pleasure his teasing resulted in, savoring his large manhood by dragging her tongue around it greedily: one of her hands cupped his balls, fondling them gently while the other one took to traveling up and down his inner thighs. To think he was driving her mad to this extent while being tied up… she already wanted his touch directly upon her skin, but she denied it to herself, for now: hearing him struggle with the bindings was terribly stimulating just as well, for she knew he wanted to touch her just as badly as she wanted him to do it. Knowing him, he would tie her up right after she freed him… and she wanted that, too. But until that moment arrived, she would make the most of keeping him in bondage, instead.

He yelped audibly, buried as he remained in her folds, when she engulfed him in her mouth deeply. Azula groaned, bucking her hips against his mouth again as though to ask him to keep going: he knew exactly what game she wanted to play, and so he proceeded to humor her by recreating her every gesture as faithfully as possible. His hips thrusted upwards, and his glans crashed against the roof of her mouth… Azula moaned happily for it, sucking on him, and he responded by sucking on her sensitive, moist skin too. Her tongue danced over his tip, and his own toyed with her exposed nub…

He growled when she squeezed his balls gently, and she dared chuckle at his protest: he responded to her teasing by sliding his tongue as deep as it might go inside her walls, savoring them thoroughly as Azula whimpered, taking him deep in her mouth just as well. She knew she couldn’t quite engulf him all the way to the base, but she attempted to do so all the same. She nearly choked over his girth, over filling her mouth with him, just as she knew her flavor was flooding his…

She instinctively, impulsively, pulled away upon being so close to the edge she had damn near tipped over… and Sokka rose up to meet her anyway: he wouldn’t let her back down, just as he would continue to thrust into her mouth. Azula could only be grateful for his perseverance in the face of her body’s ridiculous, impulsive choices to flee from the overflowing pleasure, for his next wild kiss upon her nether lips, his next reckless rubbing of her sensitive clit, saw her exploding with delight into his mouth. She cried out, his manhood still sheathed within her mouth… and she took to sucking on it, almost in a vengeful manner, once he proved he wasn’t backing down after her first peak. It helped to clamp down on him this way, to suck on him fiercely, for he wouldn’t relent and she could barely cope with the powerful shudders of pleasure coursing through her body. Of course, she had finished first, and of course he was basking in his victory… but was it really him who was victorious, when her heating body, with those trails of sweat pouring down her skin, felt as deliciously sensitive as it did, when every single one of his caresses, every wet sound of his mouth working on hers, every cry in his voice drove her even deeper into the throes of ultimate arousal…?

He loved providing chains of climaxes for her, one after the other, to the point where her vision would blur, to the point where she couldn’t tell the multiple peaks apart with how frequent they became. Her body swayed against him, and every time she seemed to think she had burned through too much excitement, his tongue and mouth proved her wrong. Another burst, and then another, and her head was spinning but she couldn’t stop, couldn’t truly stop, not until he did…

He didn’t. Instead, he whimpered and cried out louder, breathing heavily while still devouring her, when his own surge of pleasure burst out of him, recklessly, into her mouth.

It would have likely been a good idea to warn her he was about to release, but Azula had made love to him so many times she knew exactly what his every nonverbal cue entailed. She was fully free to stop sucking on him, if she didn’t want to receive it directly… but she did want to. She continued sucking, bobbing her head up and down as he finished, spurts of seed pouring into her mouth and shooting off to the back of her throat… and she kept going, just as he did. She kept going, even if it seemed as though her body would combust if they didn’t stop. But he had to be ready again, she had to get him up and running or she’d never get to ride him… though she was open for other ideas, if Sokka had them: the sudden feeling of his hands slapping upon her asscheeks revealed her knots hadn’t been as effective as they should have been… oh, she was just too eager to do it right. But still, if he would fondle her rear now and pull her down on him more powerfully this way, she had very few complaints, if any at all…

If she lost track of how many times she had finished, it meant a tryst had been as successful as could be: she certainly couldn’t count them at all this time. She laughed against his manhood as she reasoned with that, once his cock was fully erect once more.

“Okay… okay,” she said, moaning once Sokka’s tongue delved into her opening again. “Ah… I-I think you’re… ready now…”

“Your turn on the bedposts,” Sokka said, greedily. Azula laughed, pressing one more kiss to his manhood.

“Whatever you want,” she said, simply. After the relentless race of pleasure they’d taken each other up on, she wanted nothing but to surrender to him again now.

Sokka sat up, finally giving some respite to the folds he’d left reddened and delightfully raw with his devious mouth. Azula merely slid down his body, unable to so much as sit up when her legs were still shivering: the smile across her face spoke for itself, and Sokka smirked at the sight of it: a job well done, for sure, in distracting his wife from the stress and anguish that had swept her up once they landed in the Palace.

“I’d ask if you’re feeling better…” he said, sliding a hand mischievously over the back of her thigh, down to her knee… she shivered, again and her heel rubbed against his body. Whether she was trying to convey he should stop or keep going, Sokka couldn’t tell… “But I think that smile of yours speaks for itself.”

“Oh, I feel awful. So bad. I am utterly outraged… still so mad. Why was I mad, again?” she said, teasingly. Sokka chuckled, squeezing her rear teasingly as she opened her eyes to gaze at him alluringly.

“Come here. You’re not getting away with this without some bondage of your own,” he said, lowering himself so he could embrace her, hoisting her delicately in his arms. Azula hummed, turning her head towards him, seeking to kiss his lips. He complied generously, letting his tongue toy with hers – years of practice had certainly seen to strengthening his endurance when it came to providing her oral pleasure of any kind…

“Tie me up… better than I tied you,” she laughed into their kiss. Sokka snickered and shrugged.

“I’ll try. Don’t burn through the bandages if you decide you’ve had enough, though… we can be civil and reach a diplomatic agreement for a truce in terms of bondage whenever you need it…”

“I don’t want a truce. Go for it,” Azula said, beaming. Sokka chuckled. “I promise I won’t burn them…”

“I’ll figure out a way to punish you, if you do.”

“Oh, no. Don’t say that or I’ll want to do it…”

“Fire Lord Azula, you’re incorrigible,” Sokka hissed, playfully. She hummed, swaying back into his body.

“So are you, and I’m not complaining,” Azula said, reaching back to kiss his neck. Sokka responded by fondling her breasts, and Azula moaned willfully at his caresses, at the way his thumbs played with her perked nipples, finding the spots that brought the very sweetest of sounds from her lips.

“You thought that was a complaint? Don’t I have to file official paperwork for that?” Sokka grinned. Azula laughed and nodded.

“You do. I’ll get to it in four-to-six weeks, but you’re allowed to complain indeed, if you follow the right… hmm, protocols…” she whimpered, pressing snugly against him. “Oh, Sokka, just fuck me.”

“So crude of my Fire Lord to say that… and I just love it,” Sokka growled, leaning down to nibble on her neck as his playful caresses on her chest gained further intensity. Azula moaned again, her voice hitching as she swayed against him…

And then, before she knew it, she was lying on the bed again, facedown, while Sokka clambered over her back. She sighed in delight as Sokka tightened the bandages around her wrists, leaning down to press kisses to her cheek, to her neck and shoulder… then he deprived her from his presence and company for a moment, if just a moment, and she groaned with hopelessness as Sokka ensured to tighten the bandages at each bedpost. She’d have some mobility anyway, but not nearly enough to take proper action… and she knew that was exactly what Sokka was counting on. He was too clever, tying her while she was face-down…

“How dare you…” she hissed. Sokka snickered, finishing the knot on the second bedpost before climbing on the bed again. “Tying me down like this, how can you do such a thing to your Fire Lord?”

“Hmmm, my Fire Lord, yes. Mine, and mine alone,” Sokka teased her. Azula smirked as he leaned down over her. “Would you have preferred to be face-up, by any chance?”

“Evidently… I wouldn’t have,” Azula said, eyeing him pointedly, dangerously, from the corner of her eye. Sokka snickered knowingly. “You take such advantage of my weaknesses, damn you…”

“You love that I do,” Sokka said. Azula snorted and smiled.

“Yes, damn it, I love that you do,” she whispered. “Only drawback is… I won’t be able to kiss you all that easily, this way,”

“Well, now, if the urge hits us too powerfully, I’ll just loosen up the bandages,” Sokka said, kissing the corner of her mouth before pulling back.

Azula hummed: her legs remained spread shamelessly, and she had no doubt she looked as undignified as possible, but Sokka appeared to find her utterly enthralling, instead. His hands traveled down her back delicately, all the way to her rear. He rubbed it teasingly, a hand on each buttock, and Azula moaned while thrusting backwards, into his touch.

“Give it to me now, damn it… come and get it, Sokka. Come and get me…”

“On my way there, love. On my way,” he said, leaning down to hoist her hips up delicately: he planted a devious kiss over her mounds, and Azula hummed happily, vibrating with delight…

Her cheerful sounds were promoted to outright cries when his hardened shaft rubbed against her folds. First against her clit, then higher, dipping the tip teasingly in her waiting entrance…

“I did a number on you for sure…” Sokka snickered, delighted by her persistent wetness. Azula hummed.

“D-do another one now, damn it…”

He could have teased her further, but he relented with her wishes in the end: his manhood pushed through the entrance, brushing against her sensitive walls and prompting Azula to cry out again in hunger and delight: when she nearly lowered her hips impulsively, he raised them once again. A happy laugh tumbled from her lips.

“D-do your worst… oh, fuck me, Sokka…” she moaned, thrusting away against him slightly: her own motions caused her to moan in bliss while Sokka remained static…

And then he began moving. At first, he only thrusted lightly, marking a very subtle, teasing rhythm that still drove Azula mad with desire and bliss. He went so slowly, and yet so thoroughly, burying himself deeper and deeper inside her at a terribly calm pace when Azula was already whimpering and panting heavily, sweat pouring down her body…

“You’re impossibly hot, damn it…” Sokka sighed happily, closing his eyes once he was sheathed fully inside her: she could take all of him, squeezing his grateful manhood with slight twitches of her walls. “I missed this… I really missed this.”

“S-so did I… so did I. J-just… k-keep going, don’t stop, keep going, faster now…” Azula begged.

Sokka chuckled as he set his hands on her hips: his body reeled back, slowly still, though at a faster pace than before. His pelvis’s movements were akin to that of the erotic dance they had been doing earlier, tucking in his abdomen and then letting it back out with flowing motions. Azula gasped, and now it was her turn to tug at her bindings desperately: she could have just thrusted into him, she could have rejected his rhythm to establish her own…

When she tried, Sokka’s hands clasped her waist and stopped her. He set the rhythm now, just as she had earlier. She gasped, utterly delighted by his boldness… she’d definitely tease and taunt him about how controlling he had been later, yes, but right now she wanted more of this, more of his commanding behavior. She was the most powerful woman in the world, of course she was… and that was why surrendering, and giving in to him, was a pleasure that left her lightheaded with bliss.

“S-Sokka… please…” she whimpered: her breathy voice, her needy moans, poured out that way without her being able to do anything about it. She felt his grip tightening upon her, and she knew her cries had tempted him, as they ever did. But he still wouldn’t budge as much as she needed him to, no matter if he picked up some speed…

She knew what he was doing, of course she did. Starting slow, accelerating gradually until he was drilling into her with unrepentant fierceness, and she needed him to get to that point now, right now, for if he kept this up, she was just going to…

The thought went interrupted when she climaxed again around his shaft – in any other circumstances, she would have held out a little longer, but their earlier mutual oral sex had seen to the utter destruction of her endurance today. She cried out helplessly, and Sokka gave in to her needs of further speed for a brief moment, just to ride her orgasm with her while groaning with delight at the smooth massage of her walls against his manhood.

“Woah, damn… that never gets old. Never,” he laughed, throwing his head back. “You okay, Azula…?”

“F-fuck…! Fuck…!” she gasped, feeling tears of pleasure surging in her eyes. “M-more, Sokka…! J-just… more…!”

“I’m just making sure… don’t want to go overboard, you know?” he smirked, hooking his hands smoothly on her hipbones. “Gotta make you do that again, though… feels so damn good to feel you bursting all around me…”

Azula whimpered, glancing at him from over her shoulder: he towered over her in a godly way, and she wanted him to be as merciless as one, too… and she finally seemed poised to get her wish as he started to thrust faster, always ensuring to be deeply buried inside her upon his every sway forward. She gasped and moaned, closing her eyes as the pleasure surged and soared, pouring all over her body, under her utterly sensitive skin… she felt feverish with pleasure, overdosed on climaxes already, knowing Sokka would continue to provide them to her until he, as well, was fully spent…

He sped up further. Her body bucked lightly against him, now that he was at the rhythm she had been looking for. He clasped her hips and groaned, head thrown back as he relished in the smooth heat inside her, enveloping him so warmly he almost wanted to finish right then and there… but no, not yet. He wanted to draw this out longer, much longer, and he’d do exactly that by thinking about taxes and treaties and the guard patrols and vegetables and everything that could potentially help him hold out longer… all the while, speeding up. Little by little, she was getting exactly what she wanted and soon enough she couldn’t keep up anymore: Azula cried out and exploded anew around his shaft, and the delightful friction between her walls and his cock almost broke Sokka out of his miserable train of thought – how could he possibly hold out when she made him feel like melting jello with her every moan, with the way her body collided with his, with the beautiful visual of her slender back, right in front of him…?

He couldn’t endure another second: he had to thrive in this tryst for the wonder that it was. He opened his eyes again and slowed the rhythm… solely so he could lower his body to lie atop her. His chest pressed against her back, and his cock remained lodged deep inside her. Azula whimpered, glancing back at him as though begging him to continue… she moaned again, much more heartily, when Sokka’s hands slid underneath her body, over the covers of their bed, and clamped onto her sensitive breasts. Her nipples found perfect purchase on his palm, and so he kneaded and squeezed, remaining static while buried to the hilt inside her…

“Want me to untie you yet…?” he asked, breathing heavily at her ear. “I… really want to kiss you now…”

“N-no… no. Y-you can’t just… you can’t just hold my breasts this way and then… say you’ll stop, no, keep going like this… a-another round, we’ll kiss as deeply as you want in another… ah!”

Well, he wasn’t going to complain too much over that request, truly. What was there to complain about? He’d definitely pull off a third orgasm later, he absolutely had it in him, although the second one seemed dangerously close by now…

He thrusted faster, harder, groping and massaging her breasts while kissing her cheek, nibbling on her exposed neck, enjoying the way she met his thrusts with her own. Were they utterly insane for going this far, this hard, when they were supposed to be taking it easy? Probably… certainly. If Azula dared claim she was going to be the worst mother ever over this, he’d make sure to remind her it was all his idea… and that, if their previous romps hadn’t likely affected the baby, hopefully this one wouldn’t, either…

So he huffed, burying his face in her neck and shoulder as he powered further, thrusting harder, so much harder, so much faster, his hips swaying at vertiginous speeds that Azula’s shuddering body couldn’t seem to follow: she kept begging him to keep going as she burned through climax after climax…

He burst too, at last, letting out a deep groan as he embraced her tightly, pressing his body heavily to hers, crushing her to the bed, trapping her between it and his body… and she wanted to be nowhere else. She laughed in delight as she felt his seed spurting deep inside her – she was already pregnant, he could keep doing this from now on, at least until the child was born, to no consequences –, and she thrusted against him again as he finished pumping his cock through her shuddering walls. His every pant was accompanied with a soft moan, and once he felt well and truly spent, Sokka collapsed atop her.

They laid in silence for a moment, savoring the sheer pleasure they had just coursed through together. Both were delightfully lightheaded, both felt utterly undone after overindulging in each other… and both smiled, knowing they weren’t even done yet.

“Want me to untie you now…?” Sokka asked, softly. Azula moaned suggestively.

“Maybe… though stay inside me while you do it,” she said, with a greedy smile. Sokka laughed, kissing her cheek softly. “It’s… it’s your fault. You feel so damn good inside me…”

“If I stay there for too long, I’ll be ready again in no time,” Sokka whispered. Azula hummed and smirked.

“Is that supposed to be a drawback, or just regular information… huh?” she asked, before shivering over a surge of pleasure, resulting from their joined sexes. “Ah, it feels so good, fuck…”

“I’m glad it does,” Sokka laughed softly, reaching for her right hand first. “And I hope you feel better now, all around.”

“You need to do this more often… so much more often,” Azula laughed. “Every time something’s going badly, or something dangerous is coming up… take me to a whole other world of pleasure and I’ll definitely deal with the problem in a much better mood.”

“I’d had it in mind for a few months already, you know? But things were going so well lately that it didn’t seem necessary to do this…” Sokka whispered, kissing her cheek quickly as he moved to her other hand. Azula lowered her right, reaching over her own body to touch his flanks, closing her eyes with delight. “Still, it was my best idea for what to do if your brother pulled any stunts anytime soon. I knew our plans were pretty good, so it wasn’t likely that he’d mess them up, but…”

“But you know me all too well, huh?” Azula sighed: her left hand was free again now, and she hummed as she reached back to fist his hair. “I’m sorry I was moments away from going off the rails. They were right… even if Zuko means trouble, we handled it well even in our absence. So… I should just celebrate we outdid him by getting you to ravish me again, right?”

“As many times as you want until you’re satisfied,” Sokka smirked. “Though you seem quite a bit insatiable today, eh?”

Azula laughed, turning around almost unwillingly: their bodies uncoupled over her motions, but she wrapped her legs around his waist afterwards regardless, arms around his neck as she rewarded him for the torrent of pleasure he had unleashed inside her with deep, searching kisses, invading the very territories she had claimed for herself so many times in the past… letting him return the favor too, when his tongue delved into her mouth as well.

“Insatiable sounds… about right,” she laughed, closing her eyes as Sokka regaled her with more kisses upon her cheek and neck. “Your fault entirely… you did this to me, you wicked Fire Lady, you…”

“Oh, come on now, take responsibility for your own actions,” Sokka smirked. “How is it my fault alone, when you’re the hottest Fire Lord there ever was?”

“Hmm, if you could resist my hotness maybe I’d resist yours,” Azula reasoned, amusing him. “Though maybe I wouldn’t resist yours either way, and I’d just keep swooning over you while you pointedly ignore me…”

“Never,” Sokka whispered, caressing her damp hair and brushing it off her face. “The minute we have any form of eye-sex, Azula, you know I’m down for anything you want from me.”

“Oh, I’ve noticed,” Azula laughed. Sokka grinned proudly. “Thank you… seriously, thank you. Not only was that… oh, it was amazing. We’re filthy and I love us for it…”

“I love us for it too,” Sokka said, kissing her cheek now, moving back to her ear.

“But it’s also… helped heaps in keeping me level-headed. Though… maybe that’s not entirely right,” Azula smiled, running her hands over his delectable back muscles. “I’m not sure I’m level-headed at all right now, come to think of it…”

“You’re much happier, at least,” Sokka chuckled. “Alright, then… we can go again, as many times as you want, really. Just… know we did well. The worse threat has been fielded safely, alright? So…”

“So, I can take it easy,” Azula let out a breath, closing her eyes. “The baby is… oh, fuck. The baby…!”

“Yeah, yeah, well, don’t worry too much. Kid’s still too small to be affected by what we do, remember?” Sokka smiled awkwardly. Azula grimaced.

“I hope so,” she said, eyes wide with terror. “We’re hopeless, aren’t we?”

“Slightly so. No surprise we wound up making a baby without meaning to, considering our track record,” Sokka laughed, kissing Azula’s lips. “But our little kid’s going to grow up just fine, Azula. Everyone who could have been a problem, everyone who could have represented a threat for your rule…”

“They’re in custody now. We’re safer than we have been since… well, ever, really,” Azula admitted, closing her eyes. “I’ll… probably talk to Zuko tomorrow. Or try to, anyway…”

“Good. Tomorrow, then,” Sokka whispered, kissing her collarbone next, then moving lower smoothly, trailing his lips over her breasts anew. Azula hummed, shuddering in delight against him. “For now, we’ll make love reasonably…”

“I’m not sure that’s within our capabilities, Sokka…”

“And afterwards, we’ll go clean up because we haven’t done that for way too long, and we’re not only filthy for having raunchy sex, but literally filthy after traveling, too,” Sokka teased her. Azula laughed and shrugged, for he had a point… “Then we’ll get something to eat… and if the night’s still young, we’ll get filthy in every sense of the word all over again. How about it?”

“Perfect. You should plan our every daily itinerary forever,” Azula decided. Sokka smirked.

“Of course I should. Leave it to me and you’ll get twenty orgasms a day, at the very least,” he said, eyeing her mischievously before taking her nipple into his mouth. Azula whimpered, as their eye-contact lingered while he continued to taunt her this way.

“D-don’t tempt me… oh, fuck, you already have, what’s the point in pretending otherwise…?” Azula laughed, breaking their eye contact. Her cheeks were aflush with bliss. “Again. Again, and again, and again…”

“My Fire Lord’s wish is my demand,” Sokka teased her, smirking before sucking on the pert nipple again. Azula whimpered, fisting his hair anew: his manhood brushed against her clit, and Azula rubbed herself against his shaft anew, knowing it would be up and ready to get going again in no time…

Sokka’s itinerary wound up being a perfect plan to follow: after ensuring to help Sokka back to a full erection, the two lovers gave themselves to another frenzy of passionate sex, though this time they faced each other, just as they loved to. They rolled across the bed back and forth, with Azula winding up on top often, and Sokka swapped them over anew whenever the excitement shook her too powerfully to keep going. Twenty orgasms, Azula thought, was certainly a low bar for what Sokka proved himself capable of delivering for her on that day, and she certainly conveyed as much to him once they were lying down together again, sweating wildly, laughing at the utter recklessness of their latest tryst.

No one had to wonder about what they’d been up to, once they finally left their room again. Azula suspected Katara had hoped to ensure things were alright, that they’d just talked things over and that there was no problem at all… but when she had glimpsed them, walking hand in hand to dinner, her concerns had frozen over entirely. Their good mood definitely gave away the means through which Sokka had dealt with Azula’s near-panic attack, and Azula suspected she wouldn’t even be able to display an ounce of shamefulness if anyone asked about it… so, for the sake of her dignity and reputation, she certainly was grateful to join their friends for the meal without going in-depth about how utterly satisfied she felt at the moment – though her trembling legs surely spoke for themselves, as they ever did.

“The whole mechanism of the cages worked smoothly, Ty Lee did a brilliant job in her performance as Ursa…” Iroh explained: Ty Lee grinned awkwardly – unlike the others, she, no doubt, struggled to hold back from asking Azula for every detail about her four-hour absence with Sokka.

“I didn’t really do much, though, it’s true,” she pointed out. “He fooled himself all by himself, I think. Weird how it didn’t even cross his mind that you could’ve just sent your mom to the Boiling Rock or somewhere else…”

“The Boiling Rock is too far away, and the inmates have a lot more freedoms, ironically, than in the Prison Tower,” Azula said, wiping her mouth with a napkin before speaking. “I can’t trust putting my mother there would be a good idea. Granted, a few inmates might despise her, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she turned them into her private army within a few days…”

“Much harder to do that in a more isolated cell in the Prison Tower,” Sokka said, nodding. “But, of course…”

“She’s not there, either,” Ty Lee said, with a weak smile.

“You guys had leaked false information saying she was there some years ago, right?” Aang asked. Sokka nodded.

“We had no idea if he’d ever take the bait, but we did it back when he and his little group were at their most active,” Sokka confirmed.

“Even if he had suspected it was just bait, he wouldn’t have been any more successful if he’d somehow discovered her actual location,” Azula said, with a sigh.

“Because we installed the cage system there, too,” Sokka grinned.

“You guys are terribly thorough,” laughed Ty Lee. “No wonder you’re perfect for each other.”

“So… all that remains now is figuring out what will happen next,” Iroh said, eyeing Azula and Sokka with uncertainty. “Zuko is under custody now… so, will you send him to the Boiling Rock?”

“I have the feeling you’d protest that choice, if I dared make it,” Azula sighed, eyeing Iroh skeptically. The old man grinned sadly.

“You know me so well…” he sighed.

“Why’d you wanna keep him around, anyway?” Toph asked Iroh, halfway through munching on a picken leg. “Azula’s Fire Lord already, he can beat it for all I care…”

“I don’t want him to be Fire Lord,” Iroh said, raising his eyebrows. “Azula has been a splendid leader so far. But I fear that’s precisely the problem: Zuko has been utterly lost ever since Azula took the throne, ever since we brought Ursa to justice. He mistakenly believes a throne alone would justify his existence… that his sole purpose in this world is to become Fire Lord. I wish he could stop believing that, but…”

“It’s not something he’ll be ready to relinquish all that easily, no matter if it’s been twelve years since we defeated my mother,” Azula said, with a sigh. “You’d think he’d have made something of himself over twelve years, but…”

“Well, he did get a boyfriend,” Ty Lee blurted out, with a mischievous smile. Azula raised an eyebrow. “He did! I’m not kidding here! You guys, tell her…!”

“Looks like one of his friends was in love with him, or so,” Toph said, with a shrug. “He was all emotional, crying about how mean Zuko was for using them, blah blah blah…”

“Then it’s a one-sided thing?” Azula asked. Ty Lee blinked and shrugged.

“I doubt it. They were trying to dump each other right there, right in front of me! I tell you, it’s true!”

“Well, it’s not true anymore, if they dumped each other,” Katara smiled awkwardly. Ty Lee pouted.

“Oh, say what you will, I’ve always had a sixth sense for these things. Like… like those two!” Ty Lee exclaimed, pointing at Azula and Sokka. “From the minute I met Sokka, I knew you had feelings for each other!”

“Really? From that early on?” Azula asked, with a sarcastic grin as Sokka chuckled, bending over his plate slightly. “Ty Lee, by the time we first saw you in the Fire Nation after defeating my mother, Sokka and I had been together, officially, committed already for months. It’s not like you picked up on a big secret…”

“I didn’t know that, though! But I could tell, even before you said anything…!”

The dinner table roared with laughter as Ty Lee continued trying to make a case for herself when it came to her so-called sixth sense to identify romantic or sexual tension anywhere it existed. Yet, as amused and relieved as Azula was now that the dangers appeared to have been dealt with, her eyes drifted towards Iroh often. She knew her uncle wanted what was best for Zuko… but she also suspected, deep down, that he felt guilty for not having tried harder. For having tricked Zuko, no matter if it was a necessity… for not having kept an eye on him when they had the chance, for not having ensured to make him see the reality of who Ursa was before Zuko ran away. He wanted to give Zuko a second chance… but did Zuko want one? Would he use it for anything good, if it was granted at all? Azula sincerely doubted it…

But for Iroh’s sake, and for Zuko’s own, too, she had to try to find out if he would.

...

The door opened, and the guard closed it anew once she had stepped inside the stone room. Deep within the chamber, behind bars, sat a man she barely recognized, hunched over, with a mat of dark, frizzed hair that concealed his features. The shackles on his ankles and wrists had to be terribly uncomfortable, but not enough that said discomfort would justify not eating at all: his food tray from breakfast stood before him, untouched.

“You look dreadful.”

She knew saying that wouldn’t help her case, but Azula couldn’t help it. Zuko at least reacted upon hearing her voice… even if said reaction was merely the tightening of his fists.

“If you ever do hope to topple over my regime, doing so while starving yourself to death sounds like an utterly dreadful idea,” Azula continued, folding her arms over her chest. “Are you doing some sort of hunger strike, perhaps? You think that will somehow get me to feel compassionate enough to hand over the throne to you?”

He didn’t say anything at all, not yet. Azula sighed, shaking her head.

“I did suspect coming here would be a waste of time, but you do love proving me right, don’t you?” she said. “Any chance you’ll respond to anything I say? Maybe, if Ty Lee’s right, would you respond at all to the chance of rekindling things with your boyfriend…?”

“Fuck off.”

Finally, he broke. Azula let out a breath and almost smiled: he hadn’t changed that much. Eventually, one taunt or another would get the job done.

“Finally. Wasn’t so hard, was it?” she asked. “Zuko… you’ve caused more trouble than you ever needed to, over the course of the last years. I’m here to give you a chance to prove you regret that, that you repent over that…”

“I don’t. Happy?” Zuko growled. Azula’s brow furrowed.

“How exactly do you expect that would make me happy?” she asked, raising her eyebrows. “Zuko… you’ve been a terrorist. An international terrorist…”

“What about it?” he growled, raising his head. “As if it… as if it would matter one bit to you, Fire Lord Azula. You won! Is that what you want me to tell you? Well, fuck off! I don’t care how hard you make it for me, because I’m going to make your life, your rule, a living hell for everything you’ve stolen and taken from me. You have it all now, don’t you? And I’ve got nothing! So go to hell, and don’t you dare come here to pretend you want to give me a chance to do anything but prove you right: yes, Azula, I’m the awful brother who would jump at the chance of pulling that crown off your head! Why would you give me a chance to do it, huh?!”

“I wouldn’t,” Azula said, simply. Zuko scowled heavily at her. “Frankly… I’m not here for your sake. I’m here because I know that, while I’m certainly at greater peace with you behind bars, I know someone who’s not.”

Zuko scowled, confused. Azula breathed deeply before speaking again.

“Uncle Iroh…”

“No.”

“Zuko, I understand you…”

“No! I won’t hear a damn thing you have to say about that traitor!” Zuko roared, glaring at her viciously. Azula scoffed.

“You do realize this ‘traitor’ is the only reason you haven’t been packed up and sent to freeze to death in a cooler, in the Boiling Rock?” Azula asked, hands on her hips. Zuko snarled at her. “Oh, yes. My husband thinks that would be the best fate for you, and the more stupid shit you say to me, the more I’m inclined to agree. The only person out there who thinks you need and deserve a chance is Iroh… and this is how you reward him for it, truly?”

“If he’s doing it for a bloody reward, he can take a hike,” Zuko snapped. “I’ve got nothing to give him. He deserves nothing anyway.”

“It’s as if I’d tossed you in a pit on the ground, and you decided that the only reasonable option is to keep on digging deeper and deeper until your fancy tunnel collapses and you die buried in dirt,” Azula said, with a dry grin. Zuko lowered his gaze, his brow furrowed. “I know it’s hard, Zuko, to accept that your life isn’t turning out the way you wanted it to. But, heh… I bet our father must have felt that way too.”

“Don’t…”

“Yes, right about when our dear mother decided he had to die for the sake of her own quest for power,” Azula said, with a dry grin. Zuko snarled.

“Shut up! Don’t talk about her! Don’t you dare say anything about…!”

“Oh, about the screeching harpy that tried to murder her own daughter?” Azula asked, with a sarcastic grin. “That’s who I shouldn’t badmouth?”

“You’re lying! You’re always lying, and you’re doing it now too! My mother didn’t do any of that, she didn’t kill my father, he just died, and if someone did it, it wasn’t her!”

“Ah, so me and everyone else who witnessed it must have hallucinated that time she literally forced poison into my mouth and nearly killed me. Hmm. I hadn’t thought of that,” Azula said, tapping her chin. “Much food for thought you’ve given me, Zuzu, I really ought to thank you…”

“You ought to…” Zuko started, glaring at her as Azula shook her head and marched towards the door anew. “Yeah! Get out and leave! That’s all you ought to do! You’re not my sister, and I want nothing to do with you or uncle ever again!”

Azula rolled her eyes, resisting the urge to make an undignified hand gesture in Zuko’s direction before marching out of the room. She couldn’t take it: twelve years without seeing her brother, only to find herself at her wits’ end the first time she spoke to him at all…

Her irritation dwindled, though, upon stepping outside the cell to find Iroh wrestling to keep Sokka in the prison corridor: he was instants away from sprinting into the cell and giving Zuko a piece of his mind… it was probably stupid for her heart to feel warmer because of that, but she still smiled at the sight of Sokka anyway.

“That bastard, I don’t care if he’s your nephew, I’m gonna…!” Sokka growled, trying to shrug off Iroh’s hands… then he slowed down upon noticing Azula had returned. “Oh. Oh, you’re done now…? Well, damn it, I’m going to say it again: to the Boiling Rock with him!”

“No, no, no!” Iroh huffed, turning towards Azula and finally releasing Sokka: the non-bender rushed to his wife, wrapping his arms around her and pouting pointedly now that he held her tightly. “I know, Azula, I know you’re sure this is never going to pay off…!”

“And yet you keep putting your trust and your hopes in the belief that it will,” Azula said, rubbing Sokka’s back reassuringly as she glanced at her uncle. “Look, I don’t want him in the Boiling Rock either, though for very different reasons…”

“No way a guy that eloquent could win over the prisoners there,” Sokka pointed out. Azula smiled and shrugged.

“Probably not, but I’d rather not take chances…” she said, glancing at Iroh. “And I’d be taking one hell of a chance if we go with your plan, instead. Are you sure about this, Uncle? You overheard our conversation, didn’t you?”

“I did,” Iroh said, lowering his gaze. “I know it’s hard, I know it makes you uncomfortable, but… I’m sure Zuko can be better. We just need to give him time… time to understand and conciliate the truth for what it is, and to realize he’s not tethered to his mother any longer.”

“I don’t think it matters, at this point, whether my mother is around or not,” Azula said, sternly. “Zuko is just… he’s so lost in the past, so deeply wrapped up in it, that he can’t fathom the notion of living his life without fighting for the throne. Even if my mother outright tells him he should move on, he’d never listen.”

“She wouldn’t, though,” Sokka said, scowling. Azula sighed and nodded. “And she’s the only person he’d listen to anymore.”

“So it seems. Maybe he does care about his friends to a degree, but not to a point where he’d actually listen to them,” Azula said. Iroh sighed and nodded.

“It seems he didn’t even tell them they were looking for Ursa, when he brought them to the Prison Tower,” Iroh said, glancing about himself: they were in said prison right now, though in a cell that hadn’t been modified with Sokka’s increased security measures other than the heavily sealing doors that now stood at every threshold within the tower, in case of a breakout.

“Look… I don’t like this, at all,” Azula said, staring at Iroh intently. “I don’t want you putting yourself at risk, potentially giving Zuko opportunities to hurt others, such as yourself, all be it because you have compassion for him. But if you’re still hellbent on it…”

“If I am?” Iroh asked, gazing at Azula hopefully. She sighed and shook her head.

“Your teashop would have to be guarded, day in and day out,” she said, pointedly. Sokka grimaced, but Iroh smiled and nodded. “You’ll have to promise you won’t let Zuko do anything stupid, the minute you see any suspicious behavior you’d have to report it to the guards, you’ll call them in if he tries to attack you…”

“I’ll be careful. I will be, Azula,” Iroh said, smiling. Azula grimaced.

“Don’t assume blindly that he’ll be grateful for your generosity. So far, it doesn’t look like gratefulness is a feeling he’s familiar with,” she said. “He’s been quite adamant about saying you won’t get any rewards for helping him, if that’s what you’re after…”

“The only reward I’d want is for Zuko to find genuine, true peace,” Iroh said, closing his eyes. “Anything beyond that would be an added bonus… and an irrelevant one, if my one and only objective goes unfulfilled. But… thank you, Azula. Thank you for this opportunity.”

“We’ll review the state of your teashop on a weekly basis. His performance there will also be analyzed,” Azula said, firmly. “If there’s any sign of him attempting to rile up your customers against me, we will intervene. Same if he tries to attack you, directly, himself.”

“Give it three blunders and he’s off to the Boiling Rock?” Sokka suggested, raising his eyebrows. Azula sighed but nodded.

“If Iroh isn’t successful over the course of… well, I don’t know. Six months are too many, or too few?”

“Probably just enough,” Iroh said, with a smile. Azula sighed.

“Well, then. If you can’t handle him for that whole period, let me know,” she said. Iroh nodded promptly.

“Rest assured… I’ll take care of this. If I need anything, I’ll let you know… but you already have more than enough in your hands as it is, Fire Lord Azula,” Iroh smiled. “A baby on the way, and a nation to rule? I know I’m old and you are definitely smarter than me…”

“Oh, now, that’s a lot of buttering up you’re doing, all of sudden…” Azula smirked, and even Sokka smiled slightly for it.

“But I think I can handle your brother, for now,” Iroh said, clapping her shoulder gently. “I’ll do my very best to patch up our messy family, Azula. And if it can be done before your little one is born… all the better yet, don’t you think?”

Azula sighed and nodded: it would be convenient, perhaps too convenient, if Zuko somehow grew out of his countless toxic beliefs before her child was born. Could he prove to be a good uncle, just like Iroh had been for her…? It was hard to believe it could be possible, and yet the idea manifested in her mind, all the same. She’d have to keep him under proper watch, even in the best case-scenario… but if Iroh was successful, it would be better for everyone, in the long run.

Thus, within a couple of days, Zuko was plucked out from the Prison Tower… and escorted by many guards, experts at both firebending and non-bending combat, all the way to Iroh’s teashop, in the Fire Nation Capital.

...

Each week brought new challenges and new complications: once morning sickness faded, other pregnancy-related problems emerged. Azula’s food cravings had been utterly ridiculous, as she found herself wanting to eat the strangest meals she seemed to be able to think of – the latest request she’d made to the kitchen staff was a bowl of fried cabbage: the staff had been utterly perplexed by the odd petition but they had reached out to a cabbage seller to fulfill the Fire Lord’s request anyway –, her breasts had grown in size and proven quite sensitive as of late, and her willingness to engage with Sokka in about any sexual antics they could think of only seemed to skyrocket sometime after three months since her pregnancy had been fully confirmed…

But her growing baby bump didn’t quite compel them to be quite so wild anymore. It was easier to tell the child was there, that it was growing, and with every passing day, the awareness strengthened inside them. Even after rounds of tamer lovemaking, Sokka would hug Azula from behind, his hand trailing over her bare body… and over her growing bump. Then they would talk, for hours at times, just for a few minutes, at other times, just to confirm that Azula felt well, and that the baby was growing properly – something Katara confirmed frequently for them, at least once a week.

“Have you thought about names yet?” Sokka asked her one night, dragging his hand gently over her belly – he could feel the baby moving, if just lightly. Azula hummed, eyes closed, fingers slipping between his.

“Not really. Can’t settle on anything because… I don’t know how to mix both our naming cultures properly,” Azula confessed. Sokka hummed, kissing the side of her neck.

“How about… Kazoku?” he suggested, with a wicked grin. Azula glanced at him in surprise.

“Kazoku? Doesn’t that just mean… ‘family’?” she asked. Sokka chuckled and nodded, and Azula elbowed his ribs gently. “Goofball.”

“But it has a ‘K’ sound, and a ‘Z’, and it doesn’t mean anything like ‘destruction’ or ‘booger’, or anything like that…”

“It’s still not a name, damn it,” Azula smiled, bringing his hand up to her mouth to press a quick kiss to it. “I may be many things, but I won’t be the mother who gives her child a ridiculous name just so they’re mocked for it in school.”

“Mocked? Our kid is going to be heir to the throne, nobody can mock them or they’ll be accused of high treason and sentenced to a pyre,” Sokka said, with a dismissive shrug. Azula snorted and laughed at his carelessness upon saying those words. “Really, though…!”

“You’re impossible,” Azula smiled, turning in his arms carefully and kissing his lips directly. “What am I going to do with you…?”

“Hopefully, spend your whole life trying to make sure I stop saying silly things…?” Sokka suggested, prodding her nose with his.

“Sounds bad. I’d rather spend my whole life cherishing every silly thing you say. Believe it or not, you’re quite funny,” Azula said. Sokka gasped in horror.

“Me? Funny? Perish the thought! I’m the most serious and straight-laced guy you’ve ever met!” he declared, pompously, bringing Azula to laugh louder in his chest. “Really, Azula!”

Such moments were always delightful breaks whenever trouble stirred in other regards: governing a nation was no easy feat, no matter how reliable Azula’s overseers might be. The occasional bastion of sentiment against her rule would arise sometimes, and she would have no choice but to quell it as quietly as possible, hoping to never allow those groups to gain enough traction to represent a genuine threat… her forces always attempted to track down the main instigator, and typically it would be someone with ties to Ursa. Even twelve years later, the chaos her mother had sown into Fire Nation society continued to be a thorn on Azula’s side… never more apparent, of course, than in the greatest of such thorns, namely, Azula’s own brother.

Iroh had insisted he’d have everything under control. Azula had chosen to believe him, but after a couple of weeks of not seeing the old man at all, Sokka had decided to visit the teashop himself to ensure Zuko hadn’t done anything stupid. He was surprised to find the hotheaded man was now a waiter in Iroh’s teashop, though not a very good one: he had glared at Sokka fiercely as soon as he had crossed the door, and Sokka had been on edge as Iroh prepared his chosen tea brew and handed it to Zuko. He saw no sign of poison, nor did Zuko spit in the drink, and yet once the firebender deposited the cup on the table before Sokka, he bitterly growled.

“I hope you choke on it.”

Sokka had been moments away from losing his patience at that very moment, and he almost tossed the tea right back at his brother-in-law, but he controlled himself while Iroh grimaced apologetically: reforming someone who didn’t want to be reformed would never be easy, but Zuko was particularly keen on making it impossible.

Three months into the arrangement, Iroh was exhausted, no matter if he pretended otherwise. He seemed moments away from giving up, no matter how hopeful he had been, at first. When he finally visited the Palace after that long – leaving Aang, Toph and Katara to keep an eye on Zuko, along with the rest of his assigned guards –, he confessed how difficult the journey had been so far… and that, try as though he might, he couldn’t get through to Zuko, not once, until then.

“He just shuts me down, yells at me… he thinks I’m the enemy,” he concluded, lowering his head with a sigh. “I’ve tried every approach I can think of, but he is still bitter, still angry. I got him a book I thought he might like… he set it on fire right in front of me. It’s… it’s impossible for me. I didn’t think it would be, I truly hoped I could reach the young boy he once was… but it seems I’ve failed, Azula. I’m sorry…”

Azula sighed, glancing at Sokka with uncertainty. She could see it plain on his face: he was already thinking of the Boiling Rock again. She, admittedly, wasn’t entirely opposed to the notion anymore, and yet…

Her hand trailed over her belly. It was bigger now, easier for people to notice it. Rumors abounded in the Fire Nation, emboldened by the fact that she had no choice but to admit the truth of her pregnancy to her chief overseers and top-ranked officers even before releasing an announcement to the general public. She’d do that last thing sooner than later… but she had been hoping, despite herself, that Iroh would have been at least slightly more successful with reforming Zuko than he had been. That way, if people marched into the teashop and talked about the big news, she might feel less apprehensive and fearful that her brother might attempt to stage some sort of escape in a few months, only to return to steal the baby, or so… she sighed, shaking her head.

“What do you want us to do?” Sokka asked, softly. Azula gritted her teeth, reaching out to squeeze his hand with hers.

“I… have a really strange idea in mind,” she said. “If it fails… Boiling Rock it is. This is my last resort for Zuko, and I hope he appreciates it, because… goodness, I don’t know. It might be an awful idea…”

“What is your intent?” Iroh asked, gazing at Azula with hopeful eyes. “Is it something I can help with…?”

“Doubtful. If I fail at it, I bet you’ll be just as unlikely to succeed as me,” Azula sighed, glancing at Sokka again. “You’re with me to the end?”

“You know I am,” Sokka frowned.

“Even if my next choice is utterly ridiculous?”

“If it’s too awful, and I feel personally victimized by it, all I’ll ask is that you compromise and let me choose the kiddo’s name…” Sokka said, playfully. Azula smiled and shook her head. “Really? Oh, now, come on…”

“Only if it goes really, really badly, then,” she said. Sokka grimaced.

“Damn. If you’re agreeing to that condition, I’m genuinely worried now,” he said. Azula sighed and tightened her grip on his hand… her other hand remained on her growing belly, as her heart tightened with anxiety.

She had never thought it would come to this… she really had hoped otherwise. But if this was what it would take for Zuko to cut out his nonsense, she could only hope it would be worth a shot, no matter how disgusted she might be with herself and the person she had to visit…

...

Three visitors a day. They changed often, quite often. For twelve years, it had been that way, with no one sticking around long enough to have a proper conversation with her, no matter what she said or did.

Seldom did any of those visitors try to clean the place, but typically, they only did it while she was asleep. She had tried to fake a deep sleep once, to catch one of them entering her cell so she could break out when he didn’t expect it… only to realize, upon opening a single eye, that there were more guards right outside. She gave up before even trying.

The right moment would have to come, eventually. One day, one way or another, a different visitor would finally arrive, and once he did, her time in this damn cell, hidden so far away from the world, in the least likely place, would finally come to an end…

Today, for the first time, she received a non-guard visitor, merely about an hour or two after her latest meal.

“Ah, did you forget something?” she asked, playfully, with a sing-song voice as she heard the key turning in the door’s lock. “Perhaps you’ve decided to regale me with tales of your lady wife and the cottage she keeps by the sea after all, Captain Haokan?”

The guard standing by the door only seemed to shoot her a venomous glare before stepping back… and then someone else strode through the door, which closed after she had entered the chamber.

Ursa raised her gaze when she caught sight of the regal hem of the outfit. She let her eyes travel slowly, upwards… though they slowed once they glimpsed the growing belly that the obi worn by her new visitor couldn’t conceal. A slow smirk spread over her face as she continued upwards, knowing who, exactly, would wear such opulent robes… and indeed, the merciless golden glare that fell upon her own eyes couldn’t have belonged to anyone but the young woman who had sentenced her to the pits of oblivion, twelve years ago.

“Oh my, oh my…” Ursa chuckled, her smirk widening slowly. “What have we here? The Fire Lord herself, visiting her poor, dear mother for the first time… oh, but what generosity you grant me, my liege.”

Speaking with Zuko’s vitriol, Azula realized, was preferrable to her mother’s sneers. The pregnancy had caused her mild heartburn, over the past weeks… it seemed poised to worsen over Ursa’s every word, though. Her hands tightened into fists as she glared fiercely at her mother.

“Though no doubt, you must be quite… quite the generous Fire Lord,” Ursa said, smirking again as her gaze fell upon Azula’s prominent womb. “Look at that… come to ask for countermeasures for pregnancy this late in the game, have you? Tut-tut… you should’ve visited sooner, dear. I could’ve given you a remedy or another, ensure you wouldn’t wind up in such trouble after having your fun with whomever you needed something out of…”

“I suppose that’s how you went about it, huh?” Azula said, keeping her voice level despite she wanted to scream already. “Once you were regent, that’s how you secured every alliance that kept you afloat, across your countless scandals? Your reputation certainly was too bright and pristine for the rotten, corrupt dealings we’ve uncovered you were up to…”

“Oh, now, are you about to tell me you’ve been above all that?” Ursa said, smirking. “What an upstanding lady you’ve grown up to be, Azula…”

“Compared to you? Clearly, that’s not much of a contest,” she said, rolling her eyes.

“For what it’s worth…?” Ursa said, waving a hand towards Azula’s belly – the Fire Lord almost succumbed to the urge of covering it with her arms, despite knowing Ursa had absolutely no power over her right now. “It suits you just as poorly as that five-pronged hairpiece does.”

“Ah, really, now?” Azula smirked, and Ursa returned the gesture gladly. “I suppose you speak of experience, do you?”

Ursa’s amusement seemed to freeze in her face at Azula’s comeback. The Fire Lord scowled, folding her arms over her chest.

“Not that I’m particularly keen on having anything in common with you… but at the very least, I don’t need to spread my legs to half the nobility to gain their respect,” Azula hissed.

“Boring,” Ursa said, simply. Azula scoffed.

“I suppose you shouldn’t have killed your husband if you were so keen on having an active sex life… but I suppose digging your own grave is just one of the fun traits that you chose to pass on to your son, too?”

At that moment, the atmosphere in the room shifted. Azula nearly felt the temperature drop when Ursa’s brow drew together slowly. Oh, goodness… maybe this would work. Maybe this could work…

“What does that mean, exactly?” Ursa asked, her voice authoritarian and no longer as mocking as before. Azula scoffed.

“The fact that you dare speak to me like that… as though I owed you anything, at this point in time?” Azula said, skeptically. “You killed my grandfather and my father, you attempted to kill me… you’ve been down in this dungeon for twelve years, while I’m out in the world, fixing every disaster you left in your wake. What kind of threat do you believe you pose for me, exactly? How do you expect you can hurt me anymore… when it’s clear as day that you’ve lost everything, Mother?”

“Have I? You still call me that,” Ursa said, staring at Azula piercingly. Azula’s heart clenched. “I don’t think I’ve lost quite as much as I had, if you still see me as your mother…”

“On the technicality of birth and nothing more,” Azula hissed. Ursa chuckled, shaking her head.

“Keep on that road, and that brat you’re carrying will likely spit the same words right back at you, once it reaches the right age,” Ursa said. Azula scoffed. “Don’t believe me?”

“No. Because the only thing I know about how to be a mother is to be everything you weren’t,” Azula said, with a dry grin of her own. “Not to mention, the child’s father is the best man in this damn world, Uncle Iroh will help us too…”

“Oh, please, that resentful, jealous old wart…”

“I have alliances with every nation, and even the Avatar is my friend,” Azula said, hands on her hips. “Unlike you, I don’t intend to make this child grow alone. Unlike me, this child will have everything I never knew was possible when I was young. A good childhood, a good family, a good world for which to fight for. Everything you denied me, everything I fought to achieve…”

“Oh, goodie. Mighty Fire Lord Azula, I bow down to your superiority,” Ursa said, rolling her eyes. Azula snarled at her. “What does that have to do with me? And what the hell did you start saying about Zuko earlier? As you must realize, I have a very packed schedule, not much time to take visits at home, you see…”

“I said Zuko likes digging further whenever he’s already neck-deep in mud. Much like you,” Azula hissed. Ursa frowned. “And the only reason I’m here now, after all these years… is because of him.”

“What… did you do to him?” Ursa asked, her brow furrowed heavily.

“Ah? No more games and teasing now? Instead, you’re taking the threatening route, are you?” Azula asked, smirking. “Again: you have no power over me. You never will again. And yes, I will tell you what’s happened to your beloved son… but not for your benefit, mind you. Nothing I ever do, not a single thing, is for your sake. So don’t you dare believe, not for a second, that what I’m offering you is some sort of truce: it’s not. But if you do care for Zuko at all? Oh… if you do, then you’d do best to listen to me without any more of your snippy, idiotic comments. Are we understood?”

Ursa didn’t say anything: despite knowing she was dipping into dangerous waters, Azula still dared scowl at her mother and dial up her intimidation.

“Playing rebellious now? Is this really something you’re willing to risk for the only person in this damn world that means anything to you at all?” she asked. Ursa snarled.

“Fine. I understand. Of course I do, curses, do you think I’m a child?” Ursa snapped. Azula’s eyes narrowed.

“If only I were as stupid as to underestimate you, I really might,” Azula said, frowning heavily. “Your dear son has been sowing dissent and chaos across the Earth Kingdom for the better part of the last twelve years, with a posse of seasoned criminals who somehow wound up following his lead. He faded into obscurity a couple of years ago… and then resurfaced, three months ago, infiltrating the Fire Nation.”

“He… he was looking for me,” Ursa stated, immediately. “He… he had to be! Azula, what have you done to him? Azula…!”

“Oh, I barely had to do anything. I wasn’t even in the mainland at the time of his clever attack,” Azula said, with a sneer. “He infiltrated the Prison Tower… looking for you. Only…”

“I wasn’t there. You… you caught him. You fooled him and caught him and…” Ursa concluded quickly. Azula nodded slowly. “Azula, please… he’s your brother. He’s your brother…!”

“And I’m your fucking daughter. It made no damn difference to you, though, did it?” Azula asked. Only then did Azula confirm her mother had a heart, somehow, for she had just seen it breaking, in front of her very eyes. To her utter disappointment, it didn’t feel remotely as satisfactory as it should have. “My father was your husband. I have a husband of my own right now, you know, and if anyone so much as tried to touch a hair on his head, I’d sooner scorch them where they stand… but you, you killed your own husband just fine. Now, though, after all those crimes, you plead for mercy? You beg me to show compassion? Truly, this is how low you stoop, setting aside your dignity and your high-and-mighty attitude just to plead in your son’s defense?”

“A-Azula, he’s not me. He’s not responsible for my choices, pin his every crime on me if you must, execute me if you have to…!” Ursa gasped, crawling towards the jail’s bars as she glared at Azula with a mix of outrange and helplessness. “Don’t punish him for my wrongs, it was me, it was all me! Want me to confess it officially? I will! Just leave Zuko alone, damn you!”

Azula held her silence for a moment: every instant she held it, though, saw Ursa breathing more heavily, more frantically. In the end, after a long pause, Azula drew in a deep breath and released it: her hand fell upon her growing belly, and she closed her eyes.

“We don’t have a name for the child yet,” she said, casually, as though her mother weren’t pleading with her, desperately, just now. “We talk about it often, and I keep feeling rather uncertain of myself, at every moment in time. Apparently, the pregnancy is going fairly well, no problems have been detected… and yet I can’t help but be afraid for this child. Afraid of whatever challenges it will face, out in the world… afraid of making choices that could one day see this child hating me just as badly as I hate you. And then, just as I think of that… I realize there’s no way I could ever hate my own child, the way you hate me. Sokka has said so a few times, and I… I can’t help but agree, in the end. It’s our child… we didn’t do it on purpose, no, but he was thrilled about it when we found out we were expecting it, and now even I find myself… even I find myself wondering what it will be like, getting to know this child, once it’s born.”

She breathed deeply again, looking at Ursa intently: it seemed, for a moment, that there were tears in the corners of her mother’s eyes… but she ignored them, even if there were.

“I know you don’t feel that way about me at all,” Azula said. “I don’t care why. I don’t need your reasons, I don’t want excuses, I reject all your explanations already, just because I know they’ll serve no purpose. But… I do think, and I do hope, that it’s exactly how you feel about Zuko. Because… if I ever turned out to be half the bitch you have been? If I ever wound up in jail, and my child was out there, in danger, yes, I think I would beg and plead and do anything to save their life.”

“W-what do you want from me? What do you wish of me?” Ursa said, trembling. “If you do understand, Azula…”

“I want you… to want what’s best for your son,” Azula said, pointedly. Ursa’s eyes widened. “I want you to dissuade him from chasing mindlessly after the throne.”

Ursa gasped. Azula remained unyielding… and she was unsurprised when Ursa shook her head, if just lightly.

“He… he wants his throne back, then? He’s fighting you, still?” Ursa asked. Azula didn’t answer. “And you want me to dissuade him from taking his birthright…”

“It wasn’t his birthright any more than it was mine: it was Lu Ten’s,” Azula hissed. Ursa frowned. “Not going to try to convince me you were responsible for his death too, now, are you?”

“No… no,” Ursa said, glaring at Azula. “Of course I wasn’t, curses…”

“Do excuse me for assuming: it looks like you had a stake in every fishy death in the Fire Nation in the period of five years during which you served as regent… can’t blame me for jumping to that conclusion, can you?” Azula said, with a dismissive shrug. “Be that as it may… yes, Mother. I want you to tell Zuko to cut out his nonsense and accept he won’t be Fire Lord, for once and for all. For his own sake, above all else.”

“Right… because he’s a hazard for you. A problem to deal with…” Ursa said. Azula huffed.

“And it would be very easy to deal with it in a much more gruesome manner than I have so far. You’d know,” she said. Ursa’s eyes widened. “Poison is your specialty, isn’t it? It would be damn easy to just find a guard willing to pour some into Zuko’s next miso soup bowl, perhaps…”

“Azula…!”

“But I don’t even need to do that,” Azula admitted, with a shrug. “I could, just as well, have him taken to the Boiling Rock. The coolers there, oh, they’re remarkably effective, I hear. Keep him locked there three days and he’ll be an icicle by the time they remember to break him out again…”

“Stop! Stop talking like that, it’s enough…!”

“But the traditional method is, indeed, giving him to the flames, isn’t it?” Azula said, raising an eyebrow. “And why not, huh? It would be just fine, wouldn’t it? Making an example of him, showing what fate awaits traitors and terrorists, in front of the entire Fire Nation…”

“Stop…! Please, stop…!”

Finally, it seemed Ursa had broken. Finally, the tears spilled down her cheeks: again, Azula found herself compelled to believe she would persuade Ursa, ultimately, no matter how hard it might prove to be.

Thus, Azula stepped forward, kneeling near the bars where her mother now crouched. She kept a safe distance all the same, so Ursa couldn’t reach her even if she stretched her arms out of the cell… and then she finally made her full proposal:

“You realize now, then, that I have all this power at my disposal, that his fate is very much in my hands…” Azula started. “And yet I chose to come here and ask you to help him. I chose to do this, not for your sake… but for his. Zuko doesn’t deserve to live the rest of his life in the shadow of the worst choices you made, burdened by whatever notions of duty and leadership you forced into his head. It’s the last thing you can do for your son… the only thing you can do, for as long as you have left to live, that entails you leaving this cell, even if just for brief stints. Do this? And Zuko will have a chance to live out a happy, successful life, making whatever choices he wants to make, as long as those choices don’t entail ruining the work countless world leaders have done across the last twelve years.”

“Azula…” Ursa shuddered, looking at the Fire Lord with dread, plain across her eyes. “You’re giving me… a real opportunity, to step out of this cell? Truly?”

“Your only opportunity, as a matter of fact,” Azula said, sternly. “I haven’t forgotten, and I’ll never forget, every monstruous choice you’ve made. The deaths you left in your wake. The fact that you tried to make me and my friends your casualties, too. But you’re the only person left who can knock sense into Zuko’s head… and now that I’ll be a mother, too, I’d like to think that, if this were my one and only chance to save my child’s life, I’d take it without thinking of how to twist things to my favor. Which, I admit, is entirely possible in your case…”

“N-no, no, Azula, the truth is I…”

“I don’t care to hear it. I don’t,” Azula said, firmly. Ursa fell silent. “Swear whatever you will, I’ll believe in nothing you say until I see actual results. Until Zuko stops making an ass of himself and behaving as though the world owed him something when that’s never been the case. By then, I still won’t trust you. But you’ll have made sure your life amounts to something more than being a dark blemish in Fire Nation history: you’ll have helped the sole person who means something to you, in this whole damn world. If just for that reason, maybe your existence will be worth something, at long last. Refuse, out of pride and selfishness? And you’ll condemn your son to an indefinite stay in the Boiling Rock, if I am, indeed, feeling generous at all. It could be a much shorter stay, though, if my mood is particularly dark and he proves unworthy of any more second chances than the countless ones Uncle Iroh has given him, time and again, over the past months. His survival, his possibilities to adapt to a normal life again, hinge on you.”

Azula rose back to her full height, golden eyes bearing coldly into her mother’s own. Deep down, she was apprehensive and wary. She dreaded Ursa might just twist the situation to her benefit somehow, even if Azula already had countermeasures in mind to prevent that…

But her mother couldn’t be trusted. If something hadn’t changed at all in those twelve years, it was that.

“So…” Azula said, unyielding. “Help Zuko, or rot in this jail forevermore: what’s it going to be, Mother?”

...

He had never doubted, not for a second, that the so-called generosity of the Fire Lord would run out eventually. That his uncle would give up, after a while. The resigned look on the old man’s face, as the guards dragged Zuko out of the teashop, spoke for itself: all his promises, his claims that he genuinely cared about Zuko… all of them had been lies, unsurprisingly. Zuko had merely glared at Iroh on his way out, as though hoping it would drive across that this was exactly why he didn’t trust him… exactly why he would never forgive him.

Returning to the Palace was torture. He had been born and raised in these dark, ominous halls… halls that had been modified ever since his damn sister had taken office. The place was eerily familiar and unrecognizable at the same time, and it unnerved him with every step they took.

“This isn’t the way to the Throne Room…” Zuko growled at the guards, after finding they hadn’t taken a necessary bend to drag him there.

The men didn’t listen and continued to lead him through the corridors anyway. Had she decided to mess up the layout of the building to the point where she had relocated whole rooms, even? He rolled his eyes at the thought. It would be just like his sister to do something like that, really…

They reached an unassuming door then, and Zuko frowned with irritation: he was expecting to hear his final sentence, but it seemed unlikely for that to happen anywhere other than in the Throne Room. He gritted his teeth as the guards opened the door…

It was a living room. A perfectly ordinary living room. And it was vacant… except for one woman, with shackles on her ankles and wrists, sitting calmly and quietly by a window.

Zuko yelped at once. Ursa’s gaze only ever softened for him, and him alone… and it did this time too, once her eyes met his.

“Zuko… oh, Zuko, at last…!” Ursa smiled: Zuko didn’t even realize the guards were no longer holding him, that no one had spoken warnings of any nature to him…

He rushed into the room, careless about how his own shackles restricted his movements, and he wrapped his arms around his mother, who rose to her feet to meet him.

“M-my boy, you’re not a boy anymore, oh, dear…!” Ursa sobbed and laughed, hugging him tightly as Zuko’s chest heaved against his mother.

“Mom… Mom!” he exclaimed: he couldn’t have hugged her any tighter, he could barely believe she was here…

It could be a trap. He only thought of that after a moment, once Ursa’s tears spilled on his shirt, once his own dripped down her hair. He was a whole head taller than her by now… and yet he felt like a little boy, all over again, comforted by his mother’s presence.

Outside the room, the guards kept a watchful eye on the events within the room. Other guards were posted out by the windows, in case anything dangerous or suspicious happened. Yet the main line of defense in such case weren’t the firebenders, but rather, the Avatar and her earthbending teacher, sitting with the Fire Lord, her husband and her sister-in-law, in the next room.

“No worries, alright?” Toph said, feet planted firmly on the ground. “I’m sensing everything going on in the next room… if they do or say anything stupid, me and Twinkle Toes will get ‘em.”

“I’m sensing everything too… though I’m not as good at it as Toph is,” Aang admitted, smiling a little at Azula. “Still… sounds like they’re just emotional, right now.”

“You’re sure this is a good idea?” Katara asked, for what felt like the umpteenth time. Azula sighed, sinking in the couch, resting against Sokka – whose hand rested, in turn, on her growing belly.

“Not sure of anything at all, no,” Azula admitted, closing her eyes. “I wish I could reassure any of you, but… I don’t know if this is the right thing to do.”

“Time will tell, I guess,” Aang whispered.

Sokka sighed, hugging Azula closely. His head rested against hers, and Azula glanced at him wistfully. His blue eyes showed no shortage of determination… though they gleamed with compassion, just as well.

“We’re ready for the worst-case scenario anyway,” he said, softly. “Whatever happens here… whatever happens in the coming months, too, we’ll make sure to keep things under control. If they do anything sketchy at all…”

“Yeah. Yeah,” Azula nodded. Sokka sighed, caressing her face delicately.

“But, for now… let’s just hope you’re a visionary beyond the capabilities of us common folk, and that you’ve actually found the perfect solution to all your family’s problems,” Sokka said. Azula smiled, closing her eyes and resting against his shoulder.

“Let’s hope…” she agreed. Only time would tell, indeed, if Zuko and Ursa would behave themselves, or if they’d get up to sketchy business… hopefully, the presence of so many guards would deter them from doing anything stupid, but even if it didn’t, Aang and Toph could feel every variation in their bodies, every hitch and change, and they would know, for sure, if something was off about those two, even if they spoke in codes.

There was nothing to do but wait… wait and see if, perhaps, the baby she carried might have a safer life, with a larger extended family, than she had anticipated all along…

...

Zuko was different when he came back to the teashop that night. He didn’t lash out at Iroh… he even took him up on the offer of tea, so calm and demurely that Iroh couldn’t help but feel even more anxious than he already did. They sat together at a table in the kitchen, quietly, watching as the steam rose from their filled teacups…

“You knew what she was up to… right?” Zuko asked, softly. “That… that she’d sent those guards so they’d bring me to my mother.”

“Yes,” Iroh confirmed. Zuko tightened his lips, clasping the teacup carefully.

“And you haven’t asked me what happened yet. Do you… not want to know?”

“I’m not sure I want to push you for information, Zuko. I’m not quite sure what the boundaries are between us, at this point,” Iroh admitted. Zuko gritted his teeth: yes, he had certainly pushed Iroh away persistently, constantly, for the past three months. It couldn’t have been to no consequence…

“She told me not to try and save her anymore,” Zuko whispered. Iroh frowned. “That the only way in which I might save her at all is by… by living my life the best way I possibly can. She asked me to put down my… my weapons, so to speak. To stop struggling against Azula… I guess because Azula is damn powerful, too powerful, as she is right now. She must have scared Mom into thinking she was going to do something awful if we rebelled any further…”

“She could do something awful, yes,” Iroh admitted, and Zuko closed his eyes tightly. “But Zuko… she doesn’t want to. I understand you may not want to believe me any more than you believe her, but… it’s the truth.”

“I… I guess it has to be. I don’t think I… I don’t know if I would’ve given her a chance to reunite with you, or with Mom, if our roles were reversed,” Zuko said, sniffing as he rested with his forearms on the table. “Not the way she allowed it with me and Mom. I guess… Mom’s always been kept in the Palace? In some basement Azula built for her sake?”

“I’m afraid I can’t…”

“Can’t confirm or deny anything, of course,” Zuko sighed. “Well… doesn’t matter. I’ll… have a chance to see her again next week. That’s what the guards said, so… apparently, if I’m on my best behavior, it could happen more often. M-maybe I can’t get all our freedoms back, but… if I can help Mom by not leaving her to rot in a jailcell forever, I think I… I think I have no choice but to play by Azula’s rules.”

“Your sister isn’t quite as merciless as you may have thought, Zuko,” Iroh said, softly. “Deep down… she only wants to help you. To ensure you find a new path in life that doesn’t set you on collision course with her. She doesn’t want to fight you…”

“Of course not… she already won, after all,” Zuko shrugged. Iroh sighed. “I know I should be grateful, and maybe one day I will be, but… even if she’s being kind, it’s conditioned kindness. If I step out of line… she’ll take me down, won’t she? She’ll either have someone kill me on the spot, or send me to the Boiling Rock, or…”

“She can do whatever she wants, yes. And she has allowed you to serve here, with me, so you don’t have to rot in a jailcell forever,” Iroh said, frowning. “She has allowed you to see your mother, too…”

“I know, I know,” Zuko sighed. “I… I will try to wrap my head around it, okay? I will. It’s just hard to accept… hard to fathom. I want to do right by my mom, but… she only wants me to be happy, as far as I can tell. And I… I don’t know how to do that.”

“Well… take whatever you value, Zuko, and cherish it as best you can,” Iroh said, with a gentle smile. “If you don’t have anything you value that much yet… well, we can take our time to help you find something. It can be a new start for you…”

Zuko bit his lip. Maybe… maybe there was something he cherished, something other than his mother. He swallowed hard and glanced at Iroh uneasily.

“My… my allies. Are they…?” he asked, for the first time. Iroh’s eyes widened.

“Oh… they’re in the Boiling Rock themselves, yes,” Iroh confirmed. Zuko gritted his teeth. “They’re likely not happy about it… but at least they are together there.”

“They shouldn’t be… ugh, I doubt Azula would ever pardon them. She’d never want to, but…”

“Is this about that young man? Jet?” Iroh asked. Zuko grimaced, cheeks reddening.

“I just… acted like an ass to them, all along. I doubt they’ll care if I apologize for using them, but… maybe he’ll want to hear it, if just to feel more vindicated in hating me,” Zuko sighed. Iroh bit his lip.

“I have been trying, for three months, to reach out to you and understand you better,” he said. Zuko eyed him with uncertainty. “Until tonight, it felt like I had failed, every single time. Now, though… you’re talking to me, for the first time. And that makes me feel like… like every effort I made in the last months have been worth it.”

“Uncle…” Zuko swallowed hard, an uneasy guilt spreading in his chest.

“If you truly care for him… I’m sure you can make efforts like these for him, too,” Iroh said, with a gentle smile. “It may take him some time to come around, and perhaps you’ll have to make risky choices to help him find his way, choices that might not pay off, but… choices for his sake, above all. If you do care for him…”

“T-then you’re saying, I… I should be ready for him to reject me?” Zuko asked, swallowing hard. “I mean, reject getting back together with me… but that I should still do my best, for his sake?”

“Well… yes, Zuko,” Iroh sighed, with a sad smile. “He’s not your only shot at love, I’m sure… but if he’s a good man, no matter what chaotic choices you’ve both made over the last years, I don’t doubt he’ll understand you’re trying to atone. You shouldn’t cling too desperately to the hope of getting back together with him, it shouldn’t be your only goal, but…”

“But if it happens, I’ll be damn lucky,” Zuko sighed, rubbing his forehead with his fingertips. “I… I know it must feel weird that I’m talking about this now, but…”

“Weird? Because you’re finally sharing things with me?” Iroh asked, with a gentle smile. Zuko swallowed hard and nodded.

“Today was… a better day than I thought it would be. But it just makes me realize how bad I was, over the past months, so…” he sighed, raising his gaze to his uncle’s. “I’m sorry. For… for all the chaos I’ve waged and the bitterness and… You didn’t deserve to face the worst of it. I think… I think it’s easier to understand now, why you chose her instead of me.”

“I didn’t wish to make the choice at all…” Iroh whispered. Zuko gritted his teeth. “I may be too selfish in my own way, yes, but… I’d wish I could have the both of you, rather than picking just the one. I was an uncle to the both of you when you were young, wasn’t I? Though, back then, Azula wasn’t very fond of me…”

“I remember,” Zuko said, with a weak smile. “And yet you… you won her over, in the end.”

“Took us well over three years, but I suppose so,” Iroh smiled. “You are both valuable, wonderful people, Zuko. I know you have your grievances with your sister, and surely you always will… but she’s doing her best to give you a second chance at life, my nephew. It may not be the life you wanted, but…”

“It’s hard, letting go of everything I thought I would be,” Zuko said, lowering his gaze. “I… I was going to be Fire Lord. And now she is, and… and I’m just supposed to let go?”

“Well… believe it or not, you can let go of the throne, even if you spent your whole life expecting to sit on it,” Iroh said. Zuko swallowed hard. “I, after all, am living proof of that.”

“You… you were raised to be Fire Lord all your life,” Zuko acknowledged. Iroh nodded. “And now you’re… in a teashop. While your niece is Fire Lord, instead…���

“Life has mysterious ways of steering us to paths that we never imagined for ourselves,” Iroh smiled. “Sometimes, we should stop thinking about finding what we want… and instead, we should aim towards finding what we need. The throne… it’s not a privilege, it’s a heavy burden, a great responsibility. Your sister has spent years handling her duties as best she could, but it hasn’t been easy all along. She had help, though…”

“You, the Avatar, her friends… and her husband?” Zuko said, raising an eyebrow. Iroh chuckled and nodded.

“He has probably helped more than anyone else, frankly,” Iroh said. “Having a partner as faithful, as devoted as him, has done wonders for Azula. She was so lonely before, so aloof and cut off from everyone else, even myself… until she met him. He helped her find peace with herself, in ways she couldn’t have anticipated it… and I have no doubts you can find that peace too, in your own way. Whether by seeking to right your wrongs to Jet… whether by continuing to make the most of your encounters with your mother. Whether by finding other ways to live your life, by finding new passions to truly devote yourself to…”

“Like you did, with tea?” Zuko asked. Iroh chuckled and nodded.

“You’re still young, my boy. Your whole life awaits you,” he said, gently. “Don’t make the mistake of assuming your course has been set… you’re not even thirty yet, goodness. No one’s path is set in stone quite that early in life, not if they’re open to the possibilities… and you should certainly be open to them. The path forward may not be easy… but sometimes, the journey and its hardships are as gratifying as the destination, as long as we allow ourselves to enjoy them for what they are.”

Zuko breathed deeply… and he nodded in agreement, in the end. He wasn’t sure of anything yet… he wasn’t sure Azula would even let him see Jet, though he knew the first thing he’d have to say to him was that he was sorry, if she allowed it at all. Maybe their relationship had truly ended, but some part of him hoped Jet’s emotional reaction in the Prison Tower suggested that, while he had hurt the man deeply, the end of their relationship was the more devastating blow for him. If he was lucky… if he was lucky, they might have a chance to start over. He’d do his damnedest not to mess it up this time, if they did…

He never had thought any displays of kindness or generosity on Azula’s part could be genuine, but this time, he couldn’t help but think they were. His mother had explained the circumstances to him, to the best of her ability… to this moment, Zuko wasn’t sure whether he was his mother’s last hope, or if she was his. But once he was being taken back to the teashop, he had noticed Azula standing down that corridor, watching him intently. A strange feeling in his chest had damn near brought him to thank her for that day… a strange feeling that didn’t leave his lips. For his eyes had been drawn to her prominent belly… and he had found himself wondering, in the end, if maybe the child his sister was expecting had changed her understanding of Zuko and Ursa, just as well… if perhaps her impending motherhood, of which he hadn’t been aware of until then, had changed her world. It was baffling to think that, even if he might never get to know the child, he would be an uncle, sooner than later…

Life wasn’t turning out, at all, the way Zuko had anticipated it would. Perhaps that wasn’t a bad thing… perhaps it was alright to follow on Iroh’s footsteps, in more ways than expected. The old man smiled kindly at him… and Zuko mirrored the expression. Maybe he wouldn’t have the chance to be an uncle to Azula’s child, like Iroh had been to either of them… but maybe it wasn’t too late to find a new path for himself. Maybe.

...

Azula sighed as the council wrapped up yet another meeting. They hadn’t made enough progress on her latest projects for her taste, but she knew there were many hazards, drawbacks to this particular subject: she, herself, wasn’t completely certain that it would be a resounding success, but she had hopes, and that was the best thing she could cling to.

Iroh’s whole new squad of waiters and cooks had proven a remarkable initiative: the Freedom Fighters hadn’t been thrilled over their alleged opportunity to taste freedom anew, namely because of how deeply they distrusted Zuko, even now… but together with Iroh, Zuko had done his best to help his old friends start new lives, working for the benefit of others. Jet had been particularly irritable about it, at first… but after reconnecting with Zuko four months ago, and beginning his work at Iroh’s teashop across the last two months, it seemed their relationship might just be on its way to rekindling for good. His friends weren’t all that pleased for it, unnerved by working with Zuko at all… but they had focused on learning to be waiters and cooks, and there had been no reported problems in Iroh’s teashop ever since they had started working for him.

Zuko still would meet with Ursa, nowadays twice a week. Toph and Aang still listened in on their every conversation, unbeknownst to the mother and son, but so far, there was no sign that the Fire Lady’s resentment had reared its head again: instead, she appeared to prioritize her son over everything else, and she cherished his every story of his days on the road, as well as his newer stories of service in Iroh’s teashop. She asked for nothing from the guards… she had little right to ask for anything, to begin with, and she seemed genuinely aware of it. Still, her compliance, as well as Zuko’s, had set Azula on her new path…

And what a complicated path it was proving to be. Not every Fire Nation prison inmate could be easily forgiven, or easily granted second chances… but the ones whose crimes had been small might deserve that opportunity. At first, the council pushed back harshly against her initiatives to reform convicts through service in shorthanded businesses. By now, it seemed she had refined the proposal enough to give them pause… but they still hadn’t budged fully, and while she couldn’t blame them, she also couldn’t help but feel they’d do so much more for the world if they dared open their minds and eyes to the possibilities of reforming people, rather than simply tossing them behind bars and forgetting about them forever…

Azula’s wonderfully complicated life became less dangerous and worrisome because she’d done that. Only because she’d given Zuko and Ursa a new, controlled chance, could she calm down, to a degree, when carrying her pregnancy to term. Sokka helped her walk back to their rooms after the meeting, an arm snugly around her waist, as she grimaced while feeling unsettling movements inside her belly.

“It’s okay, we’re almost there… goodness, Azula, I think we should reschedule the upcoming meetings,” Sokka said, shaking his head. Azula sighed in resignation. “You’re in no shape for crossing the whole Palace when you’re already nine months in, if our calculations are right…”

“I know, I know…” Azula sighed, as Sokka pushed the door open. “We’ll be set back with so many things if I do that, though…”

“At worst, I can attend the meetings in your stead. What are husbands for, eh?” Sokka grinned, helping her to their private bathroom.

“Not… a terrible idea,” Azula acknowledged, cringing at the sensations inside her body. Curses, but the baby was particularly fidgety today… “Probably better for you to attend than… than for me to look so undignified while I’m there, right?”

“You’re wearing a very nice outfit, love. No pregnancy gown can get in the way of your godly beauty,” Sokka declared, proudly. Azula laughed softly as he helped her to the bathroom. “Alright… there we go. Let me know if you need anything, alright?”

“Sure… ugh, sure,” Azula grimaced, pulling her sash open. The fabric of her outfit spread open, she shrugged her underwear down, and she stepped out of it on her way to the privy…

Sokka gasped when she flinched suddenly, grasping her exposed belly. She cried out, he rushed into the room and wrapped his arms around her body as she breathed heavily.

“Azula? Azula, what happened?” he said: she found herself firmly in his arms again, safe and sound… and yet she felt something unpleasant, threatening to trickle out from between her legs.

“P-pain, I don’t know… a contraction?” she asked, glancing at him uneasily. Sokka’s eyes widened. “And now I think there’s… t-there’s something that came loose inside me. I don’t know what it is, Sokka…”

“Your mucus plug?!”

“My… my what?”

“I…. read about it in those books about pregnancy,” Sokka confessed, grimacing as he reached for a towel. “If you’ve lost the plug that seals your uterus, and there’s some pink fluid pouring out of you, then usually that means that, within a few hours or, at worst, days…”

“D-days…?” Azula’s eyes widened. “Sokka… are you saying what I think you’re saying? T-the baby is coming?!”

Sokka leaned down, brushing the towel carefully over his wife’s groin. For once, Sokka’s closeness to her core wasn’t a source of excitement for her… although it certainly reassured her to have him looking after her, the situation still brought her no shortage of anxiety and fear. Was it possible? Could it already be happening…?

Sokka swallowed hard as he pulled the towel back… as his eyes widened at the sight of what Azula had felt trickling out of her. There was but one conclusion to reach, and he gazed up at Azula, with his earnest blue eyes gleaming with hope, fear and thorough nervousness, all on equal measure…

“The baby is coming.”

[midnightsnace]

A Thousand Worlds

Summary: Fix it fic of sorts after the trauma that was episode 6 of the Loki series. Loki is in pain after discovering Mobius doesn’t remember him. He’s been living in apocalypses to avoid capture by this new TVA until he formulates a plan to get his Mobius back.

Rating: T for later chapters

Emotional angst.

Chapter One.

Chapter Two.

“And so that’s where I grew up, the ends of a thousand worlds.”

The ends of a thousand worlds. The words of his accomplice echoed through the god’s mind as he fiddled with the straps of his worn and tattered holster. The fluorescent above him flickered with every gust of wind that battled against the sides of the building that Loki was crouched down in. He slid his long legs out against the tiled floor in front of him and sat with his head propped against the wall. He sighed. Loki tapped his foot on the door of the space he was hiding in to close it, drowning out the cries of fear from the people outside in their final hours of life. There he sat waiting for the tempad to charge. Alone. Living in another world where every person he met would be dead by the end of the day. Another world where Mobius didn’t exist. His Mobius.

Was this what it was like? For her? To never be able to stay in one place for more than a day? To always see the same faces riddled with fear as they awaited their painful fate? To only know destruction, screaming, fires, earthquakes, the literal gates of hel? To be utterly alone with your only desire to live in the hope that one day your glorious purpose would be fulfilled?

Glorious purpose.

Loki scoffed. The god didn’t know what his purpose was anymore. Taking down the TVA was a complete failure. The chances for fixing the mess they started seemed impossible now as branches grew and new timelines erupted, with endless TVAs to monitor every universe. At least, that’s what Loki assumed. He knew next to nothing about what they had unleashed. It wasn’t the same TVA. Different hunters, different analysts, different ruler. Many he recognized, but they were still different people. They weren’t the same. She wasn’t the real B. He wasn’t his Mobius. And Loki was at a complete loss on how to find them again.

The first tempad he stole only brought him back to the place he snatched it from. The same Time Variance Authority where Mobius didn’t remember him and not a single file existed for Loki Laufeyson, God of Mischief, God of Outcasts, God of Lies. Even when he dragged the analyst through the timedoor into the roxxcart parking lot to access his memories, nothing existed of him. No laughter over silly metaphors, mischief at pompeii, not even the memory of their first encounter in the elevator. It was like they never met. This led to Loki wasting away their days hopping from one disaster to the next until his brain racked up a solution. The TVA never once did follow him. Why would they? No one remembered his brilliant discovery about the apocalypses. He could run free. But as the days whittled by, the hope Loki had began to fade into nothingness.

For awhile he kept track of the places he went and the time that had passed.

Day 1 - I finally stole a tempad and left that dreadful place. I came here first. Hoping I’d see you. But I guess that’s not how time travel works in apocalypses. No trace we were ever here. The storm reminded me of my brother. I hope to see him again one day. Now that I know we could have been friends. Everything was eventually going to be okay.

Day 24 - I’ve been sitting in a coffee shop awaiting the earthquake of 2098. Met a lovely redhead with the most peculiar of tattoos. But alas! Little does she know this friendship could never blossom in the wake of death!

Day 37 - I miss him. My brother. The pain that solitude brings makes me think of home more often. How ironic that the very place that caused me the most pain I miss. But anything is better than this. So today I visited home right before its destruction. I saw my brother. I saw Thor from afar. Oh how I wish I could have talked to him somehow and tell him i’m sorry for being such an ass.

Being there brought back memories of the silly metaphor he made using Mobius’ lunch. The corners of Loki’s mouth crept into a smile at the thought. But that smile faded away in the next second and was replaced with tears.

Day 56 - I went to Pompeii again. I stood in the shadows. I tried to picture your expressions of skepticism at my insane ideas. I tried to picture how your face lit up with pride and joy when you realized I was right. I wish I could have stayed longer but I never can anywhere I go.

He whistled like a bird before he exited through the time door.

By day 125 he had lost his will to live again. It was their fourth visit to Lamentis-1. Perhaps it was a mistake on his part to journey here once more and feel both the pains of betrayal and heartache at the prospect of never seeing Mobius again. The second time they had visited Lamentis, the god decided to stay until the very last second with the false hope that maybe him facing death would create a nexus event. His mobius would come find him and save him at the last second. But the time door never came. Maybe it was because he knew there was a chance to escape and he could take it. Or maybe it was because there were so many time branches no one would care to fix a world that was about to end.

“You were always meant to be alone.”

And so this time Loki threw the tempad to the ground and waited. He watched as the lethal disaster unfolded before his eyes once more, ready to die. Alone. Alone with no one to assure him everything will be alright in the face of death. Not a single soul would know he was gone. No one would care.

But at the last second they saw something on the tempad that made them change their mind. A glimmer of hope.

Any hope Loki had, a glorious purpose he had left to fulfill, it was in finding Mobius. It was the only desire left that fueled him to keep existing. He was all that mattered. His only friend. The only person left among the universes who trusted him and saw beyond his flaws. The only person left who hadn’t betrayed the fragile levels of trust the god could give. He was his hope that one day, he wouldn’t have to be alone.

And so he found himself walking the streets of New York in the summer of 2197, on the brink of some disaster he knew nothing about. Not a single idea when it would happen, where it would occur, and what he was doomed to witness. He saw something that could potentially lead him to his destination. The tempad had given him an alert for an aura match - two of the same people in one place. An oddity. Something that wasn’t supposed to exist.

They weren’t just any entity either. They were registered hunters in the TVA database. Which meant one had to be from another universe.

And he knew the TVA would be coming for them.

He had to get there first.

Loki speed walked down the sidewalk frantically scanning his surroundings for any clue as to what was happening. He couldn’t read any signs of fear or confusion on the faces of those who passed him. He didn’t know how much time he had.

Upon hearing shouts of anger, Loki broke out into a run across the street towards the source, dodging every dystopian vehicle that nearly collided with him in the process. It was coming from the roof of the parking tower. With a snap of his magic, Loki teleported himself to the top, hiding behind a parked vehicle to assess what he was working with.

There were two agents standing about 10 feet away who looked nearly identical, one waving her arms frantically while the other looked on stoically, possibly from shock, with a pruning stick in hand. Loki locked eyes on the tempad fastened to the belt of the frantic one. Then he glanced at the one in the other hunter’s hand.

Well shit.

Now he had to figure out which agent had jumped from the other timeline. He quickly flashed himself closer to the two, but not before one caught on that someone was there.

“I was given orders by a man to…what was that?” one of the hunters asked.

Loki crouched down farther on the other side of the wall. He reached for a dagger, ready to pounce once their suspicions subsided. They listened intently to the words from the first hunter for the first clue on who to attack.

“He sent me here to grab this,” the hunter pulled up someone on her tempad, “entity and leave. Those were the orders given to me. So if you’ll excuse me.”

The other hunter planted herself in front of her clone. “I can’t let you do that. Not until you’ve told me everything I want to know. How are you me? How is this possible?”

The first hunter was from an alternate timeline. Loki took that as his cue. But before he could sneak behind the hunter, he was shot backwards by a blast of energy from a ring of light.

Out from the ring stepped a peculiar man with graying hair who was wearing blue robes and an assymetrical cloak that sparked the curiosity of the confused hunter. Within a split second, the portal closed behind him. Loki laid very still on the concrete and held his breath in the hopes that the man would believe him to be dead.

“You know I can tell when someone is playing dead.”

Loki grimaced and winced as he heaved himself off the ground. He came face to face with the strange man, his hand lingering in the air where he placed the pocket for his dagger.

“You.” was all the man said.

“Am I supposed to know you?” the god questioned.

“You always manage to show up in New York again at the most in-opportune times.” The man raised his hands and Loki mimicked his movements, summoning his daggers in place.

“I’m gonna assume we’ve met before sir, perhaps in the future? I don’t know! And i’m terribly sorry about New York! Look let me explain…” they lowered their hands in their attempt to make peace with the angry man in front of him.

“Dr. Strange.” He kept his fist in the air, golden sparks flying from whatever spell he had in mind to attack the prince with. “And until you prove otherwise Im going to assume you are here for hostile reasons.”

Loki blinked. Well he’s kind of not wrong, they thought.

“Well I’m afraid I can’t prove anything else.” and with that the god blasted the sorcerer into the nearest column with their magic and teleported across the space.

Loki noticed that one of the hunters had disappeared. He assumed she had returned to the TVA. The other was charging towards him fast. He whipped out his daggers to face his attacker, but suddenly his feet were dragged out from under him and he hit the concrete hard. He was being dragged backwards, body scrapping against the concrete. So fast, that the god could barely think about what was happening to him.

When he came to his senses he cut the magic ropes with his powers and rolled across the ground. So he was dealing with another magic user, this “Dr. Strange.” Loki teleported again before he was up on his feet to where he was standing directly behind the hunter.

“D-11…” Dr. Strange said with a hint of caution in his tone.

So this was the man Hunter D-11 was working for. Before the hunter could turn around to face them, Loki snatched the tempad off her belt and snapped himself to the furthest side of the building. Dr. Strange reacted quickly and stood his ground in front of Loki, prepared to attack again.

“Loki, perhaps we can work out some type of deal. What is it that you want? Maybe I can help you. Maybe we can reach a compromise.”

Offer him a deal? Nah.

“I’m done trusting people I’ve just met. All they ever do is stab me in the back.” he conjured the time door behind him.

Strange titled his head. “You do realize we can follow you right straight back to the TVA?”

Loki turned to face him and D-11. “You’ll never find me. You won’t know the first place to look.” The time door closed with Loki inside of it, before the two even had a chance to reach their hands out to follow the god.

…….

And that’s how Loki had ended up here. At Roxxcart again, waiting for the new tempad to charge up before hopping through timelines again.

He breathed in deeply as he felt the bubble of excitement, relief, and happiness build in his chest for the first time in months at the prospect of achieving his goal. Being reunited with the only one who mattered: Mobius. His Mobius.

But as he released his breath in a sigh, his chest tightened again and worry clouded his mind. What if this didn’t work? What if this was just another dead end? What if this was just another one of the countless TVAs that might exist in the vast multiverse?

At first, all Loki felt was sadness and regret in the days following Sylvie’s betrayal. But now all he felt was anger boiling deep inside him. That same unwelcome feeling he experienced after discovering his father lied to him. The feeling that harbored in the abyss of Thanos’ chambers. The feeling that never left his soul until Mobius looked him in the eyes and assured him that he didn’t have to be the villain in his story.

She had taken everything from him and he was afraid he couldn’t wash away the resentment this time. He wanted desperately to feel anything besides the pain he had known for the past year.

He needed to feel love again.

“He cares about you.”

Loki couldn’t wait any longer. He picked up the tempad and tapped the time door request for the TVA home base. He drew in a shaky breath as he paused in front of the portal.

This was it.

He was either about to be reunited with his greatest source of happiness, or find himself hiding in apocalypses again for months as he searched for another plan.

And he would do it. He would search through a thousand worlds to find him.

[candied-cae]

And Who Are We At The End Of The World? - Getting Back Topside

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

Chapter 3/? - - - Read it on AO3

Word Count : 6,976

Summary: So they knew it was bad. The screams and the earthquakes and the missing party members were clearly not good signs. But they still don’t know just how bad it was… They’ve got to get all of them to see some doctors (really someone of them should’ve stopped by yesterday) and the best thing they can do now is keep moving forward. They have to make it out of this.

More ST Fics

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The two girls were sitting cross-legged on the floor of the trailer. Tying together all the scrap fabric they could find to the half of the tether they still had in the Upside Down. The walkie stood in the middle of the room between them. They both were waiting impatiently for it to come alive and give them good news. They really needed good news. As the minutes passed, they knew their makeshift lifeline was long enough to do its job, but they didn’t want to stop. They didn’t have anything else to do, and they couldn’t do nothing. Nancy was silent in her task, focused entirely on it to keep her mind off of tragedy, and Pompeii, and what the hell happened to Venca's body.

Robin, on the other hand, was a nervous wreck trying to keep her mouth closed. She was bouncing her knee and biting her lip while she worked. Until finally, she just couldn’t anymore. She felt like she couldn’t just sit there stewing in her thoughts. She had to say something. Anything.

“So, how do you think we’re going to get Eddie off?”

Anything but that.

Nancy raised her brow at her and asked,“ Excuse me?”

She blurted out the words before she had a second to process what they meant laid out in that order.

“Oh my god- I don’t mean- not like- no. I mean, I don’t even- Would never- just no.” she tumbled through all the sentences she started but couldn't finish. Her face quirks with a nervous smile as she tries to compose herself just enough to correct the idiocy she just let slip from her lips.

“I did not mean ‘get him off’ like that,” She finally musters,” Not at all, I swear. I meant the murder charges. How are we going to get him off of the murder charges? Or get the murder charges off of him? Whichever way means, that when we get back, the city doesn’t chase him around with pitchforks and torches. So we don’t have to drop him off in a cabin at the edge of town and run him food deliveries for the rest of our lives. Because it’s not even been a week, and I swear won’t last if I have to get woken up by a walkie-talkie and Eddie pitifully asking for a six-pack to get him through it. And I know it’s a little mean because his life hasn’t been super easy lately, and like, obviously he didn’t choose this, and he isn’t happy about the current situation either, so, no, I don’t really blame him for needing the deliveries but-" Robin locked eyes with Nancy and realized how long she'd just been talking," Uh- I think I lost my point somewhere in there…”

And then, Nancy Wheeler started honest to god laughing. Right there. In the midst of Robin’s hysteria about not knowing how to control her own mouth, she was laughing. And it wasn’t a little laugh either. It was a big one that had her slumping forward, clutching her stomach, with a hand over her mouth. Robin let out a weak huff at the sight before Nancy wiped a tear from her eye and sat up.

“I think you were originally asking about how we’re going to convince all of Hawkins that Eddie didn’t kill three people in Satanic ritual killings sparked by what is actually just a super nerdy hobby.” Nancy answered as her giggles died down.

“Yeah, that. How are we going to do that?” Robin asks, looking back down at her hands and tightening all her knots, begging the rush of heat in her cheeks to go away.

Nancy goes quiet for a moment while she considers it,“ I don’t know…” she finally says.

Robin’s hands froze, and she looked back at her.

Nancy shook her head, her dark brown curls swung around her, and she looked almost ashamed to say,“ I know that’s not the answer anyone wants from me, but I have no clue how we’re going to get out of this one. Our apocalypse bullshit has never gotten this out of hand. The whole town watching to arrest one of us for crimes that they are, in fact, connected to, and yet are impossibly innocent of? It's a mess. They’re all usually so good at ignoring everything that it’s enraging. But this time…”

There’s a flex in her jaw from her frustration before Nancy meekly offers,“ Sorry.”

“No, don’t be sorry. I’m sure you’ll amaze us with a solution in no time. I mean, the last time we went after a shot in the dark, we ended up figuring out Victor Creel’s family was at the center of everything. Even if it’s an ‘I don’t know’ right now, with Nancy Wheeler working on it, things seem to go pretty freakin’ well from what I’ve seen.” Robin assured her.

“Thanks. And you were pretty incredible, too. Thinking to check those conspiracy theorist guys' stuff for a lead on Victor?" Nancy mentioned.

Robin filled in," The Weekly Watcher."

She nodded and leaned over a bit," And we wouldn’t have even made it past Dr. Hatch’s office if you hadn’t pulled that amazing feminist monologue out of nowhere.”

"Even though I messed up Professor Brantley's name and got us kicked out in the end?"

Nancy smiled a little wider and said," Bradley was pretty close, don't sell yourself short. I would've let us walk out of there as failures had you not pushed just enough that he listened to us. I couldn't have done it without you."

Robin bit her lip and grinned at the compliment,“ Thanks. And sorry about my rant or ramble or whatever that was. I do that sometimes.”

“Don’t even worry about it. It was funny and lightened the mood. And I think I needed the laugh, so thank you for that too."

“Right. Can we just agree to never mention my exact phrasing to any of the boys?” Robin begged. She loved Steve, but if she had to hear his teasing about his favorite lesbian technically offering to get Eddie Munson off with his ex-girlfriend? She just might kill him.

“It’s a deal. I’ll take it to my grave.” Nancy promised.

Robin thought that was the end right there. The conversation was done. She asked what she was curious about, even if she fumbled and accidentally made it sound like she was proposing an orgy or something. But they got through it, even had some laughter. And it only felt slightly socially horrifying to have participated in. But, mission accomplished. It was done now, they wrapped it up neatly in a bow, and the conversation was comfortably over-

“You know, I can hardly remember my life before last summer,” she found herself saying before she knew she was talking again,” Like, how did I just walk around not knowing about the Upside Down? How were band chair assignments the most stressful part of my semester? Or even, how did I not talk to Steve Harrington every day? Little stuff like that, and I can’t believe there was ever a ‘before’ when my life was normal.”

“Yeah… it’s weird to think there was a time when all I ever thought about were grades, boys, and what people thought about me. And how I was going to avoid my annoying little brother and all his annoying little frien-”

“Nancy! Robin!” Dustin’s voice cut through the walkie in front of them.

Robin snatched it off the ground and said into it,“ Oh my god. You little shit, where have you been?”

Nancy reached over Robin’s hand, pulling it towards herself, and pushed down on Robin’s finger to the button under it, and speaks,“ Dustin, what’s going on? Put Steve on.”

“He’s a little busy right now, Nancy!” Dustin yelled back to them. He was panicking, panting, and his voice sounded a little hoarse.

“What’s he busy with?” Nancy asked.

There was a beat of silence after her question before they heard Dustin solemnly answer,“ Eddie got hurt, real bad.”

There was a sinking feeling that settled in their stomachs. They barely knew Eddie, but they’ve gotten to spend the last few days starting to. Nancy has trusted him with her brother all year… and before she could try to turn the tracks of her thoughts, they were fixed on her baby brother. That little twerp who was off with the Byers in California, and she honestly couldn’t decide if she was happier that he’s been so far away from whatever was happening to Hawkins, or if she wished she had him right next to her so she knew he was okay.

But Eddie seemed like something of a good influence. She knew it probably still happened, it was Hawkins after all, but she never heard about Mike being teased or bullied after he started going to Hellfire. He had a group. It was a dorky D&D club, sure, but he was less alone. Mike started to idolize Eddie; growing out his hair and stealing some of his strange fashion taste for himself. And he clearly had a lot of fun during their campaign. Some nights, she would hear him get home and run to the radio set in his room to start strategizing with Lucas and Dustin for the next session. It was annoying. So, so annoying, to hear his incessant chatter through the wall, staying up so late he slept in and made them rush in the mornings… but she was grateful.

She never thought to mention to Eddie how grateful she was to him for taking her brother in.

Nancy swallowed the lump in her throat before asking for clarification,“ What do you mean- How hurt is ‘hurt real bad’?”

“He was bleeding a lot. He felt cold. He closed his eyes… But- Steve checked and he’s still breathing and everything."

“Okay, and you’re getting him back here, right? How long?” Nancy felt her hand curling into a tight fist as she stood up from the floor. She couldn’t just sit there. She instead leaned against the front door frame to keep an eye out for them.

“Uh…” Dustin paused while he looked over his shoulder to check on Steve,” He’s getting Eddie on his back. We weren’t too far away, so probably a few minutes.”

“Nancy…” Robin calls to her from the living room of the trailer, having noticed something that made her blood run cold.

But Nancy didn’t hear it,“ Alright. I want you here as fast as you can, Dustin. You hear me?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Um, Nancy?” Robin called again, unable to peel her eyes off of the ceiling.

“What?” Nancy asked before turning around to face her.

“Is it just me, or did the gate used to be bigger than that?” she warily asked with a finger pointing up at the portal above them.

“Shit.”

Because, it indeed seemed to be sewing itself closed. Like after the massive X into Hawkins was shut down, the four points that started it began to seal off, too. It wasn’t too small yet, still plenty big for them to get through, and it didn’t seem to be closing too quickly… but it was worrisome all the same.

“It did, huh? It looks like it’s smaller now, right?” she reiterated.

“Yeah,” Nancy breathed out in a shudder before turning back out the door and saying into the walkie,“ Dustin Leroy Henderson, you listen here. The second, and I mean the second, you get back to this trailer, you are getting your ass back in Hawkins.”

Nancy didn’t want to worry him further, so she didn’t say why. Dustin answered back with a slightly confused tone,“ Wasn’t planning otherwise. Over.”

In the time between their conversation, Robin threw their rope through the portal and climbed through herself. She held on tighter this time, not just allowing herself to fall into the hard floor of the Hawkins trailer. She got to work moving the mattress back into place and considered climbing back through, but she was so tired at the thought of going up it twice more. She’d climbed through it twice already, on top of all the running, and their fight with the vines… She’d swear she didn’t feel so out of shape most days, but it always seemed to be an emergency that pushed her to her limit and then some, didn’t it?

But she couldn’t leave them. She shook out her limbs and tried to psych herself up again before grabbing onto the line to pull herself back through again until she heard Nancy say…

“Robin, stay up there.”

“Huh?”

“He’s limping,” she heard Nancy call back distantly.

When Dustin arrived at the trailer, he didn’t mind much of anything, just threw down the bike and continued his awkward cadence toward the front door. Nancy came back towards the door, and the second she noticed that limp she threw a comment back and darted over to him. In just a second, she was at his side and pulling his right arm over her shoulders, her left hand tight on his side, so he could use her as a crutch and get inside.

“Come on, little Dusty. Don’t you know Ms. Henderson will go crazy if we don’t get you back home soon?” she teased him as they got to the stairs, hoping it wouldn’t hurt too bad as they went up them.

“Oh, Nance, you’re right-” he winced as they went up the steps,” She’d really snap this time and get at least five more cats.”

“Oh really? So, after Mews and Tews, what do you think she’d name her litter of ‘Missing her Dusty’ kittens?” Nancy said, trying to busy his mind to distract him from the pain.

“Definitely a calico named Pews,” he answered as they made it inside the trailer and approached the tether.

“And some orange tabbies, Rews and Zews-” he seethed when Nancy released him and he was back on his own two feet.

She knelt at the side of his good leg and hoisted him up a bit to get him across quicker,“ Come on bud. We got two more hypothetical cats to name in the case of your sudden disappearance.”

“Uhhh…” he thought as he reached the gate and felt his gravity shift,” A little black one named Hews.”

Dustin’s flip back over went more smoothly than it had the first times when he completely let himself fall. He held on tighter and let himself slip down more gently this time, and Robin stood right behind him and helped steady his legs when they were thrown down. By the end of it, he was laying on the mattress with a huff and closed his eyes. He wasn’t crying out in pain, so it wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been, but it was a lot of work and it’s been a long day for all of them.

“Alright, one more,” Nancy called through, wanting confirmation that he was fine.

Dustin dragged his hands down his face and muttered,“ I can see Qews for a little grey one.”

”Yeah, I can see it, too.” she hummed. She felt a lot better knowing they had the kid back on the correct side, but she was still worried about the other boys.

“Hey, you think you can convince her to bring around a cake after all of this? The last time we had her baking was years ago, after Mike and I's grandpa died.”

“Oh, I think after all this she’s be bolting my bedroom door shut and baking so much the grocery store starts running her a tab. So, as long as you stop by, she will absolutely load you up with desserts.”

It made Nancy smile a bit,“ Good.”

Then the last two of their crew came through the door.

Steve was heaving a bit, sweating through all the grime and dust he collected over the last few days, and it almost looked like his legs were shaking. Nancy couldn’t figure out if it was adrenaline or tire. Or both. But it was clear that carrying another grown man on his back across the distance, after everything they had already done, was taking a lot out of him. Then Nancy caught a peek of all the red soaking their clothes from under Eddie.

“Shit, Steve what happened?”

“I don’t know - the bats probably swarmed him - just, we need to get to the hospital. Right now.” Steve looked at the hanging cord like he was sizing it up but had no free hand to check it himself,” Is it done?”

‘’Yeah, it’s stable. Robin and Dustin are already on the other side.” Nancy assured him.

Steve nodded to her and said,“ Alright, you climb back over, and I’ll follow through last.”

“Steve,” Nancy began to shake her head,” how are you-”

“I don’t know. Thinking about tying the rope around our waists or something.” Steve said it with something parallel to confidence, but it drained as he asked,” Is that a bad idea?”

“It’s the best one we’ve got,” she admits.

“Nancy!” Robin yelled back as she threw the other half off the cut rope to their side.

Nancy caught it as it came down and ran it through her hands for a second before she got behind Steve.

“Woah, Woah. Nance, what’re you doing?” Steve asked as Nancy tucked the middle of it under Eddie’s legs at the small of his back and began to reach around to cross it at his stomach,” You need to go back over, I’ll be fin-”

Nancy pulled the cinch tightly and cut him off,“ How were you planning to hold him up and tie it around the both of you at the same time? Honestly, Steve...” He could hear her shaking her head disapprovingly as she fastened the ends together in a tight knot behind Eddie’s back,“ Robin, help Dustin get into the RV so we can take off for Max and the Sinclair’s once we’re done here.”

“Right,” Robin confirmed the order as she helped get Dustin to his feet and they headed out the door.

“Nancy, can you drive the RV?” Steve asked timidly as Nancy tugged to check that the rope was going to stay tied.

The question caught her off-guard,“ Excuse me?”

“Can you drive the RV?” he asked again.

“I- Yeah. Probably. Why?”

Steve breathed out and double-checked the rift to make sure the other two were gone before saying, in a low voice,“ I don’t want to tell Dustin, but he’s not looking good. I’m worried he’s going to stop breathing, and no one else has emergency training.”

“God, Steve.” she breathed the words more than said them, they are just pulled out of her in some pathetic voice that she thought she was done using years ago.

“I know. My lifeguard certification is really getting put to work this week,” he said, trying to find something for them to laugh at that makes this whole thing a little less... bleak.

“Alright. I’ll drive.” she agreed and let go of the sad excuse of a harness they fashioned.

“Thank you, Nancy.”

“Don’t mention it, just get through that ceiling before it gets any smaller,” she said as she gave Steve’s arm a light smack.

They climb through without much issue. The gate was still plenty big enough for them when they crossed through, still hanging open when they were in their world, thankfully. Though, they all silently hoped it’d shut for good soon. Nancy had followed behind Steve despite his protest. She was in charge, and she was not about to risk anything happening to people under her watch anymore. Shit had already gone too wrong, and they didn’t even know how the other three kids were doing.

Dustin was laid across the couch at the back of the RV, on his left side to avoid any pressure to the right. Robin collapsed into the remaining space next to his head and stretched out her arms over the back, feeling so incredibly exhausted herself. Nancy ran in and slid into the driver's seat without hesitation while Steve was dismounting Eddie from his back. He laid the unconscious man flat on the floor behind the front seats and was kneeling beside him as he got to work taking off the vest and opening back up the shirt. Once they started moving, Steve wished he was sitting in the passenger seat or something. It felt like Nancy was speeding and swerving harshly at the bends in the road to get to the Creel House fast. Not that he disagreed, they needed to get there as soon as possible, and if this got them there quickly... then to hell with speed limit signs and recommended slow turns. But he sort of wanted a seat belt to get him through it.

“How’s it looking back there?” Nancy called back after maybe a minute of their tense silence.

Steve simply answered back,“ I don’t know”

“What do you see?” she asked.

“I don’t know!”

Steve was panicking. Or just really scared. Or the adrenaline was still hitting him, and he didn’t have enough to do about it. Either way, he needed to calm down and talk to her.

“Steve. You can’t do this right now. Okay?” Nancy asked, waiting a beat for him to listen,” I need you to cool down and tell me how Eddie’s situation is looking.”

He took a breath and looked back at the body laid out before him,“ Uh- it’s a lot of blood, but none of the wounds look too deep.”

Nancy nods her head and checks her rearview mirror to the back of the RV where Dustin and Robin were laying,“ Good. And has anyone called Lucas or Erica yet?”

“No,” Robin said sitting back up.

“We should be there in a few. Make sure they’re ready to go when we do,” she commanded and saw Robin take Dustin’s walkie and change the channel before she put her focus back on the road.

It felt like a kinder twist of fate that the Creel house was on the way to the nearest emergency room at Hawkins Memorial. Like, of all the shit they go through, they were actually being given a chance to make it past tonight. Maybe the world might actually want them to save it. It’s a debatable idea at this point given how often it tries to fall apart… but maybe just maybe, Nancy wondered as she pushed harder on the accelerator.

When they arrive at the manor Erica was outside sitting on the front steps. Her eyes looked vacant, she just stared ahead at the ground, her knee bouncing with anxiety and the walkie tight in her grasp. She was probably in shock. Steve ran out while Robin and Nancy kept an eye on Eddie and Dustin.

He slowed down as he approached the girl before asking,“ Hey, Erica. How are we doing?”

She looked up at him like she just registered he or the RV had arrived.

“I’m fine,” she said firmly, as she blinked away what were tears threatening to spill over.

“Okay,” Steve said warily, she didn’t look fine, and she shouldn’t be if how she spoke over the radio was any clue,” And are they sti-?”

“Still inside. The attic. Max, she...“ but she couldn’t bring herself to say what happened, there was a tremor in her voice, and Steve realized that she’s never looked so small.

“It’s okay. I’ll go up and get them.” he assured her before he gently asked,” Can you go ahead and get in the RV for me?”

Something in her protested the idea,“ I’m fine. I’m not a baby and you don’t need to cradle me. I-”

She was trying to be brave and unaffected, it was obvious.

“No, no, I wasn’t trying to say- I was just wondering if you could get in there and keep an eye on Dustin for me?”

“Dustin?” she asked with that tone of voice that said ‘Are you kidding me?’.

“He messed up his leg real bad. Nance and Robin are looking at Eddie, so while I go get Lucas and Max, I’d appreciate you taking charge and making sure he’s fine. I think he’s a little freaked out still, and I know you won't let him do anything stupid.“

“Alright.” She finally stood, having a piece of responsibility made her feel better and more like herself,” I’ll make sure the nerd keeps his head on.”

“Thank you, Erica.” Steve finished as he ran into the house.

He’d be lying if he said walking through it didn’t make his skin crawl. It looked different, especially with the distinct lack of hivemind vines strewn everywhere, but he did just escape another near-death experience in the Upside Down Creel house, so it felt justified to still be on edge at the sight. Nonetheless, he quickly went up the stairs biting back the instinct to keep his eyes glued to the floor to avoid the tentacles he logically knew weren’t there.

“Lucas!” he called as he approached the door to the attic storage space.

When he pushed it open, he saw it. Lucas was supporting Max on his lap, similar to the scene he found of Dustin and Eddie. But Max… Max just looked so broken. Both her arms and legs were twisting the wrong way at the joints, and there was blood around her eyes. Lucas had welts all over his face, including a black eye that was starting to swell, and bloody knuckles. Steve knows those injuries and how they feel all too well. The kid looked at him and was sobbing through all his own injuries. He didn’t say any words, but Steve knelt down next to him and helped Lucas lay Max down flat before he tried to sooth him,” Hey, hey, Lucas...”

Lucas practically lunged into his arms, wrapping his own around Steve’s torso, shaking and burying his tear and blood stained face into his shoulder.

“Steve, she- she- she stopped… breathing… An-and I couldn’t feel her heartbeat for a long time. I don’t know how long it was. And I- I didn't- But then she- she just woke up again- like gasping for air and crying and then she was back out and-”

“Shhh, it’s okay, buddy.” he said as he tenderly rubbed his back for a moment,” I’m going to pick her up and get her in the RV with the others. Lucas, can you go on ahead and check on Erica?”

“Why?”

He didn’t want Lucas there in case she came to and started screaming in pain. But Steve didn’t say that. Instead, he elected to say,” Your sister looked a little freaked and I want you to make sure she went ahead and got in like I told her to.”

“Okay, okay yeah. You won’t- you won’t leave her, right?”

“Of course not. But I need you to go ahead and get down there.”

“Alright. Yeah, yeah.”

He couldn’t see her, but Eleven was still there. Watching. She could hear everyone in the pizza shop telling her to go back… but she couldn’t leave. She’s never done… whatever it was that she did, before. Max died and she just decided ‘No’. And it seemed like she came back, but she’s got no clue what that means. So she stood as Steve moved closer beside Max. She didn’t really need to get out of the way. Steve wouldn’t have noticed either way, but she did. She stepped back and let him take the lead, but she would be there to make sure Max would be okay.

He leaned over and checked her like he had with Eddie not even fifteen minutes ago. He really didn’t like the feeling of making sure his friends weren’t dead. He never wanted to do it again. But she did have a heartbeat, and she was breathing pretty steadily. In fact, she sounded better than he was expecting. If Sinclair was right, and she died earlier, and he hadn’t even done anything to bring her back… she didn’t seem like it. She was still riddled with her broken limbs, but she seemed surprisingly stable.

“Shit, I’m so sorry, Maxie. I am so, so, so sorry...” he said as he reached to move her.

There was a hitch in her breathing as he picked her up, but she was still out. He was beyond grateful she was still out. And he was so, so sorry. He kept whispering it as he walked out of the attic and down the stairs. They were the only words that came to him. Because Max didn’t deserve it. She’d been through enough shit.

And suddenly, Steve finds himself in the opposite of his usual problem. Instead of his head just blocking everything out, it was dredging some stuff back up. That happened, too. Less often because usually he could be distracted by needing to do something, but when he didn’t have anything to pull that focus, sometimes his mind wandered and got stuck. All he could do was carefully walk, hope he wasn’t hurting Max, and remember.

Steve remembers when her stepdad left. The whole town noticed; he did not make a civil exit. He remembers it was around then that he stopped seeing her pull up to the arcade next to the Family Video throughout the week. He realized she and her mom had moved out of their house when he drove by and there was a realtor sign in the yard.

He was helping Lucas get ready for basketball tryouts when he said they found a place in the Forest Hills Trailer Park. And it made sense, they lost a lot of their income when the stepdad walked out… and of course, Max wasn’t thinking about getting rides to the arcade around her mom’s work schedule and spending their money playing games. But then Lucas said he was getting worried that Max was closing off from people. Said she spent most of her time at home even when the others would offer to go do something.

But she was a kid, and she should be having fun. And Steve’s heart just bleeds for these kids. A few days later, he saw her in town one time on the way to the grocery store. He said hi and offered to run her by the arcade on his way to work every once in a while since it was next door if she wanted. He honestly would’ve given her some money for the games too, if she needed it. But she quickly turned him down. It was obvious enough that she didn’t want to accept charity or pity. And now they know she was probably starting to feel guilty about other things, too.

But Steve didn’t like that answer. So, he thought up a new plan and set up a date for her and Lucas. He got directions and parked his car right in front of her trailer. Climbed out of the driver's seat to lean against the door while he honked his horn for her at just about 3:45. She walked out, confused and squinting at him from her front steps.

“What’re you doing here, Steve?” she asked with a little more bite than he was expecting, but he would not be turned from his mission because of a bit of teenage sass.

“Well, I happen to know this kid. I guess he likes you or something. Says he misses seeing you around, so he’s bribed me to come nab you and make sure you have some fun this afternoon.”

She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at him like she didn’t believe a word of it,“ Really?”

“What can I say? That Lucas Sinclair is a sucker in love.”

She pressed her lips together trying not to smile. But it meant a lot to her. So she rolled her eyes and exaggerated the inconvenience of the invitation by throwing her arms out before answering,” Fine, let me get dressed.”

“Course, I’ll just start my timer. Gotta keep track of these billable minutes, you know?”

She let a laugh sneak out at that. He only had to wait a few minutes for her to come jogging out in her usual summer style of a fitted, striped t-shirt and belted high-waisted, denim shorts. They drove around for a few minutes, he went out of the way to kill some time because she seemed a little anxious. She was twirling a lock of red hair around her finger when Steve said it was way too quiet for them to be a couple of teens riding in the car in the last days of summer, so he turned the radio way up and was yelling along to ‘Take on Me’ as it blared through the speakers. He might've been embarrassed if it wasn’t one of his rotten little kids in his passenger seat, but when she started singing along too, he only felt happy.

Once he had her smiling and grooving under her seat belt, they swung around and picked up Lucas who commented that he heard them coming from at least four streets away. But he hopped in without protest and Max moved into the back to sit next to him as Steve drove to drop them off at the arcade with a handful of quarters he’d put together. He told them they had an hour and a half for games before everyone was getting together for dinner. They got to enjoy the one-on-one part of their evening and when Steve made his way back around to pick them up again, Max really did look a whole lot brighter.

When they arrived at the diner, there the rest of them were: Will Byers, Mike Wheeler, Dustin Henderson, and El Hopper. Max was all smiles as her and Lucas joined their table. Steve walked a few over where Robin was sitting, having agreed to be his company while they let the kids be kids. Before, eventually, it was time to run everyone home. Jonathan came by for the other boys and El while Steve took Robin, Lucas, and Max. He dropped Max off last so she could have as long as possible before she was alone again.

She said it so quietly Steve barely heard it, but there was a “thank you” as she closed the car door.

“Yeah, yeah, Maxie. Don’t go soft on me now.” he teased from his open window.

She rolled her eyes and said,” It’s Max, not Maxine.”

“Didn’t say 'Maxine', just called you little Maxie.”

“You’re so annoying,” she groaned, but he caught the smile as she turned around.

“You’re welcome! Don’t mention it!” he yelled after her as she closed the front door and went back inside her trailer.

Steve felt really proud of himself that day.

He came up from the memory when he climbed back into the RV. Lucas and Erica have seated themselves at the table in the middle and Steve maneuvered past Eddie and into the back where Robin practically jumped out of the way, bringing Dustin up to a seated position when she saw her, freeing up the room for Max. Once Steve set her down he began to ask,” Can you…?” feeling the question die in his throat.

But Robin knew what he’s asking and nodded quickly. She knelt on the floor next to her and gently held her hand while they closed the rest of the distance to a doctor. Steve returned to Eddie, who’s been bandaged much better by Nancy in his absence. He was still breathing, still bleeding, but hopefully the tight dressings would make sure they have enough time to make the drive. They just needed enough time. Nancy was back in the driver’s seat by the time he looked back up and started the vehicle without any further delay. The next few minutes passed in mostly silence. No one had anything to say. From what they could tell, they messed up. Badly. Worse part was, they don’t even know how badly, but it was bad enough. Way past bad enough. Which is why they feel every muscle in their bodies tense when Steve begins to panic.

“No, no, no, no, no” he muttered with rising pitch. He was trying to keep it away from the kids how badly Eddie was doing. But Steve’s smart enough to tell that the sharp breath Eddie had just took in wasn't coming back out. He felt his own heart drop as he placed his fingers to find a pulse under his jawline… and he wasn’t sure there was anything there.

“What’s going on?” Dustin asks, terror seeping back into his voice.

Before he wasted any more time, Steve was giving Eddie CPR. Tilting his chin up, pinching off his nose, and forcing his own air into the other’s lungs. He did a couple of breaths before pulling up and beginning the chest compressions. He remembered the safety instructor’s voice in his ears saying not to hyperventilate the practice dummy, but to make sure to keep a good pace. One hundred beats per minute were ideal, so just less than two a second.

Just like the beat of ‘Stayin’ Alive’.

Just like how Eddie was going to be staying alive if Steve had anything to say about it.

As he was running the compressions, he heard the cries. Steve looked up and saw Erica falling into them as Lucas wrapped his arms around her, his own tears following his sister’s. Dustin in the back was sobbing again. And it seemed like Nancy and Robin were sniffling while they tried to keep theirs at bay.

Steve paused and put his ear to Eddie's chest, hoping to hear a breath being drawn in. But he didn't.

Had they been able to see her, they would've noticed El walking from Max towards Eddie. She didn't know the man, and she was feeling all the time she's spent in there weighing on her... but she knew everyone else, and they clearly wanted him to stay, too. Again, she doesn't really know what she did to Max. But she couldn't not try...

Steve bent down and tried the mouth-to-mouth again when Eddie suddenly shot forward a few inches. His eyes wide open and gasping in the air like he'd simply been holding it a second too long.

"Jesus Christ!" Steve screamed as he scrambled back a foot.

Just a moment later, those eyes rolled back and Eddie was out again. Just like Lucas had said with Max. Steve looked up to Lucas who just nodded his head to confirm the sight. Steve carefully crept back forward and gave another listen.

A steady heartbeat and even breaths...

Thankfully, it was just a few more seconds and the RV was thrown into park in the Hawkins Memorial Emergency Lane. Nancy was flying out of her seat towards the back as she called out the game plan,“ Robin and I got Max, Steve get Eddie, and Lucas helps Dustin!”

Steve didn’t wait another second before he was tucking his arms under Eddie’s knees and the top of his back to carry him in. Steve barreled right through the automatic doors and is pretty sure one of the nurses at the check-in desk was telling him that they weren’t allowed to park out there, but he wasn’t exactly listening. When she realized the person he held was unconscious and bleeding, though, they both stood up.

“We’ve got injured!” He yelled over as one of the women beckoned him to follow behind her. She had a brown ponytail swinging in front of him as she jogged to one of the curtains and pulled it back to reveal one of the beds.

As Steve laid Eddie into it he told her,“ He’s lost a lot of blood, and there’s a girl with multiple broken bones, and a boy who’s messed up his leg, and another with a lot of facial injuries, and-”

She started checking him over and asked,“ What happened to you kids?”

“It’s- It’s a long story, ma’am,” he answered.

“Steve!” Robin’s voice carried from the entrance. Steve stepped into their line of sight as the other nurse brought them over. They continued rushing in with Max - Robin on her left and Nancy on her right - as she threw open the curtain next to Eddie and set the redhead onto the bed.

“Jesus-” The other nurse cursed at the sight of her.

Once they’d all pulled their hands back, they realized they were all shaking. Finally, a third nurse came out of an elevator, apparently, the second rang for more help in the ER. Steve called her over as he ran back to the entrance where Lucas was helping Dustin limp in. As the next minute passed, everyone else got set in beds and looked over, Eddie and Max were being wheeled away to other rooms, and someone approached Steve with a clipboard.

“Do you know how to contact their guardians?”

“Um- I know some of their numbers and I know where they all live - but Eddie’s- I don’t- Do you have a phonebook? Because I don’t- don’t know-”

Steve wasn’t sure why he was struggling so much to say it. It should’ve been an easy sentence and he should've already been relaying the numbers he did know to her. But he felt like everything was getting fuzzy all of a sudden. His breaths were heavier. He felt like he was losing his balance.

By the time he realized his own wounds had opened again and he was going to pass out; he was on the floor and everything went black.

[questioned-quetzalcoatl]

Call me Satan, Darling. Part 3

Rating: T

Parings: New Zealand/Tonga (Hetalia)

Characters: New Zealand, Tonga, Nyo!France, others mentioned

Variation: Demon/Human AU

Summary: When Kainga, an exchange student from Tonga, travels to New Zealand for his studies, he expects all to go well. It does. All except getting hit by a car by Satan himself, who also happens to be his seductive roommate. Kainga finds himself slowly falling for the devil after his declaration of love. Because nothing truly says ‘I love you’ more than being run off the road by a rusty old Ute. Also available on AO3 and WATTPAD!

Contents: [Chapter 1]

[Chapter 2]

[Chapter 3]

[Chapter 4]

[Chapter 5]

[Chapter 6]

[Chapter 7]

[Chapter 8]

[Chapter 9]

~~~

Kainga stared at him in disbelief. An echoing silence followed his statement for a good 5 minutes give or take. His grip burning so hard that the Tongan had to pull his burnt fingers from the kiwi's hellish clutch. He stammered in utter shock.

"Y-you're...?"

"Satan, darling...I thought I made myself rather clear~" James's face twisting impossibly more into that evil yet irresistibly charming smirk. His eyes glistening like rubies, the rubies in question having just committed a mass genocide. However, much to the New Zealander's dismay, the Tongan below him started to burst out laughing. He'd clearly come back around.

"YOU'RE KIDDING?! THAT'S THE DUMBEST SHIT I'VE HEARD IN A WHILE!! YOU? SATAN? WOW YOU ARE INSANE!!" he erupted into a mocking chortling, having to psychically hold his head as he cackled at the top of his lungs. The pain searing in his side but he didn't care, remaining in his fits of howling laughter.

"YOU RAN ME OVER WITH A UTE JUST TO TELL ME THAT?! GOD YOU'RE PISSING ME RIGHT NOW!! THAT'S YOUR EXCUSE FOR A PICKUP LINE?!!? DEAR GOD NO WONDER YOU HAVE TO HIT PEOPLE WITH YOUR CAR JUST FOR ATTENTION!!!" he continued as tears started to stream down his face from how heavy he heaved at him. James flinched slightly when he mentioned the word 'God' which was more than once in the Tongans mocking statement. He bared his teeth and stayed quiet, waiting for him to finish his laughing fit. Watching him in the same manner a lion would stalk it's prey. His anger bubbling up inside him by the minute.

Kainga heaved a few more times and wiped his eyes which streamed tears. He finally re-caught himself in the moment, he hiccupped lightly and looked back up at him again. Only to be met with the most dark and twisted stare any so called 'human being' could produce. This wasn't human, something a lot more dangerous. Kainga lowered himself slightly as James leaned over him more, as the Tongan tried to get away from his stare he was backed into the corner of the bed, pressed against the window sill and panting heavily. His stare locked onto James's taunting sinister glare at him. Everything around them both seemed to darken as James had the mortal cornered to the sill. The sill dug into Kainga's back making him seethe in pain. James now fully bent over at the hips, leaning towards him. His shit eating grin found his mouth again as he kept him under his heavy evil gaze. The Tongan lost his cockiness and started to panic.

"I almost killed you didn't I my love? Don't make me do it again..." he snarled at his face. Kainga's eyes widened and he gulped, but no way in hell was he going to submit to this crazy bastard, calling him 'love' and what not. He scoffed.

"Yeah right...try me. You're not Satan you're insane" he spat into the kiwi's face acidly.

The whole room started to shake, catching the Tongan off guard. He gripped to the bed pole and panicked more. An earthquake?! He looked outside from over his own shoulder. Below him lay Auckland's bustling streets, people walking about ever so causally. No. This 'earthquake' was just in his room. He didn't dare look back at self proclaimed Satan.

"Look at me Kainga Tukuafu.." Kainga heard the man speak to him in a voice almost demonic. It cracked in his ears like radio static. He didn't look at him, his eyes widening more in fear as the room shook more in it's dark haze. A chill heading up his spine. His full name. How did he know his full name?! The Tongan almost gagged his heart out from his throat in pure fear. James could taste his fear, centimeters away from the trembling man. James did not like being mocked...

Kainga shook in just as much as the room did, causing a deafening rumble. Yet it didn't feel real... was he hallucinating?! Hallucinating everything? His plate from the hospital provided breakfast smashed onto the floor as well as the iron casket that his mattress was laid in. James kept his stare, seemingly the only still thing in the room right now. The New Zealander's eyes flaring with glee as the Tongan who was clutching on for dear life.

"Look at meeee....~" he swooned in a sing-song like voice, so deafeningly sweet it was undeniably evil. Kainga felt rough fingers clutch around his jaw and chin. He snarled slightly as the Devil grabbed his face, forcing him to meet his eyes again. He wasn't hallucinating was he. He fought back as his vision went fuzzy, craning his neck away from the direction the man pulled him towards. Straining his neck muscles in a painful as he refused to look back at James. James merely pulled harder, his long strong fingers gripping more at under his chin.

"I can make this all go away Kainga~...just look at me and it's all over..." James drawled at the struggling Tongan. Kainga strained more but as James's palm burned into the skin of his neck he obeyed the Devil as his flesh burned in his grasp. He let out a gasp of pain as he felt his skin sizzle in his palm. He twisted his head and was met with those same dark burning eyes. James's choke hold tightening as Kainga held his wrists, trying to pull him off of his neck before the heat scorched into his throat.

Kainga scrunched up his eyes in pain as the rumbling started to slowly convulse down into a light shake, then completely stopped like the rumble fading like a ear piercing stroke of thunder receding back into the clouds. The hospital light in the middle of the ceiling swaying slightly, it creaked adding to the eeriness of the situation. James was right, the darkness around them both faded and everything, well, went away. Except for James. The only sound other than the sizzling of Kainga's skin was James's evil chuckling, hypnotically deep and drawling. The type of laugh to draw in a woman, take her to bed and then to her evitable doom down below in the burning pits of hell. Seducing and evil. James's strong fingers released Kainga's neck from their deathly grip, sending the Tongan forward clutching his throat and gasping for air. Earning himself somewhat of a burnt in love bite from the Devil. He coughed and sputtered as the burning sensation in his neck seemingly faded with the rumble. He hastily looked up at the man in front of him who was now standing up straight and looming over him.

"Do you believe me now dear~?" he asked, impaling his gaze into his own. That grin never left his face as if it was painted on. Kainga wiped his mouth and heaved. He stared up at him, burning with anger. Finally leaving go of his own neck and sitting up on the bed.

"Go fuck yourself, you pissing prick-" the Tongan spat at him rather hoarsely. Okay maybe this guy wasn't kidding about being the devil. James merely cocked an eyebrow.

"You did ask me to 'try you'...perhaps I did not 'try you' enough..?" he drawled and adjusted the rolled up cuffs of his blood red suit. Probably that color to hide the blood stains of the people he'd kill for fun as if they where ants under his magnifying glass. Sizzling to obscurity.

"If you don't leave right now I swear to god I'll punch that fucking crooked nose of yours right into your ugly as fuck face.." Kainga threatened. James seemed rather offended by that sentiment.

"My nose is perfectly straight thank you very much..."

"The only thing about you that is.."

James rolled his eyes and bared his teeth. Out of all the mortals he chose to proclaim his love for it had to be the most stubborn islander on the face of planet Earth. His tail slowly slid out of his belt, the spade of it wiping around from behind him as it uncoiled from it's trouser prison. Kainga stared down at the flaring red tail the man now possessed. His tail whipped again.

"Okay fine...I believe you.. can you leave now?!" Kainga snapped angrily. Watching the hypnotic tail sway behind him like a snake. James chuckled again.

"Oh I'm going to need more than that~" the spade of his tail coming up to brush under the Tongans chin, caressing it every so gently. Kainga hissed as he felt the rough scaly blade across his skin, narrowly missing the burn on his neck. Perhaps he could steal some kind of ointment for it later.

"Need more?! Jesus you hit me with your Ute then expect shit from me?! Who do you think you ar-"

"DON'T YA DARE MENTION THAT NAME IN ME PRESENCE-!!" James roared at him and jerked his face closer to Kainga's, earning a scared jump from his sudden violent uproar. Smoke bellowing from James's mouth. Okay this guy was the fucking Devil. Kainga gave a sharp nod as James reeled back to his previous position, heaving heavily as the last thin line of smoke left his mouth. He sighed hastily.

"Are you going to leave now..?" Kainga furrowed his brows at the fact the Kiwi was still here. Still infuriating him.

"If that's what you so desire my love, however I promise to you we'll meet again~" he leaned forward again and brushed his thumb to Kainga's bottom lip, making him flinch. James ran his thumb across his dry skin and chuckled, leaning in as if he was about to kiss him.

"I'd rather not see you again... I want you to get the fuck out of my life"

"Mhm..? Oh redemption is always possible dear... even for sinners such as myself."

"Go to Hell"

"I rule it~"

Kainga blinked as James playfully jolted his thumb across his lip and with the flick of his tail he turned to leave out the door. As he left the spade of his tail brushed his chin in a long painful drag across his skin in a manner that can only be described as seductive. The force of the swoop causing Kainga's head to follow it's drift. The door clicked open again and the Devil spun on his leather heels and left. Like a candle being blown from it's wick. A spark and then nothingness. Just a mess of wax in it's holder.

Click

The door closed. There Kainga was left in a desolate room. Panting. What the fuck just happened?! He shuffled back around and sat curled up on his mattress, completely traumatized from the, now afternoons, events. His breath hitched as he held his legs. Rundown of what had happened in his time here, being a grand total of 4 days

Well, Being hit by a Ute. Being sent to hospital with half the bones in his body broken. Meeting the Devil who happened to run him over in the first place. The Devil proclaiming his love for him. The Devil being a fucking New Zealand for or things holy. Said Devil almost choking him to death. DID HE MENTION THE DEVIL HAD THE MOST ANNOYING ACCENT IN THE WORLD?! OUT OF ALL THE BLOODY ACCENTS-

Kainga sighed. Maybe it was all a dream? Maybe if he went to sleep now this nightmare would be all over. Perhaps James was a figure of his imagination brought on by stress. He curled himself more, the only sound as he drifted off was the Holter Monitor. The sound of James's evil chuckling could be heard fading out as he walked down the hall. Kainga's mind started to spin with thoughts, with pain. It hurt. He was an atheist, however maybe the purchase of a bible or even a crucifix wouldn't hurt. Seeing as now had the Devil himself stalking him. He'd rather God just struck him down instead.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep..

~~~

"Now where in Hells Nine rings have you been young man?!"

A very angry secretary caught up with a disarrayed James halfway down the hall. Her high heels, signature of Prada, clicked down the marble floor as she ran. He knew the sound of those heels anywhere. James turned his eye to him as she caught up, great. Now he had to hear an earful from his angry secretary because he missed a few meetings or so flaunting on Earth with a human. Now back in his Ring of Hell ready for a verbal beating from her. He bared his teeth.

"None of your business, Marianne.." he muttered but it came out as more of a disgruntled huff than anything. Marianne merely scoffed at Satan's rather pent up attitude today, evident that something was a miss.

"Yes it is my business my lord and don't talk to me like that Monsieur I am your secretary! I can't remember the last time you gave me some ounce of respect..!"

James scoffed again and pulled out his box of cigarettes, he needed one if he was going to deal with her into the rest of the day. Walking side-by-side Marianne stared at him, her gaze piercing into the side of is head so hard you could stick a nail in there. Not to mention the fact his head's rather hollow. He offered her a cigarette, she ignored it.

"Well are you going to answer me..?"

"Don't you have somethin' else t' do Marianne?" James retorted fiercely, flicking his tail on a nearby pillar as they walked. Its tip catching alight. He stuck the cigarette in his mouth and lined up the tip of the spade to the bud of the nicotine filled roll. Once the flame a lit the bud and shook the remaining ashes off of the spade. The hall they walked down seemingly got longer and longer as Marianne follow him. No doubt he had an array of paperwork to complete at his office. He grunted

Marianne rolled her eyes and ignored his back-handed, rhetorical question. He knew she had nothing better to do than pester him into insanity. That was her job after all.

"Mon diable, you can't keep Hell's governor waiting on a reply from you forever. He requested to see you today and I had to cover for you while you flaunted on earth with some human!"

"I wasn't flaunting!" he replied in an offended tone. The look his secretary gave him after that statement made it clear that in honesty he probably was. James took a huff and smoke bellowed from his nose, admitting an almost burnt smell to it, the cigarette still clutched in his mouth. James saw the door to his office ahead. A dark oak door with a red plank with his name engraved into it stood menacingly at the end of the hallway, looming over those who dare entered. Marianne stopped at the door to his office as James fiddled with the lock to get it open.

"May I come in..?"

"No.."

"Well too bad.." she brushed past him angrily and went in first with a sweep of her heels landing on the now crimson red carpet. James grunted hoarsely and closed the door behind them. Marianne sat behind his desk facing him, a look of dismay and unrest on her rather pale face, she waited for him to take a seat. James walked around her, falling onto his seat rather dramatically. He slumped his back over the chair's left armrest, he groaned out and stretched before laying in his usual position by slamming his leather heels onto the desk right in front of her. Marianne scolded and wriggled in her seat.

"James..."

"Yes..?" The Devil cocked a smirk, he knew she hated him putting his feet on the desk. The rather expensive wooden desk in the matter. Marianne merely glared at him, earning a chuckle from the man. The woman knew there was no getting around his man, she'd rather just obey him than cause any sort of disturbance to Satan himself. Reaching into her briefcase she pulled out a stack of paperwork, piling it onto his desk right near his feet. The sound of the dense bang of the paper earned a jump and a yelp from the Devil, causing him to fling back in his seat and he clutched his arm rests. Marianne looked at him with an unimpressed frown.

"Your paperwork sir.." she stirred slightly as James poked his head around the thick stack of paperwork, looking it up and down before flicking his attention back to her.

"Yer kiddin.."

"I am not sir, you need to learn to be more mature with your oh so precious time or you'll end up with consequences like this.." she gestured at the paperwork with a pen she pulled from behind her ear. James scoffed to her from the back of his throat.

"I don't pay you to taunt me and order me around like you are Marianne."

"You don't pay me at all, sir." she replied heavily. She had a point, the Devil had refused to take up her paycheck even into account. James rubbed his stubble and scowled at her little back talk before grinned again, kicking his feet back up on the table causing the papers to fall off of his desk as he purposely pushed them. The papers leaned and fell onto the floor with a weak bang and a shuffle.

"Whoops~"

James erupted into a spitting laughter and cocked his head back into his seat. Letting out a deep howling laughter. Smoke sliding up from his mouth from his almost finished cigarette that still hung from his mouth. Marianne was not impressed at all. Scolding at him. She stared at him in anguish, the only light hitting the Devil's face was the beams of light peaking through the blinds on his window in a deep orange hue. The rest of the room keeping it's dark aura and atmosphere, his laugh echoing like a cackling flame. Marianne started to recollect the papers scattered along the carpet as he mocked her in his seat. She shuffled around and through them back onto his desk with another hefty bang on the wooden desk. James perked back up at her, she glared at him angrily, her tail flicking like a whip behind her. Baring her teeth. James heaved a few more times before relaxing back on his chair, resting his cheek on his palm making it sizzle slightly. Meeting her gaze again James swallowed heavily. Marianne nothing short of murderous towards him.

"The governor expects them back to him by Friday.. good day sir-" she hissed at him darkly before turning out to leave his office. Slamming the door behind her and muttering aggressive French curses under her breath as she walked back down the office buildings hall. James rolled his eyes and sat forward again looking towards the blind covered window with the light being barely half drawn. Gritting his teeth as he stared back at the paperwork and with a snap of his fingers, ink and quill appeared in a puff of dark red smoke next to him. The quill falling down right into his grasp and he twiddled it in his fingers. The feather was that of a Great Horned Owl. James sighed and started to work his way through the pile. A searing pain jarring into his neck every now and again as the black ink dripped onto his fingers. Staining his skin with a black liquid that melted into his flesh.

The cigarette butt laid smoking in embers in the ash tray, breathing as if it had life as it slowly died in the stone pot. Murmurs of souls screaming from out of his window as the Devil sat in silence. In his entirety, James would already dead, even so, his secretary was going to kill him...

[alonely-dreamer]

Dangerous Creatures | Chapter 35: Dangerous Opportunities

Summary: Mackenzie, Elijah and Klaus keep busy in New-Orleans...

Pairing: Elijah x OC

Words: 2856

A/N: Please, note that I am French so there might be some mistakes here and there.

Masterlist

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 15 | Chapter 16 | Chapter 17 | Chapter 18 | Chapter 19 | Chapter 20 | Chapter 21 | Chapter 22 | Chapter 23: Part 1 | Chapter 23: Part 2 | Chapter 23: Part 3 | Chapter 24 | Chapter 25 (Part 1) | Chapter 25 (Part 2) | Chapter 25 (Part 3) | Chapter 26 (Part 1) | Chapter 26 (Part 2 & 3) | Chapter 27 | Chapter 28 | Chapter 29 | Chapter 30 | Chapter 31 | Chapter 32  | Chapter 33 | Chapter 34

I made Marcel everything that he is.

I treated him like a son.

And when my father chased me and my family from New-Orleans a hundred years ago we believed Marcel was killed.

We each mourned him in our own way.

Yet, when I returned, I found not only had he survived… he had thrived.

Instead of seeking us out, instead of sticking together as one, he made a choice, to take everything my family had built and make it his own.

Now he is living in our home.

He is sleeping in our beds.

The letter ‘M’ he stamps everywhere… it’s not for Marcel.

It’s for Mikaelson.

I want it all back.

And if I have to push him out to get it, then that’s exactly what I’ll do.

 ***

 Mackenzie’s giggles filled the room. “Stop it,” she kept repeating, but she didn’t mean it, and he knew that. They had started new games together, some even new to Elijah, as if Mackenzie was his muse inspiring him dirty little games he’d only play with her. It was innocent, at first, but soon, Mackenzie became more comfortable with him, more confident, and the stains of blood on the white bed sheets were so common now the compelled staff knew to change them almost every day. The implications of their activities only made them want each other more. Mackenzie, because she knew the effect her blood had on him, and Elijah, because he would never experience anything like this with anyone else other than her. Sure, he knew he would never love anyone the way he loved Mackenzie, but it wasn’t just about love. And that was something that made Mackenzie feel powerful. That was the reason why, sometimes, she refused to take his blood after they were done. So that she’d keep the marks. So that he knew they were there. His marks on her body. Claiming her. And she loved the way it made him feel when he saw them too.

While Mackenzie and Elijah were enjoying what both Katherine and Rebekah had called their ‘honeymoon period’, Hayley wished for death. Well, maybe not literally. But she did pretty much hate her life, and she didn’t have faith that it would get better in the next eighteen years. She was uncomfortable in every way. Not only was she pregnant with the world’s most hated supernatural creature, but her future baby’s father also was a total psychopath who didn’t see her as anything more than an incubator for his miracle baby. He had forbidden her from leaving the house where he left her to rot every day. Every day, she was left with a couple acting not unlike two hormonal teenagers around the house, in other words, alone, alone with dusty books she had no intention of reading, and a TV remote giving her access to hundreds of channels she wasn’t interested in watching at all. In other words, days passed and stayed the same, aside from the rising heat, and growing belly.

To make matters worse, when Elijah wasn’t busy eating his girlfriend (in every sense of the word), he turned into an over-protective grandpa, building the nursery from scratch, making sure she had vitamin, protein, everything a pregnant woman needs according to What To Expect When You’re Expecting, which she wouldn’t be surprised to find on his nightstand. Not only did it make her uncomfortable, and even more irritable, but it made Mackenzie self-conscious and sad, not matter how hard she was trying to hide it.

At first, Hayley thought it was jealousy. But Mackenzie was better than that. And she had no bad intentions towards Hayley, or feelings, on the contrary. After they had made sure Marcel’s secret weapon, whatever it was, could not detect Mackenzie’s powers, they had unlinked Hayley to Sophie, making the witches regret their whole plan to bring the Originals back in town, giving them enormous doubts about whether they would still go on with the plan to dethrone Marcel or not. Of course, Klaus was a threat to them now, after all they had done. Kidnapping Hayley, using his child to blackmail him… The witches were scared, and now, they had bigger problems than Marcel, and the witch community of New-Orleans was starting to turn against Sophie, who had insisted her sister’s plan would work. But Klaus didn’t attack the witches. No, Klaus was still in a suspiciously good mood. Aside from keeping Hayley locked up in the house, he was pleasant with his brother, he was pleasant with Mackenzie, and he was pleasant with Hayley, to whom his nickname little wolf had stuck. He wasn’t acting like a future father, by any means. He didn’t check on Hayley’s health, never asked how she felt or if she needed anything. He didn’t spend any time in the nursery, helping Elijah, or didn’t even talk baby names with his future baby’s mother, not that anyone had expected that from him. No. Klaus spent all his time with Marcel, and they were seemingly getting along great, greater than great, in fact, as if they were the best of friends who weren’t hiding deadly secrets from each other.

Hayley had started to worry about his behavior. What if he really enjoyed spending time with Marcel? What if he just wanted to get back at the witches? What if he didn’t care? What if… all the bad things Klaus could do, that she could think of, or even scarier, that she couldn’t even imagine. However, her worries were put to rest one day, as Klaus came back home one night with a newly made vampire named Josh.

“Josh here,” he had told them, “will be my eyes and ears. My joker, my…”

“Yeah, yeah, we get it,” Hayley had interrupted him. “He’s your spy.”

Klaus had gotten to Josh before Marcel even had the chance to put him under vervain. The vampire was compelled thoroughly by the Original hybrid and will be the key to taking Marcel down.

Though the existence of Josh was a relief for everyone, neither his brother nor his girlfriend trusted him in any way. Not when he was in such a good mood. He was plotting something, and they had a feeling it was nothing good, for anyone.

 ***

 Mackenzie caressed Elijah’s hair, her thoughts wandering back to earlier that day, when he had taken her to one of his favorite places in New-Orleans, a once peaceful beautiful park that was now a crowded and loud playground. She sighed, moving slightly but enough for Elijah to let a drop of blood slide down on Mackenzie’s neck. It drew a red line on her slightly tanned skin and the drop came to rest down her cleavage. She ignored it, she knew he’d take care of it later. Though the maids would have to change the sheets again in the morning.

She had almost forgotten his mouth buried in her neck, his free hand moving up and down her arm, as they were lying naked in their bed, resting from their long day of exploring the city Elijah had missed so much for the past century. He drank from her, her blood, the most delicious in the entire world, like she was the Fountain of Youth herself and he was the only one who got to drink from her, the only one who had that privilege, because he was the one who had discovered her. He had been there first, explored and found her and now she was his and only his and that thought would never cease to amaze him, to make him feel like the luckiest man in the world. But right now, Mackenzie felt everything but lucky, as she was haunted by a picture that would not leave her mind. A picture of his face in that park. And the look that said it all, even though he would never say it aloud, perhaps because he didn’t know it himself. A look she knew well now as it kept coming back, every time he looked at Hayley, every time he talked about the baby, about what Klaus should be doing but wasn’t, about everything he was doing in his brother’s place. It saddened him, perhaps unknowingly, and it saddened her as she knew she could never give that to him. In truth, no one could give that to him. But as powerful as she was, she felt she should be able to do anything, and everything she could do, but that.

He was content, lying in her arms, her hand in his hair, her blood in his throat, just enjoying the moment, enjoying her. But that was not the only reason why the question took him by surprise.

“Do you want kids?”

He froze, puzzled by the question. It surprised him, not only because it seemingly came out of nowhere, but mostly because he had buried that question and that answer a long time ago deep inside of him. So deep, in fact, that it was a hidden part of him, like an obvious take away of his very existence, of every single one of his actions. So deep, that the answer was practically engraved on his bones, carved onto his heart, like an invisible dormant pain that he would never let himself feel or remember. An immortal curse that could not be enchanted away and that will torment him for the rest of his eternity. Why that question? Why here, why now?

He slowly and gently retracted his teeth from her vein, licked the blood that escaped from the wound, though he knew he wouldn’t be able to stop it from bleeding as he moved away and looked up at her. She had asked the question so quietly, like a whisper, like a spell echoing in his head, losing itself in time, making his bones quiver like an earthquake would make a house shake. That question had been asked and answered centuries ago. That choice had been made for him centuries ago. That choice had been taken away from him centuries ago.

She was looking away but turned towards him as he sat up and pulled the duvet to cover them. Not because they were cold, but because the time for their adult activities was obviously over. Now, they had to have another kind of adult conversation.

“I can’t have children, you know that.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

“Mackenzie…”

“Do you? Want children of your own?”

“It doesn’t matter if I do. I can’t.”

“I know you do,” she said quietly, once again looking away, staring at that spot that didn’t exist.

“Where is this coming from?”

She shrugged. “Same place your regret is coming from…”

“I have no regret,” he replied, confused.

“You regret not being able to have children.”

“That is hardly anyone’s fault but my parents, and they are dead. There is no one to blame, though blame wouldn’t lead us anywhere.”

Her hand found his arm and her fingers caressed his skin as if touching him would fix everything.

“Why do you ask?”

“I don’t know… I just thought… it’s unfair Klaus gets to have a child and you don’t. He clearly has no interest in it. But you do.”

“My interest in Hayley’s pregnancy doesn’t go beyond anything an uncle wouldn’t do. Though, I am no ordinary uncle.”

“This is no ordinary family.”

“And that is why your question has no answer, my love.”

She looked back at him. He rarely used such words in front of other people, but when they were alone, when they were being intimate, he called her all sorts of sweet words. ‘My love’ being the sweetest. ‘My love’ was the answer. It meant ‘don’t ask’, ‘it’s okay’, ‘I get it’, ‘I love you too’.

 ***

 Klaus’ face tired of his never-ending smiling. However, he was motivated. Nothing would stop him from reaching his goal. Nothing ever could. And certainly not a stupid smile.

He couldn’t tell which was louder, the screams or the music, however, he had stopped caring. He was tired and annoyed, and he wanted to leave this wretched court of amateurs as soon as possible. Marcel called himself a King and had forged himself a throne, but he was just some tyrant wannabe, a little boy in a paper crown running around with his friends, bullying the weakest kids on the playground. Though he would never reproach Marcel from banishing the werewolves from the Quarter or stopping the witches from doing magic, everything that had allowed him to get to that point he had stolen from him, and that fact was like wood to a fireplace, it kept his immortal rage burning.

Perch on the balcony above the party, Klaus and Marcel stood like Kings in a court of horrors, watching their nobles feast on the buffet. Though Klaus was too old to enjoy such an obvious and basic vampire party, he had to give Marcel a nod of approval every once in a while, to keep things civil. He was bored out of his mind and had run out of things to talk about with his ‘friend’. Fortunately, Marcel had a surprise for his sire.

“I’m hosting a party.”

“Yes, you are,” the hybrid nodded, making the vampire laugh.

“No. I mean, I’m planning a party, in two days. It’s a charity dinner for some… I don’t know, charitable organization for the city.”

“I didn’t take you for the charitable type,” Klaus teased.

“Well, I got a reputation to uphold,” he replied with an amused smile. “It’s mostly an excuse to see Camille again, though.”

“Who? Ah, the bartender.”

“Yeah, the bartender,” he chuckled. “It’s a fancy dinner, just your brother’s type of things.”

“You’re inviting Elijah?” Klaus raised an eyebrow, surprised Marcel would want to be anywhere near his brother.

“Right, and his witch girlfriend, you know, what’s her name…”

“Mackenzie.”

“That’s right. She’s a funny little thing,” he said as he smiled at his sire accusatorily. “She’s not afraid of you.”

“Ah, she’s been through a lot.”

“Do you mean you?”

They laughed.

“I admit, I may have been less than cordial to her… more than once.”

“It’s a miracle Elijah lets you go anywhere near her.”

Klaus knew what Marcel was doing, where this was going. He had been working at it slowly, but not as subtly, for a while now. Marcel wanted Elijah gone, out of his city, no matter how, no matter what it took. He figured Klaus was his best shot, and usually he would have been correct, but not now, not anymore. If anything happened to Elijah, Mackenzie would destroy the whole city, hell, the entire state. No, Klaus had one goal, and he wasn’t going to let Marcel distract him from it.

“It’s different with her. If I kill her, he’ll stop at nothing to take me down, and I’ve tired of our little wars. The last one lasted a century and almost killed me.”

“Ah, let him have his fun. She’s mortal, they’re fleeting little things.”

Klaus chuckled, though not because he found the obvious threat funny, but the mere thought of Marcel going after Mackenzie made him want to laugh. He’d pay to see it, if only it wouldn’t result in Marcel’s certain death.

“Not this one. This one is here to stay.”

Marcel frowned and looked at the hybrid with curiosity. “You actually mean that.”

“She’s a Mikaelson, Marcel,” he nodded as he put his hand on the King’s shoulder. “You know what happens when you go after a Mikaelson.”

Marcel laughed. “Hey, I’m just talking, no harm meant, no harm meant.”

“She’d kill you before you even had a chance to see it coming.”

“See, that’s my problem,” Marcel grimaced. “Witches aren’t allowed to do magic here, and I don’t think she’s understood that.”

“What? Your secret weapon’s been shining bright recently?”

Marcel laughed as he shook his head. “No, nothing like that. It’s the attitude, Klaus. Elijah… he doesn’t respect my authority here. And neither does she.”

“Then why invite them, then? They’re happy enough on their own. Trust me, they’re unbearable to be around right now. They’re so… in love,” he said, disgust visible all over his face, making Marcel laugh whole-heartedly.

“You were never one for sentiment.”

“Right then,” Klaus sighed. “I’ll let them know.”

“I appreciate that, brother.”

Marcel tapped him twice on the shoulder before he moved towards the middle of the balcony, where he’d be best seen from downstairs, to make his usual speech. The words never changed. “Have fun”, “don’t kill too many of them”, and last but not least:

“And no matter what you do, no matter how good she smells or how pretty she looks, leave the barefoot blonde alone!”

That last part they all said together like a chant, like it was a joke. But when Marcel explained the meaning to Klaus the first night, he learnt he wasn’t joking in the least. He had puzzled out all the tiny bits of information Marcel could give him, and the hybrid knew it was no joke indeed.