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halfbloodallbitch · 2 years

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The Kid You Sent Away (Wasn’t What Came Back)

(The other Olympians observe how Apollo isn't acting quite like his old self after his latest stint as a mortal.)

Fic type: Gen

Characters: Apollo

Apollo really had changed. The residents of Olympus had no choice but to admit it. At first they’d tried to dismiss it as a temporary thing. He’d been mortal for a while and his transition back to immortal had been rather abrupt. But as time went on it became harder and harder to ignore.

***

The first sign was when they had gathered the whole of Olympus to celebrate his return. Before he would have lapped up the attention, more than half the event would have been taken up by him reciting poems and singing songs about his deeds. Only this time he just sat quietly almost as though he was trying not to be noticed. When someone, usually Hermes or Dionysus, did pester him to talk he would only tell them about the deeds of others. Refusing to make more than a passing comment on his own contributions. Though at one point when talking about a plan that had involved weaponised unicorns and tap dancing he began to get a little more animated. It was during this story he swept his arm back just as a dryad girl walked past carrying a tray of drinks. There was a clang, a shriek and a thud and suddenly the poor thing was on the floor, dripping wet looking forlornly at the cups that were now scattered around her. She tried to blink back tears as all around her the gods began to laugh. No sooner had they done so though when a voice cried out.

‘I’m so sorry are you okay.’ The laughing stopped almost as suddenly as it had began as they saw that Apollo was now crouched down in front of the girl picking up the cups and placing them back on the tray. The dryad opened and closed her mouth but couldn’t seem to be able to find the words.

‘Here allow me.’ Apollo continued seemingly oblivious to the sudden silence that filled the room. He waved his hand and the girls dress became as clean and dry as it had been when she’d first put it on. ‘There that’s better?’ There was a long pause until she realised he’d been asking her a question. She nodded before finding her voice to add.

‘I’m so sorry my lord it was very clumsy of me to…’

‘No no,’ he cut her off. ‘You have nothing to be sorry for. It was all my fault.’ The dryad girl simply nodded got up and hurried away. My fault, had she ever heard a god utter those words before.

***

The second sign had been the fact he was spending so much time among mortals. At first Artemis had just assumed he’d found a new lover. And while he did apparently spend a lot of time with Lityerses at the Way station he’d also been see spending a lot of time around Camp Half Blood visiting both his children and the newest oracle Rachel Dare. Zeus had tried to lecture him about interfering with the fate of mortals but Apollo had brushed him off.

‘I’m the god of fate.’ He’d retorted. ‘I think I’d know a thing or two about what can affect it.’

It seemed while in some ways he’d become more reserved when it came to standing up to Zeus he’d become bolder.

***

The third and biggest sign had been at the first solstice since his return. Whilst the others bickered about whose idea was superior and should be the one executed to deal with their problem Apollo mostly just sat and listened. Only speaking to ask questions or add and idea of their own onto their original one. The effect was a strange one catching every single one of them off guard every time. At one point Zeus and Hera’s arguing got especially loud and aggressive. The others watched in a numb horror that came with seeing the same awful act over and over again for many a millennia as Zeus raised his hand to strike his wife. Knowing what was coming Hera closed her eyes preparing herself for that sting she knew too well. It never came. Opening her eyes she gapped at what she saw. Apollo was standing between her and Zeus his hand wrapped around Zeus’s wrist.

‘Don’t touch her.’ Apollo said his voice calm but firm. ‘How dare you.’ Zeus thundered. ‘I should punish you for this. I should…’

‘Should what?’ Apollo asked dropping his father’s hand. ‘Make me mortal again? It wasn’t that bad. Strike me? I’ve felt enough pain it won’t even matter.’ Despite his best effort to prevent it a hint of fear creeped into Zeus’s eyes.

‘Are you challenging me.’ He growled. Apollo shook his head.

‘No. I have no interest in usurping you. I have my own things to deal with. After all I made a promise and I intend to keep it.’ He began to walk away but just before he disappeared, he turned back to face them to add.

‘But if you think I’ll let you get in my way…’ he didn’t have to finish his sentence and as he vanished the remaining gods all looked at each other for once in probably forever all thinking the same thing. That there had been something almost human in his eyes.

#fan fiction #riordanverse #toa #post toa apollo #abuse mention

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chibi-tsukiko · 3 years

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Hosted by @oc-growth-and-development

Day 30 : Soothe

After the Oracle fiasco between Ishida and Ryuji, Ishida goes off on his own and is kidnapped.

After days of searching, Ryuji gets a lead.

This is the moment when Ryuji finds him.

Enjoy!

It’s cold. That’s the first thing Ryuji notices when he steps down into the stone cellar. He quickly uses the talisman Myya gave him to light the torches in the doorway.

Ahead of him is a labyrinth. The rugged walls stretch into long tunnels with rows of cells with iron doors. Ryuji bites the inside of his cheek and takes off down one hall. He stops at each door, prying them open to check inside. He has to be here. Ryuji tells himself. He has to be. The thought sparks a fire in his chest. But every empty cell is a punch in the gut.

He turns down another hallway, the cold air freezing his lungs making every inhale sharp. He curses himself as he opens up another door to an empty cell.

He’s spent so long hiding. Convincing himself that the happiness he saw in others was something he couldn’t have. It wasn’t meant for him. So he made his path as a soldier and hid in the shadows of the crowd. Then he met Ishida, who saw who he was despite who he was trying to be, and his plans disintegrated like sand on the shore.

New and uncertain emotions came crashing into him. Countless waves of desire, protectiveness, possessiveness, and fear. But there was also joy and freedom, like drowning in euphoria. Then the Oracle revealed he had killed Ishida’s sister. That Ishida knew about it.

Ryuji stops for a moment to catch his breath.

And for a second, just one second, he had thought his father was right. That everything he had been feeling towards Ishida was part of some enchantment. That he was under a spell. It was confirmation that this life truly was a fever dream he wasn’t meant for. He didn’t deserve it.

He punches the wall, hard enough to make his knuckles bleed. How could have been so stupid? He told himself Ishida would be better off and now he could be…Ryuji shakes his head. No. He has to find him. He has to be here.

Ryuji turns and takes the hallway to his right, but it’s a dead end. So he doubles back and goes left. There he finds a large double door. He pushes against it, using his shoulder to shove his way in. The door opens to a spacious room. Tall glass tanks of liquid sit in a far corner across from a row of bookcases. The walls have magic symbols, writings, and pages from scrolls on them. It smells like burnt chemicals and copper.

In the center of the room is a stone table with shackles chained to it on all sides. Next to it is a smaller table with a tray of operating utensils on it. As Ryuji approaches, he can see nail marks and blood dried into the slab.

Bile rises in his throat, but he chokes it down. He has to keep looking. When he turns to leave, something shines in his eye from behind the table. He follows the line where it came from and feels along the wall. There’s a gap in the stone. Ryuji pushes on it with all his weight.

It creaks open, only a little, enough that Ryuji can slip through. But he pushes it again so that the light can shine through. Slowly, he steps inside the secret room, and then he sees him and everything goes numb.

“Ishida,” Ryuji gasps, rushing over to him, sliding on his knees to get to his side.

Chains keep Ishida’s arms above his head while his body hangs limp. His cheeks are sullen. Dark purple bruises mar his porcelain skin from his face down to his chest. Dirty, unkept bandages wrap around his forearms and needle marks cover the inside of his elbows.

“What did they do to you?” Ryuji wonders aloud.

Hesitantly, he reaches out, touching the side of Ishida’s face with his fingertips. “Ishida?” His hand jerks at the coldness of his skin.

“Oh no,” Ryuji mumbles, “hang on.” He pulls a dagger from his belt and jams it into the keyhole of one shackle. After twisting it to the left and right, it pops open. Ishida’s arm falls to his side. Ryuji presses his body closer to Ishida to brace him as he opens the other shackle.

Once it opens, Ryuji drops the dagger and catches Ishida as he collapses into him. Carefully, he cradles Ishida in his lap, holding him close.

“Ishida?” He says, brushing Ishida’s white hair away from his face. “Ishida?” He says again, rubbing his thumb across Ishida’s cheek.

But his love doesn’t stir. Panic turns his stomach. “Ishida?” He calls out, louder, “Ishida, can you hear me?”

Nothing happens. Ryuji chews the inside of his cheek. He holds his breath while pressing two fingers against Ishida’s neck. A sigh of relief escapes when he feels a pulse. It’s weak, but it’s there.

“Ishida,” Ryuji says, cupping Ishida’s face, shaking it gently. “Ishida, please.” He begs, his voice cracking.

“Baby, please.” He pulls Ishida to his chest, tucking his head under his chin, holding him. Anger burns under his skin, boiling his blood like a disease. He’s going to kill whoever did this to Ishida. Every last one. But first, he needs to get help.

He moves to pick Ishida up, and freezes when he feels the body in his arms tense. Ishida groans softly.

“Ishida?” Ryuji responds, moving back down to hold Ishida close.

Ishida groans again, his eyes fluttering as he wakes up. When his eyes open fully, they wander disoriented and bloodshot. His body twists against Ryuji’s hold.

“No, no, hey it’s ok,” Ryuji whispers, caressing Ishida’s cheek, trying to soothe him. “It’s me. It’s me.” He says.

Ishida blinks at him, recognition coming slowly, relaxing his muscles. “R-Ryuji?” His voice is hoarse like sandpaper. “You… came?”

Ryuji presses his lips into a thin line and nods. Ignoring the sting in his chest. He rubs his thumb along Ishida’s chapped lips and his cheek. “I will always come for you.” He vows.

Ishida’s lip quivers. He twists his fingers into the fabric of Ryuji’s shirt, tears falling. “Ryuji.” He cries.

Ryuji pulls him into his chest, kissing his forehead and temple. “It’s ok. I’ve got you. I’ve got you.” He promises. I’ll never let you go again.

Tag list : @littleturtle95 @phoenix-and-dragon @khaleesiofalicante @my-archerboy @clumsyowl-in-a-fandom @radisv @raziyekroos @our-insentient-touches @magnus-the-maqnificent @carstairrs @spotsandclawsthings @queen-born-out-of-fire @shadowhuntingdemigod @elettrahere

#I’m a sucker for reunions #my writing #oc tober #wretched and divine #emmysoc #ishida tetsui #ryuji zenko #rishida

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unmaskedagain · 5 years

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Marinette Vs Santa

A quick Christmas drabble.

How did Marinette find out she was adopted? Well… her little half-brother tried to kill her.

Also, that’s how she found out her biological dad was Batman. Because… why not. As if her life wasn’t weird enough already.

And to think Marinette had been secretly writing Santa every year since she was three to like nine asking for a sibling of her own. She didn’t think it would ever happen

Then one day, on a cold December night, as Ladybug ran across rooftops to see as many of the Christmas decorations as possible. Suddenly every instinct she had told her to duck. And she did just narrowly avoided a sword to the throat.

Marinette readied herself to fight an Akuma, only to see an angry ten-year-old with a sword and a mask. He was dressed in green, red, and gold.

“Die, usurper!” He roared and attacked her again.

Ladybug dodged and jumped every attempt to kill her and tried to resist the urge to punch a child.

Eventually she got the better of the kid, and ended up hog tying him.

Marinette put her hands on her knees as she struggled to catch her breath, “Who. Are. You. Nightmare. Child?” She asked in between breaths. Ladybug picked up the fallen sword and pointed at him. “And what is your problem? What did I even do to you?”

“You are Marinette Dupain-Cheng, first born blood child of our father.” He hissed at her, “I am our father’s rightful heir; not you.”

Our father? Did her dad have a lovechild? Did he cheat on her mom? No, Tom Dupain would never.

“What?” Marinette pinched her nose. “You want to be head baker?”

“Fool!” He tsk’d at her. “I’ve no interest in your adoptive parents’ holdings. I will follow Father’s footsteps and rule the night. I will be Batman. Not you, sister. Kneel before me and renounce your heirship, and I will spare your life.”

…Wait Adoptive? Batman? Sister?

Marinette just stared at him. Not saying a word. For a while. Awhile he insulted her.

She looked out at the colorful lights that glowed against the freshly fallen snow and sense of peace that filled the air, and Marinette whispered the only thing on her mind…

“Fuck Santa.”

The boy stopped struggled and gave her a perplexed look, “What? What does the jolly fat man have to do with anything? Why has he made you angry, sister? I will avenge you.”

You just tried to kill me, she wanted to say.

Marinette just rolled her eyes, “Never mind. We need to talk.” She picked him and tossed him over her shoulder. “In my room.”

Running across Paris with a struggling kid on your shoulder and a sword in your hand wasn’t easy.

When she got to her room, she dropped the kid on her bed as gently as possible. “Do not escape,” She ordered. “If you do, do not destroy my room. I’m going to ask my parents if…” If they’re really her parents. Why didn’t they tell her? Why? Just Why? “What you say is true. I won’t mention Batman.”

Or the psychotic ten-year-old she had tied up in her room. Who may or may not be her brother.

Marinette de-transformed. Tikki hid in her hair before anyone could see her.

She came back to her room half an hour later with a cheese plate, full of veggies, fruits and crackers. And a tray full of chocolate chip Christmas cookies and two glasses of milk. She sat them down at the desk.

The boy glared at her.

“You were right,” Marinette sighed. “I was adopted. My birth mom was just nineteen when she had me. The sister of one of my mom’s friends.”

The news had been a blow. Her parents had kept repeating how much they loved her and how they had been planning on telling her when she was older. Older than fourteen. They wanted to know how she found out. She said her little brother had gotten in contact with her.

Marinette eyed the still tied up boy… her brother. He no longer struggled against his bonds, just stared with an angry expression on his face. “I don’t want to be Batman,” She told him. “The title is all yours. I like being Ladybug. It’s a name I earned, worked hard for. A name I’m proud of and will not part with easily. Is that something you can understand?”

He stared at her for a moment before nodding slowly, “You created your own hero persona to find the terror entrapping your city; all by yourself. …Father did the same.”

He said the last part with a sad tone that Marinette’s new found big sisterly instincts go haywire. “And you think just because you’re his… partner,” She said, instead of sidekick because she was sure that word would get her killed. “And not a solo hero, that he will find you unworthy of being his heir.” Marinette sat down next to him, and patted his hair softly. “Did you ever think that because he is the one who’s training you, that because you fight by his side, that he’d trust you more? Trust you to take up his mantle in the way he can’t trust me. He doesn’t know what I’m capable of entirely. But he knows exactly what you can do because he taught you.”

Her brother scoffed but his face lost some of its anger and he seemed to relax.

“I’m going to untie you now,” She told him. “Do not attack me.”

When he was untied and given back his sword, which he sheathed, Marinette brought over the food. “You know my name,” She said after he took a bite a cookie and seemed pleased with it. “What’s yours?”

“Damian,” He answered. “Damian Al-Ghul Wayne. How did you obtained magical powers? And what is the creature that thought it could hide from me?”

Marinette just blink. Because Dammit Tikki. The pink ball of fluff out with a chastised look on her face. Unfortunately that look meant nothing as all the other Kwami Marinette now protected as Guardian thought that meant they could come out to.

Plagg straight to Damian and sat on his lap, “Cheese. Now.”

Marinette face-palmed. The Kwami had taken trying to declare dominance ever since Ladybug took the ring back from Chat Noir.

Damian could only stare at the being, animal, and sprite as he reached slowly for a piece of cheese from the selection of food and handed it the small creature. That was all the other Kwami needed to rush to him for attention. Damian was easily mesmerized by the little creatures and saw no issue in showing them affection. Apart from the fact that Oracle, and Father, and thus the rest of the family were watching the feed, through the mask, while they attempt to locate him. Damian could only disable their trackers for so long. Annoying as she was, Oracle was a genius.

“Okay, little brother,” Marinette shrugged. “You tell me your story. I’ll tell you mine.”

And so they did. The two siblings spent the next few hours telling the other all about their history. Neither were happy.

Marinette was beyond furious that her little brother was raised by ruthless assassins, cast into the role of Robin (though mostly by his own doing), constantly risked his life, and had little no childhood.

Damian was pissed, which was putting it nicely. His beloved sister had no training when she was charged with the task of defending the city as the hero Ladybug and fight a supernatural terrorist, dealt with sexual harassment from her once trusted partner, then her master died in battle but not before he bestowed one of the most powerful magical artifacts of all time to a teenager. To top it all off, his sweet sister was being bullied by a pathological liar who turned all her friends against her, nearly got her expelled, leaving her with little to no Allies to aid her in her fight against evil. Marinette had cried at the end of her tale.

…He was going burn Paris to the ground.

Little did he know, the Batfamily found it hard not to agree as they watched the livestream from the Batplane?

Dick had gone from jumping up and down at the sight of his adorable new sister, Marinette. She was a hero called Ladybug, how cute was that? To being rather angry at what she had to put up with. It was too much pressure for a kid, superhero, superpowers, or not.

“What do we do?” Tim asked.

Batman was still having trouble processing. He had another daughter; a beautiful little girl who seemed to have taken after him without ever having known the man. Nature versus Nurture, he supposed; nature won. Marinette who had been fighting to save her city like he fought to save his. Who was her mother? Why didn’t she tell Bruce he had another child? Granted Brucie wasn’t who most people thought would be an ideal father but still… Hadn’t he proved himself?

“Find Hawkmoth,” Jason growled. “Punch a hole through his face. And Send Steph and Cass to have a “Talk”, he air quoted. “With that Lila chick. While we have a little talk of our own with Chat Noir. End of story.”

Cass nodded, gleefully, that little girl would pay for what she did to Cassandra’s sister. And if she was lucky, Lila would even live to tell the tale.

Stephanie was wondering if the Batfamily, her sort of-adopted family, could really get away with murder.

…Who was she kidding? They totally could.

“We don’t… kill?” Batman said as he turned around and stalked away. “I’ll inform Alfred of the development.” Maybe have him prepare a room, he thought with hope. He’d like his daughter to visit and feel at home whenever she could.

When Batman left the area, Tim looked around at his siblings, “Did that sound like a question to anyone else?”

Marinette and Damian fell asleep next to each other, with the Kwami cuddled close. The next morning she woke not only to sound to the sound of the Kwami but to the sight of five additional vigilantes heroes, in addition to the one from the night before, hovering around her room.

Two girls who were discussing with Trixx and long about their abilities. A hero in mostly black and red, who sat on Marinette’s top bunk with Marinette’s laptop on his lap, and Pollen on his shoulder. Damian still had Plagg with him, which Marinette wanted to tsk at because she told him not to play favorites. A blue, clearly the oldest, was laying on the floor playing with the remaining Kwami like they were puppies.

She sat up in her bed and tried to wipe the sleep from her eyes. She glared at Damian, “Want to explain?”

“Mornin, sunshine,” A guy in a redmask said, with Barkk on his shoulder, as he chopped on a leftover cookie, not noticing the way Tikki glared at him. “Name’s Red Hood. Real name Jason. Dad’s downstairs talking to your parents.”

Dad?

She glared even harder at Damian. He shrugged, “Marinette, these are our… brothers and sisters.” He said. “They were adopted.”

“You should get better security on your computer,” The hero on her bed said. “Name’s Tim. I go by Red Robin.”

“Cassandra,” One the girl introduced. “Blackbat.”

“Stephanie. Batgirl,” The other said.

“I’m Dick!” The one on the floor laughed. “Nightwing. Welcome to the family.”

Tim continued, “I’ve located all personal information on Lila Rossi. I believe we can now move forward with the plan.”

Jason clapped his hands together, “Awesome. Operation: Get That Bitch is a go.”

Marinette just started at them. Six. She had six siblings. One for every year ever asked for a sibling for Christmas. She just had one thing to say as she tossed the covers back over her head to hide from the world…

“Fuck. Santa.”

Finding out Bruce Wayne, cough Batman cough, was her father was one thing. Meeting him in person was another. He stared at her with cool blue eyes that made Marinette realize she probably should’ve questioned where she got her own long before.

Her parents had been surprised when Bruce Wayne walked into their bakery and asked to speak with them alone. Even more so, when he claimed to be the biological father of their daughter. It had been long conversation between the three. But Bruce made it clear that he had interest of just taking Marinette from them. However, he would like visitations and for her to spend time with him over the summers. And to take her out for the day so she could meet her siblings. Also, about adding Wayne to her last name.

So that was how Marinette found herself sitting in one of the most expensive restaurants in all of Paris, in the best dress she ever designed herself, with her… family.

The initial awkwardness was broken up by all her siblings. Though they seemed to know to how to behave in public, they had no problems messing with each other and teasing.

“How long have you been into fashion, Marinette?” Bruce, her Papa, (As her dad would always be her dad).

She smiled, “Since I was really little. It’s my dream to have my own line.”

Bruce’s eyes got bright at the chance to help his daughter, “I can help you with that. I can drum up a connect or two, to get you started.”

“He’ll throw money at it until someone cracks,” Jason translated which cause Marinette to laugh and Bruce to glare.

Marinette discovered Damian had snuck Plagg with him to the restaurant.

Marinette just groaned.

“You brought Tikki!” Damian defended.

“I’m the holder of her Miraculous,” She hissed back as low as she could. “Paris’s main and sometimes only hero. I need her.”

Damian huffed, “That’s no reason he shouldn’t be allowed to attend as well. He’s with me.”

Before Marinette could continue the arugment…

“Wayne?” Gabriel Agreste asked, tailed by Natalie, Adrien, Chloe, and Chloe’s parents: Audrey Bourgeois and André Bourgeois. “Bruce Wayne?”

Bruce put on his most charming smile as he stood up, “Yes and you are?” He put out his hand.

Gabriel shook it, clearly wondering why the billionaire was there. “Gabriel Agreste.”

Bruce nodded, “The fashion designer.”

“This is my son Adrien,” Gabriel introduced. “My assistant Nathalie. My longtime friend Audrey Bourgeois, of the Style Queen, and André Bourgeois, mayor of Paris, and their lovely daughter. We’re here for a quick lunch.”

“Same,,” Bruce nodded. “I’m here with my children. My eldest Dick, followed by Jason, Cassandra, Stephanie, Tim, Marinette and my youngest Damian.” He introduced them.

At the sound her name, all the newcomers eyes went to Marinette. She gave them a small wave, “Good to see you again.”

“Dupain-Cheng!” Chloe gasped.

Damian growled, “Dupain-Cheng-Wayne.” As he glared passed her at the blond boy, the former Chat Noir.

The blond girl was stunned, “How could you not tell me?”

Hadn’t the two moved passed their difference and become friends? The two girls, and Kagami and united together when the liar seemed to take hold of the rest of the class.

“No one knew,” Marinette defended. I didn’t even know, she wanted to add. But they had discussed and agreed on the story that Bruce and an unknown woman gave up Marinette to the Dupain-Chengs when she was born. Nothing scandalous about it.

Gabriel paused as he tried to think of what to say. How did he not know there was Wayne living in Paris, that his son was classmates with a Wayne. The girl had power in her pinky when she was still in Nappies, then either of the older Bourgeois had currently in their entire bodies. She would’ve been a much better playmate for his son than Chloe; the vapid, girl that she was.

Audrey was thinking nearly the same thing. “Such a brilliant daughter you have, Brucie,” She smoozed. “I still can’t believe she turned down the internship I offered her. I want her to come to New York with me, you know?”

Bruce beamed, “I’m glad someone sees her brilliance.”

This went on for a while as each of the parents tried their hands at flattering the billionaire. Bruce finally had enough and all but dismissed them

“I’m glad our children our such good friends,” Gabriel said finally as he turned to leave.

Marinette fought he urge to scoff. Adrien was not her friend.

The boy in question looked anywhere but at Marinette as he left. He had chosen to side with the other students when the Ice’d out Marinette until the girl stopped being a bully and being mean to Lila. Even if he knew it wasn’t true. Most declared they weren’t her friends anymore. Alya said she’d never be friends with Marinette again.

Coward, Damian nearly hissed. When they were gone, he turned to Marinette, “The blond girl is your alley, correct?” He asked. “Your Queen?”

Marinette nodded, “There’s Luka and Kagami as well.”

“I will test to ensure they are worthy to fight at her side,” He declared.

The others nodded. Bruce got a dark look on his face, “We all will.” He would not allow his daughter to suffer another Chat Noir.

That was it, Marinette thought as she threw down the sliver napkin, she was starting to hate Christmas.

The end of the weekend the entire world knew that Marinette was Bruce Wayne’s daughter. This made going to school Monday morning a huge spectacle as paparazzi crowded the outside the bakery and outside the school. Each one trying to get the attention of Wayne’s crown jewel, new Princess of Gotham, as the media dubbed her.

Suffice to say, Bruce had taken her to school that day flagged by Dick and Tim as her other siblings combed the city for traces of Hawkmoth.

The principle had practically fallen over himself to speak with the Bruce Wayne. But quickly hid in the shadows, when the first thing Bruce said to him was, “Ah, yes, you’re the man who expelled my daughter without a proper investigation. I’ll be talking to you later. So will my lawyers.”

Marinette tried to hide her blushing face her father walked her to class. Students did everything they could to get a look at her. Chloe and Kagami waited outside her classroom, that was practically bursting with noise.

However She practically drop dead when Tim complimented Kagami’s sword fighting skill and offered to duel her, and Kagami blushed. Blushed. Kagami?

Marinette shook her head as she kissed her father and brothers goodbye. This world just didn’t make sense anymore.

The two other girls flanked Marinette’s side as they walked into class. All noise stopped instantly. Marinette didn’t even bother spare the other kids a glance as the three took a seat in back of the class.

Chloe quickly pulled her into a conversation of the places she’d see that summer in New York.

“I’ll be spending the end of Christmas break in Gotham too,” Marinette said shyly. “I’ll open my presents there. Papa wants me there for the Wayne Ball was I can be properly introduced to society.”

And not because Bruce Wayne was scared of what Alfred would do if he didn’t get to mean his new granddaughter before the new year. That and Martha Kent were the ultimate overprotective grandparents.

“A Ball?” Lila squeaked, poorly concealed jealously on her face. She still couldn’t believe the little twit was Wayne. IF she had, Lila would’ve been a hell of a lot nicer. No wonder Marientte always knew when Lila was lying. She probably knew the celebrities through her father. “You’re going to the Waynes’ Annual New Year’s Ball.”

“Everyone goes,” Rose awe’d. “It’s basically a red carpet event. I watch every year. And Selena Gomez had the most beautiful dress on last time.”

Juleka hummed in agreement, “Clara Nightingale looked like a princess.”

Marinette just shrugged as each of her classmates offered their input on what the Ball would be like. She wasn’t about to make nice with them. They had turned their backs on her, betrayed her trust. Her brothers and sisters had warned her to be watchful for phony friends.

Alya, who’s face had been turning steadily more red, as the classmates speculated who Marinette would meet. “Girl!” She burst. “How could not tell me?”

Marinette raised a thin eyebrow, “We’re not friends, Alya, by your own declaration. I don’t believe I have to tell you anything. And even when we were friends, I only knew you for two years. Why would I tell a journalist anything important about me?”

“She was right not to,” Kagami stated, “With how quickly you all turned on her, I’m surprised she ever told you anything at all.”

Alya flinched back as if slapped. So did a few other students.

“It’s not fair,” Alya continued as if nothing happened. “I could’ve gotten so many interviews. OH! I could with you to the Ball. It’ll be bomb.”

The three girls in the backrow just stared at her.

“We. Are. Not. Friends,” Marinette repeated slowly. “Kagami and Chloe, and their families are invited because Kagami. And. Chloe. Are. My. Friends. In fact, my only friends in class. Luka is invited as well as well as his family,” She turned to Juleka who turned bright red. “Luka will receive invite tonight. If you attend with him, I will do my best to be polite. My father allowed me to invite them so I would have additional company if it gets too busy. The Ball is invitation only.”

Allowed? He insisted. Marinette doesn’t even know how he found out all their names and who their families were. For reason, Marinette had the gut instinct to blame a redhead and Tim. Batman wanted to test his daughter’s team. And if they were lacking… Well, he’d promised to shape them up. Or else.

“I’m going to the Wayne Ball!” Chloe shouted. “And you didn’t tell me. It’s mere weeks away. I need a dress. I need to tell Mother.”

Kagami had frozen. She knew well that the Wayne Ball wasn’t just any high society event. It was the High society event. Her family had never been elite and rich enough to receive an invitation. “I thank you for the invitation,” She bowed her head. “It will be a pleasure to attend.” She paused as she pulled out her phone and stood up. “I must also tell Mother.” And with, she quickly left the room.

Which was much more polite than Chloe who called her mom then and there.

“Mama!” Chloe sang, “Marinette invited us to the Wayne Ball this year!”

“WHAT!” Was heard from the receiver.

Marinette giggled. She ignored the glare Alya sent her.

Rose grasped Juleka’s arm and jumped up and down. “You’re going to the ball. Ahhhh!” She screamed. “What will you wear? Your hair? You have to take pictures.” Rose suddenly reared back and took a deep breath. “You’re going to walk the red carpet.”

“You know, Marinette,” Lila smiled sweetly. “I would be honored to help you navigate the world of a celebrity. The ball will be so stressful. If you needed me there, I’d be happy to attend.”

“No, thank you,” Marinette said. “My siblings have promised to guide me through. It will be a bonding experience.”

Lila forced a smile on her face, “Of course.” She fought the desire to scream and throw a tantrum. How could this happen?

Adrien on the other hand fought to keep the smile on his face. His father would not be pleased. He had instructed Adrien to get close to Marinette, and thus the Wayne family. Adrien hadn’t had the courage to tell his father that they weren’t friends anymore. And that because of the lack of friendship, the Agreste were not invited to the party of the year.

Marinette went to bed that day with a smile on her face. The Christmas season may have started off rocky but it would get better.

Suddenly her phone started buzzing like it was on fire.

The first text she read was from Chloe: You’re dating Roy Queen?!!!!

Marinette’s entirely body froze. Who?

Suddenly, she got another text… From Jason: Hey Baby Bats, I need a favor! Can you fake date my friend Roy. I already told everyone you guys were a thing. Bruce is freaking out! Thanks! Love you.

Her mouth dropped, raged filled her entire body. And then she remembered how she joked with Alya that she wanted a boyfriend last year for Christmas last year.

“FUCK SANTA!”

#ml salt #batfamily #Marinette deserves better #Marienette Dupain Cheng #bruce #bruce wayne #damian wayne #alya salt

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hamsterboos · 4 years

Text

The Great Percy and Annabeth Bake Off

🎄Day 1 of 12 Days of PJO Christmas🎄

All Annabeth wants to do is make a gingerbread house. The only problem? She wants to do it completely from scratch, and Percy is well aware of her...weakness when it comes to baking, but he’s also well aware of the fact that she is the most stubborn person he knows, so why not make an competition out of it?

Read on AO3

~~~~~~~

Honestly, he should’ve expected this. He knew how stubborn Annabeth was, and he knew that once she got an idea stuck in her head, there was close to nothing that he could do to try to talk her out of it.

And yet, here he was, trying to talk her out of it.

“Annabeth, I love you, but do you really think this is the best idea?” Percy hesitantly asked, leaning his back against the kitchen counter. The shelf was digging into his lower back painfully as he gripped the edges of the counter within each hand, but he couldn’t be bothered to move into a more comfortable position, either. He watched as his girlfriend tied her hair up into a ponytail, and she stared him down with a glare, her stormy gray eyes pinning him to his spot.

“Are you seriously doubting my skills right now?” she responded in an extremely calm voice, but Percy knew that she was nowhere near calm, and he winced. Once her hair was set in its place, she put her hands on her waist, and Percy knew he was potentially seconds from getting yelled at.

“No, no. I know you can make a kickass gingerbread house...it’s just the actual making of the cookies that I’m worried about.”

Christmas was in a week, and somehow Piper had gotten it into Annabeth’s head that it would be a great idea to make a gingerbread house, but of course, Annabeth had to take it one step further and make the cookies as well instead of just buying a kit like any other normal person would.

“How hard can it be?” she asked in an exasperated voice, throwing her hands up in the air.

Percy shrugged, trying to look nonchalant, but he really didn’t want to bring up the last time Annabeth made cookies. She was bad enough on her own, but add Estelle into the mix, and bad became worse. All Annabeth had to do was follow a recipe, but somehow, she had switched sugar and salt and forgot to set a timer, so instead of sweet chocolate chip cookies, they had turned into salty pieces of stone.

“I know that look,” Annabeth challenged when Percy never responded. “It was one time! I was having a hard time watching Estelle while you were out with your mom, and it was a one-off thing.”

“Annabeth,” he started with a small smile, trying to appear harmless, “it was more than one time.” He pushed off from the kitchen counter and tried to wrap his arms around her waist, but she took a step back from him, narrowing her eyes at him.

“Baking is literally science. It’s the reaction of the ingredients as you add heat! How hard can it be?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. Percy didn’t know how to break it to his girlfriend that it was literally a piece of cake compared to the rest of the shit they had gone through in the last six years, and yet, it was one of the hardest things Annabeth had ever done.

In the end, he decided to send her a sweet smile and grab her hand to tug her closer. He supposed that he had worn her down because she let him pull her, and once she was close enough, he wrapped his arms around her waist, dropping a kiss on her forehead, right where the creases had formed in the center. Annabeth’s hands wrapped around his body to rest on the small of his back, right where his Achilles’ spot used to be.

“I don’t know about how hard baking can be, but it’s definitely not going to be fun if you keep frowning.”

Annabeth rolled her eyes but smiled anyways, the wrinkles on her forehead softening out.

Percy sent her a beaming smile in response, and she barked out a laugh. “You are so incredibly easy to please.”

“Only for you, babe.”

“You really do have seaweed for a brain, Perce.”

“Nothing new,” he responded, rolling his eyes fondly.

“But seriously. I am going to bake those cookies.”

Percy tried really hard not to sigh out loud, but one escaped him anyways. “Annabeth, how about I bake the cookies, and you can build the house? Isn’t that a bit better?”

“You’re just going to dye them all blue, and then it’s not going to look good,” she replied in a matter-of-fact voice, and Percy’s jaw dropped open in surprise.

“Hey! Blue cookies are better than normal!”

“Sure,” she relented, patting his cheek softly twice, “whatever helps you sleep at night.”

Annabeth pushed herself away from him only to walk over to her laptop and pull up a recipe for gingerbread cookies. After muttering to herself for a couple of seconds, she walked towards the pantry and started pulling out flour before moving to the cabinets to get the sugar. Percy watched in slight exasperation and slight awe at how comfortable Annabeth had become in his apartment and life. She had always been welcome in his apartment ever since they became best friends, but it was still slightly awkward because of the first Great Prophecy looming over their heads. Ever since they started dating, their lives had become intertwined seamlessly, even more so after suffering through literal hell together.

Despite that, she was still stubborn as ever, and Percy was annoyed that he would have to suffer through watching Annabeth botch the first batch of cookies before she finally relented and let him do it.

As he watched his girlfriend efficiently moving around him to pull out all the ingredients she would need for the cookies, an idea came to him. If he was going to need to make another batch anyways, why not make it the same time as Annabeth?

The things he did for love, honestly.

“Fine. Let’s make it a competition,” he announced, knowing fully well that he was taking advantage of her hubris, but well, all was fair in love and war. And as he expected, Annabeth stopped in her tracks and slowly turned to look at him with an eyebrow raised.

“You sure about that, Seaweed Brain?” Her tone spoke legions about how she wasn’t backing down from the challenge.

He raised an eyebrow back at her. “Bring it on, Wise Girl.”

~~~

Today was the day that Percy wished he had the power of the Oracle within him because he really should’ve known that a competition with Annabeth wouldn’t end well for him even if he was going to win.

The only thought that ran through his hand as he gaped at the sight of the flour fluttering down from his head onto the ground was oh no, mom is going to kill me because his wonderful, amazing, and absolutely batshit crazy girlfriend had dumped an entire handful of flour on his head.

Their respective trays of cookies had been in the oven for only about eight minutes, and they were just about finished cleaning up the mess they had made while making the cookies when Percy turned on the oven light to take a peek at the cookies. He’d made one comment about how his cookies looked pretty crisp (he hadn’t even dyed them blue), and as soon as he had straightened up, he found it raining flour.

“Annabeth!” he practically screeched. “What the hell?”

Annabeth was also gaping, her hand still up in the air from when she dropped the flour on his head. He had never been so annoyed that she was only a few inches shorter than him. If she had been much shorter, she would’ve never been able to reach his head.

He ducked down to look at his reflection in the microwave door, and as expected, his black hair was now coated completely in white, and he was seriously dreading the shower he was going to have to take to get the flour out.

“I-I’m sorry,” she responded, sounding like she was dazed. Clearly, from her face Percy could tell that she was just frustrated at the fact that her cookies didn’t look as sturdy as his did, and a bit of the annoyance faded.

Sighing, he took a hold of Annabeth’s flour covered hand and dragged her over to the sink where he helped her wash and dry her hands before he just held them in his own.

“You okay?” he asked, his eyes searching hers for any indication of any worry, but all he could see was how guilty she felt. His lips quirked up in a small smile.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I didn’t mean to do that,” she whispered, ducking her head down a bit. Percy could tell she was genuine, and he didn’t need any further explanation on how sometimes she acted without thinking because he was the same.

“It’s fine,” he responded, tilting her face back up to kiss her quickly. He watched as a small smile graced her face, and he grinned as he dropped her chin to reach towards the counter as her eyes were still focused on his face.

Annabeth had apologized, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t take revenge.

Before she could react, he picked up the still-open bag of flour and dumped a small amount straight onto her blonde curls, and she screeched, jumping away from Percy.

“Percy!”

“Payback!” he yelled back as suddenly, a full-out flour war had ensued in the apartment. Handfuls of flour were flying across the small kitchen space as the scent of the cookies filled the apartment along with the sound of their laughter.

It wasn’t until the timer had gone off for the cookies that they had stopped, laughing at the mess they’d made.

With a laugh, Percy made his way over to pick up the oven mitts before taking out the two trays of cookies and setting them upon the stove. Moving his head away from the cookies, he shook his head to shake out some of the excess flour.

“Man, my mom is going to kill me,” he whined.

“And me,” Annabeth responded with a laugh in her voice. Most of her hair and green sweater was covered in the flour as well, and Percy was jealous of the fact that she was wearing blue denim jeans while he had decided to wear black jeans. The flour stood out so much more against the black. “We should clean up and go take a shower before we do anything else.”

“Good plan,” Percy laughed as he picked up a rag and handed it to Annabeth before going on the hunt for the broom. “This is all your fault, you know.”

“You’re the one who retaliated!”

“You started it,” he responded as he poked her near her rib. She flinched away from him and swatted him with a rag.

“If you hadn’t been such a smug asshole, I wouldn’t have done anything in the first place.”

“I didn’t even say anything about your cookies!”

“It was the way you talked about your cookies that made it clear,” she retorted.

“Yeah, yeah, we’ll know soon enough.”

Thirty minutes later, the kitchen was all cleaned up, and the two of them had taken showers as well. Annabeth stood in front of the two trays of now-cooled cookies and took a small bite from both.

Percy should’ve expected that he would hear his girlfriend grumbling about losing for the next forty minutes as she built the best gingerbread house he’d ever seen.

And yet, despite that, there was no other way he’d rather be spending Christmas.

~~~~~~

I’m posting this with like minutes to spare on day 1 LOL I really hope everyone likes this!!

#percy jackson #percabeth #christmas #12 days of pjo christmas #annabeth #baking #writing #fluff #romance #i really hope that this is good #pjo #pjo fic

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swanqueeneverafter · 4 years

Text

Sins of the Past Pt.25

Wonderland. Town Square. (Lizard and Will walk together down the busy streets.) Lizard: “Why risk your life going back for Ella? I mean, you promised you'd help her find answers and now she has them. And how does she thank you? She jumped on a dragon and hightailed it out of Wonderland.” Will: “You've got a point there.” Lizard: “I'm just saying you've been through a lot, fulfilled all your obligations. Don't you think you deserve a little ‘Knave time’?” Will: “Well I could use a chance to catch me breath.” Lizard: “Exactly.” Will: “If it weren’t for the fact that Ella’s probably on her way back to kill whomever it was that killed her mother! So why don’t you tell me where you found this Oracle and what she looks like?” Lizard: “Okay, calm down. The Oracle found me.” Will: “What, she came to your house?” Lizard: “Yeah, I had just come home to grab a quick shower when there was a knock at my door.” Will: “And she told you she had the answer to Ella’s quest?” Lizard: “No... I’m not exactly certain how it happened come to think of it, but I took Ella to see the Oracle, sure.” Will: “All right, so what did she look like, this Oracle?” Lizard: “Tall, blonde - your basic nightmare. She wore this red dress with silver trim and her eyes glowed like nothing I’d ever seen before.” Idirsholas. (Morgause walks behind tall cobwebbed figures in the chamber of an empty old castle and lights a fire in the middle of the circle of figures. Positioning herself above the Cup of Life, Morgause slices her arm, allowing the blood to trickle down into the Cup. Raising it high with both hands, she begins to chant.) Morgause: “Cnihtas Medhires, éower sáwla sind min sáwla. Onwác and cóm hér eft. Rid eft ond forsliehð eft!” (The stone figures begin to move.)

Storybrooke. Will & Tiana's Apartment. (Ella stands whisking eggs absentmindedly, staring off into space.) Tiana: “Okay, I don't mean to micromanage you, but...” Ella: "What? (Sees Tiana take the pot next to Ella off the boil:) Ooh. Thanks.” Tiana: “Mm-hmm. Let me guess. Writer boy's on your mind, not baking.” Ella: “I’m sorry, I’ve got a lot going on.” Tiana: “I know you do, which is why I was surprised when you turned up here offering to help with dessert.” Ella: “I just needed to get out of the house, you know?” Tiana: “Sure. Any word from Henry?” Ella: “No, nothing yet, but the plan was simple enough. Switch the tiara’s and let the truth come out.” Tiana: “So I guess that’s not what’s bothering you?” Ella: (Sighs:) “I found out something back in Wonderland, something bad.” Tiana: “Ruh roh.” Ella: “And I keep going back and forth on whether to believe it’s true or not. What would you do if someone you thought you knew did something unforgivable?” Tiana: “Okay, Miss non-specific, how bad of a thing are we talking?” Ella: (Shakes her head:) “I can’t say, at least not yet.” Tiana: “Hm. Well, if it were me, I’d confront this person. I’d hear their side of things and if I didn’t like what they had to say, I’d chop off one of their favourite body parts, (Puts her arm around Ella, making her smile:) deep fry it and serve it to them. But you know, that’s just me.” Ella: “Yeah.” Tiana: “Hey, whatever it is, you’ve got to face it head on. You know, like an adult. No more games. Life’s too damn short for games.” (Ella nods, watching Tiana retrieve more eggs from the fridge, still unsure what she intends to do.) Swan-Mills House. Kitchen. (A montage of cooking scenes. Emma chopping and slicing, Zelena stirring and tasting, Regina stuffing and cooking. The counters are covered with flour, cooking utensils and baking trays. When Emma tosses an egg to Regina, she effortlessly catches it and cracks it into a bowl. Everyone works in harmony with each other, until Emma's phone rings.) Emma: "Hello? Yeah, I'll be right there. That was David, he's over at the campsite, there are a few drunken stragglers giving him some trouble, I better go help him out." (After leaning over the counter to kiss Regina on the cheek, Emma leaves the kitchen.)

Hallway. (Brushing flour off her jeans, Emma heads towards the front door when Regina calls out to her.) Regina: "Hey." Emma: (Turns:) "Hey." Regina: "Seems our plans for retirement are going to have to be put off for a little while, huh?" Emma: "Yeah, I guess. But Lily's tough, she'll bounce back quickly." Regina: "Hm. Speaking of bouncing back, you just make sure you're back by curtain time, all right?" Emma: "Are you kidding? 'Gina, I wouldn't miss this for the world." Regina: (Smiles:) "Well you better not. I don't care how many people are there tonight when I'm performing, as far as I'm concerned I'm dancing for an audience of one." Emma: "I will be there, front row center. I promise." (They kiss.) Regina: "Good. Now go round up those drunks." Emma: "Will do, Superstar." Arendelle. (Lily is laying on her side on the bed when Elsa enters. Standing over her, Elsa tenderly strokes Lily's hair which brings her out of her reverie.) Elsa: "Are you okay?" Lily: "I'll live. (Pats the bed beside her:) Come lay with me awhile." (Elsa nods and crawls up the bed towards her. Nestling in behind Lily, Elsa places a protective arm around her waist and Lily takes Elsa's hand, lacing their fingers together.) Camelot. Morgana's Chambers. (Morgana enters her room and finds her window open and a little box on her window ledge. She opens it and reads the note placed inside, her hands obscuring pieces of the message.)

“My dearest Morgana, Meet me tonight after sundown in …outside the castle gates. I will…the marked and distinctive… Until then, keep…”

Guinevere: (Standing behind her:) “Are you all right?” (Morgana crumples the note and turns to face Guinevere.) Morgana: “Yes, just a little cold.” Guinevere: “Do you need something warmer?” Morgana: (Smiles:) “No, thank you.” Guinevere: (Watches Morgana close the window:) “I’d like you to join me in the council chamber, if you’re feeling up to it?” Morgana: “Of course.” Council Chamber. (With several courtiers, knights and Xena and Gabrielle gathered, a man with a heavy bag over his shoulder stands before the Queen.) Joseph: “I’m a herder from the northern plains, Your Majesty. We were camped beneath the walls of Idirsholas.” Guinevere: “I’m not sure I would’ve chosen such a place.” Joseph: “Good pasture is scarce at this time of year, Your Majesty.” Guinevere: “And what is it you have to tell me?” Joseph: “While we were there we, we saw smoke rising from the citadel.” (Guinevere glances at Lancelot who looks unnerved by this.) Lancelot: “And did you see anything else?” Joseph: “No.” Guinevere: “Did you go inside?” Joseph: “No. Nobody has stepped over that threshold for three hundred years! You must know the legend, Your Majesty.” Morgana: “When the fires of Idirsholas burn, the knights of Medhir will ride again.” (Guinevere stares at Morgana for a moment then addresses one of the knights.) Guinevere: “See to it this man is fed and has a bed for the night. Take a ride out there.” Morgana: “No. (Corrects herself:) I mean, why do such a thing?” Guinevere: “So we can put people’s minds at rest.” Morgana: “Surely this is superstitious nonsense?” Guinevere: “If our experiences with dark magic has taught us anything, it’s that anything is possible. (To Lancelot:) Gather the guard.” (Lancelot nods and leaves. Guinevere stands and the courtiers begin to disperse leaving only Xena, Gabrielle and Morgana that remain.) Gabrielle: “Why is Lancelot so worried?” Guinevere: “Because the Knights of Medhir are a force to be reckoned with.” Morgana: (Cutting in:) “Don’t tell me you believe the story as well?” Guinevere: “It’s more than a story, Morgana. Some three hundred years ago, seven of Camelot’s knights were seduced by a sorcerer’s call. One by one, they succumbed to her power. At her command, they became a terrifying and brutal force that rode through the lands leaving death and destruction in their wake.” Xena: “What happened?” Guinevere: “It was only after the sorceress herself was killed that the Knights of Medhir finally grew still. Xena, if what Joseph says is true, then something has awoken them, and I fear for each and every one of us.” Gabrielle: “Don’t worry, your highness, Xena and I will ride out with Lancelot and the others.” Guinevere: “Thank you.” (Guinevere leaves the room. Before Morgana can follow her, Xena draws her sword and blocks Morgana’s path.) Xena: “A sorceress huh? Now who do we know that fits that description?” Morgana: “You cannot detain me like this! Move out of my way.” Xena: “You may have Guinevere fooled, but not me. If I find out you or any member of your family is behind this, I won’t hesitate.” Morgana: “My sister’s actions are her own. They’re nothing to do with me.” Xena: “Right.” (Xena re-sheathes her sword, allowing Morgana to pass and leave the room. Sharing a knowing look, Xena and Gabrielle hurry from the chamber to catch up with Lancelot.)

Storybrooke. Woods. (Walking through the woods together, Emma and David search for any troublemakers still making camp in the forest.) Emma: "You'd have thought with Guinevere back on the throne the people of Camelot would want to be there for her coronation. Or re-coronation, if that's a thing." David: "Once is usually enough for a coronation, but Camelot always has done things differently. As far as Guinevere's concerned, no ruler is universally liked, maybe people were looking for an excuse to leave and the recent upheaval was their chance?" Emma: "Maybe, but I doubt camping in the forest is a much better alternative." David: "Well, we've combed every part of this area. Want to meet up with Robin Hood and his men, see if they've noticed anyone?" Emma: "Sure, why not. Just as long as we're back before dark." David: "Oh that's right, Regina's performing tonight. That reminds me, Snow asked if it would be appropriate for us to bring Neal to the show?" Emma: "Is it ever okay to bring a minor into a bar?" David: (Chuckles:) "I think you can trust us not to give him any alcoholic beverages. He's bad enough with sugar." Emma: "I mean, I don't have a problem with it. I just don't think my brother needs to be there to see me throw my panties onstage during Regina's performance. But it's your call." (Emma keeps walking while David stands stock still, trying to shake that mental image out of his head.) Kingdom of Valencia. Hall of Ceremonies. (In what has turned out to be a busy day for Geoffrey of Monmouth, the hall is filled with onlookers as Catrina's coronation is about to take place.) Geoffrey: “We are gathered here to bear witness to the naming of Queen Catrina as the rightful heir to Valencia. (Turns to her:) Are you willing to take the oath?” Catrina: (While Gareth looks on smitten, still wearing the amulet, Catrina picks up the tiara from the ceremonial cushion and places it on her head:) “I am.” Geoffrey: “Do you solemnly swear to govern the people of Valencia, to uphold the laws and customs of the land?” Catrina: “I…do.” (Scratches her arm.) Geoffrey: “Will you, to your power cause law and justice in mercy to be executed in all your judgments?” Catrina: (Continues scratching:) “I will.” Geoffrey: “Will you, to the utmost of your powers… (Catrina checks her arm and sees troll skin:) …maintain the laws…” Catrina: “Yes, yes.”

Geoffrey: “I’m sorry, you-you must let me finish. The wording must be exactly right to be binding.” Catrina: “Well, get on with it then. I mean, really, where did you dig up this old crone from?” Gareth: “She’s right. Get on with it.” Geoffrey: “Will you, to the utmost of your powers…” Catrina: (Scratching even more:) “Yes, yes.” Geoffrey: “…maintain the laws and customs…” Catrina: “I will, I will.” Geoffrey: “…of the land, and serve the people of Valencia?” Catrina: “Yes! Just shut up and get out of my way!” (The court gasps while Catrina runs out of the Hall of Ceremonies.) Gareth: “Catrina!” Corridor. (Gareth follows her into the corridor followed shortly by Roberta, Richard and Henry. Catrina tries to find a way to escape.) Gareth: “Catrina!” (Guards point him toward the throne room.) Camelot. Upper Corridor. (Morgana sneaks through the castle and peeks around the corner at some guards. She descends to the burial vaults, sets fire to some brush and places it in a notch in the wall to create smoke in the corridor above. The guards investigate, leaving the corridor empty. Pleased that her plan worked, Morgana continues along the corridor undetected.)

Kingdom of Valencia. Throne Room. Gareth: “Catrina!” (Richard and Henry close the doors so Catrina can’t escape.) Gareth: “Whatever’s the matter?” Catrina: “I’m sorry… (Hides troll arm:) I don’t know what came over me. I, I just suddenly felt so hot. I, do you know, I think I need to be on my own, alright?” Roberta: (Innocently:) “Are you alright?” Catrina: “Yes, yes, I’m, I’m fine. Really, thank you. I just… (Richard locks the door:) Oh come on. Come on. (Her voice rough and raspy:) Open!” Gareth: “Let me. (Gareth sees Catrina’s troll arm and backs away:) What’s that?” (Catrina begins to transform.) Roberta: (Dryly:) “Oh my, what’s happening?" (Catrina completely transforms into a hideous creature.) Richard: (Pointing:) “You’re a troll!” (The Troll gasps and Gareth’s reverie is broken.) Gareth: “How dare you speak about her like that!” Richard: “What is wrong with you? Look at the state of her!” Henry: “I don’t believe it.” (The troll rips open the door and exits with a snarl.) Richard: “She just ripped a door off its hinges. Doesn’t that tell you something?” Gareth: “Enough!” Richard: “She’s a troll! A giant…grey…” Henry: “Stinking.” Richard: “Stinking troll!” Gareth: “Stop it! Haven’t you hurt her feelings enough? Insult Catrina again, it’ll be the last thing you ever do.” (Richard, Roberta and Henry stare slack-jawed at Gareth as he picks up Catrina’s shoes and exits.) Gareth’s Chambers. (Gareth follows Catrina to his chambers, before he can enter however, Roberta catches up with him and snatches the amulet from around his neck.) Roberta: “I’ll take that, thank you.” (Roberta shoves Gareth through the door. No longer under the amulet’s control, Gareth stares at the Troll for the first time.) Gareth: “Catrina? What kind of trickery is this?” Troll: “How I’ve suffered these last few days. Allowing you to touch me! Having to share a bed with you!” Gareth: “Ugh.” Troll: “It’s repulsive.” Gareth: “I know the feeling.” Troll: “Ooh, I’ve been looking forward to this.” Gareth: (Feeling nauseous:) “Guards! Seize…it!” (The Troll throws Gareth aside then fights off Richard and the guards. Jonas arrives and goes for Henry, but Henry runs him through. The Troll attacks Roberta but Richard literally pulls the rug out from under the Troll; she lands on her back and, recovering, Gareth takes his sword and finally runs her through.) Storybrooke. Forest. (Still searching in the woods, Emma stops for a moment to answer her phone.) Emma: (To David:) "It's Regina. (Answers:) Hey, babe. (Looks at her phone:) Huh, that's odd. (Phone beeps:) She left me a video message." Regina: (Via message:) "Hi, sweetie. I hope you've had a wonderful day tracking down troublemakers, but as you can see by the view behind me, the sun is setting. Which means it will soon be dark and time for my performance. Now while you did promise me you'd be there and I trust you with all of my heart, just in case you're stuck at the station I wanted to give you a little preview in the hopes it might... focus your mind on what's important." (David watches Emma while she watches Regina's message. Noticing her cheeks get redder and her jaw drop, he takes pity on his daughter.) David: "All right, no need to say anything, just go and I'll finish up here." Emma: (Tearing herself away from her phone screen, smiles at him:) "Thanks, Dad." (Without another word, Emma waves her hand and vanishes in a cloud of smoke.) Camelot. Woods. Sundown. (Morgana rushes toward Morgause who waits for her in the forest.) Morgause: “Where have you been?” Morgana: “I am watched closer than ever in the castle. The Warrior Princess does not trust me.” Morgause: “Do not worry. The Knights of Medhir have been awakened and are under my command.” Morgana: “Then it is time?” Morgause: “The knights are mighty, but they cannot bring down the city on their own. You, too, must play your part.” Morgana: “Tell me what I must do.” (Morgause holds out a staff.) Morgause: “It’s carved from the Rowan tree that grows at the very heart of the Isle of the Blessed. Only the High Priestesses and their Bloodguard have ever set eyes on it.” Morgana: “My magic is... do you believe I have the strength to wield such an instrument?” Morgause: “Do not worry. The staff will guide you. It carries its own power.” Morgana: (Takes the staff:) “I will not fail you.”

#sq #swanqueen #swan queen

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afni-fics · 4 years

Link

Tim arrives in Paris and reunites with old friends.

(a pre-New52 DCU/Miraculous Ladybug crossover fusion)

First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter | Chapter Index

It was a typical morning at the Dupain-Cheng home above the Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie. Thirteen year old Marinette Dupain-Cheng had overslept (again) and was scrambling to get ready for school on time.

“No time for breakfast, Maman!” the petite teenager said as she was dashing down the stairs while tying her shoulder-length black hair into twin pigtails. As she snagged her lunch bag from the counter and was preparing to leave their apartment, she noticed that she was alone in the kitchen. “Maman?” she called out as her blue eyes scanned the empty room.

That was odd. Usually her mother, Sabine Cheng, waited until her daughter had left for school before going to help her father, Tom Dupain, in the bakery.

“Are you down here Maman?” Marinette called as she walked into the kitchen of the bakery, slowing to avoid causing any accidental disasters before entering the main storefront. She paused in the doorway as she noticed her parents talking to a man she’d never seen before.

The stranger appeared to be in his mid-30s and was dressed in a pair of nice looking dark slacks with a stylish leather jacket. He was of average height with slim athletic build, despite being absolutely dwarfed by the presence of Tom Dupain, Marinette’s gentle giant of a father. His skin was pale and some of his short black hair fell slightly into his face. He also wore a pair of dark sunglasses that completely masked his eyes. Overall, the stranger looked like a fairly well-off gentleman, and it appeared her parents both knew him. Her petite mother’s eyes were glistening with unshed tears, though Sabine Cheng also had a warm fond smile on her face as she spoke with the man, who seemed a bit embarrassed by all the attention.

“Papa? Maman?” Marinette asked cautiously as she stepped fully into the shop.

All three adults froze, obviously startled by the girl’s appearance. “Oh Marinette!” Tom was the first to respond. “We thought you’d left for school already.”

“Almost,” she said as she stepped a bit closer, curiosity winning over caution. “I’m on my way out now. Who’s this?“

Marinette’s mother found her voice. When Sabine spoke it was with a great deal of affection as she watched the stranger out of the corner of her eyes, as if she was afraid he was going to disappear when she wasn’t looking. “This is Timothy Drake. He’s a very dear old friend of ours from the United States that we haven’t seen in… goodness… over a decade now.” The tiny woman reached out and placed a hand on the stranger’s arm. “And Tim, this is–”

The stranger slowly pulled off his sunglasses, and Marinette could see for the first time that this man had kind blue eyes. “Marinette,” he said with a small smile. Though he had a slight American accent, his French was flawless. “You probably don’t remember me. The last time I saw you, you were just a baby. God, look at how much you’ve grown.” He glanced back at Tom and Sabine and the smile he gave them seemed a bit sad at his eyes. “Really sinks in how long it’s been, seeing her all grown up.” Tim turned back at the girl. “You look so much like your mother.”

Marinette felt her cheeks grow warm at the stranger’s fond words. “Oh, I’m not all that grown up or nearly as pretty as Maman.” she said dismissively with a small smile. “I’m still really klutzy and childish sometimes and…”

“–and late for school?” Her father interjected with a knowing grin.

…and late for school!“ Marinette echoed without thinking. Then she thought about it. "OH MY GOSH! I’M LATE FOR SCHOOL!” She dashed to her parents and gave them quick kisses on their cheeks. “See you later!” She said before pausing at the door. “Oh! And nice to meet you M. Drake!” Marinette smiled brightly at him before rushing out the door as quickly as she could.

Once she was gone, the smile faded from Tim’s face and his expression became more guarded.

Before he was able to address Tom and Sabine again, the petite woman raised her hand to pause him. Then she moved to the front door of the bakery and flipped the sign to “Closed” and set a time for the “Back at…" clock. Then she beckoned the two men to follow her upstairs.

“There,” Sabine said once the door was closed behind the three of them and she motioned towards the living room. “That’s better.” She looked at Tim with tender concern in her expression. “Sorry about that. I thought she’d already left for school. Are you alright?”

Tim nodded. “Yeah. I’m fine,“ he said as he took a seat on the sofa.

Sabine gave Tim a skeptical look, but didn’t press him further as she day inn a nearby chair.

Her husband went to the kitchen and began pouring out several mugs of coffee. “I almost didn’t believe my eyes this morning when you came into the bakery.” Tom said as he set the mugs on a tray. “Last time we saw you, it felt like we were never going to see you again.” Tom had a sad expression on his face as he said this before offering the first of the mugs to his guest.

Tim sighed as he took a mug and stared into it. “I never thought I’d ever set foot in Paris again either,” he admitted.

“Is it because of Le Papillon?” Sabine asked after a small sip of her coffee. “Is he why you’re here?”

Tim nodded. “At first I was just going to slip into Paris undercover, figure out who this terrorist was, and deliver all the information to the authorities before slipping out again back to Gotham. No one was supposed to know I was here.”

“What changed?” Tom asked?

“The League got involved,” Tim answered. “And Bruce asked me to investigate personally. Now I’m on their radar.”

At the mention of the League and Bruce, both Tom and Sabine frowned. Tom looked mostly concerned while Sabine looked irritated. For a moment it looked like she wanted to say something, but instead chose to focus on drinking her coffee, swallowing her words along with the dark bitter liquid.

“You should have said no.” Sabine finally muttered under her breath. Then she shook her head. “No. They should’ve never asked you in the first place.” She looked at Tim with an expression that warred between frustration and worry. “Not after what they did.”

“If I hadn’t accepted, then they would’ve sent a team of my brothers and sisters from Gotham, and we would’ve ended up tripping over each other.” Tim set down his empty mug. “Or worse, Bruce might’ve decided to come himself to investigate.”

“So what brought you to the bakery?” Tom asked. “You could’ve still investigated for the League and we wouldn’t have even known you were here in Paris.“

“The League has evidence that Le Papillon may be directly targeting the children at College Francoise Dupont.”

Tom and Sabine gasped in alarm. “Is Marinette in danger?” Sabine asked immediately.

“I’m not sure.” Tim admitted with a frown. “We aren’t certain how Le Papillon is choosing his victims though there are some solid theories. However, the majority of his targets recently are either students from the school or adults with direct ties to them. Once I leave here I’m going to begin my investigation. I’ve got a few leads to chase down. Not sure how long this is going to take though.”

“Are you going to be undercover?” Tom asked.

“I’m actually going undercover as myself.”

Tom regarded him with a quizzical look. “How does that work?”

Tim smiled a little. “You’ll see in a day or two.” He revealed. “It’ll be fairly obvious.”

Then Tim reached into an interior pocket of his leather jacket. He pulled out a small package. “I really need to head out to the school myself to get things started. I’ve got an appointment with Principal Damocles today. However, I wanted to give you both this before I left.”

Sabine took the package from Tim and opened it. Inside was a pair of cell phones in two different styles and colors. One was silver. The other was red.

“The silver phone is a direct secured line to me,” Tim explained. “If Le Papillon puts either of you or Marinette in danger when I’m not nearby, call or text me. I’ll come immediately. I’m staying at Le Grande Paris for the week at least, and if it takes longer to hunt down Le Papillon I’ll be setting up in an apartment not too far from here. I don’t plan on leaving the immediate area until this investigation is complete. So I’ll be here if any of you need me.”

Tom nodded. Then Sabine picked up the red phone. “What about this one?”

Tim’s expression became more serious. “That is an emergency line straight to Oracle, my point of contact to the League. If something happens to me… if I get badly hurt or akumatized… I need you to send a message to Oracle. I need you two to let her know that ‘Mockingbird’ has been compromised.”

At that, both Sabine and Tom stared at Tim with open concern. “Then, I pray we never have to use this.” Tom said quietly.

“You and me both,” Tim agreed as he prepared to leave.

“It’s not fair.” Sabine’s sad voice caused Tim to pause at the door. “We’ve missed you so much, and we’ve wished for so long that you would come back to Paris one day, back into our lives, but not like this.”

Tim kept his gaze focused on the door, his brows furrowed before closing his eyes and bowing his head. “I know. But you both know why I couldn’t.“

"You know, you don’t have to pretend to be a stranger while you’re in Paris now, Tim.” Tom said hopefully. “Sure the reason you’re here is not ideal, and while you never intended to return you are here now.” He drew his wife into a sideways one-armed hug and smiled reassuringly at Tim. “Marinette knows you’re our friend, and if you’re here for awhile, it would be odd or even suspicious for you to not visit from time to time.”

Tim sighed. When he turned to the couple it was clear from his initial expression he intended to give a reluctant denial. “I can’t–” But the words got stuck in his throat as he looked at both Tom and Sabine, with their dual hopeful expressions. He drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I'll… think about it,” he finally relented.

Sabine smiled and gave Tim a hug while Tom smiled and nodded. Then the pair of them saw him out of the bakery as he started out towards College Francoise Dupont.

—–

Meanwhile, a small purple and black butterfly was flitting towards that exact same school, pulsing with dark energies.

First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter | Chapter Index

#afewnovelideas #miraculous DC #a mockingbird in paris #mdc:amip #miraculous ladybug fanfiction #ml fanfic #batman fanfiction #batman fanfic #tim drake #marinette dupain cheng #Sabine cheng #tom dupain #red robin fanfiction #red robin fanfic #ml fanfiction

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darkanima2345 · 4 years

Text

A continuation. It gets quite dark at the end, you've been warned. I thought I posted this on Tumblr ages ago, clearly I was wrong! Enjoy!

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

They spent the rest of the day outside, eating, drinking, recounting tales from the previous world, laughing, and enjoying each other’s company.

“Do you remember the first time Sazh tried to mount a chocobo on Pulse? He jumped up onto its back head first, slid straight off the other side and right into a mound of behemoth droppings!” Lightning, currently doubled over in laughter, remembered it well. She had learned several dozen new expletives that day from Sazh, and distinctly remembered Vanille laughing so hard that she had to hold herself up on Fang, who was herself laughing so hard that she was using her staff to keep herself upright. Snow was on his knees, mouth open in silent laughter, and Hope was beet red, getting redder at the ever lengthening string of expletives coming out of Sazh’s dropping covered mouth.

Lightning and Hope spent a good 5 minutes laughing at that particular memory. Just when one of them was starting to calm down, they would look at the other and burst into laughter all over again.

Wiping his eyes, Hope finally managed to calm down. “Would you like another drink Light?” he said, getting up and stretching. Lightning looked over to the formally full, now empty, bottle of champagne sat on the table.

“Just a glass of water please.” Hope nodded, taking the tray that had contained their snacks back into the kitchen. Lightning looked out to the mountains; twilight has descended and Hope was correct, the view was even more magnificent at sunset.

“Here you are Light.” A glass appeared in front of her, brimming with water and a slice of lemon on its rim.

“Thank you.” She gave him one of his exclusive smiles. They spent the rest of the evening in comfortable silence, watching the sun fall over the horizon.

Lightning shivered. Hope’s jacket appeared over her shoulders without her even noticing him moving.

“If you’re cold Light, let’s go inside. Your not near immortal anymore” He offered her a hand, one which she took and he pulled her up with remarkable strength and into his arms.

“When did you get so strong?”

“When I got my adult body back,” he said sticking his tongue out at her. She smiled at him, blushing ever so slightly. You’ve smiled more today than the past year combined. I woooonder what’s different!? Lightning really needed to find a way to shut Lumina out.

They made there way inside; Hope lit a fire while Lightning made hot chocolate.

They continued talking well into the night about their lives in the new world; Hope being a Professor of Physics and Lightning being a doctor.

“A doctor!? No offense Light, but I don’t really see you being a doctor.”

“None taken. I’d always wanted to be a doctor, even in the old world. But when my parents passed, I had to look after Serah. The guardian corps was good money and I was the right age. I couldn’t afford to study medicine.” Hope had his brow furrowed and was deep in thought.

“I suppose that would explain why you specialized as a medic when we first became l'cie. I always found that odd.” Lightning raised a brow.

“What’s so odd about it?”

“Well when I first met you, I would have thought that the sabatour role would have been your thing. But your passion for healing must have been reflected in your affinity for the medic role.”

“Hmm maybe. Anyway, what’s the plan for tomorrow?”

“Well a farmers market is on every week. It’s about a mile down the road and it’s a very pleasant walk. Fancy it?”

“Sounds good to me.”

“We can also pick up some steak. Because as I recall, a certain someone promised me a home cooked meal, even if that meal is grilled steak.”

“Oh yeah. I did promise you that didn’t I?” Hope nodded.

“And I am very much looking forward to it. Its getting quite late,” he said glancing at his wrist watch. “I’m going to head to bed Light. If you want to stay up there’s a collection of books over there that you ma-"

“I’m tired myself Hope. I’ll be heading to bed too.” He nodded, holding his arm out in invitation for her to take the lead.

They arrived at the guest room, with Hope’s room being further down the corridor. Lightning opened the door and turned to face Hope.

“Thank you for letting me stay here Hope.”

“No problem Light.” He pulled her into a hug, which Lightning reciprocated. When Hope broke the hug and went to his room, Lightning felt a profound sense of lost.

Getting into bed, Lightning sank into the memory foam mattress and feather down pillows. She could feel sleep washing over her. She let sleep take her while she stared at the box containing Odin’s crystal.

Lightning found herself in a familiar place; chaos swirled round the throne of the goddess upon which sat Lumina head resting on her palm.

“Well hello there Miss Savior.”

“I’m not the Savior anymore Lumina.”

“Oh yeah, right. Shall I call you Mrs Estheim them?” Lumina wiggled her eyebrows.

“Wha- No I- What do you mean!?”

“Oh come on! You sooooo have the hots for him!”

“I think you are the one with the ‘hots' for Hope.”

“Yes, but I’m part of you. So therefore you have the hots for Hope.” Lightning growled in annoyance. It was like arguing with a little kid.

“What are you doing here Lumina? I thought we merged.”

“We have done. Yet I’m still around. Your mind hasn’t accepted me yet I think. You are still clinging hard onto the ‘Lightning' persona. You need to truly become Claire.”

“So if I accept you then you’ll disappear and leave me alone?”

“Yes, but that is easier said than do-. Hmm?” Lumina tilted her head, as if trying to listen for something. “I think it’s time for you to wake up, woman-who-was-going-to-be-a-goddess-but-changed-her-mind.”

“No. We haven’t finished talking.”

“You’re right, we haven’t. But Hope needs you.” For the first time that Lightning could remember, Lumina sounded serious. Chaos condensed around the throne, obscuring all from Lightning's vision.

Lightning eyes flew open when she heard a man screaming. She jumped out of bed and opened her door, heading to the source of the screaming: Hope’s room.

Lightning barged into the room, Hope’s screams echoing throughout the cottage. She ran up to the thrashing man, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him as hard as she could.

“Hope! Hope! Wake up!”

Hope’s eyes flew open, and for a split second, Lightning saw piercing green eyes in place of Hope's calming green. He blinked twice and his soft green eyes returned, filled with tears.

“Hope are you okay?” He was trembling, shaking in her grasp.

“So- So- Sorry Light. Just a really bad nightmare that’s all. I- I- I’m alright.” He smiled but it did not reach his eyes. Lightning saw so many emotions in his eyes; longing, fear, hate, pain, love, and anger. She wouldn’t leave him like this.

“Tell me about it,” she said climbing into his bed next to him, reaching for his head and moving it to her shoulder.

“What?”

“The dream, Hope. Tell me about it .” She ran her thumb over his knuckles.

“It was Bhunivelze.” Lightning’s breath hitched. Images came flooding into her mind; a boy held by strings of light, a huge finger snapping the boys neck, and his body being crushed into dust. Lightning shook her head in an attempt to dispel the images.

“What was he doing?”

“He tried to take me Light. He tried to make me his,” his voice was very close to breaking. Lightning could feel her chest constricting; she hated seeing Hope in so much pain. But how can she help? Hope is a scientist! Use that! Use logic! Lightning silently thanked Lumina for her advice.

“Hope, I’m going to ask you some questions and you are going to answer them.” She moved her hand from his knuckles and began to stroke his hair. He swallowed, trying to hide a sob.

“Okay.”

“Where is Bhunivelze right now? Where did we leave him?”

“In the new unseen realm. He was trapped in crystal.” Lightning nodded.

“Indeed he was. Who else is in the unseen realm?”

“The Yeuls. They became the new goddess of death in your place.” Lightning was sure she heard a ‘thank goodness’ whispered at the end of that sentence.

“Yes they did. Who is the guardian of the Yeuls?”

“Caius.”

“He is. Who does Caius have to call on, as I did when I was the guardian for Etro? Think about what you saw in the Oracle Drives.”

“The eidolans.”

“Correct. So Bhunivelze has to break out of crystal, get through the new goddesses of death, their guardian, and all of the eidolans. That is not happening.” Lightning felt Hope relax against her. “And even if he does manage all that, he would still have one more thing to get through.” Hope sat up and looked at her.

“What’s that Light?”

“Me. I make you this promise Mr Hope Estheim. As long as I draw breath, Bhunivelze will not take you, nor get anywhere near you. You’re safe as long as I am around.” A tear escaped Hope’s eye.

“Thank you Light.”

“Do you feel better?”

“Yes, thank you.” Lightning smiled and went to get up. A hand grasped her arm with substantial force.

“Please Light. Stay here. Just until I fall asleep.” Lightning looked at Hope; his eyes were down and he was clearly still shaken from his nightmare.

“Of course.” She lay down. Hope lay down next to her and she wrapped an arm around him and pulled him close.

“I’m so glad to have met you Light.” Nightmares did not trouble Hope Estheim for the rest of the night.

Lightning woke up in Hope’s bed, alone. The smell of bacon and pancakes was in the air. Smiling to herself, she went back to her room, showered and changed. Spending a moment to admire Odin’s crystal, she moved into the main room of the cottage. Sat at the dining table was Hope with a cup of steaming coffee and two plates stacked with bacon and pancakes. Lightning sat across from him. Hope picked up the cup of coffee and passed it to her.

“White, one sugar.”

“How did you know?”

“Serah. There was a small note slipped into the back of the frame of the drawing of Alexander. She also said that your favourite breakfast was bacon and pancakes. Please help yourself.” Lightning’s eyes flashed.

“I’ll kill her. I’ll absolutely kill her.” Hope just chuckled.

“I’m sure her intentions were good. She probably just wanted you to be comfortable.”

“I could have told you all this myself.”

“Its a nice surprise at least.”

“True.” Lightning took a plate and helped herself to bacon and pancakes.

“So anything else in that note I should know about?”

“No. Nothing you should know about.” Lightning did not like the way Hope was smiling.

Lightning and Hope enjoyed a leisurely breakfast, give and taking banter, and after all the food had been devoured they found themselves at the kitchen sink washing up.

“Light, about last night...”

“Don’t worry about it. Just remember my promise okay?” Hope gave her a brilliant smile.

“Thanks Light. The market will be opening soon,” Hope said as he put the last of the washing up away. “Shall we head out?”

“Yeah sure.”

Hope was correct when he said the walk to the market was a pleasant one. Fields of flowers stretched in all directions filling the air with aromas Lightning had never smelled before. The sun beat down on them while they talked about Hope’s research in space-time. Lightning struggled to keep up with some of the technical jargon but she saw the fire in Hope’s eyes when he talked about it. That was a fire she hadn’t seen in him since he was determined to kill Snow after the death of his mother.

Arriving at the farmers market, Lightning was amazed at the number of stalls there where all selling unique items. Flowers, different cuts of meat, ornaments, plants, cakes, and all sorts of desserts. They explored all the stalls eventually arriving at what Hope said was the best butcher at the market. Lightning froze when she saw who was behind the counter; one Alyssa Zaidelle. Lumina screamed. Lightning grabbed Hope and dragged him away from the stall.

“What the hell Hope? You do know who that is right!?” she said jabbing her finger in Hope’s chest.

“Yes. Alyssa. Once my assistant and potential assassin. She doesn’t remember our old life, she doesn’t know who I am or what I did, other than a customer.” Hope met Lightning’s eyes and was shocked to see them welling with tears.

“Do you know what powers Vallhalla gave me Hope?” she said, her voice unsteady. “It allowed me to see all of the timelines, whether they were paradoxes or not. I saw her kill you, so so many times. I saw the light leave your eyes. I saw you take your last breath and there was nothing I could do about it! I couldn’t be there with you!” She punched him in the chest, causing an oomph! to escape his lips. “Please Hope. Please. Don’t have anything to do with her. I can’t see you hurt again. I can’t watch you die again.” To her surprise, Hope pulled her into a hug, gently stroking her hair.

“I’m so sorry Light. I didn’t think. All I have are my own experiences. She failed in the attempt on my life, and that’s the last I ever saw of her. I didn’t realise you saw all those failed timelines. All my- All those other deaths. We will go somewhere else.” Hope released Lightning from the hug, grabbed her hand and guided her to another stall. They picked out two sirloin steaks, accepted the packs, paid the butcher and moved on.

They stopped for lunch at a van for pulled pork sandwiches, which Lightning thoroughly enjoyed. One of the last stalls they visited was a dessert stall. Hope saw Lightning’s eyes sparkle at all of the cakes and puddings. Hope picked out two pieces of succulent chocolate cake to which Lightning nodded in approval. Lightning grabbed the box they were in a little bit too quickly, but Hope just chuckled.

The walk back to Hope’s cottage was mostly silence, each individual lost in their own thoughts. Arriving back at the cottage, they moved through to the kitchen. Hope gave a pan to Lightning, who placed oil in it and rubbed around the base. She placed the pan on the stove and turned it to high. She placed the steaks in and enjoyed the sizzle they made when they came in contact with the metal. Hope passed her a glass of white wine with a smile.

Lightning was crushing garlic when she spoke, “I’m so sorry Hope.”

“For what?” He took a sip from his own glass.

“For what I said at the market. A lot of emotion rushed at once, I couldn’t control it. I don’t know what happened.” For the second time that day, Hope pulled her into a hug, stroking her hair.

“Okay, let me tell you two things. Firstly, you cannot believe how flattered I am that you took time to check on me when you were trapped in Valhalla. You were watching the rear the entire time, and I had my eyes front. Thank you for that, and I’m sorry you had to do it alone. Secondly, if I had to watch you die over and over and over again, I’d have a far worse reaction. You made your promise to me last night so allow me to make you; the same one I made in Palompolom all those years ago. I’ll do my best to look after you.” He released her from the hug and picked up his wine glass . “We are partners after all.”

Hope cut into his garlic encrusted steak. “I doubt Seedy's food was as good as this. I’m glad refused that takeout this is amazing Light.” Lightning blushed.

“Thank you. I think I overcooked the steaks though.”

“Nah its absolutely perfect. As I always knew it would be.” They spent the evening talking and joking and sharing stories about their jobs.

Night eventually fell. Several more glasses of wine accompanied by the chocolate cake went down far to easily. Eventually, after several bouts of yawning they both retreated to their respective rooms.

Lightning climbed into bed and her eyes gradually closed; her last thoughts were a prayer to any deity that was listening that Hope had a peaceful nights sleep...

“Submit to me.”

“No! No I won’t!”

Two familiar voices echoed around the crushing darkness Lightning found herself in. She spun round, trying to find the source of the voices.

“Submit to me.”

“NO! NO I WON’T!”

“If you continue to refuse, then...” Lightning suddenly became aware that she was suspended above the floor, and that she had her eyes shut, “she will pay the price.”

“No. Not her. Please.” Lightning opened her eyes. She was 10 foot in the air , suspended above a kneeling Hope. Looking around, Lightning saw she was being held by strings made of pure light, all of which lead up to a hand belonging to... No! It cant be him. He’s gone, trapped. He cant be back! Bhunivelze can’t be here!

“Submit to me. Or she will suffer. I will do to her what I did to you over those long 169 years.” Lightning tried to speak, but found she had no voice. Lightning tried to struggle, but the strings of light cut into her and spilled her blood.

“No! Please! Please don’t hurt her!”

“I will not hurt her anymore if you submit.”

“No! No! Don't hurt her!”

“I won’t if you SUBMIT!” Lightning was powerless, held in the air like a puppet unable to speak or move. Please Hope, don’t worry about me! Please look after yourself! Please, don’t let him take you again! I’ll be fine!

“I- I-...” Hope looked up, his calm green eyes looking across Lightning’s body where the strings had cut and tore and blood dripped from her. Hope prostrated himself. “Forgive me Light. I’m not strong enough... I can’t see you hurt.” Hope stood up, looking past Lightning towards Bhunivelze. “I submit. Just please let her go. Please allow her to find her happiness. Please let her be happy.” Humourless laughter echoed. A single tear fell from Lightning’s eyes. She fell like a doll, just as the hand of God rose and crushed her in its grasp.

Lightning Farron woke with a start, heart pounding, tears streaming from her eyes. Her clothes and the bed spread were drenched in her sweat and blood, cuts stinging where they stuck to her clothes. She jumped out of bed and flung the door open knocking the vase of roses to the floor, shattering it. Running down the corridor she skidded to a halt when she reached the front door. She turned and saw a familiar figure.

“Truly a beautiful view.” The man stood looking out of the giant window, head cocked to one side. Rain was lashing against the window.

Lightning smiled, Hope was here, he was safe. He was still here, with her. “Although the river should have gone through the mountains, instead of below them, creating a waterfall. That would have been much more pleasing.”

Lightning stepped closer to him heart still pounding, “Hope? Are you okay?” He turned. Piercing green met calming blue. Lightning gasped.

“Bhunivelze...” she whispered. He smiled.

“Hello savior.”

She had broken her promise.

#hoperai #hoperailoveeternal #hopelight

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tameila · 4 years

Text

Bird Song.

Characters/Pairings: Mei Birdwhistle (OC), Pike Trickfoot, Scanlan Shorthalt, Grog Strongjaw (mentioned), Pikelan

Summary: [~2k words, post-VM, canon adjacent] Mei Birdwhistle, adventurer by trade and enthusiast by hobby, leaps on a chance to meet her idol, Scanlan Shorthalt.

Warnings: none Notes: my piece for Pikelan Day’s oracle Scanlan theme! this is an incredibly self-indulgent little AU, but I had a lot of fun writing it. I probably won’t post it on ao3 since it’s Pikelan-centric content is low, so please enjoy this lil tumblr exclusive! <3

The poster on the tavern’s community board was unremarkable. Lots of flowery black inked cursive on white parchment with little else to draw the eyes, so Mei Birdwhistle could understand why so many had overlooked it. After all, she had done the same two days in a row before, on her last afternoon in town, in one final attempt at finding a task interesting enough to keep her, she caught the address of the quest’s giver: Edge of church district. Past the bridge. Red brick cottage.

There could be no mistake who posted this notice.

With a gasp and a flash of adrenaline, Mei tore the paper from the board and tucked it away into the pocket of her travel cloak. No one rushed her. The ambient noise of the tavern at her back continued on unperturbed, but Mei’s heart beat a frantic song in her ear — a song of triumph and adventure.

She swept out the door as it opened. As a gnome from a predominately human city, she learned from a young age that doors were a problem for taller folk, and it was best to wait for them to be opened rather than exert herself unnecessarily. The couple whose legs she snuck between were less than pleased to be knocked askew, but she threw a smiled apology over her shoulder and ran on.

She pulled the poster from her cloak once she escaped the busy, long-leg infested thoroughfare and found a calmer street. With the knowledge that its lackluster design held greater promise, she dedicated herself to a more thorough read-through of the notice:

FEELING BORED? UNFULFILLED?

DO YOU HAVE A COMPLICATED RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR DAD?

TRY ADVENTURING!

I am looking for a party of 3 or more novice-to-intermediate level adventurers to fetch a gem from Gatshadow. The gem is cool-colored, will probably have an iridescent shimmer or magical glow, and can fit comfortably in the palm of a gnome or similar-sized folk. May be cursed. Definitely haunted. Oh, and the gem is located in a wyvern den.

FIRE RESISTANT ARMOR WILL NOT BE PROVIDED. PLEASE BRING YOUR OWN.

ONE (1) SUPPORT MANDATORY.

For further information…

Mei’s reading trailed off as she reached the address, having already committed it to heart, and her thoughts instead wandered to the newest challenge at hand. She did not have a party. Not currently, at least. She had left Bulwark and the others in Whitestone two weeks ago after they had told her about their plans to stay in the city for a while, build a headquarters of sorts, and bunkered down on their research.

Unlike them, she could not stop.

Not when there was so much world left to see.

But — they were not her first party, and they would not be her last.

“I wonder if Sasha’s in the area,” Mei muttered under her breath. Somewhere rattling in her pack, probably lodged between her spare flute reeds and lyre strings, was a sending stone. And, maybe, if she had not turned the corner and spotted the red brick cottage in the distance, she might have taken it out and sent a message, but — as it were — she saw her destination and any thought of rekindling fragile flames fell flat in the face of her resurging excitement.

She was about to meet Scanlan Shorthalt.

Her idol.

Her inspiration to take up the bardic call.

Very little could deter her path now, and Mei took off down the road with a jump and a click of her heels.

❀❀❀

Pike Trickfoot was as beautiful as every story and legend described. Gentle eyes above a dazzling smile. A voice like a summer breeze. “Oh, hello,” was all she said, “Can I help you?” and Mei fell mute, the tips of her pointed ears burning.

With the paper held tight in her trembling hands, Mei presented it to Pike.

“You’re here about the quest?”

Mei nodded.

“Great! Come on in. Make yourself at home,” Pike said without a dip in enthusiasm, ushering Mei through the foyer to the living room. A whimsical dance of flute music drifted from somewhere deeper in the house, and Mei melted into an offered armchair, eased by the sound. Pike, with a quick “I’ll go get my husband”, smiled and disappeared up a nearby staircase.

Mei waited until her pounding footfalls faded before bouncing up from her seat. With rapt attention, she walked around the living room and snuck peeks at the other areas of the house. It had been some years since Mei left home, and many more years since her family had lived in a true gnomish home. Mei could see the bread starter on the kitchen windowsill from here, and she ran her fingers over the knick knacks on the mantelpiece. There was an empty space of wood flooring between the dining room and the living room, perfect for a spell of dancing after an evening meal. Mei’s fingers plucked at invisible strings as a plucky, folk tune sprung to mind as she continued her exploration.

Amongst the knick knacks and on either side of a statuette of Sarenrae were two wooden dolls, weather-worn and clearly hand-carved: one of Pike and the other — Well, she could only assume it was of Scanlan.

Huh. She’d never really thought about it before...that she didn’t know what Scanlan looked like, not truly, beyond the elaborate portraits he would include in his books.

“I carved those myself.”

Mei’s hand paused a centimeter away from the face of the Scanlan doll. She could feel the almost-sensation of contact on her fingertips. Flushed and embarrassed, Mei spun around to face Scanlan Shorthalt in all his true glory.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to snoop. I just — Your home is beautiful, Mr. Shorthalt! It reminds me of my own childhood home, and — ”

Scanlan laughed and waved a hand as if dismissing the rest of her ramble and, as if by magic (and maybe it was), Mei felt the words leave her. “Please, call me Mr. Trickfoot, if you must. Scanlan is preferable. Shorthalt is my nom de plume.”

“Oh.”

“Do you have a name?”

“Oh! Yes!” Mei hurried forward, holding out a hand to properly introduce herself as her upbringing would dictate. “My name is Mei Birdwhistle, sir — Ah, I mean, Scanlan.” When Scanlan took her offered hand, she shook his hand with — she would admit — a bit too much vigor. “I am an adventurer by trade and an enthusiast by hobby! I am so pleased to make your acquaintance.”

“Birdwhistle, huh? Any relation to Ken Birdwhistle, the councilmen in Emon?”

“Yes, he’s my father!” A pleased warmth flooded Mei’s cheeks. How amazing! To think that The Scanlan Shorthalt knew her father’s name. “Have you met him?”

“Once, when he was sworn into his post,” Scanlan said, gesturing for her to take a seat in her abandoned armchair before sitting in the rocking chair by the fireplace. “Sometimes the powers that be in Tal’dorei seem to forget that I’m not the only gnome of note...but! Your father’s doing a lot of great work in Emon, so I won’t say it wasn’t a pleasure.”

Mei nodded. She couldn’t believe her father had never mentioned meeting Scanlan. She was still a young girl when her father moved them from the countryside to Emon. Then again, when she considered it...Things were often a blur in her adolescence...She wondered in her father had ever tried to seek Mrs. Trickfoot’s assistance with…

“...about the quest. However, I notice — ”

Mei came back to the moment with a chirped, “Hm?”

“Is the rest of your party on their way? Or, did you pick the short straw at the tavern?”

“Well…I don’t...Technically, I’m at the moment...gathering…”

Scanlan laughed. “Didn’t think that far ahead, huh?” and as much as it was accusatory, his tone was equally paternal, like he caught her with her hand in the cookie jar and not admitting that she came here just to meet him.

“I don’t have a party, no, but I can get one.”

“I wasn’t aware they were just handing them out these days.”

Mei grinned. “You would be surprised.”

Again, Scanlan laughed, and Mei followed his lead. First, she giggled her usual windchime of a laugh — short and sweet and contained, but she could not help but be memorized by the casual manner in which Scanlan lounged and laughed, his expression open and his voice filling the room.

She could not help but follow.

She threw her head back and laughed, which — if she were to reflect on the situation — was exactly where she went wrong. Half a laugh in, a spear of pain spiked through her chest, and her next laugh became half a cough and the next a cough half-laughed until she was coughing and wheezing and fumbling for her handkerchief.

“Um, Pike…”

There’s Scanlan’s voice and then the rattling of a tea tray somewhere beyond her before a gentle hand laid itself on her back, and Mei finally sucked in a breath that stayed. Meekly, with her handkerchief clutched tight to her chest, she looked up through her bangs at the gentle, smiling face of Pike Trickfoot and mumbled,

“Thank you.”

Pike did not remove her hand right away, a flicker of something flashing across her features, but... Then a teacup found its way to her hand, and Pike settled by Scanlan’s side and Scanlan resumed their conversation as if they’d never left off and...Maybe Mei was just being paranoid.

“I’ll be honest with you, Mei, I’m getting up there in years now,” Scanlan said, and Mei noted the wistful note to his voice and how, at his side, Pike muffled a laugh. She hid her own smile behind her teacup. “That’s why I’ve been more prone to outsourcing quests, you see, but...Well, how about I accompany you on this quest?”

Mei just barely saved her teacup from spilling as she jolted with surprise. “Y - You’ll come with me?”

“Sure!” Scanlan boomed and turned to Pike with an added, “My lovely wife and our friend, Grog, will come too, right?”

Pike nodded. “It will be nice to get out of the house, and — ” The door to the back garden opened, and Mei turned to see a goliath ducking through the doorway, stomping his boots and calling out his arrival. When she turned back to Pike and Scanlan, she saw Pike beaming widely, “That’ll be Grog. Here, how about we put this conversation on hold for a moment and start some dinner. You’re invited to stay, of course, Mei.”

Mei’s head spun, but her need to politely decline still came through, “Oh, I wouldn’t want to be a bother…”

“A bother? Nonsense!”

“We insist!”

Mei refused two more times before, with common courtesies accounted for, she smiled and agreed.

❀❀❀

“So, you think it’s her?”

Pike and Scanlan stood in the kitchen, tucked away in a corner out of sight from the dinner table where Mei and Grog were playing a game of bolder-parchment-sheers over the last biscuit. Scanlan pawed at some dishes in the sink, eyes on the horizon beyond the window but his mind farther. To Pike’s question, he shrugged.

“You know how these visions are….You never know for sure, but Ioun hasn’t knocked on my head to tell me ‘no’, so I’ll take it that we’re moving in the right direction.”

Pike leaned into his side, her cheek squishing up against his shoulder. Under her touch, an until-then-noticed tension melts away with a sigh.

“The girl’s cursed, by the way.”

Scanlan groaned, folding forward to lean over the sink in defeat. “And, this is, I’m just going to assume here..No whim-wham-Greater Restoration-and bam?”

“Yep.”

“Shit.”

#Critical Role #Scanlan Shorthalt #Pike Trickfoot #Pikelan #Pikelan Day #this is so self-indulgent and pointless but it exists now and I Love It!!!#my writing

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adarlingsnightmare · 5 years

Text

Yandere Barbara Gordon HCs

@stripedeyeswithasideofbirds said:

I love the aesthetic! Could you do something with any batfamily member of your choosing?

Thank you! I decided to do Babs bc I love the idea of her as a yandere.

• Let’s say you meet after she becomes Oracle • You're just passing by when you see her struggling to pick something up that she dropped. Being the nice person you are, you grabbed it for her and gave it back. • The second she met those captivating eyes of yours, she was hooked. You were too pure for this world and she had to protect your innocence. • It doesn't matter if you're not even that innocent, Barbara sees you as a pure, untainted angel. • As soon as she gets back to her base of operations, she'll begin researching you, using CCTV to get an image of you for her to run through the system. • If you think you can hide anything from her, you're wrong. She's freaking Oracle, she knows everything. • She's protective and somewhat delusional, in that she will believe you are some fragile child who needs protecting. • She'll spend weeks planning how she's going to kidnap you and making sure your room is ready. • She'll babyproof your room, making it seem like a little child's room. But, it's only because she doesn't want her precious angel to get hurt. • Barbara will befriend you first, making sure at some point she will have the opportunity to access your house. • You'll be having lunch, and suddenly you'll feel very dazed and weary. Next thing you know, you're in an unknown bedroom, fluffy pink padded handcuffs chaining you down to the bed. • Barbara comes in, a smile on her face and a tray of delicious looking food on her lap. • "Barbara, what's going on?" you're confused to say the least, watching as the redhead gets closer to you and strokes your cheek. "I'm keeping you safe, angel. There is so much suffering and pain in this world, I can't let you be subjected to that." • When you undoubtedly fight back against her, she forgives you, because her angel is just a little confused, that's all. You could be a criminal and she would still view you as the purest person on Earth; that's what makes her delusional. • She's generally a pretty chill yandere as long as you go along with everything she says and let her control every aspect of your life. • Don't think for a second that because she's in a wheelchair she can't take you down. • Her punishments are usually just babying you even more than usual, covering you in stuffed toys and dressing you up like a doll. However, there is a chance that if you shatter her delusions, she will permanently disable you in some way. Probably paralysing you from the waist down or cutting off your legs. • So you're better off being compliant unless you want to never walk again.

#yandere x reader #yandere x you #yandere imagines #yandereverse #yandere #barbara gordon #barbara gordon imagine #dc imagine #yandere dc #yandere barbara gordon #yandere female

166 notes · View notes

artemismoon12writes · 4 years

Text

Title: A Vested Interest

Daltonfic Big Bang: Week 3, Day 5, Dwodd

Ryan Cobb still didn’t know about his desk chair, so money was still up for grabs. Nice.

“Fuck off!” Derek yelled, looking across the large, white and glass hallway of the Ohio Brooks Parker Galleria Mall to the Hot Topic.

“What is it?” Bailey asked, not turning from his sink full of dishes. He was up to his elbows in coffee mugs and dessert-stained plates. “Is Sebastian coming up to ask for another job application?”

“Shut up Bailey, you know it’s only because he thinks Julian’s hot, not because he wants to work here. And no; it’s not that asshole.” Derek gestured across the hallway; Bailey couldn’t see it because he still had his back turned, uncaring. “It’s that fucking asshole and his boyfriend!”

“Who?”

“You know, the assistant manager and that hipster guy!”

“Oh Dwight?” Bailey asked. “What’s wrong?”

“They’re fucking again!”

Bailey made an amused noise. “Good for them.”

“Good for them!?” Derek exclaimed, “What the hell does that mean?”

“Well, if you could get laid at work you would.” Bailey said, hiding his laughter. “I’m glad you don’t for the record; I don’t want to clean that up, but it’s a little funny.”

“Exactly- how is it that the goth who isn’t even in charge of that place is getting laid and I’m here in a fucking Starbucks like a loser?”

While Derek was ranting, he was ignoring the girl at the register. Bailey shot her a look, commiserating before drying his hands to take her order.

“And if we’re really splitting hairs here Bailey, shouldn’t he, I don’t know? Be doing his job? Instead of letting his little hipster boyfriend fuck him in the changerooms?”

Bailey rolled his eyes, grabbing a larger sized cup for their customer and waving her panicked look aside. It was the least he could do since she was putting up with Derek’s ranting.

“Jeez, Derek if it bothers you so much, just join in our betting pool and you at least could make some money off it.” Bailey said, steaming the milk like it was just another normal day. Which, working with Derek for at long as he had, it kind of was.

“Betting pool?”

Their customer interjected, “I’m from the Barnes and Noble next door; we’ve got it going with us, Clay and the boys in the store, Bailey and y’all, and then then Chels and the Pet Co. downstairs for how long it’ll take the manager to catch them.”

“All those people know? And Ryan still hasn’t figured it out?” Derek asked, confounded.

She shrugged, “Yeah, well, Pet Co. was waiting for the two month mark to send Ryan upstairs at the right moment; but Todd and Dwight were just talking; I’m thinking Clay ran interference so the bet’s still going.”

Derek looked caught between anger and intrigue. He looked at her with a scowl before, “Put me down for fifty bucks on two weeks from now. Ryan’s not an idiot, he’ll realize.”

“Not if he spends all his time downstairs with the fish tanks.” Bailey pointed out.

“Why is he even managing a Hot Topic if he loved animals so much?”

“He’d never sell anything if he worked downstairs, that’s why.” Their customer pointed out, wandering back to the Barnes and Noble with her drink. “Good luck boys!”

Oh it’s on, Derek thought, not realizing how difficult a task it would actually be to accomplish.

---

Two months of this nonsense aside, Dwight Houston had not set out to completely disregard professionalism and decorum when he got this throwaway job at the mall. His mother raised him better than that- or so she kept saying. He was only here for the sole purpose of keeping his car and proving he was responsible- nothing more. If he had enough knowledge of alternative culture to tell people why Hot Topic was the worst place to shop, that wasn’t his problem. He was merely the solution.

When Todd Hendricks, or “Hipster Guy” as he referred to him for the first two weeks in his head, walked in, there was no master plan to get back at his manager for promoting him in this insanity. No, it was only a short conversation, based around Todd’s utter incompetence.

“If she’s a real goth, she will not want anything we sell here. This is emo shit, New Oracle in Glensdale is the real space for crystals. This is just plastic and Yellow 33!” Dwight shook the fake silver jewellery at the customer and his wide rimmed glasses, plaid shirt, and rough, red scarf. “Your sister will not like this.”

“But that’s why it’s funny. Because it’s not authentic.” The customer (who would be known as Todd) said. “She’ll hate it and it’ll be hilarious.”

“It’s offensive! You say she’s a witch, then it’s doubly offensive.” Dwight said, motioning to put the piece back up on the highest shelf with the pole hook.

“I’m her brother, she’ll know it’s a joke.” He argued. “I’m not here to rock your goth purist boat.”

“I am not a goth,” Dwight said, putting the offending piece out of reach. “I am a post-industrial punk with spiritualist leanings; its completely different.”

“Sure.” Was the response, grinning like he’d not proven anything.

Dwight groaned, “Clay, back me up here; the Vampire Diaries spinoff jewellery is not something we should be promoting to any self-respecting goth.”

His part-timer, Clay Rizzo, poked out from behind the piercing display where he totally wasn’t trying to steal new lip rings. “I don’t know Dwight; I am one of those emo pieces of shit, so maybe I’d recommend it?”

“I get no support around here!” Dwight said, stalking to the back of the store. “Impossible!”

Todd looked over to the part-timer, decked in the unofficial uniform of all black and a hundred emo-band pins. “I think I’m dropping by more often.”

Clay gave him an evil grin. “Pleasure doing business with you.”

---

From there it escalated; Todd coming in multiple times a week just to annoy Dwight. Well, that’s what Dwight assumed until Todd asked for his phone number.

“What? Why’d you want that?”

Todd looked at him like he was an idiot. “Because I’ve been flirting with you this whole time? Were you not…”

Clay, unknown to the two of them, was watching with Robin and Jake from behind the t-shirts. They were supposed to be executing the planogram; but why do that when there was drama to observe?

“I was not.” Dwight said robotically. “Uh, okay, that’s…”

“I literally looped a tie around your neck and pulled you in, and you didn’t realize I was into you?”

Clay, who remembered that exchange, had to be smothered with a Haven shirt but Jake to stop him from making noise.

“In my defence, I’m not used to people flirting with me.”

“If you’re not interested, that’s fine. I just thought-”

“I’m not not interested?” Dwight interjected before Todd turned away and walked out. “I’m just, uh, not used to … this?”

“I can work with that.”

It somehow progressed, in spite of Dwight’s inherent awkwardness. Jake, Robin, Jasper, and Clay respectively waving the pair off whenever Dwight took his lunch break now.

“They grow up so fast.” Clay said dramatically while Dwight gave him the finger. Todd just smiled at his conspirator and told them to take care of the store. Not that he worked there. He was there often enough he’d take to reminding Dwight about stock orders, schedules, and that Jake had a family dinner coming up so someone had to get it covered. The store had never run so well as it did when Todd started dating their assistant manager.

---

“Where did you guys put the Manic Panic?” Ryan Cobb, actual manager of Hot Topic, called out from the stockroom. “There should be a packing slip for a 3 pack of each colour, but all I see is overstock of those short-shorts!”

“I don’t know, ask Jake,” Dwight said, standing on a step ladder with Jasper spotting him. “He was in last night when the delivery came in.”

“I’m asking you. How can you be my assistant manager and not know where the hair dye is? We have that Chang girl coming in later and I promised her we’d have her order in!” Ryan called. “I’m going on break, that dye should be on the shelf when I get back.”

Ryan left, once again for supposedly fifteen minutes- but the entire staff knew he’d be gone for the rest of the day downstairs to play with the parakeets Pet Co. just got in.

“Oh, you’re in trouble.” Robin said, amused.

“Shut up.” Dwight muttered. “I bet Jake just put them somewhere weird. Call him and see what’s going on.”

“I’ll call him. He told me nothing came in last night though.”

“Perfect, just fucking perfect.” Dwight groaned.

“What’s wrong?” Todd asked, coming in with a cardboard tray of drinks. “I just saw Ryan go by, if he’s actually in the store for any minute I’m scared the place will burst into flames.”

“Once in a blue moon, it happens I guess.” Dwight admitted, climbing down the ladder to receive his kiss on the cheek and the green tea Todd brought for him.

“What’s happening?” Todd asked, taking his own coffee off the tray and pushing the sugar-laden third and fourth cups to the part-timers he’d been subtly converting to his side. Jasper particularly grabbed his eagerly, gushing thank yous.

“Jake might have lost a delivery.” Dwight paused, “Or not? I don’t know about the warehouse, but they’ve been fucking up recently anyways. I swear I can’t find last night’s order but the stockroom does look like shit…”

“You have a computer? There should be a record of orders received and rejected? I know not everyone still does things hard copy.” Todd suggested.

“It’s in the manager’s office!” Robin volunteered. “Not that we’re allowed in there. It’s for Ryan and Dwight only.”

“Well, they can’t fire me so I don’t care about that rule.” Todd said, taking a sip of his coffee and beelining to the back room.

Dwight scrambled to follow him. “No! No! No customers in the back!”

“Oh come on, if Ryan’s going to get mad at you about it then I might as well try to help.” Todd said, finding the tiny room easily and placing himself in the desk chair like he owned the place. “Password’s hottopic123, very creative, not hacking proof at all.”

“It’s a formality, that’s why it’s on the post-it.” Dwight grumbled, reluctant to admit he was grateful for the help.

“Okay, well according to your emails it’s right there. They’re not sending it because of the USPS strike. I don’t know why Ryan didn’t notice that.” Todd said after a few open tabs and a control+f.

“Oh that’s why.” Dwight grumbled, pointing to the open tabs on tanks for tropical fish. “He was distracted.”

“Why is he in charge of a Hot Topic if he doesn’t want to even work here?” Todd asked, looking through the pages. “Like, if you’re desperate you could work for the raptor sanctuary; they’re hiring.”

“Wait, you know the raptor sanctuary?” Dwight asked, intrigued. “I have an owl there.”

“I’m sponsoring Rowena, the prairie-”

“Merlin.” Dwight finished. “Yeah, she’s the one who the workers are teaching how to do the flight tricks right?”

“Yeah.” Todd paused, “You’re Castiel’s sponsor? I thought that name was stupid.”

“It’s not stupid! It’s a good name!” Dwight said before realizing Todd was joking with him. “Oh, okay.”

“So, if Ryan is going to ignore the email in his inbox in favour of spending all his time at Pet Co. I propose we do something to get him back.” Todd said, spinning around in the chair and closing the door to the office. It was more like a cupboard with how much room there was.

Dwight looked at him suspiciously. “What do you mean?”

Todd locked the door, “You’ll see.”

---

Robin wasn’t sure what was happening until he went to knock on the door and heard it. Shit. Maybe Dwight was cool.

First thing he did was tell Jake over the phone, who told Jasper, who told Clay- who told literally the entire mall by the time he’d made it in for his closing shift.

“Who knew the dude had it in him.” Jake said, punching in, careful to give the office door a lot of room. “I mean, I would do that but Dwight’s always struck me as a bit of a-”

“A nerd?” Jasper supplied.

“I’m so proud of my dads.” Clay said, already on the top of a stepladder switching out t-shirts. “Like, I can’t use that office so I don’t give a shit- but it’s also hilarious. How long do you think it takes Ryan to notice?”

“First, they’re not your dads.” Jake said.

“Todd gave me a gold star for my pins last week, they’re my dads.” Clay said, half joking, but mostly trying to annoy Jake.

“Okay, fine. Secondly, Ryan isn’t going to notice shit. If he hasn’t notice you’ve been stealing lip rings to wear while at work he is not going to notice Dwight’s boyfriend fucked him in the office.”

“Or did Dwight fuck him?” Jasper asked.

“I don’t care.” Jake dismissed the comment. “Either way, it’ll be, like a year before Ryan realizes something is up.”

Clay grinned, “Care to put your money where your mouth is?”

“You’re on.”

The pot, by the time Pet Co., Barnes and Noble, Starbucks, and Radio Shack got in on the action, was somewhere around $400. The only ones unaware, were the couple in question and Ryan Cobb.

---

“Shit, Clay! This isn’t what it looks like.” Dwight said hurriedly, Clay pulling open the curtain to the change rooms enough to poke his head in.

“Really? Because it looks like you’re just passionately embracing Todd.” Clay shrugged, “I could be wrong.”

Todd would have normally made a quip back, but he was too close to reply. “Uh, not a good time.”

“Well, you’ve got almost no time at all for this quickie because Ryan is on his way back. AKA, he’s on the elevator and if you’re here balls deep-“

“I will curse you so hard-”

“You’re already hard, I get it. Put some pants on, wrap it up.” Clay said, flipping the curtain closed. At least the two of them were polite enough to not make any of the part-timers do cleaning duties on these occasions.

Either way, Clay has a vested interest in not alerting Ryan right now. The pot was up to $800 now, and he would need that for next semester’s books. College was expensive.

---

In the end, it wasn’t Ryan who caught them; it was the night security guard who got them outside in Dwight’s ridiculously out of date Chevy. With an ‘indecent exposure’ strike on his record, Ryan had to let Dwight go. The betting pool wasn’t sure if this meant the bet was on, or off.

The next week, when he found Todd wandering past the Hot Topic to the men’s bathrooms with one lanky, gothic boyfriend in tow- he shot Todd a thumbs up and informed the rest of the mall the game was still on.

Ryan Cobb still didn’t know about his desk chair, so money was still up for grabs. Nice.

#daltonficbigbang2020 #daltonfic #mat #lols #otp #dwodd #dwight houston #todd hendricks #derek siegerson #bailey tipton #clay rizzo #jake paige #ryan cobb #jasper miller #robin woods #oneshot #artemiswrites

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yourcoolfriendwithallthecandy · 5 years

Text

Magic and Miracles and BEYOND Chapter 13

ok, I didn’t mean to take...(doesn’t bother to look at how long since it’s been since I’ve posted anything for this story because the guilt will kill me) however long (feels longer than forever) to update this story. I literally had it all planned out in my head. And then when I went to write it my brain went “fuck you, I am on fumes, I need a break, I’m done.” and it didn’t matter how much I tried to restart or jump it- no go. So I moved on. I went back to school, I’m getting my licence to be a massage therapist, I’ll be doing that until July of next year which I’m currently on break with until Tuesday. But GOOD NEWS. I was going through my tumblr and I still find all these RaeLena pictures and when I went back to this- I found, lo and behold, FUEL. So I started this back up and this baby is running! Wooo! @the-immortal-marshal and @warnjai-17 hopefully you’re still here to enjoy this

AO3

Magic and Miracles and BEYOND

Chapter 13

The morning of Crowe’s wedding day was bright and brisk and the trees around the farm seemed to have come into spectacular color just for her. The sunrise was especially beatuiful and Prompto and the photographer got some outstanding pictures of it.

The horses had been washed the day before and kept in their squeaky clean stalls so they didn’t get dirty right before the ceremony. Crowe woke up feeling so happy and excited because today was the day her and her best friend were getting married and Chelsea had worked overtime in making sure every detail was perfect and to make sure Crowe only had decisions to make in a timely manner but no actual work to do through the whole process so it had been a breeze. The girls had all stayed at Sylva’s house and she had had another caterer come in and make everyone breakfast and a team of hair and makeup artists to make sure each girl shined like the jewel she was as Luca and Lilly and all the other little sisters of the those in the wedding party got to get glammed up too.

Meanwhile Libertus woke up with the worst hangover and felt like death warmed over. He had stayed up half the night, him and his friends around a campfire on Craig’s farm and drank and just talked, some of it was casual, most of it was deep though while Tredd did manage to keep his mouth shut about Ada being pregnant. But he sure did hint at it to Luche which Ravus and Nyx picked up on as Ravus was suspecting that the reason his mother favored Tredd as much as she did was because he had the gift too.

Craig Sr. and his wife Charla were already hard at work making a mountain of food for the boys and they chuckled to themselves as they watched all of them wake up to the smell of food and come in, each one’s hair crazier than the last as they all did the zombie shuffle to get the food before sitting down at the table as the guys downed pot after pot of coffee and ate in relative silence as bottles of Tylenol, Advil and Aleve were passed around.

“You boys alive over there?” Craig asked before there was a chorus of groans as an answer which cracked Craig Sr. and Charla up.

Meanwhile Hazel was sleeping blissfully away in Titus’ bed before the smell of her own breakfast woke her up only moments before Titus came in with their breakfast on a tray.

“Good morning Beautiful.” Titus cooed to her as her eyes fluttered open before she smiled adoringly at him as she stretched.

“Good morning, what do you got there?” She asked as she sat up, keeping the blankets up to cover her nakedness but moved the pillows to the headboard so she could sit up comfortably.

“Breakfast.” Titus beamed.

“Aww,” Hazel fawned as he gave her the tray and then got back into bed before they cuddled together with the extra large tray over Hazel’s lap.

“This is really sweet,” Hazel gushed as she started to dig in to the bowl of berries before she pulled the lid off of the plate to see an engagement ring sitting on top of some french toast and gasped as Titus’ heart beat so hard in his chest he thought it was going to break his ribs as his mouth felt like it was full of cotton all of a sudden.

“So, I was thinking, I know you really like your apartment and I really like the peace and quiet and space of the country, but I thought we could find a happy medium if we built a house together, Oak Creek Estates still has a bunch of lots available and if…” Titus was cut off by Hazel quickly attaching her mouth to his and kissing him as deeply as she could from her spot under his arm as his arm curled around her before his other hand went up to gently caress her gorgeous face, hoping she could understand what he was trying to say because words were failing him but actions never would.

“Yes, that’ll be perfect, a fresh new start for both of us.” Hazel beamed happily as she had already slipped the ring on before Titus moved the tray over to the floor before he really got to enjoy his fiance for breakfast which is what he really wanted.

As the clock ticked down Libertus went from hungover to happy to nervous and by a surprise, Luche was too.

“Cut it out, they’re all gonna think you’re playing with yourself.” Tredd teased as he sat down next to Luche after he came back into the house from helping the firework guys set up all the fireworks for the night before he sat down on the couch as Luche frowned over at him.

“Cut what out?” Luche tried to deflect.

“You keep fingering that engagement ring thing in your pocket, it looks like you’re trying to jack off.” Tredd chuckled as Luche frowned.

“How…” Luche began as Tredd gave him an unimpressed look.

“Really? You really wanna play dumb? Come on, let me seee.” Tredd questioned as Luche humphed before he pulled it out and handed it to Tredd.

“I do, I will marry you.” Tredd gushed in an overly feminine way.

“Oh my God, stop.” Luche rolled his eyes as Tredd opened the fancy slim ring box to see a paper flower fold out holding the ring.

“Aww, this was one of Victor’s rings for Ravus wasn’t it?” Tredd asked as Luche sighed deeply.

“Yes, I bought it off of him.” Luche admitted.

“Of course you did, you spent what? A whole dollar?” Tredd teased.

“Ravus gave me a price and I paid it, no negotiations needed.” Luche defended.

“A whole five dollars because you don’t cary singles anymore blue blood.” Tredd grinned triumphantly.

“I hate this about you.” Luche sarcastically quipped as he tried to take the ring back but Tredd pulled it out of his reach.

“Hey, hey, don’t get all huffy. I think it’s nice- a whole 20 carats just on the center diamond and that has to be...another 5 carats in the bezels and blue diamonds are coming back into fashion again, platinum?” Tredd appraised as Luche just frowned deeper and deeper.

“Since when do you know anything about jewelry?” Luche asked.

“Since mom adopted me too and has been taking me under her wing and teaching me the same shit she’s teaching you but I get the super fun hands on versions, and she is paying me in stock options now and recognizes that I have a good eye and can spot a fake a mile away.” Tredd answered casually as he gave it back.

“Wait paying you? Paying you for what?” Luche demanded.

“You didn’t think you were her only eyes and ears did you?” Tredd grinned smugly.

“How much is she paying you?” Luche pressed.

“Eh, it started off as 5k here, 10k there, now it’s stock options and percentages and 401ks and trust funds and all that which I find I like much better, especially since I’ve been reinvesting that money in said stocks. Project Recovery alone has quadrupled my money in just the last couple of months alone and Sylva says I have the same gift she has in that oracle shit. I see things with my special eyes that you don’t.” Tredd teased as he poked his finger near Luche’s ear as he batted his eyes suggestively at Luche.

“Stop,” Luche batted Tredd’s hand away. “What do you see that I don’t?” Luche questioned.

“I knew before anyone else did that Crowe was pregnant.” Tredd grinned.

“You got lucky.” Luche countered.

“Did I? Did I also get really super lucky when I knew Ada was pregnant over the summer on the cruises?” Tredd revealed.

“What?” Luche blinked.

“Yeah, I saw that before Sylva did, And that fifteen grand? That was to keep you two from fucking so you wouldn’t lose your mind when she lost that pregnancy. Which sucked by the way, but hopefully it doesn’t happen again.” Tredd revealed.

“You…” Luche didn’t know if he should laugh, cry or just go bang his head against a wall. “How? How did you know?” Luche demanded.

“There’s just a lot of subtle changes that most miss but to me they just all add up for some reason.” Tredd shrugged. “But looking back, aren’t you happy you didn’t fuck her senseless on the cruise?” Tredd asked.

“...yeah.” Luche ducked his head with a sigh.

“Well I knew the moment those two got together that it was gonna crash and burn in a matter of months. She’s always been your girl, she was just the last one to realize it.” Tredd offered which made Luche and Tredd both grin lopsidedly at each other.

“Thanks.” Luche thanked him.

“You’re welcome. By the way, I want to be a groomsman.” Tredd insisted which made Luche snicker a laugh.

“Oh do you?” Luche returned.

“Hell yeah, am I or am I not the Bro who was purposefully a douche to save you from that clusterfuck?” Tredd prodded.

“You are that douche.” Luche laughed.

“So I’m a groomsman?” Tredd prodded.

“You are the douchiest of my groomsman.” Luche chuckled.

“Good,” Tredd grinned victoriously as Ravus and Nyx came up.

“Oh is that Ada’s ring?” Nyx asked.

“Yeah, I was thinking I was gonna pull a Rae.” Luche admitted as he handed it to Nyx as Ravus smiled proudly. Happy that the ring was going to go to a “brother”. Besides that still left a few to save for his children to use when they would get engaged.

“Awesome,” Nyx smiled happily before he gave it back.

“Shower is clear.” Craig called out after he got out of his since every shower was being used on the property to get all the boys ready as Luche got the ring back as he got up and claimed the empty shower.

“So what else do you see with your special eyes?” Ravus asked Tredd once Luche was well out of earshot.

“Jesus, you have the ears of a rodent Beavus.” Tredd rolled his eyes.

“Ada’s pregnant again isn’t she?” Ravus grinned.

“Sssshhhh!” Tredd shushed him as he quickly looked around to see if anyone else had heard that.

“See? Told you.” Ravus put to Nyx who gave him an unimpressed look.

“Does he know?” Nyx gestured to where Luche went.

“No, absolutely not, and none of us can tell him either, we gotta let Ada find out on her own and have her be the one to tell him, we can’t spoil this for him. I mean you know me, I’m all for spoiling shit but that’s the special shit you don’t spoil.” Tredd urged them.

“So what do you think it’s gonna be?” Ravus put to Tredd curiously.

“Pppfff, boy.” Tredd snickered. “Watch they’ll name him something super British, like London or Oxford or something so English the Royal Family will be like ‘calm it down now’. “ Tredd predicted.

“London.” Nyx and Ravus grinned.

“Any other girl preggers?” Nyx asked Tredd.

“Right now? No. About to be? Oh yeah,” Tredd laughed.

“Who?” Ravus and Nyx asked as Tredd looked at them unimpressed before he looked over to Gladio pointedly before turning back to them.

“No way,” Nyx shook his head.

“A hundred bucks, they’re going to be expecting in the next say...four months?” Tredd offered as he offered his hand for a shake.

“Deal.” Nyx agreed as he shook Tredd’s hand as Ravus just shook his head, knowing Tredd was right and knew that Tredd had the same gift he had. Which instead of denying it or downplaying it or getting jealous, he felt a sense of relief that he wasn’t the only one with it.

Once all the girls arrived the boys got the horses saddled and ready to go as the guests started to arrive and take their seats. The weather couldn’t be more perfect, small, almost cartoonish puffy clouds rolling in the sky, it was warm enough to be comfortable but not chilled enough to be cold but that message didn’t seem to get to Libertus who was sweating buckets so much so that everyone thought he was going to lose 10lbs in sweat alone and Chelsea was grateful she had extra shirts for Libertus to change into and basically bathed him in deodorant and antiperspirant and loaded him up with anti-nausea meds as his own mother and Crowe’s mothers gave him the pep-talk of the century as Chelsea was copying that down for future use.

When it finally came time for the actual ceremony, the horses suddenly decided to shit where they stood at the back of the aisle before Chelsea and her team tried to hurriedly clean it up, the horses then tried munching on the flowers on the sides of the aisle, there was practically a whole hive of bees there to collect the nectar from all the flowers even though Sylva had a case of Epipens which thankfully didn’t need to get used but thankfully, at least- there were no mosquitoes and Libertus was thankfully laughing too hard at the horses being horses to cry too much because the sight of Crowe in a wedding dress coming down the aisle to him was overwhelming to him.

Because Crowe’s smile shamed the sun. She was radiant and beautiful and practically glowing and Libertus had never seen her look so beautiful in his life. It was perfect and after the vows, Libertus finally seemed to ease up and become himself again.

At the reception Sylva went ahead and practically glued herself to Linda, Luche’s mother as Luche was slow dancing with Ada because she had caught the bouquet in the bouquet toss, thanks to Sylva organizing her girls to guarantee it and thanks to Sylva also organizing her boys- Luche caught the garter belt and now they were dancing together, the rest of the world falling away.

“I really like the fairy lights.” Ada noted at all the twinkle lights around them.

“Would you want fairy lights at our wedding?” Luche asked and Ada didn’t give a second thought to his choice of words before she began telling him all about what she would want for their wedding.

Meanwhile on the sidelines-

“Linda, you better get used to the idea of them being together.” Sylva urged as Linda gave her a side eye.

“Look, it’s very simple, it’s either Ada or this cum guzzling gutter trash.” Sylva continued as she pulled up a video of Beth on a porn site that had Linda choking on her winecooler and looking particularly aghast. “That could have been your daughter in law who by the way flirted and eye fucked before she actually did fuck Chinese billionaires trying to get the best deal possible while Luche was sitting right next to her and would have been way more unfaithful to him than Ada ever will be again, Ada is allowed to sow a wild oat or two in her youth, and now that she’s done that and seen that the grass is indeed not anywhere near as green as it is with Luche and I can tell you that she won’t be making that mistake again.” Sylva assured Linda. “Now, count your blessings as you read this.” Sylva furthered before she pulled out a prenup and it had Linda grinning from ear to ear as she read it.

“You see the line we have to walk as mothers is to let our children enjoy life and live it how they want to, but that doesn’t mean we can’t put them in some safety gear, I’ll have Ada sign this before we go wedding dress shopping but here’s the deal-” Sylva lowered her voice. “You and Luke will be nothing but nice, happy and supportive of Luche and Ada from here on out. I have already talked with Luche and he’s ok with me paying for a bulk of the wedding expenses, all I’m asking you and Luke to pay for are the invitations and Ada’s parents will be buying Ada’s veil, fair enough?” Sylva put to her.

“That’s more than fair.” Linda nodded in agreement with a thankful smile to Sylva.

“Good, now, watch your son propose and be happy about it.” Sylva nodded to the dancefloor where Luche had gotten down on one knee and proposed to Ada as Sylva was smiling brightly while Linda plastered on a smile, happy that her son was at least protected and grateful that Sylva had adopted him and cared for him as her own because the Lord knew she wasn’t willing or ready to pay for much of anything else as Sylva offered her own winecooler over to Linda to clink with a knowing smile when Ada said yes.

After that, that’s when the party seemed to get into full gear, the moment the sun began to set they lit the fires in the fire pits inside the bale circles so people could sit on the bales and make smores since the wedding had been catered by a competition BBQ joint that had all the BBQ and steaks anyone could ask for. There was a mountain of throw blankets to keep the guests warm as they did this and then at the finale- that’s when Tredd- being a fireman and pyromaniac- set the fireworks off which everyone fully enjoyed before the party sent Crowe and Libertus off on their honeymoon which Sylva got them a cabin and a hunting excursion out in the northwest.

Luche and Ada barely made it home and in the door before they were on each other and removing the remainder of their clothes and made it to the bottom of the stairs before Luche had pinned her to the wall and started fucking her hard up against it, Ada’s engagement ring nearly getting snagged in his hair as Ada scratched his scalp roughly as the loudest and longest pleasured moan left her throat.

“Oh Luche!” Ada keened as the back of her head hit the wall behind her, knocking the picture of them hanging next to her head slightly askew as Luche’s hips pounded into hers.

Luche proposing to Ada after she caught the bouquet came as a surprise to Ada but not really to anyone else, but that was all that mattered to Luche. Ada was completely wrapped up in wedding fever and the joy and excitement of the moment to notice anyone outside of Luche. Their relationship was better than it had ever been since she came back to him and together they both worked exceptionally hard to make the other happy.

Ada was blown away by the drop dead gorgeous ring Luche proposed with.

Luche had wanted his proposal to be more eloquent but in the end, he just went for simple and straight to the point.

When Ada had said that she liked something about the decorations for the wedding, Luche found himself asking her what she would like for their wedding and Ada had answered it without a second thought and before Ada realized it she revealed what she had always wanted and fantasized about as a little girl and Luche was grinning ear to ear and when she was done Luche didn’t hesitate to just get down on one knee and offer to give her everything she had just said and pleaded for the chance to make all her dreams come true as everyone quickly gathered around them with eager eyes and ears to hear her answer and Ada didn’t even get to see the ring before she said yes and when she did see the ring, her eyes nearly popped out of her head and her jaw fell and rolled away on the floor. But she readily had him put it on her finger.

From there, it was like they were velcroed to each other and receiving all the congratulatory wishes before Chelsea made a point to make sure they had her business card and to give her a call when they wanted to set a date and get things in motion before Luche repeated, almost verbatim what Ada had just said to her as Chelsea quickly made notes, using up the last half of her notebook since the first half was already full of notes for Hazel and Titus’ wedding plans that she had gotten earlier before she left Luche and Ada to enjoy more congratulations since Ada was the last to be engaged and didn't notice how Chelsea had then gone to Sylva, Linda and Luke as well as Ada's parents who Sylva had gathered together to force a congratulatory toast between them all before Sylva informed them that she would be paying for the bulk of it if Luche's parents were willing to buy the invitations and if Ada's parents would pay for Ada's veil since wedding dresses could be so expensive, that she would take care of the rest since Luche was like another son to her and brother to Ravus which she received very little argument to.

Luche felt he smiled more that night than he had in the previous year combined. But he was so happy. Finally things were coming together. He had the dream job, had fantastic friends, supportive family and the girl of his dreams and everything was perfect and he couldn’t ask for more.

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platonicone · 5 years

Text

Devotion - Story of the Oracle and her Shield

Chapter 7 - Familiar stranger

Sometimes strangers form a connection with you in minutes, which others cannot form in years. Why is that? I wonder…

“Good morning, Squall,” she greeted him with an angelic smile.

“Wow, you are awake,” he said, sounding a lot more excited than he would have liked to show.

“Thank you for taking such good care of me while I was asleep,” she said with a slight bow of her head.

“Mention not,” he said, waving it off. “How are you feeling?”

“I am doing great,” she said reassuringly. “Do you think I am ready to take on Ramuh?”

Squall just facepalmed when he heard it. She burst out laughing, “The reaction on your face was priceless.” Her sweet laughter echoed in their room.

Squall just looked at her without saying a word.

‘Even after waking up from the sleep she still looked stunning.’ His mind noted. ‘Just shut up.’ He yelled in his mind.

“By the way, thank you for the soup, it was very nice,” she said, breaking the silence. She held up the empty container and gestured him to put it away.

He grabbed the container and noticed that all the noodles and veggies were still in it. “You don’t like it?” he asked, pointing at it.

“I do so very much, it’s just that my left hand felt slightly numb so I couldn’t even hold the spoon properly, so I just drank the soup directly.”

Squall disposed of the container and then proceeded to dispose of all empty ones he had gathered over the past few days.

“Wait, why are you disposing of them?” She asked.

“It was a good way to keep track of how many days you were asleep. Now that you are awake, we don’t need them,” he said with a shrug.

Before they could continue their conversation any further, they were interrupted by a visitor.

“Ah, she is finally awake,” claimed Dr. K from the doorway.

“I told you the kiss would work,” Dr. K playfully jabbed Squall with her elbow as she walked past him.

“What kiss?” Lunafreya gulped in anticipation. The heart rate on her monitor also spiked.

Squall facepalmed and shook his head in disbelief. “It’s a joke. A bad one too.”

“Oh, come on, it's all in jest. You need to smile more young man,” she said, regaining her doctor tone.

“Whatever,” he said, looking away.

“If only you smiled as much as you blushed...” Dr. K trailed off as both she and Lunafreya started laughing.

“I am going for a shower, bye,” he bolted away before Dr. K could get another word.

“Hehehe, it is so much fun to tease him. He gets flustered so easily,” she said, as she removed her stethoscope from around her neck.

After shower Squall left to do some chores as Dr. K has to do some treatment and grooming of Lunafreya.

He returned at night with a bunch of bags in his hands. He kept everything in its proper place and came to Lunafreya’s bed, “How are you feeling now?”

She looked very refreshed. Her normally tied up hair was let loose and they freely fell over her shoulders.

“I feel much better, thank you,” she said politely. “How are your wounds?”

“I still have trouble moving my left arm and this cast is starting to get really annoying. But other than that, I am okay.”

“I am joyous to hear of your recovery.”

“Are you hungry?” he asked.

“Yes, I am. They gave me some lunch in the afternoon, but I was not fond of its taste.”

“I hope you like what I got,” he said, as he started unpacking the food he had brought from the dinner.

“May I ask what you brought?” she requested.

“You don’t have to be so formal. I got some soup, bread, roti, and curry plate,” he listed.

“Oh, thank God,” she exhaled. Squall just arched his eyebrow questioningly and she explained, “I don’t eat meat. I find the very idea of killing an animal to sate my hunger appalling.”

“Understood,” he said as he took a mental note.

“You brought a lot of food. I won’t be able to eat all of that,” she said, looking at all the food he had placed on the table.

After what felt like a long and awkward silence, he replied, “This food is for me too.”

“My humblest apologies. That was very presumptuous of me,” she apologized.

“It’s okay. It’s no big deal. Also, you don’t have to be so formal,” he urged.

“My apologies, it is a habit of mine address everyone formally,” she confessed.

“I see. I guess you can address me formally if that’s what makes you comfortable,” he proposed as he took out the foam plates, utensils, and napkins from the bag.

“It is a quite late, so I thought you must have done your dinner already,” she said, still sounding guilty.

“Normally I would but I thought I should eat with you today.”

“That is very kind of you,” she appreciated his gesture.

“What would you like to start with?” he asked.

“Soup please.”

He opened the lid and handed the container to her. She held it carefully in her left hand. It was the same soup he brought every day.

After wrestling with the plastic bag with one functioning hand, he grabbed a container of soup for himself. When he turned around, he noticed that she was still holding the soup looking at him sheepishly.

He surveyed the situation quickly and figured out why she wasn’t eating. The tray attached to the bed was broken so there was no place to put the soup down.

“Let me help you,” he offered.

“No, I got this,” she insisted, trying to hold the container with her broken right hand and spoon in the other hand.

“Stop being so stubborn,” he said with his now-famous facepalm. She kept her spoon in the container and surrendered, not entirely sure what his plan was to ‘help.’

He picked up the container from her hand. “Here, I’ll hold. You eat.”

“Thank you,” she said with a nod.

She took a spoonful of soup and blew some air on it to cool it down. As she brought the spoon closer to her mouth, he noticed that her hand was tremoring slightly. She even spilled some on her blanket.

This time he moved the container closer to her, yet the results were the same. He noticed that she was really struggling with her left hand.

“Are you right-handed?” he asked, wanting to verify his prediction. She just nodded in response.

“Figures. Besides, it will take some rehab for your motor skills to get back to normal,” he said, looking at her tremors.

“It won’t get any better if I don’t try,” she insisted as she tried again to eat. Once again, she spilled some of the soup on the blanket as her hand tremored.

“Let me help you,” he offered again.

“No, I can do this,” she said confidently, even though her hand was quivering.

He sighed and said with a hint of irritation in his voice, “Stop being so--”

“Stubborn?” she finished his sentence for him. “I am not being stubborn. I just don’t like relying on others.”

“Ya, I figured that much when I saw you take on that Titan in a one-on-one duel,” he said sarcastically as he withdrew his hand, not allowing her eating like this.

“That was not the plan,” she said as she pulled his hand toward her wanting to continue eating.

“What kind of princess travels without her guards?” he asked as their tug-of-war continued over a soup container.

“The one who doesn’t want anyone to get hurt on her behalf,” she said, trying to grab the container from him, almost spilling it all in the process.

“Asking for help is not a sign of weakness; it’s a sign of trust.” She let go of her grip as soon as she heard him say.

“Fine. You win. My left hand feels very numb and I can barely even hold a spoon. And on top of that my whole body hurts. There I said it,” she said with resignation. "Now help me please,” she whispered under her breath. Not sure Squall even heard it.

“Give me your hand,” he instructed, and she obliged.

“Ego is knowing that you need help yet not asking for it.” He placed the container in her hand and took the spoon, switching their roles. “It took me many years to learn that lesson.”

He stirred the soup with the spoon, took a spoonful of it and raised the spoon to her mouth.

She was dumbfounded at this gesture. He was literally spoon-feeding her. She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out of it.

Focused on the task at hand, as soon as she opened her mouth, he shoved the spoon in it. She swallowed quickly before coughing heavily.

“Wat..er.. Ple.. ase" she said in the middle of her cough.

He quickly got up and offered her water. Her cough subsided as she drank it.

“Sorry,” he said sheepishly, realizing his mistake.

“It’s okay, you have nothing to apologize for,” she assured him.

This time he was extra careful. He took a spoon full of soup and blew air on it to cool it before offering it to her. She accepted it slightly embarrassed at the current situation.

Once the soup was done, he feeds her main course of roti and curry. Unfortunately, this item is not something that can be eaten with a spoon easily; you have to use your hand to eat roti properly. He ripped a small piece of roti, dipped it in curry and fed her directly from his hand. She even bit his fingers accidentally a couple of times.

She felt a million different emotions as this stranger feed her patiently. Once her hunger was sated Squall changed her blanket before sitting down to eat his food. She watched him quietly and felt horrible that there was nothing she could do for him after all that he did for her.

Once the dinner was over, they sat quietly for a while. Neither of them entirely sure on what to feel or what to say. To break the awkwardness, Squall grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. Together, they watched a documentary on frogs by Dr. Sania Yeagre, in total silence.

She had fallen asleep sometime during the TV show. He turned off the light and retreated to his chair.

Next Few Days

Their next few days were a blur. With each passing day, their bond grew stronger. The awkwardness between them had all but dissipated. They felt comfortable and even enjoyed each other’s company. Lunafreya had even developed a new hobby of taking selfies with Squall every day.

A familial bond developed between Squall, Lunafreya, and the clinic staff was soon formed. Teasing Squall had become favorite pass time activity for Dr. K and the nursing staff, sometimes even Lunafreya joined in. They even made a game out of it called WCMSBQ (Who Can Make Squall Blush Quickest) and even kept records of who can make Squall blush in the least amount of time. The current record-holder was Dr. K with 2 seconds.

Every morning Lunafreya would write something on Squall’s cast before he left for his daily chores. Ever since she recovered enough to hold a pen, it became their morning ritual. Whenever she was bored, she would often scribble on his cast. His once-white cast now filled with scribbles of hearts, flowers and many messages she had written over time. Some of those messages were:

"Come back soon.”

“You are a lion.”

“Take me with you.”

“I am always watching over you.”

“Don’t keep me waiting.”

“I miss you.”

“Best champion ever.”

“Smile more, please.”

“Let me be your light.”

“I am waiting for you, always.”

“Even if you forget who you are, don’t forget who I am.”

“You are so Copper and Tellurium (Dr. K told me to write this).”

It was a joyous occasion when they finally removed the cast on Lunafreya’s hand. They even had a small cake-cutting ceremony to celebrate it. Her recovery was much quicker than expected, perhaps because of her Oracle bloodline.

An unintended side effect of Squall and Lunafreya’s bubbling camaraderie was their predisposition to disagreements and fights with each other. He would often call her stubborn and she would call him heartless and it would escalate from thereon. They had gained quite a reputation with their epic fights in their inner circle, with people often having to pick sides. Yet, what set them apart was their ability to reconcile, connect and care for each other in spite of their differences.

They would not be on speaking terms yet they would endlessly care for each other in their own way. Lunafreya’s way of showing her concerns for him was often vocal and more direct while Squall chooses a non-verbal and extremely indirect way. The harder they fought, the more out of the way they went to seek happiness for the other.

One such instance was after one of their epic fights Lunafreya had slammed the door on Squall, not realizing that fingers of his right hand were still holding the door frame. After that accident, Squall had trouble moving his fingers to the point where he couldn’t even hold a spoon properly. Lunafreya trying to mend her mistake took every opportunity to assist him with his daily chores. Despite his extreme resistance, she even spoon-fed him just like he had done for her a few days earlier. Secretly she was happy that she got a chance to somewhat repay the favor.

Their next milestone was the removal of Squall’s cast. Secretly he was sad when Dr. K had to cut his cast with all the messages written by Lunafreya. The first time he was able to move his arm freely in days was truly a joyous occasion for him. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get rid of the smile on his face. It was one of those rare instances where everyone saw him genuinely smile.

Cast on Lunafreya’s leg was the last one to go. The first time she tried to walk, she felt like a toddler learning to walk. Squall would often hold her whenever she walked and would promptly catch her when she lost her balance. After lots of rehab, she could finally walk without any support. They would often take an evening stroll in Lestallum with Pryna and Umbra in tow. Shortly thereafter, they started going for jogging in the morning.

Finally, able to walk pain-free she would often drag Squall for shopping; it was something he hated with a passion, but he would put up with it for her sake.

In appreciation of everyone who had helped her in this recovery process, Lunafreya hosted a small party where she cooked dinner for the whole staff. She personally thanked everyone while they were enjoying their meal. Much to Squall’s surprise, this runaway princess was a very good cook. The Memory Lane Pastry which she made was his favorite.

With Lunafreya’s recovery complete Gentiana, whom they had not seen in days, appeared to warn them of impending danger as the Empire had set their course for Lestallum. She provided the location for Ramuh and urged them to continue their journey to the next Astral. Secretly, they both wanted to prolong their journey as much as they could, because the soon this journey ends, the sooner they would have to go their separate ways. Yet, their duty always overrode their feelings. It was time to leave Lestallum.

Authero's notes

The answer from the last chapter: Lank is part of Trabia Tech Squad.

Sorry, no Easter eggs in this chapter.

Please leave a comment if you've enjoyed the story so far. I would love to hear your thoughts. Thanks :)

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