#Talking about them in the past tense because they died fr

[viaphni]

as impractical as proxima's training of his elites sounds, it is very sweet to me

You'd think that he'd train all of his elites equally in all areas so like they could be fine on their own

But Aaron was strategy, Louis was energetic power, and Cliff was raw power

And it seems that they were trained so much in those individual areas that it affected them negatively later on

But it makes you think that Proxima trained them to always be a trio, to never be apart, to work together as one machine. that is so sweet to me. Your honor they're a family oouugh

[phoebehalliwell]

Prue gets together with Mitch (reincarnated Micah) and lives. How does their relationship evolve over the rest of the series?

okay so fr because like i've been thinking about this I've Been Thinking About This. WHY give us that connection if we're not gonna do anything with it??? WHY make it worse my literally giving us the guy THE EXACT SAME GUY and then never mention him again What is the motive?????? okay okay okay so here's what i'd do: 2.6 undercut lmao

because prue has really only had two boyfriends in the series so far: andy & jack (bane doesn't count as he was more of a tryst and also he's in jail :'( could have been fun tho! he could have sacrificed himself for somebody else and become a whitelighter he already knows the ins and outs of the underworld like. could have been something there. but as they were only together twice, once when prue was posing as a hitwoman and then again when he kidnapped her, he, tragically, does not him boyfriend status.) so here me out andy is a cop he represents protection and familial ties / ties to the past (prue's childhood best friend, already friends with the sisters, he's also a third generation cop so like there's that too). he represents prue's early stage, where she feels like she has to be the protector of the whole family, of which she is basically the matriarch. she doesn't get to have fun, she has to protect her sisters and now the whole world, and her past is having some very real effects on her life right now. that's her andy era.

jack era is at buckland's, it's her breadwinning era. we even saw in morality bites (which, i am once again bringing up, is fake) that she goes on to be superbillionaire whatever. so jack kind represents professional ambitions, amplified by the fact that the fonet also served as a blatant metaphor for their relationship (prue, the world is made up of almost perfect. it's nothing but near misses and necessary compromises. in this case, i think we got a little bit of both. that's okay, i know how you feel. i'm just asking you not to look so close. nothing bears up under that kind of scrutiny. are you talking about the monet? yeah, that too.) and that their relationship ends when she decided to leave bucklands to pursue a career in photography.

so now we enter season three, which is prue's artist era, her passionate like zeal for life era she finally seems to have a weight lifted off her shoulder for the first time in a long time like you can tell she like. trusts her sisters more than she ever has before she sees them in a new light and knows that they are strong and smart and independent and she doesn't need to protect them every waking hour. this era's for prue. so i'm pitching that micah mirrors this by being an artist, too. i wouldn't say the same medium (photography) as prue because like. prue's definitely someone who would compare herself to him just like subconsciously constantly that's the type of woman she is, but maybe like a painter. not a writer because they're all insufferable. lmao 🤙🤙. but someone who lives in a hella nice studio type loft filled with art and just like life. passion. something prue hasn't really allowed herself in like. a hot minute. and i would make micah (mitch??) a witch. haha it rhymes. scratch that i'd make him a warlock. or a darklighter i'm cashing in my half-darklighter character. it's mitch now. idk how this would fit into phole narrative foils maybe or we scrap phole but they're really coming from two different perspectives where cole is entering the joint like i am evil and here to murder and then he catches feelings whereas mitch would be like yes i have some dark past but i'm not letting it define me bonus points is prue is able to piece together the clues of his origin just by looking at his paintings. this also adds to the rift between prue and phoebe on prue's cole stance like oh your evil boyfriend is fine but mine, for some reason, is still evil? yes. oh you know what we keep the source's heir in this au let me continue.

instead of introducing mitch in p3 because like WHAT WAS THAT, we instead, parallel their first meeting. mitch's origin story is

his mom was a future whitelighter knocked up by a darklighter this was not intentional on anyone's part mom wasn't trying to become mom dad wasn't trying to become dad Nor did dad know mom was a future whitelighter. because well he's not great at being a darklighter in spite of maybe being like the. head darklighter's son he's like the fucked up son who doesn't wanna run things. he doesn't know he has a kid!! until something something an oracle or something tells him he has a son But he can't find mom because she's cloaked by her whitelighter. mom dies doing something heroic idk (maybe mom was a firefighter??) and then cloaking on mitch is lifted when he's in his late teens his dad finds him his dad is now like proper leader of the darklighter clan and is trying to bring mitch into the fold which initially he is game for because mitch has all these powers black orbing touch of death that he doesn't understand and finally a community to explain that to him! he gets a crossbow (which is lit) but um. quickly catches on to how blatantly evil the whole thing is. he's secretly teamed up with some whitelighters (not his mom tho. friends of his mom, but he's not allowed to see her :'/ ) to help get other halflings like him out and cloaked.

leo's been taken hostage by the darklighter something something something a plot a plot a plot we do some solid pleo angst we maybe have cole drop some thinly veiled advice about the underworld without coming out as a demon, something that will help the sisters later. but what's really important here is they're sneaking through the underworld maybe they've been split up and they need to find leo so either they're looking for him Or they're looking for a darklighter to interrogate. and prue hears shifting behind a rock and goes over to look and it's mitch and some kid and the kid immediately summons his crossbow but mitch knocks it away just like prue did with piper in the past and piper's like prue u see anything and she's like no nothing here and then mitch and the kid blackorb away which just leaves prue with this sinking feeling like what the fuck?? because. what the fuck??? a) that was the same guy from puritan times and b) she still feels the same she felt back then and c) it's clear he does do but d) --and this is the crucial one-- D) he's fucking evil????? so blah blah blah we save leo but now prue is left with one crucial question what the fuck is going on?

so what she's gonna do is research the town the colony whatever that melinda warren was born in she astral projects to salem or whatever and steals. maybe the mask mitch wore at the party she recognizes it from all hallows eve. and she brings that home and scrys with it. and she finds him!! and um bonus points looking at his place she sees he's an alum of the college she went to because backstory!! when prue was in college back when she was still pursuing photography before grams got sick, they had met before! once before, at a party, and it was this instant spark, this instant connection, but then something pulled them apart be it one of them was already in a relationship or their ride was leaving something but like. again! this connection has always been there. so like blah blah blah prue has broken into mitch's place she sees their college connection she sees his art and starts to pull together a life story he sees maybe some paperwork that just says like in bold letters like saving kids: good person activities something real obvious you know and that's Right Next To his crossbow. ~juxtaposition~ so like. what the fuck is this. but whatever that'll be dealt with later she has to get to work! but!! at the magazine her boss is like hey prue some guy came by here earlier asking for you you know [description of mitch], [description of mitch], [description of mitch], you know him? and prue's like ummmmmmmm. no. ?. and her boss is like ?? i don't really care. photography! but now she knows that while she's been digging up on him, he's been doing the same with her. so that night at p3 prue's like okay i've got to come clean with u guys remember micah and phoebe's like oh yeah that hottie from the past who was like . spiritually in love with you? and prue's like yeah i found him. and piper and phoebe are like 🤗🥳😃 and prue's like. and he's a darklighter. and piper and phoebe are like 😳😶👎 and prue's like yeah remember when like we were trying to save leo and you asked me if i saw something? well i did. it was him and and this kid and i think he was trying to save him and phoebe's like wait you think? and prue's like well i mean yeah phoebe like. it was like the same thing when he saved us in the 1700s. and phoebe's like well no because we're good witches and he saved us you saved a darklighter? and prue's like he's more than that phoebe and phoebe's like but how can you know (flash forward to her sparing cole in about three episodes and being like hmm 😐 those words are gonna bite me in the ass).

the point is they're hashing it out phoebe's devil on the left and piper's trying to be angel on the right But he is in the clan that kidnapped her husband so like..... but prue is explaining the good person papers she found on his desk, the fact that she went to college with him, she's like. she thinks he's only half darklighter and he's helping others like him and piper phoebe are like ....................do you just want him to be half darklighter and helping others like him but prue's not even listening but look who's coming down the stairs!! so she beelines over and phoebe's about to follow but piper holds her back bc wait let this play out they'll watch from afar and piper will freeze the room if she has to.

and something something something blah blah blah they tal and there's this tense like. what now. because like. What Now? you're evil and i'm a charmed one but this invisible string pulling me here whether i want it too or not. and i think prue kinda shifts back into her earlier seasons self where. it's family above all else. like i need you to steer clear because if i see you again i will vanquish you. and mitch knows she's bluffing. because he know that if he tried, even if he really wanted to, he couldn't harm a hair on her head. and it's clear she's like. suffering from the same ailment so to speak.

something something something maybe they have a couple quick brushes but not actual meetings And Then we get another time travel/past life episode where!! as it turns out. prue and mitch r soulmates cursed by a spurned lover to always be on opposite sides. meanwhile we just got cole demon reveal/cole's still alive reveal so prue's like hi mitch you're. evil. evil-adjacent. what do you know about belthazor/cole turner. and mitch does his due diligence and like. the stuff on belthazor is appalling. genuinely terrifying. but then there's some stuff on cole turner that's like kinda okay. this is were mitch does is big tragic backstory reveal, kids born of dark magic falling in with the wrong crowd blah blah blah and this kind of. supports our theory moving forward it's not really a theory. our endgame moving forward of healthy!cole. also prue and mitch still have not gotten together through all of this in spite of the cosmic pull and the past evidence of like. soulmatism. because they're both a bit too pragmatic they both think it's kind of a lost cause. blah blah blah pining we give prue a mini love interest here someone to keep her mind off mitch and we do make him good. kind, attentive, caring, smart, hot, but like. it's so painfully obvious she's not all in. so he calls it off. heart to heart with piper because piper's like hi you're in love. and prue's like yeah with a doomed relationship i think i'd rather not and piper's like hello you're talking to the queen of doomed relationships you wanna know the secret? and prue's like yes :( and piper's like just go for it. the time you have together is. it's better than anything else you'll ever have. there's gonna be heartbreak, but hell there's always gonna be heartbreak in the halliwell family. wouldn't you rather spend your time with someone you love?

something something something leo/mitch/cole buddy episode b plot. leo/mitch/cole/DARRYL buddy episode b plot. :D. prue and micah get their big first kiss in a very tv show build up way my heart is saying new years and all the fireworks go off around them.

we're bringing in paige because i love her she's first introduced by some seer oracle whatever as your other sister and the girls are like respectfully, bullshit. but micah's like hey......... she's half whitelighter. because he can sense those kind of things, being a darklighter. and piper and leo are like patty's affair....................... and all the pieces are falling together and in this one. paige either gets a witch love interest a cupid love interest or we keep henry because fwiw i do really like mortal love interests. if we do do the witch love interest it won't be richard i love him to piece i do but he sucks <3. source!cole time.

oh we introduce paige thru mitch trying to help one of his kids and that lands him at social services.

source!cole. idk what happens here but like. using our nifty-difty tool box the squad has been assembling over the years helping all of these wayward souls born from evil, things mostly work out fine. source's heir is born, a girl, but since prue isn't dead her name is either colette or victoria. depends if cole died or not.

prue moved out at some point and lives in a hella nice studio apartment with mitch they r both artists (who the fuck is paying for that?) phoebe moves back in the manor post-source fiasco paige moves in the manor but spends a lot of time with her sister prue and soon to be brother in law (??) mitch. (paige is like fr dude when are you gonna pop the question and mitch is like woahhhh pump the break because paige is new here and when she saw them she's like oh. married couple. but then they're not married. engaged? nope. no just loosely dating? okay. lame. bad idea. but as it turns out one of them always dies so they're just trying to avoid that for as long as possible) but paige spends a lot of time at pritch's place because not only is it The Art Zone it's also the rehabilitating kids zone, of which paige is a grand help. prue jokes about how much paige reminds her of phoebe as a kid, and since we're already muddying the timeline, we're having paige enter and solid advice columnist, married phoebe and paige is like haha what the fuck??

source's heir born twice blessed born magic school located under the charmed & co squad becomes integrated with children born of all magic and like our season 8 wrap up saccharine finale is like how magic has reached a new era of peace n understanding. <3

[a-walk-in-silence]

Wired On Coffee

Pairing: Steve Rogers x fem!reader

Word Count: 5.5k

Summary: The time heist was successful, but losses were made. It's time to assemble the gauntlet and end this thing for good. But is this really the end?

Warnings: Endgame, character death, mourning, cursing, mentions of experimentation, survivor's guilt, HYDRA, backhanded comments, lewd comments/situations (still v PG-13 in this sense, not so much the language), violence, Everybody Will Live AU (*insert the Doctor Who gif here*)

A/N: WELCOME TO THE SEQUEL OF THE SEQUEL OF- this is old. Okay fr tho we're almost done! One more part! Holy crap! This is a rough chapter but hopefully everyone loves it cuz things should get a LITTLE BIT easier in the last one? I hope?

Past Part | Masterlist

Your feet planted firmly on the platform as you grabbed onto Steve's arm to try and balance yourself. Your mind was whirling, so much had happened. But little did you know that it would be getting worse.

Across from you, Clint collapsed to his knees, dropping the stone onto the platform. Even though he had only been gone for maybe half a day, he looked exhausted. A quick look around told you why. There was an empty space in the circle. "Clint?" you cautiously asked, taking a step towards him.

He looked up at you, pain etched across his face. "A soul for a soul," he said, eyes filled with a sudden anger. "That was the price for the stone. The life of someone you love. And we fought to keep the other alive. I guess she won."

You kneeled down next to him, gently reaching out to grab his hand. "I'm sorry. We shouldn't have sent you two there. I-"

He flinched, tearing his hand away from you. "Who do you suppose we should have sent? You and Tony? Rhodey and Tony? Bruce and Nat? Whose life are we dealing with? It doesn't matter." His eyes were cold as he glared at you.

"Clint, I didn't mean to-" you started, but he once again cut you off.

"No, you didn't mean to hurt anyone. But you weren't there." You looked down at your hands, unable to meet his angry eyes. "You didn't see her lifeless body at the bottom of the cliff."

"Barton, that's enough," Steve said, grabbing your arm and pulling you away. "You're hurting. This is a blow to everyone."

Steve held you as Clint left. Once gone, there was an air of silence that filled everyone. It almost didn't feel real. She had just been smiling at everyone, saying she would see us in a minute. Well, it was a minute later. And she wasn't here.

It was an hour later and everyone, save Nebula and Rocket, were gathered outside on the dock. Everyone was quietly in their own thoughts, trying to come to terms with the fact that Nat was dead. Steve was quiet, more so than usual. You had seen him at Peggy's funeral, and how broken he looked. You probably didn't look much better. But this was different. He only had Peggy for a few years. But Nat was one of his closest friends, up there with human Bucky and Sam. And he'd lost them all.

You rested your head on his shoulder, glancing over at Tony as he stared out across the river. He looked sad, but you knew his mind was already running through all the steps that needed to be done. You knew he would crash eventually and just break down, but he would be strong.

"Did she have any family?" Tony finally asked, breaking the silence. "Anyone that we need to tell about… this?"

Steve shifted, causing you to sit up. "Yeah. Us. We were her family." You watched as he blinked away the tears in his eyes before turning back to look out across the lake. "We can't even have a proper funeral for her."

A loud grunt made you look over at Bruce as he flung one of the benches into the lake. You flinched away from him, curling into Steve's side. Bruce finally sighed, sitting down on the dock. "She can't be gone."

"Well she is," snapped Clint. He wiped away his tears before looking at everyone. "She's gone. And she wouldn't want us to sit around and cry over her. She died so we could get the stone and bring everyone back. So we might as well honor her memory and bring everyone back."

Clint left, and everyone stayed on the dock, just for a little while longer. It was hard to move on when it was so sudden. How could anyone move on? Even if she wasn't directly your friend, or your family, it still hurt because you knew her, and Steve and Tony knew her. They were hurting. And so were you.

After another 30 or so minutes, everyone slowly found their way into the compound once more. You followed Tony into the lab, where all of the stones were laid out on a table. You knew the next step was making a glove to channel the power of the stones. So you and Tony got to work right away, being the only two that were able to even think at the moment. Progress had to be made. People needed to be brought back.

A couple of hours later, while the prototype was being tested with two of the stones to see if it could withstand holding them, Scott and Bruce joined you, trying to help as best as they could. Since you happened to have the steadiest hands, you were the one who was running the controls and moving the stones into place. Meanwhile, Bruce took over in helping Tony with the design. And Scott? Well, he was the coffee runner who also occasionally managed to bring up a good idea.

Things were moving along well for a good hour or so. You were moving the space stone into place on the glove when Steve walked in. "Can I take Y/N? We need to talk."

You sighed to yourself, guessing that this wasn't going to be a conversation about Nat and how he was hurting right now. "I'm busy, Steve," you said, eyes never leaving the task at hand as you slowly moved it closer into place.

"Y/N, we need to talk," Steve said again, causing you to almost drop the stone. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Tony and Scott physically flinch, eyes now focused on what you were doing. "So can we please talk?"

Your lips pressed together into a fine line, annoyance etching across your face. Your hands were now shaking more. "I said I'm busy."

"Y/N-"

"Steve!" You dropped the stone, causing everyone in the room but you to jump for cover. But nothing happened, and you knew this. "What is so important? What part of today do you want to discuss? Could it be about seeing my mom? The fact that I created some kind of portal and was glowing blue? Or the fact that I'm some kind of fucking experiment? Or what about the fact that because of their fucking experiments, I'm the reason my mom's dead? Maybe you want to talk about the fact that I talked to my aunt and uncle for the first time in years and they didn't even know me? Which one do you want to talk about?"

Everyone was staring at you in varying degrees of confusion and shock. Tony, who had managed to miss that whole cluster fuck with your mother, looked the most shocked at your outburst. Clearly it was all new information to him. And Scott and Bruce were just confused.

Steve leaned against the doorway, and he almost looked hurt by your outburst. But too much had happened in the past 24 hours, and you couldn't really take anything more. You'd hit your limit for the day. Death. Revelations. Heartache. Extreme highs. You'd had enough.

No one talked so you sighed, turning back to your work and picking the stone back up with the tongs. "Unless you're here to screw my brains out and make me forget everything, I don't want to talk about everything. It's been too much, okay? Everything. The kiss. My mom. Peggy and Daniel. Nat. I just can't handle this right now." You put the stone into place on the glove before glancing over at Tony. "What stone is next?"

"Reality," he said. In his eyes, you saw the concern in his eyes as he watched you. Nonetheless, he got the next stone ready for you, shooting a glance at Scott. "Go get two coffees, Tic Tac." Next, he looked over to Steve. "Go. She's agitated right now and we can't have her dropping anything again."

Steve sighed behind you, followed by the sound of two receding footsteps. Everything was quiet once more as you went back to work, placing the stones in their proper place. Tomy didn't force you to talk, even though you were sure he had about a billion questions. The air was stiff and tense with unasked questions that had very obvious answers. So when Tony left the room, you knew who he went looking for. You didn't stop him, but you knew his curiosity was getting the best of him.

He was gone for a total of 20 minutes, but he managed to return before you put this last stone in place. The glove was finished. The end of this entire fiasco was coming up fast. And you weren't any better for it.

Once done, Tony clapped you on the shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. "I know you don't wanna talk about it, but you need to." You shot him a small glare. He put his hands up in defense. "Hey, you're talking to the king of unresolved issues. Not talking about stuff leads to anger and lashing out at people you love. Even when they are unbearably annoying."

Sighing, you set down the tongs you had been holding before standing up. "Fine. While you guys undo the snap, I'll talk to Steve." Before anyone could argue, you went and found Steve, leaving the lab where they would be performing the snap in search of Steve.

Your search didn't take long, as you found him sitting in the large open kitchen, staring into his cup of coffee. You didn't wait for him to notice you before you spoke up. "What did you want to talk about, Steve?" You tried to keep your emotions under check, to not yell, but you could still hear the slightest hint of annoyance in your voice.

He glanced up at you for a moment before looking back at his coffee. "Look," he started before pausing. He was silent for a few seconds, trying to gather his thoughts. "I… when we went to the past… with your mom and all of that stuff. We both found out things about you and your family that we didn't know before. You learned about a part of yourself that was hidden really far down. So I went looking through all of the leaked S.H.I.E.L.D. files to try and find some reports for you." He leaned down to his side and pulled out his laptop from the bag settled by his side. He turned it on and opened up a few documents before turning the computer in your direction. "I don't want to force you to talk. I know you, and that you need time to process things before you can just talk about everything. But I figured having all of the information would help you process and fill in the blanks."

You walked over to the table, sitting down in front of the laptop. On the screen was a document detailing your mother's stay at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. You skimmed over a majority of it, not necessarily understanding a lot of the jargon. "What… what is this?" 

"It's your moms full record. Apparently the doctor in charge was someone who was outed as Hydra shortly after you were born. His experiments influenced the trials that lead to the Maximoff twins having powers. Basically the folder shows that they had been lying to… well, to your mom the entire time, just so she wouldn't question any of the medicine they were giving to her. Daniel and Peggy had no clue what was happening, so there's no need to be spiteful towards them. Not that you are, but… just in case you had that doubt." When you glanced up at Steve, you saw that he was staring at his coffee, unable to look up.

"I'm sorry for snapping," you finally said after a few minutes of silence had passed. "You're hurting and I should have just sucked it up and talked. I put myself first, and that was wrong." You reached, grabbing his hand and giving it a tight squeeze. "It's okay, you can call me an ass. No snarky comments. I'll bite my tongue and you can be a jerk to me because I definitely deserve it."

He shook his head, the barest hint of a smile on his lips. "No, I don't think I will." He squeezed your hand in return. "I know you're a major pain but I do love you. Even when you make it difficult." You laughed, which finally made him look up at you. "Though I make it just as difficult, I'm sure."

You smiled, scooting closer to him. "I love you, too, pain in my ass." Leaning across the table, you pecked him gently on the lips. "I'm also sorry that I embarrassed you in front of the Science Bros with the sex comments."

"I almost took you up on the offer, you know," he teased, fingertips brushing slowly against your arm. You laughed before kissing him again. He tugged at your hand, pulling you around the table until you were sitting on his lap. When you finally separated, his hands found their way to your hips. "I could still take you up on that offer."

"Something life changing is happening on the other side of the compound and you want to have sex? Really?" You playfully pushed against his shoulder before lightly pecking his lips. "What would Peggy think?"

He groaned, forehead resting against your shoulder. "If you mention her one more time I swear-"

You interrupted his rambling by twirling your fingers in his hair, gently tugging his face from your shoulder so you could kiss him. A laugh rumbled in his chest.

A loud crash made you jump back, looking around. "What the hell was that?" you asked, looking around.

His face nuzzled into your neck, leaving light kisses across the expanse of skin. "Probably the snap," he mumbled. "It was that explosive when it was Thanos."

Your eyes fluttered shut, enjoying the soft kisses, but something just wasn't settling right. "Mm Steve, stop, stop. I don't think that was the snap. They were in a room with metal paneling to protect the glass. I think something is wrong."

His hands finally let go of your waist, so you got up. You headed towards the sound to find a giant gaping hole in the ceiling over the quantum platform. And above that was a giant ass space ship.

"Steve-" you started but you heard him running behind you. He was already off, running for the room where everyone else was located. But you heard some kind of metal grinding against metal coming from above. "Steve wait!"

But it was too late. The ship fired at the compound, blowing it sky high and sending you flying in the air. You had a split second to get the nano tech to make your suit and keep you from, ya know, dying from fall damage or something. You closed your eyes as the nanos enveloped your body, and when you heard F.R.I.D.A.Y. greet you, you opened them and activated the boosters, sending you flying sideways parallel to the ground. The impact knocked the air out of your body, and you were definitely hurting.

"Steve? Tony?" you called through the intercom. "Is anyone listening?"

You looked towards the compound, feeling your heart shatter.

"I have eyes on the glove," came the strangled voice of Clint. "I'm in the sewers somewhere. I'll try and find my way topside with the glove."

"And we're trapped," Bruce added. "I've got Rhodey and Rocket. Water levels are rising."

You surveyed the terrain and spotted Tony walking towards someone. "Tony, is that Steve?"

"Yeah… come on, buddy, you gotta get up." You watched as he helped Steve get to his feet and decided to fly over to join them. "You lose this again and I'm giving it to Morgan, got it?"

When you landed, you grabbed the shield from Tony. "Now come on, I would obviously get first dibs on bobsledding on this thing. Afterall, who's gonna teach Morgan how to do it?"

Steve snatched the shield, raising an eyebrow at you. "That's assuming I'm losing it again, L/N."

"Given your track record, it's more likely than you think, Cap." He rolled his eyes as you bumped against his hip playfully before looking around. "Okay, so that's a giant ship."

"And that's a Thanos," Tony said, motioning towards the Mad Titan. He was just sitting there. Not fighting. Not commanding an army. Just… sitting there.

"So that is," Steve said before looking at you. "Tony and I have this. Plus, I see Thor. You should go and work on recovery, see who needs help."

You wanted to argue, say you could fight, but you saw the pain in his eyes. Also, Bruce was definitely panicking in the back of your mind. You nodded in response, using the heat sensor in your suit to locate where exactly Bruce and the others were. Once spotted, you were flying away, going after them. You worked on moving as much rubble as possible, vaguely aware of the fights going on around you. You could hear Clint talking through the intercom before gasping, and you looked around. "Barton, what's happening?"

There were so many voices in your head with this intercom bullshit and you really just needed to get to Bruce. But then you heard thunder. You turned around just in time to see Steve holding Mjölnir.

Woah.

You really should be focusing but, if you were being completely honest… "That's hot."

"Y/N, focus," Steve said before going back into battle. You watched him for another couple seconds before blinking and remembering that shit that was happening around you. Right! You had to get to Bruce.

You continued to work on moving the rubble when a voice filled your head. "Y/N, Tony's currently knocked out and my messages aren't getting to him. Should I initiate Project Old Man Alarm?"

You smiled to yourself at F.R.I.D.A.Y.'s message. You had managed to rename a few of Tony's protocol names a couple days ago and you were glad he didn't notice. "Of course, we can't let him sleep through the battle, now can we? What about everyone else? Can you scan the battlefield and tell me what's happening?"

"Of course," she responded. "Thor is currently down, but his vitals appear to be fine. Captain Rogers is currently fighting Thanos, though there appears to be a wound in his leg from getting stabbed."

"He was what?"

You were certain she said something in response, but a voice was suddenly talking over the intercom. It was a voice that you hadn't heard in five years, and it almost brought a tear to your eye.

"Cap? On your left."

All around you, bright yellow portals appeared and thousands of people walked through, joining you on the battlefield. Nearby to your current location, a portal opened and out came the people who had disappeared on Titan. You couldn't even comprehend everything that was happening. And when the ground opened up under your feet and gave birth to a Giant-Man holding Bruce, Rocket, and Rhodey, well you almost lost it. Giant-Man was truly a sight to see. A part of you was relieved that they had been competent enough to get shit done because you clearly hadn't been that helpful.

But you were so happy to see everyone here, breathing. The second snap had worked. And now? You had one hell of a fighting chance.

"Avengers!" came the shout from Steve. You turned to look at him, watching as he summoned Mjölnir. "Assemble."

"You know, that's still really hot," you commented without even realizing that everyone definitely heard that. Luckily you had the guise of everyone going into battle to cover it, but some people definitely heard it.

A scoff came over the intercom, and you smiled when you recognized Tony's voice. "Jesus, Y/N, really?"

You shrugged before going off to fight. "Where am I needed, Cap? Aerial support? Ground team?"

"I need you on the glove. Keep an eye on it's location and make sure it stays as far from Thanos as possible," he responded.

"But we need to get them back to their proper times," Bruce responded in the voice chat. "We'll destroy those other timelines if we don't."

"No can do," said the voice of Tony, and you spotted him on the battle field alongside Pepper in the Rescue suit that the two of you crafted. "Thanos destroyed our quantum tunnel in the blast."

The line was silent for a second as you flew overhead, spotting the glove being carried by Clint away from some of Thanos' mutant henchmen. You quickly swooped down, using the blasters to take out a few of them in one go. You hadn't yet been able to formulate a plan when someone else joined in. "Hang on! That wasn't our only time machine." A moment later, you heard the sound of a car alarm that was set to the sound of La Cucharacha. You flew back into the air, trying to spot where it came from.

"Does anyone have eyes on an ugly brown van?" Steve asked. You looked over the battlefield, but you really couldn't see it without letting the glove out of your sight. Luckily, someone else managed to spot and they responded.

After a short conversation in which Scott said he would need 10 minutes to get the machine working, you flew down to Clint as he was overrun by Overriders. You blasted them away before turning to the voice of the Black Panther as he called out to Clint.

"Give me the gauntlet, Clint!"

You blasted away a few more of the Overriders before taking off into the air and keeping track of T'Challa as he made his way through the crowd, heading for the van. Thanos was going after him. You were about to dive down when Wanda herself decided to take him on. You sighed in relief until you saw Squidward levitating the glove away. You instantly dived down, snatching the glove and giving Squidward a good blast in the face as you went. "That's for calling me a pet, asshole!" You then saw Peter, open, and looking a little lost. "Hey Spiderling! Catch!" When he looked over at you, you tossed the glove to him, and he used his webshooter to grab it before running off. Once again, you took off after him, blasting Overriders and Chitauri as they came. But he still got overrun, even with your help. And that's when he activated Instant Kill Mode.

"Jesus, Tony, why the hell does a 16 year old have an Instant Kill Mode?" you questioned as you landed. You blasted away the more of the enemy.

"You have one, too, ya know. Might help with the problem," was all Tony said before going back to the fight.

You were considering activating when Peter yelled about being overrun. "Steve!" you shouted over com.

Before you could explain the situation, he spoke up. "Heard it doll. Heads up, Queens!" You looked over your shoulder and managed to narrowly avoid getting clobbered in the head by the flying hammer. Peter managed to latch onto it as it was flying before falling off a second later. You instantly took off, catching him before he hit the ground.

"Gotta watch those butterfingers, Spiderling. You're gonna get hurt." As if some kind of dramatic irony, you then dropped him onto the back of the flying Pegasus that was manned by some badass warrior chick. Probably a friend of Thor. And if you weren't taken, and she offered, you definitely wouldn't turn her down.

You instantly shook away the thought before watching the battlefield raging on below you. Everyone was raging on. Tony and Pepper were fighting side by side, Peter was falling out of the sky holding the glove, and Steve was kicking major ass.

Wait! Peter!

You dived straight down, trying to catch him before he fell and got really hurt. You knew the suit would probably save him from most injuries, but he definitely didn't need to get hurt. But at this rate he would beat you to the ground. "Come on, come on…"

And then you flew through a portal, popping up through the ground right below Peter and catching him. His downward momentum definitely forced the two of you into the ground, but at least injuries were minimized.

"Holy shit, since when could she do that?" Pepper asked. You looked up to see her flying around, shooting at Chitauri as she went while also avoiding falling missiles. You were going to answer her until you became very distracted by the missiles suddenly pointing into the sky.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y., what's happening?" Tony asked, and you heard her response loud and clear in your head.

"Something just entered the upper atmosphere."

You watched in amazement as a glowing burst of energy rammed into the ship. The explosion was beautiful, and the falling pieces of ship gave you one less problem on the battlefield. Plus, you had a new ally.

Carol landed right by you and Peter as you were going over his injuries. His side was still in pain, but you managed to prevent any broken bones. You glanced up and smiled at her.

"H-Hi, I'm Peter Parker," Peter said, holding on tightly to the gauntlet. You shook your head, laughing at how ridiculous it was that he introduced himself to everyone on the battlefield. But it was endearing… you guessed.

"Hey Peter Parker. You got something for me?" He nodded and handed her the glove. He made some comment about how it was impossible to get through. But then everyone was there, surrounding Carol. You joined them in feigning off the oncoming attacks. You had even managed to hold back Thanos himself. But then he threw his sword, and it knocked out the van's quantum portal before Carol could get inside. You were about to run after it until Thanos flung you like a ragdoll. Your head slammed into a rock and you gasped in shock.

"Your head has suffered major injury," said F.R.I.D.A.Y. in your head. "Should I inform Tony that you are in need of medical attention?"

You groaned, sitting up. "Don't you dare. I'm not out yet." Getting to your feet, you watched the scene unfolding before you. Thanos had the glove, and Tony tackled him.

"There was a spike in energy in Tony's suit. Power levels are beyond the max."

Shit. Shit! He had the stones.

You didn't hesitate in flinging yourself in his direction, boosters kicking in as you gained distance on him. Before he could snap, you flipped over his head, grabbing his hand in your own. A warm energy hummed through your body as the stones transferred to your suit.

You landed on your knees. Tony looked horrified as your helmet lowered. You gave him a smile and snapped your fingers, willing away Thanos and his army.

You were suddenly standing in some kind of weird, orange dimension. You were confused as you looked around. You weren't sure what to expect, but when you saw Nat sitting there with Bucky on her lap, you almost broke down.

"Great cat you have here. I was almost convinced I would be seeing Tony or Steve here. Ya know, since they're a bunch of idiots. But instead it's you." She scratched Bucky's head, casting you a casual look. "Things work out with Steve?"

You walked over to her, sitting next to her under the pagoda. "You could have seen for yourself, you know. He misses you. Everyone does."

She smiled, looking back down at Bucky. "It's really lonely here in the stone. They gave me this one because you were the one to snap. He'll leave when you do in a couple minutes. But it's cold in here. I did get to see Bruce, though. That was nice."

"So this is inside the soul stone?" you asked, glancing around. The orange color definitely added up. So did the cold feeling.

"Yes, and you're part space stone. The other stones were calling to you." She moved Bucky from her lap and stood up, facing you. "The space stone protected your otherwise fleshy organs. You'll probably have some minor burns and nerve damage, but you'll otherwise be okay. Well, until the boys yell your ear off." You both laughed. "Take care of them all for me, okay? You have some big shoes to fill, but I know you can keep them all in check. After all, you succeeded where I didn't. You somehow managed to make Tony and Steve get along for more than five seconds."

She looked up at the orange sky, a sad look on her face. She knew her fate was to be stuck in the stone. But why couldn't you free her? Maybe… maybe your powers could help you…

"Nat," you started, but everything started to turn bright around you. "Wait, what-"

"It's time for you to go," she said, smiling sadly at you. "Goodbye, Y/N."

"No wait!" But it was too late, she was gone.

Your body was flung backward from the energy blast, sending you flying. You were prepared to hit stone, so when you landed on somebody, it was a surprise.

"Get… the stones… off." Your voice was strained, hand burning from the snap. There was too much energy coursing through you. Your hand scratched at the nano suit, trying to smash off enough of the suit to create a glove that could be removed. You were gasping through the pain coursing through your body.

"Where in the hell is she?" said the voice of Tony as you pounded against the nano suit. "Where is Y/N?"

"She's with me," Steve said, stilling your hand from pounding into the suit. "Tony how do we remove the stones from her hand?"

You heard Tony land next to you as he looked at you with anger. "First we get those off of you, and then I'm going to chew your ass out for that. You could have died!"

You grimaced, watching as Tony used the blaster to cut the nano suit away from your hand. Once free, you pulled your hand free, gasping in relief. "Shut up you… self-sacrificing… asshole… You… would have died, Tony. I can't lose you, too. Morgan would never forgive you."

They were silent as the other Avengers and Guardians formed around you. Pepper looked both relieved and pissed off at both of you, but especially Tony for trying that shit first. And you could feel the silent anger that Steve was trying to hide for your safety. You were certain he would absolutely yell at you about it later, after you had time to recover. And you probably deserved it. It was so fucking stupid. But could you really lose Tony? Your brother?

No, your heart wouldn't have been able to handle it. So yeah, you acted without thinking and didn't even say anything. It was stupid and dumb and maybe you would have had some kind of excuse if you had had another second of thought, but you couldn't afford that second. He would have died. At least your body could handle it.

So they could stay mad. And they could yell. But you did the right thing. Plus, you had a plan.

"Steve, I need the gauntlet," you said, reaching for it.

"What? No!"

"Absolutely not!"

Tony and Steve both shouted at you at the same time. You flinched from the loud sound but nonetheless persisted. "I need to see the soul stone. I can bring back Nat."

A quiet voice spoke out from the crowd. "Let her see the stone." Everyone turned to see Clint. He looked like he had gotten one hell of a beating, but he was still standing tall. "If she can bring back Nat, I say we let her."

And so the stone was placed in your hands. You concentrated on what you had seen in your mind. The orange pagoda with Nat sitting underneath it, her red hair in a braid. You thought of her sad smile and hopeless stares as she waited for the next person to try and use the stone.

Then the doorway appeared.

You stepped through, looking around in curiosity. "Nat?"

She looked up from where she was sitting by the water's edge, a confused look in her face. "Y/N, what are you doing here?" 

"You really think I would just leave you here?" You shook your head, a smile on your face. You reached a hand out to her. "Come on. I know some people who would want to see you again."

The two of you left in through the open doorway, stepping back into the battlegrounds. Nat looked around in shock, seeing Earth again as if it were the first time. There were shocked murmurs that went around as everyone saw Nat, alive, and standing before them. Clint dropped his bow and went up to her, hugging her as if there were no tomorrow.

You stumbled away from them and that's when you ate shit, passing out before you even hit the ground.

----

Next Part

Taglist:

@thedaydreamingwriter​ @hollandroos​ @tomhollandd​ @cxptain-capsicle​ @jinthusiastsss​ @janieavalos​ @ilovesupersoldiers​ @laic2299​ @artaxerxesthegreat​

[the-bookwyrm]

See My Future Coming (Like the Rising of the Tide) - Chapter 2

Vanya begins to gather together the things that she needs for the Plan.

...

Hey everyone! I hope that you enjoy the second chapter! I’ll be reblogging it with an ao3 link and a link to the first chapter in just a bit.

Chapter Two: the beating of our hearts is the only sound

Vanya’s the first to breakfast. Back in the actual past, that wouldn’t have been too surprising. She’s always been a light sleeper, and it was usually either she or Klaus who were the first ones down. She’d liked to help Mom with breakfast; it was the only meal the seven of them were allowed to eat alone, without their dad, in the kitchen. It had always felt like something of an oasis before the rest of the day hit them.

Today it’s because she hadn’t been able to fall back asleep. She’d sat out on the fire escape for a long time, and although she’d eventually made her way back inside, sleep hadn’t come. So, about thirty minutes before her alarm would have gone off, Vanya had turned it off and gotten up. Even now, getting ready for the day is etched into her muscle memory, and it hadn’t taken her long at all to get downstairs. She’d made her way down the back stairs, and let herself sit down on them when she’d seen Mom humming in the kitchen.

Mom. How could she have forgotten Mom? Her complicated feelings about Mom and her creator didn’t matter, not really; she was still Vanya’s mom, the only one who had ever really loved her violin; who’d encouraged her every step of the way; who’d helped her pack even though Vanya could tell that she hadn’t wanted her to go.

Vanya loves her, and she'd barely had time to miss her after she'd died—after she'd been killed by those two weirdos who had attacked the Academy—and now here she is, alive again. Like nothing had ever happened.

Vanya wipes away her tears and makes her way into the kitchen before Mom can see her crying on the stairs.

“Mom?”

Mom turns around from the stove and smiles at Vanya happily. “Darling! Good morning! I’m so glad that you’re awake; we were all very worried when you were asleep for so long. Your father almost postponed his trip! Let me check your temperature.” Vanya holds still as her mom places a hand on her forehead, the sensors in her palm buzzing as they read the temperature of Vanya’s skin.

“What trip, Mom? And how long was I asleep?”

“Oh silly, don't you remember? He's on a business trip this weekend! He'll be arriving home tomorrow.” Mom smiles at Vanya and smooths a hand over her hair. “You’ve been sleeping since lunch the day before yesterday, but your temperature is back within your normal range, darling, so you should be just fine!”

“Thanks, Mom; I’m feeling much better today, I promise. Um, actually…” Mom places her hands on Vanya’s shoulders and smiles down at her, and it gives Vanya the courage to keep going. “I was hoping that I could help you make breakfast today? If that’s okay, I mean.”

“If you’re feeling up to it, I would love the help! I was thinking pancakes today; does that sound good, dear?”

Vanya smiles at her. “That sounds great, Mom.”

…

Forty-five minutes later Vanya hears a herd of elephants making its way down the stairs, and knows that her time is up; it’s the moment of truth.

Her siblings burst into the kitchen, all of them panicked-looking, and Vanya knows. They’ve all come into the past with her, and when she wasn’t in her room this morning, they freaked out.

They all pause as they make their way into the kitchen, and it feels like time freezes as they stare her down.

She knows that they’re wondering if she came back, or if it’s truly her child self standing in the kitchen. That they’re wondering if she’s planning to attack them again.

Vanya stares back at them, sweeping her eyes over them as they stand in a row; taking in the faces that she hasn’t seen all together in seventeen years.

Luther is watching her warily, and Vanya can tell that he’s waiting for her to make a move; prove that she’s just as ready to attack now as she was in the future. Diego has one hand behind his back, and she knows that he’s holding a knife in a ready position. Allison has tears in her eyes and a hand over her mouth, and although she looks happy, Vanya can’t help wondering if she’s worried about losing her voice again; about going through that pain.

Five is eyeing her, but his face is blank in a way that is familiar despite their long separation; Vanya knows he’s running calculations in his mind, trying to be ready for however the attack might come; ready to jump out of the way. Klaus is smiling at her, but it’s not really a happy smile. And he’s holding someone’s hand—

And she looks over and she sees—Ben. Ben, her second favorite brother after Five; Ben who she’s been mourning for almost twelve years now; and she knows that this will prove that she came back, that she’s blowing her cover, but she doesn’t care because right there is—

“Ben! You’re here!”

She doesn’t move to him, though, because at her words all of her siblings look even more tense, and she doesn’t want to make things worse. So she smiles at him instead; does her best to make it as sincere as possible, and says, “I’m so glad to see you.”

Ben smiles back at her, although she can tell it’s a little tight, and nods. He doesn’t let go of Klaus’s hand, and he doesn’t step towards her. No one else says anything.

Vanya has no way of knowing how long the standoff would have lasted if Mom hadn’t stepped in. “Well, sillies, don’t just stand in the door! Come sit down; eat some pancakes! Your sister and I made them especially for you today.” Luther looks a little alarmed at that, and Vanya is a bit relieved to see that he’s the only one. Everyone makes their way to the table and sits down to eat.

There’s a tense silence at the breakfast table, and although Vanya keeps her head down she can feel her siblings staring at her. They seemed puzzled, almost, as to why she hasn’t confronted them, or freaked out, or tried to bring the house down. She snorts under her breath, and pretends not to notice when that small sound makes them all jerk their heads up to look at her.

Finally breakfast is over, and they all take their dishes up to the sink and wash them, one by one. She thinks this might be the surest proof that they all came back with her—it used to be that they’d fight to not have to do their dishes, or they’d make excuses about training and leave them all for Vanya and Mom to do. But they do it without arguing; without even talking about it.

Vanya smiles, very slightly, to herself. She’s last in line, and when it’s her turn she bends her head over the sink and very studiously ignores her siblings’ hissed whispers behind her. They fall silent as soon as she turns around, and after another long, tense silence Mom turns around to smile at all of them.

“All right children, it’s time for your morning classes!”

…

Vanya does not have class with the others. With the knowledge she now possesses, she knows that it’s one more way her father was separating her from the others; making sure she was beaten down and unquestioning. Mom teaches her, usually, and Pogo teaches the others, although they do switch quite often, depending on the subject, and also on how rowdy her siblings are being on any given day. Mom usually handles them better when they’re rowdy.

It’s been a long time since Vanya learned most of this material, but it’s easy enough to fall back into the routine, and she was always quiet, anyway. Even so, when classes end, Vanya takes the out gratefully. Just because she can do the material doesn’t mean that it’s fun to do so.

Normally, she would spend the hour before lunch on Sundays exercising, but since she's just woken up from her “illness,” Mom excuses her to go practice her violin instead. She flees quickly, moving back to the somewhat dubious safety of her small room.

However, once she’s in her room with the door shut and the violin case in front of her on the bed, she hesitates. She knows, logically, that the violin won’t be white. It’ll be the same warm brown it’s been her entire life, and it won’t have any blood on it, and everything will be fine.

But what if it’s not?

What if playing it triggers something that she can’t stop, now that she knows the truth?

So, in the end, she puts the case under her bed without opening it and takes a nap instead.

…

Lunch is just as quiet as breakfast was, it turns out. None of Vanya’s siblings are taking the opportunity to talk, even with their dad gone, and instead seem to be content to exchange glances whenever they're not staring at her or eating. Vanya keeps her head down, as she did at breakfast, and refuses to look at them. She's so grateful that their dad isn't here.

She has no idea how she'd react, coming face to face with him for the first time in years, now that she knows the truth. She’s glad she won’t have to find out.

After the very, very awkward lunch, Pogo comes to collect them all for their study time. They always spent the hour or so after lunch in the library, studying or working on their homework, before the others went to classes and training, and Vanya to more classes by herself.

Study time today is even more awkward than lunch, impossible as that had seemed. None of them care about the homework—they're adults long grown up and out of this house—and Pogo and Mom leave them alone to attend to their own duties, which means that they're alone together for the first time since Vanya woke up.

All of which means that Vanya isn't surprised when she looks up from her book to see all six of her siblings staring at her, not even bothering to pretend to be studying. She sighs and puts her book down; it's very obvious she won't get to keep reading it.

“What do you remember, Vanya?” Five's voice is brisk, matter of fact, which almost hides the fact that his hands are tightly clenched into fists.

Vanya studies them all one more time before sighing again. “I remember everything, up until I passed out.” She frowns, then adds, “You don't need to worry, though. I'm not going to attack you.”

“How can we believe you?” Luther scoffs, and Vanya is surprised to see Allison whack him on the arm.

Vanya shrugs in response. “I guess you can't? I can't prove that I won't; all I can do is promise that I'm telling the truth.” She shifts in her seat, wrapping her arms around herself and glancing down. At least it looks like her siblings will help her with the plan tonight; all of them seem to be suspicious of her, which will work out pretty well.

“I believe you,” Allison says forcefully, and smiles at Vanya brightly. “And we're all very glad that you're awake!”

Vanya is a little surprised to see the others all nod in agreement, but she supposes that knowing she’s her adult self is a relief to them, even if they did end up with the Vanya that ended the world. After all, this saves them the awkwardness of trying to figure out how to tell young Vanya what the hell is going on.

“Well…thanks, I think?” Vanya drums her fingers on her book for a minute before scanning her siblings’ faces and sighing again. “I know you guys want to talk, but can we just…wait?”

Luther looks almost offended. “Vanya, we need to deal with this—”

“I know!” Vanya cries, closing her eyes tightly and taking a deep breath in before opening them. “I know,” she continues softly, “but I just woke up this morning and I need to think. Please.”

Allison is the one who answers her again, after sending a quick glare around the group. “Of course you can have some time to think, Vanya.”

Vanya sighs in relief. “Thank you.” She pauses, then makes herself continue. She has to go forward with her plan, for the good of everything. “Will all of you meet me tonight, in the conservatory, at eleven?”

They all nod, but Five is the one who meets her eyes squarely and answers aloud, “We'll be there.”

…

On Sundays, Vanya’s siblings have group training all afternoon. Since Dad is gone, Pogo is leading them, which means that she won't have to deal with them until dinner at least; Pogo doesn’t usually use her in their training. And since her dad's gone, she has a little more freedom than she usually does, which is why she makes her way over to her mom right away.

“Mom?” Mom is finishing up a batch of cookie dough, a special treat they usually got on Sundays, and she turns to Vanya and smiles.

“Vanya! What can I help you with, dear? Are you feeling poorly again?”

Vanya shakes her head quickly. “No, Mom, I just was hoping for a favor?”

Mom sets the bowl down and leans down to look Vanya in the eye. “What favor, darling?”

“I wanted to go to the corner store and buy marshmallows. I noticed we were running low, and I was hoping to make sandwiches soon. And it's such a lovely day outside…” Vanya lets herself trail off and fidget hopefully, staring into her mom's eyes before looking down and blushing. Her mom looks at her for another moment, then turns and looks at the shelf, where a visibly full bag of marshmallows is sitting. Vanya tries not to blush harder.

She remembers doing this when she'd been an actual child, when she hadn't been out of the Academy in so long she thought she might actually explode from staring at the same things every day. Her mother had almost always let her get away with it, and she hopes that she'll do the same today.

Finally, Mom smiles at her again and pats her head precisely three times, just like always, and Vanya lets herself relax. “Alright, darling. Let me just go get some change for you; after all, we most certainly don't want to run out of marshmallows!”

…

Vanya makes her way down the street, watching the people around her as she goes. None of them know what’s coming; what she’ll do to them. And, if everything goes correctly tonight, they never will. So she buys what she needs from the corner store, and hurries back to the academy. After letting her mom know she’s back, Vanya heads to her room, where she’s supposed to practice her violin.

However, just like before lunch, she can’t stand the thought of opening the case. Instead, she hides the bag from the store under her bed and makes her way up to the roof. She doesn’t go into the greenhouse—that was always Luther and Allison’s space—instead making her way over to a patch of sunlight near the edge of the roof, laying down in it and closing her eyes.

She hasn’t taken her pills since waking up in the past, and so she decides that she’s going to take this chance to do something she only got to do a bit in the future: she’s going to listen.

She’s pretty sure that without the pills her hearing is better than most people’s; not that she’d had much of a chance to find out, in the future, what with everything going on. And she won’t have much of a chance to try later, either, so now’s as good a time as any.

So she keeps her eyes closed and she listens.

…

A few hours later, Vanya is completely sure that her hearing is better than anyone’s should be, and also sure that she has no idea what her range even is, a conclusion she comes to after realizing she is eavesdropping on a conversation between two flight attendants on a plane that is in flight at the time.

The problem, she’s finding, is that even after she finds a sound, she can’t concentrate on it. She can hear so much now that when she’s not in the middle of a life-threatening situation or a panic attack she can’t concentrate on just one sound. As soon as she finds something interesting to listen to, something else catches her attention. And she has no way of judging distance, either; for all she knows, she could be listening to a conversation across the street or one across the city. She suspects being out in the forest the first time helped quite a bit, as there weren’t as many sounds screaming for her attention; screaming for her to use them.

Even so, she finds that she’s enjoying herself. Part of it, of course, is that she still hasn’t taken a pill yet, so she’s experiencing some true emotions. The rest of it is because the longer she works at this, the more relaxed she feels, like she’s had a stiff muscle and is stretching it out for the first time. Like it’s a limb she should have been using her whole life.

She also thinks that she might be lucky, because she’s pretty sure that unless she’s actively trying to listen for sounds, her hearing is just a little better than normal—she hadn’t had much trouble in the future with it, anyway.

She stops, eventually, once she gets tired of hearing snippets of conversation and news and dogs barking and everyday city sounds. She's pretty sure she even caught some noise from inside the Academy, too, but she did her best not to listen to it. She doesn’t need to risk anything setting her off before tonight.

And once she's done she heads back inside, back to her room, where she finishes getting ready for the plan.

…

Dinner is a little better than the previous meals of the day; now that they feel they have something of a plan, her siblings don’t seem to be as on edge as they were earlier; aren’t as concerned that she’ll attack them at any second. It’s…well. It’s actually almost nice. With their dad gone, they’re not reprimanded for talking, so the low murmur of conversation fills the room. And since they all look so young right now, Vanya is filled with a sense of nostalgia. She can’t imagine what Five is feeling; how much more intense this must be for him, to see all of his siblings the same age they were when he left.

She tries to enjoy it; tries to enjoy the food and the company without thinking about the underlying tension; without letting herself remember exactly why they’re here; and it almost works.

Chores after dinner go…about as well as they ever did, honestly. None of them enjoy doing them, but then again, they never did in the first place either, and at least if Vanya’s siblings are keeping busy they’re not panicking, which is all to the good, as far as Vanya is concerned.

And then, finally, finally, it’s time for bed. Vanya brushes her teeth and puts on her pajamas in a bit of a rote daze; she knows that if she panics everything will go very badly, so she refuses to let herself panic. Her siblings move around her, in and out of the bathrooms and each others’ rooms, all of them keeping an eye on her as she moves down the hallway to her own room.

She shuts the door behind her before getting into the bed and waiting. Mom always came to say goodnight to them, and Vanya wants to say goodnight to her too.

She comes in at 9:30, after knocking three times on the door, as always. “Hello, darling. How are you feeling?” Sitting on the side of the bed, she places her hand on Vanya’s forehead to take her temperature again.

“I’m fine, Mom,” Vanya says, staring at Mom’s perfect, unchanging face. Maybe she doesn’t have any real emotions, maybe Diego’s right and she has grown past her programming, but either way, Grace deserves better than what she’s had all these years. “Mom, I love you. You know that, right?”

Her mom’s face goes blank for a moment, and when she smiles again it’s smaller than normal; a little more real. “And I love you too, dear.” She bends down and kisses Vanya on the forehead, and Vanya closes her eyes and allows herself to soak in the affection one more time.

[rainythefox]

Two Sons (Detroit: Become Human fanfiction. Happy Birthday Hank Anderson!)

Two Sons

Disclaimer: I do not own Detroit: Become Human, yadda yadda yadda...now onto a short oneshot dedicated to Hank Anderson for his birthday! Enjoy!

September 6th, 2039 – 4:21 P.M

The bullpen was a mess of activity. Officers and detectives worked at their desks, typing on their terminals or taking calls. Phones constantly rang, voices shouted back and forth, and bodies weaved through desks in a relentless habitat.

Lieutenant Hank Anderson could hardly focus on his work. Today was busier than usual it seemed, and he swore he cursed at Gavin to shut the fuck up at least three times within the last hour. He was tempted to put some headphones in. He might could get more done with heavy metal blasting his eardrums than the constant hum of the police department in the background.

It had been a usual Tuesday, not like Connor or Hank had weekends off or anything, their shifts changed by the week. The fact it was his birthday played no importance either. Connor suggested taking the day off to "celebrate", but Hank told his partner he hadn't taken a day off for a birthday in twenty years. To him, it was just another day.

Hank took a sip of coffee, shifting his position in his seat as he typed up the case report for a crime scene they had just returned from. He glanced up at Connor, who sat at the connecting desk across from Hank. With a huff of breath, he wasn't surprised to see the RK800 staring off into space again.

Hank had no clue why, but Connor had been acting strange for the past few weeks. He was easily side-tracked, lost focus during investigations, and hadn't been as talkative. It was very much unlike the partner, friend, and son figure he had come to know over the past ten months. Connor would leave as soon as they were off work and not show up back home until late at night.

Hank didn't mind that, he knew Connor deserved his own life, and that included a social life with friends like Markus and his crew at Jericho. But Connor had always made sure to make time with Hank. The android detective was particular with making sure Hank was always okay, even to the point that Hank called him a nanny at times. Connor wouldn't take it as an insult though.

Hank figured Connor was coming into his own, now that he had been a deviant this long, he was grasping life without being on a leash with coding. It shouldn't had come as a surprise to Hank when Connor starting taking off more and more on his own.

The lieutenant was happy for his partner. Although, he did start to feel that all too familiar ache within his soul, an ache he had carried for so many years. Connor had healed it, but the past few weeks, it had eddied back within him, and well, he wasn't as prepared for it as he thought he should have.

Loneliness.

Hank shook out of his thoughts and his feelings. He was being selfish, really. Connor had got up early and made him breakfast before work, wishing him a warm and happy 54th birthday.

Connor was still distracted. Hell, Hank was starting to worry that something was actually wrong with his partner. Squinting an eyebrow at him, he picked up a paper clip and tossed it at the RK800. The clip flicked Connor right above the eyebrow, making his LED flash yellow briefly as Connor became aware again. He looked over at Hank, giving a small smile.

"Yes, Hank?"

"You're doing it again."

Connor became self-conscious, eyes flicking around him before they returned to Hank. "W-what?"

"Zoning out. You've been distracted all day! What's wrong?"

"Oh. Sorry. Just have…a lot on my mind."

Hank pointed at him. "That's fine and all, but we're working. I need you focused. Can we get these case reports filed so we can get the fuck outta here?"

Connor nodded. "Sure thing. I apologize, Hank."

"It's fine, Con. Just…stop worrying me so much."

"Hank, I do have a question."

"Hmm?"

Connor looked around, looking puzzled. "No one else has said happy birthday to you all day. Do they not know? Even for as long as you've been here?"

Hank chuckled, waving him off. "Nah, they just know I hate birthdays, err, well mine. I…uhh…kinda went off on them the year after…Cole died. Guess it stuck then…"

Hank trailed off, clearing his throat. He got back to work. He felt Connor's eyes on him for a bit longer before the RK800 started working on his computer. The two partners were quiet for nearly an hour, finishing up their case notes. Connor finished first, only because he directly uploaded his report processed from his memory onto his terminal.

"Fuckin' cheater," Hank muttered.

Connor grinned, and it brightened Hank's mood. "It's not cheating. It's a perk."

Hank shook his head with a smile and finished up. After shutting down their terminals and collecting their things, Hank tossed Connor the car keys. His partner caught them with deft hands, the two walking out of the bullpen and station side by side.

One thing Hank was happy about in the ten months that had passed since Markus's peaceful demonstration and the foundation of android rights was that Connor didn't have to wear that ridiculous suit anymore. It had taken the lieutenant some convincing, but now Connor enjoyed wearing normal clothes. He still did prefer a suit, like the dark one he wore today, probably from old programming habits. Now if only Hank could get that LED off his temple…

They got into Hank's 80s model Buick LeSabre, and Connor drove them towards home. They were quiet for a while. Hank could tell that Connor was distracted again. What the hell had his dear friend so preoccupied?

"What's on your mind, son?"

Hank watched the RK800 as he drove, once again saw his LED flash yellow then blink back to blue. Connor glanced at the lieutenant, then back at the road.

"Well…since you are inquiring…" Connor tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. "Are you sure you do not wish do to anything for your birthday? Anything at all?"

Hank sighed. "Connor, it's not a big deal. I appreciate it, but I'm fine. Really."

"You made a big deal for the anniversary of my release date last month. You called it my birthday. You got everyone at the station involved, and even had Markus and our other friends throw a big party."

"So?"

"Why will you not allow the same for yourself?"

Hank felt exposed, and he hated that feeling. He knew that Connor meant well, was honestly wondering why Hank refused to celebrate his birthday, especially after Hank had made a big deal about Connor turning one year old. He had never made a big deal about his birthday in all of his life, but after Cole died…it was like he resented it. What's another year when you cannot watch your son go to school? What's another year when you cannot watch your son try out sports? What's another year when you cannot watch him grow into a young man? To learn how to drive? To teach him how to be a good man?

Hank brushed Connor off, uncomfortable. "Eh, what's there to celebrate? Another year closer to death? Sure."

He meant it as a joke within his unease, and then winced after the words left his mouth. Hank cursed at himself, glancing at Connor. He saw the LED flash red, the look of distress on Connor's face.

The car pulled into the driveway of their home, but both men were tensely quiet, even after Connor killed the motor. Hank clawed for some words, but he really didn't know how to voice what was eating at him.

They got out of the car and went inside the house. Sumo greeted them with happy whining and tail wags. Hank dug for words even as he let the dog outside into the backyard. The two men stood in the kitchen, quiet.

Connor spoke first.

"Last month I asked you an important question…the night after we celebrated my birthday, as you called it. Do you remember what it was?"

Hank nodded, staring at the floor. "Yeah…you asked if we were a family. I told you yes. That I…think of you as a son."

"Now can you imagine how I feel now, hearing those words from you?"

Connor sounded upset. Hell, he had every right to be. Hank flinched, really wanting to kick himself in the ass.

"You…you're right. I'm sorry, Connor. I shouldn't have said that."

He looked to his partner. Connor's eyes were lowered, rubbing his hands apprehensively, his LED yellow. "My biocomponents and the Thirium-310 that powers them enables me to have a lifespan of nearly 200 years, Hank. I only have a little time to spend with you. And I want to make the most of it…because…I'm not sure what I would do without you. I cannot even fathom it right now. So please…do not joke that way."

The impact and hurt he dropped on Connor was repelled back on him. Hank had spent three years of his life in emotional disarray from Cole's death, not caring what happened to him, hell even trying to kill himself at times to not have to deal with the pain and loss anymore. But Connor had started healing that. His ever steadfast, rational partner with a bio-heart of gold was here, and he cared. He was new at life. He was new at feeling it.

It made Hank's words that much more insensitive. All because he wanted to avoid the discomfort of talking about his feelings over his birthday. He felt the need to wipe his eyes.

He grabbed Connor into a tight hug. "I won't. I promise. I'm sorry, it's just that…after Cole died, I never wanted to celebrate…ever again." Hank pulled away to look at Connor, gripping him by the shoulders. "But then you came along and changed everything. I made a big deal of your birthday because it is! I care about you that fucking much. And instead of just fucking saying that, I had to be an asshole…"

Connor chuckled, and Hank felt a little relief in the pit of his stomach. "You do have a tendency to speak before you think."

Hank stepped back from the RK800. "Guilty as charged. Still, it's no excuse to hurt you like that."

"It's alright, Hank."

Hank scratched his head. He thought back on Connor's heartfelt words to him. He said he wanted to make the most of the time they could share together. But Connor had been spending so much time away from him. He didn't bring it up though.

"I have something for you."

The words caught him off guard. "Huh?"

Connor pulled something out of the inside pocket of his suit jacket and extended it to him. Hank's eyes fell on a USB thumb drive. Hank slowly reached up and took it, peering it over.

"What is it?"

"It's a USB flash-drive."

Hank rolled his eyes. "I fucking know that! I mean what's on it?"

Connor smiled, cocking his head slightly. "Perhaps you should plug it into the hard drive of your desktop and find out?"

Hank gave him a suspicious stare before turning to go to his desk in the living room. Connor followed but stayed back near the sofa. Hank sat down at his desk, plugging the USB drive in and loading it up. There was a video file on it and so Hank clicked on it.

He was watching video clips of an amusement park. Upon closer inspection, he recognized Pirates' Cove, the old amusement park on the Detroit River that closed down a few years earlier. This was before it closed, and so many people flourished the park. He heard laughter, rides going, so much activity. Hank didn't realize it at first, but the video was jumping back and forth between recordings from EM400 Jerry androids, the usual models used for amusement parks.

Hank was about to question Connor on exactly what this was, when he heard it. A voice he thought he would never hear again. He froze. His heart clenched in his chest. His blue eyes shot open. He couldn't breathe.

"That one, Daddy!"

Cole. It was Cole. His little form, right there. Sitting atop his shoulders, pointing at something behind the Jerry. Hank looked a tad younger, shorter hair, not as much grey. He followed Cole's hand with his own finger.

"That one?"

"Yes!"

"Are you sure?"

Cole giggled. "Yes!"

"What are you going to do with a shark with flames on it?"

The child shrugged his shoulders in over exaggeration, still smiling. "I don't know!"

Hank saw himself put Cole down outside the booth. His son climbed up on one of the seats, a ship canon made out of plastic and cheap paint faced in towards the booth. Hank rubbed Cole's head.

"Alright, so what do we have to do to get Mr. Shark with Flames?" Hank asked.

The Jerry answered in its ever-upbeat attitude. "Well, mateys! You just have to shoot the canons and defeat the monstrous Kraken!"

"Oh, it's a big octopus, Daddy!"

"Is it? You think you can shoot that sucker down? Looks pretty scary."

Cole got ready, giddily shaking his head. "I got this!"

Hank laughed in the video. He handed the Jerry some cash and the canons turned on. Hank watched as Cole moved the plastic canon around, laughing and shooting plastic balls at some unseen creature behind the Jerry. He looked so determined, but so happy. After a few moments he squealed in delight, jumping up in his seat and pointing.

"I got it, I got it! Did ya see, Dad?!"

"Holy moly that giant octopus didn't stand a chance! Great job, son!"

Cole's tiny hand smacked the palm of Hank's in a cheerful high-five. The Jerry clapped, turning away briefly to get the prize.

"You're a natural pirate, matey! Here you are!"

"Thanks!"

Cole took the plush shark, blue with green and gold flames all over it. He squished it up to his body, grinning ear to ear.

"What are you gonna name him?" Hank asked, kneeling down to be level with his young son.

Cole squinted one eye, thinking really hard. "Hmm…How about...Frank!"

"Frank…the shark?"

"Yep!"

Hank chuckled, ruffling his son's head. "Alright, Frank it is. Is Frank hungry?"

Cole vigorously nodded. "Yep. Sharks are always hungry, Daddy!"

"Oh boy, we better feed him before he takes a chunk outta you!"

Hank pinched Cole's side and the child squealed in laughter. He stood his height and took Cole's hand. The two walked away together, Cole holding the plush shark under his other arm. The video stopped.

It was so quiet. Hank could hear the blood rushing through his veins, the shaky breath he finally choked out. He was crying. Hadn't realized he had been crying the whole time watching the video. His fingers trembled and he just…couldn't believe it. He never thought he would hear Cole's voice again, see his smile.

He felt something break within him. It hurt at first, like he was reliving the day he finally realized Cole was gone forever. But it subsided, and all he could feel was…warmth, a soothing yet aching warmth. He stood up, wiping his eyes, still trembling. He turned to face Connor.

Hank couldn't understand how Connor could have known about this, or how he got the video, but then he recalled it. He told Connor months ago about taking Cole to the Pirates' Cove amusement park the summer before he turned six. He told him how it was one of the best days of his life, and one he deeply cherished of Cole.

Connor looked shaken. His eyes blinked rapidly and he avoided Hank's hard stare, his LED flashing yellow and slowly turning red. Hank knew the look. Had seen his partner do it many times when he was confused and trying to reanalyze exactly what he had missed, or messed up.

"Hank…I didn't mean to upset you. I thought it would make you happy. I expected some sadness, yes, but…but…I had no intention of hurting you like this. I am so-"

Hank pulled him into a tight hug, tears still streaming down his face, and he could only choke out a laugh. "I am happy you fucking idiot. Sometimes…sometimes humans cry when they're happy."

"I know that, but your vital signs are really concerning."

"Emotions always screw everything up," he said, pulling back. "How…how did you find this?"

"It wasn't easy," Connor said, calming down. His LED returned to blue. "But I sought out help from Markus and his friends. I wasn't even sure if any of the EM400s that had any interaction with you and Cole were still alive…many were killed in the deviant demonstrations back in November. I showed them Cole's picture so they could scan through their memories. It took me weeks, and I was starting to think I wouldn't be able to find anything. After talking with 14,736 Jerry EM400s, I found the one on the video. He was able to give me that single clip."

"Is that…why you've been gone so much?"

Connor nodded. "Correct. It was like trying to find a needle in a haystack, as you like you say."

Hank chuckled, wiping his face with his sleeve. "Yeah, I bet. Connor…this is…this is the best gift anyone could ever give me. Thank you."

Connor smiled, looking relieved. He then glanced at the computer screen, the video paused on Hank and Cole walking away holding hands. "You're welcome, Hank. I wish…I wish I would've been able to meet him."

"He would've loved you, Connor. He…always wanted a brother." Hank let loose a shaky breath. "You know…I never told you this, but…when Cole was around two I had a dream that I had two sons. The dream's foggy now, almost forgot about it after he died. But…I do recall a taller, older son, and a younger son. I always assumed the taller one was Cole, you know, after he had grown. But now I know…know it with all my heart, it was you."

Hank could tell that Connor was touched by his words, could tell how he considerably brightened. And well, it was the first time the RK800 cried. As Connor touched the tears, shocked and staring down at his wet fingertips, Hank pulled him into another hug, feeling a lot more at peace.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15918795

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13058312/1/Two-Sons

[silvasboys]

The Hand That Feeds (Part 6)

Days passed, and Marcos never quite surfaced again.

It was too easy to let himself settle into the track of this room with its four white walls. Learning Giovanni’s rules was terrifying, and painful, but once he learned them, things were – for the most part – simple. He was allowed to sleep more frequently, if he followed the rules; he’d been gifted four hours per night for the past three days running. A new record. Rewards for managing descriptions of some of Shade’s crew members, and for information regarding the so-called deity Perro and his shrine. Giovanni was visibly unimpressed by the latter, but had seemed to put some small value in the difficulty with which Marcos conjured the words up. He’d made quick work of another cue, as well; three days after a new tone was introduced, Marcos was quick to get to his feet at the sound of a low-arcing whistle.

The Exterminator was getting impatient, though. Marcos picked up the signals without realizing it most of the time: a tightness to the man’s shoulders, a tiny jerk of his chin, a brusqueness in his words. Subtle signals, carefully controlled and meant to be invisible, but after more than a month Marcos had learned to read them. He’d had to, as the mouse has to learn the signs of the owl.

So he wasn’t surprised when the session deviated from the norm, one numberless day. He dared not try to guess what pressure leaned on Giovanni’s mind, but it had only been a matter of time before something changed. Now he knelt in silence at the center of the room, his shadows reaching out in four directions from the lights overhead, and stared warily at the sleek black dog sitting before him.

“They’re sisters,” Giovanni said. “We will only need one of them today, but they get very anxious when they can’t see each other.”

Diana sat patiently at his side, her posture relaxed though her eyes were as fixed on the pair in the center of the room as Giovanni’s were. Athena was visibly poised; she could smell the cumulative fog of fear in the room, and it smelled like Marcos. She watched him like she watched a treat Giovanni might put on her snout. She wouldn’t move. Not without the right whistle.

Marcos was looking back at her, which Giovanni took special note of; the contact lenses performed as they were meant to, thank God. The lights in the room were dimmed enough to deactivate them and allow Marcos to see. Easily reversed with a brighter light. He would have to thank Bethany later, buy her dinner perhaps. He thought it was strange, suddenly, how far removed that world seemed from the world in here.

“Don’t be afraid of her.” Giovanni’s voice was almost gentle. “She’s very well trained.” And now it was time to see how well Marcos’s training had gone.

Giovanni released the whistle that prompted Marcos to raise his arm, and Athena’s docked tail twitched in anticipation.

Marcos followed the directive without conscious thought. His vision was still dim, to his understanding only partially recovered from whatever procedure Giovanni had had done, and the difficulty with which he picked out the doberman's minute movements only amplified his tension. Lips pressed tightly together, he held the position. He'd never feared a dog without provocation before, but Athena felt like something different. Less of an animal, more an extension of Giovanni. And he certainly feared Giovanni.

“Prendilo,” Giovanni addressed the dog, immediately followed by a sharp “Ay,” when she lurched forward too eagerly. Teeth snapping shut barely an inch from Marcos’s arm, Athena released an impatient whine. “Prendilo,” Giovanni repeated firmly and slowly. The dog’s mouth opened again and her teeth closed gently around Marcos’s wrist. She watched Marcos’s face as if she could hardly stand waiting for him to make the wrong move.

Marcos didn't meet her gaze. His eyes went wide, every muscle tensing, and two reflexive jerks were just barely contained: his left arm, pulling away from the dog, and his right, moving to shove her off. But no - he was not supposed to react. He was sure of that. It was hard, though, with the dog's breath hot on his skin, jaws quivering with repressed aggression. He barely breathed, eyes drifting out of focus.

“Athena’s a bit of a bully,” Giovanni was saying. “Quite impossible to teach her to bite down any way but hard, and once she tastes blood she can be stubborn. But we’re not worried about it, you and I, because we know that she won’t bite unless I tell her to.” He cocked his head to the side, considering the disciplined silhouette of the dog. “She’s the alpha of the two, do you know what that means?”

Marcos shook his head, then had to remind himself to stop doing so. Maybe he knew, maybe he didn’t, but if Giovanni was willing to explain, he’d rather take that than risk a wrong answer.

“It means you are the most inferior animal in the room right now. Not a member of the pack, just something that might taste good to her. She’s expecting you to fuck up, Marcos.” But this was all redundant. Marcos knew his place in this room by now. He knew how the power was distributed and he was learning how to take little pieces.

“I want to talk about Midnight Massacre again today,” Giovanni stated. Athena’s ears swiveled towards him as he spoke, searching for a familiar word. “It’s been some time since we talked about our friend. Did you know he used to be an Exterminator?”

Another negative. It seemed unlikely to Marcos, but he took Giovanni at his word. He didn’t have to believe what the man said, so long as he accepted it as true so far as it had any bearing on himself.

“Mm. He deserted years before I was hired, so I never knew him. But a person like that running off into the desert with an arsenal of company secrets must eventually be marked up on the priority list, you can imagine. And he’s gone and died before he could make himself useful, as you know. Did Midnight ever say anything to you about his time in Battery?” Athena whined quietly again, like a spring of steam. Diana’s ears twitched from where she sat spectating. “Anything at all.”

Giovanni didn’t have to say he would not be taking another ‘no’ for an answer. His tone spoke for him.

Marcos shut his eyes tight, trying hard to forget about Athena’s grip on his arm, trying to order his memories enough to pull something useful from them. Quick, though – he needed to find an answer before Giovanni became impatient. His conversations with Midnight were a jumble, but then –

“He – he stopped taking the m-meds.” It was obvious; he should have remembered immediately. “He was – they’d just started, when he was – when he was on them, they were just s-starting. That’s why he – why he could tell me. About it.”

On another day, a better day, Giovanni might have let that sort of answer slide. He hadn’t refused to answer, even seemed to have given it his best attempt. But they were pressed for time. Giovanni couldn’t afford to be merciful.

“Mordi.” Almost before the entire word had left Giovanni’s mouth, Athena’s jaws flexed open and snapped closed again around Marcos’s arm in a dark flash of movement. Teeth broke skin, a kind of mindless force almost to the point of bending the bone beneath. She growled deep in her chest. “Attento!” Giovanni snapped, making them both flinch. The pressure plateaued.

Marcos was bent nearly double, biting down himself on his right arm to keep from screaming. The dog’s movement might have stopped, but the deep, tearing pain was still spreading, pulsing deeper and deeper with each throb of blood in his ears. Even now, though, despite reflexive jerks and spasms, he kept his left arm raised. He knew what rule he’d broken – not a good enough answer - but the solution wasn’t as easy.

I don’t know, I don’t know anything else –

“H-he – he w-worked with bombs – “ Dangerous. A guess; only one step removed from a lie. But he needed to come up with an answer, any answer, and begging would have been no more effective than pleading ignorance. Both of Marcos’ arms were bleeding now, though his teeth were far less efficient than Athena’s.

“What do you mean, ‘bombs?’” Giovanni’s brow furrowed. Athena continued to snarl, her breath coming out in waves of heat. “Are you saying he was involved with terror attacks against the city? There’s no evidence of that,”

“Mmm.” Marcos shook his head once, quickly. “Ex – explosives, in the ground, he knew – he knew about them, he t-told me to st-stay away from the bridge –“

“Lasialo.”

Athena’s teeth reluctantly released Marcos’s arm, but it was still caged by her mouth. She was stock-still and quiet again, waiting for the next word of permission.

Giovanni slowly folded his arms and paced a little ways, forehead creased slightly in thought. He scrutinized Marcos’s face.

“He knew about military explosive mines? SCARECROW agents planted those, who could have informed him?”

Marcos shuddered at the sensation of the dog’s teeth sliding from his flesh, eyes flicking up to the Exterminator as he tried to read his expression. Surely Giovanni didn’t think Marcos would know something like that.

“I – I thought maybe he – found them –“

“We would have known if he set a mine off… no. No, there must have been an informant.” A glint caught in Giovanni’s eyes like a smile and they bored into Marcos as if he were really addressing him. But he wasn’t anymore; Giovanni’s mouth quirked. His eyes shifted again and he looked at him now, as if he were seeing Marcos for the first time and had only been looking through him before.

“He had an informant.”

Giovanni straightened suddenly. “Tell me everything you remember about the conversation.”

Marcos flinched, though no punishment was forthcoming. What had Midnight said…

“I was – I was biking – I was coming back fr-“ He stopped, closing his eyes and taking two quick breaths. Slow. Get it right.

Another start. “I – was biking back. From Vista. I s-stopped because the bridge was out. Broken. Over a canal, I couldn’t – there were chunks missing. So I asked, just – just over the radio, if anyone knew what happened.” The more he spoke, the easier it was to recall the rest. His eyes opened again, but he wasn’t seeing the room. He remembered the sun, and the dry air, and the chipped plastic of his handlebars. It felt like something real. “He answered. Said I shouldn’t try to cross there, because he thought he knew what was going on, and the city was laying mines. Said I should try somewhere else, and call him if I saw anything that looked like an explosive.”

Marcos had almost forgotten about Giovanni, his words coming more smoothly than they had in weeks. “Didn’t matter, ‘cause when I saw the van I panicked and tried to run. My bike rolled over a mine further up. I’m lucky I wasn’t on it.”

“He wanted you to report back if you came across more? Did you?” Giovanni leaned against the counter as he watched for Marcos’s reaction. He seemed excitable somehow, under the surface, and oblivious to the blood running over Marcos’s arm in rivets, dripping from Athena’s mouth, collecting on the floor.

Marcos blinked at the question, pulled back into the present with a wince. He didn't answer at first, though, distracted by the memories he'd pulled up, trying to reach for them again. "No, I - I set off the mine -" an explosion of sand and rocks, the whole world ringing around him, and then unfriendly hands on him, pulling him up. "They took me back. Lindsey..." the distant look left his eyes, and he bit back a whimper as Athena's jaws twitched. City thoughts just looped him right back to Giovanni.

Giovanni’s gaze snapped back suddenly to the room. He drew closer to Marcos, stopping behind the dog, and leaned down a little so he could peer into Marcos’s eyes. Giovanni’s were like hard, sharp chips of glass. Like the unfeeling lens of a camera.

“Look at me.”

Marcos’ immediate reaction was to do the opposite. His gaze shot to the side, avoiding the challenge inherent in direct contact, and only returned slowly and with concerted effort. His eyes widened, unblinking. The desert faded in his mind; the heat of the sun couldn’t compete with the chill in Giovanni’s dark pupils. He shivered. Athena growled.

There was raw, naked fear in Marcos’s eyes. But Giovanni saw no uncertainty there, no haze of doubt. They were wide and clear in his otherwise cadaverous face.

“I want to know that you’ve told me now about every single interaction you’ve had with Midnight Massacre. Tell me.”

Again Marcos looked away, but in a desperate sort of thought now, eyes tracking in miniscule darts as he searched his memory for anything he might have left out. The homework, the pills, the follow-up when he almost gave in. The mines. What else. He thought that was all, but what if it wasn’t – what if he forgot something, and Giovanni knew –

“It’s everything,” he whispered, meeting Giovanni’s gaze again, his nervous rocking halted immediately by the dog’s grip on his arm. “It’s – I think – it’s all of it-“

“You think?” Giovanni interjected softly. He repeated a command and Athena’s jaws snapped down hard once again, displaced a bit from the first bite mark. She lurched a little as if she could barely restrain herself from shaking Marcos’s arm like a toy, disjoining bone from ligament, ripping muscle–

“I want Better than that, Marcos.”

“It’s everything, it’s everything-!” Marcos nearly screamed the words, doubled over again, arm still raised high though his pinned hand was spasming. He could feel her grinding down, tearing through already-inflamed flesh, a red-hot flash of nerves cut and pinched. Worse, he could feel her need to do so much more than that.

“It’s everything, I promise, it’s – I’m sure, there’s nothing else -!”

Another word and Marcos’s arm was released again--in the same instant, Giovanni clicked a small handheld light to life, shining it into Marcos’s eyes. He commanded the dog to his heel as Marcos’s vision was snuffed out again.

Accomplishment welled in Giovanni’s chest. And relief. He could really begin to finalize this now. Marcos had nothing else to give him. And he was finally approaching that dangerous edge between the remains of himself and something unusable--Giovanni would have to be careful where he made the incision. This was the most delicate part.

“We’re done for today,” he addressed the dracs in the corners without taking his eyes off Marcos, who hunched now with his arm cradled to his chest. Another medic visit was in order, but Marcos had earned it again today. The nails of the dogs scraped against the floor as they prepared to follow Giovanni out. Giovanni patted Marcos’s head as he brought up the rear.

“Good boy.”

[agents-of-france]

I'll Kill for You, I'll Die for You

Quietly Feuilly made his way to the room Montparnasse was currently tied up in. The others were pretty much split on whether or not he should stay. It made sense to Feuilly that he stay. They needed manpower. They needed revenge, and Montparnasse was a man on the path of vengeance. Slipping into the room, he shut the door with a soft thud behind him, before clearing his throat.

“Montparnasse… How are you doing?”

Hearing the door open pulled Montparnasse from his hazy stupor, and his hands fell still from where they had been frantically working the bonds. He shuffled, mostly so the visitor couldn’t see that he had almost freed himself, but also to glower at the intruder. He didn’t say anything, having no words to describe the painful burning sensation that was coursing through him, the screaming in his head that demanded he do something, anything, or the terrible ache of loss that filled his soul.

[continue reading below the cut]

When no response came, he sighed softly, before moving to sit on the edge of the bed. He wasn’t far from Mont. If the guy’s hands were free he could’ve reached out to touch Feuilly’s knee. For a while he didn’t speak, staring at the ground in silence as the numbness echoed through his body. Finally he looked up, meeting Mont’s hazy eyes.

“They died in my arms… arm. It took a long time to get the blood off me… It still feels like it’s on me, under my skin”

At Feuilly’s words, Montparnasse felt a new wave of sensations crash over him, and he gagged and coughed and dry heaved, his body seeming to reject his very existence. He hadn’t eaten since before Jehan had died, so there was nothing for him to actually throw up, but his body tried anyways. With his hands bound behind his back, he was unable to do anything to stop himself from hunching over - thankfully he had been in a kneeling position already, or he might have choked on his own spit.

Sighing, Feuilly moved to crouch by Mont, gently rubbing his back as he did. “It’s the shock, I get it… I couldn’t keep anything down when I lost Bahorel, just kept throwing it back up again…. Not sure if it was cause my body couldn’t, or wouldn’t keep it down…”

Unable to pull away, Montparnasse was forced to accept the gentle touches that reminded him so much of Jehan. When the sensation that he was dying faded, he did his best to shuffle away from Feuilly again, anger sparking in his eyes and cutting through the haze. “Don’t try to comfort me with pretty words. You were with them. You should have protected them.”

Pain flashed across his eyes, and for once, he didn’t try to hide it. Instead he kept Mont’s gaze as the man shuffled away from him, and didn’t try to move closer. “I should have protected them. I know that, and the fact they died, after I…. After I promised…” His throat seemed to close up for a moment and he closed his eyes, swallowing hard. “After I promised to keep them safe and get them through this… They died. And I have to live with that for the rest of my life. Just like you have to live with the fact they’re dead, and you won’t ever see them again”

“I don’t have to live with it.” Montparnasse snapped, “In fact, I wasn’t planning on it.” He yanked his wrists apart and snapped the bonds, drawing a knife that they had missed when they searched him, and slicing through the bonds on his ankles. “You should go.”

Staring, Feuilly didn’t flinch, and nor did he move away. “Why? Give you privacy in your final moments? Let you make a romantic, tragic speech about your doomed love? Let you kill yourself? You really think Jehan would be impressed by any of that? Cause if you do, you’re an idiot, and they would’ve said exactly that”

Montparnasse rolled his eyes and stood, moving to the mirror so that he could look at himself while he did it. “I’m not going to make a speech, so if you’re waiting for a show, I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed. Leave, or don’t. It doesn’t matter.” He paused, running fingers through his hair, and then considering where to drive the knife home.

Rolling his eyes as well, Feuilly rose to his feet. Striding towards Mont, he reached out to grip the wrist of the hand holding the knife. “I repeat, do you think Jehan would be impressed? Do you think this is what Jehan would have wanted? I know what you did, to the people who killed them. You think your job is even halfway over?” He hissed angrily, hand tightening around the wrist.

Shocked, Montparnasse didn’t even try to pull his wrist away from Feuilly. He hadn’t expected the other man to stop him. “I killed the bastards who killed them, which is more than you lot would have done. You pretend to be so pure, so damn good, and you let it get in your way over and over again. I’m not going to be your prisoner - no, the job isn’t over, but you seem pretty damn intent on stopping me from finishing it.”

“And what would you do if we asked you to stay huh? Stay and help us? Because I’m not playing around anymore. I don’t know about the others, but I plan on taking this to the top, on burning everything to the ground and salting the goddamn earth. I can’t do it alone, and you have the skill set to be of use to us. You’re right, we tried to play nice. Now it’s clear that won’t work anymore. Are you in?”

“If you hadn’t been playing around in the first place, Jehan wouldn’t be dead!” Montparnasse nearly screamed. He tried to take a deep breath, feeling like a hand was closing around his throat, and squeezed his eyes shut. “I’m not your prisoner, and I won’t take orders. I’ll help you burn those bastards down, and then you leave me with a knife and you don’t ask any questions.” He shook his head, hardly believing that he was negotiating for his own suicide - but he couldn’t live in a world without Jehan.

Scowling, he shifted his grip to wrap around the fingers on the knife to prise them off. “Funnily enough, I’m not going to let you kill yourself. Jehan wouldn’t want you to die like this, and they’d hate me if they ever knew I’d let you do that to yourself. So no, I won’t leave you with a knife, and I won’t let you end things for yourself. We’re the poor suckers who get left behind. We have to learn to make do with this shitty world, but if we give in, we let the bastards who murdered them win”

The knife clattered to the floor, the sound cutting through the tension that had been forming and now hung thick in the air as Montparnasse stared angrily at Feuilly. “There is nothing left for me in the world, except revenge. When that is done, what do I have left? What life is there for the leader of a gang, a murderer?” His tone was harsh, but his eyes - unbeknownst to him - were pleading with Feuilly for an answer.

Staring down at the boy, for he was barely more than a boy. Significantly younger than Feuilly at least. Staring down at him, Feuilly could see the echoes of his past, and he hesitated, before gently using the hand on Mont to pull the man into a hug. “A new life. A new start. It’ll be long, and hard, but you could have a life worth living. You could use that life to make sure Jehan didn’t die in vain. Help people, make sure Jehan’s memory lives on. There’s so much you could do Montparnasse, take it from someone who’s been in your shoes.”

Montparnasse tensed even more as he was pulled into the hug. Physical contact always made him antsy; it made it too easy for someone to stab him in the back. “I don’t . . . I can’t . . . a world without Jehan isn’t a world I want to live in. I loved them! I still . . . I still love them, and the world feels empty and broken without them. There is not anything for me here.”

“There’s nothing for me either Montparnasse… But I’m not going to roll over and die. It’s not what either of them would have wanted. When this is done, I’ll help you get back on your feet. If I don’t make it, for whatever reason, someone else will. You’re not alone in this Mont… Show the world how much you loved Jehan, show the world how much Jehan loved. Do what Jehan would have wanted, and take your life back” He whispered firmly, his grip tight on the younger man refusing to let him go, although beyond that he didn’t move so as not to startle him. And also to hide the tears rolling down his own cheeks.

“I have committed far too many sins for the world to ever let me be at peace.” Montparnasses said softly. “Besides,” He let out a humorless laugh, “none of your friends seem to have taken a liking to me. They’re just as likely to kill me as to help me. If I’m going to die, let it be on my own terms.” He sighed, still not relaxed in the other man’s arms, as he heard Feuilly start to cry. He hadn’t cried. Gang leaders didn’t cry. Montparnasse couldn’t cry. He had no words of comfort for the other, for anyone, and simply allowed the man to cry.

Snorting, he shook his head a little. “Kid, you think I worked over 10 years as a field agent and all I did was catch naughty teens breaking and entering or some shit? I’ve killed enough people for my job even God would be shocked, and don’t get me started on the crimes I committed before I got the job at FRANCE. I’m not talking to you as some privileged guy who got his life handed to him on a silver platter. I worked fucking hard to change my life, and I’ll do it again if I survive this. You leave the others to me. I’ll make sure no one hurts you, and I’ll see what we can do about not having you tied up the entire time. But I’m telling you now Montparnasse you have a choice. Either you can be a fucking coward, not worth scraping off the bottom of someone’s shoe, or you can make yourself better, and do something right” Stepping away, he wiped his eyes, not even angry or ashamed to be seen crying. Anger and shame for tears left a long time ago.

Montparnasse nearly fell when Feuilly stepped away, and he scrambled to regain his balance and dignity. “I am not a coward.” He said fiercely, his eyes blazing once more, even though his heart ached more than he could ever have thought possible. “But don’t fool yourself. Taking FRANCE down might be the right thing to do, but it will not be good. It will be bloody, and messy, and I can tell you from personal experience that murder doesn’t make you a better person.” He paused, trying to meet Feuilly’s eyes and finding that the other man’s tears made his own eyes burn. He wanted to cry, perhaps, for Jehan, but he could not. “I will not be your prisoner. I would rather die free than live a life with no choice.”

“Like I said, I’ve killed enough people to shock God. I plan on razing FRANCE to the ground and salting the bones and earth it stood on. I can handle messy. Besides, when did I ever claim to be a good person?” Raising an eyebrow, he stared defiantly back at the younger man. “That’s why I’ll talk to the others, see if I can convince them to let you be a guest, rather than a prisoner. They’re scared of you, they have every right to be. Can you blame them for taking precautions?” Shaking his head, he finally looked away. 

“Jehan was good. I assumed they would align themselves with good people. If not, better for us. Good people might have a hard time with this.” Montparnasse met Feuilly’s defiant gaze and managed not to look away. If Jehan had loved this man, not as they loved Mont, but as a friend, then perhaps he had some redeemable characteristic. At Feuilly’s insistence that the others feared him, he raised an eyebrow and brought a hand to the wound on his face. It had been left untreated - and the skin around the point of impact mottled purple and yellow, the spot the woman had hit red with blood and raised. Her hit had been so hard as to break the skin, leaving a welt that pulsed and burned if it was touched. “Certainly, I should be afraid of them. Particularly the one with the curls.” He said dryly. 

“Perhaps at the start we were good. But after all the shit we’ve been through? I don’t think I can say any of us are totally good people anymore. It’ll make the job easier” Raising an eyebrow as he felt himself being scrutinised, he couldn’t help the small chuckle. “Oh Chetta? She’s a formidable person. It seems in your blind rage to attack Joly, you forgot the rest of us are trained spies, skilled in fighting and killing. You’re not the only one who can pack a punch here, the playing field is level” He pointed out with a sigh. “Y’know… I don’t see what Jehan saw in you at the moment.” With a pause, Feuilly lifted his gaze one last time. “Prove to me you were worth their love.” 

Feuilly’s last words made him gasp and step back, his face contorting with pure pain as the ache in his chest intensified to the point of being unbearable. He screamed, collapsing on the ground, as finally, finally tears began to run down his face and he sobbed for Jehan.

Mont’s reaction made him freeze. Slowly he sank to his knees, and once more wrapped his arm around Mont, cradling the boy close to him. “I got you… It’s safe to cry, I’ve got you… I miss them too…”

Montparnasses shook, his whole body trembled in the other man’s arm. He had not cried in years, and now the emotions poured from him. Jehan was gone. Jehan was dead. He screamed again, covering his face with his hands as he cursed the world and every god he could think of for taking Jehan from him. He alternated between screaming and sobbing for a while, finding it hard to stop now that he had begun.

Rubbing his back, Feuilly whispered soft, soothing words into Mont’s ear, letting him rock and scream and sob and curse until he had no voice left to sound out his agony. He clutched onto Montparnasse as if the man was the only thing keeping Feuilly from breaking apart, and as if he were the only thing stopping the pieces of Mont from scattering away. He waited until it seemed the screams had quieted down, and only then did he lean back enough to rest his forehead on Mont’s. “I’m going to help you. I’m going to be here for you. If you need to talk about Jehan, talk to me. If you need someone to just sit with, sit with me. I couldn’t protect Jehan, but I can protect you for them. I can give you a new life when this is done…” Feuilly glanced out at the window, and the ghost of a smile flickered over his lips.  “The sun’s going down, but we’re going to rage against the dying light.”

[ecotone99]

I'd die for you

I first met Urvashi during class 6th of our school. We were classmates. she was kind and bright, but above all she was willing to be friends with someone plain and boring as me. I loved her. But I was alright with never confessing my feelings to her, because i hated the fact that we may not be friends anymore. my parents lived far away from me so most of the times i would have dinner at Urvashi’s house . That day i went to Urvashi’s house to help her cook a feast for her moms birthday. But I was careless, i left the recipe book close to the stove and it caught fire. The fire soon spread through the whole house.

“My mom is still in there “, Urvashi kept shouting but the firefighters wouldn’t let her go past them. Soon the whole house fell to ashes.

“This is all my fault” i thought to myself.

All kinds of things were said at the funeral, that how Urvashi had only her mom after her father had left them , and now that she had also left her , she no longer had anyone left.

“ im really sorry” , i said in a sobbing voice.”its all my fault, if i had paid attention , nothing like that wouldve happened. I know ill never get your forgiveness with just an apology , but i-”

Before i could say anything more, Urvashi hugged me and said,” it’ll be fine , it wasnt your fault, as long as i have you everything will be fine”, she said with tears in her eyes. She didnt care that she had lost someone important because of me , she forgave me with an open heart . thats when i mad up my mind, i will protect Urvashi for as long as i live. She will never suffer like this again. Two years passed.

I could hear some of the girls gossiping in our class.

“He was the 2nd victim “, one of them said.

“Scary,its fishy how they went missing one after the another”. Said another

“I bet she did something to them”

“ who knows?”

“At any rate, its better if we stay away from Urvashi”

I couldnt bear this any longer. I walked up to Urvashi and asked her if she wanted to walk home together.

“Dont let them get to you “ , i said , trying to comfort her.”its not your fault Urvashi”

“But, two people i dated suddenly disappeared you know,” she said.” everything was normal just the other day, now they’re nowhere to be found. Why do those important to me suddenly disappear?” as she said this, Urvashi made the same distraught face she made when her mom died in that fire that day. Seeing her in such a state twisted my heart beyond belief.” i wasnt trying to blame you” she said seeing the look on my face,” youre an important friend . besides what happened two years ago was an accident.”but i could never forgive myself for it.

“Hey” she said while looking and smiling at me,” you know, everyone important to me keeps disappearing one by one. Im terrified, please you dont leave me too”. Heaing those words from her only strengthened my resolve.

“ ill be fine “, i said. We saw each other off and went our own separate ways.

Shes so cute and precious, ‘please dont leave me too’ , i just love her soo much. Ive made up my mind to protect Urvashi. Theres no way id disappear. Thats why everytime Urvashi gets a boyfriend, i test them. I would flirt with them , invite them over and every time they easily come with me. Boys are such pigs. Cheaters like that arent worthy of Urvashi. I wanted to make sure that these filthy men would never make Urvashi cry in the future, so i nipped the problem in the bud. The public thinks theyve gone missing , and Urvashi also hasnt noticed either. I do feel sorry for her since because of all this , there are rumors going about her in the class. But its good this way cause the worthless nobodies stay away from her. As i entered the class i saw that somebody had written ‘ Urvashi is a dirty slut who eats men’.i quickly picked up the duster and rubbed it off. I turned around to see that some girls had surrounded Urvashi and were talking to her. I walked closer to the group to listen what they were talking about. I saw that it was Hargun and her friends talking to Urvashi. I say that they had put dirty wet rags on Urvashis seat.

“Urvashi , could you do something about your seat, i dont want to sit near someone whos seat is so dirty”, she said with hate in her eyes and a sly smile on her face.Urvashi glared back at them.

One of the girls got scared and said” what, you think we did this? You are the one who makes your boyfriends disappear and then attend school as if nothing happened.”

“Stop it you all”, i said in a calm voice, looking towards those girls.” what youre doing is completely disgusting.

“You stay away from this “, Hargun said while facing me “ just because you are her best friend doesnt mean you will support everything she does”

“ i didnt say that because im her friend, i said this because i think you all are scum”

The look in my face caused Hargun to shudder a bit. She left with her friends sson after. Urvashi thanked me for saving her, but the only thing that was going through my mind was that Hargun needed to go for Urvashi to be happy. The next day was a weekend , and Hargun attended extra classes on those days till late evening. I put on my hoodie and grabbed my suitcase, duffle bag and a hammer. I waited for her to be alone and then i started following her. I guess she noticed me because after a few minutes she started running. But i always knew that she was a dumb girl. She ended up running into a dead end with no lights. She turned around to see me , but before she could say anything , i smashed her face in with the hammer. She died instantly . i used the bleach to remove any blood from the path and then stuffed her body into the suitcase. Im getting pretty used to killing poeple. But i hadnt done anything wrong, this was all to protect Urvashi. *click* what was that? I turned around to check where that sound came from but there was no one there. Maybe it was my imagination . maybe im getting too paranoid. What is the point of being scared, i dont care being called a murderer if i can keep a smile on Urvashis face. As i thought this , i saw a wretched rotten away face staring from a corner at me. “ are you sure about that ?” , it said “ you erase those who you deem unworthy of of Urvashi, but that isnt the truth. You just want her all yo yourself , dont you?” i got scared and jumped back in impulse.i looked back at the corner but the face was no longer there.” everything i do is for Urvashi and no one else” i said to myself as i walked back to my home.

The next day after classes ended , our teacher told us that Hargun hadnt reached home yesterday and asked us to be extra careful. While walking home i could see that Urvashi was tense . i asked her what was wrong. “ im really cursed arent i ?, anyone i have any kind of connection with disappears.” as she said this, she started weeping.

“ its not your fault Urvashi” , i said while thinking that it was true that it wasnt her fault, because it was mine.i killed them all.

“ theres no need for you to cry” i said “ because, its their fault they didnt come back, each of them might have a reason why they disappeared. So please dont vry for them” as i said this Urvashi stopped crying and without saying anything went back home.

Later that night i decided that it was finally time for me to dismember Urvashi and dispose off her because even after keeping the body in ice , it had started to rot. I put her body in the bathtub and started cutting her in small pieces. As i was doing this someone rang the bell. I thought they would leave after sometime but they kept ringing the bell continuously.i quickly washed my hands and opened the fron door. I was shocked to see the police standing there.

“ are you deeksha?” they asked.

“ yes , but why? “ i said trying to act cool.

“ we received a report so we came to confirm it” as he said this he produced three pictures in front of me. In two if them i could be seen disposing of bodies and in one of them i could be seen stuffing Harguns body in the suitcase. Seeing this i felt as if i lost my voice. I couldnt say anything.

“You are suspected of unlawful disposal of corpse” said the policeman. “ we will now be searching your house” as he said this, two policemen entered my house. “ we found the body sir” on of them shouted from the bathroom”

“ you are under arrest “ said the policeman in front of me.as the policeman apprehended me , i shouted” who was the bastard that clicke those photos? Ill kill them !!”

“I clicked those “

I turned around to see who said that . i was frozen stiff to see Urvashi standing there. “ thats right, i clicked those “

“ Urvashi, what are you doing here?”

“ the fire that broke out two years ago, no one could blame you no matter how much you were at fault, and also i knew you were in love with me. So i thought that id make you suffer through raging jealousy as revenge for the fire. Thats why i started dating those boys. And as i predicted, you killed them both , and as an added bonus you killed Hargun too” she said while giggling.” you mustve thought of some bullshit , like everything i do is for Urvashi, right? You killed them on your own , can you stop saying that it was for my sake? Those word sound quite funny from the mouth of my mothers murderer.” as she said that i felt destroyed. I just wanted to die. “Wait, then why did you forgive me?” i asked shivering.

“ i can tell many lies, i’ll never forgive you . even if you spend the rest of your life atoning for those sins.”

“ hold on , then why, why did you tell me you forgave me back then, if you didnt forgive me, i was ready to kill myself.if you hated my existence that much , i couldve killedmyself for your sake.”

“ it wouldve been over fr you if you died back then. i had to drag you to the deepest depths of despair or else there would have been no point. You killed three poeple , thats a much heavier sin than setting that fire. Thank you for going to hell on your own” as she said that she gave a carefree smile to me, as if she had finally attained the things for which she lived for.

“ i finally got my revenge”

-end-

submitted by /u/xarcaliber [link] [comments] source https://www.reddit.com/r/shortscarystories/comments/gpnwnm/id_die_for_you/ via Blogger https://ift.tt/3efg8It