#They may still end up friends like we wanted but Ember’s gotta be Ember first

[thenameoftheflame]

Now this was the kind of scene she was used to! Ember figured she’d have plenty to see the moment she stepped foot into the Golden Ward, but the Mermaid Cove Mall stuck out pretty vividly. Besides her concerts, nothing got teens swarming out of all control quite like the mall. Shops galore to spend their allowance, a food court full of restaurants to suit any palette, and plenty of space to chill with their friends, nobody but underpaid wannabe cops to try and stop whatever they wished to do. It was just the place to drum up interest in her music to make sure her revolution had its encore.

Her plans, however, would shift around a bit when something in particular caught her interest. Well, not so much something as someone. She was more used to seeing him in dorky spandex with his hair a flash of white rather than black, but she knew this form just as well. It was hard to forget the kid who’d pulled the plug on her plans twice, after all. If her powers were so weakened here, maybe his were too! She could at least torment him with her presence- there was no guarantee he knew she was weaker here too, after all.

Letting her feet lift just slightly off the ground- the one power she knew herself to still have- Ember drifted slowly across the way, making sure to stay out of sight from him. Notably, he seemed unaware of her presence, which, if she remembered his power set right, was a big point in favor of his powers being taken away too. She slipped through the crowds until she managed to get behind him, slowly dropping to the ground with a light clack of her boots.

“That ghost sense getting rusty, babypop?” A low chuckle escaped her. “Might wanna keep your head on a swivel.”

@ghostbxsted

[low-budget-korra]

Lets talk about Korra (again)

i already made this analysis, and it was well received but i dont know, i wanna do it again. Why not right? My english is better now than was when i made that analysis so i think  this one will be better written

What a way to introduce a protagonist. This line and this scene tell us everything we need to know about Korra at that time and everything she knew about herself.

In book one Korra is a 17′s old teenager who have no idea how the world, how life is outside the training center she grew up in and had been locked up since ever. So she is not only naive but have lack of social skills

Oh, and not everyone who lack’s social skills will act like Zuko and Azula okay? Korra can be confident, expressive and outgoing and still have problems when it comes to social skills.One thing dont exclude the other.

“I’m the Avatar and you gotta deal with it” did you guys notice that only for that line we can see the entire opposite on how she treat her role as avatar in comparisson with Aang? And im not here to judge because is two very different contexts.

As far as we know, Korra grew up without friends or romantic partners. Of course, she had her training partners but i believe that they are just that. 

So her entarely perception of herself was around her duty as Avatar, she didnt have personal life, she barely was Korra...She was The avatar and thats that.

So she came to Republic City, it was a mess. 

Its funny to see that she have no touch when it comes to simply talk to people, i guess when you grew up away from society, this happens. And yes, she is cocky and had to learn that people arent there to somewhat please her, and she learned that quicky. 

Thats why the Pro Bending was important for her character, not only for training but also as means of socilization.

Now lets talk about the villains: Amon and Tarrlok

The two of them represents two differents threats to Korra. Amon represents a threat to her duty as Avatar while Tarrlok represents a threat to Korra as a person.

In episode 4 we have what i still thinks is the darker episode from TLOK. In this episode Amon ambushes Korra in the final moments... Even knowing that they did their best to make Amon’s power and control be non-sexualized as possible still...He have her down on her knews, totally helpless and he even invades Korra’s personal space by touching in her face forcing her to look at him. He didn't have to sexually touch her to violate her.

And right after, the fear in Tenzin voice when asking what happened after seeing her laying in the ground like that, and how Korra is sobing in his arms teeling him how powerless and helpless she felt. I mean...Oh, and she keeps terryfied by him until he takes her bending.

Tarrlok in the  other hand doesnt do much different from his brother and started to harass Korra because he cant take ‘no’ as a answer when Korra didnt wanted to join his task force.

Whats interesting is that if it wasnt for Tarrlok harassement and maniputation, Korra wouldnt have joined his task force and wouldnt have confronted Amon and wouldn't have gone through that terrible encounter.

The thing is that Korra is caught right in the middle of a politcal power dispute over the city, something that she for sure wasnt prepare for it. And both Amon and Tarrlok woud hurt or kill her without think twice about it if that means gain  power. And that was exacly what happened

Tarrlok tried to manipulate her and keep her on leash where he could, and when his tatics didnt worked anymore he alreay had a plan B. Yes that whole metal box in that cabin in the middle of nowhere was made especifically for her and maybe Tenzin if he also get in his way.

In the end Korra lost the physical battle against both but won the ethical battle also against both. She was the responsable for expose both of them as corrupted and hypocrites. But at what price? Amon was able to remove the bends of the Avatar. And without them, how could she be the Avatar?

Remember that her entirely conception of herself was built around her duty as Avatar, be the avatar. After all, everything she was, everything she'd trained so hard for, had been destroyed in minutes. Thats why i still strongly believe that she was thinking about killing herself at the end, nobodys goes all sad and crying to in front of a clifft without thinking about jumping from it. 

But she, i think given up the idea and just sit and started to crying when Aang appeared and help her, giving her bendings back in one of the best scenes of the show. So after have everything solve and still managed to get the boy she was in love with, things where great and she “move on”

In that first half, Korra is unbearable. Everything she learned in Book 1 how to be more mature, less spoiled and all, was thrown in the trash and she was the same "child" of the book one only worse.

Until I stopped and realized that I was also unbearable and childish like this when I had my bad phases of anxiety and depression, as defense mechanism and keep people away. Returning to Korra, and if this way of acting of her was nothing more than this defense mechanism?

Because guess what, i dont think she “move on” from all that happened in Book One that fast, and for add more drama she discovered that was her father idea of keeping her locked up training in that training center we saw in book one and not traveling like avatars before her. No wonder she felt betrayed. And for adding even more drama, people still keep treating her like child, so she was despered for some validation. Something that she found in her uncles arms but she was betrayed by him after.

In the end, Korra again goes through a traumatic experience when she has her connection with past lives destroyed. We see how it affected her when she apologizes to Tenzin, through tears. And Tenzin, as the excellent master he is, tries to motivate her to face Vaatu again (now merged with Unalaq, her uncle) and again she saves the day even after go throught a traumatic event

In the final moments, we see the innocent decision to reconnect the world of spirits and the world of men. And we also see Korra and Mako permanently end their turbulent relationship.

Book 3 begins in a more mature, we see all the characters being presented in a more mature way and it seems that Korra now has overcome everything that has passed. We have the relationship between Korra and Asami deepening as well

In Book 3, called "Change" we have a great sacrifice from Korra. Her life goes down a notch when she decides to save the new airbenders from Zaheer and the Red Lotus, the only villain until now that really threat her life since their sole goal was to kill the avatar.

Korra won again but this time victory costed way too much. Yes she save the day again but now she was  physically and psychologically defeated. It was too much, she broke.

Book 4 begins and we only saw Korra in the final minutes and she is unrecognizable. We see that, once proud and courageous avatar, in someone depressed and cowerd. We never have saw Korra like that, even when she was afraid of Amon she wasnt like that.

Korra is afraid of being the Avatar again and her fight against PTSD is still one of the most sensitive, responsable and honest representation of Mentall Issues that i saw, and it was before this subject gain more space on media. It was before people started to give attention to this

I also think that she was having flashs from her other fights and not only the one against Zaheer.

Another thing I think is worth mention is that Korra took 3 years to feel safer and re-embrace her duties as Avatar. It was not 3 weeks or 3 months, it was 3 years. And anyone who suffers from some mental illness knows very well the stigma that is, the fight that is, because everyone wants you to be well faster as possible  when the truth is that many times you spend years fighting against this.  And this is a pressure that falls on you.Imagine, seeing all your friends moving forward while you continue "stock in the same place"?

Only after Korra confronts Zaheer, I think that was a way to show her coping with the trauma, she improves to the point of returning to be the great Avatar we know. I personally still struggles with this scene because put the victim in front of her agressor may not be the best idea but i understand that she needed to see that he was just a man and not the invencible monster her mind was telling her

One of the lines that stuck with me the most was in the TLOK version of the ember island players, the one that made a recap of the show before the finale. When Korra said “I was so naive” just before we watch her narration of her journey, we can feel pain, sadness and strenght. Janet was amazing in the way the delivered this line.

And this fucking quote i saw here on tumblr still is the goat: “The Last Airbender is a story of a boy who becomes a god. The Legend of Korra is the story of a goddess who becomes a girl "

And I still get really pissed when someone comes to talk shit about  Korra because she is such an incredible heroine and her journey is also so incredible.

The story of how life can be hard and unfair, how it can hurt and paralyze, but there is always a reason to move on. We should always move on.

Korra is definitely not weak, quite the opposite, she is one of the if not the strongest heroine I have ever seen. Korra inspires overcoming 

[dreamwraith]

DxS did actually develop in canon

Before I get started, I gotta be upfront, I don't ship it. I prefer to avoid it, in fact. My friends and I rewatched the series last year, though, and watching the episodes all together like that made something stand out to me. The criticism the ship gets about lacking development is...off point. It develops! Even in the third season, the growth is there and it's beautiful and subtle because it builds upon each episode so you really only see it when it's watched all together.

And I think part of the problem is the popular idea that Sam and Danny were crushing on each other before the series began or even just early in the first season, and, like, if you ship these two, please believe me, you don't want that. You don't want to start at the finish line, you'll have gone nowhere, and that is why people assume it didn't have any growth.

But you can see in the first instance when Danny and Sam are called a couple in Mystery Meat, Sam sounds and looks offended while Danny is incredulous. Even in Parental Bonding, Sam doesn't show a preference for Danny over Tucker, she just wants a friend to invite her because her ideals aren't going to let her go to "some stupid dance" unless she has the excuse she's doing it for someone else. The narration is obviously moving her and Danny in that direction, but they're not feeling anything yet. She and Danny dance, and there is none of the blushing you see in later episodes.

Why is this?

Because GROWTH

I don't think the romantic subplot really even starts to affect them until the fake-out-make-out happens in Shades of Gray. They're still only friends after it happens, it's incredibly awkward, they're cringing because they just crossed a line, necessary or not. If you watch the scene without any expectations for the coming relationship, Danny is very alarmed that Sam is kissing him. He’s freaking the freak out, he lost control of his powers (just as Sam had hoped) and he’s wide-eyed and pounding his fists on the ground. He did not expect this AT ALL. Any of it. And even when he sits up and he has that half-lidded look on his face, he’s not looking at Sam, he’s just looking off into space in a very “a girl just kissed me” boy daze. Congrats, Danny. He snaps out of it once Sam speaks, and then they both get this grimace on their face. I don’t think it has anything to do with secret feelings, I think it’s because people have been teasing them about being lovebirds and now they’re going to get mocked and teased mercilessly, and oh fudge. 

So they don’t feel anything there, BUT the simple act of kissing gets them thinking. It must get them thinking because the next episode is Fanning the Flames.

The important detail isn't the love spell, it's how receptive Danny and Sam are to each other at the beginning of the episode. Last episode, they kissed out of necessity, and now they're blushing when they hold hands, smiling shyly at each other, giving compliments, staring at each other, blushing, blushing, blushing. It's as though that fake kiss flipped a switch and now they are aware of each other in ways they never were before. In fact, Sam is shown to be very taken with Danny flying in the sunlight, a very clear moment in the series where there's a shift in the shading, the angle of the camera, and we the audience are allowed to see through Sam's eyes as she looks at Danny and sees him in a different light in what might be to her the first time.

And quick aside here, you have probably heard the argument Sam loves Danny for his powers, but you may not have heard this isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's an expression of Sam's character to, not only delight in the unique and odd, but to appreciate action when it's called for. Danny is a half ghost hero who refuses to sit on the sidelines when someone is in trouble. These are things Sam values, and Danny being who he is and what he does is going to make her heart pound with admiration. He's her dream guy, but more than that, he's her friend. She knows his flaws and who he is as a person. There is absolutely nothing wrong with her loving his powers and how unique it makes him in addition to liking him. I see it a little bit like having a thing for drummers and then your friend develops an aptitude for drumming. It's not going to change the friendship, but you might notice him a little differently. The only problem here would be if she liked him for the powers and not because there is something more there. For Sam, I think, it’s not just the powers. Danny Phantom isn't a stranger who is half ghost and saving people, he's Danny, her friend. She has watched him develop into a hero, starting from episode one, when Danny decided to do something with his powers.

It's a wild, new perception of Danny that would be hitting her in this moment, and if Ember hadn't interfered, they may have actually gotten together much sooner. But she did. She placed a spell over Danny and threw into question everything they have been feeling and made things move too fast, way too fast, for Sam, who, as you’ll remember, couldn’t even admit she wanted to go to a dance a few episodes ago.

Idk if you guys have noticed this or if anyone else agrees, but I fully believe it's Sam who sets the pace. For all the clueless jokes and teasing, Danny has shown from the get-go he's receptive to the idea of him and Sam getting together. Just look at the way he smiles whenever something happens between them-- it's usually Sam who pulls away or ducks her head. Such as in this episode, when the love spell is broken and she, not Danny, makes an excuse for why they hugged for so long. If we focus on Danny in this relationship, the progression of his feelings aren't very linear. There are moments when he notices her or learns to appreciate her, but they aren't major shifts for him. Like he said in Urban Jungle, "I always thought you ruled, Sam." When I rewatched it, I didn't see Sam waiting for Danny, I saw Danny waiting for Sam. You might see it differently, tho, idk, I don't ship it :P But for this meta, I'm going to say it's her. She's not ready. And there's many reasons why.

For one, we saw in Parental Bonding she isn't comfortable admitting she wants the same things other girls want. Even though she really wants to go to the dance, she pretends she doesn't. It's important to her that she is different, even when it's an act. It's possible too then that she's not ready to give in to romance, especially one that others have been pressing on her. I don't think that would have stopped her in the long run, given how she was responding to Danny, but...Ember. That love spell. Idk what was fully intended to be going through her mind after that, but I believe it assured her it was best they stay friends, which is why she pulls back and makes an excuse. Danny's obsession under the spell was annoying, creepy, and it ruined what they had as friends. It's reasonable she wanted to take a step back. I think Danny looks like he understands? He was the one who caught on she wanted to go to the dance despite her denials, he must understand her pretty well on some level, so he probably recognizes that she isn't ready. He’s smiling when Sam makes the excuse. Or maybe he suspects that's the case. I might be basing a lot on his little smile and blush at the end there, but he also blatantly flirts with Sam at the end of Memory Blank and she's the one who smiles and ducks her head while he beams and raises his. They seem to be on the same wavelength here as far as his feelings and hers go, and it doesn't make sense for all these blushes and smiles between them to be something Danny... just... didn't pick up on when he's often responding to Sam's reactions. He's not clueless between these episodes, but he's not pushing her. He's not pushing himself. They're letting their friendship take priority.

So what changes? How does Danny go from knowing to clueless?

I'm thinking it was Reign Storm.

This, I think, is the moment Danny starts to think he had it all wrong. Since they've never actually spoken about how they feel, he can revisit the events of Fanning the Flames and the "Sam? But I thought..." "I thought too..." and start thinking Ember really did ruin things after all because at the climax of Reign Storm...Sam turned him down. Or she let the chance slip away. He didn't admit his feelings, but he indirectly asked her about hers, giving her a chance to say something before he faced his toughest fight to date, something she was afraid he might not survive, but she didn't say anything. She couldn't. She wasn't ready. Valerie had come onto the scene, and the burgeoning romance between her and Danny made Sam insecure. Valerie is beautiful, comfortable flirting with Danny, and Danny is responding to her. Valerie is what Sam isn't, but she isn't cruelly shallow like Paulina, there isn't an easy dismissal here. It's the first time Sam is faced with competition for Danny's affection and she... doesn't know if she wants to fight for it or not. She's hesitant to meet Valerie's challenge in that final scene, and whenever she opposes Danny's friendship with Valerie she uses Valerie's ghost hunting as the reason. It's a fair excuse, I just don't think it's the only reason. She's too angry and too hurt for there not to be personal undertones. But she can't admit it out loud, maybe not even to herself. It's the dance situation all over again, but this time Danny is distracted by Valerie and doesn't think Sam wants him back. Why would he? In a life or death situation, she didn't say anything. Silence carries its own words. Danny must have assumed she doesn't like him back after all.

Obviously, things come to a little bit of a head when Danny starts to get serious about Valerie. Events are manipulated by Technus, of course, but the feelings are Danny's own. Technus didn't make Danny stay up talking to Valerie all night; he chose to. Technus didn't make Valerie lay her head on Danny's shoulder; she chose to. So, when Danny responds to Sam's "Do you really think the universe wants you two to be together?" with "I don't know...I might." It's significant. Sam knows it too. Her voice actor did a great job putting pain into that gasp.

So Sam does what she has since Fanning the Flames; she puts her friendship with Danny first. If this is what he wants, she's not going to get in his way. Events may have continued apace in this fashion, with Sam silently pining as Danny explores a relationship with Valerie, BUT things aren't as simple as Danny or Valerie would like them to be. Misunderstandings and secrets undermine them from the start, and Sam's self sacrifice sees an immediate payoff when Danny trusts her with the ring he was going to give Valerie.

I...don’t really want to get into the WES ring thing, but Jack’s assumption here that Danny is dating Sam (not Valerie) is probably due to him seeing Danny dip and kiss Sam in the lab during Memory Blank. Sam wished for Danny to keep his DP symbol, so this whole scene probably still played out, and Jack likely still remembers he saw Danny kiss Sam, only now he remembers her name wasn’t actually Paulina. 

Idk if I’m grasping at straws or not with this, I’m just trying to give meaning to Jack’s mistake haaaaa...

I'm not going to get into the WES ring thing, I'm sorry. It hurt my feelings and it has Butch vibes all over it. Tucker’s “What is this, the eighties” has me freaked because yeah and the fact that it’s Jack’s class ring and not Danny’s because Danny is too young to have a class ring? I don’t like it I don’t like it ahhhhh

But. That Sam tosses a ring that has her name on it into the air and yet calls Danny clueless is an ironic joke I'm forever going to snicker at. Well played. Even if the rest of it was a dick move.

Sooooo...Valerie has withdrawn, Sam is smugly triumphant, but Danny is still pining after Valerie. The relationship between Danny and Sam is at a standstill because Sam's preferred status quo is back, aside from Danny is now blind to her.

Enter Gregor.

Oh, this little shit...

My personal opinion on this episode is that it wasn't necessary to pull the jealousy angle on Danny when he already had established feelings for Sam in the earlier episodes, but it does let Sam explore romance without risking her friendship. That's really all it is, you can see it in the way she behaves with Gregor. She's infatuated, but there isn't anything deeper than attraction and shared interests (or so Elliot makes it seem). Gregor's color scheme probably played a part in catching Sam's attention by making her think of him (a stranger) in a positive light. It's Phantom's color scheme from top to bottom. I'm pretty sure the writers made him that way, not for Sam, but for Danny. "This could have been you" they're saying "you should be in his place."

Ahh jealousy...

While Sam is exploring her sexuality, the romantic parts of herself she's been denying for so long, Danny is losing his god dang mind. If I focus on Sam, I like this episode much better. Danny is an absolute dick here. Someone stop him, pls, omg. The jealousy arc in a friends to lovers trope is pretty easy to understand. This is meant to make him recognize he could lose Sam to someone else if he keeps chasing after Valerie, it's supposed to make Sam the focus of his attention again, to make him aware of his feelings for her, make her desirable, a possession, objectified ect., ect.. Jealousy is a bad look on all romances, please don’t do this

Sam, though, I like her potential here if I continue with the idea she's been afraid to open herself to the idea of dating until now. It's a little fast, given that she's crushing within five seconds of seeing the guy (Danny at least was given two episodes and death defying adventures), but that's sort of the idea? She's not thinking here. She's... taking a plunge of sorts. She's letting herself follow her emotions instead of trying to beat them down, possibly because Gregor is new to the school, possibly because he also claims to be Goth so there is a sense of community she's responding to. Possibly because some part of her is tired of tormenting herself over crushing on Danny, and Gregor offers a fresh new take on something that has, so far, only caused her pain. Idk. It depends on how you want to interpret her feelings here. In my mind, she jumped on dating him so fast there had to be something else prompting her to open herself like that. It's not very consistent with how she has approached relationships and feelings in general up to this point, so I have to assume it was some sort of breaking point.

Regardless, she snaps out of it when they kiss. 

And she does kiss him back. Before it cuts to commercials, she closes her eyes and wraps her arms around his neck, he pulls her close, and that's when we zoom in on Danny's shocked face. I suppose this is the moment where he's meant to feel the most pain. Unlike Sam who put friendship over her feelings, however, Danny lashes out. He does come around when he's talking to Gregor in the locker room, though. Fair points to Danny, he does come around in the end. It's just a little too late.

I would feel bad for him, but he annoyed me a lot in the episode. 

Sam already looked like she was rethinking the relationship with Gregor after the kiss. He smoothed things out after she shoved him away, but she still looks uncertain when they walk off. In my mind, she was cool with the relationship because it was fun and everything, but she wants Danny, and Gregor isn't him. When he kissed her, it felt good, but then it didn't feel right and she pulled back. The romance was fun for her in this episode, but I think this was the moment she committed to Danny as the one she wants, despite the risk to their friendship. She still defends herself from Danny and walks away from school holding Gregor's hand, she's not giving up on Gregor yet, but she doesn't seem nearly as into him as she did before. Him snapping at Tucker and revealing his true colors just made everything easier.

Bye-bye tacky Danny substitute.

Danny recovers some ground then by complimenting her as a person. Sam might be able to see his feelings for her shining through, I think. The whole moment just felt wholesome and gooey sweet lol.

They still don't talk about it, though. Poor Tucker. I would be screaming in his place.

That brings us to season three.

Sam and Danny have both committed to how they feel about each other at this point, they just haven't said anything. They don't know that the other feels the same, only that they really like their friend.

Mutual pining, fully engaged.

Danny, in particular, has gone full blown. He's not even trying to deny it anymore, he's just shy and nervous about it, trying to hide it because he doesn't want to get hurt. He's usually bold when it comes to matters of the heart, especially by this point in the series, so he's holding that ember pretty close to his chest like he's afraid someone is going to blow it out. He has reason to be. He's been crushed in Fanning the Flames and disappointed in Reign Storm. He's all in, now, and very vulnerable because of it. When Johnny and later his dad ask about his "girlfriend," he stutters and shies away. He's not confident about anything except how he feels. Sam hasn't shown him any indication at this point in the series that she feels anything for him outside of friendship.

Urban Jungle pushes things, but Sam is a puppet. Undergrowth is speaking through her, using Sam to bait Danny into a trap. He can't trust the things she says in that state, and, kindness points to him, he doesn't. They don't blush when he gives her the ice crystal; they won the day, and he let's her off the hook like she had for him back in Control Freaks.

No, nothing for them changes until Frightmare.

Frightmare is the most important episode for their relationship. It is, in fact, in some ways more of a climax than Phantom Planet. They have spent the entire series not talking about how they feel. Sam has kept her feelings for Danny so tightly guarded he didn't know she still felt anything for him. The dreamwalking let's him see what Sam has hidden for so long, and once it's out, it's out. Danny knows. Sam knows he knows. Sam doesn't know that Danny dreamt about the same, she's only responding to the idea Danny now knows about her feelings for him. And Danny's actions after he finds out is positive, accepting, encouraging. But not pushing. They're still waiting. They're balanced on a pinhead and comfortable and happy to be there again after all they've been through since Fanning the Flames.

You can see the change in their relationship during Claw of the Wild. They're acting off each other. They haven't spoken still, but they're working in tandem. Danny is confident enough to do that arm move, a far cry from the boy in Girls Night Out who was trying to hide how he felt.

Sadly, D-Stabilized happens after, and as everyone knows, canon ends there. How Danny and Sam ultimately get together (assuming they get together at all) is up to you :3

............

Okay fine...

Phantom Planet is a fanfiction given canon status, but it does fit into the development of their relationship fairly well.

Danny and Sam know how they feel and how the other feels, they just haven't made anything official yet. It's kind of a foregone conclusion at this point, and they're kind of acting like it, such as when Danny lays his hand over Sam's after he loses his powers. There's his confidence in romance again. You love to see it.

It is a bit rocky here. Danny isn't listening, Sam isn't communicating, there is a lot of passive aggressive shiiiiiit going down before Sam becomes overtly aggressive and Danny finally notices something is wrong. That idiot...

I don't remember the whole speech. I remember thinking there were undertones because they know how each other feels now, but I can't remember the words exactly. Sam was frustrated and Danny finally gets his head out of his ass and starts listening, and he starts to consider just what it was he lost. What he gave up. And for what? Sam makes him look beyond the immediate problems, and there is value in that.

Being dissed by Dash after he failed to save him might have been the final nail, though, to be fair xD

Sam obviously likes Danny's unique powers, but she was at her most thrilled when he started trying to be a hero again even without his powers. His attitude was what was frustrating her, and once he stopped caring only about himself, she forgave him.

I will still hold, however, the dialogue was not great. Her reaction to seeing Danny's ghost form again was something like "Danny, it's you! I mean it was always you, but you're you again!"

It wasn't great, combined with everything else. It's just not. Since she just saw him (almost) die, I might have had her go with "Danny, you're alive! Er, ish! Alive-ish!"

She's actually going to see him (almost) die again a few minutes after this too! Ahhhhhhhhhhhh! Poor girl.

I believe they hook up shortly after this in Antarctica. Idk. I blanked out on a lot of the movie. Sorry. I do remember, there wasn't a huge confession or anything. The only real, um, shock? Reveal? Was Sam noticing the ring had her name on it when she tried to give it back to him. They've known for a while how they felt, they're just finally (FINALLY) addressing it, so it's kind of low-key. Just. Finally giving voice to what they've felt. That must be so freeing. It wasn't a reveal, it was an acceptance.

(Does this play into Danny saying nothing is official until he gives [Valerie] the ring back in Flirting with Disaster? I think it might be.)

If you ship it, you can probably fill in the emotions of this moment better than I can. My experience was to laugh. I'm aro, lads, I did not give a hoot lmao. Can't help thinking now that the spinning camera angle, plus the 3D asteroid, is probably what tanked half of the third season's budget.

Urban Jungle's advertising got the other half lol

It was effective, though, I've seen how well loved that moment is for its fans. It was a long time coming, it took a lot of build up and courage to reach this point, well done you two.

And of course you got the hill scene. Sam's ring officially placed on Sam's ring finger (remove it this instant and put it on the correct hand, omfg, BUTCH, you had one job--The boyfriend's class ring goes on the right hand, ring finger, I'm screaming THEY’RE TOO YOUNG TO BE ENGAGED) and they talk! I don't fully remember what it was about, Danny coming to terms with his ghost half, probably, and how Sam has helped him accept himself. It was very sweet and cheesy lol. But the climatic moment for this ship during the finale was in Antarctica. It culminated what they've left unsaid for so long.

And then Danny lifts Sam into a bridal carry (gdi Butch) and they fly off into the sunset, and that’s the end of the show!

... my messy interpretation of Phantom Planet aside, hopefully this has helped you love your ship more, though I understand this is just my interpretation of things. I really wanted to write this for myself, to help me understand the ship better. I enjoy analyzing things as a writer, but with this ship, I often focus on the negative, not the positive, and I wanted to give it it's dues. It is a very sweet ship when taken all together.

I do want to talk about how canon failed this ship and just didn’t hit its full potential, but for this at least I wanted to focus only on what they did RIGHT. There was actual progression in the relationship, although it wasn’t always linear due to what I suspect was Sam’s hesitation to give up friendship for romance and Danny’s attraction to Valerie. In the end they worked things out, and I think the defining moment for Danny was a callback to Sam’s worth to him in Memory Blank, when he discovered she made him a hero, and then in Phantom Planet she did it again by pushing him to be more than your average citizen, more than who he was before the accident, and he was like alright, that’s it, it’s you. It has to be you. 

[ghostgothgeek]

Chaos.

Another for the Phic Phight! This one kinda combines two prompts and I had so much fun writing it! In this, Danny and Tucker don’t know Sam plays video games yet. 5,063 words.

"What do you mean you don’t feel the same way? We´ve had a mutual crush on each other for years." Sam says angrily after finally confessing her love to him. But Danny´s heart was beating hard for someone else entirely. Prompt by phantomfana. 

Danny wants to ask his crush to the upcoming school dance. Prompt by Rikaleeta.

-----

It was another long night of ghost hunting for Danny. Technus took up the first part of the night, trying to take over the park’s new security system. Tucker was fortunately still awake to help him out with that. Then Johnny and Kitty rolled in, but they weren’t looking for trouble, they just wanted a date night and swore they wouldn’t be a problem. Apparently Fridays were their days off for “everything but each other”. Danny was a romantic, but he didn’t know if this was sweet or nauseating. Ember had put up a good fight, though. He was proud he only had one injury to tend to. He had dodged most of her attacks, but she was still a pretty advanced ghost. And, of course, Danny had caught the Box Ghost six, count them, SIX times. How did he always manage to get out?! He wasn’t difficult to take down, he was just a pest. 

Danny sighed as he sat down at his computer chair. It was only 12:30 am, and it was a Friday. He could sleep in tomorrow and he deserved at least a couple hours of fun. He logged into his online gaming account and saw Tucker was online. Figures. He pulled up the chat anyway. 

Astrohaunt: Hey Tuck. Still up?

Technopedia: You know it. Chaos signed on about a half hour ago and I’m not passing up the opportunity.

Astrohaunt: Dude is so good it’s unreal!

Technopedia: He goes to our school, I tracked one of his IP addresses and he logged in at school a few times.

Astrohaunt: Tucker wtf. That’s creepy!

Technopedia: I just want to make sure Chaos is actually a kid and not Lancer again!

Astrohaunt: I still can’t wrap my mind around Lancer playing Doomed…

Technopedia: Same. But Chaos IP is different from Lancer, so we good. Unless more teachers play Doomed.

Astrohaunt: I hate you for putting that image into my brain.

Technopedia: Sorry dude. But quick come join before someone else gets Chaos.

Danny, Tucker, and Chaos had made a great team. Whenever Chaos was around, they were actually able to progress through the game. They played several rounds until Tucker was caught by his mom and was forced to sign off, but Danny and Chaos kept playing. 

TeamChaos: Hey, what’s up?

Astrohaunt: Omg dude you’re so awesome. 

TeamChaos: Ha, thanks. Gotta blow off steam somehow. 

Astrohaunt: Tell me about it! Between Lancer’s three projects and midterms and...other stuff...this is my only time to actually chill. I’ve been so stressed!

TeamChaos: Same. I did finish one of the projects though. I’m always here if you need to talk, you know. 

Astrohaunt: Wow, I may just take you up on that offer. I’ve had a rough night.

TeamChaos: Lay it on me.

And so Danny, sparing the ghost hunting details, stayed up chatting with Chaos until 5 am. He got along really well with the guy, they had a lot of similar interests. This was just the first of many up-all-night conversations they shared. After a few months, Danny felt a special connection with Chaos, and yet, he didn’t even know his name! 

Astrohaunt: We’ve been talking all these months and I still don’t know your name. I’m Danny. 

TeamChaos: Oh, thought you knew. It’s Sam!

Astrohaunt: Hey! One of my best friends is named Sam! 

TeamChaos: You don’t say!!!

The next day at school, Danny pulled Tucker over to him, whispering, “Dude, help. I think I might be gay....” 

“What?!” Tucker shouted.

“Quiet, Tuck!” 

“Okay, well uh...why?” Tucker sent him a weird look and took a step back. 

“No, not you. Chaos. I think I have a crush on Chaos.” Danny ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know what to do! I never thought I’d be...you know. Chaos and I just have good conversations and he’s always there to listen to me when I need to vent. I thought maybe I found another best friend but...this is different. Chaos is so cool and I’m crushing and I don’t even know who he is or what he looks like! Or if he feels the same way! Maybe I’m just stupid and-”

“Dude, chill. You’re jumping too far ahead of yourself. Whichever way you, you know, swing...I’m still your best friend.” Tucker pulled out his PDA. “Let me see what I can find out. I know Chaos goes to our school.”

“Thanks, Tuck. As if being half ghost wasn’t hard enough! Oh, and he’s in our class, because he’s talked me through assignments and knows what they are and stuff. He’s almost as good as explaining things as Sam. Crap...Sam. Don’t tell her about this!” Danny started fidgeting. 

“Well,” Tucker raised his eyebrows in surprise, “I can tell you with absolute certainty that Chaos is definitely a girl.” 

“You found out who Chaos is?!” 

“What, like it’s hard?” Tucker chuckled. “I traced the IP addresses she uses. I know who she is. So do you,” Tucker smirked, “It shocked me at first, but it makes total sense! And I can totally see why you like her.” 

“Really?” Danny let out a breath in relief. “Okay that makes me feel a lot better...hey, maybe I can ask Chaos to the dance next Saturday!” 

Tucker rested a hand on Danny’s shoulder. “Go for it. Ask Sam. I’m almost positive she’ll say yes.”

“Okay, I will...wait, not Sam! Chaos!” Danny clarified. “Well, actually, I think Chaos told me her name was Sam. Ha, small world. I can’t wait to introduce Sam to Sam. I think they would really get along.” 

Tucker busted out laughing, “Oh, dude. You go ahead and do that.” He left Danny standing there in the hallway, still laughing all the way to his next class.

Danny, a bit confused by Tucker’s laughter, shook his head and smiled to himself. Okay, good. He’d had enough identity crises to fill a lifetime. Chaos was definitely a girl. Now if he just knew Chaos returned his feelings, things might actually work out for him this time and he could actually have a girlfriend.

Meanwhile, Sam was having an internal debate of her own. Sitting in a class where the teacher couldn’t give two shits about what the students were doing, she had always used this class as her thinking time. Usually her thinking-about-Danny time. She nervously clicked her pen as she thought about recent events. 

She and Danny spent so much time chatting online when they weren’t hanging out in person. Danny was a little bit more bold online, probably because he didn’t have to interact face-to-face or risk his pants falling down in public again. Online, they talked about everything. No topic was off limits. Plus, Sam felt like their friendship had only grown even stronger when they could chat online and not have to worry about blushing or getting teased by Tucker. Chatting online took away all the pressure and made it much easier to connect with Danny. 

Danny hadn’t said anything yet, of course. He was probably scared. Hell, she was scared. She was already so in love with him, and getting closer online only further solidified that fact. She had never been in love before, and even though she hunts ghosts, this was more terrifying! She was fairly certain he returned her feelings, but both were too chicken to actually make that final step. They’ve been best friends forever. She didn’t want to mess up their already great dynamic or force Tucker to be the third wheel, though he did insist he was more than okay with that and encouraged them to finally get together. 

Sam stopped clicking her pen as she suddenly remembered it was senior year. They hadn’t picked colleges yet, but whether they ended up going to the same school or not, things were going to change. Danny was very attractive, and going off to college meant girls may actually approach him when they didn’t know his parents were ghost fighters. The fact had never bothered Sam, but she did kind of like how it kept most girls at school from asking him out or giving him attention. Valerie had been a challenge, especially because she was a ghost hunter herself and probably wanted to get tips from his parents. Sam was glad that relationship ended relatively early. It was too hard on her. Joyous or not, though, she was still mad at Valerie for how she broke his heart. 

But that was 2 years ago. They had all moved on and friendships were more or less mended across the board. This made Sam glance at her favorite picture of her and Danny. Tucker had taken the candid picture and it was now her phone’s background. In it, Danny was giving Sam a piggyback ride. Her arms were lightly strung around his neck, legs looped around his waist. Danny had kept going in the opposite direction Sam told him to go, which frustrated her but also made her laugh. She had rested her chin on his shoulder, her face pressed right up against his. Danny was looking at her and Tucker had captured that rare moment when Sam had a huge grin on her face, still laughing. She smiled at the picture. They would be okay no matter what. Their friendship would survive.

Anyway, Sam also realized she had already come close to losing Danny, in more ways than one. Whether it was to other girls or a ghost, there was always that anxiety stirring in her head that she could lose him entirely some day. Life was too short. She needed to take the plunge for both of them and just get them both over this hurdle, and they could finally, finally, actually get together. 

Sam made her decision. It was now or never. She was going to tell him. Today. The trio was meeting up at Danny’s house later anyway, and if she got there early enough, she could talk to him before Tucker showed up and teased them about it. Sam firmly nodded her head to herself, a confirmation of her decision. It was finally time.

After school, Danny was pacing in his room, trying to figure out how he wanted to do this. Asking a girl to the dance wasn’t a huge deal, and yet at the same time, it was. He would rather ask in person, but he still didn’t know what Chaos looked like, so asking in person seemed to be off the table. He could look in the yearbook for all the girls named Sam at their school. He could already omit one Sam Manson from that list. How many Sams could possibly attend their school? It would be easier to ask Tucker, though. Tucker already knew who she was. Sam and Tucker were on their way over right now. When Sam wasn’t paying attention, he could ask Tucker for Sam’s full name. 

Chaos Sam, not best friend Sam. God, this was so confusing. Why were girls so hard for him? Freshman year, Paulina only liked his ghost half and wouldn’t give his human half the time of day. Sophomore year, Valerie hated his ghost half and that hatred was more important to her than her feelings for his human half. Junior year, he had been denying that he was in love with his best friend. And now that he had finally accepted that he did like his best friend as much more than a friend, a new girl entered the picture and he now found himself trying to choose between two Sams. Because it apparently wasn’t hard enough for him already to make the biggest and most important change he could possibly make in a friendship, let’s add another crush to the mix and give them the same name.

Sam. Best friend Sam - that’s who he was planning on asking originally, even if he chickened out and had to ask her as a friend instead. Plus, he and Sam had somehow gotten closer recently, and he was pretty sure she liked him. Sure, it was only because Tucker told him so, but it was a possibility. The thing was, he didn’t want to ruin things. Especially because he truly didn’t know how Sam, best friend Sam, felt about him. She was a tough and courageous girl, surely she would have said something by now if it were true. So Tucker must be pulling his leg.

But he did have another option - Chaos Sam, who may actually return his feelings. Sure, the feelings weren’t nearly as strong as what he felt for his best friend, but the feelings were still there. Plus, if he got rejected by Chaos, it would be less heartbreaking than being rejected by Sam, someone he had known for years rather than months. He could deal with losing a newer friend, but not one of his best friends. Sam was too important and he knew he needed her in his life.

Danny sighed. This was really hard, but he made a decision. It was easier to go with Chaos than risk ruining things with Sam. Danny had enough drama going on in his life already, he needed an easy win. 

He broke from his thoughts when the doorbell rang. He ran downstairs and opened it, only slightly surprised to see Sam there. She was usually early for things. He and Tuck were more prone to being late. 

“Hey, Sam. Come on in!” Danny moved so Sam could enter his house. He shut the door and followed her upstairs and back to his room as she returned his greeting. She was pacing the same path he just had, muttering quietly to herself. She looked nervous. “Something on your mind?” 

Sam was startled out of her thoughts. “Huh? Oh yeah.” She noticed his disheveled appearance, also noting he was fidgety. Was he going to do what she was about to do? “What about you, you look like you’ve been thinking a little too hard about something.” She smiled softly. 

Danny chuckled, “Yeah, but it’ll resolve itself soon. I’ll worry about it after the movies. Tuck should be here any second. Oh, but I’m glad you’re early. Can you help me with something quick?” 

“Of course.” Sam followed him to his desk, smiling and rolling her eyes when he pointed to a homework problem. “I should have known.” 

Danny gave her a lopsided smile and watched as she showed him how to do the problem in her perfect handwriting. It took no more than a couple of minutes. Now, they were just waiting for Tucker to arrive. 

Sam looked at the time. He would be here soon. She needed to do this now. She needed to tell Danny. She couldn’t wait until after the movies for him to tell her. She had already waited long enough and couldn’t bear another second.

“Danny, can I talk to you for a second?” She sat down on his bed and gestured for him to do the same. 

Danny could sense the seriousness in her voice, and nodded anxiously. He was scared when Sam was serious about things. It was usually something bad.

“Danny…” She decided to get straight to the point. “I like you. As in like-like you. More than like, and more than a friend. And we’ve been doing this dancing around for at least 4 years now and I’m sick of it. I just want to be with you already. What do you say?” Sam held her breath as she waited for Danny to answer. 

He stared at her with wide eyes before nervously rubbing the back of his neck and turning his attention to his shoes, avoiding eye contact with the goth. God, why him?! He had stupidly thought, for once, things would be easier for him this time. He had already sent an offline message to Chaos that he wanted to ask her something, and then Sam had to come along and tell him what he had wanted to hear for some time now. But he couldn’t blow Chaos off when he had already somewhat asked. Of course, his life just had to be complicated every step of the way. He really liked both girls and didn’t want to hurt his best friend. Regardless, he had to be honest. He owed Sam that much. “Well, I mean, yeah, but…” 

“But what?” Sam whispered, clearly already upset. Fuck. Fuck fuck FUCK. This was exactly what he didn’t want to happen. He decided to try going with Chaos so he could avoid heartbreak from his best friend. The very thing he had been so afraid of, he was doing to her right now. 

Danny sighed again. “But I can’t. I’m so sorry, Sam.” It was hard to choke out, but he said it, and he felt terrible. He pressed his lips together and kept staring at his shoes until Sam lifted his chin up, forcing him to look at her. 

“What do you mean you don’t feel the same way? We’ve had mutual crushes on each other for years!” Sam said angrily, feeling her heart break as her best friend and love of her life rejected her confession of love. She was so sure he returned her feelings! Especially after all the great conversations they had shared online these last few months. “Or, at least, I thought we did.” Tears swelled in her eyes. Did he lead her on? “I-I need an explanation, Danny,” she quietly stated after he didn’t continue. 

Danny frowned and his heart ached. He didn’t want to hurt his best friend like this. Hell, he really liked her! Of course their crushes were mutual! And if this had happened 6 months ago instead of now, he would have jumped at the chance. But now...now he had Chaos and already forced himself to stick with his decision. It was easy with Chaos; there was no friendship to risk, no denying of being lovebirds or brushing off kisses as fakeout makeouts. Plus, he couldn’t lie to his best friend. She would know if he was lying. And he already told himself she deserved the truth. “There’s...someone else…” 

“What?” Sam whispered before turning angry again, “Paulina? Valerie? Star?” she spat out. 

Danny shook his head, “Ew, no...it’s someone I met online...I’m so sorry, Sam. I like you a lot, I really do, but I think I’ve already come to the conclusion that I like this girl I met online, Chaos, and I have to try to see that through.” 

Many emotions crossed Sam’s face as she pieced together what he just said. At first she was upset, but as he explained himself, she felt disbelief, confusion, anger, and finally, hope. He couldn’t really be that clueless, right? “Show me.” 

“Huh? I mean, I don’t actually know what she looks like, but we message every night and she really understands me! I know it sounds ridiculous, but-” 

“Show me,” Sam repeated. “Show me her profile.” 

“You’re not going to hurt her, are you?” Danny questioned cautiously.

“No, of course not. Just shut up and show me the profile.” Sam was more calm now, and that was kind of scary. Even though Sam said she wouldn’t hurt Chaos, he didn’t want to give her the chance. But he knew how stubborn his friend was, and eventually in whatever way, she would force the information out of him. 

Danny sighed and pulled up the profile to show Sam. “I’m sorry, Sam. I’m still your best frien-” 

“Shut up.” Sam scrolled through what Danny pulled up for her and pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. Closing her eyes slowly, she took a deep breath. “Didn’t Chaos tell you her name?” 

“Uh,” Danny thought, “oh yeah! She said her name was Sam, because I thought she was a boy at first and I had an existential crisis, but then Tucker told me-” 

“Danny. I’m Sam.” 

“No I know, and sure it’ll be a little weird cause you’re Sam and she’s Sam, it’s confusing, but I-” 

Sam interrupted him once again. She could hear Tucker’s footsteps approaching. She was running out of time to not make this a spectacle. “No, Danny. Chaos. Sam. Me. I’m Sam. I am Sam,” 

Tucker only heard the tail end of the conversation as he entered the room. Never able to pass up a comedic opportunity, he smirked and added “I am Sam. Sam I am. I do not like green eggs and ham!” 

It was suddenly silent in the room as his friends seized conversation and glared at him. Oops. 

“Oh, am I interrupting something?” Tucker could see the fire in Sam’s eyes. “Uh, oh wait I forgot my...sock. I’ll be downstairs!” He raced out of the room.

Sam turned her attention back to Danny. “No, you stupid fucking MORON. I am Chaos. You’ve been talking to me the whole time. I thought you knew that!” Danny stared at her blankly until she pulled out her phone and he watched her log into her account, proving it to him. Sure enough, it was Chaos’s profile. He could see all the direct messages between them, including his offline message about wanting to ask her something.

“Wait, you? You’re Sam? I mean, Chaos? I mean Sam?” Danny looked back and forth between the profile and his best friend. 

“UGH!” Sam shouted as she threw her hands in the air. “Yes, Danny. That’s me! Did you really not notice that Chaos was the same age as me and a girl who goes to our school? We have the same name and interests! Didn’t you wonder why it was so easy to talk right off the bat? I thought you put that all together and us just pretending to not know each other was a little bit you were trying to do or something!” 

Danny stared at her as he continued to piece it all together. He was definitely embarrassed. He felt so stupid. How could he not tell that Chaos was Sam, his best friend since 7th grade? Talk about being totally clueless. 

Wait. Clueless? Well, fuck! He got the nickname now! 

His eyes flickered back and forth as he thought everything through. Eventually, he started to crack a smile. “Wait, so I’ve had a crush on you and also you? You’re the same person! This is great! Do you know what this means?!” 

Sam slapped her forehead and began walking downstairs. “I don’t even know if this is worth it anymore…” 

“Wait, how come Tuck and I never knew you played video games! We can enter team tournaments! You’re so good!” Danny chased after her. 

Tucker watched as Sam grumbled about Danny caring more about video games than her. An excited Danny was right on her tail. 

“Tucker! Sam is Chaos! I’ve been in love with Sam this whole time!” Danny explained. 

“Tucker, I need you to refrain me from slapping his stupid clueless face,” Sam started. 

“Wait, you didn’t know Sam was Chaos? Dude! I thought I was obvious about that!” Tucker began laughing at Danny. 

“I know, so did I.” Sam crossed her arms over her chest. 

“Danny, you can calculate levels of rocket fuel and figure out how to get us to Mercury or something,” Tucker started. 

“Mars, actually,” Danny corrected. 

“But you can’t figure out that your best friend and your crush are the same person? You’re more than Captain Clueless, you’re like….Lieutenant Clueless? That’s like, bigger right?” Tucker continued. 

“I don’t think that’s how it works, Tuck,” Sam chimed in. 

“Shut up Sam, this isn’t about you,” Tucker immediately stopped his train of thought when he felt Sam glaring daggers at him. “Heh, uh. Except it does. It actually has nothing to do with me. I’m sorry I told you to shut up, please don’t hurt me!” He threw his hands up in front of himself in defense. 

“Relax, Tucker. I’m more angry with this fucking dingus,” she pointed her thumb in Danny’s direction. 

The halfa was about to protest, then closed his mouth. “That’s fair, I deserve that.” 

“I can’t even look at you right now. You scared me! I poured out my emotions to you. I thought you were rejecting me and that I would have to change my name and move to a different country! Wait, are you still rejecting me?” Sam stopped her pacing to look at him. 

“Of course not, Sammy!” 

“Oh don’t you ‘Sammy’ me! I told you I love you, you stupid fucking idiot!” Sam began throwing pillows at Danny, who expertly dodged them (though as a result, Tucker got hit in the face by one). 

“Technically, you didn’t say ‘love’ you said ‘like’”, Danny offered as Tucker shook his head and slashed finger across his neck, signaling Danny to stop talking. 

“Oh, I’m sorry! This is all my fault! I’m going to go jump off a cliff now!” Sam growled and Danny let out a small “oomph” as one of the pillows finally got him. 

“I’m out. Good luck, bro!” Tucker quickly slipped out the door, leaving Danny and Sam alone. 

Sam was about to follow Tucker out when Danny stopped her, “please don’t leave!” She still had angry tears in her eyes. He frowned. This was not how he expected things to go. She watched him for a few seconds before sitting down on the couch, refusing to look at him. “Sam I’m so sorry, this is just a huge misunderstanding.”

“No, Danny. It’s not. You were going to turn me down to go out with someone else.”

“But that someone was still you!”

“Yeah, but you didn’t know that! We’ve been friends for years, and you were more interested in someone you just met a few months ago! I don’t want to be anyone’s second choice, Danny! I’ve been standing by for years as you continuously chose other girls over me. I thought we were done with that, and that you were finally choosing me first, but you won’t and you never will and I’m so stupid.” Sam put her head in her hands as she tried her hardest not to let tears fall. 

And that was when he finally figured it out. It wasn’t just the moment of rejection, it was years of rejection, and at her biggest confession, she still thought he was choosing someone over her. Not to mention, Tucker witnessed most of the conversation. Sam rarely showed her emotions. She always had her heart guarded, and he knew this. Tucker knew this. Hell, she didn’t even tell them she was rich until after a few years of friendship. It took them a while to get her to open up to them. She was a pretty private person. She was probably already hurt like this before. And now, she was probably embarrassed.

“You’re definitely not stupid. I’m stupid. I should have known it was you. That was actually what I really liked about Chaos, she reminded me of you.” 

Sam forced a small sarcastic laugh, “Yeah, right.” 

“No really,” Danny sat on the couch next to her and grabbed her hand, placing it in both of his. “Sam, you’re absolutely incredible. How dumb would I have to be to not notice?” Sam gave him a pointed look. “Okay yeah but it’s not the way you think it is. I liked Chaos because she was a lot like you. She reminded me of you. And it just seemed easier to go with her because she was basically you, but she and I didn’t have a really great friendship that could have gotten ruined if we broke up or something. I could live without her, but I can’t live without you. You’re always my number one. Always have been, always will be. Even if I did just fuck everything up. I’m so sorry, Sam. I’m ready to be with you, if you’ll still have me.” 

Sam stayed silent and stared at her lap, processing this new information. Of course she would forgive him; she always did. She just needed a little time. 

Danny was getting nervous that he really did fuck this up for good. This was so fucking important! He couldn’t risk fucking this up! Sensing her hesitation, Danny tried one more thing to get her back. One thing he hasn’t done before. One thing he just learned how to perfect.  

“Sammy, I’m sorry,” a duplicate popped up next to her on the other side of the couch, startling her. 

“Please forgive me?” Another duplicate was floating in front of her, hanging upside down, hair flopping all over the place. 

“I know I’m a dummy but,” Sam snapped her head towards a third duplicate. 

“I’m only a dummy because I’m in love. With you,” the real Danny finished. Sam looked back and forth between all the Dannys.  

“We’re sorry, Sammy,” all the duplicates said at once. 

Sam was trying really hard to hold back a smile. “You learned how to duplicate,” she stated simply. 

Original Danny grabbed her hands. “Sam. I will make this up to you. I promise.” 

She could hear the determination in his voice and sighed. “You better.” 

Danny smiled and hugged her. “Thankyouthankyouthankyou!!! I love you so much!”

Sam pushed him off of her. “I love you too, you fucking idiot.” 

“But I get to be your idiot!” Sam couldn’t hold her laughter back anymore. “Oh!” Danny shouted, “Will you go to the dance with me? Please?” 

Sam pretended to ponder the answer before saying “alright”. 

“Yay!” All 4 Dannys cheered. The duplicates on either side of her kissed her cheeks as the real Danny kissed her forehead tenderly. The final duplicate, feeling left out, squeezed his way in to give her a hug. 

Sam was now roaring with laughter before kissing the real Danny sweetly. “You know, duplicates won’t always get you out of trouble,” she warned. 

“Yeah, but they could come in handy for other things,” he wagged his eyebrows up and down suggestively before passionately kissing her, the duplicates kissing her neck and touching her in near-dangerous places. 

Sam bit back a moan, eyes lustful before smirking, “I think you just found a way to make it up to me.” She began dragging the real Danny and one of his duplicates back to his room. Fuck the movies.

[thinkingisadangerouspastime]

love

Written for Day 7 of @aangweek! Read here on AO3.

~*~

7. love - don’t got nowhere to go / so we’ll go with the flow / yeah, we’re living the life / sippin’ on sunshine

“I can help clean,” Aang offered as Iroh began clearing their group’s cups and plates from the circular wooden table.

Iroh chuckled, shaking his head. “There’s no need -”

“I insist,” Aang interrupted, standing and collecting his own dishes. “It’s the least I can do to thank you for closing the shop early so we could be together without politicians and paparazzi peering over our shoulders.”

“There’s no use arguing with him,” Toph commented before Iroh could protest further. “Once Twinkle Toes decides to help someone, nothing will change his mind. Accept your fate, Iroh.”

Katara laughed along with the rest of their friends, and Aang gave them a guilty grin.

“Hey, I learned from my wife-to-be,” he teased, pressing a kiss to Katara’s forehead. “Never turn my back on people who need me!”

Katara rolled her eyes at his comment, but she couldn’t stop herself from smiling. Aang and Iroh gathered the last of the group’s dishes before disappearing into the kitchen.

Zuko hummed in contentment, draping an arm around Mai’s shoulders. “I wish we could meet up like this more often. Be together without all the chaos.”

Today had involved an annual meeting of important representatives from all four nations, this year hosted by the Earth King. In other words, Katara knew, it was a very rare opportunity for their friend group to reunite in full. Only after the day’s politics had ended, of course.

Sokka snorted. “I agree, but you’ve gotta admit it’s pretty much impossible for this to be a regular event.”

“Ember Island is always open for an impromptu vacation,” Mai reminded them, earning more laughter from the group.

“I might take you up on that soon,” Suki mused, pulling her hair out of its ponytail and shaking her head. “A vacation is sounding more and more attractive with every second.”

Katara allowed herself a breathy sigh. “Spirits, if I could get Aang to take a vacation…” She snorted. “That would be the day.” Her fiancé was notoriously stubborn about working until he dropped. In fact, there was only one other person whose work ethic could compare.

Mai chuckled. “Zuko is exactly the same. Always working himself into the ground.”

Ah, yes. There it was.

Toph snickered. “Sounds like a match made in the Spirit World. Are you guys sure Zuko and Aang shouldn’t be the ones getting married next month?”

Zuko flushed a shade of scarlet as bright as his fire. “I’m sitting right here, you know.”

Katara bit her tongue to hold back a snicker as Toph grinned at him. “Yes, I’m very aware.” Her grin narrowed into a sly smirk. “You’re sitting right here, and yet you deny nothing.”

Sokka burst out laughing, lightly elbowing Zuko in the ribs. “She’s got you there, hotman.”

Mai snorted at the nickname before giving Katara a play-sympathetic look. “Master Katara, how do you cope with the fact that my husband and yours-to-be are in love with each other?”

Katara sighed, leaning back in her chair and pressing the back of her hand to her forehead. “Oh, it was incredibly difficult for me to come to terms with.” She wiped an imaginary tear from her eye. “After I learned they’d kissed, I thought I’d never -”

“Oh, Agni,” Zuko groaned, burying his face in his hands at the same time Toph exclaimed, “Sparky and Twinkle Toes have kissed?!”

Katara couldn’t feign her melodrama any longer, letting herself succumb to a fit of intense laughter that made her entire upper body shake.

“Yes, they have,” Mai confirmed with a smirk. “It was hilarious, and I will never let Zuko hear the end of it.”

Zuko stared dead into the distance, his empty expression screaming that he’d rather be anywhere but there. “You’re going to tell them the story, aren’t you.”

The melancholic certainty with which he spoke was enough to make Katara snicker once more as she gave Mai a knowing glance, but before the Fire Lady could respond, Sokka spoke.

“Of course they’re going to tell us the story,” he scoffed. “The Avatar and the Fire Lord kissing? That’s the kind of thing you pass on forever to future generations!”

Suki laughed. “You sound way too invested for someone who has also kissed the Avatar,” she teased, smirking at her boyfriend.

Katara raised an eyebrow in amusement. Now that was news to her. “You did what, Sokka?”

Blood rushed to her brother’s face. “Not on the lips!” he squawked, crossing his arms over his chest. “I am just very comfortable in my feminine side around Aang.” He tapped his cheek. “So yes, we have technically kissed, but not like that.”

“To be fair, I’m pretty sure we’ve all been on the receiving end of Aang’s affection in some way or another,” Suki conceded. “That’s just his way of expressing love.”

A smile flitted onto Katara’s lips at her friend’s words. She knew most of all, perhaps, how Aang inclined towards physical affection. He was especially fond of kissing the tip of her nose.

“Really?” Sokka said, bewildered. “What, does he have a ‘thing’ with each one of us?”

Suki shrugged. “I mean, I guess so?” She smirked at their group. “Aang and I have a special, top-secret handshake. That’s our thing.”

Katara laughed. “I remember when Aang was just beginning to figure out the motions he wanted to include in your handshake.” She held her own hands up in joking surrender. “I was never privy to the final product, of course. Only experimental aspects.”

Sokka pouted. “First of all, I am hurt that I was never told this handshake existed. And second” - wounded, he placed a hand over his heart - “how come I don’t have a handshake with him?”

Suki rolled her eyes. “Babe, you said yourself that your thing with Aang is cheek kisses.”

Sokka appeared unconvinced. “Yeah, but I’m not the only one who gets cheek kisses from him.” He jutted his thumb towards his sister. “Katara gets them all the time!”

“Katara is also going to marry him, Snoozles,” Toph said with a snort. “I don’t think it’s totally off-base to consider she might have a few additional privileges compared to the rest of us.”

“Katara might be the one who snagged the Avatar,” Mai drawled, a smirk tugging at the corners of her lips, “but I think it’s safe to assume that everyone in here had a crush on Aang at some point in their life.”

Katara burst out laughing both at Mai’s declaration and the different forms of denial that followed. She’d long since accepted the reality that Aang’s charm meant many people would fall for him. And if anything, it made her feel even luckier that she was the one preparing for a wedding.

Mai appeared to thrive on the chaos she’d incited. The Fire Lady had clearly been spending more - maybe too much - time with Aang. “I don’t know why you’re all so up in arms about this,” she commented, studying her nails. “When I saw him dressed up for Zuko and I’s wedding, I wondered if I was marrying the right man after all.”

Zuko choked at her words, and Mai laughed as she patted him on the back. “Kidding. But I did think Aang was the best-looking man at the reception.”

Everyone’s gaze turned to Zuko, who sighed, shoulders slumping. “No, I agree with her.” He flushed, his eyes dropping to the table. “Aang was definitely the most attractive person there.”

Katara remembered that outfit of her fiancé’s fondly. Saffron robes that danced the line between classy and casual, as fitting for an Air Nomad Avatar. And perhaps she recalled the attire begrudgingly, too, as it had attracted both wanted and unwanted attention towards her then-boyfriend at the reception.

“I’ll admit my heart fluttered the first time Aang returned to Kyoshi Island after the war,” Suki mused. “I hadn’t expected him to get so tall.”

Sokka gave his girlfriend an affronted look. “Wait a minute. Wasn’t I there -”

Suki silenced him with a finger over his lips. “Sokka. We both spent that weekend discussing how hot Aang had gotten. Don’t deny it.”

Katara raised an eyebrow at her brother. “You were planning to make some moves on Aang?”

Sokka’s face reddened. “You know what?” he finally said. “Maybe in another life. I’ll leave it at that.”

“You’ve been awfully quiet, Toph,” Mai commented, giving the earthbender a small smirk. “When did you realize you had a crush on ‘Twinkle Toes’?”

Toph crossed her arms over her chest, which Katara noted with amusement did nothing to hide the rosy blush coloring her friend’s cheeks. “Never. Because unlike all of you, I’m blind and therefore cannot be affected by Aang’s so-called ‘good looks.’”

“Aw, but Aang is so much more than his looks,” Katara teased, unable to remain out of the chaos Mai had incited any longer. “What got you, Toph? His voice? His jokes? His incessant kindness towards anyone and anything?”

Toph opened her mouth before slamming it shut. “Fine,” she grumbled. “I’ll tell you. On one condition.” She pointed at Zuko. “I still want to know how Sparky and Aang locked lips.”

Mai snickered at her husband’s misfortune, and Katara herself couldn’t help but laugh as Zuko muttered a variety of curses under his breath.

“An easy deal,” Katara agreed. “Now tell us - what got you?”

Toph exhaled a resigned sigh. “His voice,” she grumbled, and the table burst into another round of laughter and cheers. Really, they were lucky that Iroh or even Aang himself hadn’t returned to investigate all the noise.

“Honestly, no one can blame you there,” Sokka remarked, shaking his head. “Who could have predicted Aang would grow up the way he did?”

Katara raised an eyebrow at her brother, though she doubted the expression was as intimidating as she intended it to be. “Really?”

“Okay, well, except for you -”

“Enough chatter!” Toph interrupted, slamming a fist on the table. A smirk pulled at her lips. “Sparky? Storytime?”

Zuko groaned. “Remember how I said I wished we could all meet up more often?” He shook his head. “I take it back.”

Suki laughed. “Stop whining and get on with the story, Zuko.”

“Or else I’ll tell it for you,” Mai added, slipping her hand into her husband’s. Katara couldn’t deny the story would be funnier if Mai told it, as she’d already heard it a dozen times from her friend.

Zuko sighed. “It’s not even an exciting story.” He rolled his eyes. “I was going over some paperwork with Aang and Mai. At one point, Aang was called away for - for Avatar business, or something.” He huffed. “Aang went to give me a ‘goodbye kiss’” - Zuko pointed to his forehead - “because that’s his ‘thing’ with me, I guess. But I didn’t realize what he was doing, so I looked up to ask him a question, and we -”

“- and you accidentally kissed?” Sokka finished flatly. “Aw, man! That is boring.” He shook his head in disappointment. “Such a letdown.”

“What Zuko conveniently forgets to mention every time he tells this story,” Mai said, amused, “is that he leaned into the kiss.”

Toph burst out laughing as Zuko adamantly protested that no, he had not, no matter what his wife said. “So,” the earthbender said amidst her snickers, “what I’m hearing is that Zuko never really got over his crush on Aang?”

“No, he did not,” Mai mused. “But it’s not like I can hold that against him. Having a crush on Aang is perfectly understandable.”

“If it’s any consolation, Zuko,” Katara said, resting her elbows on the table and placing her chin atop her hands as she gave the firebender a devilish grin, “Aang thinks you’re a pretty good kisser.”

Her comment set their group off for the umpteenth time, and Katara snickered at the rollercoaster of emotions roaring over Zuko’s face. There was nothing better than sparking a little chaos every now and then, was there?

Huh. Aang had rubbed off on her, too. She supposed being engaged to him would do that.

“Uh… I feel like I missed something here?”

Katara bit the inside of her cheek to contain her laughter as Aang dropped into his seat beside her. “Oh, no. You didn’t miss anything.”

Aang stared with a mixture of amusement and bewilderment at their friends, who were yet to collect themselves. “Are you sure? What did you guys talk about without me?”

Katara hummed noncommittally, shrugging. “Nothing special.” She pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek. “Just how much we love you.”

~*~

more of aang being adored by his friends in fanworks 2k21, please and thank you. i hope you enjoyed my collection of ficlets for the week, and as always - thank you for reading!

[rwby-grimm-guardians]

RWBY Grimm Guardians Arc 4: Re-Bonding In Mistral Ch 10

Welcome back to Re-Bonding In Mistral! Here is part 2, the Vol 6 chapters!

In this chapter and chapters 11 and 12, we focus on the first half of the volume. This chapter will focus on the departure in V6 episode 1.

Disclaimer: Still own nothing. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Train station in Northern Amina….)

Ultimately, although reluctant, the group agreed to continue their journey for now. They ended up back in Anima, preparing to board a train destined for Argus. Blake promised her parents to call as often as she could, while Summer talked to Taiyang.

Summer managed to apologize for her outburst, but the group left before Taiyang could say anything about it….

The former STRQ leader wondered if he even believed her….or if he too was scared of the potential reaction from her….

Eventually, the group prepared to board the train, talking amongst each other as they did so.

“You better head with your team to Vacuo.” Gambol told Sun. “They’re going to need you….” The blonde young man nodded, lowering his head, “I expect them to be a little pissed.” “If not worse….” He added remorsefully. Blake nodded, before saying, “Perhaps they will, but they will still need your help. Alright?”

“I know you’re a good person. You need to prove it to them.” The cat faunus explained. “Otherwise. They may indeed truly hate you. You proved it to us and our parents. Do the same for your team.”

Sun nodded, before looking to his right and donning a firm expression, “I think a certain chameleon faunus wants to see you.” Blake and Gambol raised an eyebrow, before the taller of the two sniffed the air. Growling, she immediately walked in the direction Sun was looking, before effortlessly bringing Ilia over to Blake and the blonde.

Blake gave an unamused expression, “Is there something you would like to tell us?” Ilia gave a small nod, before looking down remorsefully, “I….would like to formally apologize to you three….” “I….realized that I was indeed acting no better than Adam….” She explained. “That I was hurting you just like he did….”

“That I was no better than what humans keep calling us….” The brunette said. “I’m so sorry, Blake….” The cat faunus looked at Ilia firmly, before giving a sigh, “I would like to believe that…. And I have an idea….”

“Talk to my parents. Now.” Blake said. “Because, believe it or not, they could use your help. They could also put you back on the right path.” She then took a breath, saying, “I WANT to believe that you’re sorry….but you need HELP. Do you understand….?”

Ilia gave a small nod, “I do.”

After a few moments, Blake joined her friends on the train, bidding farewell to Sun and Ilia. “Do you forgive her?” Gambol asked. Her sister sighed, “I WANT to…. But she’s gotta prove herself first….”

“I’m not going to just believe everything is going to return to normal.” She explained. The panther faunus nodded, “That’s reasonable. I’m sure our parents and friends would do the same.”

Blake nodded with a small smile, “Yeah, they would….” ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (On the train….)

Ultimately, Gambol and Ember had decided to rest for the time being, while everyone else was spending the trip talking and resting.

Ruby sat down next to Yang, while Weiss sat across from her with Blake. Yang hummed as her sister rested her head against the blonde’s shoulder, “Tired?” The red cloaked teenager gave a nod, before groaning, “Things could’ve gone better at home….”

“Perhaps…. Though your family’s made it clear that they have a….complicated history….” Weiss said hesitantly. The blonde nodded with a sigh, “That’s an understatement…. Believe me, we knew that from the beginning….”

“I can understand Dad’s anger….but he needs to understand that Bird-mom’s CHANGED….” Yang explained. Blake nodded, “Certainly seems like it. She’s quite different from what your uncle and dad said….”

“I don’t think….I’ve seen your mother that furious….” Weiss explained with a concerned expression.

A silence settled on the four girls, before Ruby sighed, “Look. We all have problems that….need to be sorted out….”

She then pointed at her mothers, “Those two, like us, know that better than anyone. And they’re trying to be better.” “I know none of us were expecting it….but Alpha-mom is….frustrated….” Ruby added.

Weiss raised an eyebrow, “With?” Blake blinked a couple times, before giving a knowing nod, “Miss Summer wants the family to be whole again, doesn’t she?” Yang nodded, before saying, “Ever since Bird-mom left, that’s all she was trying to do….”

“Making sure that the family didn’t collapse…. Trying to heal the family….” The blonde added.

The heiress tilted her head, “Do you two think she’ll succeed….?”

Ruby and Yang blinked….before looking at their mothers, at each other, before facing Blake and Weiss again….

And with a firm nod, they said in unison, “Yes. As long as it’s with the help of others.” ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- At another table, team JNPR were talking amongst each other.

“You all were busy while I was gone.” Pyrrha said with a sad expression. “And certainly not in a good way….” Ren shook his head, “The Fall of Beacon has caused the whole world to unravel into chaos again….” The redhead nodded, before asking, “How long has it been since then?”

“Several months…. It’ll be a year since then soon.” Jaune explained. “And some of us haven’t been taking this too well….” Pyrrha nodded with a sigh. She knew that very well. Summer’s outburst during their visit to Ruby and Yang’s house made that very clear. As well as her stern words towards Ozma….

She really wondered how badly the tallest of the group wanted to stop this journey….

“I feel like I can agree with where Ms. Summer is coming from….” Pyrrha explained. “She loves so much….and she can’t let what and who she loves be taken away from her….” Nora raised an eyebrow, “What do you mean….?” The armored teenager took a deep breath, before saying, “It seems like she has lost a lot of things and people she loved….”

The redhead then lowered her head, “No wonder she hates this idea. Of us going on this journey.”

She then looked at the currently sleeping Oscar, before saying, “If we’re seriously having a child coming along with us….then I think I would support Ms. Summer if she decides to end this journey now.” ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Meanwhile, Qrow was keeping an eye on his sister and leader.

“You know you don’t have to keep an eye on them constantly.” Willow explained in a whisper. “I’m also here for them. As is your old headmaster.” Qrow looked over his shoulder, looking at the former heiress and Evergreen behind her, before sighing.

He then sat down, admitting, “A part of me is worried Raven might leave again….” “She won’t.” The former headmaster explained. “Not with Summer by her side.” Qrow raised an eyebrow, “How can you be so sure, Oz….?”

“Because she wouldn’t have come along with us in the first place if she thought about leaving.” Evergreen explained. “I think you should be more worried about Summer leaving.”

Qrow raised an eyebrow in confusion, before Willow chimed in, “Summer knows firsthand how dangerous Salem is…. Of course, she doesn’t want to get her family and friends involved.” ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “How are you feeling about this….?” Raven asked. Summer sighed, “I don’t know…. A part of me is regretting all of this.” “And yet, a part of me thinks that we should bring the relic with us….” She explained, lowering her head to where it connected with the table. “I hate all of this….”

The former tribe leader rubbed her former team leader’s back, noticing that her brother, the two teams, Oscar, and the Weapon Spirits were all looking at them. Raven put her finger to her lips with a firm expression, silently telling them to not make a sound. “Summer…. If you think this is a bad idea, tell us.” She explained.

“If you think this will only do more harm, say the word and we’ll stop this.” Raven said. Summer sighed, before saying, “Let’s wait until I know more about myself. Frankly, I don’t know what the past me would do either….” She then sat up, before noticing a blue clad elderly woman out of the corner of her eye, sitting at another table.

Summer’s blood ran cold….before immediately boiling bitterly.

“Excuse me.” The former STRQ leader said, standing and walking over the woman. The elder woman looked up at Summer, asking, “Pardon, do I know you?” “Yes, but not like this. I’ve changed, of course.” Summer explained. “Much like you have, Maria….or rather, GODMOTHER….”

Raven and Qrow looked at the two women in shock….

THAT was the same Maria they met during Beacon….?

Maria perked up from the taller woman’s words, before asking in shock, “Summer? Is that really you….!?”

The former STRQ leader nodded, before asking, “Where were you all this time….?” “Since Yang was born, you haven’t visited at all….” She explained. The elder woman nodded with a sigh, before Summer said, “You are a retired huntress….! What have you been doing that prevented you from visiting family?”

Maria opened her mouth to speak, only to find that she had no answer….

She didn’t have a reason….

The silence was more than enough for Summer to know that Mari had no reason….

“And you wonder why I’m usually bitter towards you….” The former STRQ leader said with a stern gaze. She then looked at her family and friends, noticing the awkwardness in the air. Summer then sighed, before telling her godmother, “I suggest you meet my friends and daughters.”

“Life might not be able to grant you this chance again.” She explained. “Believe me, I know that for certain, given that I died.”

Those words were like a double-edged dagger, before Maria nodded, “I understand….” and stood to meet her goddaughter’s family and friends. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And that’s it. I’m sorry if this wasn’t my best, but I tried, given my current mindset…

Yeah, Blake is giving Ilia a CHANCE. She’s still going to be a little bitter, but she’s going to give Ilia a chance to make up for her actions.

Hope you enjoyed this!

Next, we skip ahead to where the group meets….two VERY special guests~.

[razorblade180]

Shackles 11: Resolve

[part 10]

“Anymore?” That’s all Ilia could think to say in the windswept desert, surrounded by wounded escapees and the guards she struck down. Ilia looked to her left to see Yang tend to Adam’s wounds as best as possible with the supplies they had. “Should we expect anymore to come out? There’s…less than I expected.”

“Other than Blake and Jacquelyn, I couldn’t say. Right now I’m worried about whether any one of us can make a trip to Vacou in this condition.”

“I handled that already. Right now I’m more concerned about-” a tremor cut her off. The entrance of the mine shaft began crumbling as Blake and Jacquelyn ran out. The maiden raised her foot and stomped the ground again, causing another tremble that closed the entrance with rubble.

Jacquelyn looked at her handy work briefly while she brought her hands together to pray. “It’s not a proper burial, but it’s the best I could offer. Forgive me.” She gave a moment of silence before running off to Adam. Beside him was a girl she didn’t recognize and Yang. “How is he!?”

“Breathing, but that’s about all I can say. I did stop some bleeding. In this situation though…”

“I got it…” Jacquelyn uttered. She sat by his side quietly and took his hand. It was faint but she could feel him gently squeeze back. “Hang on a little longer okay?” Her eyes watered. Unsure of what to do or feel, Jasmine remained speechless.

Yang stood up and gave them space. Truthfully she didn’t think she could watch Jacquelyn cry. Something about it…hit a little close to home. Despite her personal feelings, Yang hoped for the best. Her eyes spotted Blake standing apart from everyone else. Yang approached without hesitation but was shocked whenever she tried reaching out and Blake moved away; not even looking her way.

“Blake? Hey, what’s wrong?” She waited patiently but didn’t get a response. “Blake, you're scaring me a little. What happened?”

“I…I just…” Blake dropped to her knees and covered her mouth. She could that pit in her stomach start churning as she did her best to keep calm. She could still feel it. The pounding in her chest and the adrenaline that made her shake violently. Next thing she knew Yang had was holding her while Blake struggled to breathe.

“Blake!? Blake what’s wrong!? Ilia! Something is wrong!”

“What!?” She came rushing over and saw Blake on the ground, her pupils extremely cat-like. “She’s hyperventilating! Blake you gotta calm down! Look at me. Deep breaths.”

Try as she might, Blake couldn’t. Her senses felt heightened beyond anything she’s ever felt. The cries of friends became muffled and their tearful expressions blurred. Blake once again found herself fading into darkness.

xxxx

Blake couldn’t understand what was happening to her or how long it lasted. As quickly as the darkness came, there was light again. However, it wasn’t sun light; and she wasn’t on the sand. Blake was staring up at the ceiling. A quick head tilt told her all she needed. Blake in a hospital, Menagerie’s hospital. Wait…

Blake sprung up. “How’d I get here!?” She looked at her to see an IV drip connected. She was about to take it out when the door opened. Blake gasped to see her father walk in. He was just as surprised to see her awake.

“Blake!” He ran over and gave her a hug. “Thank goodness you’re okay!”

“Dad? What are you doing here?”

“Me? I should be the one asking you that. At least…that’s what I would say if Sun hadn’t filled in your mother and I when we returned.” Ghira finally stopped hugging but grabbed his daughter’s shoulders. “Blake, how could you not tell us something so important?”

Blake’s eyes softened with guilt. “It’s not as if I didn’t trust you. It was just…a lot to process. I’m still processing. Ugh, my shoulders.”

Ghira let go. “Sorry. I didn’t realize-”

“No, it’s not you. My entire body feels like lead. What happened to me? How am I back here?”

Her father sat by her side and stroked his beard. “Well for starters the doctors say you had a severe panic attack. As for how you’re here, you arrived by airship flown by Ilia; along with several other ships with more of Sun’s friends.

So that was it. Sun or Ilia must’ve told the rest of team SSSN ahead of time to be ready with evacuation. It was pretty ridiculous that asking for their help didn’t even cross her mind.

“You’re not all they brought. There were few others. The ones that didn’t need immediate help or couldn’t manage in Vacou. Unfortunately… some didn’t survive.”

The pit in her stomach came back again. “I see. Guess it would’ve been wishful thinking to assume otherwise.” Blake gripped her knees and shut her eyes. No need to beat around the bush. “Where’s Adam?”

“He’s in intensive care, underwatch.”

“Take me to him.”

“Blake you need to-”

“I’ll search every room, so just tell me.” Blake removed the IV drip and proceeded to leave. Ghira didn’t think twice following behind her. He didn’t even know why she asked for help. Blake was heading in the obvious direction. Where the noise was loudest.

Way down the hall near the back of the hospital had many empty rooms. Menagerie typically never reached close to max capacity, so the fact several rooms had wound in it at all was a shock. The furthest room was surrounded by guards . The only thing in their way being Yang.

One guard in particular, a man with a faded scar on his right eye, confronted the blonde. “For the hundredth time, step aside.”

“You know I would’ve thought the third time I said no would be enough to get the point across. Ninety seven more times feels obsessive.”

“Ma’am if you continue this behavior then-”

Blake called the guard’s “Saber!” They all turned to the approaching leader and former leader. “What’s this about?”

“Blake! You scared me half to death!”

“Madam, your friend refuses to let us in and restrain the terrorist.”

“Restrain? He couldn’t even see last time I saw him. I’m shocked he made it on life support.”

“Be that as it may, he’s far too dangerous to be left unrestrained. Once he no longer needs treatment he will be locked up and tried-”

“He’s not going to jail.” Blake said calmly. No surprise that everyone looked at her like she said something crazy. By all means it was. “The world thinks he’s dead. Let’s keep it that way.”

“Keep it that way? He’s wanted everywhere; terrorized everywhere! We can’t simply keep that under wraps Mrs. Belladonna.”

“Said who?” Blake challenged, standing up straight. “The world already has its story and as far as I’m concerned, it’s pound of flesh as well. That hell we found him in was worse than anything a judge could pass onto him. Besides, people would get unrest learning he’s alive after everything that happened.”

“That doesn’t change anything! His name causes panic and discourse regardless if people think he’s dead. All the lives he’s uprooted, the divide. A beating-”

“Saber.” Blake’s voice cut through the air like her blade, demanding attention. “Do not try to preach to me about the people he’s hurt. I’m well aware.”

“That’s…I didn’t…” Saber bit his tongue. Yang put her hand on the man’s shoulder.

“Take it from me, you’re not going to persuade her.”

Blake walked to the door and faced all the guards. Their mixed emotions plain to see and obvious frustration. “All of you have protected the people and my family more times than I can count. You’re always dependable. I trust you. However, I can’t just ask you to keep this a secret; I’m ordering you to, as High Leader. Wash your hands of it completely.

Saber and others were stunned. “You can’t…Ghira, you’re just going to let her do that!? That’s a blatant abuse of power!”

“Calm down Saber. It’s true that I would never use status like this and I would advise my daughter to tread lightly with that title, but I have no more power than you here. Let’s all just…discuss the details later. For now I don’t see the point in alarming everyone about our…our patient.”

“Your patient, not mine or the guards.” Saber and the guards began to take their leave. “But we will not say a word, per the High Leader’s orders. However, I expect that man to be in one of our cells discreetly. Once he heals of course. Discussing his fate means nothing right now.”

Blake kept any remarks she had about that condition, choosing to bow instead. “I appreciate your cooperation.” She rose, not expecting a reply. “Yang, thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. I was only around in the first place because I wanted a check up.” Yang rubbed her stomach. “Looks like stubbornness runs in the family. Doctor says the little spitfire is perfectly fine. Embers are burning strong.”

“I’m glad to hear, honestly. Heh…Ember, that’s a good name.”

Yang chuckled. “Meh, too on the nose. But…I’ll give it thought. Sun was here earlier by the way. He took Jacquelyn to your home with Ilia. Those two weren’t exactly happy with the guards. Not to guilt trip you but Sun has been doing a lot without question. Love or not, you owe him.”

“She most certainly does.” Ghira piped up. “Your mother didn’t take the news well.”

Blake winced. Yang patted her back to offer any comfort. She never saw Kali angry before but if she was anything like Blake was on that mineshaft, then Sun was a real trooper. “Listen Blake, try to slow down for a while. For everyone’s sake.”

“I…sigh, yeah.”

“Good. Hate to tell you but I think I’m at the end of my rope. I’m spent.”

Blake frowned. It made sense, but it still hurt to hear. “I take it you’re leaving then? Sorry this trip wasn’t anything it was meant to be.”

“Huh? What are you talking about?” Yang smiled, pulling Blake into a hug. “I made up with my ex. Be safe, okay?”

“…Sure thing.” Blake’s arms tightened the hug. Funny, was Yang always this warm? Blake couldn’t remember. Maybe it’s just been far too long since they felt comfortable with each other. “Let me know Jaune’s reaction.”

“Oh I’m recording it.” Yang let go and walked away. However, she felt the need to look back at Adam’s door. “For what it’s worth, I don’t think we rescued the person we fought at Argus, but that doesn’t mean I think you’re right. Still, I hope you prove me wrong.” Yang waved goodbye and left. Hope wasn’t something she had for the situation. Nevertheless, if Blake called, Yang would answer. And who knows? Crazier things have happened. It made her wonder…

“Hmmm, I should talk to mom again.”

Blake couldn’t explain why Yang’s words calmed her nerves but it did. She gave her loving father a glance. “I should‘ve told you and mom from the start. I’m sorry.”

“Sigh, I’m not upset. Not anymore; I feared this secret was quietly terrifying you; that him being out there would give you unrest. I never expected you to come to his defense.”

“Do you think I’m being stupid?”

“Sweetheart, of course not. There’s not a day that I have thought that. However, recklessness and naïveté, no one is immune to those.”

“Dad, you’ve taught there’s strength in forgiveness; that it is infinitely harder to believe a person can change after they crossed so many lines. I…I can’t go around preaching that to others around the world if I don’t at least try once, really try. So…” Ghira placed his hand on her. His calm expression and gentle eyes locked with her as he nodded ever so slightly. Blake grabbed his hand and nodded back. “Watch the door.”

“Oh you were never going to stop me from doing that.” He smiled.

Blake let go, finally going inside. The shades were tilted to let in a bit of light; the windows tightly locked. There he was, the center of all of this, laying in a hospital bed. Adam’s face wasn’t swollen anymore. Now it was only covered in red and purple bruises. Monitors beeped steadily and he was hooked up like she was, but with the addition of a nasal cannula. Blake took a seat to unwind.

“I know you’re awake.” She watched Adam’s head turn to her and smirk. The man opened his tired eyes. Right of the back, Blake understood what Yang meant. “Hey…”

“Hey. You look a little rough there Blake.”

“Like you’re in a position to say that?”

“Heh, I always look rough. Now I just feel it too. Gotta admit, I’m shocked I cheated death again. How’s Jackie?”

“Seething or crying most likely, but safe.”

Adam let out a sigh of relief, sinking into his bed. “Good. I thought I heard her earlier but I wasn’t sure.” He noticed how tense Blake looked. Her ears were alert and posture rigid. “I take it you want answers?”

“No shit! What the hell happened? The last time I saw you was when both of you took off in an airship. Had I known you two were planning to hide in Menagerie’s desert…”

“Her idea, not mine. Though I gotta admit that it was pretty solid for the most part. Up until now anyways.”

“That’s what I don’t get. Out the blue, people with an axe to grind come knocking on your door and-”

“They weren’t here for me.” Adam interjected, sitting up slowly. “Blake, Menagerie is ground zero for White Fang. They came looking for anyone they wrote off as a beast who needed correcting. Plans changed though once they found me.”

Blake’s eyes widened. That thought never crossed her mind but it made sense. Plenty of old White Fang members chose to stay here. If they saw Ilia as a beast then of course they would look here. It was only by coincidence that she was in Vacou helping.

“You’d be surprised how many people actually try sneaking onto the island from the desert. Most don’t last while others are more persistent. One day Jackie went off to town and that’s when they showed up. That had to have planned it because the timing was too perfect and the numbers were too heavy for infiltration. The house was surrounded and I was in bed.”

“They caught you off guard, of all people ?”

“Things have been quiet for years. I don’t go into town so yeah, I wasn’t expecting karama to open the door like it opened the place.”

“We were inside the house. There wasn’t a sign of a struggle whatsoever.”

“Because I went quietly.”

“Why!?” Blake stood up forcefully. “It makes no sense! You’d sooner die than let anyone capture you. I don’t care how many years it’s been.”

“…heh, you’re not wrong. Truthfully, I was ready to slaughter as many as possible. But…the house would’ve been obliterated; and Jackie would’ve come back to a literal dead beat. Did she tell you that she’s pregnant?”

“You knew!?” Blake gasped, “She said she didn’t tell you yet.”

“The house is only so big. Jackie is bad at hiding her feelings and items, like a pregnancy test. Even without it, things were obvious. I’m with her constantly.”

Blake took her seat again. Now things were fitting together. “You left to protect her.”

“More or less. I don’t know, that’s giving me too much credit. I did leave for her safety but also to keep myself alive a bit longer. I never doubted that she would look for me. Involving you though… I guess her pregnancy was more of a hurdle than I thought. Jackie never wants help.”

“She was a mess when I found her in my house.”

“Like I said, she doesn’t hide emotions well. So, I doubt I have to tell you anything else. You saw where I ended up. Is Sobek dead?”

Blake clicked her tongue and narrowed her eyes. “I can’t say. The mineshaft was sealed but that’s all I know, and we both know that no body doesn’t mean death. ”

“Hehehe.”

“How could you laugh at that!? It’s not funny. I’m so sick and tired of….ugh, I don’t even know what’s pissing me off anymore!” Blake put her head in her hands.”

“…Things would’ve been easier if I died that day, huh?”

“YES! I mean…no, I…what are you doing!? What’s the angle!? Why is everything connected to you just a spit in the face to me!?” Blake got up again, tears running like a river. “All things you’ve done to me, the bonds you tested, I should feel nothing but anger for what you’ve done to me; yet the day I learned you were still alive was a weight off my chest. I wanna tell myself I don’t care but even now I’m happy to see you actually speak to me in earnest. You didn’t believe in my dream, my beliefs, and this entire mess not only proved I’ve actually done nothing so far, but also that I’m clueless to what’s happening in my own home! Despite all that…I ran to you. Adam I killed for you. Sobek was made because of you and yet I felt anger deep inside I never had before. I was borderline feral! Yet here I am, upset at myself because I’m buying into every little prayer that I have about believing you are changing as a person and aren’t playing the two people in this world that actually want you alive!” Her lungs burned immensely.

Adam watched her eyes constrict and her body shook violently, yet just as Blake said, her eyes didn’t hold the rage he once had. They could never hold it. Adam bit down on his lip, straining his body to get out of bed. The stitches on him bled while his legs barely kept him up. Forgiveness was unthinkable to ask for. There wasn’t much he could say that wouldn’t sound wrong or halfhearted. Still, saying nothing now was not an option.

“Blake…” he leaned forward, falling actually; gently onto Blake who caught him. “Thank you for having hope. As for that anger, it’s proof you’re different from me, Jacquelyn, Sobek, and anyone like us. Righteous fury, to truly be angry for someone else’s circumstance, it’s why people follow you; why they will continue to follow you. Why…I’ll follow you.”

Blake hadn’t realized it until now, but she was still trying to keep calm; to let the turmoil inside her subside, but now…she couldn’t. Not after that. Her legs gave, falling to the floor with Adam. The tears she thought were running free rushed out twice as hard as Blake audibly began to cry her heart out, gripping Adam’s clothes.

“Please…I’m begging you…” She sobbed heavily. “Let this be real.”

He finally put his arms around her, unsure of all his actions. “I swear.”

Words weren’t enough, but a foundation needed to start somewhere. Against many opinions, Blake chose to believe in his words. It was far too late to turn back now. The tidal wave of emotions that festered inside had finally run its course. Blake couldn’t say she felt better right now, but she didn’t feel worse. A small victory, but one nonetheless. All the tension Blake had made her fail to notice the rummaging outside the door. Suddenly it swung open, startling Blake to her feet. In just a single blink, a blur of black and white dashed behind Adam. It was the girl that was near him in the desert.

Ghira rushed in. “Sorry! I tried stopping her, but she barreled her way through.” He looked at the hospital gowned girl who growled and quivered behind Adam. “Do you…know this girl?”

“I guess you can say that. She was in the mines too.”

“Oh. I’m sorry to hear that little one. If that’s the case then having you run around might be dangerous if you aren’t healthy.” Ghira took a step and the tiger faunus ducked behind Adam in fear, shaking. He took a couple steps back. “Poor child. I can’t imagine how she’s feeling right now. Does she…have a family?”

Adam was about to speak but small hands gripped his shirt. Jasmine made no effort to speak. She simply stood there, her eyes vacant and almost dead. She would’ve been nonexistent if not for the fact they were all looking right at her.

“Can she speak?” Ghira asked.

“She can, or at least could.” Adam reached for her. The child’s eyes softened slightly, her ears falling down when his hand rested on her head. Jasmine’s eyes shut tight and she began whimpering. Tears trickled down dark sunburned cheeks.”

“I can’t imagine what happened in that place, but it appears someone got attached.”

“She snuck past guards to speak to me several times. As well as stopped them all from branding me with another scar. Both her parents and her brother…didn’t make it.”

Blake could only ache for the child. To have lost so much so early on. It was clear to see why Adam would be drawn to her. “What’s her name?”

“It’s-”

“Sienna.” Jasmine said, breaking her silence and shocking everyone. “My name, it’s Sienna.” Her voice was meek and a bit dry. The lie came naturally, almost like instinct. However, it didn’t feel like a lie. Not to her, or to Adam. An unspoken acknowledgment happened when their eyes met, a sad truth and new reality. Back in the mineshaft in that cruel cell, there may have only been one body, but two people died there. A brother and sister that loved each other to the end. The girl he rescued was not the one who got imprisoned; nor would it ever be.

“That’s right.” Adam uttered, lamenting the deaths brought by his own past arrogance. “Her name is Sienna.”

[amane-by-together]

Hanafuda || Amane Yugi

(Part 2 of 10)

genre: fluff, school, slice of life, modern au (where all wonders live)

warnings: cursing, grocery puns

summary: amane yugi spends his school days skipping classes until he meets [name] [surname], a student from the other class, who was also skipping classes and eventually the two of them formed a platonic friendship. cutting classes and playing hanafuda together strengthens their friendship but soon unexpected feelings blossom between the two.

[name], for the first time in weeks, finally decided to take just one class for the sake of her attendance. In Amane's case, he almost forgot where he was seated but thankfully he remembered that he sat behind Yashiro Nene.

“Why the hell do I have to go to class, cheese and fucking fries.” [name] grumbled under her breath. “Just one whole class for this day and the rest I'll skip,”

“[surname]-san!” [name] frowned at her guy classmate (or does she even remember him) who was standing in front of the entrance blocking her way. “It's a rare thing for you to come to class.”

“Mind your fucking business you person I don't bother to remember.” [name] wore a distasteful expression to the guy so that he will know that she ain't interested in playing with him. “First thing in the morning and I'm already pissed as hell.”

[name] lazily made her way to her designated desk and sits down. Everyone stared at [name], who was currently confused why they had their eyes on her. She suddenly became uncomfortable. “What?” she said in a cold tone. “The fuck are you all looking at?”

In fear, everyone turned their heads back and continued what they were doing. [name] rolled her eyes, she didn't have any time to deal with their shit.

‘I'm gonna go out after lunch, I hope Amane-kun was there, otherwise it'll be lonely...’ [name] rests her cheek on top of her palm, looking at the board with an unamused expression. ‘I've been hanging out too much with Amane-kun, if only we're both classmates—’

“[surname]-san.” [name]'s thoughts were interrupted by her teacher's voice. She tilted her head waiting for another word. “Someone wanted to see you.”

‘Who tf—?’ The annoyed female stood up from her chair, she let out a small sigh. Who would want to see [name] in the middle of the class? Well maybe that someone would return something to her, the thing is, she didn't lent anything amongst the hundreds of students in the school. Then, who could it be?

“Sir, may I ask who?”

“Yugi from Class A.”

[name] blinked. “P-pardon?”

“He wants to give you something.” [name] swore she saw the teacher smirk at her. The whole class looked at [name] again but this time they were mentally teasing her.

Tsukasa's eyes widened in pure shock, he glanced over to [name] and smiled brightly. “[name]-chi is Amane's girlfriend?”

And soon everyone started to fangirl loudly. [name] facepalmed really hard muttering “Shut the fuck up.” under her breath multiple times. Her ears started to burn because of embarrassment. “You all must be mistaken.” she chuckled nervously. “We're not dating.”

“Hmm, then explain why I always saw you two together during lunch?” Tsukasa asked with a teasing glint in his eyes. [name]'s eye twitched in annoyance now that the younger twin seems to be supporting the idea of she and Amane being together.

“Uh, can I go now?” [name] pointed at the door wincing to escape the situation. “I can't let him wait that long.” She walked out of the classroom and saw Amane waiting for her outside with his hands on his back. Was he hiding something?

“Amane-kun.” The said boy had his head perked up to her direction, [name] went over to him and shot her hand up. “Yo.”

“Why is everyone staring at us?” Amane pointed at his finger towards the group of classmates peeking over to the two teens.

“Don't mind them.” [name] swats her hand. “Anyways, why did you call me?”

Amane gave her a small paper bag. [name] blinked twice and gently grabbed the bag. “What's this?”

The choppy haired boy's cheeks turned red and started talking in pout while looking away. “It's a bracelet...” he murmured. “They're matching bracelets, I'm currently wearing mine.”

“You bought this for me?” [name] resisted the urge to hug Amane, if only her classmates weren't watching her. She smiled, pink dusted upon her cheeks. “Thanks Amane-kun.”

“I-It's no big deal, really, but I'm glad you like it.” Amane sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck while grinning.

[name] placed her hand on his shoulder, stood on the tips of her toes slightly and whispered something on his ear. “By the way do you want to skip classes after lunch?”

“I kinda plan to do that so I guess it's a yes.” Amane whispered back at her.

“Yeah, we're definitely skipping again.”

The two of them broke down in a fit of giggles as they pulled away from each other. “Hey [name], do you have plans later?” he asked.

“Not really, why'd you ask?”

Amane's cheeks started to burn again, he gained a little confidence and looked at [name] in a flustered state. “Well, why don't we go somewhere else after school? Just the two of us?”

“Of course.” [name] answered. Amane let out a sigh of relief and smiled back at his female friend.

“I gotta go back to class.” Amane patted her shoulder before dashing off towards his classroom. “I'll see you later!”

“You too,” [name] had her hand slightly raised up. She let out a small chuckle and looked at the paper bag. “Amane-kun, you really are a wonder...”

She quickly switched back to her aloofness and glared at her classmates. “The fuck are you all looking at?” she asked as her classmates hurriedly went over to their desks. “Honestly, when will they learn not to meddle in a private conversation.” she murmured right before she entered the classroom

“I don't fucking get this projectile motion.” [name] was in a state of existential crisis remembering the physics lesson that they tackled during class. “Did I really skip that much?”

“In my case I only understood Earth and Life Sciences.” Amane changed his school shoes and placed them inside his shoe locker. [name] waited for him, placing her hand on her waist and whistled a little bit. After that the two of them started to walk next to each other. “[name]-san, did you notice that everyone was staring at you?”

“You didn't think it was you who they were staring at?” [name] scratched her head, her silver bracelet was twinkling against the sunset.

“Nope.” Amane answered. “It's definitely you, must be because you're pretty.”

[name] lets out a weird sound of disbelief and shock. Amane stopped on to his tracks as he realized what he had said. “I-I mean, yeah you are pretty, n-not gonna lie t-though.” he stuttered with a blush forming on his visuals.

“S-sorry.” It was [name]'s turn to blush, she looked down on her feet as her bangs were covering her eyes. “I-It's just no o-one h-has ever called me p-pretty before.”

“I-I always f-find you pretty so...” Amane can feel his whole face burning like embers. The two of them made eye contact and it felt like time had stopped between them. “If you like, I'll gladly call you pretty everyday...”

“Amane...” [name] covered her whole face to muffle her words. She felt so flustered and she didn't know what to do. Amane averted his gaze from her and blushed. “Screw you—”

“I'm sorry but I'm not lying.” Amane cleared his throat, an evident blush was still on his cheeks. “Let's go to the mall, do you want to eat some donuts?”

“Yeah dude!” [name] tries to lighten up the mood so that it wouldn't be awkward anymore. To be fair, Amane was on the attractive side in her opinion, she doesn't really find herself pretty but people have different perspectives anyways.

[name] wouldn't deny it though, Amane has nice visuals and...hands, they looked really soft and warm, she sometimes imagine what would it be like if they held hands. Other than that, he is an affectionate and sweet, then he turns into a sadist and a tease sometimes. “I never got to ask you this [name]-san but are you going out with someone?”

“I never had a boyfriend or a girlfriend.” [name] replied. “No one really confesses to me at some point so basically I'm single, must be nice having one though..” she mumbles the last part.

“I guess everyone must be blind...” Amane muttered to himself before walking ahead, leaving [name] clueless, and then she catched up next to the choppy haired boy.

“Amane-kun, I hope you don't mind but I'm gonna buy some groceries along the way.” [name] puts her hands behind her back. “After that, we can get some donuts and roam around.”

“Sounds like a great idea.” Amane reluctantly agrees with her. [name] wrapped an arm around his shoulders and grinned as he uttered an 'oof' from his lips.

“I love your gift by the way.” [name] raised her wrist in front of Amane to show her that she's wearing the bracelet. Her eyes widened in joy and pointed out the matching bracelet around his wrist. “And we're matching~!”

But then [name] flicked his forehead. “Ow!” Amane held his forehead while slightly whimpering. “That hurts.” he pouted. [name] let out a plfft sound from her lips, she reached over to rub his throbbing forehead.

“That's for excusing me out of class and my classmates started to tease me that you're my boyfriend.” she chuckled, then she switches to an annoyed tone. “Then your brother called me Nee-san just to tease me.”

Amane stifled a laugh. [name] puffed her cheeks at him angrily. “Oi! It's not that funny!” she harrumphed. She looked like an angry pouting mochi rather than an angry person.

“Hmm~?” Amane cheekily smirks at the latter, he leaned next to her to continue teasing her. “Nee-san~?”

“Don't call me Nee-san you idiot!” An irk mark appears on the side of [name]'s forehead as she reached over to pinch his cheek. “Honestly, you're such a tease.”

“Only for you~” Amane ruffles her hair making it messier than it is. [name] sighed asking how the hell did she end up being friends with Amane who is one hell of a tease.

After a few minutes of teasing and cheek pinching, the two teens arrived at the mall. [name] and Amane went to get some groceries first. “All of these bananas but you can't even notice my peelings.” [name] faked a sniff while putting the bunch of bananas inside the basket that Amane was holding.

“I don't understand why you needed six cans of sprite, can't you buy 7up instead?” [name] silently wheezed as she smacked his shoulder, earning a laugh from Amane.

“Shut up, I don't have—thyme for that.” [name] puts some spices inside the basket. She grabbed some bread from the bread aisle. “I also knead bread too.”

“I also have a grocery joke but aisle tell it later.” Amane added while laughing. [name] bursted out giggling, clutching on to her stomach. “Okay we better stop, the old couple beside us were giving looks of suspicion.”

“O-kale then.” [name] and Amane entered one of the aisles. “Grate minds think alike.”

“Do you live alone [name]?” Amane asked all of a sudden. He doesn't know any much about [name]'s family or background, heck, he doesn't even know if she had siblings.

“I live with Yako-neesan and my little brother.” [name] places some products inside the basket. “Why?”

“Just asking.”

“You seem curious about my family background.” [name] laughs softly while putting two carton of milk in the basket. “My parents are both abroad, my little brother and I lived in Yako-neesan's apartment, which is our cousin.”

“You're an older sibling?”

“Well yeah,” [name] beckoned Amane to follow her to the next aisle. “Maybe you can come over and play with him, he doesn't mind talking to older guys.”

“Did I mention that he wanted to meet you though?” [name] tilted her head towards his direction with a pack of strawberries on her hand. “You two will definitely get along.”

“What was Tsukasa like in class if I may ask?” Amane asked again, sure, even though the younger twin has a life of his own, he can't help but to be concerned with him.

“How the fuck should I know?” [name] raised her eyebrows and tossed the pack of strawberries in the basket. “I skipped a lot of classes so I didn't really pay attention to Tsukasa-kun.”

“It's like you skipped a lot than I did.” Amane sheepishly chuckles but he deadpanned afterwards. “But I can't get a damn thing about Maths.”

“I think we crossed the whole list.” [name] tells Amane with a thumbs up. The two of them went to the lane with few people. [name] whipped out her wallet when it was her turn to check in. “Omigod. Do I really have to carry them all?”

“I could help you carry them.” Amane suggests. [name]'s heart suddenly skipped a beat, she nodded slowly meaning that she needed his help to carry them.

“There sure were a lot of people in the donut shop.” [name] sighed in a low spirited tone while holding the paper bag filled with donuts. Currently, Amane and [name] were eating donuts with their backs against the wall. “Here's yours Amane-kun.”

Amane took a bite of the plain donut and started munching on it. They were freshly cooked so that's why it tasted good. “So [name], are you going to class tomorrow?”

“I was gonna plan to attend one whole class in one week.” [name] answers while eating her cream-filled donut. Truth to be told, she didn't feel guilty about skipping classes, it was only her escape from pressure and stress in school. “How about you?”

“I guess I'll skip tomorrow.” Amane took out a piece of his donut and showed it to [name]. “Want some?”

“Sure. Thanks.” [name] opened her mouth waiting for Amane to plop the piece of donut inside her mouth. He blushed at the thought of his fingers might brush against her lips. Amane plopped the bite inside her mouth which [name] ate it gratefully. “Here have some of mine in exchange.” she says while handing him the donut.

Amane takes a bite of the cream-filled donut. He glanced over to [name] and saw that there's a bit of cream near her lips. “Hold on,” he pointed at her face. “Um, you got some cream on the side of your lips.”

“Huh? Here?” [name] pointed at her face. Amane shakes his head since she can't see where he was pointing. He sighed and reached over to wipe the cream off her lips using his thumb and quickly licked it.

Amane smirked slyly at her. “The cream does taste good.” he said in a playful way. [name]'s face grew red at the sudden action that he did, he decided to tease her a little bit so he moved his face closer to hers. “You seem a little flustered~ hmm~?”

[name] leaned back and averted her gaze from him. “Well, that looked like an indirect kiss.” she protested while pouting slightly. Amane let out a light chuckle and smiled.

“Sorry, I can't help but to tease because you're so cute.” He said with a slight smirk and he reached over to lightly pinch her cheek. “Your cheeks are red~”

“Ok, that's enough.” [name] pried his hand off her cheek and rubs it a little. Amane stares at her in a lovestruck awe, the way she blushes and pouts made him feel like he just wanna hold her protectively in his arms. “I finished my donut, let's get going now.”

The two of them got out of the mall. The skies were as pink overlayed with an orange color that the sun was setting. Amane stared at [name]'s hand, he blushed at the thought of hold it. “[name]-san...” he came to a halt.

“Yeah?” [name] said.

“Can...I...?” Amane looked down while mumbling incoherently. [name] tilted her head in confusion as he waits for him to speak. Amane must have looked like a strawberry right now. His eyes meet hers as he gains a bit of confidence. “C-Can I hold your hand?!” he asked with a hint of embarrassment.

[name]'s cheeks turned red at the sudden request. She stared at her own hand and then his hands, for some reason his hand looked warm. “T-that was a strange thing to ask, I'm sorry—” Amane swats his hand in denial.

“Sure...”

“I'm sorry, what?” Amane's eyes widened. [name] turned away from him and blushed intensely, he looks at her hand. “You don't mind right? Me holding your hand...?”

“Mhmm...” [name] brushes her hand against his so that Amane would know that it's okay to hold her hand. Amane laced their hands together, tenderly holding her hand. [name] can hear her heartbeat hammering inside her chest. “You really like being coddled, huh?”

‘Her hand feels soft.’ Amane looked at their hands linking with each other. ‘They fit so perfectly with mine...’

“Shall we continue?” Amane asked with a shy smile. [name] hummed in agreement as the choppy haired boy gripped on to her hand softly, grinning at the female. “Let's take you home then~”

The two teens started walking together hand in hand, feeling each others warmth till the tips of their very own fingers. Amane mumbled something under his breath.“I love you,”

“Eh?” [name] didn't quite hear what Amane just mumbled.

“I meant your hands!” Amane blushed that he accidentally slipped that out but thank god she didn't hear it. “I love your hands——They're really cute!”

“Well your hands are pretty much gorgeous than mine, you have long fingers...” [name] raised their intertwined hands together in front of Amane and smiled softly. “See, our hands pretty much fit together.”

“Yeah...” Amane smiled contently, hoping that this moment will never end. If [name] continues to act like this around him,

Then, he would most likely to fall for her even more.

-end of part 2-

thank you for reading, be sure to like and reblog if you love this part~!

taglist: @closetwaffle @closetweebsmh

[dreamiesformula]

“A ... Stray Kid?”

This is set just before the barrier comes down but also before the fight with Audrey.

Theme: Soulmates AU , OC x Harry Hook

Warnings: mild swearing, slight angst, Maybe?

Rating: MA 15+ ¿

What is a Stray Kid?: a group of friends who refused to conform to the princess or culinary life and live in a small section between the isle and Auradon called District 9.

Starting now:

Y/N’s P.O.V

“So you went to take down Auradon’s rulers and ended up as an octopus?” I giggle at the girl in front of me in the shore or district 9. “Yes don’t laugh I just want a better life, a way off the isle for my family, my crew.” She replies longing in her eyes, is this a villain speaking oml what’s happened I scoff “I’ll get Felix and we will fix it so you can transform willingly” I call Felix through our connection ‘Lix please we gotta help get’, ‘ugh fine’ he groans “he’s coming he’ll be here soon” I smile at her. “My name is Y/N Lee, and you are?” I extend my hand “Uma!” The half octopus lady replies. “Y/N I thought I told you to stay away from the shore you know what happened last time” my twin brother Felix scolds “but I met Uma this time!” I smile I was never wholesome enough to make it as a princess or bad enough to be a villain until I felt a strong enough emotion to set me off, or at least that’s what Felix told me. We hold hands and mutter a spell under our breathe and next thing we know with a flash of red the girls standing onshore now able to control her morphs, “Welcome to district 9!” I smile taking her hand to show her around.

* Meanwhile on the isle *

The original Vks Mal, Jay, Carlos and Evie had picked up the 4 lucky new Vilian Kids to get their chance at a happily ever after, soulmates weren’t a big thing on the isle and sometimes happened between vilian kids and Auradon ones but only very rarely but such was the case with Mal and Ben, Evie and Doung & Jane and Carlos. Perhaps even rarer a soulmate being from district 9 and the isle as they never seemed to come in contact with one another, both with the same fate of dying painfully from a lack of love without ever meeting their “one”.

Y/N’s P.O.V

As Uma talked about the isle and all her crew I felt a intense stinging in my left arm Felix must’ve felt it too because he looked over at me eyes wide as the words H.Hook appeared on my forearm, “and then there’s Harry, he is the son of Captain Hook and he is my first mate!” She smiles softly she must miss them since she hasn’t been able to get back into the isle after the little incident. I pull my sleeves down and ignore it I hear Felix try to communicate to me through our thoughts ‘Y/N your soulmate is a VK’ and with that I get up and run off.

Felix’s P.O.V

“Uma tell me more about this Harry guy... I think my sister just found her soulmate” I say voice barely stable as I can feel the stress my twin is feeling. She’s crying but I can’t tell why, was she happy or sad, were they losing their connection, or was I going to lose her over this unknown pirate. That was until everything went blurry I ask Uma to find Y/N “We need to morph soon, please. Get my sister!” I briefly look down at my left arm there it was UMA in big curvier lettering, before my world turned black.

Y/N’s P.O.V

Sitting in the edge of my bed I read the journal I kept over the past 4 years when all of Stray Kids found their soulmates expect for Lix and I, ‘Sometimes I think I maybe be fated with a VK even Chris thinks so, I’m still not over Jin he and I really had something I truly thought he was my one, I don’t know what happened but I hope one day I’ll find them... but I’ll never leave Felix behind, I need him and he needs me forever.’ I start to feel fuzzy and immediately I know somethings happened to Felix I open my door to be greeted with Uma hold her left arm out I read it “F.Lee” shocked I try to tap into Felix but there’s nothing “where is he?” I frantically run back to where we all were before I found out about Harry there lied my brother face down barely alive. “I can’t touch him Uma or we will morph together, I need you to pick him up for me. How about we swim near the isle the bridge is up meaning someone from Auradon is gonna be there? I need to get Chris!” I rant frantically. Her tough exterior softens briefly “okay fine” she replies going into an octopus holding my a Lix in one hand I cast a spell that will protect Felix from the water and make it so he can breathe. We reach the bridge and Ursula tells me to catch whatever’s falling she lifts me up and I grab what appears to be hades ember “please no it can’t get wet!” I hear mal scream, “show me where Chris is and it won’t” I frantically shout as Uma places Felix down and I plead to Jay to help “he may have been spelled we can’t find him or Ben anywhere Audrey spelled everyone she’s gone manic and evil.” He explains then comes and hugs me, I throw the ember to Uma “please I can’t lose him you know that, he just found his soulmate.” I smile sadly pointing to Uma who’s now hugging two pirates one pointing to his arm as Uma waves at me. “And I did too Jay” I hug him tightly before Uma speaks up “Promise me every Vilian kid who wants off the isle will have their freedom.” She holds the ember over the water as Mal promises once in our way Jay grabs Felix and we all head back. “Why don’t you just morph again that worked last time Y/N” Evie asks, “we can’t morph until Chris’ assessment of him we don’t have much time left until we are fully bonded so for the sake of Felix and his soulmate I can’t morph until I know we can be separated again” I sadly smile and feel a hand on my shoulder as I look up there’s Uma “please tell me more Y/N, I want to understand this, for you, for Harry and for him.” She points to Lix whose currently around Jay’s shoulder I laugh at the fact that he looks so tiny. It’s not long until Harry comes up next to his Captain and I run off next to Jay “Jay he’s dying, I can feel it, I can feel his pain!” I wince as I hear a call “Y/N?” I turn to the water near the shores and find Jin all wet and washed up his long hair in his face I gasp and run over to him, “Jinnie, what happened?” I grab my jacket and put it around him “I don’t know why I’m here Y/N but somethings not right.” I grab his hand intertwining it with mine and walk to the group again “you’re telling me” I sigh and point to Felix and he gasps. Only the other Stray Kids know that if Felix does die then so do I, I can’t break that to Uma or my Harry yet.

Harry’s P.O.V

Something inside of me broke when I saw that Y/N lass with that boy “w’ose he?” I ask Uma, she shrugs but explain who she was “that’s Y/N Lee” I look to my arm and sure enough there it was Uma chuckles, “yes that’s your soulmate and that’s mine” she softly smiles pointing to the unconscious lad. “The isle’s barrier must’ve blocked my connection but she helped me when I couldn’t find a way back in it a hole, her and her brother are our soulmates and Harry for once in my life I feel happy.” Uma smiles “I just wish she’d talk with me aye, but she’s too busy holds hands with man bun” I scoff “he’s a stray kid too they’re like us Harry, a family.” She rolls her eyes walking up to her dead looking soulmate. I’m glad Uma gets to be happy but what about me huh. I can still feel the stinging but I choose to ignore it, replace it with anger and jealously although till never admit it. She was gorgeous, was she really my one?

Y/N’s P.O.V

“Guys I need to find him soon” I gasp as Jin holds onto me tightly “please Chris where are you?” I whisper.

As we enter Auradon I see a all too familiar sleeping figure, “CHAN!” I scream seeing the only older brother figure I’ve know “Jinnie, it’s Chris” I run over to him still hand in hand with the boy I crouch beside him “only true loves kiss can break a spell like this” Evie tells us. “No, I know a way” “Jin remember what Chris taught us last time when you were out” I smile “of course!” “Let’s start!” I smile as we chant the spell to wake up any stray kids from a sleeping curse, “Maneun gashideonggul dachin goseul jabgo, Jamshi shwil shigan eopne, Nan gwaenchana chamgo gyesok haeseo, Nae apeul barabomyeo ttwimyeon dwae.” Jin starts and I take over picking up the pace as we move our hands in circulation above a sleeping Chris “Run through the miro like a beast, Da biseuthan gireun da pihaega, Misukhajiman saeroun dojeon, Imma Bear Grylls nae kkumeul makneun geot deureun modu meogeo chiwo. Nan dallyeo nae kkumeul hyanghaneun moheom.” He jolts up from the slumber as “Stray Kids Whooo” we all chant as I hold onto Chris as tightly as possible Before I can even say another word Harry interputs all the bickering “I believe we’re being challenged” but is brushed off by Uma and make alike “GIRLS!” He shouts “we have a situation ere” Pointing his hook and shouting to 50 plus moving knights ready to attack us, as Audrey’s voice beckons through the amour, Cecilia the smaller girl takes dude this talking dog we found and Felix and hides behind the pillars in the enterence. “Are ye sure you can fight princess?” Harry winks at me “firstly not a princess and secondly don’t have much choice pirate” I scoff really this one was my soul mate. *sword fighting resumes*

I grab three swords throwing one to Chris and Jin “For Felix!” I scream as I go for the stack of three trying to attack Uma “Y/N, what are you doing you’ll get hurt!” I hear her shout over the sword clanging “don’t worry” I scoff as start chanting a spell again with Chris and Jin following. Our chant causes them to malfunction long enough for Mal to take over “Suit of amour strong and true, make this metal bust a move!” She spells eyes glowing green. And after an intense dance battle we all win!

I curl over in pain about to fall when a pirate hook catches me “wow there princess, fallin’ for me already huh” I smile before snapping back to reality “Lix” I run to where he lays. “Chris please I can feel it he’s slipping away” I gasp and the air is knocked out of me, with pleading eyes I look at Chris “he found his soul mate?” I nod “our connection, it’s fading right?” I felt overwhelmed with emotion “no, hes actually getting stronger, but he’s gone into over drive.” I have no words “our connection, it’s time right?” I sigh “sadly” he smiles before we even have the time to do anything “Chris take him and go to Evie’s cottage, he needs to lay down.” Mal orders “we will split up girls going to the cottage boys go look for Ben” I nod again “Jinnie stay with us, we aren’t as strong if we are missing someone, Carlos knows what we all look like call is if you find Min, Kai, Han, CB or Lee please” he gives me a thumbs up. “We stand a chance if we can all harness our power.” Uma smiles, “quickly please” Mal orders as we go to all split up Chan (Chris) speaks up...

“Hey Y/N go with the boys you’re the strongest out of us all you can handle your own hopefully if you’re not so close to Felix the pain will lessen.” Chan orders “But- Chris” I go to complain until Jay steps in “we got her” and takes my arm dragging me with them. The boys had paired up while walking leaving Harry and I to get acquented, “so lass what’s your name” I hear a Scottish accent whisper in my ear “Y/N Lee, and yours is Harry Hook I assume” pointing the the hook he’s carried around everywhere. “Indeed, a bit infatuated are we love” he winks okay so sure I was falling for it but Felix was my priority “perhaps I am hook, after all you and I, well we have something of a connection” I laugh walking towards Jay and jumping on his back “what if we can’t save him” I whisper “I’m not losing you okay” Jay reassures me after all when we went to Auradon he was one of my best friends when we met we got along instantly. While we walk along I hear the faint sound of the sirens from district 9, meaning that some of my friends where closed by that’s our warning sign when someone in danger. “Owww my ears” dude complains “tell me where that’s coming from boy” I lean down to the dog as he runs off me chasing after him.

Jay’s P.O.V

“Jay, um erm. So this Y/N girl...” I laugh “yeah I know you’re her soul mate, what’s up?” He looks shocked “she tells me everything, I’m the only one in Auradon she knows like her brother.” I smirk he goes to swing at me with his hook but I dodge it. “I FOUND BEN!” I hear Y/N scream as Harry takes off like the speed of light i not so far behind in tow. Seeing Y/N protecting the other 4 stray kids in a bubble of red as she ducks swings from a very angry looking beast, that beast being Ben.

Harry’s P.O.V

The boys and I each take turns in helping evade this beasts strikes something came over me and I wanted to protect her the wee lass that was with us that is, I felt something for her I haven’t felt well ever, I wonder what it was.

Y/N’s P.O.V

While the boys help the beast whose apparently king Ben with his issue I take turns making sure all the other stray kids are okay, “I’m so glad you’re alright!” I smile to them all as we huddle for a group hug. Once a girl comes along and sprays Ben with some liquid he turns back to almost normal “Y/N?” He questions “Hey Ben” I greet “where’s Felix?” My eyes soften “details to follow” Jay says while Harry shamelessly hits on Carlos’ girlfriend Jane! “Taken Hook” Carlos growls, Harry just laughs I walk with the other boys while we catch up on all the events turns out when Audrey spelled Auradon the District was also effected sending us all to different places.

“Y/N, your arm?” I frantically try to cover up “we both found ours Han” I smile sadly knowning soon enough I may be no longer. “We will save him and you it’s gonna be okay, you’ll get your happy ever after our princess” the say while bowing I just laugh shaking my head. We all walk back to Evie’s cottage without realising I walk next to Harry whose arm finds its way around my shoulder touching me close to his side, oddly enough I felt at home, I felt safe.

“Ye know, you’re a pretty hot soulmate for a pirate, badass too it’s so hot seeing Ye do that magic or yours.” Harry whispers to me sending my cheeks red “you’re not too bad yourself hook” I laugh before interlacing our hands the one that didn’t have the hook of course. Gil comes up beside us “Hi I’m Gil!” He smiles “hi I’m Y/N Lee” I smile as we begin to chatter “so whose the group behind us” he whispers “well Gil they’re my crew, my family.” I smile fondly hoping everything is gonna be okay.

Uma’s P.O.V

“Mal tell me it’s not true!” Evie sounds distressed for the 6th time I listen in on their conversation “yes Evie, it is. If Felix dies so does Y/N and vice versa, if they merge only Felix will be left either way Y/N loses her chance and it’s all my fault I knew she had a VK soulmate I saw Harry’s arm when we were kids, no one noticed what it was not even Harry...” Mal sighs “you mean to tell me this whole time he’s been slowly dying!” I scream I never even got my chance. Where was MY happily ever after huh?

“UMA!” They scream “if I kiss him that will work right. True loves kiss. Works everytime does it?” I frantically rush “no Uma, this isn’t a spell that can be broken we’ve already asked Y/N, either they both die or only she dies and he lives, until Chris can understand why it’s happened now instead of in 20 years when the spell was meant to act up again.” She stops before starting again “we thought we had cured them.” Sighing Uma angrily throws the cake she knew emotions would make her weak yet she was fated with this boy slamming the door to the cottage she going to take a breather outside.

Y/N’s P.O.V

As we arrive at the cottage I’m throw back into reality “guys it’s Felix” I yell as the 4 boys follow closely in tow as we pole through the bittage door I see him there pale as ever I feel a pair of hands snake around my waist as I breathe in leather and salty seas Harry was comforting me? Everyone else seemed just as confused “hey love don’t cry it’s gonna be alright we will save him.” He whispers “NO, YOU DON’T GET IT IF HE DIES I DIE. WE SHARE ONE SOUL I FEEL EVERYTHING HE FEELS, IF HE IS GONE I’M GONE HARRY IF WE DO NOT SAVE HIM ITS NOT A HAPPY EVER AFTER FOR ME. HE GOES I GO!” I burst screaming at him “BUT WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU CARE YOU ARE JUST A PIRATE” I didn’t mean it I know I cared for him but Felix was my other half literally, Harry goes to bite but Mal pulls him away before he can.

Mal’s P.O.V

“So ye tellin’ me either way I lose my lass” Harry looks like a broken man “yes Harry, she either dies because her brother dies or she’s trapped inside his body forever, it’s almost impossible to separate them” I calmly explain as he bursts punching the table with a bleeding wrist Han walks in “Mal, we are all going to be leaving, we will take Felix back to the district along with Y/N.” He explains “I’m sorry we couldn’t save them” I say Han looked up to Y/N as a sister and they were all very close “we knew this day would come we are just sorry you both hand to find out about them this way, we will stay in touch we wish you the best of luck but as you know we are only as powerful as your ember and the septer when we are all together.” He sighs it’s true they were the most powerful physical human beings known in the area not even Uma nor I could match them when they’re all together. “Can I see my lass?” Harry whispers Han nods before pulling everyone out of the room including a very still knocked out Felix.

Y/N’s P.O.V

“love?” I hear a familiar whisper, I sigh turning around “Harry I’m so sorry I-“ he cuts me off by pressing his lips too mine a emotional kiss which I didn’t expect from someone as rough as him. “I’m not mad just promise me that we will meet again princess” he smiles sadly “I promise my prince” I smile before pulling him in for another kiss.

*mal is fighting the evil Audrey*

I hear a scream for help as all of us turn we see Mal as a dragon fighting Audrey, we go up to Uma and Harry then an idea pops into my head. I whisper to Uma “take care of them for me” and I grab onto Felix’s cold hand before anyone can stop me, I look at Harry and say “I’m sorry Harry, I love you.” Before disappearing into Felix as his body jolts awake.

‘Well look who woke up sleeping beauty’ I sarcastically joke ‘let’s save this kingdom’ he smiles as Uma and him hug inside I’m screaming.

‘I can hear you stupid’ I hear Felix tell me off

‘Sorry’ I mentally shrug

Uma, the stray kids and mal fight and defeat Audrey saving Auradon.

I feel my energy drain as I feel light then feel nothing at all.

Harry’s P.O.V

She’s gone, the only woman I’ve ever loved, my soulmate, my one. Gone. All for a stupid princess.

Both Felix and Y/N’s bodies lay there lifeless I thought they weren’t supposed to split. I only grow more confused when her brother gets up and walks but Y/N doesn’t. She really is gone.

I pick up her limp lifeless body as I carry it to the boy referred to as Chris he silently thanks me before turning away to leave “Harry” I hear a deep voice call “I’m going to get her back mate, she’s not gone yet I can feel her love for you growing. Chris won’t let the only princess we’ve got die.” He smiles before turning to say goodbye to Uma I feel a slight gilmt of hope but it dies almost instantly.

I should’ve been able to save her, but I couldn’t.

Uma and I head back to the isle when they go to pick up hades of course they’ll do anything to save one of their own, the anger burns inside me. I haven’t left my room in the ship since that day.

“HARRY COME SEE THIS”

I get changed into the first thing I see and run to Uma thinking somethings wrong.

I watch as the barrier disappears and hug Uma tightly knowing she’ll finally get a happy ending, I watch as she runs to Felix whose on auradons side with 7 of the other stray kids all of them but it is the one familiar face missing that makes even this moment seem bitter.

I slowly walk the bridge as everyone including mal and Ben bow I look up and see her there. Y/N Lee my soulmate proudly standing smiling before running to me and gripping so tight neither of us let go, maybe life wasn’t so bitter after all “how love?” I whisper “Hades” she smiles before pulling me in for a long and very overdue kiss “you saved em princess” I pull her closer scared she’ll slip away “and you saved me prince” laughing she pulls away only to have me pull her back in “not again love, I’m not letting my lass leave me side ever.” Placing a soft kiss on her forehead ignoring all the whoops from her friends and just enjoying my chance to truly be happy.

[thelittlestcheshire]

even if you have to cry, don't let your crown fall

a love letter to luxor’s ches elswood

Well, it’s finally time that I feel ready to post this, and while I’m aware it may be bittersweet with my upcoming departure, I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. Today I present to you a three hour Ches playlist, divided into sections and covering her entire time at Luxor, from when I first picked her up in June of 2019 all the way to now. There’s quite a few plot references, and small (and not as small) references to other muses throughout, especially when it comes to Elliot, so keep an eye out for those as well!

I’d like to thank Lex for giving me the idea to make these, and her support throughout the process because without her, these playlists wouldn’t even exist. And thank you to everyone who has gone on this journey with us, while I’m sorry I need to dip out early after this event to focus on my health, I love y’all so much.

The standard Ches tws apply (poor mental health, alcoholism, etc etc), and anything I think may be a bit abnormal / section exclusive is noted on the sections.

twist me like a key, then you open the lock | pre-luxor:

the section of time before I played Ches at Luxor, very James heavy. additional tws: Death (Sign of the Times), Toxic relationships (nothing explicit tho)

Sign of the Times (Jasmine Thompson) [ Remember everything will be alright. We can meet again somewhere, somewhere far away from here. ] // Sweet Ophelia (Zella Day) [ Singing like it's a full moon, careless now that he has you. Turns you on to the right songs, promises that you're hooked on. ] // Couple of Kids (Maggie Lindemann) [ Now I'm fallin' heavily, recklessly, trying not to lose my sensibility; but gravity, it pulls me into you. ] // Glowstick (Sofia Karlberg) [ You play me like a line-up; long con, you make me wise up. ] // Crying in the Club (Camila Cabello) [ Ain't no crying in the club, hey, hey, let the beat carry away, your tears as they fall, baby. Ain't no crying in the club, hey, hey, with a little faith, your tears turn to ecstasy. ] // Ember (Katherine McNamara) [ Reignite; you lost your grip on me, and now I blaze wild and free. ]

nobody shows up unless i'm paying, have a drink on me cheers to the failing | summer & fall 2019:

the first time I was at Luxor playing ches, from June - October 2019

7 rings (Ariana Grande) [ Been through some bad shit, I should be a sad bitch. Who woulda thought it'd turn me to a savage? ] // I'm a Mess (Bebe Rexha) [ “It's gonna be a good, good life;” that's what my therapists say. ] // OMG (Little Mix) [ Oh my gosh, I did it again. He said I broke his heart, it keeps happening. ] // Only Angel (Harry Styles) [ Couldn't take you home to mother in a skirt that short, but I think that's what I like about it. ] // LA Devotee (Panic! At The Disco) [ Drinking white wine in the blushing light, just another LA Devotee. ] // Woman Like Me (Little Mix feat. Nicki Minaj) [ I made a few mistakes, I regret it nightly. I broke a couple hearts that I wear on my sleeve. ]

all of this emptiness i've been sharing, it never comes when i want it to | winter 2019:

the period of time Ches went home to be with her family and was away from luxor additional tws: vomiting (Habits (Stay High))

Carmen (Lana Del Rey) [ Darlin’, darlin’, doesn't have a problem lyin’ to herself ‘cause her liquor’s top shelf ] // How You Remind Me (Avril Lavigne) [ And I've been wrong, I've been down, been to the bottom of every bottle. These five words in my head scream, "Are we havin' fun yet?" ] // Playing God (Paramore) [ This is the last second chance (I'll point you to the mirror). I'm half as good as it gets (I'll point you to the mirror). I'm on both sides of the fence (I'll point you to the mirror). Without a hint of regret, I'll hold you to it ] // Habits {Stay High} (Tove Lo) [ Staying in my play pretend, where the fun ain't got no end. Oh, can't go home alone again, need someone to numb the pain. ] // Bedroom Window (The Pretty Reckless) [ As I look out of my bedroom window; is it all real or just fantasy? I have lost touch with what makes me human, I have lost touch with reality. ] // Impossible Year (Panic! At The Disco) [ There's no sunshine, this impossible year; only black days and sky grey and clouds full of fear. ]

i wouldn't say you got the best of me, i'd say you got me somewhere in between | spring 2020:

Ches’s return to Luxor, and the months following leading up to her mass text about Leo’s dad following the Lake Bash

3 O'Clock Things (AJR) [ Would you go running if you saw the real me? Maybe you'd love 'em, yeah, maybe you'd feel me. ] // Wild Heart (Bleachers) [ Well, everything has changed and now I can't tell what matters. I will find any way to your wild heart. ] // Rise (Katy Perry) [ When the fire's at my feet again and the vultures all start circling. They're whispering, “you're out of time.” But still, I rise. ] // Don't Stop Me Now (Queen) [ I'm a rocket ship on my way to Mars on a collision course. I am a satellite, I'm out of control. ] // Princesses Don't Cry (CARYS) [ Girls, so pretty and poised and soft to the touch, but God made me rough. Girls, so heavy the crown, they carry it tall, but it's weighing me down. ] // Save Rock And Roll (Fall Out Boy feat. Elton John) [ You are what you love, not who loves you. In a world full of the word 'yes', I'm here to scream... no, no (no, no). ] // Making a Monster out of Me (Katherine McNamara) [ And I don't know how to recollect the morals that I always did possess. Don't know where its leading me. ] // We Don't Have To Dance (Andy Black) [ You're never gonna get it, I'm a hazard to myself. I'll break it to you easy. This is hell, this is hell. ]

tonight it's alright, i can see the tunnel at the end of these lights | summer 2020:

summer camp and the months leading up to a new school year

Night Owls Early Birds (Foxes) [ A wild fire inside me burns. Why do I look like I'm wear for worse? Save me, save me, go underneath the ground. ] // Too Much (Carly Rae Jepsen) [ When I party, then I party too much. When I feel it, then I feel it too much. When I'm thinking, then I'm thinking too much. When I'm drinking, then I'm drinking too much. ] // Royal Blue (Alberto Rosende) [ My regrets are a shade around my neck I know. It's torturous, and there's a burden that I can't let go. ] // Who You Selling For (The Pretty Reckless) [ And when Roger showed me I was building a wall. I've been waiting a long time, waiting a long time, waiting a long time, waiting for it to fall. ] // Heavy (Linkin Park feat. Kiiara) [ You say that I'm paranoid, but I’m pretty sure the world is out to get me. It’s not like I make the choice to let my mind stay so fucking messy. ] // The Archer (Taylor Swift) [ I've been the archer, I've been the prey; screaming, “who could ever leave me,” darling. But who could stay? ] // Everybody Lost Somebody (Bleachers) [ And there's a reason I wake up alone in strange places, a reason I see myself in a million faces, a reason I can't stop it all from changing. So come on, motherfucker, you survive, you gotta give yourself a break. ]

no cameras catch my muffled cries. i counted days, i counted miles | fall and winter 2020(/21):

a new school year, from the start of the semester right until the aftermath of the kings’ party

So It Goes (Guards) [ I don't know who I am but I do know who I'm not. I'm just looking for a friend, I'm still searching for the plot. ] // Wasabi (Little Mix) [ Love to hate me, praise me, shame me; either way, you talk about me. ] // Think Before I Talk (Astrid S) [ Maybe I should think before I talk; I get emotional and words come out all wrong. Sometimes I'm more honest than I want. ] // Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince (Taylor Swift) [ No cameras catch my muffled cries. I counted days, I counted miles to see you there, to see you there. And now the storm is coming, but... ] // Sober Up (AJR feat. Rivers Cuomo) [ Won't you help me sober up? Growin' up, it made me numb, and I wanna feel somethin' again. ] // The Show Must Go On (Queen) [ Empty spaces, what are we living for? Abandoned places, I guess we know the score, on and on. Does anybody know what we are looking for? ] // Waiting For A Friend (The Pretty Reckless) [ My head is like a prison cell, I'm all by myself. I'm waiting for my friend to come and break me out. ] // Sober (Demi Lovato) [ I'm sorry that I'm here again, I promise I'll get help. It wasn't my intention, I'm sorry to myself. ] // Eight (Sleeping At Last) [ I'm just a kid who grew up scared enough to hold the door shut, and bury my innocence. But here's a map, here's a shovel, here's my Achilles' heel. ]

i got this handled, i don't need rescuing | spring and early summer 2021:

ches’s progress from the end of march until now

The Man (Taylor Swift) [ I’m so sick of running as fast as I can, wondering if I'd get there quicker if I was a man. And I'm so sick of them coming at me again, 'cause if I was a man, then I'd be the man. ] // Princess (FLETCHER) [ But we're all going through it, so why do we do it? Why do we hide? ] // Humpty Dumpty (AJR) [ If I can't breathe, then you can't see, but aren't you excited that I'm giving you the best me? ] // My Mistake (Gabrielle Aplin) [ Am I jaded? Am I meant to feel this way?  I'm a loser, getting beat by my own game. But if I falter, well, at least it was my mistake. ] // The Climb (Miley Cyrus) [ The struggles I'm facing, the chances I'm taking; sometimes might knock me down, but no, I'm not breaking. ] // breathin (Ariana Grande) [ Some days, things just take way too much of my energy. I look up and the whole room's spinning. You take my cares away. ] // Clean (Taylor Swift) [ Ten months sober, I must admit just because you're clean, don't mean you don't miss it. Ten months older, I won't give in, now that I'm clean, I'm never gonna risk it. ] // Not a Pop Song (Little Mix) [ A hamster on a wheel that's how it feels tryna be real. These unrealistic expectations said we'll make it if we fake it. ] // Queen (Loren Gray) [ Eyes on me like I'm a prize but you better recognize I'm not your angel 'cause I belong to me. ] // The Cure (Little Mix) [ This happiness was always inside me but Lord, it took a minute to find me. ]

[marvel-ousnesss]

Little Flame (Hades x reader)

Request: Can I have an imagine where I'm Mal's best friend and I have a crush on Hades and he overhears?

A/N: Made with love, based on @thorxme18​ ‘s request (I modified the concept a bit) 🥰 Sorry not sorry but… no smut in this one. Also, this ended up being super long, I think it's like 7k-ish ????  Anyways….. Enjoyyyy and tell me what you think.

Pairing: Hades x reader

Warning: Cursing

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Descendants or any of its characters.

Y/I: your initial

Much to your surprise, everything had changed from the last time some VKs were elected to go off-shore. Everyone who wasn't chosen seemed to be happy for those who were; you wished you'd've had that reaction from your mentor and, you'd dare to say friend, Hades. You couldn't bring yourself to stop thinking about it, it made both your mind and your left foot bounce non-stop as you waited for Mal and Ben to make an entrance at the new students' welcoming ceremony.

Ben thanked his people for their support, but not everyone seemed to be sharing the positive attitude on the VK topic. Beside you, you heard Audrey's grandma, whose name you couldn't remember, scoff, "not like we had a choice."

All you did was roll your eyes, after all your time in Auradon, you had grown used to the comments about you being a villain. You listened to Ben while fidgeting with the sleeve of your dress, a grin plastered across your face in expectancy of what was gonna happen after he finished singing. However, just like it happened with the announcement of new arrivals, not everyone was happy about the king's proposal.

"No!" Audrey screamed, making a few threatening glares, including yours, be thrown her way. As cliché as it may sound, it is right to say that, if looks could kill, Audrey would've been dead within seconds (if her jealousy didn't kill her first). 

After Mal said yes, everyone began celebrating and commenting on how romantic the gesture had been, how good of a couple they made, and how lucky Auradon's people were to have them.

"Ben and Mal are the absolute best, I really cannot wait for Mal to be queen," said the girl who was standing next to you.

With a smile, you nodded in agreement, "I know, I mean, they work really well together, and they're such a great couple."

"You'd really rather have a VK on the throne than me?"

The girl just turned around and left, but you faked a smile and mocked, "I think even Carlos' dog would make a better queen."

"You're not one to talk, you're one of them yourself," Chad Charming came to Audrey's defense.

"Why thanks, captain obvious, I was completely unaware of that." You rolled your eyes at them as you began making your way to where your friends were standing.

As soon as Mal came down from the stage, you and Evie engulfed her in a tight hug.

"Did you guys know?"

Evie just sighed and grinned, "everything."

You shrugged nonchalantly, "helped plan it." You hugged her once more, thrilled to see her so happy, "you're gonna be the best queen that this pretty, preppy people can even imagine."

….

You stood next to Evie's desk, scanning a new book of sketches she had made for Mal's wedding dress and munching on a chocolate chip cookie.

"Who else knows about the crown and the scepter?" asked Evie, with her brows slightly frowned.

"No one. I mean, think about it, people are scared enough as it is. We have to employ these entirely new security measures". Mal spoke with confidence as she explained the situation to both of you.

For one, you couldn't believe that such important objects had been stolen, and you understood the fear of the people, knowing from first-hand experience how dangerous and wicked villains could be. However, you didn't support the Isle's complete isolation, it was unfair to take such measures.

"Will this delay our bringing over more V.K.'s?" Evie asked.

Mal sighed and replied, "We're talking about closing the barrier for good."

You gasped. "What? M, they can't do that."

Automatically, Evie's notebook rested on the table next to you and began pacing.

"Not only will you kill dozens of children's illusions to be here, but we'd never get to see the others again. You said no, right?"

"Y/N is right, you know? Besides, the four of us are living the dream, and we finally get to share that. I mean, what could be more important than that?" Evie had always been the most compassionate out of the five of you, so she was trying to lead Mal into the path that seemed the kindest.

"Yeah. I know. I mean, maybe security or maybe peace of mind for everyone in Auradon. People like Hades, dangerous and cruel, could get out of the Isle at any moment, I truly believe that it's best for us to keep the barrier closed. For the sake of our people".

"Our people? M, look, don't get me wrong; I really admire how you care about everyone's safety here at Auradon," you sat on a spare chair, between your two best friends, eyes pleadingly looking at Mal. "But you can't afford to forget where we all come from. Better than anyone, we know that not everyone there is a criminal; and, even some of those who are, want a chance to prove themselves. There must be something, anything that can be done."

Mal seemed a bit taken aback, both of you could see that she was having a hard time with the current situation so, even if you didn't completely agree with the measures that she was telling you about, you gave her your most sincere smile and all the support that you could muster.

"M, I'm so glad that you're going to be Queen. You will be a part of these conversations, you will stand up for the V.K.s. Thank you for telling us. You're gonna be a great Queen".

Mal seemed gave you a small closed-lip smile, you and Evie stood up and hugged her, and she sighed, calming down a bit.

…

You hummed to yourself as you helped Carlos prepare a picnic basket for Jane's birthday party. Chuckling, while Evie threw different fruits at Jay, you folded everyone's towels and neatly arranged them. When you were about to go upstairs, to get your camera, you heard a faint, "later, suckers!" coming from outside.

You all rushed out and, before you could see anything, Jay exclaimed, "Whoa! You might wanna think of a spell for that."

Turns out, Audrey, who apparently was out and about looking for trouble, not only stole the scepter and the crown, but had also turned Mal into an old lady. Your friends were debating over what to do concerning the Audrey issue, when you chimed in, "The only thing more powerful than the scepter is Hades' ember. We need to go get it."

Carlos countered, "Are you sure? I mean, Y/N, can't you fix it with your magic?"

"Sorry guys, but Hades's our only choice, we need to get the ember."

Jay scoffed, "Yeah, right. We can also invite him over for tea."

Carlos gave him a smack on the back of his head, but didn't support your suggestion either.

"He’s right, Y/I,” Evie spoke up, “ besides, no one knows where his lair is”.

You shared a look with Celia, then shrugged, “I do. Actually, we both do.”

“I'm his errand rat. I've got the key at my dad's.”

“Great, you’re both coming,” announced Mal.

To be honest, you missed the dusty air of the Isle; you'd never been a fan of the Olympus, so when the gods decided to kick you, the goddess of devilry in war, daughter of Ares, out of the place, you didn't even bother argue. You greeted Dr. Facilier, waltzed around his shop for a bit, and then exited with your friends.

"Long time nay see," beamed Harry with a wicked grin. The bikes that had brought you were now occupied by pirates of The Lost Revenge's Crew.

Jay was fuming and it showed, he snarled, "get off my bike, Hook.''

"Catch me if you can, Jay!"

And then, they were gone.

You made a move to follow them, as Jay, Carlos, and Evie already had, but Mal placed a hand on your shoulder. "They got this, the three of us gotta gotta go find the ember." So you made your way to Hades'.

With a sigh, you opened the door to one of the most familiar places in the whole Isle.

"Okay, stay quiet," Celia warned. " It echoes, like, crazy in here."

The three of you walked and you could see Mal's eyes bouncing all around the entrance of the 'New Underworld,' as you liked to call it jokingly. When Mal passed besides Severo' s cage, his three mouths snarled menacingly and he began barking; however, it stopped when you passed by and was replaced by happy panting. You looked at him but decided against greeting the three-headed dog, you'd have time for that later. Your best friend sent you a questioning look and you smiled at her, as if telling her "I'll explain later."

The only way of entering the lair was similar to the entrance of the mines in which dwarfs worked back at Charmington. Multiple rail bikes were stationed on the edge, together with some lantern helmets. Each of you took a helmet and got into a bike, which immediately began taking you to where your mentor and friend lived.

You glanced back at Celia and Mal as you explained, "okay, the plan's simple: you'll approach him and get the ember while Celia and I distract him".

"Okay," "alright then," they both agreed.

Given that the former god was fast asleep, you and Celia stayed at the entrance of the cave, while Mal followed your directions and approached him, to take the ember. You mentally cursed as Hades, still unmoving, inquired, "What are you two doing here?"

"We just thought we'd, uh, say hi," Celia tried. When Hades didn't respond, she continued, "also, we noticed that you're low on… on… canned corn."

Not knowing how to support her weak ass excuse, you limited yourself to greet him with a small wave, to which he responded with a smirk and a nod.

"Hi, Dad". Mal remained behind his couch, bending her knees to face him.

"Quite a show you put on the other day," he claimed.

"Right back at you".

After steering awake, he stood up, more like jumped to his feet, "I was just coming to see you!"

Mal didn't believe him, and didn't bother to pretend. "Really? Wonder why.Is it because I'm gonna be Queen?"

"Ah! Now, Mal, don't be bitter".

"You abandoned me when I was a baby," the fae's voice was full of anger and disgust.

The god rolled his eyes and defended himself, "no. no, I left your mother. She's not the easiest person to get along with".

"You think?"

You scoffed, making your way toward the small storage room where all your witchcraft and sorcery materials were sitting, unused ever since you moved to Auradon. While you gathered your possessions, you didn't pay much attention to their interaction, they deserved privacy.

From where you were, you could hear them sing and fight like they hadn't done in the last sixteen years or so.

"Do you wanna make up for being a lousy dad? - Give me the ember," you heard Mal demand.

Hades smirked, "the ember only works for me." And me, you recalled.

"No. It'll work for me. We're blood."

"You're only half Hades. The ember won't do everything for you that it does for me".

"I'll take my chances." Mal began to walk toward where you were, so you took it as a cue to grab your bag and make your exit.

"If it gets wet, it's game over."

When you left, Hades glanced at the cupboard where you kept some things, noticing that, now, the only thing left was a small piece of burnt paper with the words LONG LIVE THE UNDERWORLD messily scribbled on it. His thunderous laugh was faintly heard back on the surface. 'The place does have on hell of an echo'.

Your eyes seemed to be stuck on Mal as you walked back to the barrier; when she noticed you gave her a smile, but felt a kick in your stomach for not telling her which was your connection to him. You could have told her at the lair, but remained silent, thinking it was better to do so when the tension was less.

Everything was quicker than expected, you got in, got the ember after sort of an awkward greeting, and got out. The only problem that you had was the fact that Gil and Harry had now escaped, unleashing a chain of events that had resulted in the oddest of alliances. Long story short, Uma had been roaming the sea all this time, apparently looking for a hole in the barrier; and, while doing that, she had found all the luxury of life outside the dome of the Isle. So, now Mal had promised to guarantee a future for all VKs and you were working with the sea three.

After arriving at Auradon prep, Mal had lead you to the Castle. You looked for Ben with no success, ending up in a room full of knight armours which, speaking of odd, were now charmed to fight. Thanks Audrey. From there, things had gone messy and both gangs were now singing, dancing and fighting for their lives. You did what you could to cover Mal, who was battling two minion armours at once. You swinged your sword and struck the ones around you, with your eyes focused on the scene surrounding you; they were outnumbering you and your group was cornered into the center of the room. However, you couldn't help but notice that the sea witch had dropped the ember, which Audrey had noticed too.

When one of the knights went for the ember, you slashed his head off and went for it too, beating him to it. You concentrated, closing your eyes and clenching your fist around the ember. The familiar burst of blue sparks began to run through you and your eyes opened, glowing silver as you screamed and lifted your arm, making the knights stand completely still before dropping their swords and falling to pieces.

"Y/N?" Mal winded, her wide eyes calling on to an explanation.

You scratched your neck, trying to force your words out, "it's a long story, M."

She pressed on the topic, "Hades said his ember only worked for him, How..."

The others remained quiet, using the time to catch their breaths and recover from the recent encounter; however, Evie's and Carlos' faces mirrored Mal's.

Hesitantly, you revealed the truth. "You guys know I'm sort of a greek goddess myself?," they nodded.

"I am, or I used to be, the goddess of devilry in war, known for being reckless and destructive. This sparked Hades' interest, so he became my mentor and one of my closest friends. When my dad, Ares, found out, he asked Zeus for my permanent expulsion from the Olympus, so I moved in with Hades. Before everything with Hercules and Megara happened, I was already learning everything about the Underworld. Hades' grew to trust me enough to teach me the magic of death so, as it all happened, I learned to use the ember".

The others looked satisfied with your story, but Mal looked at you with an air of betrayal, "so, you've known him all this time," she concluded.

Again, you sighed, "that's right.'’

This time, it was Carlos who spoke, "why didn't you tell us?"

"I don't know, guess, the way I saw it, you guys would've treated me differently knowing that I'm immortal". Okay, that was only half of the truth, but you couldn't risk it in the middle of such an important mission.

Evie smiled at you and, while hugging you, she assured, "Y/N, We love you, no matter what."

Carlos, Jay, and even Mal were quick to join her, showering you with smiles and words of agreement.

"Uh, guys, sorry to interrupt but we gotta keep going," Gil said, making you end the hug and continue your search for the king.

….

On your way to Audrey's room, Mal approached you.

"So… you and my dad being friends, didn't see that one coming," she chuckled.

You shrugged, kicking the dust beneath you, "he was there for me in hard times, the guy has a better heart than what people give him credit for."

She nodded at your words, "How'd you guys meet?"

"We made quick friends in the Troyan war. I was summoned by the greek soldiers and he was there, personally gathering the souls of the fallen. He said my work was great and I complimented his fiery hair, which, as I came to learn, turns out is one of his softy points."

"The Troyan war? So that's why you didn't even open your greek history book," she concluded, lightening the mood.

Audrey was not in her dorm, but Uma found her diary, so you arrived to the conclusion that she was at Fairy Cottage, a place where she had spent a big part of her childhood. Nevertheless, you had all agreed to meet at Evie's after the two hours had passed, so you headed there instead.

When you made it, you saw the three new Vk's fast asleep on the living room, and Evie's boyfriend, Doug, in the same condition but in her study.

Evie fell to the floor beside him, desperately trying to wake him, but to no avail.

Uma rolled her eyes, "he's spelled, is she not a fast learner?"

"She's emotionally involved, okay?" Mal defended her.

"Well, in that case, she should be able to wake him up. True love's kiss".

The atmosphere in the room got thicker with Uma's suggestion, so Evie asked to be left alone with her sleeping boyfriend. After a song and a true love kiss, not to mention with Doug back on his feet, you decided to take a break and have a snack.

You smiled when Mal apologized to Uma, and placed a hand on hers to show your pride and support. However, happiness and peace of mind didn't last long. With loud thuds, wooden boards began to cover the windows and trapped you inside the house. Mal's eyes glowed green as she tried to break Audrey's jinx, but her magic wasn't powerful enough so she and Uma had to join forces. The boards fell down.

Evie hummed, "You did it! Together! This is what I've been talking about".

"I guess my shell likes you," Uma shrugged, wanting to appear nonchalant. "Why don't you hold on to that?"She handed the ember to Mal, but instead of keeping it, she smiled and handed it to you.

"Actually, I think Y/N should have it. She knows it better than I do," she confided.

You thanked your best friend and put the ember away, proceeding to look out the window.

You caught a breath but, before you said anything, Celia announced, "hey, it's your bae!"

That's all it took for all of you to rush outside, stopping on your tracks when you saw the guys on Evie's front yard. With a smile plastered on your face, you hugged Jay and Carlos, and smiled at the pirates and Ben (who was Busy greeting his queen-to-be).

"I'm so glad you guys are okay," you raved. "All of you," once again, your eyes fell on Gil and Harry.

After reuniting, you had to part ways once more; Jane, Gil, and Doug went to find Fairy godmother, and the rest went looking for Audrey to Fairy Cottage.

….

Frankly, it was quite predictable that Audrey would, yet again, outsmart you; so, when she wasnt in her hideout anymore, you weren't as surprised. To say that going there had been a loss of time would be inaccurate, given that you had witnessed a sort of amusing scene when Ben freed Chad.

You were walking together, abandoning Fairy cottage, when Ben demanded that, someday, he had to hear how Mal and Uma ended up working for a common cause. You shared a look with Evie, and she happily declared, "Actually, Mal promised to let all the kids off the Isle - once this is over".

"Mal?" The king inquired.

The fae sighed defeated, which you didn't understand.

"I have to tell you guys something. Um… I lied to you," she confessed. "No one will be coming off the Isle".

You couldn't help but get angry at her, how could she give you so much hope only to crash it? You knew that if you opened your mouth, you wouldn't be able to control your words so, with your eyes locked in the ground, you stood motionless.

She continued, "the program is shut down. And the barrier… will be closed for good. For Auradon's safety."

Uma spoke up, looking at Mal with a deadly glare. "Hold up. So we're saving your precious people and your behinds for a lie. I knew it was a mistake to trust you. You're always out for yourself".

Harry followed his captain's example, facing Ben.

"And you, King Benny..." he bowed, approaching your friend, "you're probably just gonna throw us all back inside".

It was not the badass pirates who raised their voices in that moment, it was the broken children who had discovered that they had been, in fact, fighting for a heartless lie this whole time.

"You know what? I actually thought you were brave. You're nothing but a chicken." Celia's voice broke when she spoke, sounding so betrayed that it wrecked you. "Too scared to tell me I was never gonna see my dad again".

You went after Celia, throwing the ember at mal with your back facing her. Unnoticed by you, the magical gem had landed on a tiny puddle on the forest floor; but that had been enough to extinguish its light.

"No! No," Mal exclaimed, tears beginning to flood her eyes.

"Regain your might and ignite! Regain your might and ignite!" Despite her desperate tries, the ember did not light back on.

The two pirates left to find their friend, showing no empathy at all and not bothering to look back.

At least now, Mal had the guts to face her friends and apologize. She directed her words at Evie and the others, but wished that you were there too, even if she didn't deserve it at that moment.

"Evie… I'm so sorry. I'm sorry, I just… I thought that... I was afraid to tell you. I thought I was gonna lose my best friend.I… I just lost Y/N! But I had to do something. I had to protect Auradon".

Evie brought herself to ask, "closing the barrier was your idea?"

Mal sobbed, defending herself, "I did it for us. I did it for our life that we have here now."

"For our life? What about the kids that we left behind on that island? The kids that we promised? We were their only hope. I thought you were gonna stand up for the V.K.'s. But instead, you lied to them. And you lied to Jay. And you lied to Carlos. And you lied to Y/N. And you lied to me. We're your family."

"I'm gonna go look for Y/N," whispered Jay, only for Carlos to hear.

When the younger boy nodded, the thief began to run in the direction in which you had previously left. After a few yards, he found you, throwing rocks into a small pond. He kneeled to sit next to you, but with a cloud of pink fog, he turned to rock. That's what let you know that Audrey was near, probably going after Mal, so you jumped to your feet and ran back to your friends. There they were, all of them turned to rock; but Mal was nowhere to be found.

Okay, think, think, she has to be somewhere near. Where would M go? She'd go find Audrey; now, where would Audrey go… The castle!

So, that's where you went and when you arrived, you saw your friend begging the pirate sea witch for her help. You were about to make your presence known, but you were snatched off your feet and hit with something on the back of your head.

You woke up on one of the towers next to Celia, who practically threw herself into your embrace.

"It's gonna be fine," you tried to reassure her.

"No, it's not," scoffed Audrey, grabbing Celia by her forearm and forcing her to stand up. "Now, scream for help," she ordered, "I need Mal up here so I can end her once and for all."

Celia complied. "Help me, Mal!" she screamed.

"Don't listen to her, Mal! Go find the others," you tried to warn her but Audrey put the scepter against Celia's neck; "say another word, and she's done with," she threatened.

"Save your little friend, Mal!"

"Help me, Mal!"

You cheered when you saw Mal approaching in her dragon form, but a glare from Audrey was enough to shut you up.

"Careful not to fry your little V.K. buddy!"

Audrey was distracted by Mal so you took the chance and jumped from the tower, landing on your feet. You ran to Uma and Harry, who were still there, watching the whole thing.

You dusted off your jacket and approached them, "are you guys okay?"

"Yeah, but she doesn't stand a chance without the ember," claimed Uma.

''We're stronger together. We're stronger together!" She tried to use her shell, but it was not working. "I'm right here, Mal! Regain your might and ignite. I'm right here, girl," the ember flickered lit but it didn't last long.

"Let me help, you placed your hand over Uma's, grabbing the shell with her. "We're right here. Regain your might and ignite!"

Your eyes gleamed silver and you beamed, "It worked!"

In that moment, Harry took you by surprise when he hugged you and Uma at the same time, not caring about 'sides'. You hugged the pirates back and grinned.

"Thanks Uma," you smiled, "and I'm sorry for everything".  

Even if Mal had already apologized to Uma, you felt the need to do the same because, even if you did everything under your friend's lead, you had still been terrible with her.

"S'alright," she returned the smile, "and I'm glad we did this together."

…

For what seemed to be the thousandth time you closed your eyes and concentrated on the ember, but the result was not different from the previous attempts. You fell back into Ben's arms, panting.

"Sorry, guys, but I'm not powerful enough. The ember's laced to Hades' magic, not mine."

"There must be something that we can do, she's slipping away," Evie insisted.

"As Y/N said, there's only one person in the world who might be able to do something about this, and that's Hades," said Mal.

"Hades? He wouldn't do it. I wouldn't risk it,"Ben tried to reason.

"Actually, he might do it for me. He's my father," Mal revealed.

"I'll send guards to get him,"offered Ben.

"I can go get him," you volunteered, "I know where his lair is."

Ben looked at you questioningly; "he's, uh, an old friend of mine," you wrinkled your nose.

Uma entered the ro

\om, followed by Harry. "Maybe I can hitch a ride. The Isle is my home, someone needs to be there to protect it."

"Well, then, you will need your first mate". You smiled at them, already fond of the pirates.

"The Isle will be in very good hands."

The room fell silent, but Celia broke the ice, "Can I go, too?I wish I could be in both places," she gave Mal a sad smile.

So, it was settled. You were leaving the following day.

….

"I'll be back soon, stay here," you told the guards.

"Good luck, Y/N," Uma placed her hand on your shoulder and you smiled at her.

"Thanks, guys, for everything."

"Nay," shrugged Harry, "no big deal but, seriously, if ya ever visit, come to the ship."

With that, you parted ways. You knew how to get to Hades' by heart, from every part of the Isle; so it took you no time to reach the entrance of his lair.

You let out a breath and went in.

"Look who showed up after the curtain closed, heard you helped Mal beating the witch wannabe," he didn't even have to look your way to know who had traspassed his property; it was enough with the sound of your step.

"I… How did you even hear that?" You tried to avoid the elephant in the room. 

Ignoring your question, he continued as he added what you noticed were the final ingredients to one of the potions that he sold at the market. "Congrats, really. Guess I taught you well. Now, let me guess, you came to say a final goodbye now that you're welcomed to join the goodie-two-shoes once again; it was fun having you, Y/N/N."

Now, you straight up scoffed at him, "dude, chill, don't get all cheesy and sad on me. I'm here because I need a favor; actually, Mal needs a favor."

He looked at you and you could see that he was angry, broken, and yet willing to help you out once again, "okay then, little flame, I'm listening.

You looked around the room,  then looked at him, "It's Audrey, she's under the sleeping curse."

He crossed his arms over his chest and raised a brow, "so what, didn't you use the ember to wake her?"

"Couldn't do it," you admitted. "Guess I'm not as connected to it anymore."

He scoffed, glaring at you, "Who would've thought, it's been what, four years? Not that I'm keeping record."

Even if his tone was sharp and his eyes seemed hateful, you could read him like an open book; and, to say that it broke you to see him so hurt because of you was quite too little to express what you felt. "Hades, I… I'm sorry."

At this point, your eyes were boring into his pleadingly, but his pride didn't let him forgive you so easily.

"You're sorry?" he exclaimed. "Jeez, little flame, that's a relief! I'm glad a lowlife villain like myself is at least worthy of your apologies!"

For a moment, your sadness and regret were clouded by anger. You were forcing yourself to be brave enough to make amends and here he was, being a complete dick without even listening to you.

Stepping closer to him, with only a few inches between the two of you, you barked, "look, I'm actually trying here. So if you could shove your ego up your ass for a second and listen, that'd be fucking great!"

He smirked, closing the gap even more, "at least you haven't completely lost it yet."

When the steam of the moment dissolved into the air, you stepped back and sat down, using your hand for inviting him to do the same. "Now, the truth is, I did try to call; I tried to reach you the last time I was here, but I… I don't know. I was afraid of losing Mal to you. I was afraid of losing the world outside to you."

He remained silent so you continued, "When I was chosen to go to Auradon, I thought I had lost everything. Then I just met all of this great people and discovered that I'd… I..." you huffed. "Who am I trying to trick. The truth is I was awfully ungrateful with you, and a terrible friend and I'm really sorry."

He quirked a brow.

"Yes, I'm sorry, and as much as you'd like to hear more, that's all that I have to say."

"What were you saying about not getting all sad and cheesy? Oh, right, 'dude chill!' " He mocked you with a high pitched voice, making you smile.

"When do we leave?"

"As soon as possible."

….

When you got to Auradon, the guards told you that the king had sent specific instructions for Hades' stay. You were forced to head back to your place, and he was kept in a small version of the magic dome for the night. Next morning, when you were already back at Audrey's dorm, he was taken there by at least eight guards.

The former god entered the room, his limbs adorned with silver cuffs, and his face sporting a snarl of disgust to which you had become familiar with a long time ago.

Mal walked up to him, closely followed by you.

"Thank you," she said, "for coming."

"Didn't do it just for you," his eyes caught yours.

Ben and Mal shared a confused look, but the king broke it and asked, "can you wake her?'’

"Since when do heroes care about villains?" asked Hades, turning the cards around.

Ben trailed off, "she's..."

The god completed the young king's sentence, "one of your own. Right, When you guys try to destroy the world… it's an error in judgment. But when it's one of us… lock them up and throw away the key."

He scoffed, "right, Beast?"

After having a stare down with the former king, who had imprisoned the god and stripped him off his magic all those years ago, he raised his hands, but the guards restrained him immediately, going full defense.

"Yeah. I'm gonna need to use my hands," he declared.

He extended his hand, silently asking for the ember.  Mal handed it to him and this time he was not restrained.

When he grabbed the gem that was rightfully his, his hair lit up.

He smirked, "haven't lost my touch."

The former lord of the dead stepped closer to the bed, he began the countercourse and the room was showered on a blue light, beaming with his power.

Audrey woke up, wishing for it all to be a nightmare. "I'm sorry. I wanted to hurt you both. I wanted to hurt all of you," she sighed.  

Mal and Ben approached her bed. "I have owed you an apology for… a very long time now," said Mal, Ben agreed, "and so have I."

Then, Audrey's grandma, whose name you still couldn't recall, apologized to Mal. Just then, Beast motioned the guards to seize Hades, and to take him away once again. How classy, apparently a villain didn't even deserve a thank you.  

After the guards exited the room, you followed them into the hallway.

"Wait! Guess I'll see you later," you smiled. "Say hi to Pain and Panic for me."

"They'll be thrilled to hear from you," he tried to smirk back, his expression just as sad as yours. "Thanks for a glimpse of the sun, by the way."

Without thinking twice, you walked up to him and pressed your lips to his, framing his left cheek with your right hand. The kiss wasn't as hungry as you would've expected it to be, but it was eager and full of feelings. It was the perfect way to say I'm gonna miss you.  

No word was uttered afterwards. Your foreheads remained against each other  for a few seconds, and his blue eyes looked at yours in a way in which they hadn't before, yet he didn't smile. You both stepped back, turned around, he slipped the ember into your hand, and then you left your separate ways. You smiled to yourself and held the familiar gem, feeling its power and warmth curse through you.

Days passed and you couldn't stop thinking about that kiss; you hadn't told anyone and it was eating you alive. So, now that you were at Evie's, wrapped around a blanked by the fire, watching a movie with your two best friends, you were gonna do it. You grabbed the remote and pressed pause, taking a breath and looking at them.

"Guys I need to tell you something. I'm sorry if it upsets you but it's been drowning me for some time now. I, I kissed Hades the day he came here to wake Audrey up."

Evie smiled at you but Mal was frozen in shock, her mouth was agape and her eyes were wide open. She tried to say something but words didn't come out.

You continued, fidgeting with your blanket, "M, I know that things have been quite tense between you but I couldn't lose him; I couldn't let him go back to the Isle without knowing how I felt and, believe me, I've tried to tell you guys before but I was also figuring this whole thing out."

Evie grabbed Mal's hand supportingly, then the fae took a breath and smiled at you. "Thanks for telling me this, Y/I.''

"You guys, you're my best friends. There's no one else I'd trust with this," you smiled at them, glad that they'd had taken it so well.

Mal sighed, "still, I can't reverse my decret to close the barrier Y/N. I'm sorry, you know that no matter what, I'll always be there for you; but I have a kingdom to think of and, even if Hades has helped us out and, even if he's your friend or… whatever he is," she chuckled, both of you joining for a second, "I can't overlook the crimes he's committed."

Your head and your heart were divided. You knew that Mal was speaking as a queen and not as a friend, and were utterly happy that she supported you, even with everything that was going on between her and Hades; but you couldn't stop yourself from being disappointed in the fact that she didn't even consider letting him out of the Isle.

Even so, you gave her a tender smile and hummed, "I know M, and I wouldn't think of asking you to do it for me. I just had to talk this out with you, it didn't feel right to keep it to myself."

"We're happy for you, Y/I," Evie smiled.

"Very," agreed Mal.

…..

Now, a few days later, you were happy again, as happy as you could be with everything that had happened. Standing between Evie and Carlos, you clapped as Ben and Mal appeared on the balcony.

"Lady Mal and I wanna thank you for celebrating our engagement with us today. I couldn't be prouder or happier to call you my Queen." Ben looked at Mal lovingly, and to be honest you felt only a bit jealous of their happiness; but they both deserved it, after going through so much. "So… raise your glasses to our future Queen of Auradon."

"To our Queen of Auradon!”

"To our Queen of Auradon!" you cheered.

"Speech, Your Special-ness," mocked Carlos.

Jay followed, "speech, Your Fancy One."

"Speech, your oh-so-royalness," you winked at her.

She chuckled and smiled apologetically, then she fell serious and the crowd became silent.

She turned toward Ben, "I can't. I can't be Queen of Auradon. I can't turn my back on the Isle."

After you looked at her, nodding in encouragement, she began talking to the people. 'We made a decision… to close the barrier forever; and it was my idea, but it's wrong. I've learned that you can't live in fear because it doesn't actually protect you from anything. You never know where the bad is gonna come from. And you never know where the heroes are gonna come from either."

Carlos grabbed your hand, in assurance.

Mal continued, "Without Uma and her pirates, Auradon would be gone. And without Hades, my father, Audrey would be gone. We are all capable of good and bad, no matter which side of the barrier we come from. And that's why I can't be Queen of just Auradon. I have to be Queen of the Isle, too. And it's time that we take the barrier down forever."

Ben placed a hand on her back, and spoke in her support. "I choose to be a King who moves forward. It's time for forgiveness. It's time for new beginnings. The barrier will come down!"

"Yes!" "Woo!" you and Carlos cheered.

"Bring it down, Mal," and so, the five of you did it together.

After everyone on both sides had processed what had just happened, a sea of villains and vks flooded the bridge and came to Auradon; your eyes surfed the crowd, looking for the face you wanted to see, but he was nowhere in sight. Some of the Auradon kids made their way to the gates, to welcome the newcomers, so you joined your friends at the very front of the bunch.

Everyone was dancing and singing and celebrating, so you let the vibes absorb you. You danced and cheered with the rest, but when the party mood dimmed out a bit, you finally saw the spikes of blue hair that you were looking for moments before. However, you didn't approach Hades, you went straight to Mal.

"He came," you said, anxiety dripping from you.

She smiled at you reassuringly and advised, "Get out there and tell him how you feel; he's a complete idiot not to feel the same."

"M, I can't," you insisted, "what if he doesn't?"

She smirked at you, "as I said, only a complete idiot wouldn't like you back."

You let out a breath, shook your fear out, and looked around to see where he was. Much to your despair, or your relief, he had been standing behind a group of people nearby.

"So, how exactly do you feel?" he smirked. "I think it wasn't clear enough the other day."

"Look, I've liked you for quite sometime now," you confessed. "Maybe a few decades. The kiss the other day, it was just me spilling it all; you don't have to like me back, but I just had to tell you."

" 'Dude, chill! Don't get all cheesy on me'," again, there was his cheap impression of you.

This time, you couldn't help but laugh and roll your eyes at him and, before you could say anything, his hands flew to your waist and his lips were on yours once again. This time, both of you were absorbed by the moment and let the kiss be everything that the first one had not been. He bit your lower lip and granted himself entrance to your mouth, which you accepted happily. You separated to catch your breath and smiled. He looked at you like he had before and avowed, "Nah, I think I don't like you that much, little flame."

Once again, you laughed and punched him playfully, "shut up, really."

"Or what?" he challenged, making you blush.

You recovered quickly, and whispered into his ear, "I guess you'll find out later, maybe at my place."

"Welcome to Auradon, by the way." You kissed his cheek, grabbing his hand and leading him to where Mal and the others were.

[asthesamcroflies]

REQUEST: Shattered

So, I had a request come in via messages, which is fine by the way, I can just post the details of it in order to reply publicly - I have to confess it’s something different for me, but I decided to give it a go to challenge myself. I don’t think I’ve ever written anything with that Son-on-Son vibe before, not for any particular reason, I just tend to have stuck closer to canon. Hopefully it’s not terrible lol - I did end up not going down the smut route, just cause I thought that slightly ambiguous, unspoken feel worked for this. I did kinda get all up in my own feels lol, so fingers crossed you guys like it...

Here’s the request details: Chibs, Tig, Juice (mentioned. Post series.) - Sad, Romantic, Smutty (if you want, it's not required) - 18, 15, 21 Past Chibs/Juice. Prez/VP dynamic. Chibs is shattered, he needs love, he needs peace of mind. Tiggy sees clearly this.

Prompt 18: “Please don’t do this.” 15: “Do you still think about her/him?” 21: “Would a kiss help?”

Shattered

It was late. Or early depending on how you wanted to look at it.

For once though, the Samcro clubhouse lay quiet and deserted. Almost. The new, eager-to-please prospect had tried to stay on to clear up, but had probably been barked at to get the hell out. That was an end to the night that was becoming more and more common – Sons, hangers-on and croweaters slipping away in the face of their stern president’s glare.

His vice president sighed heavily at that, wiping a hand over his face as he leaned in the doorway and took in the slumped shoulders and reaper on the back of the man he’d vowed to support come hell or high water. He could remember a time when the brash Scotsman was the life and rowdy soul of every fucking party.

Heavy is the head that wears the crown, huh?

Tig knew, perhaps better than most, what it was to carry guilt, remorse, self-loathing. He’d been there for the near-apocalyptic series of clusterfucks that had torn right to the heart of their club and all but destroyed it, so he knew the burden Chibs now had to bear in trying to see what could be salvaged from the ashes – all while desperately trying not to ignite any simmering embers that could flare up and burn them all to the ground all over again.

But it never got any easier to see him struggle under that weight.

He was about to speak, to make his presence known, when Chibs downed whatever was left in his glass and slammed it down on the bar, before stumbling to his feet and crossing the room to stand in front of the framed mugshots of members past and present, those honoured and those who now hung upside down, crossed out, disgraced and a warning to those who may come after them not to stray too far from the club’s rules, spoken and unspoken.

Tig knew from his own reaction to that wall, once a source of pride, how deep it cut Chibs to see it now. In both their minds, Jax Teller still deserved better than to be remembered solely as having brought shame on the patch. Their young president had lost his way, had made mistakes – catastrophic mistakes at that – but he had suffered for it enough and, at the last, had owned his part in his own downfall. Those he had left behind couldn’t help but cling to their love for their young president, or else what had it all been for?

But they had to put up a façade to appease Packer and the other club presidents. They knew the enormity of Jax’s crimes and the price that had to be paid. It didn’t mean they had to like it.

But as Chibs’ hand reached out for a different photo, touching it lightly before his fingers curled into a tight fist, Tig knew there was a fate that was even more complicated for the Scot to come to terms with. He had loved Jax like a brother, like a son even. Juice … Juice had been something else.

That fist lashed out, shattering glass that bit into flesh and drew a hiss of pain, even through what was undoubtedly an alcohol-induced fog. But despite lifting the hand to examine the damage, despite seeing the shard of glass still embedded in it, Chibs only slowly clenched that fist again, forcing it deeper as blood seeped from the ragged wound.

Tig was the one who winced.

“Please don’t do this,” he blurted out, unable to witness any more of this without intervening.

Chibs slowly uncurled his fingers, never turning around. “Go home, Tiggy,” he murmured, the words slurred and his accent thicker than ever.

“Yeah, ‘cause I’m gonna leave you in this fucking state,” his VP scoffed, finally galvanised into action and snatching up what he hoped was a clean cloth as he strode across the clubhouse to take charge. “Lemme see this mess. Jesus…”

He had to force himself to be less gentle than he’d have liked, for reasons he didn’t care to fully explore, but he was still careful as he examined the bloody hand Chibs had been left nursing, tutting over the shard of glass before slowly working it out and pressing the cloth to the wound to stem the bleeding. It looked worse than it was, but it was still bad enough.

“You might get away without stitches,” Tig decided. “So you wanna thank your lucky stars, brother, because I can’t sew for shit.”

“Lucky,” Chibs echoed dully, with a bitter little laugh. “Aye, that’s me – real fucking lucky. I need a damn drink…”

“No, you fucking don’t,” Tig insisted, grabbing him by the shoulders to steer him away from the bar and into a seat.

“Just leave me be, Tigger,” the weary president sighed, raking his uninjured hand through the salt and pepper of his hair. “I ain’t exactly good company right now.”

“What’s new?” Tig snarked, but there was nothing but sympathy and concern in those sharp blue eyes as he sat down opposite his closest of brothers. “You can’t go on like this, man. Ain’t right.”

“Got a choice, do I?” Chibs demanded, the raw agony in his voice and in his brown eyes making even his battle-hardened VP flinch. “Want me to throw up a rope and have done wi’ it? Like… Like Juice.”

Tig stood up so fast his chair overturned with a crash and he jabbed a furious finger in his friend’s face. “Don’t you fucking dare,” he seethed. “Don’t you fucking dare! Tell me that’s bullshit. Tell me you wouldn’t. Tell me!”

“Aye, aye, fine,” Chibs reneged, taken aback even through his haze by the strength of the response to his flippant suggestion. “Fuck, I … I ain’t taking that way out. I ain’t, brother. Sit the fuck down.”

Still furious, Tig glared at him the whole time he was righting his chair and banging it back into place, before sitting down opposite him again. “Asshole,” he snapped, his glare only intensifying when Chibs actually managed a little laugh, wiping his hand over his face.

“Ah, Tigger,” he sighed. “Good to know ya care, brother.”

“Course I fucking care, shithead,” came the heated response. “You think I stuck around for the good of my fucking health? I said I’d always have your back and I damn well meant it. So you don’t get to punk out on me like a little bitch.”

“Your TLC could use some work…”

“Fuck you.”

Chibs chuckled humourlessly. “Love you too, Tigger. You gonna at least let me have one wee drink now me hand’s stinging like a motherfucker?”

“You’ve already had the better part of one wee bottle, by the looks of things,” Tig grimaced, before relenting and getting up to retrieve a couple of glasses and the nearly empty bottle of whiskey, pouring them both a drink and downing his swiftly. He figured he had a lot of catching up to do.

Seeing Chibs’ gaze land somewhere over his shoulder, Tig looked around to follow it back to the photos on the wall and specifically to the one that now hung behind shattered glass. And not for the first time.

“Do you still think about him?”

It was a stupid question, Tig knew that. The answer couldn’t be more obvious. But it was actually the only way he could think to even broach the subject of something deeper.

“I let that lad down,” Chibs mumbled, taking another swig of his drink. “I coulda done somethin’, stopped it ever gettin’ that far.”

“He was a rat,” Tig reminded him, although not unkindly. “That’s on him.”

“He was an easy target,” Chibs shook his head. “He tried to come to me wi’ it. I didn’t hear him out. Not properly. We were all he had and I didn’t listen, didn’t see what was goin’ on in front o’ me own bloody nose.”

For a long moment, his VP could only sit in silence, musing on all the mistakes he’d made in his own life. The hurt he’d caused, to himself and his family, to others caught in his crossfire. He knew what it was to bear that burden. He didn’t want that for Chibs.

“What’s done is done,” he said finally. “Can’t change it, any of it. Can only learn from it. But you gotta let go, brother. You gotta let go or this is gonna eat you up from the inside out.”

“Easier said than done,” Chibs said quietly, his forced smile wry. “You know that.”

“I do,” Tig nodded, after a pause. “But I had you. And you’ve got me. So don’t forget that, you prick. You’ve got me. And I fucking need you. I can’t do any of this shit without you.”

Chibs looked up at the crack in his VP’s voice to find Tig was the one with his head down now. Slowly, he reached out to let his fingers trail through those wild dark curls.

“Oi,” he said roughly. “I ain’t goin’ anywhere, you hear me?”

“Didn’t sound like that,” Tig mumbled. “Never does when you start talking like that.”

“Look at me,” Chibs demanded, finally trying to pull himself together at the realisation of what he’d done. “Look at me, Tigger. I ain’t goin’ anywhere. I promise you, my brother.”

“How do I know you ain’t just bullshitting me again?”

“When have I ever lied to you? About anything serious?” Chibs demanded, albeit with a swift amendment to account for the creative ways he had been known to get around his VP when he had to.

“You said you’d stop blaming yourself.”

The hurt beneath the accusatory tone stopped the Scotsman dead and he reached out to rest a hand on his VP’s shoulder. “I am trying, brother.”

“I know,” Tig sighed, covering the hand with his own ringed fingers. “I know.”

Chibs pulled him close. “Would a kiss help?” he murmured, already planting a firm kiss on the other man’s cheek.

“You ain’t getting off that light, asshole.”

Chibs could only laugh at that despite himself, his lips grazing skin again. “Ah, Tigger, last two standing… Never thought it would be us.”

“As long as it ain’t just me,” came the quiet, yet fervent response.

It was a sentiment that both warmed and broke Chibs’ heart.

[milanosbitch]

rec list for endhawks gems

as usual during this quarantine, i went through a challenging quest, searched through every single fic on ao3 about a single ship and made a rec list, ended up with around 25 works out of 630. nearly all of them should be free of explicit, problematic and triggering content besides one or two in the mature content sense. and i’ll note those down separately but i always suggest reading the tags before starting a fic regardless the rating, just so you know what you’re diving into. furthermore, there’s this author note at the end of a fic that i’ve found which pretty much sums up my feelings about a mess that’s called todoroki friggin’ enji:

“ I love Hawks and Endeavor together. They're a great dynamic, whether it's platonic or not. I'm a pretty open guy when it comes to shipping, and me and a certain lilviathan love going back and forth with dumb ideas about them.

And that's kind of where the contradictory feelings for the Flaming Garbage Man that is Endeavor kind of come from? Because I really do think he's a very interesting and well-developed character, but I also have a very strong urge to stab him at any given time.

I want to make his life miserable and hurt him, but I also want someone to sit him down and tell him that while he owes his family an apology, they do not owe him forgiveness. I want to see him grow. I want to see him face the repercussions of his actions and move forward. ”

—by Canarianyellow on archiveofourown.org

last notes; starred ones are my personal favorites, and i'm adding to this list as i go,, so look out for updates!! you can find a better formatted version of this list here on google docs.

that being said, here are the gems i found on a yet another holy quest:

Walk Alone by adastrad*

Rating: Teen & Up

Word Count: 3.6K

Summary: You've lost your wings, you've lost your speed, and in the crowd ahead, you've lost him too. How do you know what name to call out when you don't even know what to call yourself?

as usual, kick-starting the list with one of the first fics i’ve read about them. we have some pretty good angst related to the latest manga chapters in our hands and a fascinating second person pov here. the ‘stream of consciousness’ style of wording kicks you right in the ribs, in a good way.

&&.

It's Cold, I Don't Want To Be Lonely

by onlyatitagain

Rating: Teen & Up

Word Count: 3.7K

Summary: When in the presence of Todoroki Enji, it was easy to feel warm and overwhelmed by heat in more ways than just physical. Hawks was very aware of the fire burning in his heart that roared to life whenever he was with his childhood hero, who was now his best friend. The relationship they had was special in the way of how close they had become, Hawks trusted the number one hero with his life and could always count on him no matter the circumstance.

What would happen if he said something and ruined that trust, the friendship they had built over months of knowing each other?

You should never play with fire, unless you want to get burned.

truly a beautiful hurt/comfort fic. enji’s characterization is gentle and might feel slightly OOC, but give it a chance. there is also some pretty cheesy couple stuff at the end and that might not be your cup of tea, just a heads up.

&&.

Fallen by copper_leaf**

Rating: Teen & Up

Word Count: 7.3K

Summary: Hawks’ attempt to infiltrate the League goes wrong.

Enji is the one he turns to.

both its part one and part two, this series can take my soul. literally 7K of sheer hurt/comfort, and a caring enji. hawks’ eyeliner is probably ruined by now. can i say this is probably the best fic i’ve read about them softness-wise? i can.

&&.

Burning Embers by copper_leaf**

Rating: Teen & Up

Word Count: 6K

Summary: Hawks wakes up, wingless, in Enji's arms.

the continuation of the fic above, here’s more content that will make you feel all mushy. a beautiful excerpt from it:

“It’s a flicker of light in the darkness, the last ember left in the heart that still has the power to bring all else to flame.”

&&.

The Bird Who Swallowed a Star*

by angyhawks (Soll)

Rating: Teen & Up

Word Count: 4.5K

Summary: Endeavor remembers Hawks' small hands, how they didn't burn as he danced on his palms.

How Hawks had whispered sweet nothing into his flames, words not important as his lips moved and his voice chirped.

He remember Hawks finding him, small and spent, and gifting him a feather to feed on.

Endeavor wishes a feather had been his only offer.

//in which Endeavor is a fire demon, Hawks is once again tied to the ground, and wouldn't it be nice if they could kiss?

&&.

Light by Caahs*

Rating: Teen & Up

Word Count: 2.1K

Summary: Since he was a boy, Hawks gathered an eternal distaste for darkness, which was preserved until his most recent days. However, the blazing figure of Endeavor always came up like his warm source of light, illuminating the most obscure paths and clarifying the most difficult decisions.

&&.

Emotions Are Hard, Love Even More So...

by aurora_whitlock

Rating: Teen & Up

Word Count: 4.4K

Summary: Hawks and Endeavour at the end of a long week. Alone. Together. Its just some cute, fluffy bullshit basically. Warm your hurt little hearts.

&&.

Cuff me to the truth of failure

by Not_A_Valid_Opinion

Rating: Gen

Word Count: 3.4K

Summary: The kid’s eyes are so wide, Hawks can see the entire silhouette of his wings in their reflection. “I want to be you.”

Shit.

“No, you don’t, kid,” he can’t help but promise, can’t stop the sadness in his eyes from flickering into view.

Hawks has dinner with Enji after a bad interview.

&&.

Look at what amounts from the jump

(and I'm never coming down) by

Not_A_Valid_Opinion

Rating: Teen & Up

Word Count: 3K

Summary: He stares at Endeavour with something close to regret, maybe closer to suspicion, but before Endeavour can catch the look it’s gone and replaced with a pursed lip and a glance at his phone. “I’ve gotta go. See you around, Enji.”

But the burly man stops him with his name. “Watch where you’re flying,” he says gruffly, though it’s different. It’s not an order. It’s not a request.

Whatever it is, Hawks takes it as a challenge.

Endeavour is worried about Hawks. Hawks doesn't know what to do with that information.

&&.

You mesmerise me in red and gold

by Arayne

Rating: Teen & Up

Word Count: 4.2K

Summary: Enji has never gotten to tell Hawks what's on his mind so he tries, in several ways, to make it clear how he feels.

&&.

We've got a good thing going

by lehnsherry

Rating: Teen & Up

Word Count: 3.7K

Summary: Enji is watching Shouto, so he notices the way his eyes snap to the kitchen doorway just before he hears the soft footsteps and the rustling of wings, and his heart jumps into his throat. He turns in his seat just in time to see Hawks walk in, eyes still closed and a hand scratching at his messy hair.

“Mornin’, babe, do you know where my -” Hawks breaks into a huge yawn, and then opens his sleepy eyes, and freezes in the doorway like Shouto used his power on him.

Enji’s mouth makes an involuntary sound of embarrassment, and Hawks flushes all the way down to his chest.

&&.

As He Lived by uzumae*

Rating: Teen & Up

Word Count: 2.3K

Summary: Hawks wants to imagine that he still has a place in a world he no longer belongs to.

&&.

future hearts by rire

Rating: Teen & Up

Word Count: 1.2K

Summary: When the rest of Hawks is putting on airs, it’s his wings that give him away.

&&.

Break off a piece of your heart by kettleowl

Rating: Gen

Word Count: 890

Summary: The High-End incident, but they are actors who are too emotionally invested in their roles.

&&.

to take a fall by rire

Rating: Teen & Up

Word Count: 2.3K

Summary: “What’s with that look, Endeavor-san?” Hawks smiles. It doesn't reach his eyes. “Don’t worry about me, I’m fine. I got what I wanted, didn’t I? Now I’ve got more free time than I know what to do with.”

&&.

A Thousand Flowers by adastrad*

Rating: Teen & Up

Word Count: 440

Summary: "Let's hope the next time the cherry blossoms fall, we will all be smiling."

&&.

#fantheflames by adastrad

Rating: Teen & Up

Word Count: 54.9K

Summary: Todoroki Shoto accidentally, on purpose, and with great regret helps make Hawks/Endeavor happen.

this is wholesome. one hundred percent cheff kiss. peak comedy with a dose of stan twitter. actually a shouto-centric fic and more like an outsider pov of slight endhawks.

&&.

This Gentle Earth by adastrad**

Rating: Gen

Word Count: 4.2K

Summary: Hawks buys a better excuse to keep visiting Musutafu, but damn it. Enji hadn't been looking to adopt.

guaranteed to melt your insides. enji ends up being a plant parent.

&&.

The Winner Takes it All by adastrad

Rating: Teen & Up

Word Count: 25.2K

Summary: Endeavor's eye is gone. He may say his injuries are his own responsibility, but it's Hawks' fault, isn't it? He will give Enji everything he can. His top secret mission will take the rest.

slaps the roof of the fic this baby right here is a shortcut for a brain burn. with a complicated storytelling and equally complex characterizations, which results in a slow but satisfying reading if you’re looking for a detailed story!! there’s seriously so much pining that it keeps you on your tiptoes until the end of it.

&&.

Roasting the Roaster

Rating: Teen & Up

Word Count: 3.7K

Summary:  Hawks gossips with the receptionist at Endeavor Hero Agency about what a dork the boss is, discusses Endeavor lookalike porn, and then ropes Shouto into lunch with Endeavor, whereupon Shouto just roasts his dad the whole time.

Can you roast a man who's already on fire? Apparently, yes. Yes you can.

(includes the hit single Did You Need Some Ice For That Sick Burn by Hawks, ft. Shouto Todoroki)

[Only tangentially related to the other fics in this series.]

slight crack fic for humor but it’s truly well-written. a shouto and hawks team up over endeavor was something i never deeply gave attention to yet it is gold and i need more of it. hawks writes a bop, endeavor’s whole agency thirst over the said man and everything leaves you with tears in your eyes from cackling at these dorks.

&&.

the fics listed below the cut are rated mature or

explicit by the authors, and therefore contain sexual content:

Penumbra by Nicolefrickle

Rating: Mature

Word Count: 1.8K

Summary: Enji wants to touch Hawks' wings. Badly.

this one is rated mature but the theme is only minorly implied so i can say it is safe to read without worrying about the rating. more like a fluff fic with hawks being a happy birb.

&&.

An Imperfect Cage by Crandberrycrush

Rating: Mature

Word Count: 55.5K

Summary: Hawks is an orphan, brought up in a charity school and thrust into the world at eighteen to work as a governor for the Todoroki family, a family that has more secrets than he can hope to unravel.

*A gothic romance based heavily on the novel Jane Eyre*

&&.

Liquid Nitrogen by surveycorpsjean

Rating: Explicit

Word Count: 23.8K

Summary: Enji can't figure out why the hell Hawks keeps sleeping in his office.

the plot? the writing? the characterization? everything is perfect. i’m normally uncomfortable with this much amount of smut and debated if i should put this on the list or not, since it might consist of triggering content for some. please read all the tags beforehand starting this piece.

&&.

Palindrome by Nicolefrickle

Rating: Mature

Word Count: 7.9K

Summary: Hawks doesn't realize just how much he needs Endeavor, or why it feels like he's still racing time.

//

A character study of Hawks with flashbacks and inner thoughts, heavy on the Endhawks, heavy on the hurt

[farawaysoph-ie]

The Bone Witch Incoherent Whatever

I started these books mainly because I can't read French very well, but this is a story for another list. I started them and finished them, and I didn't know I had needed such a story. This. Bad. So I guess a super long and super spoiler-y list was in order (while I cry again because they are too much T.T)

Rin Chupeco was immediatly added to my list of favourite human beings: the dedications were a mood and the acknowledgments, gosh wonderful

Tea of the Embers, love of my life, is amazing, I don't care about anything I loved her from her first words until the very end

Somehow we always knew where this was gonna end, but i didn't feel prepared at all, my heart breaking and mending at every chapter

"My only claim of strangeness was that I read fiercely, learned thirstly"

"We asha are always expected to be on our most proper behavior, to never have so much as a hair out of turn. Asha do not cry or scream or make threats. When people cut us, we are expected to do only two things: smile and bleed.”

The world building, the power system, the politics, Tea's commanding of the Dark

The deal with Mykaela heartglass broke my heart, I have ex that I regret and the idea that I could remain stuck like that, loving someone and slowly dying because of that terrifies me (HOW COULD YOU KILL HER WHEN THEY WERE SO CLOSE)

THE AZI

I repeat THE AZI

Tea looked at a giant three-headed undefeated dragon, went around in its head, saw it just wanted to be left alone (which same) and said I'm gonna keep it (which again SAME)

What do I have to do to befriend a dragon? (TELL ME)

Zoya turning out to be a magnificent and fierce warrior with a major case of ChildhoodFriendCrush, and not irrelevent mean girl

Also her and Shadi are just so cute, the way the first is always embarassed and everything and the other just loves and teases her more

"Unfortunately, the oracle had something very different in mind with me" takes on a WHOLE new meaning when you finish the trilogy

I hated how people started getting more and more scared of Tea, when in the end it was all a plot, a lot of prejudices were to blame, and they seemed to forget how kind my girl always was

I have to say I liked Aneah and all the words she whispered, give me a twisted dark lady and you have my attention

"A little corruption is good for the soul, Tea." To which yes, let a girl get revenge

I'm looking at you filthy oracle, I can understand the "I have to sacrifice something to win this fight" way to go, but you were just a pathetic crazy liar, how dare you corrupt Althecia

I can't get over that, I didn't see it coming

The elders made me sick, those horrible hags tested my patience, go die of old age Hestia or whatever

The end of The Bone Witch will always have my heart because Chupec dropped the ship bomb on me with a "Let's go, Kalen"

After going on with "a boy who died for me" and "I made a note to strangle Kalen as soon as I saw him again", AND THEN THAT

I was rooting for them, so I think I screamed or something: you say enemy to lovers, you have my attention

Those two invented love, it took them two books to get around, but was it worth it. They were so devoted to each other, like Kalen stayed with her against Everything and Everyone, like literally. We stan one loving boy

Whats more the oracle had predicted the next bone witch was gonna bring about the dead of her lover, and he was going around "get away from the prince!", then she went, brought down the freacking azi, trapped a Faceless one using her dead horse, and he was like "I guess I'm doomed"

gosh Fox

It all started with "Let me be clear: I never intended to raise my brother from his grave, though he may claim otherwise. If there’s anything I’ve learned from him in the years since, it’s that the dead hide truths as well as the living."

He is exactly how a big brother should be, you can feel him come back to life in every sense, slowly, until he falls in love. I could feel all his love for a sister he kept understanding less and less despite being in her head, and how this held him back from a life he wanted, but knew he shouldn't have had in the first place

Beautifully done, I felt and understood Fox, despite him not being the narrator, despite being angry at how the situation with Daisy was hurting Tea, the two of them were power siblings

“We need someone in our heads to tell us whenever we’re being idiotic. It’s the Pahlavi way.”

Mistress Parmina with her love for money, always stood behind Tea, despite her way of doing things and I wished that Councilor Ludvig was my granpa, I mean he was this kind, smart politician who taught Tea a lot and helped them mantain peace

Ah the well meaning Inessa, I liked her, but felt like I haven't seen enough of her

But the joke of how there were no rulers to get accidentally engaged to killed me, that's awareness

Polaire T.T

The infatuation for Kance stayed that way and I'm glad, and most of the last books I was like, don't hurt my girl

The Heartforger was a rollercoaster ship-wise: Tea insults Kalen, he is standing behind her; Kalen tries to be nice to Tea, Tea is very confused; pretend they are a thing in front of family; Tea compels Kalen hoping to save his life, Kalen is not pleased at all; unsuccessful apologies; realization, "compel me too", you gotta destroy this two dudes who were rude to you, so I can go "that's my Tea"; you don't just stab the Deathseeker while the bone witch is watching; very public kiss; taking each other back from Faceless influence

All the time they spent with a Heartshare rune between them

"We danced for a few minutes without saying anything. A Daanorian woman worked up the nerve to approach us but backed away when I glared at her. “Angry about something?” “You do know there are women itching to kill me right now, right?” His grip tightened. “Did someone compel the people in the palace? The wards are still in place.” I sighed. “That’s not what I meant. Never mind.”"

“Nobody’s more of a fighter than you. You’re the bravest, strongest, most amazing man I’ve ever…”

Realizes

"I mean you are alright"

When Tea jumped off the tower and the azi caught her !!! (yes I screamed, because I love one queen)

"He was the only place I could rest my head and dream without nightmares plaguing me, as they had for the last three months."

Rahim and Ches were very precious

And don't get me started on Likh

Lady Likh can very much kick your ass on her own, but try to hurt her and you'll have to speak with my punches

Khalad agrees with me (the guys in this family don't know how to get the hint)

But in the end, he was helping Tea so Likh could wake (tears, tears everywhere)

The induced madness and the Blight stuff were sick

From when Tea almost jumped off the window, with Kalen terrified poor boy, to killing Daisy (her own free and light sister T.T), to not remembering a second suicide attempt

Black heartglasses being associated with violence, and Tea's one turning because of what other people did to her

Tea' simple "I want to live", can't a girl have peace? Be free like the azi? Have daughters with her eyes and her singing voice?

"I felt the hatred you were capable of like it was my own. And in that instant, I loved the darkest part of you, because I understood, better than Fox or Mykaela could. I’ve known you at your worst." If this isn't love I don't know what is

Drunk Tea was a sight to be hold, and perfect: take off every filter from the dangerous Dark asha and what she has to tell you is how much she loves Kalen

“I don’t care. I’ll bring us back from the grave if I have to, silver heartsglass or not.” “And I will kill anyone standing between us,” he promised, before his lips closed over mine, “even if I have to crawl out of my grave to do so.”

And you know what? THEY DID.

Tea taking her trials, which after the last chapters were nothing worse than her nightmares: her home burning, her own execution could not compete with Daisy's death and Fox rejection

But Kalen was not a price she could ever think of paying

"You can’t break the rules simply because you want to. More often than not, the rules wind up breaking you."

“The world is a much bigger place than the space I occupy, and with even greater consequences.” “There will be no world if you aren’t here with me, Kalen.”

Yadoshans warm my heart

"That is the nature of tyranny, young Tea. Maintaining power is their sole intention. Why worry about retaliation and revolution when they have always intended to wield the sword?"

The whole part in which they killed Kalen and the azi, ripped my heart out

The song she must have sung for hours, and the azi waited until the end to say goodbye

Thank the Creator for the visions she got, or she would have really drown herself T.T

“Sons and daughters,” she echoed, “sons with my fire, daughters with my eyes. Mayhap one day, they will. A life worth dying for is a life worth living after all.” She laid a hand on her companion’s shoulder, squeezing. “Let’s go, my love.”

Even after this long list I feel like I didn't do justice to this trilogy or to how much I loved it. Tea's fierce and kind strenght, even when every one but Kalen was suspicious of her, even when she was going mad because of poison, even when she was trying to outsmart a ruthless enemy, did something to me.

I spent three books knowing that she didn't care if she survived, if she could save her friends then her wish to live was not important. She didn't want much, she just wanted to live. But she let go of that for everyone else. Yes I'm going to cry again.

About the ending I like to think that for finally healing the world she was rewarded, so she got the quiet life with Kalen she'd always deserved. I like to think that she and Kalen remember, that after they'd done enough they finally found their peace and freedom.

They were together, they got to be someone else and had all the time in the world.

[itsybitsyspiderling]

if you die (what will i be?)

Warnings: A lot of Irondad angst, swearing, mentions of blood and dying

Summary: It takes Peter almost dying for Tony to start paying more attention to him. But why does he have to almost die for Tony to even care? 

Word Count: 3.3k

It takes Peter almost dying for Tony to start paying more attention to him. It takes a dozen unanswered calls and a stupid blood-crusted suit to convince the billionaire that maybe a sixteen-year-old kid with superpowers is worth more than a side project.

That’s how it feels. 

The embers are still floating around him, and the smoke still hangs in the air. His throat burns like it never has before, but he can hardly find the strength to worry. He asks Karen to call Happy, call Mister Stark, call someone and tell them of what happened––he’s afraid he won’t get the chance to do it himself. The smoldering building has already crisped and collapsed around him. He can’t move, he can’t move, and the world feels a bit darker now.

The worst part is, he doesn’t want to move. The cinder falls like snow around him, and through the clearing smoke, he can see stars. The sky has never looked that beautiful before.

Peter can feel the pain, but he doesn’t care. 

It never occurs to him how severe the injuries might be. He just knows that he can’t feel his legs; he isn’t sure he even has them anymore. His abdomen has been struck with a force so palpable,  so heavy, that he can feel it beneath his flesh. There is something there, and he doesn’t know what. He can’t look. 

It isn’t that he doesn't want to either. He physically can’t. His body lies motionless, pain in every nerve, and all he can do is wait. 

–––– 

Peter usually only sees Tony in passing. As the article, “Spider-Man or Iron Man’s Sidekick?” tears through the tabloids thanks to the Daily Bugle, Peter slowly begins to realize that they’re right. Aside from the little things, like bank robberies and gas station brawls, most of Spider-Man’s big accomplishments are in the lovely company of the man in red and gold. And Peter thought it was cool at first. 

He thought it was so cool to be fighting alongside Iron Man. 

Once the article comes out, suddenly, the novelty wears off. Spider-Man exists in Iron Man’s shadow, but Peter hardly exists to Tony at all. 

It’s clear when Peter asks him to help him out with a school project in late October. Twenty hours of work based around a bullshit hypothesis with unproven results––Peter can barely look at the thing without feeling sick to his stomach. Biochemistry has never been his strong suit, and, granted, it has never been Tony’s either, but he has better luck asking a genius billionaire than relying on his own teenage brain. 

Happy’s text comes through the next morning. 

"I’ll come by and pick up the project after school.”

And Peter nearly smiles. Tony is going to help him. Peter realizes that he’s more excited about the idea of working with his mentor than he was when he first received his suit. 

When Happy meets him at 2:45 PM, the conversation falls short. Tony isn’t there; Peter never expects him to be, but Happy doesn’t want to be there either. He takes the contents of the project, stuffs it in the backseat, and drives off with a wave. Not even an offer for a ride. So, Peter walks home alone. 

The following week, after the school day ends, Happy texts Peter again for the third time since he has known him. 

“Meet me outside.”

Students filter out of classrooms while Peter takes each step carefully. Happy is there. Happy is waiting for him. And maybe Tony is there too. Meanwhile, Peter struggles to differentiate his nerves from his excitement. At the same time, he wonders if it’s full-blown anxiety instead. He’s starting to figure out where he fits in with Tony and Happy—he thinks that he doesn’t fit in at all.

“We’ve gotta swing by the compound to pick it up,” Happy says, tossing his keys in his hand as Peter nears slowly. “I don’t got all day, kid, c’mon. Let’s get your project.” 

Peter lets out a sigh and climbs into the passenger seat. For once, he doesn’t want to go up to the compound. He knows that he made a mistake in asking Tony for help; Tony is always willing to help, but he is never willing to show that he cares. Peter feels like an anomaly, and the compound acts as a reminder that no one thinks he’s is ready. For anything. They only see him as some sixteen-year-old who––to quote May––looks like a teddy bear trying to swear when he gets mad.

Happy hardly speaks a word on the drive up. Little hums and disinterested “wow’s” fill the empty space as Peter rants. Peter doesn’t think the dynamic will ever change, and he never imagines why it would. 

“He left it in your room,” Happy says, referring to the project that Peter can hardly remember. “He’s not here today.”

“My room?” 

Happy looks at Peter strangely. “Yeah. Your room. You still have one, you know.” 

Peter nods. He does have a room. He forgot. He forgot because Tony has never once invited him up to use it. With little direction, Peter wanders the compound alone. The sooner he finds his project, the sooner he could go home, suit-up, and forget that this ever happened. 

“Mister Parker, your shoe is untied.” Tony’s voice rings out down the hall. 

After he collected his project, Peter found himself distracted by the large glass windows in the hallway. The view is impeccably serene. If he had originally accepted Tony’s offer a year ago, then the view would have been his. And maybe Tony would have bothered paying a little bit more attention to the vigilante he took under his wing. 

“Oh,” Peter mumbles, glancing down at his feet. “I didn’t notice.”

Tony hums.

“I-I thought––uh, Happy said you weren’t here.”

“Technically, I’m not,” the older man replies. He’s dressed up to the nines. Like always, it seems. “I’m supposed to be halfway to California right now.” His eyes catch the project sitting in Peter’s hands. “That’s A-plus worthy, by the way. If it’s any less—actually, well, who am I kidding? You’ll get an A-plus. If not, an A.”

“Mister Stark, you didn’t have to finish the project,” Peter says. “We could’ve worked on it togeth—”

Tony waves his hand. He waves Peter off. “Not a problem,” he says. He has already begun to walk away. “I gotta split, kid. See you later.” 

Tony is right. Peter does get an A-plus on the project. But it isn’t rewarding in the slightest.

–––– 

Peter can tell that his breathing pattern has changed. He tries not to overreact, but each passing moment feels like an eternity. He can’t hear sirens, he can’t hear anything. He can’t even hear his heartbeat slowing.

Why can’t he hear anything? 

The autumn chill feels twenty degrees colder than it had, but his skin is still burning from the fire that dwindles around him. He knows he’s not overreacting. He knows he’s dying. 

Doesn’t anyone care that he’s dying?

“K-Karen,” he whimpers out, but it sounds like more like a plead, and the taste of metal floods his tongue. It’s the only sense that overwhelms him. The rest of his body has fallen numb, and it’s not the fault of the cold or the anxiety sparking within him. He can’t tell how much blood he’s losing or if he’s losing any at all. 

“I have not been able to reach Happy Hogan or Tony Stark,” she says calmly. She’s always calm.  “Would you like me to try May Parker?”

Something about the sound of her name strikes a chord within Peter. His torso seizes, and the weight of the rubble on his legs suddenly means nothing as he thinks about May. May. He can’t leave her. He can’t leave May. 

“No, no, ” he whines, eyes squinting shut as he struggles to lift himself up from the ground. “Don’t––don’t call––” His words are drowned out by the pain radiating up his chest. It’s not coming in waves or in dull aches like his normal wounds. Peter doesn’t know pain like this, and there’s not enough air in his lungs to breathe or speak. 

And he thinks he’s crying. It’s not supposed to feel like this.

Death is supposed to be peaceful. He’s supposed to smile and think of loved ones. 

Instead, Peter can’t help but panic. No one is coming for him. No one is hearing his cries––is he crying? He still can’t tell. He can hardly feel his legs, let alone lift his head. He just knows there’s something wrong, and there’s pain. There’s so much pain. 

At that moment, he believes that no one will come to save him. No one will come. No one wants to.

  ––––  

There’s nothing Peter hates more than the idea of disappointing Tony Stark. The fear––quite literally––follows him into his dreams. In those dreams, Tony has an alter ego, one that frames the kid for murder and plasters his face under every article that screams “Spider-Man Wanted on Account of a Double Homicide”. Real Tony isn’t like that. Real Tony is nice.

But disappointed Tony is a person Peter wishes he had never met. He won’t frame him for murder or reveal his identity. Instead, it feels worse. It feels like losing trust or losing a friend. The few times Peter has disappointed Tony, it’s been a sinking, unspeakable guilt. It’s been impalement driving and twisting into his chest while the fire behind his eyes blackens. 

There’s something about disappointing Tony that breaks Peter. And it’s all because of how much he looks up to him.

Sometimes he wishes that he chose someone else to idolize as a kid. He’s been made into a prototype, an acolyte like the rest, but one who is only treated differently because he is different. Peter is only kept around because of Spider-Man.

That’s what he firmly believes. 

And are times when Tony doesn’t even want Spider-Man.

After the ferry incident, Peter worries about the next time he’ll let Tony down. He counts every possible scenario on his fingers and toes, but he and Tony are so similar. They both act rationally in the most irrational way.

Peter thinks that Tony has slowly started to see his old habits in him. 

All it takes is an incident involving HYDRA and a Quinjet. At first, Tony makes his disappointment known with silence. He flies over to a nearby roof without another word, leaving Peter in his dust. And for a moment, Peter considers not chasing after him, but he knows the storm is brewing nevertheless. No matter what day or week it is, he can’t escape it. 

“What did I tell you?” Tony asks, his metal faceplate lifting with as much bite as his tone. 

Peter breathes heavily but stays silent. He tears his mask off. 

“I asked you not to interfere,” Tony continues. “I asked you to distract and retreat. One of us has a bulletproof suit, and that’s not you, got it?”

“I-I just wanted to––”

His jaw clenches as he shakes his head. “No. No more excuses. No more promising that you’ll do better next time. What if there wasn’t going to be a ‘next time’? Huh? What if that blind idiocy you exhibited tonight had gotten you killed? We wouldn’t be here, and I’d be forced to knock on May’s door and tell her that her nephew––”

“Don’t, please.”

“Then do as I say.”

Peter’s heart stutters in his chest. He can feel his own anger boiling in his veins. It feels like the ferry incident again. It feels like every time he’s disappointed Tony, and it’s all because Peter doesn’t know how to keep from making the same mistakes. 

“Why can’t you trust me like you trusted the Avengers?” he hears himself ask, but it’s not as sharp as he imagined it would be. 

The creases in Tony’s forehead smooth over as his expression falls. “You think I don’t trust you––that’s it?” he whispers. “The Avengers relied on mutual trust. Maybe it’s time you start trusting me too, yeah, kid? If you did, then you would have done what I asked.” The faceplate slams shut, and Tony hovers above the roof as he says, “they lost my trust, too. I can’t lose yours.” And then he’s off.

Peter is alone. 

 –––– 

Peter is alone, and the panic has finally subsided. He’s not aware of much, but he can feel the wind against his fingertips. He can still see the embers drifting like buoys in the sea. He thinks about Coney Island. He thinks about metal talons digging into his skin, and he compares it to the large splinters of wood stuck in his torso. 

There is nothing else to focus on but the stars. He doesn’t remember there being so many stars. 

Karen speaks to him in a calm matter. She knows his heartbeat is too slow. She knows he’s having a hard time breathing. She talks and helps him through it, but he can’t hear a word. He doesn’t hear her talking about the missed calls from Tony. He doesn’t hear her mention his name at all. 

When Peter struggles to identify the red lights of distant emergency vehicles, he finally hears something. Metal crashing against concrete. The touchdown of the world’s finest hero. 

“Peter?” Tony’s voice is small, but it’s a sound Peter has been waiting to hear all night.

He tilts his head; it’s all he can do. “Mister Stark?” 

The weight of the rubble on his legs goes missing.

Tony is above him in under a second, cold, metal fingers settling themselves behind Peter’s head to keep it elevated. “Pete,” Tony breathes out. 

Peter has never seen Tony look so pale before. 

“You’re gonna be okay,” he says, placing his other arm under Peter’s legs. “Okay? You’re gonna be fine. We’re gonna get you through this. I’ve got you.”

Peter tries to nod, but his head rolls to the side instead. “You’ve––you’ve got me,” he mumbles. The words float away with the embers. 

Tony’s lips pull into a deep frown, and his eyebrows knot together as he thinks over his next moves. His eyes are dark, but they are warm and soft, and just by looking into them, Peter can tell that Tony is scared. 

As the older man’s lip trembles, Peter realizes that he’s no longer in as much pain as he had been. He feels lighter than air, but he doesn’t feel real. It’s supposed to feel like this. 

Tony starts to lift him into his arms, and for a brief moment, the pain returns. It vocalizes itself as a cry and a scream, and Tony’s worry and fear turn to horror. He doesn’t know what to do. “Y-you’ve gotta bear with me, kiddo. I’ve gotta lift you. Okay? Do you trust me?”

Peter can’t say it back, but he smiles. And that says enough.

“I’m so sorry, Pete.”

–––– 

He awakes in the Medbay. Re-runs of Star Trek are playing on a flatscreen in the corner, and a large vase of red and blue flowers sits beside his bed. The third thing he notices is the ache in his lungs as he takes each breath. The fourth thing is slumped over in a chair across the room, elbows pressed into his knees while soft snores rumble through his chest. He’s not dressed to the nines like Peter usually sees. Instead, he’s in sweatpants and a t-shirt with coffee stains down the front. He looks like he hasn’t moved from his seat in days. 

Peter’s torso is covered in bandages, and his legs are in casts. He knows that, in a matter of a day or two, he’ll be walking again with little to no pain. But right now, he’s afraid to move. 

He’s afraid to speak. 

The first thing he tries to do is reach for the remote, which fails miserably. It slips to the ground, and the clattering plastic seems to wake the slumbering Stark instantly. 

“Pete?” Tony mutters, blinking to adjust to the bright fluorescent lighting. “How long’ve you been up?”

“A minute,” Peter answers hoarsely.

Tony nods and presses his lips together. He doesn’t leap from his chair or cry out of happiness; instead, his eyes speak louder than words. He’s relieved. He’s thankful. He’s trying to fight back his thoughts and emotions instead of dumping them all on Peter. 

“Mister Stark––”

“You’re never gonna hear this from me again, so listen up,” Tony says. He blinks rapidly and sniffs. He continues breathily, “you scared the living shit outta me. I thought you were––I thought you were gonna–– Jesus.” Tony runs his fingers through his hair. “If you were gone before I got t’tell you how proud of you I am, kiddo, I don’t know what I would be doin’ right now.”

Peter bites the inside of his lip to keep from crying. Meanwhile, he can’t believe it. He doesn’t know how to.

“When I discipline you––” Tony says. He can’t look at Peter. “––when I set boundaries and rules, it’s not because I don’t think you can do it. It’s because I’m terrified that one of us is gonna make the wrong move, and suddenly, there’s no turning back. I can’t let it happen. I just can’t, Pete. I can’t lose you.”

Peter wants to swallow down the anger growing in him. But he can’t. He doesn’t know how to believe him. “Then why––why do you i-ignore me?” Peter sputters, trying to contain his emotions, but they come pouring out through his tears. 

“I don’t––”

“You do!” Peter cries out. He doesn’t mean to, but the words all feel like lies. The Tony he knows barely spares a day for Peter. “You make Happy do everything. You don’t contact me. You don’t wanna see me. You pull me along on these missions only to hold me back, and then you berate me for doing something you would do! I’m tired of being a sidekick if I can’t even be your––your  friend .”

Tony rests his head in his hand. “Peter––”

“You say you can’t lose me, but it doesn’t even feel like you want me around.”

Tony nods. He knows it’s true. But he still can’t look at Peter. “Yeah,” Tony whispers. “No, you’re right. I keep myself separated. And it’s not because I don’t want you around. I would make you drop outta school just to keep me company, Pete. I’ll admit my faults. You bring out a different side of me that I’ve never seen before, and it––it made me wanna be someone new. Made me wanna be a father. Some shit like that.” He chuckles dryly “Yeah, I got scared. I was terrified. Suddenly, the only thing I wanted to do was keep you safe. And then I realized, y’know, I’m me. I’m destructive. I thought that keeping you safe, but from afar, would do less damage. I was wrong. And I’m sorry.”

Peter doesn’t speak again for a while. He digests Tony’s words carefully, whether he chooses to believe them or not. The longer he thinks, the more Peter realizes that he has no reason to not believe the man. Tony has kept him alive. Tony has saved his life. Multiple times. Tony does many things wrong, but he has done so many things right.

“Mister Stark?”

Tony glances up, his eyes glassy and hopeful. 

“I trust you.”

[holidaywishes]

Embers IV

Chapter IV: the company you keep

  Summary of series: Katie moves from Peachtree, Georgia, to L.A. with her son, Alex to start fresh after the death of her husband. When she meets Evan Buckley, a young firefighter, she falls fast but will her son be so quick to accept Evan into his life?

  Summary of chapter: The time has finally come for Katie and Alex to have dinner with Evan and his team at the firehouse. She’s nervous and he’s reluctant. Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, Evan is micromanaging Bobby’s cooking and telling everyone what they can and cannot say.

  Warning: Fluff

  Author’s Note: After last night’s episode had me on the edge of my seat, I thought it was time for a short chapter with some fluff. A few more chapters and I will have some very ‘angsty,’ dramatic chapters for everyone to indulge in. They’re pretty clear in my head so I hope it translates when I finally write it out. Anyway, until then, I hope you enjoy this chapter and keep reading the series! Cheers, xx! 😘

  masterlist

  the other masterlist

xx

Evan’s P.O.V.

  “Thank you for cooking, Bobby,” you said, standing in front of your captain in the kitchen, “but can you just like... keep a closer eye on it?”

  “A closer eye on it?” Bobby said, raising his eyebrows at you, “Buck, relax. Everything is going to be fine. I know what I’m doing here okay?”

  “Her kid’s only 8. I want to make sure he actually eats th--” You started but stopped when you realized what you sounded like, “sorry, Bobby. I’m just gonna.. go.” You said, pointing to another area of the room before heading there.

  “He’s really stressing,” Eddie said to Bobby, laughing as he offered to help, “he must really like her huh?”

  “Seems like it,” Bobby added, instructing Eddie to set the table, “I just hope this one is different. You know? He had a string of hook ups before Abby and then she left, then he met Ali and she couldn’t handle him at his worst.”

  “She is different,” Eddie answered, “but she is also a mom. She’ll choose her son every time, so I just hope Buck’s ready for that...” He looked over at Christopher, knowing how well Buck took care of him during the Tsunami and afterwards but you were curious how he’d fair with a kid who he’d have to impress.

  “I think he understands that but I understand the concern. That’s why he has us.” Bobby replied, bringing Eddie back to the conversation

  “Okay listen up everyone!” You called everyone together, “there are some ground rules for tonight.” The group laughed, sitting around the table thinking that you was joking

  “You’re serious?” Chimney said, noticing the scowl you gave the group

  “Evan, relax. We’re not going to embarrass you” Maddie added but the firefighters in the room disagreed

  “We have some stories she’d probably love to hear” Hen said.

  “Yes, exactly. Don’t say any of that!” you remarked, “We’re not just trying to impress her, we’re also trying to impress her son...”

  “We?” Athena said as she came up the stairs with Harry, May and Michael

  “Yes, we. We’re a family and the impression you make reflects on the impression I make. Got it?” They hummed as you tried to make your case, going through a list of topics you wanted them to stay away from, but the group wasn’t paying too much attention to you.

  “Buck,” Maddie said, walking over to you, “calm down. These guys love you and, from what you’ve told me about this girl, she’s not likely to run from a couple embarrassing stories.”

  “I’m just nervous. I really like this girl and everyone here is my family. I want everyone to get along.”

  “And they will. But you gotta let it happen naturally; let them talk about what they want to talk about. Okay?”

  “Okay.” You agreed but took a deep breath, still nervous that this could be a huge disaster.

xx

Katie’s P.O.V

  “Okay, buddy,” You said to Alex as you prepared to head out, “you ready to go?” He nodded but suddenly ran to his room; coming out with the plastic T-Rex that Jesse got for him two Christmases ago.

  “I wanna take him with me.” He said and you smiled, agreeing before saying that it was time to go, opening the door to head to the cab, “Nick?” You questioned in surprise as your teenage client stood outside the door with his large Bodyguard

  “Hey,” he said, inviting himself in, “can I hang with you two for a bit tonight? Maybe even stay the night?”

  “Uhh,” you hesitated, looking between Nick and his bodyguard, “actually...”

  “I just don’t feel safe at home. There’s some psycho stalking me or something. I can feel it.”

  “That’s what you’ve got Big Jeff for!” you tried

  “Yeah.. but Big Jeff doesn’t speak”

  “Come on Jeff. Big Guy. You’ll keep him company right?” He just looked at you, slight sympathy in his eyes but didn’t say a word, “look, Nick, I would love to hang out with you tonight--”

  “GREAT!” he interrupted

  “But,” you continued, “Alex and I already have plans and they can’t be cancelled. I’m sorry.”

  “That’s cool. I’ll just come with!” he interjected and your mouth gaped, “Big Jeff too!” You felt Alex tug at the hem of her dress and knew you’d regret it if you didn’t let Nick tag along.

  “Fine. Just let me make a call first.” You stepped away from the boys to call Evan quickly to let him know the change of plans

  “Hey..” you greeted, somberly

  “Hey!” he replied brightly, “you on your way?”

  “Yes, but there’s been a slight change of plans.”

  “Change of plans? What do you mean?”

  “One of my clients is freaked out that someone is stalking him. So he’s gonna tag along tonight... Is that okay? He’ll take care of himself while we’re there. We don’t need to watch him or anything.”

  “Oh”

  “I know. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know how to tell him he couldn’t come. He’s a good kid, I promise, I think he’s just lonely.”

  “No problem. I’ll let everyone know, I’m sure we’ll have enough food for everyone.”

  “Thank you, Evan.” You ended the call and took a deep breath before directing the boys out of the house and into the cab that was waiting outside.

xx

  “This looks amazing, Captain Nash!” you exclaimed

  “Thank you, Katie,” he smiled, “but please, call me Bobby.” You smiled back at him and guided Alex through the room while Evan introduced the two of them to the rest of the team. Alex kept his attention focused on his T-Rex, though, and you were worried what Evan’s friends might think of him.

  “I’m sorry,” you tried, “he’s just nervous. Alex, sweetie, can you say Hello?”

  “Hi” he whispered but ran to wear Christopher was sitting

  “I’m sorry. He’s usually better than that...”

  “It’s alright,” Athena said, “I understand. Trust me. Any time, I introduced Harry or May to someone new, they hide behind me.”

  “And don’t think for a second that Evan wasn’t the same way when he was little” a long-haired brunette chimed in

  “You must be Maddie!” you exclaimed, excited to finally meet Evan’s sister

  “That’s me!” she smiled, shaking your outstretched hand, “your son is adorable. Buck says he’s 8?”

  “He listened. Good to know,” you giggled, “yes. He’ll be nine in a few months. I can’t believe how fast time is going by.” Athena nodded and raised her eyebrows in agreement

  “Ain’t that the truth.” Athena said and you laughed as everyone began heading to the table and found your seat next to Evan; Alex sitting beside you. The meal was great and the company was better, the conversation, however, wavered between great and awkward. You noticed Nick’s bodyguard get up and begin to pace around the space.

  “So... what is Katie short for?” Chimney asked

  “Hmm,” you hummed, swallowing the bite of food still in your mouth, “Katerina. Mom was a big Katarina Witt fan before I was born so she named me after her.” You smiled, placing your hand on Evan’s knee, “what does Chimney stand for? I tried to pry it out of Evan but he did not budge.”

  “It’s a secret. I can’t tell you. With time, maybe. But I’ll have to trust you first.” The table laughed and you narrowed her eyes sarcastically at him, which he was all too quick to return

  “Alex, buddy, how do you like LA?” Bobby asked

  “It’s okay, I guess,” he said simply, “I miss the peaches though.” You laughed, grateful he was able to make some kind of joke, even if he didn’t realize it. Evan took your hand in his and you turned to smile at him, tilting your head to fully look at him for a minute

  “You moved here last year?” Hen asked, bringing you away from Evan

  “Mmm, no,” you began, swallowing the sip of wine that you’d just taken, “a couple months ago. We needed a fresh start after last year but there were a lot of things we had to get in order before we left. So we’ve been here for about 3 months.”

  “Right,” Hen adjusted herself and you were unsure if she should continue her questioning, “because of your husband...” Evan squeezed your hand before huffing at Hen. Nick’s bodyguard, Jeff, suddenly started to move closer to the table as if he couldn’t hear the conversation from where he was standing and wanted to know more.

  “Hen!” Evan scowled and Hen raised her hands in defense

  “No no,” you smiled, “it’s okay. Yes. My husband was a Navy SEAL and he passed away last year while he was overseas. It was hard, unbelievably so--” you said, brushing your son’s hair to the side-- “which is why I decided to find a job here and move us out to live near my Mom. She moved away after my Dad died, so I guess running to L.A. is genetic.” The group laughed and you squeezed Evan’s hand to reassure him you were fine.

  “So what do you do for work?” Athena asked

  “Ahh, me!” Nick chimed in, making you practically choke on her wine, “I mean, that’s where I come in. She’s my saviour.”

  “I’m Nick’s publicist. He showed up unannounced at my house last minute which is why he’s here.”

  “What’s that like? Being a publicist?” May asked and you glanced at Athena, to see what kind of answer she should give

  “It’s great!” you decided, “it’s a lot of uncertainty and, depending on the clients you get, it can be extremely taxing. I’ve been lucky enough to have easy clients with good heads on their shoulders, like this one, but some people are tasked with looking after Politicians and entire businesses. It’s a lot of fun though, I really enjoy my work.” You smiled, a gesture that May returned

  “I’ve gone through five publicists,” Nick admitted, “but Katie’s the best. I think it’s ‘cause she’s a mom. She seems to know what’s good for me and what can keep me grounded.”

  “I think it’s time we go” Jeff interrupted

  “Nah, Big Jeff, we’re good. I’m enjoying the company.” Nick tried to convince him but when you looked down at Alex and Christopher, you decided to take Jeff’s side

  “You know what, it looks like the boys are getting pretty tired. I should probably get Alex home anyway. But we’ve really enjoyed tonight and getting to know everyone.” You said sincerely, “I hope we can do it again sometime.”

  “I’ll take you home” Evan sad as he stood up

  “Su--” you attempted to agree only to be stopped by the bodyguard

  “I’ll do that, Firefighter.”

  “Excuse me?” Evan’s voice was harsh and his face contorted into anger

  “I can take care of them. You just stay here.. with your trucks and your little toys.“ You were unsure of where this was coming from and it was clear that the group was uncomfortable

  “You’re not saving the world, Big Jeff, you’re just his bodyguard. You don’t need to protect her.” Evan said through gritted teeth

  “Okay then!” You interjected, “that’s enough testosterone for tonight. Evan can I talk to you downstairs please?” He agreed but his eyes never left Jeff’s until he followed you down the stairs. The group tried to subtly listen to the conversation but they rushed to the Bannister and were easily visible to you and Evan

  “What the hell is going on?” Evan started

  “I don’t know but it’s just a ride home. He’s gotta take Nick home anyway, so it’s not a big deal. Just relax.”

  “But why is he antagonizing me?“

  “I honestly don’t know. I didn’t think you did anything. Everything was fine. Just let me talk to him on the ride home, okay?” You pouted at him, intertwining your fingers with his, hoping you’d get your way

  “Fine.“ He agreed just as Nick, Alex and Jeff walked past, Jeff glaring at Evan, and Alex waiting for you, “just be careful please? i don’t trust this guy. I’ve got a bad feeling about him.” You laughed, pushing yourself up onto your tiptoes to kiss Evan gently

  “I will, I promise.” You replied, “I really do have to get Alex home though. I’ll see you tomorrow?“ He nodded before giving you one more kiss and turning his attention to Alex

  “Hey,” he leaned down, “did you have fun tonight?”

  “Yeah” Alex answered and Evan smiled

  “Good. So you think we can do it again?”

  “I don’t know. I guess. Maybe earlier? I’m tired.” He whined but Evan knew not to take it personally

  “Sounds like a plan, big guy.” You gave Evan a hug goodbye, taking your sons small hand in yours as they began to walk out, stopping suddenly to ask Evan a question

  “What do you think they thought of me?“ You gestured to the group above, knowing they’ve been spying the entire time, laughing softly when they backed away from the Bannister. “Everyone always loves Alex, so I’m not worried about them but it seemed like, before all of this, that they kind of adored me...”

  “I don’t see why they wouldn’t.” He cooed and you smiled brightly at him

  “Yeah, you’re right.” You said triumphantly before walking out of the firehouse, meeting Jeff at the door where he put a hand on your back and you could imagine Evan would be angry at the gesture so you tried to quickly diffuse it by turning around to wave goodbye. Making the whole night feel like a success, no matter how it may have ended.