#after my dad jumps in saying nobody needs to take offense to how I’m talking or how I’m being? when I didn’t say anything in any way? like

[random0lover]

I hate men and their need to act like any emotional reactions you have while you’re on your period is just you being “hormonal” and “not yourself”

(Rant in tags)

[mochegato]

Even the Losers

Chapter 8

Chapter 1     Chapter 7

“Your father is Bruce Wayne and now he wants to reconnect,” Nino recapped as though anyone involved in the call was unaware. From the look Chloe gave him, he was particularly happy she was in New York not Paris and couldn’t actually smack him upside the head.

“Thank you for that waste of time and breath,” Chloe grumbled.

“I just… don’t see the problem.”  Nino did actually move away from Alya before she could swat him.  “What?  Your dad is Bruce freaking Wayne!  Even if you don’t connect with him, you can totally draw on that Wayne money.”

He wasn’t fast enough to move away from her smack that time.  “Ow!” he pouted at Alya.

“It’s not about the money!” Alya groaned, already exasperated by him.  “It’s about him not wanting to have a relationship until the press found out.  It’s about him cutting her out but taking in a gaggle of other kids.”  Nino lightly shoved Alya’s shoulder and motioned toward Marinette’s expression on the screen.  Alya grimaced and gave him a nod of understanding.

Marinette looked down and pursed her lips to keep from frowning.  It was bad enough thinking it in her own head constantly, but hearing it out loud, repeated back to her?  That made it so much worse.  That made her feelings real.  That legitimized her feelings.  She couldn’t pretend like she was just overreacting.  They were justified.  Which meant she couldn’t just freeze them out.  Or rather she shouldn’t.  She had to face them.

She focused her energy on not changing her body language so she didn’t worry Adrien any more than he was already.  Keeping her body relaxed instead of tensing up.  Adrien had gone into a frenzied panic when he and Max had returned from their apartment search to find her collapsed on the floor, blocking the door. She’d missed the worst of it according to what Tikki said, but she still remembered the terrified look in his eyes when she woke up.  He hadn’t left her side since, keeping constant physical contact.  

Max seemed to inherently understand the situation and was jumping up to get anything either of them might need so they didn’t have to abandon each other for even a few moments.  She was eternally grateful to him for it because she wasn’t sure who the physical proximity was having more of a calming effect on, her or Adrien, but regardless, they both needed it.  

Her attempt to not react didn’t seem to have been as effective as she thought it had been judging by the way Adrien hugged her closer to him.  Marinette lightly bonked her head into his chest and returned her attention to the laptop screen.  “It’s okay, Nino,” Marinette assured him weakly.

“No it isn’t,” Chloe said over her.  “Both of you need to stop talking.”  She flipped a page in her magazine and looked up at the screen.  “I mean, that’s true in general, but especially during this call.” Her eyes were sharp when she looked up but Marinette could see the concern she was trying to hide by focusing on her magazine.  She wasn’t sure what Adrien had told them about how he found her but she could tell it was enough to scare them too.

Marinette rolled her eyes at Chloe.  “Yes, it is.”

Chloe groaned.  “This is the way we work Dupain Cheng.  You and Adrien let people walk all over you, Nino keeps the peace, Alya starts trouble, and I tell people the truth and to back the fuck off when it’s warranted.”

“Which never starts trouble,” Alya snarked.

“I do not let people walk all over me!” Adrien objected, looking around for support. Marinette gave a curt nod of agreement, but Max was avoiding his eyes and Chloe was staring at him flatly.

“No, you don’t let people walk all over us,” she motioned toward the screen, trying to indicate the rest of them.  “But you let everyone walk all over you.”  Her eyes moved slightly and her eyes narrowed slightly.  “You both do.”

Marinette wrinkled her nose at the screen with a pout.  “I stood up to you,” she groused.

Chloe scoffed.  “And it only took you like ten years to do it.  So proud of you.”  She rolled her eyes so strongly, her entire head moved as she did it.

Marinette’s mouth dropped in offense.  “I’m better now.”

“Are you, though?  Really?” Chloe deadpanned.

Marinette pouted.  “Yes!”

“Statistically, she is accurate,” Max added.  “She does stand up for herself more now than when we were younger.”  Marinette pursed her lips at Max, unsure how to respond to his comment.  On one hand, it defended her.  On the other hand, she did not at all appreciate how he stressed the word ‘statistically’ and she was certain everyone else caught that as well.

Chloe opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by Nino. Marinette sighed in relief until she started processing his words.  “I get that it’s hard and it hurts, I guess I just thought you wouldn’t take it this hard. After Jagged with Luka and Juleka and your grandfather… you forgave all of them.  You helped Jagged with Luka and Juleka, making sure their relationship didn’t go bad.”  He motioned vaguely at nothing.  “You seemed to brush it off and take it as a challenge.  So why isn’t this?”

Alya dropped her head in her hands.  “Tact, Nino.  God.”

“No, he’s not wrong.”  Marinette frowned as she thought about his words.  “I went after Grand-père and convinced him to reconnect.  Papa never held it against him so I guess I didn’t either. Luka never held it against Jagged, just moved forward.  Maybe it’s just me.  Maybe…”

“No!” Adrien interrupted before she could follow that train of thought any further. He gently turned her toward him to focus her attention on him.  “There’s nothing wrong with you or how you’re reacting.  There’s no wrong way to react to news like this.  If you feel sad, that’s fine.  If you feel annoyed, that’s fine.  If you feel frustrated, that’s okay.  If you want to just move past it, there’s nothing wrong with that.  If you feel angry, that’s okay.  And if you feel like you need space, that’s okay too. There’s no wrong way to react to this,” he repeated.

“Except however Chloe would respond,” Alya added with a smirk.

“Hey!” Chloe objected loudly, glaring at the screen, but with no real heat behind it. “For the record, how I would respond to news like this is to spend all my new found father’s money, pressing my boundaries until he finally said something.  And if he didn’t say anything, I’d use those billions to do whatever the fuck I wanted and never see him in person.”

Marinette blinked at Chloe, as did the rest of the group.  That was certainly… an option.  Not one Marinette would ever choose, but it was…  Marinette started giggling at the idea.  Adrien joined her quickly while Max, Alya, and Nino watched them worriedly.  Chloe rolled her eyes and flipped the page in her magazine, but the corners of her lips quirked up.

“He is correct,” Max added, bringing them back to the original point.  “There are a variety of ways people will react to finding out they have a parent they didn’t know about.  Markov found hundreds of studies on psychological responses to similar news and responses are extremely varied.”

“Juleka had a harder time with accepting it and connecting to Jagged than Luka did, remember?” Adrien pointed out.  “And there’s nothing wrong with her.  She wasn’t wrong to react that way, right?”  Marinette shook her head reluctantly.  It wasn’t that she thought there was anything wrong with the way Juleka reacted, but in agreeing with Adrien’s observation, she would have to agree with his point that she was allowed to freak out about this instead of ignoring it like she wanted to.

“Marinette,” Alya raised her voice to bring attention back to her.  “You can do anything you want here and we’ll support you. You know that.  No matter how this ends we all love you.  No matter how you react, we’ll love you.  Nobody is going to judge you for any decision.”

Chloe scoffed.  She waited until everyone was looking, or in Alya and Adrien’s cases, glaring at her. “What?  You want me to lie to her?”  She looked incredulously at the other faces on the video call.  “We won’t judge.  Hell, I’m willing to scratch his eyes out in public for you.  But, your name was already getting out there and his name, now yours, is on the largest corporation in the world.  Every news and gossip organization is going to be talking about it forever if you guys don’t make a good show of it.”

“So?” Alya demanded incredulously.  “She should just do whatever is best for publicity?”

“Did I say that?” Chloe scoffed.  She finally put her magazine down to show how serious she was taking the conversation. “When have I ever let the threat of bad publicity stop me from doing something?  I just said it would be out there, not that she should care.  It’s a factor, a big one when she’s figuring out what she wants.”

“What do you want?” Adrien asked gently, turning his attention back to Marinette.

Marinette looked at Adrien for a few seconds while her brain whirred at high speed thinking through all the options.  What did she want?  None of this. That’s what she wanted.  After a few seconds she took a breath and let it out. “What I want is to not have to deal with any of this.  What I want is to not be his daughter.  What I want is to figure out where we want to live and work and start a company there like we planned.  What I want is to live a normal life now.”  She ignored Chloe’s scoff.  “What I want…” she sighed and looked away.  “What I want doesn’t matter.”

Chloe huffed almost loudly enough for it to echo.  “Of course it matters, it just doesn’t change the past or the current situation.  But, you control your next steps.  So Ladybug this bitch.  Some egomaniacal, rich, pampered megalomaniac has created an utterly ridiculous problem that you now have to fix.  This is your specialty.  Show this bastard who he walked out on.  Make him regret not dying with his parents.”

“Woah! What the Hell?” Nino exclaimed. “Too far.”

Chloe scoffed and looked back at her nails.  “If you think that was too far, you should have heard what I wanted to say.  I toned it way down for your sensitive ears,” she added condescendingly.  She just barely looked up when Marinette started giggling.  Chloe’s lips quirked up the more Marinette tried to stifle the slightly unhinged sounding giggles.

“Dude, that’s her grandparents…” Nino whisper shouted.  Marinette suddenly sobered and paled in realization.

“Or!” Adrien interjected with false excitement positioning himself between Marinette and the screen.  “Or, you could, you know, try to build a relationship with him.”  He looked decidedly away from the incredulous looks from Alya and Chloe and the doubtful look from Nino on screen, trying to pretend like they weren’t judging him.  He moved closer to Marinette and took her hands in his giving her a sincere, serious look.  “You have someone, your father, who wants to connect to you.”  

He ignored the loud scoff from the computer and continued as though Alya or Chloe, or both, hadn’t verbalized their opinion.  They clearly weren’t that opposed or they would have said it instead of making a noise.  He “accidentally” closed the video chat and gave Max a pointed look.  

Max nodded slowly.  “I’m just going to go to my room for a few minutes.  Let me know if you want to talk.”

Marinette and Adrien both shot him thankful smiles.  Adrien waited until his door was closed before looking back at Marinette with a concerned look.  “You got screwed in this deal.  Nobody can deny that, and however you feel, that’s real and valid.  It’s okay to be hurt.  It’s okay to be scared.  It’s okay to say this is too much for you right now, or ever.  But, do you really want to walk away?  Not connect to him?  Not try?”

“He didn’t want…” Marinette started weakly.

“Maybe he wasn’t ready,” he cut her off before she could spiral again.  “Maybe this is the universe’s way to saying it’s time. You got the embodiment of luck in your pocket.  Is it really so farfetched to think luck played a role?”

“Bad luck,” Marinette scoffed to the floor.  Adrien gently rapped her on the top of her head with his knuckle.  She looked back up and caught his unimpressed look. Marinette sighed and looked away before looking back up at him uncertainly.  “I don’t know…”

“Do you think you want to try?” Tikki asked floating out of her resting spot. “It’s your choice.  But I don’t think this is going away, so whichever decision you go with you’ll have to face the consequences.”

“Or I could just cataclysm him,” Plagg offered rubbing his paws together.  He darted away from Tikki before she could shut him up.

“No!” Marinette and Adrien chorused at the same time.

Adrien glared at Plagg but made sure to soften his eyes before looking back at Marinette.  “Okay, maybe things don’t work out with him.  But it sounds like you have siblings.  You already like Jason.  Maybe you’ll like them too.”  He gave her a small smile and rubbed her arms soothingly.  “You always wanted siblings.”

Marinette gave him a weak smile back.  “I don’t need siblings anymore.  I have you.  That’s more than enough.  I don’t think I could handle more of yous.”

Adrien scoffed good naturedly at her.  “If anything I’ve made having siblings more appealing.”

Marinette scoffed playfully.  “Keep telling yourself that,” she muttered.

He pulled her into a hug.  “You always wanted more.  And it sounds like you might have sisters.”

“More people he adopted after walking away,” Marinette groused into his shirt.

Adrien hugged her tighter.  “Maybe he had a reason?  Or maybe he just royally messed up.  Maybe he hates himself for the decision.  It’s something you won’t find out unless you stay.  And you can just talk once and see how you feel about it. If it doesn’t go well, you can walk away and we can find that bar Roy mentioned.  If it goes well, you can decide to stay or we can decide to move to New York or Metropolis, like we were thinking and you can still see him every so often.”

“Even if it doesn’t go perfectly,” Tikki added softly, “it’ll give you closure.  You deserve to have that.”

“And you’ll wonder what could have happened if you don’t,” Adrien nudged her gently.  “You know you’re going to regret not trying.”

“So is that an absolute no on the cataclysm idea,” Plagg popped up between them.  “Because I’m still willing.”

Marinette rolled her eyes at him but shot him a grateful smile.  It was as close as Plagg got to admitting he cared.  She scratched him on the forehead and looked back to Adrien with a frown.  “I don’t think I can handle this.”

“I’ll stay with you.  And Max will be here.  Tikki will be here for you.  Plagg will be here, but don’t let that deter you…”

“Hey!” Plagg pouted.

Adrien continued without acknowledging him.  “Chloe could be here in a few hours if we needed and she’d drop everything to get here, no matter what she says.  Alya and Nino will only be a phone call away.  We will support you no matter what you want to do. But we can’t make this decision for you, so, the question is what do you want to do?”

Marinette groaned and pouted at him.  “You sure you can’t do this for me?”

Adrien gave her a sympathetic look and shook his head. “Not this time, Bug.”  He waited a few minutes for her to think through her options.  When she looked just as lost after another few minutes after that, he spoke up gently. “Do you want to talk to Sabine and Tom first?  They might have some answers you need to make your decision.”

Marinette looked back up at him with a pathetic looking pout.  “Can’t I just sleep through this instead?”

Adrien chuckled and shook his head, relieved she was now in a light enough mood to make jokes.  “You could,” he nodded and put on a mock serious face, “but your problems will still be there when you woke up.”

“What bullshit,” she scoffed in a weak voice.

Adrien nodded.  “Yep, utter bullshit.”

Marinette kept eye contact with him for a few moments waiting for him to impart some kind of insightful wisdom upon her.  When he held silent and let her make her own decision, she whimpered and looked away.  “What if it isn’t him I cataclysm,” Plagg asked, flying between them.  “I could do it to his house instead… a few of his cars?  Rich people always have too many cars.”

Adrien grabbed him out of the air and shoved him in his pocket with an exasperated groan.  But Marinette giggled again.  When her laughter had settled, she took a deep breath and motioned toward her phone. Adrien smiled at her as he placed it in her hand.  She took a deep breath and pulled out the paper M. Wayne had given her.  She dialed one of the numbers before she could talk herself out of it, which knowing herself could happen if she was given more than a few seconds to think, and looked up to Adrien, letting his soft smile ground her.  “M. Wayne? It’s Marinette.  Would you be free for dinner tonight?”

Chapter 9

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[khaleesiofalicante]

LIGHTWOOD BANES WEEK - MAGNUS & RAFAEL

“Ready?”

Magnus looked up from the vanity table and put down his eyeliner.

“Like my new shoes?” his son grinned as he tapped the Gucci sneakers like Dorothy and her heels.

Magnus grinned in approval.

“Let’s go!” Rafe came closer and started jumping up and down as he pulled on Magnus’ arm. “Portal! Portal! Portal!”

Magnus gave him a smile. “How about we walk to the institute today, my coconut?”

Rafael stopped jumping abruptly.

“I’m not a coconut,” he pointed out sourly.

“Alright, I’ll think of another fiber rich fruit,” Magnus chuckled. “But let’s walk today, yes? The weather seems brilliant.”

Rafael looked out of the window and then back at Magnus, arching his dark eyebrows as if to say, ‘since when did you care about the weather?’.

“So, no portal?” Rafael asked.

“Not today,” Magnus replied.

Rafael looked down at his new shoes. “Okay.”

Magnus hated disappointing his son. Rafael loved magic – sometimes even more so than Max. This meant he enjoyed portals too.

Magnus would split the sky open for his son. Making a measly portal was no big deal.

He could have just done it simply. But today was not that day.

“Go pick up your bow,” Magnus urged him gently.

Rafael pouted and ran away without another word.

Magnus put on his jewelry and picked up his tote bag. He was hoping to drop Rafael off at the institute to train with the other children – something Magnus didn’t really approve of since Rafael was just past twelve.  

He didn’t need to learn how to fight. He was a child.

Rafael was his baby.

But Rafael was also a shadowhunter – one of the angel’s chosen.

Magnus sighed inwardly – since it was a fact, he had to make peace with – and walked towards the living room.

“Let’s go, strawberry!”

But Rafael was not near the door where he usually stood when Magnus made the portal for them. Magnus walked towards Rafael’s bedroom to find his son on the floor.

“I sprained my leg,” Rafael said apologetically. “We’ll have to take a portal.”

Magnus gave him an amused glance.

“Well, if you are hurt then you shouldn’t be training,” Magnus pointed out.

“But we are throwing spears today,” Rafael protested. “I want to practice!”

“Alright then, use an iratze,” Magnus said. “It should heal quickly. Then we can walk merrily to the institute where they teach little children how to throw spears.”

“Uh, I can’t,” Rafael said now. “I lost my stele.”

He was a horrible liar. Much like Alec.

Max on the other hand…Magnus would have to keep an eye on that one.

“Rafael,” Magnus said warningly.

“I swear on Uncle Jace,” Rafael said, and Magnus bit his lip to keep himself from laughing. “I lost my stele.”

Magnus crossed his arms.

“I can ask Aunt Clary to heal it when I get to the institute,” Rafael pointed out. “Let’s go. Make the portal.”

Well, two can play at that game.

Magnus flicked his wrist, and a wave of blue smoke went through Rafael’s ankle. It wasn’t real magic of course. Just smoke.

“There, I fixed your ankle,” Magnus said. “Now, let’s go.”

Rafael stood up indignantly. “But what about my new shoes! I don’t want them to get all muddy.”

“It hasn’t rain in over a month!” Magnus put his arms up in frustration. “We are walking.”

“Fine, then I’m not going,” Rafael kicked off his shoes and flopped back on his bed and covered his face with a pillow.

Rafael was a quiet and timid child. But he could really be dramatic when he wanted to. Magnus had no idea where he got this from. Probably some shadowhunter at the institute.

“Rafael,” he called gently. “Why do you not want to walk to the institute?”

Magnus had noticed this initially over a month ago.

Rafael had insisted that he could the subway on his own. The institute wasn’t far away. He had wanted to commute on his own.

Magnus wasn’t really thrilled by this sudden show of bravado.

Firstly, he couldn’t come to terms with the fact that his baby was growing up.

Secondly, he might have excused the demon butt kicking. But he wasn’t going to allow his son to go on the New York subway alone.

But then Alec had interfered and of course as always had won the argument with “reason” and “logic”.

So, Rafael started to take the subway and travel to the institute by himself.

Just two days a week.

On the other days, he went with Alec or Magnus.

Rafael had only been out on his own for a couple of weeks before he had started to make all sorts of excuses for not wanting to go alone.

He would ask Alec to come to the institute with him. And of course, the insistence for portals had started.

Magnus knew Rafael loved portal travel. But he wasn’t spoilt or anything. Actually, the boy enjoyed walking, mostly because he got to stop and pet a stranger’s dog.

So, Magnus found it a little odd that Rafael’s insistence on walking alone had disappeared just like that.

He knew there was more to the story and he was going to find out.

He sat down next to Rafael gingerly and knocked on the pillow.

“Knock knock,” he said.

“Nobody’s home,” Rafael said in a muffled voice, still stubbornly clutching the pillow over his face.

“Come on. Play along,” Magnus urged and taped on the pillow again. “Knock knock!”

Rafael sighed dramatically. “Who’s there?”

“Wire.”

“Wire who?”

“Wire you lying to me?”

Rafael removed the pillow off his face.

“You’re not as clever as you think you are,” Rafael pointed out.

“Lies!” Magnus said in an offended tone. “You said your father is the smartest person you know.”

“Well, I have two fathers so…”

Magnus gasped offensively.

Rafael’s mouth twitched, just a little. Anyone who didn’t know him would have missed it.

But Magnus knew him. He knew him better than anyone.

“Wounded prides and treacherous betrayals aside,” Magnus gently removed the pillow and threw it away before Rafael can hide again. “Do you want to talk about what’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” Rafael said, lying back slowly.

“Then why do you not want to walk alone?”

“Just cause,” Rafael shrugged.

“Did��Did something happen?” Magnus asked tentatively. “In the subway?”

“Nothing serious,” Rafael said.

Magnus’ heart, which was always steady, started beating faster.

“I’d still like to know if that’s okay with you,” Magnus said gently, not wanting to push the boy.

Rafael was quiet.

“Rafael,” Magnus said softly. “When we found you, I promised that I will always protect you. I need to live up to that promise. Please tell me what happened.”

Rafael sat up on the bed and crossed his legs. “There were some boys in the subway.”

Magnus nodded, gently urging him to go on.

“I didn’t glamour myself cause you know I don’t like to,” Rafael pointed out.

Magnus did know that. Magnus never actually glamored himself either – not unless it was absolutely necessary. Magnus didn’t want to hide because there was nothing to be ashamed of.

Rafael didn’t either.

Rafael took after him in so many ways - including his love for fashion. But this was one of those ways that made Magnus’ heart swell with pride.

“Anyway, I was careful,” Rafael continued. “I made sure my bow was hidden and nothing was visible. But then these boys…They made fun of me.”

“Because of your runes?” Magnus asked.

“Because of what was underneath the runes.”

Magnus muttered a curse underneath his breath – thankfully he spoke many languages Rafe didn’t understand.

He knew that he was supposed to act rational. To be calm and assess the situation. He was the high warlock of Brooklyn and he has handled worse situations.

But he wasn’t the high warlock right now. He was just Rafael’s father.

Anger boiled through his veins and Magnus felt his magic surge.

“Who are these boys?” Magnus demanded. “Where did you see them?”

Rafael looked at him then, his brown eyes sad. “Does it really make a difference, Bapa?”

And Magnus’ heart broke.

No. It didn’t. It didn’t make a difference.

“They were saying something about a wall and how I should go back to where I’m from,” Rafael said, his voice low. “I put my earphones on after that.”

“Was this a one-time thing?” Magnus asked.

“In the institute, nobody ever said anything about being me a Latino. Or about the others. They don’t really care I think. And when we are out…Well, I’m always with you and dad so I never really noticed. But the moment I was alone…They never say anything when I'm with you or dad. That’s why I kept asking you to come with me. Or take a portal.”

“We can come with you for as long as you want,” Magnus promised.  

“But you shouldn't have to. Not for this,” Rafael sounded angry. “I don’t think it was a one time thing, Bapa. I just think I never noticed. And now that I have…I don’t think I will ever stop noticing.”

Magnus had put a thousand charms – and more – on Rafael’s bow. He had put spell after spell on the sapphire necklace his son wore. He had taken every precaution he could think to protect his son from any and every demon that lurked in the shadows.

But Magnus hadn’t thought about the demons that lurked during daylight. Demons that didn’t attack the body – but the ones that clawed at your heart.

Magnus couldn’t protect Rafael from these creatures every day. But he could protect him right now. He led out his hands until Rafael leaned his head on Magnus’ shoulder.

“It’s not fair,” Rafael said. “I can’t help how I look.”

“I know, my darling,” Magnus caressed his hair gently. “I know.”

“Have people always been this awful?” Rafael asked.

Magnus, who had lived through centuries of persecution and discrimination, could have simply lied. He could lie to make his son feel better.

But he knew the lies wouldn’t prepare him for the world that was waiting out there.

“Do you remember, Bapa?” Rafael looked up and asked now. “Do you remember when Max was 7 and he wanted to look like the rest of us? He wanted to not be blue for one day?”

Magnus did. Alec had talk to Max that day, that a little blue never hurt anybody. It hadn’t convinced Max of course. But the party with a dozen multi cultured warlocks had kind of helped.

“I think Max has it better,” Rafael said now. “I wish I was blue or yellow or green.”

“You are what you are,” Magnus said. “And what you are is a beautiful boy.”

Rafael just mumbled something.

“Rafe,” Magnus took his hand. “Max is a downworlder. He will have his fair share of ass…hats to deal with.”

“Not on my watch,” Raphael said menacingly.

Magnus smiled. “You could consider glamouring yourself. You don’t have to do everything I do.”

“Not everything, no,” Rafe agreed. “But this…I can’t not do this. I want to be like you. Proud. Confident. But it’s…I don’t know it’s hard when they keep staring at me like that. Like I don’t belong here.”

“People will always stare,” Magnus said gently and dangled the bagles in his hand. “So might as well give them something to stare at, huh?”

Rafael gave him a weak smile. Magnus sighed.

“Alright then,” Magnus said. “I will make you a portal. Today. Every day. Whenever you want. You don’t have to take the subway.”

“I don’t want to take the portal,” Rafael said. “I don’t want to bother you.”

“Darling, you do know your father is the high warlock of Brooklyn, right?” Magnus chuckled. “It’s no bother.”

“I don’t want to take the portal,” Rafael simply repeated. “I like taking the subway.”

“You do?”

“Yeah. It kinda smells sometimes and then there are people who sing weird butt songs, but I like it,” Rafael said. “There is this lady. An abuela called Maria. I see her sometimes with her dog Globo.”

“Globo?” Magnus chuckled.

“He is so sweet, and she lets me pet him. I sometimes even buy treats for him with my allowance, ” Rafael confessed. “I like seeing Abuela Maria. I love seeing Globo. I don’t wanna miss that.”

“That’s fair enough,” Magnus nodded.

“Abuela Maria…She came to New York when she was 12. She is so old now. She has been here for year. And those boys…They sometimes make jokes about her too. She doesn’t speak much English but I think she understands. She doesn’t have earphones like I do though. So, she has to listen to everything they say.”

Magnus didn’t say anything. Just quietly offered his hand to Rafael.

His son took it gently and examined it carefully. Rafael had always loved the way Magnus painted his nails. Magnus had often wondered if Rafael would want to paint his own when he grew up.

But now…Now Magnus worried Rafael might never paint his nails even if he wanted to.

The world could sometimes be a cruel place. Magnus has always believed that the world should always have more color – and some glitter too.

But some people preferred to keep things black and white.

It was hard navigating a world like this. Magnus looked at his son.

Rafael looked sad. He looked angry. Worried. Frustrated.

And scared.

Magnus had felt all those things long ago too. But he had found his way through.

He had found his way through the maze and reminded himself who he was and he shouldn’t promise himself for anyone.

It had taken him a long time but he had got there eventually.

But the thing was…Rafael didn’t have that kind of time.

He was a shadowhunter. A mortal.

Magnus thought about Abuela Maria – and all the men and women she must have met during her life who must have made her feel different – when she was just another person in New York with a weirdly named dog.

Magnus didn’t want Rafael to spend his years living in shame and worry.

No. That is not the world Alec and Magnus had promised each other to build for their children and all the rest.

“Bapak,” Rafael said softly. “Is it always going to be like this?”

“It won’t be. I’d like to think so,” Magnus said quietly. “I’ve lived a long time, Rafe. There have been shadowhunters who have thrown away plates cause I touched them.”

“They what?” Rafael’s voice rose, his own pain immediately forgotten.

“The point is…We can’t change people,” Magnus said carefully. “But we can change systems. We can break old ones. We can build new ones. I’ve been hunted by shadowhunters. But I’ve also fought alongside shadowhunters. Fell in love with one. I’ve seen them change the law. I’ve seen them fight for my people. So, no. It’s not always going to be like this. It won’t happen overnight and it’s going to take a lot of effort and pain. But it won’t always be like this. I promise you that.”

“Well, I won’t be around to see it,” Rafael muttered.

“Yeah but your kids might,” Magnus winked.

“Gross,” Rafe made a face.

Magnus pulled him closer and kissed him on the top of his head.

“Do you think it would have been different?” Rafael asked, his face hidden in the crook of Magnus’ neck. “If I was in Buenos Aires?”

Magnus thought about it for a moment. Rafael living far away from him. The possibility pained him.

He had already lost one Raphael. He wasn’t ready to lose another.

Not to anyone. Certainly not to some ignorant bigots who lacked empathy and respect. 

“Possibly,” Magnus said with caution. “But it’s like you said. It doesn’t matter where you are. When you are different, people always make sure to point out. While no one in Buenos Aires might bully you for being a Latino, they might bully you for other things.”

“But why?” the child asked, still oblivious to the way the world worked.

Magnus wished he could be that way forever.

But no.

They all had to grow up eventually.

“Because of power,” Magnus explained. “Power is never distributed equally. So, when some people have more power than others, they abuse that power.”

“Like shadowhunters and downworlders,” Rafael bit his lip.

Magnus wasn’t particularly think of that example.

“Yes,” Magnus nodded. “Exactly like that. Sometimes shadowhunters abuse the power they have. Downworlders can do that too.”

“I don’t want power,” Rafael said.

“Sometimes we have power whether we want it or not,” Magnus pointed out.

“What do I do with it?” Rafael asked.

“Well, you try not to hurt other people with it,” Magnus said. “You try not to hurt yourself with it.”

“I’ll try,” Rafael promised. “What about…What about the bullies?”

“Well,” Magnus said. “What do you wanna do about it?”

“I don’t want to hide,” Rafael said, determination settling on his shoulders. “This is my country too.”

“Yes, it is,” Magnus kissed him on the head again.

“What do I do then?” Rafael asked.

“You do what you were born to do,” Magnus smiled. “You fight.”

“Like with my bow and arrow?” Rafael giggled.

“We’ll save that for the other demons,” Magnus winked. “But you fight in whatever way you can. This kind of thing…There is no one way to fight racism – or any kind of discrimination. We all fight it differently.”

“Like dad,” Rafael’s eyes gleamed. “He changed the laws!”

“Exactly,” Magnus beamed back. “You don’t have to change laws. Not unless you want to. No fight is less important than the other.”

“I want to fight for people who can’t fight for themselves,” Rafael said. “Like Abuela Maria – and Globo. I can maybe buy her noise cancelling earphones. I can fight for her.”

Magnus’ eyes almost watered at that. He was so much Alec – in so many ways. When he looked at Rafael now, Magnus realized he is never going to lose Alec. Not really.

“Then fight, my darling,” Magnus gave one last kiss on the ahead. “Fight like your dad.”

“And like my Bapak,” Rafe smiled and booped Magnus on the nose.

“He is the smartest person you know, right?” Magnus winked.

“Eh,” Rafael shrugged and Magnus feigned offense.

“But he is the bravest person I know,” Rafael pointed out shyly, but with enough pride to warm Magnus’ heart.

Magnus jumped off the bed and led out his hands. “All this talk about our wonderful public transportation system has me suddenly missing the subway. I think I should go for a ride.”

Rafael picked up his bow and reached out to hold Magnus’ hand. “Let’s go together.”

[waitimcomingtoo]

fine line - p.p

chapter 5

pairing: Peter Parker x Stark!Reader

Synopsis: there’s a fine line between love and hate and you and Peter dance it on a regular basis

Series Masterlist and Regular Masterlist

Peter found you in the kitchen the next morning, smiling shyly you as he stood in the door. Unsure of how to interact after the night before, he kept his distance as to not overwhelm you. You nodded towards the empty seat next to you, and a relieved smile appeared on Peters face as he grabbed a cereal bowl and joined you at the table. You silently pushed the milk towards him, feeling your face heat up when his fingertips brushed yours.

“Thanks.” Peter said as he poured the milk into his bowl.

“You’re welcome.” You kept your eyes down, focused on your cereal as you raked your brain for something better to say.

“So, am I like your girlfriend now or-“

“I would like that very much.” Peter said quickly, squeezing his eyes shut in embarrassment at how desperate he sounded. You laughed at his eagerness, feeling inclined to lean in and kiss him right there at the kitchen table. He happily kissed you back as soon as he was able to stop smiling. You pulled away and rested your forehead against his, already enjoying this version of your relationship with him.

“I like you so much.” Peter mumbled, peering at your through his eyelashes.

“I like you too.” You giggled, still finding it funny to hear those words from your own mouth.

“Well, this is quite a turn of events.” Tony commented as he entered the room, making you and Peter jump apart.

“We were just-“ Peter began.

“Save it, skip. FRIDAY logged you going into my daughters room last night but never logged you going out. My guess was you snapped and killed each other or finally kissed and made up. I’m assuming it’s the latter, no?” Tony raised his eyebrows, asking a question he already knew the answer to.

“I’m sorry, sir.” Peter apologized. “All we did was talk and sleep. It won’t happen again.”

“I don’t need details.” Tony stuck out his tongue and gagged. “Just try not to break my daughters heart, yeah spiderling? Mark 45 is getting a bit rusty and would be more than happy to take you out.”

“I won’t, Mr. Stark.” Peter said confidently

“Good. Because if it came down to you or her, I’d pick my princess every time. No offense.” Tony waved his hand dismissively as a surprised smile crossed your face.

“Really?” You wondered after his recent actions implies the opposite.

“Oh, absolutely.” Tony said like it was obvious. “Peters great and all, but nobody compares to you. You are a Stark, after all. That means you’re predestined to be better than the rest.”

“Thanks, Daddy. It’s nice to hear that.” You grinned, his words meaning more to you than he knew.

“Don’t get too excited. You’ll be less happy to hear that we have to head to Florida tonight to check out some psychedelic weapons being sold. Should be a drag but that’s what we’re here for.” Tony pulled at his collar and grimaced.

“We?” You asked hesitantly. “As in me too?”

“Well Romeo here is great and all, stupendous really, but I’ve missed you by my side.” Tony said causally. “And also you don’t make the whole jet smell like axe body spray and Proactive.”

“It’s Clean and Clear, sir.” Peter corrected your father, retreating when Tony shot him a look.

“Well, you should pack. We leave after dinner. Plenty of time to say goodbye to lover boy.” Tony shrugged, making you and Peter flush. “Parting is such sweet sorrow and all that. See you tonight.”

“See you tonight.” You nodded eagerly as Peter squeezed your hand under the table.

Tony winked and knocked the table twice before exiting the kitchen.

“Did you say something to him?” You looked curiously at Peter once your dad was out of earshot. “It’s been over a month since he’s taken me on a mission. And I’m pretty sure I’m the least qualified person in this tower to recovery illegal weapons.”

“Would you be mad if I did?” Peter asked, scrunching his face nervously. You looked at Peter fondly before grabbing his face and pressing a kiss to his cheek.

“Thank you.” You whispered as you rested your forehead against his once again. “Thanks for being patient with me.”

“You were worth waiting for.” Peter smiled softly as he tucked your hair behind your ear. “I still want you to clean up your cereal bowls though.”

“I’ll think about it.” You giggled, moving your spoon around in your cereal. “As long as you promise not to dip your fingers in my brownie batter.”

“Gross.” A voice came from in front of you, startling you and Peter. You looked up and saw Drax with a bowl of cereal in hand, staring directly at you and Peter.

“Drax?” You shrieked. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m visiting the city. I always wanted to see the Statue of Liberty. It’s been a dream of mine since I was a child.” He deadpanned before slowly raising his spoon to his mouth.

“How long have you been there?” Peter stared at him with wide eyes.

“I don’t know.” Drax thought. “When did Iron Man come in?”

“A few minutes ago.” You shrugged, still staring at him in confusion.

“Long before that.” Drax concluded, making you and Peter look at each other.

“Oh my God.” You groaned.

“Could you give us a few minutes?” Peter asked with a fake smile.

“Okay.” Drax nodded and walked out of the room.

“So as I was-

“How many?” Drax popped back in and interrupted Peter.

“What?” Peter asked, growing annoyed.

“How many minutes do you need?” Drax wondered.

“A lot.” Peter stated through gritted teeth.

“All of them, if we’re honest.” You mumbled.

“Okay. Bye guys.” Drax waved and left the room again.

“Bye.” Peter grunted, rolling his eyes in disbelief. “Where were we? I forget.”

“I could try and remind you.” You smiled as you leaned in to kiss him. Right before your lips could touch, the doorbell rang. You hung your head in disappointment and sighed.

“Oh my God. What now?” You whined.

“I’ll get it. Stay here.” Peter rubbed your arm comfortingly and made his way to the door. Peter opened the door to find a clean cut brunette in a crisp button down.

“Hey.” The boy smiled. “FRIDAY let me up.”

“Oh, okay.” Peter nodded. “And you are?”

“Harry Osborn.” The boy said, making Peters heart stop. “You’re Peter right? Y/n has told me a thing or two about you. Is she here?”

“In the bathroom.” Peter fibbed. “Can I ask why you’re here?”

“We cut our date short last night so I thought I’d surprise her.” Harry replied.

“How nice. She’s gonna be really really surprised.” Peter began to sweat, not knowing how to deal with his new girlfriends almost boyfriend.

“Yeah. I’m gonna ask her to be my girlfriend today.” Harry announced, making Peters heart stop. “I’ve waited too long, you know? And hot billionaires don’t fall into your lap everyday.”

“I don’t…” Peter trailed off, looking over his shoulder at you in the kitchen. You gave him a friendly wave, and he waved back before turning to Harry. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“What? Why?” Harry sized Peter up, unhappy with his answer.

“Well, she came home really upset last night.” Peter began, which was partially true. “I don’t think she wants to see you anymore.”

“What?” Harry laughed in disbelief. “Did she tell you that?”

“Yeah. She told me.” Peter folded him arms, standing his ground.

“Why would she tell you that?” Harry cocked his head. “She hates you.”

“She doesn’t hate me.” Peter snapped, his jaw locking.

“Hate to break it to you, Dude, but she does. You’re all she talks about. Hang on, fantasy football.” Harry held up a finger as he checked his phone, putting it away after seemingly reading something he liked. “Anyway, she said you were the worst thing that ever happened to her.”

“Well that’s not what she thought last night.” The words left Peters mouth before he could think them through, but he didn’t mind the look it left on Harry’s face. Peter smirked as Harry raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“You two...”

“Yeah, we’re together.” Peter shrugged with his arms still folded. “Looks like you waited too long.”

“Wow. I guess there really is a fine line between love and hate.” Harry laughed bitterly, as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“Yeah, well, she and I have built a permanent residence on that line.” Peter told him. “Sorry about it.”

“Alright. I better go then.” Hardy said coldly, burning holes in Peter with his eyes.

“Thanks for stopping by.” Peter smiled widely as he shut the door. He returned to you in the kitchen, guilt building up in the back of his mind.

“Who was that?” You asked from the kitchen sink as you rinsed your bowl. Peter smiled at you listening to what he asked you to do, but it quickly faded.

“Uhh, Mailman.” He lied to you, adverting his eyes as he leaned against the counter.

“Really? Why did he come to this floor?” You chuckled curiously as you put your bowl in the dishwasher. “He usually leaves it in the mailbox in the lobby.”

“Oh well he wanted to see the main floor.” Peter said weakly. “Can’t blame him, the interior decoration is really something to behold.”

“You’re acting funny. Do you feel okay?” You furrowed your eyebrows, pressing the back of your hand to Peters forehead to check his temperature.

“I’m fine. Just happy to be with you.” Peter shrugged as he held your hands in his, his conscience getting the better of him by the minute. You noticed the sweat building on his forehead and slowly let go of his hands.

“Peter, where’s the mail?”

“The what?” Peter wondered before he remembered. “Oh, there was none.”

“Who was at the door, Peter?” You asked suspiciously, your face hardening as you broke through his web of lies.

“Harry. But I got rid of him!” Peter said quickly when your face showed signs of anger.

“Got rid of him how?” You demanded.

“I told him we were together.” Peter said timidly, weary of how you’d react.

“What?” You exclaimed. “Peter!”

“Whats wrong? We are together.” He reminded you, getting the feeling you wanted to hide that fact.

“That doesn’t mean he needed to know that. And he definitely didn’t need to find out like this.” You crossed your arms. “That’s not fair to him. Do you know how heart broken I’d be if he did that to me?”

“You said the date was lame. And you have a boyfriend now, so who cares?” Peter shrugged dismissively, growing frustrated over you caring about Harry’s feelings.

“I do, Peter.” You raised your voice. “Yeah the date was lame but that doesn’t mean he deserves to be blown off. He’s a person with feelings. He deserved to hear it from me.”

“Apparently he’s heard a lot of things from you.” Peter matched your anger. “Like how much you hate me, for instance.”

“What are you talking about?” You shook your head in confusion.

“You told him I was the worst thing that ever happened to you. Is that true? That’s how you feel?” Peters voice wavered between angry and upset as his eyes desperately searched your face for answers.

“I used to feel like that, but not anymore.” You retorted. “You know how I feel about you now.”

“Do I? Because you seem awfully concerned over hurting Harry’s feelings. Do you still like him?” Peter demanded answers, a mixture of insecurity and jealousy eating away at him.

“No.” You shouted. “I just don’t want to hurt him.“

“You had no problem hurting me when I first moved in.” Peter said coldly.

“And I apologized for that. God, you’re so jealous.” You spat, rolling your eyes at Peter and turning away. He gripped your arm to make you face him again, not enough to hurt you but enough to keep you in place.

“I wouldn’t have to be jealous if you weren’t so indecisive.” He seethed.

“I did decide.” You stepped you to him. “I chose you. But you had no right to send Harry away like that and lie to me about it.”

“Like how you lied about hating me?” He raised an eyebrow. “Do you know how it felt to hear him say that?”

“It’s a figure of speech.” You scoffed and yanked your arm out of his grip. “I never actually hated you. Do you have to knit pick everything you hear?”

“Apparently I do since you don’t know how to send a clear message to save your life.” He shouted. “You hate me, you love me, which is it?”

“I hate you!” You screamed, pointing a finger in his face.

“I hate you too!” He yelled back, stepping closer to you so your noses were touching. The fire in his eyes ignited one in your own, making you suck in a sharp breath.

“Good!” You barked.

“God, do you ever stop talking?” He gripped the counter angrily as he stared you down.

“Why don’t you make me stop talking?” You asked through gritted teeth.

“You are the most annoying girl I’ve ever met.” Peter growled as he towered over you.

“You’re no walk in the park either, Parker.” You hissed.

“My name is Peter.” He snarled, griping your hips. “Say it.”

“You wish.” You laughed shortly. That was all Peter needed you hear to push him over the edge. He grabbed your face and pressed a searing kiss to your lips. You clutched his shirt, gripping it firmly to keep him as close as possible as he trailed kisses down your neck.

“Peter.” You mumbled into his ear, making him chuckle when his plan worked.

“Fine line, huh?” He smirked as he held your chin between his fingers.

“Yep.” You laughed breathlessly and kissed him again. “The finest.”

Tag List 🏷

@awesomebooklover17 @thebookwormlife @imanativeofswlondondahling @weirdr-artiest @serendipitous-amor @dummiesshort @foreverxholland @lavender-writer @captainmandeestudent17 @whatareyouhidingpeter @takenbyheartstrings @ultrunning @imyourliquor-youremypoison @theolwebshooter @andreasworlsboring101 @guksmyfav @waiting-to-be-myself @letsloveimagines @peterparkoure @a-villain-vying-for-attention @justcallmehitgirl @averyfosterthoughts @jackiehollanderr​ @tiny-friggin-human @mara-twins @iamaunicorn4704 @the-crazy-fanfictionist​ @maryjanee23 @geeksareunique @emmamarshmellow @jillanaholland​ @unbelievableholland @rebekkah4766 @flixndchill @sovereignparker​ i @thisisthebiplace @spideydobrik @every-marveler-ever @undiadeestos​ @caelestii-e @eridanuswave @itscaminow @fiantomartell @solarxmoonchild @where-art-thau-romeo @canyouevencauseicant @illwritetomorrow @thehappygrungelife @saysomethingspiderman @parkerboop @smilexcaptainx @hes-amarillo @quaksonhehe @kelieah @kickingn-ames @purefluffykiwi @seasidecrowbar @lovelessdagger @love-sick-blues @electraheart-3174 @lou-la-lou @unbelievableholland @yourtypicalhotmess @spideyanakin @horanxholland @thesuitelifeofafangirl @anapocalypseinmymind  @marshxx @heyheycharlatte @nooneinvitedfascistbarbie @tomshufflepuff @cookiemonstermusic258 @maybemona @young-romanoff @alexxcorona113 @spidey-reids-2003 @lethal-wisdom @xo-spidey @im-still-tryin-to-find-it @big-galaxy-chaos @pandaxnienke @spideydreamers​ @parkerpeter24​ ​ @cherrym4rk​​ @ithoughtthiswastwitterbutfr​​ @ziggyspurplehaze​​ @frustratingpaperclip​​ @bbreadroll​​ @theincredibledeadlyviper​​ @lil-mellow-bunbun​​ @cocoamoonmalfoy​​ @mariposa-macaroon​​ @mrvelscaptains​​ @herondalism​

[butterflyinthewell]

To trans folks who are trying to set trolls straight about Chris-Chan’s gender: Your hearts are in the right place, but the trolls do not care. They will keep misgendering Chris to piss you off and screenshot your reaction.

Yes, I’m talking about THE Chris-Chan. CWC, creator of Sonichu.

(TW: this post will mention rape and incest.)

I know, I know… “But if we let people misgender Chris, what’s stopping them from doing it to other trans people?”

Nothing.

There’s nothing you can do, unfortunately. The thing with trolls is they aren’t here to learn, they’re here to frustrate, annoy and anger you. They throw out all kinds of little hooks by saying offensive things, or things that trick you, and it’s all a game to them when somebody bites the bait.

It wouldn’t surprise me if trolls are saying horrible things about autism, too. That’s more my lane and partly why I don’t dig too deep in the tags about this situation. Again, I stress not engaging with that to correct trolls. They don’t care, they want to offend you.

As frustrating as it is, take note of the people who use Chris’ current pronouns and recognize that there are people who make an effort to get them right. I’m sure the trans people reading what you say will see that and know you care to gender them correctly.

It’s possible Chris transitioned believing she can get with lesbians. It’s entirely possible she’s exactly the stereotype that TERFs rant about and her shitty behavior might be used in the future to argue their views. TERFs will be TERFs. Some of Chris’ trolls may be trans themselves.

As it stands, Chris presents as a woman, so I’ll use she/her pronouns unless she decides to present as non-binary or a man again. You’re welcome to do the same when talking about her. Don’t waste your time trying to correct trolls, just use Chris’ current pronouns and leave it at that.

It sucks, but that’s how trolls troll.

Moving on…

I wonder if Chris would’ve been a weird, harmless nobody if Mimms never took her photo in The Game Place.

This all started because her photo was taken without her knowledge or consent and posted on a forum, which ended up spreading to the wider web and…yeah.

Would she have been an internet sensation? Would she have transitioned? Would she be a known name on the web?

Maybe everything would’ve gone down the same, but without an audience to bear witness.

Regardless, Chris is a trainwreck of a person. I don’t say that lightly. She didn’t deserve the trolling and abuse she got, yet she isn’t innocent in this either.

I felt sorry for her at first because I’m autistic too and was bullied severely in high school, some of it included physical assault and attempted murder. I reacted to the constant name calling and mockery irl a lot like Chris reacted to her online trolls. I’m thankful that my most volatile years happened before I had internet access. I’m two years older than Chris. I had my own drama with trolls that lasted a few years, but I grew up a bit more.

But I digress…

Chris didn’t get the internet safety talk that I got before getting let loose online, and people took advantage of her gullibility, her autism, whatever mental illnesses she might have and her obsession with getting laid. She ignored warnings to the contrary and in some instances her mom enabled her while her dad tried (and failed) to reign her in.

At the same time, Chris has a history of being racist, ableist, homophobic and misogynistic. She ignores people’s boundaries even when they were clearly stated. She’s entitled and thinks everything bad is a conspiracy against her. She acts like the world operates on cartoon rules and can’t handle it when situations don’t turn out in her favor like she believes they should. It’s a strange view of “Anything I do is good because I did it, and anybody who tells me it’s bad or treats me badly is evil or a troll.”

How she comes across to others and how she thinks she comes across are incongruent with each other, and she refuses to take any correction. An example is the claw hand she used to do while railing at trolls. It’s clear she’s imitating stuff she saw in cartoons, but doesn’t grasp that it looks silly in real life. It leaves me wondering if she ever watched her videos back to see how she really looks before uploading them.

Chris did a lot of disgusting things of her own volition, like not leaving people alone, uploading that sexual drawing featuring Megan, using pepper spray without provocation and trying to hit someone with her car.

Trolls tricked her into humiliating herself and shared the results, like hacking into her email, sharing chats where she gave out embarrassing details about herself, prank calling her house and posting the infamous blowup doll video.

If you know “Christory”, you know what I’m talking about.

If you don’t know, it’s something that’s gone on longer than some people have been alive.

No side is innocent here. I don’t blame Chris for attracting trolls, they chose to go and harass her because she jumped when they poked her.

I’ve followed Chris’ story off and on since 2008, back when she was making her Sonichu comics and being awkward. I never participated in trolling her. I’ve only ever seen the aftermath of troll operations, but the things she endured were cruel. (The Miyamoto saga and the BlueSpike saga come to mind.) I looked her up to see if she was alive and okay. I sent her my AFBV message a couple years ago, but never got a response.

I wonder if this could’ve been avoided if Chris never got trolled and was supervised better while online. That’s where her parents failed her. I felt bad for her; she didn’t know how to conduct herself and kept falling for trolling schemes because she was so desperate to get a girlfriend. It’s like she ignored that little gut warning that says “hey, this feels like a trick” and it was like watching someone fall down the same hillside over and over.

But after what she did to her mom, I lost any sympathy I had for her. Yes, trolls have traumatized her and messed with her head for over a decade and that’s gross, but what she did to her mom was unconscionable. It’s indefensible. It’s morally abhorrent.

She had sex with (or possibly raped via coercion) her elderly mom, who may have dementia.

Chris’ autism was taken advantage of for years, and now she might’ve taken advantage of her mom’s dementia to harm her for the past month.

Think about that. There is no defending that. She finally did something she can’t just wave away or pay her way out of.

Trolls didn’t put Chris up to that, she did it all by herself.

Now she’s under arrest.

Time and again Chris has had run-ins with the law and got away with slaps on the wrist, but I don’t think she’s going to walk away from this so easily.

I hope this situation finally gets Chris the help she desperately needs. I don’t know if her dimensional merge stuff is a delusion from undiagnosed and untreated mental illness or if it’s a paracosm she’s chosen to live in and act out because she can’t handle how cruel the real world is. Please note that I don’t say mental illness lightly either, because I’m aware of the stigma.

At this point I think she needs a caregiver who will supervise her online activities and help her manage her finances. (She will likely resist this…)

Chris’ autism and whatever else she has going on appears to make it very difficult for her to see things from any perspective besides her own. I’m autistic too, so I understand this— sometimes I get this way and have to walk myself back to see other perspectives, or I ask people to give me their side of it to help me understand how they see it even if I don’t agree with their view.

Chris needed more guidance and reality checks growing up, but didn’t get them, and now she needs both more than ever as she faces the results of her behavior. If she is delusional, she needs help to navigate it and I hope she can do that away from trolls. She needs to face consequences for (possibly) raping someone.

I wonder what the legal system will do with her, and I hate that her life has come to this. It was so avoidable. 😞

Sorry, Chris…I hope you’ll get help now, and I hope Barb is okay.

[auspicious-lilana]

Two Cats, One Heart (Chat Noir x reader)

Summary: Y/n Ross and Adrian Agreste are childhood best friends, they’ve been through thick and thin, including losing their mom, and dad. Since then Y/n’s mom made her live with Adrian at his mansion and forever leaving her life. Watch as their lives Change as they become the new heroes of Paris alongside Ladybug and see how Romance sprouts between the two models.

Part 1 |  Part 2 |  Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7  | Part 8

Warnings:  It’s a bit long hehe? 

"And now I'm pretty sure Chat doesn't like me the same way I like him." I finished explaining everything to him.

Adrian and I were sitting on my couch, Alpha in the coffee table in front of us munching away his brownies.

"What makes you think that?" Adrian asked.

"For one, besides the usual flirt banters, He didn't show anything that could give me a hint that he likes me back."

"I think he does like you."

"How do you know?" Adrian seemed a bit stuck, looking around for an answer.

"Since you've been pretty honest with your secret, I guess I can't keep mine without feeling guilty." Adrian sighed.

"What secret?" I got more confused as he took out a piece of cheese. "Wait, is that what you kept reeking of?"

"Yes, It's the only thing he eats, every single time." I got more confused.

"Who's he?"

"How much longer are you going to play dumb?" Alpha asked while chewing as I cringed. "He means his kawami, Plagg."

"First of all, Don't talk while you eat. I thought I told you that a hundred times Alpha." I scolded before turning to Adrian before it dawned on me as I saw a little black cat attached to the cheese in his hand. "If you have a kawami then it'd mean you're..."

"Yes," Adrian nodded. "I'm Chat Noir." I felt myself blushing, realizing I had just rambled about my crush on Chat Noir...to Chat Noir!?

"You...I...Wait, that explains why you're always going near my locations to change back." I remembered. "Who knew,"

"I thought you were planning to try and sneak a peek at my identity." Adrian chuckled. "But you were just trying to get home too."

"So...When you said Chat Noir likes me back..." I looked to my side, trying to hide my blush.

"Yes, I meant I liked you too, a lot."

"Hey, Plagg. I got a little spot I hide whenever these two get all lovey-dovey, wanna eat there?" Alpha offered, noticing Plagg's disgust.

"Don't have to ask me twice." The two kawami's made their way out as Adrian and I rolled our eyes.

"What happens now?" I asked.

"Well, this is normally the part where we umm, we...kiss." We inched closer to each other as he grabbed my arm to lead me closer to his face, I looked to admire his features, fluttering my eyes shut as we touched lips.

"This counts as us now Girlfriend and Boyfriend, right?" I whispered.

"Of course."

***

"Agent Smith, It's too dangerous! We must evacuate!" Adrian exclaimed as he and Mylène were crouching behind the teacher's desk, water guns in hand.

Our class was filming a movie for a project and Adrian and Mylène were the voted leads. I was going to be the lead girl but I wanted to work behind the scenes, so I play the role of the Assistant Director, while also Mylène's understudy if anything were to happen.

"You're suggesting we run, Officer Jones?" Mylène asked with a determined look. "After it devoured my family, my friends, and even my beloved dog, Sniffles?" She dramatically stood up. "Never! I won't run! I no longer fear it, I'm going to face it, then I'll-" Ivan loomed over as scripted with a monster mask, roaring as best as he could as Mylène broke character and screamed in fear, hiding under the table as Adrian and I looked at her worried.

"Sorry, Mylène." Ivan apologized, taking the mask off.

"Mylène! That's like, the tenth take." Nino scolded, frustrated as he rubbed his forehead. "And we're only on the first scene!"

"Fourteenth actually." Alix corrected, holding up a count from her seat in the back. "But who's counting."

"Ughh..."

"I'm...sorry." Mylène apologized, getting out from under. "I'm gonna do better on the next take, I promise." Juleka was reapplying blush, fixing Adrian's look.

"Anyone want some tea?" Rose offered, holding a portable kettle.

"You're playing a hero from the special forces. You're not supposed to get all freaked out!" Nino lectured.

"I know, but...that monster mask he's wearing is so...realistic and scary!"

"Just big ol' me, Mylène." Ivan stuck his fingers through the eyes of the mask, show how harmless it was. "Nothing to be scared of."

"You ask me, he doesn't even need a mask," Chloé said, laughing with Sabrine as I frowned at her.

"Does it hurt you to be a little bit nicer, Chloé?" I asked.

"Ivan, put the mask back on, you're playing the monster!" Nino demanded. "And Mylène, we need you to stay in character!" Ivan put the mask back on, causing Mylène to get scared.

"I need to sing my happy song, it always makes me feel better." Mylène took a deep breath as she began singing to herself, slowly stepping back. "Smelly Wolf, Smelly wolf." I felt Alpha scoff from my pocket, muttering his offense at her song. "stinky breath and slimy--" She bumped into Adrian, suddenly jumping back, shrieking in fear.

"And the Oscar for the best pathetic scaredy-cat afraid of its own shadow goes to...Mylène!" Chloé laughed, making Mylène feel worse as Adrian looked at her, disappointed.

"Chloé, seriously?" Adrian asked.

"Yeah, so what?" Mylène ran out of the classroom, crying.

"Mylène!" Marinette shouted. "Anyone gonna go after her?" Ivan ran after Mylène, calling out her name as he took the mask off.

"Epic, Chloé! Just Epic!" Nino sarcastically exclaimed. "What are we supposed to do now without our leading actress?"

"Who needs her, anyway?" Chloé scoffed. "She was totally lame!"

"You're lame!" Ivan shouted, coming back in. "Mylène is crying her eyes out on the bathroom thanks to you!"

"Me, Lame?"

"Hey, Hey!" I came in. "Fighting over this isn't going to get this film done any quicker, We'll find a way to get this done by tonight!"

"As a producer, I'll make sure of it too!" Marinette agreed.

"The Deadline for the Parisian Student Short Film Festival is tomorrow evening, precisely 26 hours, 15 minutes and 14, 13 seconds from now." Max clarified.

"Thank you, Max." I smiled.

"And we still have editing, post-sound, soundtrack..." Marinette listed.

"And who's gonna take Mylène's part?" Adrian asked.

"Um, me of course!" Chloé got up from her seat.

"You haven't even read the script!" Alya argued.

"Of course I have! The first scene anyway, I can even tell you that it ends with a kiss between Agent Smith and Officer Jones!" Chloé batted her eyes at Adrian as he pleadingly looked over at me as I moved next to Nino.

"As Mylène's understudy, I'm the one who's supposed to take her place if anything were to happen. Remember?" I reminded Nino.

"Right." Nino nodded as Marinette screaming, looking at Alya.

"You wrote that?!" She shrieked.

"Hold up!" Alya exclaimed skimming through her script again. "I didn't write that!"

"Uh...I wrote that." Nino admitted. "It was just a little tweak. You know, to move the story forward."

"What! You edited my script without even telling me!" Alya gripped onto the collar of Nino's shirt. "That's low."

"Wait a minute! You mean our script!" Nino argued, removing her hands as Adrian and I sighed before Rose came up to us.

"Juice?" We gratefully took a cup.

"Thanks, Rose." Adrian thanked.

"Guys, it doesn't matter who did anything, we have a film to get done by tonight." I reasoned.

"she's right," Max said. "Principal Damocles is only allowing us to use the school until 6 p.m. sharp. Which leaves us 9 hours, 12 minutes, and 12 seconds. 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6..."

"Adrian and Y/n kissing cannot happen! No way!" Marinette hissed at Alya quietly, as so nobody could hear.

"It makes no sense story-wise anyway." Alya shrugged. "The main character's emotional journey-"

"Hold on!" Marinette ran over to Adrian. "We can't let Mylène just leave just like that! It's...wrong!  We all chose her to play the leading female role! And...we're all in this movie together! She needs our support. I'm gonna go find her and bring her back."

"Always trying to save the day, aren't you, Marinette?" Chloé mocked.

"Wait," I said, holding her arm. "I'll go, you're the producer, you're needed here." I left before she could say anything more, missing the satisfied look on her face.

{Third POV}

"Nice going, Miss Producer." Nino sarcastically remarked. "Now we have no lead again!"

"Yeah, but now we'll be able to go look for our real lead!" She argued, hiding her intentions of just wanting to keep Adrian kissing Y/n out of jealousy.

"I told you. Tick tock, there's no time! We need a lead now!"

"Marinette can do it!" Alya exclaimed as Adrian got uncomfortable at the thought of kissing a different girl.

"What?! No! I can't act. I'm... the producer." Marinette started furiously blushing.

"But you wanna kiss Adrien, don't you?" Alya whispered to her as Marinette glanced at Adrian who mentally hoped Y/n can get back in time.

{Y/n's POV}

"Mylène!" I called out as I entered the Bathroom. "Mylène?!" I looked to see nobody was there, missing the monster feet in one of the stalls as I noticed the mirror was covered in some sort of slime.

"Wow," Alpha gasped, peeking out from my pocket to take a look. "I knew you girls were disgusting in terms of love, but I didn't think you guys were that disgust- hey!" I glared at the little wolf, shoving him back in my pocket with a finger.

"She isn't here." I noticed, "Didn't Ivan said she'd be in the bathroom? This is the only girl's bathroom in this half of the school, she should be here."

"I think that slime might have something to do with this."

"I can't find her on my own, I'll have to get the others to help look for her. I have a feeling crying wasn't the only thing she was doing in here."

"Wow, the best idea ever!" Alpha sarcastically praised. "Not like it was the only choice you had!" I shoved him back down my pocket as I had an eerie feeling as I ran back to the classroom.

"Guys!" I shouted, seeming to have boast through the door right before Marinette could kiss Adrian, who was trying to prolong the kiss as long as he could, relieved at my interruption as Nino shouted Cut. "Mylène isn't in the bathroom, we need to find her. I think something might be going on- wait, Where's Max and Kim?" Right as I asked, we heard two screams. "Did you all hear that?"

"Loud and clear." Adrian nodded.

"We better scope this out," Marinette said as everyone ran to the source of the scream.

"A fruity snack for the road?" Rose offered.

Nino began recording them, following me as I noticed something on the floor.

"Hey! Anybody here?" Adrian shouted. "Kim! Max! Where are you guys?!"

"Wait, I felt like I saw the same pink goo...the bathroom!" It finally clicked as Adrian came up to me, picking up the armband covered in goo.

"That's Kim's!" He exclaimed.

"They vanished!" Nathaniel began panicking.

"Or they're playing a sick joke on us." Alya scoffed.

"We should go to Principal Damocles's office and tell him what's going on!" Marinette declared, She then noticed Nino was filming everything. "Nino, come on! Stop Filming!"

"Not a chance! This is just getting good!" I took the chance to slip away from the class quietly.

{Third POV}

Adrian had tried to slip away with Y/n but soon got caught by his best friend.

"Yo, Adrian!" Nino called out.

"I left Officer Jone's jacket back there!" He quickly came with an excuse. "Should probably wear it in all the scenes." Nino nodded as the rest of the students went upstairs, Adrian already running back into the empty classroom which Y/n had already snuck into the other way.

Neither noticing the Horrificator Akuma, a slimy monster start gooing the entire school roof, doors, and windows to keep them shut-in.

"This is the first time transforming with another person in the room." Y/n admitted, feeling a bit nervous and awkward for some reason.

"Then we better get used to it." Adrian winked.

"Hey, your Chat side is already showing!" Y/n pointed out as Alpha and Plagg came out from their pockets.

"Y/n, Darling." Alpha calmly called out. "I never ask you to hurry up and transform, it isn't me. but right now, I'm begging you to just transform. I can't stand this lovey scene." Y/n scoffed.

"So um," Adrian awkwardly shifted before he took off his right shoe. "Guess we should first make them think we've vanished."

"Good idea." Y/n nodded her head, reaching to take off her hairpin, throwing it to make it seem like she was struggling as it came off, Adrian doing the same after showing Plagg his shoe, making the small black cat cringe.

"You say I stink of Camembert," Plagg said.

"I mean, you both do." Y/n pointed out as Adrian gave her a look before sighing.

"Plagg, claws out!"

"Alpha, Tails out!"

***

The rest of the students were going into the Principal's office, looking inside to see pink goo around.

"Even Mr.Damocles isn't around," Rose said, worried as Marinette stood outside the door, making sure nobody was looking back before she took out her phone, dropping it on the floor as she ran into the library.

"Time to transform." She quickly said to her little kawami, Tikki. "Tikki, Spots on!"

***

"Anyone seen Agent Smith- I mean Y/n?" Nino asked. "And Marinette too?" They ran out of the office, Alya stopped to see her phone on the floor.

"Oh no," Alya gasped. "This is Marinette's phone."

They soon walked around the entire school, checking the ceiling, windows, doors, to see a pink goo covering them shut.

"We're trapped!" Chloé exclaimed before taking out her phone. "I'm going to call Daddy!"

"Dudes, you know cellphones never work in horror movies." Nino reminded, still filming everything.

"No bars..." Ivan said, checking his phone.

"No coverage!" Nathaniel sadly said along.

"Told you so!" Nino got excited. "Boo-yah!"

"Is everything okay?" Ladybug asked, appearing at the door.

"Ladybug in my movie? This is legit!"

"And on my Ladyblog!" Alya started filming too.

"We've got to calmly evacuate the building, okay everyone?" Ladybug ordered. "

"Easier said than done, Ladybug," Chat said as he and Lady Wolf came jumping down, landing next to Ladybug.

"The place is covered in pink goo, nothing can come in or out." Lady Wolf added.

"Triple Legit!" Nino exclaimed.

"Lady Wolf in the flesh!" Maya grinned, taking her phone out. "This I can't miss, my viewers are gonna eat this up."

"We tried to cut through the goo, but it's no good." Chat Noir explained. "Totally indestructible. So looks like we're trapped inside the school for now. Just stay put and try to relax, guys."

{Y/n's POV}

"Let's talk for a bit," I suggested as Chat and I led Ladybug to the corner of the office, out of the student's sound range.

"We know that Hawkmoth's taken another innocent victim somewhere in this school." Chat said.

"And there's only one way to get rid of the goo and get everyone out of here," Ladybug added.

"And that's to capture the Akuma like always,"

"Exactly." Chat flirtatiously grinned at me. "I love it when you read my mind."

"Ugh," Ladybug playfully groaned, already used to the usual flirty banters of her partners. "But we better find this thing first, and it's prisoners." Before they could say another word, they soon had Nino right behind them, filming them.

"Don't mind me." Nino quickly said. "finding the missing peeps and solving this crazy mystery with Chat Noir, Ladybug, and Lady Wolf...This movie's gonna be so swank!"

"Stay together, right behind us." Ladybug said, walking away before grabbing Nino's arm, pulling him towards her. "Means you too, Spielberg."

***

We were following the trail of pink goo, not noticing Sabrina and Chloé leave their group, running off to hide elsewhere.

We entered the classroom Adrian and I had transformed in, Ladybug noticing Adrian's shoe and my hairpin.

"There!" She exclaimed, picking it up.

"Anyone recognize this shoe and pin?" Chat asked, playing dumb.

"That's Adrian's shoe," Nino exclaimed.

"And that's Y/n's pin, she never goes anywhere without it!" Maya pitched in.

"That's weird." Ladybug said. "There's no pink slime here."

"Yes, there is." Nathaniel pointed out the slime on the desk, kneeling before he got grabbed by a slimy tentacle.

The other students started to step in fear as Nathaniel started panicking. Juleka being the only one who was more awed by the slimy monster than scared.

"Everybody run!" Ladybug shouted as they all ran out of the room, Nino remaining by Chat's side to record and Juleka staying put near the door, admiring the monster which grew larger.

"Awesome." Juleka grinned, the monster roared at Juleka as she seemed a bit taken back before grinning. "So Awesome." I noticed the height difference, it's power. He shrunk when Jeluka wasn't scared?

It spits goo at Juleka but I quickly grabbed her arm and took her out of the classroom before it could touch her.

"Eww!" Chat exclaimed. "What's your name, Drool-lator?" The monster spits goo at him but he spins his staff to avoid any touching him before swinging his staff to remove the slime. "Cats aren't afraid of slimy toads like you."

"We better hurry and find our where that Akuma is hiding!" I exclaimed.

"I don't see anything," Chat exclaimed as they dodged a slime, jumping down the stairs as the students hid in the corner, watching them. "Just miles of slime!" The monster looked at the fear in the kids, growing in size, confirming my suspicions thoughts.

"Fear!" I suddenly shouted, catching Ladybug and Chat's attention. "It grows from fear!" Ladybug ducked tying a yoyo around its leg to a pole as Chat tried to land a hit before he got slimed into the wall, I gasped, going in from behind before getting caught to the wall as well.

The monster then grabbed the yoyo string, pulling in Ladybug before sliming her onto the basketball hoop.

The monster turned and grew as everyone screamed, it approached the class, recognizing Ivan, affectionately licking, grabbing Nathanial (who was released during the fight) and Alix, jumping away.

"Oh no! It took Nath and Alix!" Rose exclaimed. (A/n: No way! what a shock! Not like we just witnessed it happening.)

They soon managed to get out the slime, running to a door to see it was slimed shut.

"Did you see how it only left Ivan alone?" Ladybug mentioned.

"Yeah," Chat agreed. "What's that all about?" I thought about it before remembering what happened earlier, the goo in the bathroom, Mylène's long disappearance.

"The monster has to be Mylène!" I exclaimed. "She was the first to disappear...from what I heard..." I quickly covered up.

"Where are Sabrina and Chloé?" Alya asked, running up to the teen heroes with the small group of students behind her, Nino still recording.

"We'll find them, don't worry." Ladybug reassured. "If we can find a way out of here..." They soon heard Chloé's screams and ran up the stairs, pushing through the doors as something seemed to have been blocking the front of, they looked around to see nothing but a trail of slime.

"We're too late!" Chat exclaimed.

"But look!" I said, pointing to the trail. "We can still follow it!" I lead the group as we were led to a dark workshop.

"I'm so amped!" Nino exclaimed, recording as I was about to open the door before we turned to Nino with a frown.

"Turn your amp down to about 4, will ya?" Chat asked.

"My bad...." Nino sheepishly chuckled as we stood on our guard, slowly opening the door, walking into the cellar, looking at the large blobs of slime.

"Anybody in here?" Ladybug asked, her voice ringing in the room.

"Ladybug, it's me, Chloé Bourgeois!" Chloé cried out.

"Don't worry! We'll get you out!"

"Well, hurry it up!"

"Is everybody here?!" Ladybug, Chat, and I went around, trying to get a count of everyone. "Mr.Damocles."

"Present!"

"Alix?"

"Yeah!"

"Nathanial?"

"Here!"

"Adrian?!" Ladybug started to panic at the silence as Chat froze, "ADRAIN?!" Chat quickly hid behind a goo pod.

"Yeah, Yeah, I'm fine!" He exclaimed. "What about uh Y/n?" I glared at Chat for mentioning my name for everything.

"Y/n?" Ladybug repeated, I hid behind a corner.

"Oh um! I'm here too!" I quickly shouted. "How about Marinette?"

"Yeah! Yeah! We got everyone!" Ladybug exclaimed, tugging on the Goo Pods. "Ugh! they won't budge!"

"Get us out!"

"I can't stay here!"

"Help!"

"Everyone! Try to calm down!" I shouted before a giant slime went past us, covering the door we came in from, the monster jumping down in front of us.

"Okay, now this is getting scary." Ladybug admitted.

Chat distracted it throwing pieces of the goo at it as it tried to attack him, giving Ladybug time to use her powers.

"Lucky Charm!" Guitar strings dropped to her hands. "Guitar strings? Are you kidding me?"

"How would...Mylene's song...." I exclaimed. "Ever heard of Smelly wolf?" I asked Ladybug as she nodded, catching on. While Ladybug used her vision to gather the things needed to make temporary instruments, Chat used his powers to the bars rusted and trap the monster in its place.

"Okay, we're all going to sing!" Ladybug announced, strumming her fingers to the strings attached to a broom and bucket.

"Sing?" Chat asked, jumping down to us. "That's your plan?"

"The only way to get through this to get your fear under control. You all know Smelly Wolf, don't you?"

"Seriously? Smelly Wolf?"

"Care to join us?" I asked, blowing into a pipe to warm up a tune. Chat grinned, making a drum set out of pots and trashcan lids.

They began singing to the monster, their fears slowly going away as the monster shrunk shorter and shorter before it turned cute bite-size, no longer terrifying.

They all walked up to it as it looked up at the students, jumping into Ivan's arms.

"That's the same button I gave to Mylène!" Ivan gasped.

"That's where the Akuma is!" Ladybug exclaimed, taking the pin as she did her thing, breaking the pin. " No more evil-doing for you, little Akuma. Time to de-evilize!" She let it go as it turned into a pretty white butterfly. "Bye-bye, little butterfly." She threw the strings to the air. "Miraculous Ladybug!"

The energy from her power goes around, getting rid of the slime and shifting everything back to normal as the monster turned back into Mylène.

"Pound it!" the three of us exclaimed, fist-bumping before deadpanning as Nino, who surprisingly still was recording came up to us.

"Awesome." He muttered.

***

The movie playing ended with Mylène and Ivan kiss as Nino wore a confident grin, sure he had it in the bag.

"Well, Mr. Mayor. What do you think?"

*** {Third POV} ***

"We didn't make the cut!" Nino complained to the rest. "He said the monster was a horrible replica! Completely unbelievable! No joke!"

"Don't worry, Bud." Adrian placed the hand he wasn't holding Y/n's hand on his shoulder. "This is how all good movie directors start out."

"Learn from mistakes right?" I pitched in.

"Yeah, even if that final wasn't quite what we thought it would be." Alya said, giving Marinette a side glance, the girl was too distracted at looking horrifedly at the intertwined hands of the two models.

"H-hey, anything going on between you two?" Marinette nervously laughed.

"Yeah." Alya thought about the day. "You two have been awfully closer lately."

"We're uh.. Dating?" Adrian got flustered, looking away with a shy smile, neither noticing the heartbroken look on Marinette

"No. Way. Since when?!"

"Around a week ago?" Y/n thought about it.

"I have to go." Marinette ran off, Alya following after.

"I wonder where they're going in a rush?"

"Who knows." Nino shrugged. "But dude, why didn't you tell me? I thought were best buds?"

"It didn't come up."

"What got you to suddenly into each other?" the two looked at each other, chuckling.

"It's a long story,"

Leave some feedback! Have a nice night!/Day/Evening! 

[felidaefighter]

Our Metaphorical Get-Along Sweater

In which Wilbur thinks of Ranboo as an arch-nemesis while Ranboo is just There Vibing and also, Phil has adopted Ranboo, making for two very different siblings and a very interesting relationship 

[Fluff, comedy, fix-it fic, some light angst that is immediately softened, work in progress; every chapter will swap POV]

Chapter Two: A Second Chance From The Second Son

     For Ranboo, coming home empty-handed was always the worst part about his trips, second only to not seeing Michael for a while. So, before even stopping at home to unload, the moment he got back to familiar lands he headed to Snowchester, spending the entire afternoon with his son and only heading back to his own house as the sun was beginning to set. In truth, he had been grateful for the accidental timing regarding his trip. It allowed him time to think. Although he and Phil had discussed Wilbur before, he hadn’t been alive during that, and Ranboo honestly felt a prick of guilt at how he knew that might’ve changed things-- he highly doubted Phil would’ve adopted him had Wilbur still been alive, after all.

     It definitely didn’t help, either, the way Tommy had spoken about Wilbur-- though Ranboo had known Ghostbur, and knew that in some ways they were likely similar, they weren’t the same-- it made him wary of Wilbur; not just for himself, but for Tommy and Tubbo’s sake as well. Still, he believed in second chances, and a second chance at life was something pretty rare. He wanted to be optimistic. And although Phil was going to be biased, because Wilbur was his son-- his son that he had raised from birth, especially-- Ranboo trusted Phil’s judgement on people more than nearly anyone else save for his husband. He wanted to get to know the man. Not the man he used to be, not the man he was, but the man he is now.

     After putting away the small amount of trinkets and excess materials Ranboo had picked up on his adventure, he checked his memory book to see if it had anything to offer in terms of what his next step was. Oh, right! He’d wanted to give Wilbur a proper tour of what had changed; Tommy had succeeded in showing him around, after all, but if Ranboo knew Tommy (and he did, very well), there was no way Tommy had actually given a good explanation of the events behind the changes to the man. Now he just had to offer. He just… had to do it. Yeah. Noting that the sun had only just set, it was reasonable to assume that Wilbur and Phil were still awake. Very very awkwardly for someone who had every right to be there given his adoption, Ranboo knocked on the door to Phil’s house.

     Phil let him in with an easy smile. “Ranboo, mate, you don’t have to knock y’know.” It kind of felt strange not to though? Considering the recent change in situation. “Yeah, but with Wilbur here, I don’t wanna interrupt anything, y’know?” He asked Phil with an awkward laugh. “You’re just as much part of the family as he is,” Phil assured, and Ranboo felt himself untense a little. “Welcome back from your adventure, by the way! Were you successful?” Phil asked, realizing he hadn’t yet. “I don’t wanna talk about it,” Ranboo moaned miserably, and Phil laughed. “Not well then! Got it.” Ranboo shook his head. “Everything else I can find no problem! Like, come on, man, this one isn’t even for me.” The two stood in a pleasant moment together.

     Right. The reason he was here. He had to get it over with one way or the other. “Hey Phil, I was wondering actually, is Wilbur around…?” He asked before he could convince himself not to. Phil looked at him quizzically. “Yeah, he’s upstairs. Wil!” Phil called, and Wilbur immediately stuck his torso out the ladder hole, looking like he very much would rather be elsewheres. “Ranboo wanted to speak to you,” Phil explained, and Wilbur disappeared for a moment before climbing down the ladder properly. “Okay, I’m here, I see you. What’s up?” Wilbur asked, and although he looked like he’d been interrupted genuine curiosity colored his words. Admittedly, it was a little intimidating to have Wilbur’s attention. Ranboo had just… heard so much about him.

     “Oh, well uh… you got a tour of what had changed from Tommy, right?” He started. Wilbur tilted his head. “Yeah, you could call it that.” Ranboo nodded; he’d expected something like that. “Well, I was wondering-- if you’re free tomorrow, would you like a proper tour? I know Tommy is horrible at being straightforward and explaining things like that, so it might be nice to have an actual explanation right?” Ranboo asked. There it was, the big, awkward sibling bonding question. Huoagh. Ranboo turned to Phil. “No offense, Phil, but you and Techno don’t really…” Ranboo trailed off, but he didn’t need to finish his sentence. Phil shook his head. “None taken, you’re right. Aw that sounds nice eh Wil? It’d be good to get you all caught up.” Wilbur looked a bit taken aback, but not unpleasantly so. That was good! That seemed like a good thing.

     “You know what? Sure, Ranboo. I’m down to try that.” Ranboo grinned in excitement. “Awesome! Okay, tomorrow, I’ll give you the grand tour.” Wilbur nodded, continuing. “I’ll admit Tommy left some holes in his stories-- almost as big as the one I apparently left in L’Manberg,” Wilbur added with dark chuckle. Ooohhh okay that didn’t seem like the greatest sign but dark humor wasn’t necessarily indicative of anything bad-- though it did, admittedly, make Ranboo feel a little wary. Caution would probably be best when handling everything. But that was okay! Ranboo was a cautious guy. He felt confident in his ability to, well, be cautious. “Yeahhh that’ll happen with Tommy,” Phil said to Wilbur in agreement, and Ranboo nodded in turn. The three chatted idly for a short bit, and then Ranboo left for the night, ready to sleep in his own bed after a week of travel, with the plans for tomorrow secured.

------

     Ranboo woke up and did his morning routine, bracing himself for the plans he’d made for the day. In truth, he wasn’t really sure what to make of Wilbur still. He’d had an entire week to think about it, but it just seemed so complicated. He’d heard good things from Phil and terrible things from Tommy, about the man who had created a nation and also was now his older brother. It would be good to get to know him, though, Ranboo reasoned-- so the tour was a good idea. Ranboo found Wilbur tinkering with some things in Phil’s house, having very clearly been awake for quite some time. “You’ve been up a while,” Ranboo said, and Wilbur looked about to scowl at the intrusion before settling himself into a more neutral expression and nodding. “The sunrise; It’s beautiful,” he explained-- and suddenly Ranboo felt as if Wilbur might be okay after all. They headed off in relative silence aside from a passing remark from Wilbur about the magma cubes that consistently jumped to their deaths; the only thing of note about the nether was the vaguely safer renovation of the community portal.

     “The community house looks different,” Wilbur commented, and Ranboo grimaced. “Oohhh yeah. It got blown up. Dream--” At least, as far as anyone knew it was Dream-- “Blew it up and framed Tommy for it while he was in exile. He used it as an excuse to blow up L’Manberg. With uh, Phil and Techno’s help actually, but y’know.” An unreadable expression crossed over Wilbur’s face, and he nodded. “Dream’s a tricky bastard, that doesn’t surprise me. I do remember Tommy’s exile, now, by the way, it--” Rage flashed across Wilbur’s face, almost too quickly for Ranboo to take note, but not quite quick enough-- before he took a breath and looked calm again. “It was rough,” He surmised instead. Ranboo nodded. That had been a horrible time. He’d tried writing letters, but, well. Ranboo decided to focus on the tour before the queasy feeling in his gut grew too big.

     “Over therrrre is Kinoko Kingdom or whatever it’s called-- Sapnap and Karl live there I think? Also George maybe but that guy is always asleep so honestly who knows,” Ranboo said, gesturing to their right/the East. Wilbur looked like he was calculating something. “So there are new nations here after all?” Ranboo shrugged. “I mean I wouldn’t really call it a nation-- I don’t think there’s a government so much as a lot of buildings that nobody even lives in honestly.” Wilbur just frowned at that, despite it being true. Ranboo was beginning to think that maybe it’d be a lot harder to get on his good side than he’d initially hoped.

     Ranboo walked out the other side of the community house and Wilbur trailed behind idly, long-legged stride making up for his casual pace. His dark eyes flitted about, searching for things the passage of time had and hadn’t touched. “The prime path is pretty much the same,” Ranboo said, desperately hoping the shift away from nation-talk would lighten Wilbur’s mood. “Oh! On the right there is Captain Puffy’s therapy office. I’ve heard about it from--” Actually, that was none of Wilbur’s business, no offense to him. “--From somewhere. That’s why it says ‘therapuffy’ on the sign.” Personally, Ranboo was very pleased with that pun. Puffy had done a good job with it. And Wilbur-- Wilbur actually quirked an eyebrow. “She’s started a therapy office, has she?” He mused, and Ranboo hummed in affirmation. “I s’ppose that’s useful. I’m sure a lot of people around here need it.”

     “Apparently there’s a discreet box you can drop a note into to make an appointment,” Ranboo said, which was about as close as he was going to get to saying his real thoughts which were more along the lines of oh my god PLEASE get therapy you of all people need it especially considering you made your dad help you kill yourself and have been dead and gone for years in what you essentially described as hell. “That’s cool,” Wilbur said, and Ranboo nearly wilted a little, but he did take a small victory in the lingering glance that he noticed Wilbur left it towards it. Ranboo allowed himself to hope just a teensy bit that maybe Wilbur would visit again after the tour with nobody else around.

     “On the left here is Niki and Puffy’s flowershop and bakery, and Fundy and I’s icecream shop we made to compete with them. Ours is just a little bit taller,” Ranboo added smugly. “They’re both kind of abandoned though, because--” Oh, that was not a good look on Wilbur’s face. It passed almost immediately, which was almost even more concerning. “Go on, Ranboo, what were you saying?” Wilbur prompted softly, and Ranboo hesitated but it was clear he wasn’t going to get anything out of that look. It was also, frankly, not something he was willing to unpack with the older man. “They’re both kind of abandoned, because I haven’t seen Fundy in a long while and I think Niki and Puffy kind of drifted apart? They were dating at one point I think,” He rambled, and relaxed a bit as Wilbur smirked, easily caught up in gossip and drama.

     They passed by Church Prime-- Wilbur declining to go in for personal reasons-- Punz’s house, the karaoke stage, and the weird, pale-checked building, which had all been there since long before Ranboo’s time and thus didn’t earn anything more than a passing, melodramatic comment from Wilbur about familiarity and stagnation and how sometimes even the land couldn’t change. Ranboo didn’t really think that was a fair assessment, though. Basalt columns supported chunks of Punz’s house that bore visible fire damage. Nearly every time he’d passed by the checked building the inside had been renovated. He was pretty sure even the karaoke stage had been patched up a few times. But to be honest, being around Wilbur was awkward. Even the idea that he knew things that Wilbur didn’t didn’t seem quite right, since Wilbur had been there first-- with both L’Manberg and being Phil’s son-- even if he’d missed some time. So for now, Ranboo would just stick to the facts.

     “That’s a Christmas building,” Wilbur said, aghast, pulling Ranboo out of his thoughts. “Hm? Oh! Yeah, that’s-- I think somebody lives there but I’m not sure actually. It’s definitely--” Ranboo made a noise, and Wilbur nodded his head at the noise. “Yeah. See, that’s something you and I can agree upon, Ranboo.” Wilbur then swivelled his head around and did a double-take. “Is that gay Target? ...Didn’t that used to be a walmart?” They passed the Targay, beginning the steep climb up the mountain, and Ranboo nodded, bemused. “It’s Targay, I think. Puffy renovated the walmart. It’s kinda been ‘opening soon’ since before I even got here though so I think it’s effectively abandoned. Tommy and I were talking about that the other day, actually.”

     Speaking of, they reached the top of the mountain and Tommy’s plot of land-- “Tommy’s shit-fucking-shack is the same,” Wilbur said dryly, fake disgust in his voice betrayed by the fondness on his face. And there it was-- proof. Not for anybody other than Ranboo himself, of course, but it was there. Wilbur did care about something. Or someone, at least. Someone that Ranboo cared about, too. That was enough to get Ranboo’s confidence in his plan back up a bit. Good, actually. He liked being optimistic. Preferred it without a doubt to anxiety spirals and the idea that everything was doomed. “Pretty much,” Ranboo admitted, “But there’s a bunch of flowers and stuff around that were planted when-- when he was gone for a bit. He took down everything else. I guess he likes it looking like a hole in the hill.” Wilbur rolled his eyes.

     “Do you want to see the hotel and the prison and Snowchester next, or would you like to visit L’Manberg?” Ranboo asked, hoping Wilbur wouldn’t realize the near-slip-up had been alluding to Tommy’s death. The mischievous, conniving look in Wilbur’s eyes clouded, and the man looked thoughtful. Ranboo waited anxiously, fiddling with his hands. “Let’s go visit L’Manberg,” He said, taking the lead, and Ranboo followed behind. The man’s strides were purposeful, and though Ranboo did think that Wilbur could change, something about the way he was moving hinted at… lingering ideologies about the former nation. Also, Ranboo was internally pouting a bit about Wilbur taking charge now. It was meant to be his tour.

     “I haven’t seen L’Manberg since I blew it all to kingdom come,” Wilbur remarked, Ranboo trailing nervously behind him. Confusion temporarily overrode his nerves, and Ranoo tilted his head. “Are you su-- really? I thought you said you remembered stuff that happened when you were-- Ghostbur?” Wilbur downright scowled at the mention of Ghostbur, and waved off the mention like he was shooing away a pesky fly. “I don’t see what Ghostbur has to do with that,” Wilbur huffed, and Ranboo was silent for a moment. Maybe-- hm, that would be interesting wouldn’t it? Because Ghostbur couldn’t remember the bad things, and the only example Wilbur had given of remembering Ghostbur’s memories was how awful exile had been for Tommy.

     Ranboo was so focused on theorizing and figuring out how he might propose said theory to Wilbur that he nearly careened right into the man, who had stopped dead right at the end of the prime path. Luckily, he saved himself the dignity and Wilbur his dramatic moment right at the last second. If Wilbur noticed, he didn’t comment on it. He was staring out over the massive crater. “Wow,” Wilbur breathed mournfully, “I really did do a number on this place, huh.” He stepped off the prime path, minding the pockets where fire and explosives had scarred the earth. Ranboo watched him walk across the glass-- eerily, like a ghost taking long-forgotten trails, the transparent glass helping the illusion. Except, no, Wilbur was alive, and more importantly--

     “You didn’t, actually,” Ranboo said bluntly, and Wilbur snapped out of whatever daze he had been in, the illusion shattered as the contradictory statement made him virulent and very much alive. “What?” Ranboo admittedly reeled a little at the tone, but come on. He didn’t. “You didn’t,” Ranboo reiterated; “Techno, Phil, and Dream were the ones to blow it to bedrock. Your explosion didn’t get anywhere close. And the reason I know that is because it flooded afterwards, but it didn’t even flood that deep. It’s why L’Manberg-- the one I knew at least-- was rebuilt on stilts,” Ranboo explained, carefully watching the expression on Wilbur’s face. The disdain on Wilbur’s face was slowly blotted out by confusion.

     “What do you mean rebuilt on stilts?” Wilbur asked, and it was definitely visible on Ranboo’s face when it clicked for him that his theory had been correct. Wilbur didn’t actually remember Ghostbur’s memories-- not all of them, at least. He only thought he did because he, well, couldn’t remember the rest. Ranboo knew the feeling. “And what does that look mean?” Wilbur scoffed. “Well, you--” Ranboo felt his face get hot, the center of attention and eyes being on him never really the best for his enderman instincts. Ranboo opted instead to glance down at the bedrock, visible through the glass. “After-- after you died. L’Manberg was rebuilt. Tubbo said the land was still good, so when it started flooding they built it up on stilts and platforms. It was mainly Ghostbur that did the rebuilding, actually!” With the last fact, Ranboo glanced back up at Wilbur, who was just staring, trying to process what he’d just heard.

     “So, you’re saying… I didn’t have a big impact on this place.” Wilbur prompted. Ranboo just sighed. “Well, you did. It just wasn’t all one thing, y’know? I know Tubbo-- I know Tubbo liked having L’Manberg around and so did Tommy. They were devastated when, well--” Ranboo gestured to the visible bedrock deep, deep below them-- “That happened. And Ghostbur rebuilt it, he made it beautiful, with the lanterns.” Ranboo paused. “Phil told me a bit about the lanterns, actually.” Something indiscernible crossed over Wilbur’s face. Then he looked almost bitter-- then-- Wilbur sighed. “See, Ranboo, I appreciate your trying to ‘tell me I’m not a bad guy’ or whatever,” Wilbur said, emphasizing the quotations with a false, mocking tone, and gesturing dramatically, “But it doesn’t really matter. This is my legacy! This crater. Everyone knows I’m a bad person. That’s just fact.”

     “...I don’t think you’re a bad person,” Ranboo said quietly, wincing at how unconvincing that must sound even as genuine as he meant it. Wilbur scowled. “Why? Because Phil said?” Ranboo immediately countered, offended that Wilbur thought he couldn’t have his own opinions. “...No, not because Phil said. Because I don’t know you at all. We haven’t gotten a chance to meet. And I think that maybe you were a bad person, if you blew up L’Manberg, but I also think that you were going through some things that affected you and I think that people can change. Even if it’s only been a few years for us, it’s been thirteen years for you. You aren’t going to be the same person as before. And you deserve a second chance. Everyone does.”

     Wilbur was the one to turn away this time, and Ranboo politely pretended not to notice the way his eyes had become more reflective and puffy. He seemed like he had something he wanted to say, and Ranboo would’ve let him, really-- but instead he looked out over the glass at the bedrock and rubble and dead vines that hadn’t yet been reclaimed by nature. Wilbur took a deep breath, and Ranboo waited in nervous anticipation. “What do you mean it’s ‘only been a few years for you’, Ranboo?” Wilbur asked. Oh. That had not been-- but he did have a good point. That was probably some important information that Tommy had apparently also left out.

     “Tommy… didn’t tell you that either. Figures,” Ranboo muttered. “Okay so, when Tommy came back and said he’d been gone for months, it had only been two days, so…” Ranboo began, and Wilbur held up a hand, signalling him to pause for a moment. “Thank you for the tour, Ranboo,” Wilbur said, “But this has been a lot. Let’s walk and talk on this one, eh?” He sniffed, not in a cry-y way, in his usual talking way, (even if one would think it’d be in a cry-y way-- Ranboo tried to not let his thoughts wander too far, though), and said softly, “I’d like to go home.” It did catch Ranboo a little off-guard. There was still more to the tour! But… well, it did make sense, L’Manberg being what it was. Yeah. That seemed reasonable. “Alright, yeah,” Ranboo said, and the two found their way back to the prime path. “So since Tommy had been gone for two days but lived-- or unlived I guess?-- for months-- we figured time moves differently in the afterlife or whatever it is, right?” Ranboo explained the time differential to Wilbur as they walked, and the man was surprisingly free of snarky commentary the rest of the way home.

-----

     They had trudged through the snow in complete silence, leaving Ranboo to his swirling thoughts about how he felt about Wilbur being his brother. He was trying hard to not think about it actually. The mix of the family thoughts and the snow on the ground did remind him that they never went to Snowchester for the tour. Honestly? Ranboo was okay with that. He hated to admit it, but he did not trust Wilbur around Michael. Okay, in all fairness, he didn’t really trust anyone other than Tubbo around Michael. Call it paranoia, or maybe “an awareness of what the rest of the people in the realm were like”. It was hard enough dealing with having a sibling when he’d only just gained a parent-- Ranboo really didn’t need to deal with whatever thoughts might come with Wilbur technically being Michael’s uncle. He shuddered to himself, and Wilbur glanced over questioningly, but Ranboo muttered about the cold and the man seemed to buy it.

     Phil was waiting for them when they got home, and opened the door warmly to both of them. He shot Ranboo a questioning look when he didn’t immediately come inside, but Ranboo subtly shook his head-- Phil giving an almost unnoticeable tilt upwards of his head in acknowledgement. Talk later. “Sooo how’d it go?” Phil asked conversationally from the doorway, and Wilbur was startled out of his own thoughts. Luckily he didn’t catch the exchange they’d had. “Huh? Oh.” Wilbur turned to Ranboo thoughtfully. “The tour was lovely, thank you. You definitely did a better job than Tommy, at least. And cleared some things up for me.” Something about Wilbur, Ranboo had noticed, was always guarded. He guessed that’d be the paranoia. Or maybe old habits from being sneaky-- Phil had told some stories of when Wilbur was younger.

     “I’m glad,” Ranboo said sheepishly though, “I’m glad I could do that and, clear some things up for you, yeah. And it was nice getting to hear your stories about the things that had been there for a while, too,” Ranboo offered, an open invitation for reconciliation, even if he still wasn’t sure what he’d done that made him and Wilbur get off on such a strange foot. Wherever Wilbur’s thoughts had been drifting to, they quickly snapped back at Ranboo’s softer tone. “Yes,” Wilbur said curtly, “Thank you for the tour, see you around.” And he promptly slipped past Phil, who was muttering baffled protests, into his room upstairs.

     “What?” Phil squawked out as the door shut, and then turned to Ranboo. “I don’t-- what-- I’m sorry Ranboo I genuinely don’t know what that was about.” And Ranboo laughed, relieved to have someone else sharing in his confusion, feeling at home with Phil for the first time in a while since it was just the two of them. “I don’t either!” He admitted, sharing in Phil’s trait for giggling in confusion. “But I think I said something that maybe he thought was nice and he doesn’t like the fact that he thought it was nice…?” Phil sighed, and then laughed. “Yeah, yep, that’d do it. Wil’s-- He’ll come around. He’ll come around. He just needs some time to adjust to the situation properly.” Phil narrowed his eyes at Ranboo. Uh-Oh. It was his dad mode.

     “And so do you. You can’t let him bully you around just ‘cuz he’s older or you think he gets more rights as my son due to seniority.” Ranboo flushed, feeling very caught-in-the-act. “Okay well hey wait a minute you didn’t have to call me out that hard,” he fake-complained nervously, and the two of them laughed. “I did though! It’s true!” Phil protested. “You’re as much family as he is,” Phil continued softly, and Ranboo desperately tried to not let his eyes water.

     Phil, either due to his allergies for prolonged contact with softer emotions, or sensing the need for a mood change out of worry for Ranboo’s allergies to water, decided to change the subject back to Wilbur’s style of siblinghood. “--And Wilbur will bully you around ‘cuz he’s older. And you can’t let him get away with it or he’s gonna get away with it forever,” Phil scolded, “Ranboo, you have to grow a backbone.” Well that just hurt. “I have one, that’s not fair!” Phil, however, put his hands on his hips and looked sternly at Ranboo, who was thoroughly pouting. Then he sighed and laughed softly. “Fair enough, fair enough. That’s a start.”

     They stood on the porch together for a moment, enjoying one another’s company. Phil sighed again. “How did the tour actually go? How was Wil?” He asked finally. Right! Now this was something Ranboo was prepared for. He straightened up, much to Phil’s dismay (because Phil was much shorter than Ranboo as it was). Ranboo laughed a little internally at that, but he was rather proud of his observation skills in this matter, so he was all business on the outside (not that this was business). “He was kinda melodramatic, honestly,” Ranboo explained, and Phil nodded; it did make sense that that wasn’t out of the ordinary. “I did point out to him where therapy was,” He added, Phil bursting out laughing in response to that with a sort of ‘bwahahaha’ sound. “Good,” Phil said, before letting Ranboo continue.

     “He did… he did get a bit weird when it came to L’Manberg,” Ranboo admitted, and Phil sobered some at that. “He took over the tour and started talking about how it was his fault. Phil, I don’t--” Ranboo leaned down in a conspiratorial whisper, Phil drawing him closer to the door and away from any windows or line of sight. “--I don’t think he actually remembers Ghostbur’s memories. He just thinks he does. He only remembers the bad things from Ghostbur’s memories.” Phil paused. “Ghostbur had bad memories?” His eyes widened. “Oh.”

     Ranboo nodded. “Yeah. I did clear up some stuff-- like how the bedrock leveling was you and Techno and Dream and not him, and he’d only been gone for a few years as opposed to thirteen like on his end.” Phil nodded some more, thoughtfully. “Ah, yeah. Thank you for clearing that up, Ranboo, I honestly-- time for me is, well, y’know.” He made a so-so gesture with his hand and Ranboo understood. “I do feel kinda bad about that, but uh-- I still stand by it. It had to be done. That government was corrupt.” Ranboo nodded. He had complicated feelings about that-- he supposed most of his feelings were complicated, actually-- but ultimately he respected Phil’s decision, and liked where he’d ended up because of it.

     “And I take it you didn’t show him Snowchester.” Ranboo grimaced. “Yeahhh I didn’t really want to have that conversation. Plus it was in the opposite direction of L’Manberg, so…” Phil nodded once again. “Good thinking. We can chat some more later, yeah? When you’re comfortable doing so in a place that isn’t the freezing cold.” Ranboo nodded, grateful that Phil understood his hesitations even if he didn’t agree with them. Phil patted Ranboo’s arm softly as Ranboo headed off and he went back inside, and Ranboo was grateful for the time alone to think. Because a lot had happened, but he did want to think through that particular scenario, since it was important. Even if the family aspect was strange. Even with Ranboo being particularly protective. And especially with his relationship to Tubbo being what it was. So the question was this: How did Ranboo want to go about introducing Wilbur to his nephew, Michael?

-

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[Until I publish this to AO3, anyone is welcome to ask to be tagged when the fic updates!] @enternalempires

[gayforheadphonesgirl]

Shoot your shot -  Alex Morgan imagine

(A/N: So, here’s an imagine nobody asked for in honor of my blog hitting 500 followers! Basically this is set during the 2016 Rio Olympics, it’s loosely based on Megan Rapinoe’s story of how she met Sue during that time after losing to Sweden. Anyway, r is a member of the Team USA women’s basketball. Enjoy)

"Come on, Alex. It'll be fun. Besides, we need the drinks to forget about this hell of an Olympics" Pinoe insisted, tugging on the forward's sleeve in their shared room.

"You're just going to go and flirt and leave me alone in the club. I will not be a part of that" Alex said indignantly, pouting on her bed.

Megan had been pestering Alex to go to a party near the athletes village in Rio de Janiero because her crush from the Team USA women's basketball team had invited her over.

But considering they had just lost to Sweden in the quarterfinals the other day, Alex was definitely not in the mood to go around and celebrate.

"No, I won't leave you. Plus, Sue said she'll be bringing a friend along. Please, Al? For me? Be my wing woman" Megan said, pleading with her eyes.

Alex looked over at Pinoe and rolled her eyes.

"Fine. But if you leave me alone I'm going to kick your ass back into the United States" Alex said.

Pinoe cheered and jumped up from the bed. She hurriedly went to her suitcase to rummage for something to wear to impress Sue.

Alex sighed and reluctantly got up to get ready too. What was she letting herself into?

"I hate you" Alex said, picking out a simple black crop top and her favorite skinny jeans.

"No you don't. Besides, you might even meet someone there" Pinoe said, winking as she put on a vintage band tee.

"I doubt it" Alex said. Meeting a prospective girlfriend wasn't exactly what she had planned on getting from her trip to the Olympics.

----

They arrived at the simple pub half an hour later. It was a bit busy, with more than a number of Olympic athletes enjoying their free time.

Most of the sports didn't have events for the next two days, thus the packed house of sports men and women from across the globe.

Pinoe was scanning the pub before finally seeing Sue, who was already on her feet and waving the two of them over to a small booth in the corner of the pub.

"Hey! Nice to see you guys" Sue said, giving Pinoe and Alex a hug. Her companion, a teammate on the national team also stood up.

"Megan, Alex, this is (Y/N). She's my teammate" Sue said, motioning to the other woman.

(Y/N) was dressed in a black sleeveless Nike hoodie that showed off her toned arms and Alex couldn't help but stare at the tattoo sleeve that covered the woman's right forearm.

"Hey. Honored to meet USA's best female athletes" (Y/N) said with a charming smile, extending her hand.

Pinoe shook her hand in stride but Alex had to be brought out of her trance before finally stuttering a "nice to meet you" before they all took their seats.

"You know, I don't know about being USA's best female athletes... after what happened the other day" Pinoe said bitterly. Sue reached out and squeezed her hand.

"Hey don't be so hard on yourselves. You guys we're amazing. It's a game, you win some, you lose some. You're still pretty badass" (Y/N) said with a toothy grin at the both of them.

"Damn right we are" Pinoe said, sharing an easy laugh with (Y/N), Alex was still a bit mesmerized at the female basketball player.

"I'll get you guys some drinks. Just tell me what you want" (Y/N) said, standing up and smiling at the group.

"Rhum coke for me" Sue said, (Y/N) nodded and looked at Pinoe.

"I'll have a dry martini please" Pinoe said. (Y/N) then looked expectantly at Alex, who was still spacing out in (Y/N)'s direction.

(Y/N) flashed an amused smile and before Alex could reply, Pinoe grabbed her by the shoulders and spoke for her instead.

"She'll be having a whiskey neat" Pinoe said, winking at (Y/N). The latter nodded and smiled.

"Nice. My kind of gal" (Y/N) said and walked away.

Once (Y/N) was out of earshot, Pinoe shook Alex while Sue looked at the pair amusingly.

"What's with you, Al?" Pinoe said, wondering what has gotten her friend so loopy before her first drink.

"N-nothing... I didn't expect Sue's friend to be so..." Alex trailed off.

"Cute?" Sue quipped.

"Hot?" Pinoe offered.

"Both" Alex said, flushing a deep red.

"Don't worry about it. (Y/N)'s a sweetheart and coincidentally, a big Alex Morgan fan" Sue said with a smirk.

Alex flushed even more, why would such an attractive person be a fan of her?

"She goes to a lot of NWSL games during our offseason. I think her mom used to play soccer before, so she grew up around the sport" Sue explained. Pinoe and Alex nodded along.

The three soon fell into easy conversation before (Y/N) finally got back with four drinks perfectly balanced in her hands.

"Here you go beautiful ladies" (Y/N) said with a grin, handing each woman her ordered cocktail.

(Y/N) took her seat across Alex, who was finally able to calm down enough to try and make a conversation with the attractive basketball star.

"So, (Y/N), how's the Olympics been treating you?" Alex said, playing with the rim of her glass as she tried to keep herself calm under the other woman's gaze.

"It's been fun, international basketball play is really physical. But I enjoy the challenge" (Y/N) said, her eyes sparkling as she remembered being on the court.

"We're playing Spain in the final next week. So I'm pretty pumped about that... Sorry about what happened with Sweden" the woman continued cautiously.

Pinoe and Alex sighed but nevertheless gave Sue and (Y/N) a sad smile.

"Well, we just have to bounce back stronger" Pinoe said. Alex nodded fervently.

"I'm sure you guys will" Sue said, looking over at Pinoe and they share a moment. Alex and (Y/N) glanced at each other and smiled at the their friends' interaction.

"So, I heard you're a NWSL fan?" Alex said, taking a swig of her drink. She relished the heat of the drink making its way down her throat.

"Definitely. You're actually one of my favorite players" (Y/N) said, scratching the back of her neck. Alex appreciated the flex of her muscles at her action.

"That's sweet" Alex said, blushing and looking down at her lap before sharing a smile with (Y/N).

"Something about your fire just really inspires me" (Y/N) said, trying to play off her honesty with a shrug.

"You're one smooth talker, aren't you?" Alex said, some of the alcohol already kicking in for an added notch of confidence.

(Y/N) blushed at being caught flirting but winked at her nonetheless.

"Is it working?" (Y/N) said sheepishly. Alex threw her head back with a laugh and the former's breathe is taken away.

"Walk me back to our dorm later and I'll tell you then" Alex said, flirting back.

"I might just take you up on that offer" (Y/N) said, winking at the soccer star.

The night continued on with both pairs falling into endless conversations with each other.

(Y/N) let Alex rant on about Jill and their Sweden game, she looked like she needed to let it all out.

The basketball star listened intently to Alex's words, only getting a little bit lost in her blue eyes every once in a while.

"Sorry, I keep on talking about myself and the team" Alex said, finally, catching herself going on and on about what had happened.

"No biggie. I like listening to you talk" (Y/N) said, grinning at her. Alex blushed and pushed a loose strand of her hair behind her ear.

"What about you? Tell me about yourself" Alex said, motioning to the other woman.

"Well, what can I say? I'm Team USA's starting power forward, I play for the Connecticut Sun after three years of college in UConn. Oh and my mom used to play soccer for North Carolina" (Y/N) said, listing facts about her.

"Why'd you choose basketball instead of soccer then?" Alex said curiously. (Y/N) shrugged.

"Guess I'm just more comfortable on the hardcourt. Plus, my dad always dragged me to the basketball court to play with him and my brothers too" (Y/N) said. Alex nodded along to her story.

"But I do love soccer, still. As much as I love its players" (Y/N) said grinning at Alex once again. The latter blushed.

The pair are brought back into reality when Sue and Pinoe stood up, they both looked a bit tipsy already and had a knowing glint in their eyes.

"Guys... we're just going to go... somewhere" Pinoe said, slurring a bit already.

"Yeah. What she said" Sue quipped. The pair didn't even wait for (Y/N) and Alex to respond before they were scrambling off to god knows where.

"They're definitely hooking up" (Y/N) said, chuckling at the situation. Alex sighed and shook her head.

"I told Pinoe not to leave me alone" Alex said.

"Come on, is it that bad to be stuck with me?" (Y/N) said, grinning at Alex. The latter shot a playful look.

"A bit, yeah" Alex said. (Y/N) faked offense and scoffed.

"Rude. Come on, let's dance" (Y/N) said suddenly, taking Alex's hand before she could protest.

Alex planted her foot to the ground.

"Nope, nope. Not gonna happen" Alex said, feeling laughter bubbling up as (Y/N) tried to drag her to the dance floor of the pub.

"Come on, I bet you're really good" (Y/N) said, laughing as she tugged on the other woman.

"I'll step on you" Alex said, finally giving up and letting (Y/N) lead her into the crowded dance floor.

"I don't mind" (Y/N) said, grinning at her.

Alex rolled her eyes but started swaying to the beat of Major Lazer, Justin Bieber and Mo's Cold Water.

The two moved in sync to the beat, sharing smiles and laughter as they tried to weave through the crowd.

"You've got moves, Morgan" (Y/N) said, winking at Alex.

"I could say the same for you, (Y/N)" Alex replied. Seemingly like magnets, the two athletes continued on to close the distance between them until they were practically grinding on each other.

It took Selena Gomez's Hands to Myself to snap them back to reality and move back from each other a bit.

They were both flushed and had a sheen of sweat from dancing too close.

"Wanna get out of here?" (Y/N) offered breathlessly. Alex nodded and the basketball player took her hand and led her out of the club.

"I wonder where Sue and Pinoe are" Alex wondered out loud once they were out of the club. (Y/N) shrugged.

"They're big girls, they can handle it" (Y/N) said, grinning. Alex laughed.

They walked together in comfortable silence before sitting down in a patch of cool grass a few blocks away from the athletes' village.

"You know what I've really enjoyed about being in Rio?" (Y/N) said, looking up at the sky full of stars.

"Getting to meet me?" Alex said, laughing at her own reply.

"Well... other than that" (Y/N) said, smiling sweetly at the forward.

"What?" Alex said.

"The stars" (Y/N) replied, looking up at the sky again. Alex followed her lead and looked up too, indeed, the sky was full of stars.

"It doesn't look like this back in Connecticut and star gazing is definitely one of my top date ideas" (Y/N) said, subtly inching her hand closer to Alex's.

Alex blushed but kept her eyes up to the sky. For some reason, she could sense (Y/N)'s hand moving closer to hers and was anticipating the contact.

"So, is this a date?" Alex teased, but the blush on her cheeks betrayed the confident facade.

"If you want it to be" (Y/N) said, finally reaching Alex's hand. They intertwine their fingers and keep their eyes glued to the stars.

Alex only hummed in response and inched closer to the other woman, soon enough, she was already leaning her head on (Y/N)'s muscular arm.

They sat in comfortable silence for about 10 minutes before a yawn made its way to Alex's mouth before she could stop herself.

"Sorry. Must be a bit tired" Alex said, facing the other woman -- their hands still intertwined.

(Y/N) smiled and pulled Alex to her feet.

"Come on. Let's get back. We need our rest" (Y/N) said, glancing at the watch on her wrist.

It was getting pretty late and Alex nodded her head.

"I'm taking you up on that offer to walk you back to your dorm, by the way" (Y/N) said, grinning. She had let go of Alex's hand, the latter could only stop herself from frowning at the loss of contact.

"My knight in shining armor" Alex mused. (Y/N) guffawed and they started walking towards the USWNT's dorms.

Easy conversation fell between (Y/N) and Alex, sharing stories about their journeys to their careers.

They were both very passionate about inspiring younger generations to pursue their sports, despite being conceived as a male sport.

It didn't take long before they were in front of Alex's dorm and (Y/N) began shuffling in her place.

"So uhm, I wanted to ask you Alex if you wanted to go to the finals game next week. Us players have a few seats courtside reserved for us. My family couldn't make it because of schedule problems... but I'd really like you to be there" (Y/N) said hesitantly, she began to scratch the back of her neck again.

Alex smiled and pretended to think about it for a while.

"I mean-, only if you want to. I think Sue's inviting Pinoe to watch too. It's alright if you don't want to-" (Y/N)'s rambling is cut off by Alex's finger shushing her.

"I'd love to, (Y/N)" Alex said, smiling up at the taller woman.

"That's great. I'll see you then?" (Y/N) said, a faint blush on her cheek. Still having a bit of liquid courage left from earlier that night, Alex caught (Y/N) by surprise by pecking her on the cheek.

"See you then" Alex said. (Y/N) was slack jawed at the sudden display of affection and the forward couldn't help but find it cute.

"Good night, (Y/N)" Alex said, already making her way to the door. (Y/N) seemed to get snapped back into reality and grinned at the forward.

"Good night, Alex" She said, instinctively holding her hand up to touch her cheek.

Alex Morgan just kissed her freaking cheek.

----

Soon enough, Alex and Pinoe found themselves inside the arena and took their seats courtside while Team USA was warming up.

The latter had narrowed her eyes at Alex after she told her she wanted to go watch the Finals game with her.

"Did something happen between you and (Y/N) the other night?" Pinoe probed but Alex kept her mouth shut.

"Not exactly. But she invited me to come so..." Alex said, avoiding Pinoe's eyes.

Sue and (Y/N) spotted the pair in their seats and waved while doing warmups on the sideline.

Alex couldn't help but chuckle at the faint blush on (Y/N)'s cheek, one that probably painted her own cheeks as well.

Alex and Pinoe got comfortable while the official warmups rolled on.

It didn't take long before it was tip off time. The starting lineups were called and Pinoe nudged Alex when she cheered loudly as (Y/N) was introduced.

"What? Just supporting my friend" Alex said, shrugging.

"Yeah. A friend you called hot and cute just the other night" Pinoe said, laughing.

"Well, she is" Alex defended. Pinoe could only roll her eyes playfully.

Team USA was killing it against Spain, they were dominant and being a power forward, (Y/N) was always crashing the glass for rebounds and easy layups in the paint.

(Y/N) made a long bomb from beyond the arc to beat the buzzer in the second quarter and decided to give a little show to Alex.

Both she and Pinoe had a good front seat view to the shot and once it swished through the net, (Y/N) pointed at Alex and winked.

Alex blushed and hid her face behind her hands.

"Okay, what was that?" Pinoe said, guffawing at Alex's red face.

"Shut up" Alex said, but she couldn't stop the smile creeping up her face.

(Y/N) would once again interact with Alex when she swatted a shot away from a Spanish player -- she flexed her arms after the block, right in front of Alex and Pinoe's seats and the Orlando forward couldn't help the rush of blood to her face.

"Appreciating the gun show, Al?" Pinoe teased.

"I am actually, yeah" Alex said through gritted teeth. She wondered what else those hands can do other than do magic on the hardcourt.

The game ultimately ended with a lopsided 101-72 victory for the Americans.

Sue and (Y/N) came over to Pinoe and Alex to celebrate, already with their medals hanging around their necks.

Pinoe crushed Sue with a hug as Alex and (Y/N) were a little more hesitant.

"Sorry if those things I did during the game were a bit too much. I think I become a whole different person when I'm on the court" (Y/N) said chuckling, but Alex shook her head.

"It's fine. It's cute, really" Alex said, biting her lip. (Y/N) glanced down at her lips.

"T-thanks" (Y/N) said, wanting desperately to hug and kiss the other woman but didn't want to invade her personal space.

"Congrats on winning the gold" Alex said, wrapping her arms around the other woman's neck.

(Y/N) instinctively put her hands on her waist and blushed.

"Thanks... I'd say this is the highlight of my trip but I'd be lying" (Y/N) said, wriggling her eyebrows.

Alex laughed and kissed her cheek once again, but this time she leaned in to whisper something to the basketball star's ear.

"Take me out on a date back in the States and you'll have even more highlights to experience" Alex said in a sultry voice.

(Y/N) gulped and pulled away from the hug with a blush on her face.

"I-i'll definitely do that" (Y/N) said. Alex winked at her.

"Now go celebrate with your teammates, (Y/L/N)" Alex said.

(Y/N) grinned and ran back to her squad in the middle of the court, with Sue reluctantly in tow.

"Maybe this wasn't that bad of an Olympics" Pinoe said, staring lovingly at Sue.

"Mhm, not that bad at all" Alex replied, her eyes set on (Y/N).

The End

[sweeethinny]

death bed (coffee for your head) by Powfu for Drastoria?

I know that music has all this super sad background and that you would probably expect me to make Astoria die, BUT, as I always say here, nothing in this world will make me leave another child in the universe of HP orphaned, so, everything ends well at the end of this one shoot. I took a long time to write, mainly because I wanted it to come out the way I wanted, and I think I came up with something similar to my head Sad stories and fights are still a hindrance for me to write, but I am improving Thank you for sending! I loved this suggestion <3

''Astoria, I love you so much, which is why I'm writing this.

Last night after what your father said, after everything they pointed out ... I cannot arrest you, I cannot condemn you that way. You deserve so much, much more than I can give you. I wanted to be the man who will give you a family, a son, who will see you come in white and be waiting for you to be able to say 'yes', but it's not me. Unfortunately. It sucks that we met in this life, when I'm just a monster, just like your dad pointed out. That's what I am, after all. You always made me very happy, never doubt it Astoria, being on your side made every minute worthwhile, and for a few days I even thought I could leave it all behind. But I can not. It just doesn't work. As much as you say my past doesn't define me ... it does, Tori, he made me like this, he made me have the fucking Dark Mark on my arm and I can't get you sick with this shit. Don't blame yourself or lose sleep over this, you have a bright future ahead and you deserve to live the best life ever. Thank you for seeing me a little bit of the life I could have had, but unfortunately that needs to end.

I wanted to be the man of your life, like you were the woman of mine.

I will love you forever and ever.

Forever Yours,

Draco Malfoy''

She wanted to throw up, cry and scream all at the same time, lying on the floor while sobbing, watching the paper tremble in her hands, and the ink getting more and more smudged with every drop that fell.

Draco left her

Before she could think, before could reason perfectly, she was leaving the room, running through Greengrass Mansion, jumping the steps and barely seeing the path had taken to her father's office, opening a door with all her might, exploding in all its fury before the man could defend himself;

''He ran-away! Are you happy now? After you said all the things ... all that bullshit! He was just a boy! Coerced and afraid of having their parents dead! He was never a murderer, he never did me any harm, and now, because of that shit of yours yesterday, he found it safer to leave.''

"Well, it looks like he hurt you now" The man shrugged, still stiff and looking indifferent, which irritated her even more

''What ... Draco thinks he's doing me a favor, that you were right, that ... DO I LOOK HAPPY?''

''Don't you see the ruin it would take you? What would it do to your reputation? No one else would look you in the face!’’ Astoria snorted irritably

''And do I care about that?! Fuck them!, I DO NOT CARE. You can't meddle like that in my life, I'm not a child and I know very well who I choose to marry''

''You look crazy, do you see that? Screaming and doing all this drama''

''All this drama? My fiance left me because of you!'' The father finally seemed to feel something

''My fault? If he were a real man he would have hit the front, not run away like a coward! In fact, running away is the only thing the Malfoys know how to do. ''

''He knew it would hurt me, he knew that causing a fight with you would hurt me ... '' The man fought a battle with a daughter, one staring as angry as the woman

''You said it yourself ... do you look happy?’’ He raised a dark, defiant brow.

''I'm going after him'' She turned away, being stopped on the next step, feeling her father's hand on her arm

''Astoria ... ''

''No, he is my fiancé and I am going to marry him, whether you like it or not ... I always knew that people would talk about it and that they possibly came back against me, but my own family?'' She swallowed the ball that formed in her throat, with her eyes prickling ''I think you look a lot like the rest of the pureblood, after all''

It wasn’t very easy to find Draco, there was a world of possibilities where he could have hidden, and as far as Astoria knew him, he would have preferred a place she wasn’t aware of how to get there.

What made her travel to Scotland.

Being Pure Blood had its privileges there.

She had already talked to some people who might know about her whereabouts - even her in-laws (they wouldn't be ex, until she decided they would), but nobody knew anything. Nothing, until she presses one of his co-workers and finds out that he has taken a portkey for Scotland.

It was so obvious, and so stupid that she hadn't thought of it.

Of course, this was not a small neighborhood with few houses and few people to question about a handsome, tall blonde, it was a country, and it took a lot of effort to imagine where Draco would be hiding.

And so, she was going up to an abandoned and broken castle that was on top of a hill, in one of the cities in the interior of the country, feeling frozen by the wind that whistled in her ears, time closing over her head, and the houses looking smaller and smaller. But at least, she found him

"You idiot!" It was the first thing that came out of her mouth as soon as she opened the door to that old, dark castle with a smell of dust that would probably make her sneeze, managing to find him sitting in one of the most distant chairs, drinking something that looked like wine

''Astoria .. What the fuck are you doing here?'' She realized that there were pictures torn across the walls, in addition to broken silver, looking very familiar for some reason.

''What do you think? Marry you, idiot! Or did you think I would swallow all that shit and be quiet?'' The two were close, and as much as she missed him a lot, after all, it was almost two months hunting him around, her fury was first ''Do you think I care about any shit you did years ago? During a war!? I do not. And it annoys me that you make that decision without consulting me or asking me what I think about everything my father said, and if you want to know, I think it was great nonsense.''

''You do not understand? Astoria, you deserve someone better than me, someone who can- ''

‘’-I want you, is it hard to understand? Did the Dark Mark melt your brain by any chance?'' Her heart was pounding, so nervous and happy to have found it, and alive. For a few days, she really thought she would have lost him forever, far beyond mere rejection.

"No, and that's why I'm giving you a chance to run a long way"

''I did, and even then, I ran to a fucking hill behind you. I think that says a lot'' the man denied, pacing and messing with his long, light hair.

''I cannot arrest you''

''It was never a prison, I'm here of my own free will, I'm old enough to make my own choices, I'm not a slob like you and my father seem to believe'' Draco looked at her as if he had heard the greatest offense in the world, grabbing her shoulders and vehemently denying

"I would never think of that"

''Is what it seems. You think I have no right to say who I should or shouldn't marry, whether or not I should stay by your side, which is my decision, only mine! How many times do I need to say that what you did or did not change what I feel? I like you Draco, I love you, we all have a past, and you've changed’'

''How are you so sure of that? How can you not even imagine that I can succumb to the darkness again?'' She already wanted to cry, exhausted from all that, needy with the whole situation and possibly getting sick from the drastic temperature change

''You could have done anything that day, you could have acted in many other ways, but you just preferred to do nothing and go away, afraid of hurting me ... Would you do that if you remained on the side of darkness? Would you care that much?'' Astoria stared at him, letting the walls fall completely, tired '' You said you couldn't be the man of my life, that you couldn't be the one waiting for me at the altar, that you wouldn't be the father of our son, but. You can be all of that, you are already the man of my life Draco. Every time .. '' She let herself cry, biting her lip before continuing ''All the times I thought you could have died, that you would have really abandoned me, that I would be without you .. I wouldn't even update imagine without being able to wake up by your side, of not having your love notes hidden by the house, of being alone.''

''I just don't want to hurt you, Tori, I could never do that to you'' When she think back to that night, she would remember there were tears in his eyes ''I love you so much, so much, that if necessary, for protect you, I stay away''

''You're already hurting me, and you're already getting away and proving to me that this is not what I want ... When I asked you out the first time, you asked me if I wouldn't mind the looks, and I said not. And Draco, I didn't change my answer'' The man wiped away her tears, smiling sadly in her direction

''I was thinking it was for your good'' Astoria denied, finally hugging him

''It wasn't ... I need you here with me, I want you here'' Then, without even realizing it, she continued; ''How will I raise a child on my own? He needs a father to teach him how to fly''

''What?!'' Draco pushed her away, eyes bulging and squeezing the woman's shoulders, looking like a white paper.

''Oh .. right, I forgot to mention that I'm pregnant'' Astoria smiled awkwardly, a little waryly, before being pulled back into the hug, feeling his chest tremble in a silent cry, which obviously caused your.

In the end, Draco was the man who had seen her come in a white dress, who had become her husband and who was the father of her son.

He was her man, always had been, regardless of anything.

And there was never anyone who made her change her mind.

[monkeebratz]

Bio!Dad Bruce Wayne AU - Super Meet

Initial idea | How it Happened | Addition by iggy-of-fans | Reply to iggy’s Addition | Summer Begins | Summer Part 2 | Supers Meet (you are here) | Scarecrow Interlude |

SO we have two ways that the Parisian Super Squad meets the Batfam. 

The first, which I’m only writing down because I cannot forget about it, and its hilarious is: the Super Squad gets to Gotham, gets Mari’s texts, gets to their hotel room, throws their stuff in, transforms, and starts running around looking for her. They find her walking around the fashion district with the Wayne’s. Adrien, as Chat Noir, spies Marinette first. And, in typical fashion, acts first and thinks later. 

So basically the Wayne’s watch a young, blonde, male version of catwoman throw an incredibly expandable baton between them and Mari, jump down, pick her up. Say “Bonjour. Au revoir.” And then make his expandable baton extend again and carry the now screeching Marinette to the top of the building where the rest of the Super Squad is waiting. Luka is going to strangle him. Holy shit. Chat Noir? More like Chat NO-ir!

The Batfam, of course, suits up and starts chasing after them. In full daylight. (These are the perfect opportunity for “Only in Gotham tweets” tbh) They catch up to Marinette berating all of them in incredibly loud and frantic French. As Multimouse. Going on about how irresponsible it was to leave Paris unprotected! Yes she knows Hawkmoth was defeated but it is the principle of the matter!! And they left BEFORE she told them about what happened with her bio!family and Batman! ALSO THEY KIDNAPPED HER IN BROAD ASS FUCKING DAYLIGHT IT DOESN’T MATTER IF THIS IS GOTHAM YOU SHUT YOUR TRAP CHAT! 

The whole squad looks so defeated but then Mari starts crying and throws herself into Chat’s arms going on about how good it is to see them and she’s so happy they’re here and they’re so so stupid! And then its a hug pile. Big hug pile. The Batfam looks on in utter confusion bc, again, only like. Two of them know French. Then Batman coughs and they all look up and just. Don’t move. Maybe if they don’t move he won’t see them. 

“... I need to be taking Miss Dupain-Cheng back to her family, now.” 

“But-!” WHACK (why yes that’s the sound of Marinette kicking at them all)

“You kidnapped a girl in front of her family with no warning, in a very dangerous city. I’m sure her family would like the reassurance that she’s safe.” 

So Batman and the Robins take Marinette back to Wayne Manor and Alfred clings to her (like he totally didn’t put everything together already they’re all so obvious). And then the Batfam, minus costume, comes barreling down the stairs and they all tackle Marinette and its another hug pile. Bc holy shit Mari why did you get kidnapped by your so called friends? Oh, they’re stupid? Can relate. 

And then. Of course. Guess who shows up at the door. Just peeks their heads in, detransformed of course. “Uh, hi? We’re friends of Marinette? We’re here to visit her?” 

Bruce is shrieking like WHY. WHY IS THIS SHIT GENETIC?! Internally. Can’t spill the beans QUITE yet. 

Anyway, INTRODUCTIONS GALOR, YADA YADA, Dick and Adrien get along so well. Too well. Kagami and Damien also get along well too (they’re both ready to stab a bitch, don’t test them). Luka is too chill NOT to get along with anyone, unless they insult his friends and partners. Chloe is ready to throw down but also holy shit that’s Bruce fucking Wayne? Damn, Mari. DAMN. Already on social media about this. 

(Also listen, I am shipping trash so I’m going to be vague as hell with things but in my brain this will be a poly!partners au so the Super Squad is just dating each other. But for the sake of everyone they could also just be really good/close friends, as they’ll be sharing rooms and be very touchy feeling and such. Its up to you. But just know, I’m just. Like this.) 

So it basically just devolves into story sharing and puppy piles and the Wayne’s all looking at the Super Squad with side eyes bc HM. HOW FAMILY. ALSO STOP TOUCHING THE BABY! NO CORRUPTING THE BABY!! THAT’S OURS!!!

WE SAW HER FIRST SO FUCK YOU!

I’M LITERALLY? HER FATHER? FUCK? YOU? YOU CATWOMAN KNOCK OFF???

This is all happening with their eyes btw

And of course. The whole squad follows Marinette out as Multimouse to go meet batman, who Bruce told her had something to talk with her about. And she kinda cries bc SHE’S GOING TO GET KICKED OUT OF THE CITY BC OF HER IDIOTS!

Its not, its the Batfam taking the Super Squad to the Justice League tower. They weren’t expecting so many people but its fine. They’ll make it work. 

Because Bruce had called the Justice League for an emergency meeting that night with the tone of voice that clearly said anybody who didn’t show up would have a bat hunting them down and shoving his foot up their ass so far they’ll taste patented leather for the rest of their life. They’ve almost never seen him so angry? And he’s bringing guests? What? The fuck?? 

Multimouse Marinette gets briefed that, as the current Guardian of the Miraculous, and a hero of Paris, she’ll be there to get a formal apology and an explanation about why a bunch of teenagers had to fight an emotionally manipulative super villain by themselves. Chat Noir is maybe hiding behind the rest of the Miraculous Crew and they’re only kinda notice but don’t think much of it tbh. Adrien does NOT want to be the one to explain that his FATHER was said super villain. save him. 

Btw the whole group is having mixed reactions to the idea of meeting the Justice League. Adrien wants to run away but he also doesn’t care? Like. They’re all superhero’s, he gets that they can’t always help, but also. Fuck. He loves being a superhero but having someone with actual experience might have saved them all a lot of heartache. Chloe, meanwhile, doesn’t give a sINGLE SHIT about the JL. Fuck them. Fuck them so hard, so assholes ignored them and they’re going to be high and mighty. She may be a better person now but she will not put up with their nonsense. Not now. Not ever. Fight her. Luka is that sort of calm angry? He’s pissed that they brushed them off but since everything’s over there’s no point in holding onto his anger. There may or may not be a lot of meditating in the Bat Plane on the way there so he doesn’t use his lyre like a fucking BOOMERANG AGAIN and smack them all upside the head with it. Kagami doesn’t care? She’ll threaten them to the ends of the earth should they ever blow off such messages again, but she also just. Has very little emotional investment in them otherwise. 

Marinette, of course, is freaking out and pacing and trying to channel her inner ladybug and screaming internally bc why. WHY. She’s angry but she also understands, but she’s still so stressed. just. please. Tiny squeaks. 

And okay, they get there, and Batman comes in with ALL the Robins AND all these new kids? 

Flash: I’m sorry, you called an emergency meeting because of your extended family? 

Diana: HUSH

Because Diana, of course, recognizes them what and who they are. And is screaming bc holy shit? The Miraculous Holders are active again? Do they need their help? Where is Ladybug? Who is the Guardian? She just has. so. many. questions. 

And Captain Marvel/Shazam (seriously wtf IS HIS NAME) is fangirling HARD. Because that’s the Miraculous Holders! The ORIGINAL magic users! SEVERAL of his people (Hercules/etc) were Miraculous holders on top of Shazam and HOOOLLLY SHIT THEY’RE HERE! IN FRONT OF HIM! HOLY SHIT!!!

Superman, Green Arrow, and several others are sweating bc uh. UH. OH SHIT THOSE MESSAGES WERE REAL?

Yes. They were real. And now they have Batman in full dad mode demanding an explanation. Several people (Superman, other mutation/alien esc powers) claim they went to Paris to check on the damage but they couldn’t find any, OR the supposed supers of villain. 

Multimouse steps forward and starts explains how the Ladybug powers work and if they had bothered to contact them beyond telling them this wasn’t a line of communication to be used for PRANKS, they would know better. Diana chimes in with how she was helped created BY the Ladybug miraculous, etc, why did nobody ask her about this? Hell, why did nobody ask their resident magic user, Captain Marvel/Shazam??? 

Green Lantern: No offense, but doesn’t this all seem a little far fetched? 

Chloe: ... Bitch, you have an alien ring that gives you powers. Shut the fuck up. 

So there’s some arguing, back and forth, and Bruce looses his temper a little bit. Smacks his hand HARD on the table. “Enough. It is your job to investigate. It is not your job to leave the saving of an entire city to my fucking daughter, who was barely thirteen at the time this all started. As far as I’m concerned, this can never, ever, happen again. Wonder Woman, Captain, I assume you’d be willing to go through our notifications for any discrepancies?” 

And there’s a huge moment of silence. Everyone’s staring at him. Multimouse squeaks. Red Hood just. “Good going, Bats. Real smooth.” 

Chat: OH MY GOD YOUR DAD IS BATMAN? WHY DIDN’T YOU SAY ANYTHING, WHY- HOOOOO OH MY GOD YOUR DAD! BATMAN! IS DAD! YOUR DAD WHO IS ALSO-!

Viperion is making wheezing noises and covers Chat’s mouth and then there’s even more yelling and arguing and finger pointing, and Bruce wants a drink. And a nap. In whatever order he can get them. 

Basically he gets Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel/Shazam to agree to looking through messages but also gets the hell out of dodge. 

Next in, the reactions to all this tomfoolery. Also apparently superhero-ism is now genetic. 

Tag List! (Please remember to send me an ask if you want to be added!)

@mystery-5-5 @mariae2900 @vgirl-10123 @iglowinggemma28 @deredereart @synnesstra @dahjokester @destinationdesignation @lordsmeldingtonthethird @emjrabbitwolf @unabashedbookworm @saphiraazure2708 @rhub4rb @romanoff-queen @octoberscorn@littleblue5mcdork @foxyrelina @severelyenchantedwonderland @dast218 @ace-aro-agender​ @rogueptoridactyl​ @kitkatcatfangirl @worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry @poshplumcot  @iggy-of-fans @schrodingers25​ @two-faced-biatch​ @moonlitarchangels @vixen-uchiha @rikku052 @elspethshadow

People who should be tagged but may not? So sorry, I’m still going to add you until tumblr stops being a dick about this.

@tbehartoo  @wuvpancakes

[lu-undy]

Chapter 85 - SBT

Here it is!

"Situations of great stress do change a man, Mundy." 

Mundy looked up at Lucien who averted his gaze. Midnight had passed but both were still awake in their bed, wrapped in the intimacy of the dark night and the warmth of their hearts.

"What d'you mean, luv'?" 

"I mean that I have seen it as much as I have been through it." Lucien answered. 

"Wanna… Tell me about it?" 

Lucien frowned.

"I couldn't. But I suppose now, as I am dead, those secrets will go to no one else."

Mundy turned and sat up on the bed. He reached for the night-table from which he retrieved a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. He lit one and put it between Lucien's lips. The Frenchman nodded in thanks before Mundy lit one for himself. The Aussie sat up with his back against the bed's headboard. His hand dived under the duvet until it found Lucien's. 

"Go on, then, tell me." 

Lucien looked at Mundy on his right and smiled before resting his head on his lover's shoulder. 

"I have fought in the war Mundy. I have seen what desperation does to men, I have seen what the fear of being caught does to people. It reduces them to animals, to prey. It strips them of their humanity exactly the same as it does for those who chase them down. Suddenly, there is no good or bad anymore, only alive or dead. And the fear of dying is engraved in us all. In that regard we are not different from animals. For life to triumph and a species to last, it must prefer life over death."

Lucien closed his eyes. 

"What I am getting at is that you might know how your father reacts in normal situations, but you might never understand how he reacted to this feeling of being tracked down, hunted down. And for what? For having a farm on a land with oil. That is no crime, that is no offense to anyone. Him and your mother, they both were hunted down like beasts for no legitimate reason and it is precisely for that - because it was outside of the boundaries of reason, morality and legality - that he might have reacted in a way that no one can understand. Even he himself might look back and not understand his reaction." 

Lucien puffed on his cigarette and exhaled in a beautiful laminar flow of minty smoke. Mundy frowned. 

"Your father wanted to protect his property, no doubt. But if the situation was desperate, he might have resorted to saving the one most important thing he could."

"My mum?"

"Exactly. And you heard Maurice, it plunged her, her mind and her body in a torment that no doctor could help with."

"Yeah… As always, I just feel so bad for mum… If you knew her, you'd know she's the kindest person ever, she-she's just the best. Whenever I felt bad or dad got angry at me for whatever reason, she'd always come to my room, or outside. She'd look for me and give me somethin' to snack on while she calms me down. Pfff… Sounds like I'm making stuff up."

"Why do you say that?" Lucien asked, his head still on Mundy's shoulder.  

The Aussie crushed his cigarette butt down in the ashtray on the night table. Like a reflex, he opened his hand and Lucien slid his cigarette end between his fingers. He crushed it too and both lay down before sinking lower under the sheets. They faced each other and Lucien laced a leg between Mundy's.

"My mum's the best person in the world but when I argued with my dad last time, she just… sat there and said nothing. I mean… She usually did so but I don't know why this time it just - it just hurt more." 

Lucien softly put his palm on Mundy's cheek and stroked it slowly. 

"Mundy, everything I just said about your father does apply to your mother too. Don't get an opinion too fast. Give yourself time and give them time."

"Yeah… Guess you're right but… It hurts, Lu'..." 

"Come here." Lucien wrapped his arms around Mundy's head and the Aussie dived in his chest. 

"Thanks, love, really. I don't know what I'd have done on my own, without you…" 

Lucien lowered his head to kiss Mundy's head through his hair. His fingers ruffled the locks of hair and the Aussie felt his lover’s breath gently flow on his scalp.

“Do not thank me, it is my duty and I do it with pleasure and honor.” Lucien whispered. “I am humbled that you trust me such that you confide in me, really. Thank you, mon beau loup.”

[My handsome wolf.]

With their limbs entangled in the safety of their bed, they soon fell asleep. Lucien woke up from time to time as Mundy moved erratically in his sleep. He calmed him down, stroking his face, whispering in his ear, kissing his temple and stroking his arms and hands to soothe him down. Clearly, his disagreement with his parents was disturbing Mundy in the furthest and deepest corners of his mind. Even with his eyes closed, the poor Aussie frowned in front of images that his malicious mind projected on his shut eyelids. It happened a few times in the night and Lucien thanked the Lord he could only sleep lightly. He comforted his lover and stayed up every time until the tremors passed and Mundy’s brow relaxed.

The next morning, Mundy woke up after his lover. He went straight to the kitchen and found Lucien at the breakfast table, talking to Perle and Soot. He turned his head when he saw Mundy and smiled.

“Bonjour, mon amour.”

“He, luv’...” Mundy dragged his feet to his lover who waited for him with open arms. 

“Come and sit down. Non, not on that chair,” Lucien took his hand and pulled on it to make him sit on his lap. “Here, much better.”

“I’m not crushing you?”

“I was not going to mention it, but you did put on a few kilograms, Mundy.”

“What?!”

Lucien chuckled and tapped the tip of Mundy’s nose. 

“I am joking, mon loup. Here, your coffee.”

Mundy smiled and took the mug that Lucien was handing him and let himself be babied by his lover. He rested his head on Lucien’s shoulder. The Frenchman had his hair loose and it flowed down on his shoulder such that Mundy was laying his face on the silver locks.

“Gosh… I could fall asleep again… Your hair is so, so soft…” He closed his eyes.

“You might as well. I presume you don’t feel well rested enough.”

“Oh? What d’you mean?”

“You kept on moving in your sleep.”

“Really?”

“Oui.”

“Did I wake you up?”

“Like a baby, every few hours.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, luv’.”

“Don’t apologise, it was a delight.”

“What?” Mundy’s eyebrows jumped.

“Well, I had the perfect opportunity to shower you in affection without you pushing me back.”

“As if I ever pushed you back…!”

They both chuckled. Mundy crossed his legs that, given their length, were touching the floor even though he was on his lover’s lap.

“Open your mouth, mon loup…?”

“Mh? Oh, aaah… Mh!” Mundy’s eyes crossed on the toast that  Lucien held in front of his mouth before biting in. "Mh… Is that…?"

"Apricot jam, oui." 

Mundy gave a sweet grin. 

"Thanks, luv'." 

"I am thankful to you, you brighten my days."

"Even with my family nonsense?" 

"Oui, I am thankful for it." 

"Why?" 

"Because it puts what we feel for each other to the test and I am delighted to see that so far, our love is stronger." Lucien smiled. 

"Course it is. I don't know what I'd do without you. Guess I'd be somewhere in the desert with my van, at the lake, doin' nothing but wanting to beat something up." 

"Instead, you are on my lap being fed like the king that you are." Lucien smiled. 

"Pfff, yeah, right, a king still in his pyjamas, eh?" 

"A king nonetheless." Lucien fed Mundy the toast before biting in it himself. 

"Mh, thanks, Lu', really. And uh… I uh… Nobody ever did that to me before." 

Lucien raised an eyebrow. 

"What do you mean?" 

"Nobody… took me on their lap. It's usually the other way around if they ever feel something for me." 

"You Mundy, have never known love, but only physical attraction."

"Maybe, yeah. Weird to do all these things with you now. Feel like I never really learnt or did any of that before. To me, it was all stuff that people did in the movies but not in real life." 

"You find it… weird?" Lucien asked.

"Not in a bad way, not at all. It's just… I didn't know I could feel more at home with someone else than with my parents." 

Lucien tightened his hug around Mundy's body and kissed his temple repeatedly. 

"You will feel at home with them too, you will see."

"How can you be so sure?" 

"I don't know your parents, but I know the son. And the son is a rare jewel in this world. So I have no doubt that given some time, you will get along better with them." 

"Hope so." Mundy finished his coffee. "When d'you wanna go to them?" 

"Non, Mundy, it is not I who wants anything, it is you. When do you want to go?" 

Mundy took a second to think. 

"As soon as we can." He answered. "It might take me days to tell them everythin'." 

"Parfait."

[Perfect.]

A moment later, both were outside putting on their helmets. 

"Do you want to drive?" Lucien asked. 

"Can I?"

"I don't know, can you?" Lucien chuckled. 

"Well, yeah, I know how to, I just… It's yours, Lu'. And it's the spooky bike, maybe I can't drive it."

"The spooky bike?" Lucien chuckled. "This is our bike, Mundy."

"Right…" 

Mundy straddled it at the front and felt Lucien do the same behind him. 

"Where's the key?" 

"Put your hands on the handles." Lucien answered. 

"Yeah but I need the key to-"

"Non, you don't, do as I say." Lucien almost sang. 

"Right… Oh! Wow, hold on, what?!" As soon as Mundy's hands touched the handles, the motorcycle woke up in a low and not so loud rumble of the engine. 

"It works with your fingerprints." Lucien explained. 

"You shittin' me?!" 

"Non," Lucien chuckled. "I am not shitting you, now go and show me how you drive her, hm?" 

"Holy dooley…!" Mundy laughed like a young boy with a new toy. "Told you it was a spooky bike! Right, let's go…!"

Lucien wrapped his arms around Mundy and the Aussie melted when he felt his lover lean his head on his back. 

"Do you remember the address?" Lucien asked. 

"Yeah, 'course." 

The drive was nice, especially for Lucien who, contrary to Mundy, shamelessly hugged his lover. He even slid his hands on his lover's sides and gently scratched him, on his shirt. More often than once did Mundy let himself melt at a red light, his chest heaving and shivers running through his spine. Gosh, Lucien played with his body like he does with the piano: he knew exactly what button to push and when.

Suddenly Lucien tapped Mundy's shoulder and signalled him to turn right. The Aussie didn't understand why but followed his lover's instructions until Lucien signed for him to stop. They both put a foot down and removed their helmets. 

"Why did you make me come here?" Mundy asked. 

"You can't go to your parents empty-handed, go and buy something for them." Lucien nodded in the direction of a pastry shop.

"Oh…" Mundy looked at the shop, then back at his lover, and grinned. "What would I do without you…?" 

"You would certainly forget about good manners!" Lucien answered. "Now, go." 

"Come with me."

"Non, you know them and their tastes. Besides, it is better if I don't interfere. I have done more than enough." 

"Right, fine. I'll be back quickly." 

A few minutes later, Mundy exited the shop with a bag in his hand. 

"You have what you need?" 

"Hope so." 

"A bit more confidence, please." Lucien pulled Mundy's chin up with the tip of his index and the Aussie smiled. "Much better, mon loup." 

[My wolf]

They hopped on the motorcycle again and this time, they went straight to Mike and Caroline's house. After he stopped the motorcycle, Mundy removed his helmet and sighed. 

"Anxious?" 

"Y-yeah, a bit." 

"It will all be fine, mon amour. Remember, you go there to explain yourself and to let your parents explain themselves, d'accord?"

[Alright?]

Mundy nodded and he took the bag that Lucien was handing him. 

"You don't come out until everything has been explained in both parts." Lucien adjusted the collar of his lover's polo shirt and dusted his shoulders off. "And Mundy?" 

"Yeah?" 

"Please be patient with yourself and your father."

Mundy sighed. 

"I'll try…"

"Non, look at me… Please, if you feel like it is unbearable and you want to leave, think of your mother, and if that is not enough, think of me too." 

Mundy smiled, albeit with a hint of sadness. 

"Right…"

Lucien went to the tip of his toes and adjusted his lover's hair, brushing it with his fingers. 

"Please," Lucien insisted and he looked Mundy in the eye. "Promise me." 

"I promise you." 

"Very well. Now, I would kiss you but your parents have been stuck at their window watching us for long enough." 

Mundy blushed. 

"Go ahead, mon loup."

"R-right… Wish me luck…"

"You won't need it." Lucien straddled the motorcycle again and gave his lover a sweet gaze. "Be yourself, be the Mundy whom I fell for. You will make it." 

"Thanks, Lu'." 

"Je t'aime." Lucien put on his helmet and left. 

[I love you.]

Mundy turned to the brown door. He walked on the slabs on stone with daisies and tulips left and right and when he faced the door, he gave a knock. 

A few seconds later, his father opened. 

"Hey, Dad… Uhm… C-Can I…?" 

Mike opened the door wider and Mundy stepped in. 

"Micky!" Caroline crossed the room and hugged her son. "How are you, sweetie?" 

"Yeah, not bad… Uh, I brought you these." He handed her the bag. 

"What is it?"

"Pastries. It's not much but I hope you guys will like them." 

Mike passed them and sat on the sofa, watching TV. 

"Ooh, you shouldn't have, Micky, it's very sweet of you. You know what? Come with me in the kitchen, we'll make some tea to eat them with."

"Right…" 

Mundy removed his boots and sleeveless jacket before following his mother. When they entered the kitchen, Caroline shut the door and put on her apron.

"So, how've you been with Dad?"

"Not too bad," She readied a kettle. "He had an appointment with the doctor yesterday."

"Oh, everythin' alright?" 

"Yeah, don't worry. It's a usual check on his leg. Tires him quite a bit sometimes. Though, we're lucky it's summer now. It's much worse in winter. Sweetie, would you grab the cups for me?" 

"Sure, where..?"

"Top left… Yep, there we go…" Caroline put a tray on the table and Mundy added the cups. "Now let's add the sugar and milk… Here's a plate for you, put your pastries there." 

"Sure…"

And just like that, Mundy found himself decades younger, just helping out his mother in the kitchen. Oh he liked it so much… It was in those moments that he could speak more freely, as his father was far away and busy most of the time. He would empty his heart about his problems, what annoyed him or what was on his mind. Caroline usually found the words and talked him out of his rage, his frustration and his problems. Now that he thought about it, Mundy realised that Lucien was exactly that. He had the ability to make him speak out his trouble, put it into words and tear it out of himself.

"Oooh, that looks amazing, Micky, come on, let's go with your dad." 

"I'll take it, Mum, don't worry." Mundy took the tray for his mother. 

"Good boy, thank you dear…" She tapped her son's arm. She would tap his shoulder but the size difference made it easier to reach his arm than his shoulder.

Both mother and son joined Mike in the living-room. Caroline sat on the sofa next to her husband while Mundy took a seat on the nearby armchair. 

"Look at this, Mike. Micky brought us nice little pastries." Caroline poured the tea on the cups and added the milk and sugar for everyone, like a reflex. 

"Mh." Mike switched off the TV screen and took the cup that his wife was handing him. 

"How've you been, Dad?" Mundy asked and he took his cup. Mike raised his brown eyes through frowning, bushy eyebrows, and lowered them again to his cup of tea. Mundy's eyes went to his mother as he blushed, and back to his father. 

"Why did you come, Mundy?" Mike asked. 

"I uh… I want to have a chat with you both." Mundy put his cup back on the coffee table and wiped his sweaty, trembling hands on his trousers. 

"About what this time?"

Mundy sighed but let it fly. 

"I'm sorry, Dad." Mike's salt and pepper eyebrows jumped. "And I'm very sorry for you too, Mum. I uh… I didn't realise how badly you fell ill after the fire. I uh… I wish I could have been there to help you… both." 

Caroline gave a distraught smile and Mundy lowered his eyes. 

"I… Please tell me what happened, everythin', from that day to today." He asked. 

There was a moment of silence before Mike leaned back on the sofa and, still frowning, he nodded to himself. 

"Why d'you wanna know?" 

"Because it's important. I wanna… I wanna talk to you again, I wanna visit, I want to know you and I feel like there's heaps of things that happened between then I now. I want to understand you both and I feel like this would help… Right?" 

Caroline's eyes went from her son to her husband. 

"Right." Mike answered. "But I think I told you everythin' already. We've been through hell and back, your mum and I. Tryin' to survive, trying to stay hidden from that bloke cause Maurice warned us against him and we believed him. If not for him, we wouldn't be walkin' this Earth."

Mundy listened carefully. 

"It was hard. Harder than anythin' we've done before and… There were nights where I genuinely thought your Mum wouldn't make it to see the light of day."

"I'm so sorry…" Mundy hunched his back. "I so wish I could've helped…" 

"What would you have done?" Mike asked. "You were livin' with us, eatin' with us. You were homeless as much as we were, but at least you had the van." 

"Yeah but I'd have stayed by your side, I'd have stayed with Mum at night if you wanted to sleep, I - ugh….." Mundy sighed. "I'd have gone through hell with you. Look, Dad, I know we've never understood each other, but going through that together might have helped." 

"So you would have stayed with us to get along with me, huh?" 

"No, that's not what I meant, I mean… I'd have gotten a job and got the money for all three of us, you wouldn't have had to help Maurice out to get food and shelter…!"

"You could have done that before the fire, eh? You could have looked for a decent, proper job, and helped pay the bills." 

Mundy saw it coming… 

"Dad, I know, I could have, and maybe I should have, but I can't change what I did back then."

"Yeah, damn shame you can't." Mike answered, shaking his head.

"When I learnt about the fire, I came rushing back home, only finding firemen trying their best to put it out. I volunteered to go inside and get you guys out, but the firemen held me back. When the police arrived, they had to handcuff me and lock me up in their car for me to stop trying to go in. I yelled and cried and no one heard me but myself. I tried breaking the window of the police car, headbuttin' it and kicking it with my boots, but it didn't work. All it got me was a nasty bump on my head." 

"Hm." Mike answered, unimpressed. 

"When they extinguished it and it was safe, they got me out of the car, still handcuffed, and told me that they'd found you but couldn't have saved you. They said the fumes made you lose consciousness first so you didn't go painfully… I… It broke me." Mundy looked up at his father. 

"Same for us. It broke our house, our farm, our income, everythin'." Mike said. 

"Everything but you." Caroline corrected. "I was delighted that you weren't caught in the fire but… What got me ill was both the fact that we became homeless overnight and tracked down by people who really wanted us dead, and also the fact that I would never be able to see you, ever again." Caroline took a handkerchief and wiped a tear. "Micky… I've missed you…" 

Mundy went to the sofa, next to his mother, and hugged her. 

"I've missed you too, Mum… Maurice told me about you, about how sick you were. He told me about Dad stayin' with you until he barely had any strength left in him to do it any longer. He told me you helped the poor durin' the day but the nights were hard for you, cause you were so scared." 

"Yeah…" Caroline said, still wrapped in her son's arms and hugging him back. "At night I'd be more scared, the nightmares were unbearable. I used to see it all happen again but with horrible endings…"

"Here, you have it." Mike said. "And you said Maurice told you everything. So why ask us?"

"Because I want to hear it from you! Dad, I know you never understood me but please, please, for Mum's sake, let's just have a decent chat and not fight again." 

"I'm not the one mentionin' fightin'." Mike answered and crossed his arms on his chest. "So what've you been up to during all these years then? You said you weren't hunting anymore?"

Mundy released his hug on his mother and let her catch some air. He sat back on the armchair and cleared his throat. 

"I… It killed me to see you go. I couldn't eat or sleep for days. I lived in the van for the ten first years. I got my showers in the lake and washed my clothes there. First thing I did though, was to bury everythin' that had to do with hunting. I ditched it all in a box and buried it in the desert. Let it rust and rot there." 

Mike's eyebrow twitched. 

"What did you do? Got a job?" 

"N-no… Not really. I barely ate once, maybe twice a day on days where my stomach was hurtin' too much. I spent my days sometimes locked down in the van from dawn to dusk."

"You didn't look for another job? Play some music somewhere?" Caroline asked with kind eyes. 

"No."

"Why?" She asked. 

"I couldn't. I was… dead, inside, for ten years. I'd only come to town to pick up a sandwich or some coffee."

"So you've been doin' nothing for ten years…?" Mike insisted with as much disappointment in his eyes as in the tone of his voice. 

Mundy didn't say anything. He closed his eyes and thought about Lucien's words. Do it for Mum, do it for Mum, do it for Mum… He opened his eyes again and stared at his mother for an instant to summon the energy to face his father. 

"I… couldn't, Dad. I might as well have been dead and it would've been the same." Mundy answered and clenched his teeth. "I was stuck on that day. Every day I opened my eyes in the mornin' and cried because I realised it wasn't just a nightmare, it was real. You really weren't there anymore. Ironically, that's when I needed you most. I wanted to talk to you, to just hear your voice, to - to do anythin' with you, even if it was just get mad and fight…" Mundy answered. 

"I'm sorry, Micky, I've always wanted to contact you, to let you know we were alive but…" Caroline started. 

"But I refused." Mike finished. 

"I don't understand…" Mundy frowned. 

"O'course you wouldn't!" Mike answered. "You have no idea what it means to be tracked down. You like to be at the other end of the barrel usually, eh? But I did that for your Mum and you! Maybe if you get a family one day, you'll get it. But eh…"

"But it's fine." Mundy finished. "I don't understand, but I… I respect it. And no, I don't know what it feels like to be a walkin' target, but I know what it feels like to have your loved ones in danger, so I get that you wanted to protect Mum… and me, maybe." 

"Course I wanted to protect you!" Mike burst out. "You're my son bloody hell! I worked all my life for you and your Mum! I broke my back for you, we got you and decided to raise you! We could have called child services and got rid of you, but no! We wanted to keep you! I told your Mum, maybe this is an angel sent by God, and your Mum agreed! But no… The angel had to grow up and shoot down blokes who hunt for animals. Why? Cause no one else is gonna save those beasts…? And who's gonna save your Mum and I? Who did save us? Maurice, Maurice of all people, a guy who takes care of feeding a family bigger than we'll ever get, he saved us. Not you, not the little baby we took in and raised like our own son, not the man we saw grow up into a crazed gunman!"

"Dad!" Mundy burst out. "Would you just… stop it?!" 

Caroline put a hand on her face and shook her head. It had started well and for a second she really thought they wouldn't fight… 

"Stop it and let me finish! I didn't interrupt you when you said everythin' you wanted, I didn't stop you when you blamed me again, I never ever stopped you whenever you put me down like that!" 

Mundy's voice sliced through the thick air in the room and the silence that followed was heavy to bear for everyone. 

"Right…" He gathered his thoughts and his courage again. "So yeah, I put my rifles, kukris and everythin' under the ground and I could have added my own self! The only reason why I didn't do it was because it would have killed Mum if she knew."

"Your mother was dead." Mike answered. 

"I know!" Mundy roared. "But still! I had respect for her!" 

"Not for me, eh?" 

"Yeah, no, that's not what I meant… Arh…" Mundy lowered his head and when he raised it again, he took a deep breath and sighed. "I put my rifles and all my life in the ground. I walked the Earth going from one day to the next, waitin' for I don't know what." Mundy explained. 

"You…" Caroline's voice made it lighter for everyone and more bearable. "You stayed like that until a few days ago?" She asked and Mundy looked at her kindly. His eyes were tired, tired of having to justify himself in front of his Dad, tired of having to show that he was trying his best, tired of seeing that his best was far from good enough in Mike's eyes. 

"No." He answered. "I stayed like that for ten years. My life changed, about a year ago now." 

"What happened?" 

Mundy took a deep breath and saw his father's unconvinced eyes. 

Do it for Mum, do it for Mum, do it for Mum, do it for Mum…

He knew that the next part of the story would not please him.

[gaamagirl565]

Matters of the Heart S3 ep 4

Matters of the heart Season 3 episode 4 The starlit cave

{OPENING CREDITS} {Open to the sun rising over the forest as very few people walk around camp in the early hours of the morning; Varian is discussing a map with Eugene; Rapunzel is helping gather water; Hector is chopping wood with his son; pan to a tent where Isaiah lay sleeping} Isaiah: ….dad stop...turning the apples...into...oranges… {Cut to something zooming in closer on the tent; cut back to Isaiah sleeping peacefully; it zooms in closer on the tent until it crash lands into it causing the tent to collapse making Isaiah scream and fumble out} Isaiah: AH! Wh-what the!? {Hamuel pokes his head out from the collapsed tent} Isaiah: UGHH! Hamuel! This better be good! {He grabs Hamuel and unties the message on his leg} Isaiah: I swear if this whole time you just did a big circle and this is the message I wrote I’m go-... {He reads the note and slowly a smile forms on his face; he grabs hamuel and runs off towards his dad; Cut to Varan talking to Eugene} Varian:  we scouted the whole area for healing herbs and I tried so many concoctions but I don't think we're going to be able to cure this. Eugene: we have to try something they're on the brink of d- Isaiah: DAD! {Varian turns to see Isaiah running for them before he trips and falls in the mud} Eugene: *snerk*...Like father like son. {Varian groans and takes out a blue orb} Isaiah: Huh? Dad...Dad no! No NO N-! {Varian tosses the orb and it explodes into a cloud of suds; as the bubbles slide away it leaves behind a clean but soaked through Isaiah} Isaiah:....really? Varian: Did you really want to walk around with mud on you all day? Isaiah:  that's not important, look at this! {He hands over the note and Varian looks it over} Varian:  captain of the SS Salvador? Eugene:  it sounds familiar. it's a trade ship I think. Passed through Corona a couple times. Varian:  Eugene listen to this he's offering us aid!  it says he has supplies and Manpower!   Eugene: probably not enough to take back Corona but hey it's a start!  how do you know these people? Isaiah: Captain Adrian Saved my life when I fell off the cliffs.  While I was on his ship I did some work to repay the favor.  he said if I ever needed his help again just ask.  I thought this situation was a good enough reason to ask for help. Eugene:  it says he's in the harbor he's using the cliffs to hide his ship from view. Varian:  I guess we're going on foot then... well as soon as Isaiah changes into some dry clothes. {Isaiah slings mud at him} Varian: EYY! Isaiah:  and as soon as you change your vest. {Isaiah runs off with Varian chasing him; Cut to the shore as Rapunzel, Eugene, lance, and Varian peer out from the cliffside at the ship wading in the waters;on shore a crew is taking inventory of supplies} Eugene: Looks like a crew of about 15 people… Lance: So what's the plan? Rapunzel:  well we need to make sure nobody's watching us first so maybe we should set up a scout around the perimeter and then- {Isaiah runs past them and down the shore} Isaiah: CAPTAIN ADRIAN! Rapunzel: O-or we could do that! Captain: Isaiah! There he is! {Isaiah jumps into his arms and they both fall over causing the captains powdered wg to fall off} Captain:  look how strong you've gotten! and I see you found your way back just as I thought you would. {The group walks over to meet the captain and crew} Isaiah:  Captain Adrian this is my dad the one I told you about. Varian:  it's a pleasure to meet you and I thank you so much for saving my son's life. Captain:  the pleasure was all mine. you've raised a fine young man. and you must be the king and queen of Corona. Rapunzel:  you guessed it! Captain:  I promise you my crew and I will do all that we can to help aid you.  I'm not really supposed to be doing this but I think the situation calls for it.  are cargo that were supposed to be trading should be more than enough supplies to last us for months. Eugene:  isn't giving away cargo you’re paid to deliver illegal in any way? Captain:  only if people find out. besides I'm pretty sure Corona can put it to better use. Lance: Those are a lot of crates and boxes. Captain:  indeed!  we have food, tools, clothing- Varian:  medicine? Captain:.... are people injured? Eugene:  we have many sick. Captain:  then we best not waste any time. Rapunzel: we brought horses and wagons to carry the supplies.  I suppose the sooner the better! Captain: Men! help load up the cargo! crew: aye sir! {Isaiah hugs the captain} Isaiah:  thank you so much captain… Captain:  as I said before the pleasure is all mine. {Cut to Noremoth laying in a cot groaning in pain; a rag is placed on his forehead; pan up to reveal Catalina} Keira: how's he doing? Cataliana:  not good… Keira:  you okay? Catalina: When Sterling was born... I said we could start over.  I was still mad at him but he really did seem like he was sorry.  and now that Isaiah is actually alive... not only that he risked his life to save them.  I just... feel like a jerk. {Keira walks over and hugs her} Keira:  don't.  you were mad and you had every right to be mad.  the fact that everything turned out okay is a good thing. Catalina:  it didn't turn out good for him. Keira:  look no matter what happens it's going to be okay. {Everyone walks into camp pulling the supplies along in two wagons} Captain: will look at this... quite the little community. Varian:  the best we got so fa- {A villager runs up} Villager: Your Majesty! Eugene: Whats wrong? Rapunzel: What happened? {The Villager looks up at them grimley; Rapunzel’s eyes dilate in fear} Rapunzel: no… { Rapunzel runs off in the direction of the sick bay} Eugene: Sunshine wait! {Eugene goes after her and everyone follows;  once they reach Sick Bay everyone notices a woman crying over a man laying still in a cot;  Rapunzel takes a minute to look over the man before giving the woman a tight hug} Eugene: oh no… {Eugene walks over and joins in comforting the widow} Isaiah: dad?... is he…? Varian:  yeah... I think he is. {The physician covers the man with a sheet} Varian: euggh...I'm... I'm going to go find your stepmother and brother.  don't go far okay? Isaiah: o-okay… {Varian walks off and Lily steps forward} Lily:  Isaiah... are you okay? Isaiah: what's going to happen to Nathaniel? Benny: ‘Saiah? {Isaiah runs into sick bay and over to Nathaniel’s cot; The others follow; Nathaniel's breathing is shallow and he's utterly pale;  Isaiah takes his hand and kneels next to him} Isaiah:  hey man... that's okay you don't have to talk. just listen okay?  it's going to be okay.  I'm not going to let you end up like that.  I promise that. { Willy walks forward and kneels next to Isaiah;  she holds his hand} Lily:  Isaiah... you can't promise that. Isaiah:  I can and I am! {Lily jumps} Isaiah: I can't lose anyone else. not again. { the hear someone walk up behind them and they all turn around to see the captain and one other sailor} Captain:  I've never seen an illness like this before. Isaiah:  we don't know what it is. we don't even know how to cure it. Captain:  I'm sorry. I've lost many fine sailors to illness. Some of them my best friends. if it's any consolation I know your pain. Isaiah:  I just wish there was some way I could... do something. Sailor: what about the Star Stones? Captain: oh do shut up… Isaiah: Star Stones? Captain:  old sailors tale, there's a type of stone thats said it to Glow like stars.  supposedly if you crush the stones into a powder they make a valuable medicine.  However… Sailor:  there's a reason they're so valuable!   these stones normally form in damp environments such as behind a waterfall making it very perilous to try and grab one! Captain: which is why it pays not to give the boy false hope… Sailor: sorry sir… {Isaiah looks back at  Nathaniel;  he then looks at Lily and Benny all of them seeming to have an understanding; Fade to later at night; Isaiah walks to the edge of camp meeting up with Lily and Benny} Isaiah:  okay everyone ready? Lily:  should we really be doing this? Isaiah: do you want Nathaniel to die!? Lily: no of course not! but the last time we tried to go off on our own we almost got killed. Benny:  yeah but this time you have me. and I'm kind of an expert on not dying. unlike someone here. Isaiah:  sometimes you really push boundaries you know that? Juniper: and where are you squirts going? {Isaiah jumps around clasping his hands over his mouth to muffle his scream} Isaiah:  don't do that! Juniper:  I'll ask again, where are you going? Benny: to get Star Stones! Isaiah: Benny! ugh...how’d you even know we were out here? {Akina peeks out from behind her} Lily: Akina? Akina:  I saw you guys heading towards the edge of camp and I got nervous! Juniper:  you want to get Star Stones? okay I'm going to put it out there right now yes those things exist but at the same time they are next to impossible to  obtain. even a grown man would have trouble grabbing  just one of those things. Isaiah:   people are going to die unless they get some proper medicine!  my dad can make that medicine out of these stones.  if there's a chance we have to try it! {Juniper groans and looks back at the camp before turning back to the kids} Juniper:  fine. but I'm coming with you. Isaiah: what!?  Why!? Juniper: no offense kid but you couldn't tell an onyx from a diamond.  secondly I know forests.  thirdly I know where we would be able to actually find these stones. Akina:  she does seem to know more about it than we do. Isaiah:  We?  now you're joining us?  am I just a leader of a tribe now!? {Juniper glares at him} Isaiah:  fine.  you can come with us only because you know where these things are. Juniper: ‘Kay! { she snatches the map from his hands and starts leading the way} Juniper: C’mon kids follow the leader. Isaiah: I really don't like her. Lily: *snickers* {cut to the forest as their walking through it} Isaiah: Do you have any idea where we're going? Juniper:  I know where to find Star Stones I just have to look on the map for where they might be forming. isaiah: excuse me... might? Juniper:  they tend to form in very dangerous environments.  normally behind a waterfall. Akina: there's a waterfall not too far from here! Juniper:  then I guess it's the first place we're looking.  come on slow pokes and try not to touch anything. I'm not going to get blamed if one of you catches poison oak. Lily: …. Hey um..Isaiah? Isaiah:  yeah? Lily:  no that were kind of alone you know with everyone ahead of us... was wondering if we could talk? Isaiah: oh um...okay. Lily: I've been meaning to ask... how are you really? Isaiah: honestly... not good.   people keep telling me I'm only a kid and that I should remember that.  but I feel like I haven't been a kid for a very long time. Lily:  what do you mean? Isaiah:  look at all that I've seen. what I've been forced to deal with.  and now my friend might be dying?  how can I be expected to stay a kid after dealing with all of this? {Lily takes his hand} Lily:  I don't know. But you want to know what I do know. Isaiah: what? Lily:  I know for a fact that I'm looking at a boy that's gone through hell and back and still come out smiling. if that isn't strength I don't know what is.  you're the strongest of all of us.  Just one of the many things I love about you. {Isaiah smiles softly and kisses her cheek making her giggle} Juniper: are you two done? We’re almost at the.... Isaiah: Well continue what you were saying? Juniper: Shut it! Isaiah:...im gonna kill her... {He moves forward with his dagger before hearing a large growl; All of them turn to see a large scarred up bear} Isaiah:...You know what, I'll let him Kill her. {The bear roars and charges at them; They all run following Juniper whom has taken out a sling shot and started firing sharp rocks at the bear} Juniper: GO! Up the stone wall! Climb! {They all start climbing the stone surface; Lily slips } Lily: AHH! Isaiah: LILY! {He grabs her hand and pulls her up to him} Isaiah: Hold onto me, okay? Lily: O-okay. {Juniper reaches the top first and helps Benny and Akina up} Juniper: Where are Isaiah and Lily? {They all look down and see Lily on Isaiah’s back as he climbs} Juniper: C’mon guys! Only a little further! Akina: You cando it! Benny: Get a move on stinky! Isaiah: Shaddup! {once they reach close to the top Juniper leans down and pulls them both up} Juniper: There we go! You guys okay? Lily: Y-yeah I think so.. {Isaiah looks down at his scrapped up and cut hands} Isaiah: augh… Juniper: c’mere… {She takes his hands and looks them; she reaches into her hip pouch and pulls out some cloth and wraps his hands} Juniper: When we get back to Camp you'll need some salve.  other than that you should be okay. Akina: Guys look! {She points to the waterfall cascading over the side of the rock wall; they all get up and walk behind the waterfall to find it’s covering a cave} Isaiah: Ladies first? No? Juniper: I’m no lady… {She kicks him into the cave; They walk down into the cave and come across a tunnel of glittering stones} Isaiah:....We found it… Benny: Woohoo! Look at em all! They really are like stars! Juniper: We better collect as much as we can, we don’t know how much the alchemist will need. {They start collecting as much as they need and put the stones in pouches; Isaiah looks over and stares at Lily in the glow of the stones; he grins but his smile disappears when they hear the sounds of the bear outside} Juniper: Crap...Everyone hide! {As everyone hides Juniper takes out her dagger; The bear walks in and notices her; it roars and charges her; she jumps on it and they fight their way outside} Akina: Juniper! {They all run outside to see Juniper holding her bleeding arm as the bear backs her into a corner; Benny picks up some rocks and throws them at the bear; The bear turns around} Benny: Come on! We gotta help! {They all pick up rocks and start throwing them; the bear backs further away with every throw} Isaiah: We can drive it off the cliff! Keep tossing rocks! {Isaiah grabs a handful and move forward; making the bear back over to the ledge; He throws one more rock and the force makes the bear slip off the ledge; it bites and pulls Isaiah’s cloak as its going down} Isaiah: AHHH! {Juniper lunges and grabs Isaiah as the cloak rips send the bear tumbling over} Lily: Are you okay!? {She runs into his arms} Isaiah: I’m okay lily.. {Juniper reaches into her pouch and pulls out some star stones} Juniper: Better get these back to your dad.. Isaiah: good point..But um..I’m leading the way this time. Juniper: Over my dead body! Isaiah: The bear is right down there that can be arranged! {cut to the camp at the dark early hours of morning; Isaiah and therest of the group runs into camp} Isaiah: DAD! Lily: Uncle Varian! Benny: Daddy! {Varian comes stumbling out of his tent half asleep holding his alchemy belt} Varian:uh da..wh-what happen? Isaiah: We have Star stones! We can make a cure from this! Varian: Y-your sure? Isaiah: Yeah! 100%! {Varian hugs Isaiah} Varian: That’s my boy!! {Start montage of Varian making cures and administering them to the sick; the purple spots fade from them and they start waking up} Nathaniel: hmm?...w-what’s going on? All 4: Nathaniel! {All 4 jump onto his cot to hug him knocking the bed over in the process} Nathaniel: AH!... {Cut to Varian opening a vial of the Medicine by Noremoth; Catalina looks on in worry} Lance: It’s gonna be okay… {Varian pours the Medicine into his mouth} Varian: now we wait… {Pan over to a candle and show the hours passing with it melting; pan to Noremoth finally waking up} Noremoth: mnn...owww my stomach… did I eat bad sausage again? Catalina: NOREMOTH! {She hugs him and he looks surprised for a moment before hugging back; lily peaks and smiles} Isaiah:Hey uh..Lily? Lily: eep! Isaiah you startled me! Isaiah: S-sorry! But um..I made you something. Lily: Really? {Isaiah holds out a star stone necklace} Lily: Oh Isaiah… Isaiah: I know it's not perfect... But... my dad gave my mom a necklace like that.  and I guess it meant a lot to her because I never saw her take it off.  I didn't even know Dad made it for the longest time.  but if it made her that happy... I want to make you that happy. so... I made you one. {Lily puts on the necklace and tears up} Isaiah: Lily? You oka-! {She jumps into a hug and kisses him; He smiles through it before they pull away} Lily: best present ever… {END CREDITS}

[winchesterbrotherstan]

Supernatural- Scarecrow (1.11)

Pairing: Lowkey lowkey Meg x Sam (nasty i know), Olive Winchester (OC)

Summary: The siblings hear from John, Sam and Dean fight, leaving Olive stuck in the middle once more, and Dean’s life is put in immediate danger

Warnings: uh death, cursing, fighting, blood maybe, i dunno

Word Count: 3938 (she’s baby)

“Olive? Where’s your brother?”

My eyes bugged out of my head. “Dad?”

“Olive, is that you?”

“Dad, are you hurt?”

“I’m fine.”

“Dad, we’ve been looking everywhere for you. We didn’t know where you were, if you were even alive.” My voice broke.

“Olive, I’m alright. What about you and your brothers?”

The water stopped running and Sam came out, wrapped in a towel. His hair was crazy and his eyes were wide. Dean rolled over in bed.

A tear fell down my cheek as I looked over the boys. “We’re fine. Dad, where are you?”

“I’m sorry, kid, but I can’t tell you that.”

“What? Dad, why not?”

Sam slipped back into the bathroom, probably to put clothes on.

“Is that Dad?” Dean sat up.

“Look peanut, I know this is hard for you to understand. You’re just gonna have to trust me on this.”

I sighed. “You’re after it, aren’t you? The thing that killed the boys’ mom.”

Dean blinked as he moved from his bed to Sam’s, where I was sitting. Sam emerged from the bathroom, shaking his hair off into a towel.

“Yeah. It’s a demon, Olive.”

“A demon? You know for sure?”

“Put him on speaker.” Dean elbowed me.

I sighed and hit the speaker button, putting the phone down on the bed. I leaned against Dean with a sigh as tears streamed down my cheeks.

“Dad!”

“Dad?”

“Hi boys. I do know for sure. Listen, Sammy, I uh… I heard what happened to your girlfriend. I’m so sorry. I would’ve done anything to protect you from that.”

“Do you know where it is?”

“Yeah, I think I’m finally closing in on it.”

“Let us help.” Sam begged.

“You can’t. You can’t be any part of it. Especially not you, Olive. You need to stay as far away from this as possible. None of you can help.”

“Why not?” Sam asked before snatching up the phone and taking it off speaker.

Dean and I sighed. “Sam, give the phone back.”

He ignored us.

“Sammy!”

“Names? What names, Dad- talk to me, tell me what’s going on?”

“Give me the phone, Sam.” Dean got up.

Sam turned away from him, and I ran up and jumped, grabbing the phone back. Dean snapped it from my hand and put the phone to his own ear.

“Dad? It’s me. Where are you… Yes, sir… uh, yeah, lemme just find a pen. What’re their names?”

                                                          ***

“Alright, so the names Dad gave us, they’re all couples?” Sam asked, glancing at Dean every so often.

“Three different couples. All went missing.” I sighed as I flipped through the journal, spread out in the backseat of Baby.

“And they’re all from different towns? Different states?”

“That’s right. You got Washington, New York, Colorado. Each couple took a road trip cross-country. None of them arrived at their destination and none of them were ever heard from again.” Dean sighed from the passenger seat.

“Well, it’s a big country, Dean. They could’ve disappeared anywhere.” Sam shook his head as he drove.

“Yeah, could’ve, but. Each one’s route took them to the same part of Indiana. Always on the second week of April. One year after another after another.” I informed.

Sam squinted at the road. “This is the second week of April.”

“Yep.” Dean popped the ‘p’.

“So Dad is sending us to Indiana to go hunting for something before another couple vanishes?”

“Yahtzee. Can you imagine putting together a pattern like this? All the different obituaries Dad had to go through? The man’s a master.” Dean sighed.

I watched as Sam rolled his eyes and pulled over.

“What are you doing?” Dean looked up.

“We’re not going to Indiana.”

Dean looked at me, confused. “We’re not?”

“No. We’re going to California. Dad called from a payphone. Sacramento area code.”

“Sam.” I warned.

“Guys, if this demon killed Mom and Jess, and Dad’s closing in, we’ve gotta be there. We’ve gotta help.”

Dean shook his head. “Dad doesn’t want our help. And he wants Olive far away. You heard him.”

“I don’t care. There’s gotta be somebody nearby to take Olive.”

“He’s given us an order, Sam.” Dean spoke, tone firm.

“I don’t care.” Sam repeated, teeth gritted. “We don’t always have to do what he says.”

“Sam. Dad is asking us to work jobs, to save lives. It’s important.” Dean sighed.

“Alright, I understand. Believe me, I understand, but I’m talking one week here, man to get answers. To get revenge.”

Dean sighed again. “Alright, look. I know how you feel.”

“Do you?” Sam snapped back, and Dean was taken aback. “How old were you when Mom died? Four? Jess died six months ago. How to hell would you know how I feel?”

I cut in. “Sam, Dad said it wasn’t safe for any of us. He obviously knows something that we don’t, so if he says we should stay far away, we should stay far away.”

“She’s right, Sam.”

Sam scoffed. “I don’t understand the blind faith you have in the man. I mean, it’s like you don’t even question him.”

“Yeah, it’s called being a good son!” Dean hissed.

Sam’s face went dead-pan and he stormed out of the car. Dean turned to look at me and I gasped as I got out of the car, watching Sam take his things from the trunk.

“You’re a selfish bastard, you know that?” Dean growled. “You just do whatever you want. Don’t care what anybody thinks.”

“That’s really what you think?” Sam asked.

“No, of course it isn’t, Sams-”

“Yes. It is.” Dean squared his jaw.

Sam scoffed again. “Well, then this selfish bastard is going to California.” He pulled his backpack on and began to walk away.

“Sam!” I called.

“Come on, you’re not serious.” Dean scoffed.

“I am serious.” Sam kept walking.

“Sams, come on, it’s the middle of the night!”

“Hey! I’m taking off. I will leave your ass, you hear me?” Dean called.

Sam stopped and turned around. “That is exactly what I want you to do.” His gaze dropped to me. “I’ll see you later, Ol.”

“Wait, no!” I took a step toward him, but Dean grabbed my shoulder. “You’re just gonna let him go?” I asked him.

“Olive, you don’t have to pick.” Sam spoke.

“Like hell I don’t! I always have to pick! I have to sort out your stupid fights, I-I have to pick who I split with on hunts, I… I’ve had to pick every single day ever since you came back, Sam.”

He shook his head. “Olive, the last time we asked you to pick, you were eleven.”

“Yeah, and I’m still not over it, Sam!” I shouted. “That day fucked me up more than any hunt ever could!”

Dean sighed. “Then who are you going with?”

I sighed and looked between them, tears filling my eyes. Dean, who I had been with my entire life? Dean, who I had never been away from for more than a week? Dean, who had raised me?

Or Sam? Sweet, heart-broken Sam who had protected me with his all every single time? Sam, who had never hunted on his own? Sam, who played the role of big brother when Dean had to play dad? Sam, who butted heads with Dad like nobody else? Sam, who blamed himself for Jessica’s death and would stop at nothing for revenge?

I sighed again. I said nothing, blinking back tears as I pulled my own bag from the trunk, hearing Dean let out a breath. Even that sounded betrayed.

“I’m sorry, De. But he needs me.” I whispered.

“Olive…”

I opened my arms for a hug and he shook his head as he hugged me. “Please be careful.”

I nodded. “Always. I love you.”

He pressed a kiss to the top of my head. “I love you too, baby.”

He stood straight and regained his composure. “Sam! Anything happens to her, and I’ll kill you myself.”

Sam rolled his eyes. “Yeah.” He held his hand out for me. “Let’s go, bug.”

                                                          ***

I yawned as I woke up. Something under me moved, and I groaned.

“Morning, bug.”

I huffed. “Let me down.”

Sam chuckled as he tried to put me on my feet. I closed my eyes tightly, dizzy. I yawned again, pulling my hoodie over my mouth. He held me by the shoulders as I stumbled, my legs still asleep and my brain numb.

“Did you really carry me all night? You didn’t stop to sleep?”

Sam nodded as I got my balance back and started to walk again. “Yeah. I got way more sleep than you did last night.”

“Are we gonna hitchhike? We’re still pretty far.” I looked around, seeing that we were in the middle of absolutely nowhere.

He nodded again. “Yeah, we’ll have to.”

I shivered and he smiled.

“Nothing to worry about though, I’m here to protect you.”

I smiled up at him and leaned into his side. “Thanks, Sams.”

“Hey, bug?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m sorry we made you pick. Back there, and back then.”

I sighed and shook my head. I wanted to tell him it was okay, but it wasn’t okay. Picking between them had left me feeling sad and conflicted, and it led to my apparently dangerous dependency on Dean.

“Hey.” Sam called, and I looked up to see a girl sitting with her back to us.

She had headphones in, and Sam and I looked at each other. I shrugged. He walked over to her, handing me my bag.

“Hey.” He put his hand on her shoulder and she jumped, ripping her headphones out.

She saw us and let out a laugh. “You scared the hell out of me.”

“I’m sorry.” Sam shook his head. “I just thought you might need some help.”

“No, I’m good, thanks.”

“So, uh, where you headed?”

The girl laughed. “No offense, but no way I’m telling you.”

Sam shook his head. “Why not?”

“You could be some kind of freak.” The girl shook her head. “I mean, you are hitchhiking.”

I looked up at Sam. “Well, so are you.”

She laughed as a van pulled over, honking its horn. He rolled the window down.

“You need a ride?”

“Yeah.” Sam and the girl answered at the same time.

“Just the girls. I ain’t taking you.”

Sam’s shoulders squared and he tucked me behind him as the driver eyed me.

“She’s fifteen, you sick fuck.”

The girl snorted as she picked her bag up and got into the van.

“You trust shady van guy and not a pair of siblings?” Sam asked, eyebrows cocked.

The girl laughed again. “Definitely.” She closed to door and turned to the driver. “Hit it.”

Sam and I sighed to each other as we watched them drive off.

                                                         ***

“Sorry, the Sacramento bus doesn’t run again til tomorrow.” The ticket clerk spoke as her gum smacked around in her mouth. “Uh, 5:05 pm.”

“Tomorrow?” Sam sighed. “There’s gotta be another way.”

The clerk smiled. “There is. Buy a car.”

“Thanks for nothing, bitch.” I hissed as Sam grabbed me by the back of the neck and dragged me way.

“Nope, come on.”

I sighed as I followed him. He pulled out his phone and found Dean’s number. He clicked on it and sighed, hesitant.

“Hey.”

We looked up to see the girl from before. I looked up at Sam, but he was busy grinning at the girl.

“Hey.”

“You two again.”

“What happened to your ride?” He asked.

“You were right.” The girl sighed. “That guy was shady. He was all hands.”

Sam’s face turned into a disgruntled one as he looked down at me.

“I cut him loose.”

I sighed and looked down as Sam looked around.

“What’s the matter?”

“Just trying to get to California.” Sam sighed.

“No way!” The girl smiled.

“Yeah.” I looked at her, confused.

“Me too.” She stood and began to prance toward us. “You know, the next bus isn’t until tomorrow.”

“Yeah. Yeah, that’s the problem.” Sam sighed.

“Why? What’s in Cali that’s so important?”

Our dad.

“Just something we’ve been looking for. For a long time.” Sam spoke, herding me into his side.

“Well then I’m sure it can wait one more day, right?” She giggled and stuck her hand out as Sam chuckled.

“Meg.”

“Sam. This is Olive.” He gestured down to me.

                                                            ***

Sam and Meg drank together and flirted the entire time. I got sick of it and fell asleep two minutes in. Right now, I was wide awake, sitting criss-cross next to Sam, who was snoring on the floor, using my lap as a pillow. I threaded my free hand through his hair. He was tired, and I was sad. Dean sounded stressed. He had called me to check in and keep me informed of his current hunt. He said he wasn’t sure of what he was even dealing with.

“Wait, you’re telling me that the scarecrow climbed off its cross?”

“Yeah. I’m telling you. Burkittsville, Indiana. Fun fucking town.” Dean scowled from the other line.

“It didn’t kill the couple, did it?”

“No. I can’t cope without you, ya know.” He snorted, and I smiled sadly.

“So something’s gotta be animating it. Maybe a spirit?” I asked as I slowly inched back to lean against the wall.

“No, it’s more than a spirit. It’s a god. A Pagan god, anyway.”

“What? Why do you say that?”

“The annual cycle of its killings. And the fact that the victims are always a man and a woman. Like some kind of fertility right. And you should’ve seen the locals, Ol. The way they treated this couple… Fattening them up like a Thanksgiving turkey.”

I snorted. “The last supper, but for their victims.”

“Yeah. I’m thinking a ritual sacrifice to appease some Pagan god.”

“Huh. So a god possesses the scarecrow-”

“And the scarecrow takes its sacrifice. And for another year, the crops won’t wilt, diseases won’t spread.”

“Do you which god you’re dealing with?”

“No, not yet.”

“Well, if you figure out what it is, you can figure out a way to kill it.”

“I know. I’m actually on my way to a local community college. I’ve got an appointment with a professor. You know, since I don’t have my trusty sidekick geek boy to do all the research.”

“Tell him that if he’s hinting that he needs our help, he can just ask.” Sam spoke from beside me and I jumped.

“He’s awake. Wanna talk to him?” I asked Dean.

There was a sigh. “Yeah, hand me over. I love you, Ollie.”

I sighed. “I love you too. Be careful.”

“Always.”

I handed Sam the phone.

“I’m not hinting anything. Actually, uh… I want you to know… I mean, don’t think-”

“Yeah. I’m sorry too.” He cut Dean off.

“Sam, you were right. You gotta do your own thing. You gotta live your own life.”

“Are you serious?” Sam’s eyebrows furrowed.

“You’ve always known what you want. And you go after it. You stand up to Dad. And you always have. Hell, I wish… Anyway… I admire that about you. I admire that you’re teaching Olive that too. I’m proud of you, Sammy.”

My heart melted as I listened. Sam blinked.

“I-I don’t know what to say, Dean.”

“Say you’ll take care of yourself. And of Ollie.”

“Of course I will.”

“Call me when you find Dad.”

“Okay. Bye, Dean.”

The line clicked off and I leaned against Sam with a sigh. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and sighed.

“Who was that?”

I looked up to see Meg awake, inching closer to Sam’s side.

“Our brother.”

“What’d he say?” Meg asked.

“Goodbye.” I mumbled back, pushing myself into Sam.

He sighed and let his cheek fall against the top of my head.

                                                           ***

“Ready?” Meg asked, talking to Sam.

I got sent to voicemail and I slammed my phone shut, frustrated. “Sam, I have to go.”

“Still nothing?” He turned back to me.

I shook my head and pulled my backpack on. I had been trying to call Dean for the last four hours, and I got absolutely nothing but voicemail. That was bad news.

“Go where?”

“Burkittsville.” Sam answered for me.

“Wait, what?”

I sighed at Sam. “Look. You can go with her, you can come with me, it’s up to you. But I am leaving, now. Dean needs me.”

I turned tail and ran, leaving Sam to deal with Meg. I ran out of the bus station and across the street. I looked around to make sure I wasn’t being tailed and ducked into an alleyway. I went to the end, which opened up into another street. It was devoid of people, and full of cars. I sighed as I picked a beige Toyota Corolla. Nothing too flashy, but it would get me to Dean, and fast.

I pulled at the handle, and the door opened. I took a breath. I had to do this quickly. I pried the cover of the steering column off and pulled out the wires. I stripped the wires and twisted them together before stripping the others and sparking them together. I revved the engine, and it was music to my ears.

There was a tap on the window and my hand immediately went for the lock. I looked up to see Sam, and I grinned. I nodded toward the passengers seat and he sighed as he made his way around and slid into the car.

“Alright. Let’s hit it.” I pulled out of the spot as Sam buckled himself up.

                                                           ***

“Shh, stay low.” Sam whispered to me.

I nodded and clutched my knife, knuckles turning white.

“I can’t see.” There was a whisper from a girl, and I whipped around, barely able to see two people tied to trees.

I elbowed Sam and he nodded, following me to the people.

“Oh my God.” The girl whimpered, and I heard a familiar hiss.

“Dean.” I squealed as we popped out in front of them.

“Oh! Oh, thank god!” He let out a breath.

“I take back everything I said, I’m so happy to see you. Come on.” Dean spoke to Sam as he helped him untie the ropes. “How did you guys get here?”

“I stole a car.” I spoke as I helped the girl get down, holding a hand out for her. “Hi, I’m Olive.”

She nodded. “Dean’s told me about you.”

“That’s my girl!” He hit the ground and came running, scooping me off my feet and hugging me close.

I hugged back, relieved and overjoyed.

“Oh, shit, we have to keep an eye on the scarecrow. He could come alive any minute.” Dean said as he put me back down, cupping my cheeks before kissing my head.

“Uh, what scarecrow?” Sam asked.

Dean’s arms came around my shoulders like a protective straitjacket as he turned to see an empty post. The boys and I looked at each other with wide eyes.

                                                           ***

“Alright, so this sacred tree you’re talking about-”

“It’s the source of its power!” Dean explained as we ran through the orchard.

“So let’s find it and burn it!” Sam exclaimed.

“Hell no! We can wait til morning. Let’s get the fuck out of here before Leather Face catches up!” I called over my shoulder, running ahead to a clearing.

A few older people appeared, with old style torches in their hands and menacing looks on their faces. I dug my heels into the wet ground, and I almost slid right into them. Dean grabbed me by the waist and pulled up to his side, under his arm, leaving me feeling like a dog.

“This way!” He called, trying to lead us into another direction.

We were surrounded, and I felt my face go pale.

“Well, the adrenaline is gone, and now I’m just scared.” I whispered to Dean as he set me back onto my feet.

“Please. Let us go.” The girl, Emily, begged.

“Emily, you have to let him take you.” One of the older men spoke. “You have to-”

He was cut off by the scarecrow’s arm reaching through his stomach. I jumped about a foot in the air, and Sam snatched me up, holding me against him tightly. Emily screamed, and one of the women was caught in the same situation, arm through her stomach and around her. Emily backed up, into Dean as she screamed. The other people that had been trapping us left running and screaming.

“Okay, come on, let’s go!” Dean ordered, and Sam didn’t even put me back down as they broke into another sprint.

There was a noise, and I twisted around, but the scarecrow and its victims were gone. We kept going.

                                                           ***

Sam poured the gallon of gasoline out onto the tree. I yawned, still half asleep. We slept in the car, and while Sam stretched out in the back seat and Dean in the front, I had balanced myself on the back of the front bench like a cat. My back was killing me. Dean picked a branch off the floor and held the end to the lighter, watching as it began to burn.

“Let me.” Emily asked, and Dean handed her the branch.

Sam stepped back, and I stood between him and Dean as we watched the tree go up in flames.

“You know, the whole town’s gonna die.” Dean spoke to Emily.

She nodded. “Good.”

                                                           ***

We watched as Emily got onto her bus, waving goodbye to Dean.

“Think she’s gonna be alright?” Sam asked.

“I hope so.” Dean huffed.

“What about the rest of the townspeople? They’ll just get away with it?” I asked.

“Well, what’ll happen to the town will have to be punishment enough.” Dean tsked as we started walking back to the car.

“So. Can I drop you two off somewhere?” Dean asked.

Sam and I looked at each other and I only stepped closer to Dean, reaching out for his hand. He grinned and took it as we stopped at the car. Sam shook his head.

“What? You? Wanting to stay with me? Wild.” Dean teased and I elbowed him. “Shut up. It’s just hard to share a blanket with Sam.”

He laughed. “Sam?”

“No, I think you’re stuck with me.”

“What made you change your mind?” Dean asked.

“I didn’t. I still wanna find Dad. And you’re still a pain in the ass.” Sam scoffed, and Dean nodded. “But Jess and Mom… they’re both gone. Dad is god knows where. You, Olive, and me. We’re all that’s left. So if we’re gonna see this through, we’re gonna do it together.”

Dean paused and blinked.

“Hold me, Sam. That was beautiful.” He put a hand on Sam’s shoulder, and Sam smacked it away.

The three of us laughed, and Sam shook his head. “You should be kissing our asses. You were dead meat, dude.”

“Yeah, right.” Dean scoffed. “I had a plan. I’d have gotten out.”

“Right, right.” Sam rolled his eyes, and I smiled up at the two of them.

Sam ruffled my hair before getting into the car. Dean squeezed my hand.

“I’m proud of you, Ollie.”

I tilted my head. “What for?”

“Because you knew what you needed to do even when you didn’t want to.”

I furrowed my eyebrows.

“Oh come on. You didn’t wanna go with Sam, but you did because you knew that Sam would need you more than I would.”

I grinned. “How do you know I didn’t wanna go with Sam?”

He arched an eyebrow. “Please, we all know who your favorite is.”

I rolled my eyes and got into the car.

Previous Ep: Asylum (1.10)

Next Ep: Faith (1.12)

[american-satanxx]

Animal in Me//Chapter 2

Author’s Note: I have a total of 16 chapters of this written and more to come. Plus there will be a sequel to this story.

Masterlist

Had My Share Of Shady Deals And Girls, Hey

I’m sitting on the bus, writing in my notebook, taking notes as the boys fuck around on the bus. Nikki and Tommy are talking about some shit. Vince is talking to some girl he picked up and Mick, well Mick is sitting next to me watching me as I work. “Staring is rude.” I tell the guitarist, giving him my full attention. “How the hell did you manage to get involved with this?” He asks, motioning to the chaos around us. “You don’t seem the type to get lost in this world.” “My dad was a roadie for various bands and well...my mom wasn’t in the picture.” I tell him. “She took off after the first rockstar she met while following dad around. I don’t think he was a big name in music. Instead of allowing his parents to raise me, he brought me on the road with him; homeschooling me. This world is the only world I know.” “What bands did your dad work with, if you don’t mind me asking?” “Zeppelin, Queen, Ramones, The Doors, Sabbath…” “You know we’re touring with Ozzy right?” He asks smirking. “Only reason why I said yes to this assignment.” I chuckle in reply. “Did you really think I’d actually agree to be on a bus with Motley fucking Crue if it wasn’t for another reason. No offense, your bandmates are pigs; especially Sixx and Neil.” “Ignore them.” He scoffs. “Trust me, I plan on it.” I smile. “You might be the only normal on on this bus.” “That’s saying something.” He chuckles. “So I’ve read your articles the bands you’ve followed. Who was your favorite and least favorite band to work with?” “Favorite band was, hands down, The Rolling Stones.” I reply to the first question. “Least favorite was probably U2. Bono is a grade a assmunch.” “Why follow Motley Crue?” He questions me. “We’re nobodies compared to the bands you’ve followed.” “That’s the point.” I shrug. “I want to find the next big thing. You guys just so happen to be on my radar. I’m hoping a month and an article from now, you guys will be all over the place and me having to live on a bus with a bunch of pigs will be worth it.”

“You ready to see how true rockstars perform?” Nikki questions me, smirking as he teases his hair for the show. “Yea, I am ready to see Ozzy perform.” I deadpan, not showing much interest in the ego I deflated. “That hurt, right here blondie.” Nikki says pointing to his chest as his lips form a pout. “Why would you hurt me so?” “I don’t give out ego boosts.” I smile as I walk up to him to pat him on his show. “But I’m sure there will be a blonde in the audience that’ll gladly give you an ego boost. She’ll be the one throwing her bra on the stage.” “You sound jealous?” He smirks, earning an eye roll from me. “Why would I be jealous of a bimbo throwing her bra away?” I question him. “Do you realize how expensive those pieces of shit are? Besides, rockstars aren’t my thing.” “You dated Axl Rose.” He points out. “But look how big Hollywood Rose is.” I point out. “Only people that know them haunt Sunset. Much like how people only knew about London because of the same reason.” “You heard about London?” He smirks. “I’m flattered.” “Don’t be. You guys fucking sucked.” I tell him straight up. “You have a true chance at becoming a rock legend with Motley Crue, don’t fuck it up.” “So you are a fan after all.” He chuckles. “I was beginning to worry that you didn’t like us.” Sarcasm was dripping from his words. “No but I’d hate to write all those juicy stories about a rockstar’s fall from grace.” I shrug. “But then again, those stories could jump start my career.” “Thinking about the stories and not the music, typical of a journalist.” “At least I’m thinking about the future.” I defend myself. “The only things on your mind are probably who the fuck girl I get to fuck is or maybe where my next line of blow is coming from. There are more important things in life the sex and drugs.” “You’re right.” He smirks. “You forgot about rock and roll.” “You’re hopeless. “And you have a stick up your ass.” He counters. I sigh, knowing this will never end unless I end it. “This is going to be a very interesting month, Sixx.” “You’re right, it will be.” He smiles. “And one way or another, I will break your walls and get you to actually have fun.” “Highly doubt it.” I chuckle. “But I’m sure you love a challenge, don’t you?” He just smirks as Doc tells him and the rest of the band they need to get their asses on stage. Doc walks over to me, arms crossed as we watch the boys open up the set with Too Fast for Love. “He likes you, you know?” He doesn’t look at me. “That’s why he’s giving you such a hard time.” “He can like me all he wants, it’ll never lead to anything.” I confidently say. “There is no way I’d fall for a guy like him.” “You say that now but sooner or later, you’ll go back on your words. They always do…”

[spoookymuulders]

you make my heart beat like the rain

read it on ao3 here total word count: 7067 chapter word count: 3467 warnings: mentions of bruising

chapter two. there are no words left to speak. in which luke alvez definitely does not have a crush.

            The smell of scrambled eggs and bacon floats through the air as Luke tugs open the door to the diner. Early morning chatter bounces through the restaurant while regular patrons sip at their coffee, waitresses flitting between tables with warm smiles and bright eyes. Luke waves to Josie as he settles into his usual spot, elbows resting on the counter. Before Josie can step in front of him, however, Ellie appears, beaming at him, all bright eyed and bushy tailed, and Luke’s heart jumps into his throat.

            Morning, sunshine! She signs. Luke returns the greeting as Ellie grabs the coffee pot from the back counter and fills the mug she’s set in front of him. He sips at his coffee as she signs at him, nodding his confirmation that he’d like his usual, please and thank you, and watches Ellie as she bounces away, leaning on the counter a little ways down and refilling Jason’s coffee cup with a smile. 

            Sure, Luke doesn’t need to go to the diner every morning before school. Nobody needs to eat out every morning. But it’s become part of his morning routine. Besides, diner coffee tastes better than coffee made at home, and Ellie’s always been more than happy to fill his travel mug for him before he heads off to work. He drags a newspaper closer as Ellie slips into the kitchen, flicking through the pages till he lands on the funnies.

            He chuckles to himself as he reads them, looking up and pushing the paper away when Ellie sets a plate of eggs, bacon, and toast in front of him, and he grins broadly at her. 

            I heard a rumor that there’s a new kindergarten teacher in town. Ellie signs. Luke nods, sipping at his coffee and wiping his hands on his napkin before he answers her.

            Zara or Zelda or something. He signs, I guess she’s staying at the bed and breakfast until she finds an apartment. Ellie hums thoughtfully, leaning a hip against the counter and sipping at her own coffee.

            You be nice to her, Luke Alvez. She signs at him, squinting lightly. Luke feigns offense, putting a hand to his chest, and his heart flutters when Ellie laughs. The sound is warm and sweet and makes him think of freshly baked cookies and caramel-flavored coffee. They sign back and forth sporadically throughout the rest of his visit, and he tucks ten bucks under his plate. He waves to Ellie as he slides off his stool and heads for the door, stretching as he slips out - he has just enough time to stop home and grab Roxy before he heads to school.

            The tinkling of the bell above the diner door catches his attention and he turns back around, raising a brow when Ellie comes bounding down the stairs after him and pushes a paper bag into his hands. 

            You didn’t think I’d forget your two-year anniversary at the school, did you? She signs. Luke blinks twice, then smiles warmly, his heart swelling - in all honesty, he’d forgotten about his two-year anniversary as PE teacher at Callahan Elementary, so he’s not entirely sure why Ellie remembers. He peeks into the bag, gasping when he spies three of her famous brownies, and hauls her into a hug.

            She laughs in his ear, squeezing him tightly for a moment before she steps back. He signs about a thousand thank you’s as Ellie waves him off, still giggling, and he tells himself that the fluttering in his chest and his stomach is because he’s so excited about the brownies and not at all because he’s been hopelessly ass-over-head in love with Ellison Mackenzie since the day he met her two-and-a-half years ago.

 ****

             Zoe smooths her skirt, turning in front of the mirror and wondering for the fifth time if she should change again. Glancing at her watch makes the decision for her and she grabs her bag quickly, throwing it over her shoulder and hurrying downstairs. She scurries into the kitchen, stumbling to a halt when she sees Hotch and his son at the table, the boy’s legs swinging as he grins broadly at her.

            “Morning.” Hotch says, raising a brow. Zoe clears her throat quietly and fixes her hair.

            “Good morning.” She says softly. 

            “Would you like some breakfast?” Hotch asks. Zoe shakes her head quickly.

            “No, thank you - I’m running a little behind, actually.” She says. Hotch nods and sips at his coffee, wishing her luck as she hurries for the door, digging her keys out of her bag. She pauses on the porch to double-check one last time that she has everything, and is heading down the stairs when the door bangs open behind her. She freezes, her heart jumping into her throat, and turns around slowly, relaxing only when she sees Jack hurrying towards her.

            “Zoe, I made this for you!” He crows, waving a piece of construction paper at her. She blinks and furrows her brows, feeling the tension leave her shoulders as she takes the paper. Jack had taken to her almost as soon as she had walked through the door on Friday afternoon with JJ. He’d been patient enough to let her settle into her room, then had eagerly asked if she wanted to play legos with him, completely ignoring his father’s reprimanding look. But Zoe had agreed, settling on the rug in the living room with Jack and helping him build an X-Wing, and she’d found herself smiling and relaxing little by little.

            She looks at the paper he’s shoved into her hands now, tipping her head. It’s folded in half (sort of) and there’s a big smiley face drawn on the front. She opens the homemade card and feels a smile grace her features. It reads Good luck, Zoe! In Jack’s messy scrawl. Each letter is a different size than the one before it, and the G is backwards, but it makes her heart soar. Crouching down, she draws Jack into a hug and squeezes him gently. 

            “Thank you so much, Jack.” She says softly. He throws his arms around her neck and returns the squeeze easily, then beams at her as he steps back. “I’m gonna put this on my desk.”

            “I told daddy I’d come check on you during lunch.” He says seriously, and Zoe chuckles. 

            “Well, I’ll see you at lunch, then.” She says. Jack nods and gives her a mock salute, then runs back inside to finish his breakfast. Armed with a newfound confidence and a handmade card, Zoe hurries to her car and heads for the school. She looks around the town as she drives, glad that the school isn’t far away, and parks in the faculty lot. She exhales quietly before she gets out, and grabs the box of supplies out of her trunk, knocking it closed and looking up at the school. It’s been years since she started at a new school, and it’s like being the new kid all over again.

            A loud bark makes her turn around quickly, and she squeaks when she spies a German shepherd running at her full-tilt, a young man sprinting after her. Zoe goes stock-still, heart pounding, but the dog slows to a trot as she nears and starts sniffing around Zoe’s ankles. She lets out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding as the man approaches as well, grimacing.

            “I’m so sorry, she gets really excited about new people.” He says apologetically. “But she doesn’t usually run off like that. Roxy, here - here.” The dog pads over to sit beside him and looks up at him, tipping her head innocently as he snaps her leash onto her collar. He looks up again after a moment and offers a welcoming smile. “You must be the new kindergarten teacher.” 

            “That’s me.” Zoe says, offering a small, nervous smile of her own. “I’m Zoe.”

            “Luke, nice to meet you.” He returns, sticking a hand out. Zoe adjusts her grip on the box and shakes Luke’s hand. “I’m the PE teacher.” Zoe nods and they fall into step side-by-side as they head into the school, chattering lightly. Luke does most of the talking, Zoe nodding and chiming in here and there, but mostly she stays quiet. Luke finds himself feeling an almost brotherly sort of protection over her five minutes into their mostly-one-sided conversation, but he keeps that to himself. He walks Zoe to her classroom, leaning against the doorframe as she slips in, Roxy peeking in around his legs.

            He watches Zoe as she sets her box on the desk and looks around, exhaling softly. She instantly seems more comfortable, more at home than she had in the parking lot or the hallway, and Luke makes a mental note of this. Glancing over her shoulder, she offers a small smile.

            “Thanks for walking me to class.” She says. Luke chuckles and nods. 

            “Well, I promised a friend I’d be nice to the new kid.” He says, his tone gently teasing. Zoe laughs then, and Luke grins, proud of himself, because that’s a genuine laugh. “Hey, I’ll come find you during lunch, see how your day’s going.”

            “Ah, two prince charmings coming to check on me during lunch? Must be my lucky day.” She says with a smile. When Luke raises a brow, she continues, “Jack Hotchner said he told his dad he’d come check on me during lunch, too.” Luke chuckles and nods, checking his watch and giving a wave before he heads down the hall towards the gym.

            Alone in her classroom now, Zoe turns slowly and takes it all in. She’s glad she’d come in over the weekend to make the classroom feel more like it’s hers. She’d received the class roster and taken the time to set up cubbies and seating charts, had lost herself in setting everything up just right, and when she’d checked the clock and realized it was 11:45 at night, she’d felt calmer than she had for months beforehand.

            She sets a few things out on her desk now, including her card from Jack, and perches in her chair behind it with an exhale. She has five more minutes before the students start arriving, so she takes the time to set out a few morning activities before going to hover by the door and greet her new class as they come in.

 ****

             The morning goes by in a whirlwind, and before Zoe knows it, it’s lunch time. She escorts her students down to the cafeteria, making sure everybody has their lunch before heading back to the classroom with her own tray. She sinks into her chair with a slow sigh, smiling slightly as she nibbles at a carrot, and glances up when a knock sounds at the door. She waves a hand for Luke to come in, smiling when she realizes he’s being tailed closely by Jack.

            “How’s your first day goin’?” Luke asks, pulling a chair up to the desk. He helps Jack settle into it and pulls up another, flopping into that one and nibbling at his own lunch.

            “Really good, actually.” Zoe says, smiling. “The kids are great. Everyone’s been super nice.” Jack swallows a mouthful of his sandwich and chimes in.

            “Mrs. Wilson said she thinks you’re doing a great job!” He says, grinning brightly. “She even told Mrs. Strauss!” Luke lets out a low whistle, and Zoe glances at him, brows furrowed just so.

            “Mrs. Wilson is the secretary - and I’m assuming you met Strauss when you had your interview?” Zoe shakes her head.

            “Not in person, at least,” She says, “I had a video interview, it was before I moved here. I haven’t had a chance to meet her in person yet.”

            “Well, you probably will by the end of the day.” Luke tells her. “She’s.. A tough one. To say the least.” Zoe grimaces, suddenly nervous for the end of the day. She lets Luke and Jack distract her through the rest of their lunch hour, wandering back to the cafeteria with Jack when their time is up. They part ways with Luke at the gym and Jack slides his little hand into Zoe’s. She glances down at him with a small smile as he swings their hands lightly.

            Jack runs off as soon as he spies his class, shouting a farewell over his shoulder, and Zoe corralls her students by the door. They line up quickly and bounce after her down the hall, heading for the playground. Zoe hovers by the edge of the structures as the kids play, keeping count of each of them. When recess is over, she leads them back to the classroom, and they stop in the doorway, frowning curiously as they look around the room - Zoe had taken a moment as they’d left to flick the overhead lights off, opting for a few strings of fairy lights instead. 

            “Miss Zoe?” Pipes up one little voice. Zoe tips her head, indicating that she’s listening. “Why are the lights off?”

            “We’re gonna have some quiet time.” She says, moving to crouch in front of the kids. “And I thought it could be fun for all of us to read a book together.” 

            “What book?” Chimes in another little voice, this one from a little girl named Savannah.

            “Well, I’m not sure yet. I thought we could all choose one together.” Zoe says, smiling gently. Fifteen confused pairs of eyes blink at her for a moment, and she raises a brow. 

            “We get to pick the book?” Abel asks. Zoe nods, tipping her head.

            “I have a few choices we can all pick from.” She says, standing and waving a hand for the kids to follow her. One of the things she’d done over the weekend was set up an armchair in one corner of the room and laid some pillows and bean bag chairs around it. The kids settle into their seats as Zoe scoops her books off the seat of the armchair and perches in it. She lists off the books she’s grabbed, takes a vote, and smiles when they settle on The Secret Garden - it’s one of her favorites.

            They read the first two chapters of the book and spend the rest of the afternoon working on some literacy problems in the dim lighting of the classroom. When the last ten minutes of the day hit and Zoe tells them she doesn’t assign homework when they ask, it’s like Christmas came two and a half months early. The kids go bounding out of the classroom as soon as they’re released, shouting about no homework and the garden they’d talked about earlier. Zoe waves after them, flicking the lights back on and blinking in the sudden brightness.

            She’s in the process of cleaning up and pushing the chairs in when someone announces their presence at the door by clearing their throat twice. Zoe looks up and straightens immediately when she realizes it’s the principal, fixing her skirt lightly.

            “Mrs. Strauss.” She says. 

            Erin Strauss is a formidable woman to say the least. She is certainly the most principal-looking woman Zoe’s ever seen, with her blonde hair pulled into a tight bun at the nape of her neck and her matching beige skirt-and-blazer set. 

            “Miss Collins.” Strauss says coolly. “I trust your first day went well?” Zoe clears her throat and nods, offering a nervous smile.

            “Very well, yes, thank you.” Zoe says. “The kids are great, and everyone’s been really nice.” Strauss nods and hums, coming further into the room and fixing a book on the shelf lightly.

            “I heard your students shouting as they left for the day. Something about no homework?” Strauss says, brows lifting towards her hairline, and Zoe’s heart jumps into her throat.

            “Yes, ma’am.” She says, shifting her weight. “I’m a firm believer that homework isn’t beneficial or necessary. The children do enough work here at school, I don’t think they need to be sent home with even more.” Strauss hums, watching her for a few long moments. 

            “We’ll see about that.” Strauss says. “Welcome to Callahan Elementary, Miss Collins.” With that, she turns on her heel and strides out of the room. Zoe exhales quietly, feeling the tension leave her shoulders instantly, and she gathers up her things, shoving them into her bag. She shoulders it quickly and slips out, hurrying down the hall towards the gym. Luke is just coming out when she approaches, and his warm smile calms the frantic butterflies in her chest and stomach a little.

            “Hey!” He says brightly, holding securely to Roxy’s leash when she tugs on it. “How was your first day?”

            “Strauss hates me.” Zoe says miserably, reaching out to scratch Roxy’s chin gently. Roxy licks at her hand eagerly as Luke chuckles quietly.

            “She doesn’t hate you.” He says, falling into step beside Zoe as they head out of the school. “She just.. Takes a while to warm up to people.”

            “How long did it take her to warm up to you?” Zoe asks, looking up at him. Luke grimaces sheepishly.

            “I’ll let you know when she does.” He says. Zoe looks at him incredulously, then sighs.

            “I thought she was gonna rip my head off because I didn’t give out homework!” She says. Luke’s brows lift and Zoe huffs lightly. “Homework doesn’t help anyone with anything. All it does is add more stress and that’s the last thing kids need.” Luke chuckles quietly, shaking his head fondly.

            “Alright, c’mon.” He says, stopping at Zoe’s car and hovering by the front. “I want you to follow me, okay? I’m gonna give you a proper welcome to Callahan, and you’ll feel way better about your run-in with Strauss after, I promise.” Zoe shifts her weight and nods, climbing into her car and waiting for Luke to pull out of the parking lot. She follows him closely to the diner, looking it over with a small smile when she parks and climbs out - it seems to be the quintessential small-town diner, with a neon sign on the roof and red vinyl seats visible through the large windows at the front. Luke waves a hand, leading her inside.

            He settles into a booth for a change, letting Roxy settle at his feet, and Zoe slides in across from him. Almost immediately, a young brunette appears at the end of the table, her hands flying as she signs at Luke. Zoe watches with wide eyes, awestruck as she always has been by the beauty of sign language.

            “This is Ellie.” Luke says, signing as he speaks. He signs Zoe’s name and Ellie beams at her, waving eagerly. Zoe returns the smile and waves back, shuffling her feet lightly. Luke signs back and forth with Ellie for a few moments before Ellie bounces away, heading behind the counter with their drink orders scribbled on her notepad.

            “Ellie owns the diner.” Luke tells Zoe, nodding when she does. “She grew up here and moved away for culinary school, which was a little rough. She lost her hearing when she was seventeen.”

            “Damn.” Zoe says softly, glancing at the girl behind the counter. She’s bright and bubbly, and it’s clear to Zoe that Ellie has never let her lack of hearing dissuade her from anything. Luke nods as Ellie reappears with their sodas. She hovers, notepad ready and waiting, and scribbles down their orders as Luke signs them.

            “She told me once that her family used to come here all the time when she was a kid, but right before she moved away to go to school, it closed.” He says, sipping at his drink as Ellie flounces away. “She saved up every penny she could and bought the place as soon as she moved back, and it’s like a Callahan landmark now.” Zoe hums thoughtfully.

            “It seems like everyone knows some ASL.” She muses, watching another man a few booths down interact with Ellie. 

            “Yeah, all the regulars learned a handful of signs when she moved back and bought the place, just to make it easier on everyone.” Luke says. “I took it as a language in high school and continued in college, so I taught some of them.”

            Ellie comes back over at this moment, two plates in her hands, and sets them on the table. Luke and Zoe both sign a quick thank you and Ellie smiles, squeezing Luke’s shoulder gently as she turns and heads to another booth at the opposite end of the diner. Luke watches Ellie go with a small smile, then digs into his burger eagerly.

             Nibbling at her fries, Zoe watches Ellie go, then turns back to Luke.

            “So.” She says. Luke raises a brow.

            “So.” He repeats.

            “So, exactly how long have you liked her?”

            Luke chokes on his soda.

[drxcodormixns]

Just Pretend

☆–> pairing: Remus Lupin x Reader

☆–> overview: “I swear, when I made up my fake relationship, I did not know someone worked at the coffee shop with the same name and that my family + friends would find you”

☆–> word count: 2,903

Tip Jar

You fight the urge to roll your eyes as the drone of your mother’s speech washes over you. You love her, you really do, but recently she’s been incessantly asking you about a boyfriend - more specifically, why you don’t have one. She doesn’t seem to understand that fact that a boyfriend just isn’t very high on your list of priorities at the moment. You’re much more focused on getting into a good college.

“Y/N, honey, are you even listening to me?”

Sighing, you look up from your plate again to make eye contact with her. “Yes…”

That’s all the encouragement she needs to start off again and, true to form, you tune her out. No matter how hard you try, there’s no way to stop her. Unless…

You cough loudly, making her pause (finally). “Are you okay, honey?”

“I didn’t want to tell you this because we’re keeping it… casual, but I, um - I’m seeing someone.”

Your mom doesn’t say anything for a long minute. You can’t even look at her for fear of her seeing through your lie, so you just stare at your plate as if you’re extremely interested in the flowery designs on the face of it. Finally, your dad, who fell silent as soon as your mom started going on her schpeel again, clears his throat. “I think that’s great, honey. What’s his name?”

Fuck. A name. You did not think this plan through at all. Coming up with a name that’s actually believable, yet completely bullshit, on the spot? “Ummm -” You can feel your face start to redden as your parents’ eyes drill into the side of your face. “It’s a pretty unusual name.”

“What is it?” your mother asks, her suspicion pretty evident from the tone of her voice.

You fumble a little over your words, but finally, just pull something out of your ass. “H-his name is Remus.” Yup. One of the twin founders of Rome. Great idea, Y/N.

At this point, you’re sure that your forehead is glistening with sweat. You look up and make eye contact with your, clearly, still suspicious mom, and force a smile. ���Actually, I was about to go meet up with him, so…” You practically run to the kitchen and drop your plate in the sink, then fly out the door with your keys. Obviously, there’s nobody to meet, but you have to get out of the house. As you’re driving around aimlessly, your phone suddenly starts buzzing with texts.

Lily: Y/N! YOU HAVE A BOYFRIEND? WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME???

Lily: Helloooo??

Lily: Call me IMMEDIATELY

You groan. Of course, your mom must’ve taken the opportunity to tell everyone the big news the minute you left your house.

After pulling over and parking by a random curb, you call your best friend. You don’t even get the chance to say anything before she starts shrieking - loudly. “Fuck, Lily, calm down!”

“Calm down? Are you joking? You didn’t even tell me you got a boyfriend!”

And off she goes, asking you question after question.

“So his name is Remus, right? What kind of name is that?

“How old is he?”

“How did you meet him?”

“What does he do?”

“Is he cute?”

You groan and interject. “I didn’t tell you because it’s casual. I don’t want to make a big deal out of it.”

She snorts in response. “No offense, Y/N, but you’re not a casual kind of girl. That’s Marlene. Not you.”

You huff with indignation and hang up. Sure, a little rude, but at this point, you just want to be left alone. Having a fake boyfriend sucks. It seems that Lily’s feelings aren’t too hurt, anyway, because she keeps texting you. You shut your phone off and keep driving.

-

The next day, you wake up to somebody laughing way too loudly for the morning. It’s a laugh that you recognize well, and you grab your pillow and cover your head with it, trying to drown out the sound of the voices getting closer to you. Almost immediately, there’s a loud knock on your door and it flies open. There stand your mom and your best friend, looking extremely pleased with themselves for waking you up.

“Come on, Y/N! We have plans today, remember?” Lily says. You throw the pillow at her, hoping to knock the smug look off her face, but she just catches it with a laugh. “Oh, stop being so grumpy. Get ready, I’ll be waiting downstairs.”

She walks out of the room but you make no move to get out of bed - at least until your mom says something about pancakes. Pancakes, I’ll get out of bed for. Nothing else.

When you’re ready and sated, full of pancakes, you follow Lily out of the door and get in the passenger seat of her car. “So where are we going?”

Her eyes sparkle mischievously, but her voice is sweet when she speaks. “This really cute coffee shop I found. Remember we’re always talking about going to those instead of Starbucks?”

Though you’re suspicious, you have to admit it sounds nice. “Where is it?”

You spend the rest of the ride talking about nothing, and you’re pleasantly surprised that she doesn’t bring up your “boyfriend” again. You thought it’d be the only topic of conversation. Honestly, it makes you even more suspicious that she doesn’t even mention it - but you let it go.

The coffee shop Lily pulls into is small and unassuming, with ivy growing all over the walls. “This is adorable!” you exclaim with delight, smiling as you sit at a cozy little table.

“Isn’t it? We should definitely come here often.”

“For sure.”

You look up as a waiter comes up to you, smiling slightly. “Welcome! What can I get you both today?” Lily coughs, and you look back at her, only to see a shit-eating grin on her face. Confused, you raise your eyebrows at her. He’s extremely cute, you have to admit - with his unruly brown hair, flopping messily over his forehead, and his lean build… What really draws you in, though, are his eyes. They’re warm, and looking into them makes you feel at home - but there’s a tinge of sadness in them. You want to know what’s making this beautiful boy so sad.

Enough of that. You snap out of it, blushing slightly when you realize you’ve been staring at him for way longer than what’s considered normal. He glances between the two of you, looking a little bemused, while Lily’s still grinning like a crazy person. “Lils, what?” you ask, looking at the boy apologetically - and you finally see what’s making her so freaking happy.

His nametag. Says. Remus.

Your eyes widen, and you narrowly avoid cursing out loud. Doesn’t stop you from cursing inside your head, though. Shit. FUCK. Thinking fast, you force a smile and pray that whatever acting skills you gained in the middle school play would get you through this. “You caught us!” you say, much too loudly, and you cringe at the sound of your shrill voice. Clearing your throat, you try again. “I didn’t think you’d find him so soon.”

Lily rolls her eyes. “Please. I’m practically an FBI agent when it comes to this kind of thing.” She grins up at the poor boy - Remus - who still has no idea what’s going on. “Why are you being so shy?”

“W-what?” he stammers. Before he can say anything else, you shoot out of your seat and take your hand in his. You try to avoid thinking about how clammy your hand must feel and look up at his rapidly reddening face. His mouth is slightly open, forming a small ‘o’, which almost makes you laugh, despite the situation.

“I’ll help you get the coffee… babe.” You almost choke saying that last word, but power through. “I know your order, Lils.” With that, you practically drag him away.

As soon as you’re safely out of sight and earshot, you drop his hand and take a giant step away. “I’m so, so, so, sorry,” you say frantically. Remus swallows and nods slightly. He doesn’t look like the type of person that could really be angry at you, but you still keep apologizing. “I just - my family and friends, they’re obsessed with the idea of me getting a boyfriend, you know? So to get them off my case I made up a story and I never expected someone named Remus to actually live in our town! I’m just so sorry and -”

He coughs lightly and you shut up immediately, looking at him apprehensively. “It’s fine, really,” he says quietly. “How can I help?”

Your eyes widen. “Y-you’d help me?”

His soft smile comes back, which, you’re embarrassed to admit, makes your heart beat a little faster. “Of course. I know a lot about family getting on your case.” The sadness in his eyes grows stronger, making you frown, but you don’t press the issue. After all, you barely know him. “I’ll help in any way I can.”

A few minutes later, you and Remus walk back to the table, hand-in-hand. Lily looks up from her phone and smiles. “You guys are the cutest. Where’s my coffee though?”

Remus chuckles lightly. “Coming right up.” He squeezes your hand slightly before letting go. “Be right back, Y/N.” Hearing him say your voice so intimately makes you blush, and you bite your lip to keep from smiling too wide.

As he walks away, Lily squeals. “So. CUTE!”

You just roll your eyes and sit back down, fighting from looking over your shoulder to where your boyfriend is.

-

That night, after you take a long shower, you curl up in bed, holding your phone to your chest. Your body’s ready to drift off, but your mind won’t stop racing. Thoughts of Remus keep flitting across your mind, and you contemplate texting him. Before you can, though, your screen lights up, and your heart jumps when you see his name pop up on your phone.

Remus: Are you up?

You grin at the cliche. He obviously doesn’t mean it in the classic fuckboy way - he’s much too sweet.

Y/N: Yes :)

You chew at your lip as you watch the little dots at the corner of your screen.

Remus: :)

Remus: We should meet up tomorrow and go over some things for this “relationship”.

Y/N: Good idea

Y/N: When are you free?

Remus: We can do 12 - I can pick you up

Smiling, you put your phone down after texting him your address. For some reason, you’re really looking forward to tomorrow.

-

Your mom raises her eyebrows when you bound down the stairs the next day. “Where are you going?”

“I have some plans,” you respond, not really wanting to go into it anymore, but she keeps pressing.

“What plans?”

“Um…”

She grins and puts down the newspaper she was looking at. “Is it a date?” You groan and keep walking instead of responding. “You look wonderful!” she shouts, which makes you smile.

Remus is already waiting for you when you step outside. At least he looks as nervous as I feel, you think, as you feel your hands start to sweat. “Hi,” you say tentatively when you reach him. Much to your surprise, he reaches out and envelops you in a hug.

He’s so warm that you can’t help sinking into it, and you completely forget where you are until he speaks again. “We have an audience,” he whispers, and you realize that your parents are probably watching from your windows. Of course. Why else would he hug me? You think, trying to ignore the sting from the realization.

You cough and release him, avoiding his eyes. “Let’s go”.

As it’s a particularly nice day outside, you both decide on sitting in a nearby park. Though the conversation is awkward at first, as you’re still both basically strangers, you both quickly warm up to each other. It becomes weird how un-weird it is to just talk to him.

Eventually, he leans back on his elbows, letting the sun beat down on his face. “I think we’re ready for this.”

You smile and agree. “Definitely. Just one thing left.” You hold out your phone dramatically and make a face. “Time to make this Instagram official!”

Remus laughs and moves closer to you as you position your phone for a selfie. The next couple minutes are filled with duck lips and stupid faces as you take the dorkiest selfies imaginable. You both can’t stop laughing as you scroll through your camera roll. “Wait -” Remus says, coughing to stop his laughs. “We should take one where we pretend to be really in love.”

Still drunk on laughter, you agree, immediately looking into his eyes, trying to fake intensity. You’re both still laughing too much to take it seriously - but once the laughter subsides, and you find your face really close to his while looking deeply into his eyes, you start to feel butterflies in your stomach. The intensity isn’t fake anymore.

You swallow hard, completely forgetting about the task at hand as he lifts his hand to caress your cheek softly. The cool surface of his fingertips gliding across your skin makes you shiver, and you close your eyes as he traces your jaw. You feel him lean closer and, as he snakes an arm around your waist, you forget to breathe.

“Take the picture,” he whispers, but it barely registers in your brain.

Your eyes flutter open as you try to remember what he said. “W-what?”

“The picture.”

Shit. You curse yourself for being so stupid again. Forcing yourself to ignore the warmth of his body so close to yours, you raise your arms and snap a picture. When it’s done, you break away from him as fast as possible and stand up, busying yourself with brushing non-existent grass off of your clothes to avoid looking at him. “Ready to go?”

-

It’s been just over a week, and you quickly begin to look forward to your nights. Remus seems to be an insomniac just like you, and you both stay up late every night, just talking. It’s crazy to you that someone you met such a short time ago became such an important part of your life. You tell him how important college is to you, and how stressed you are about getting into a good one. He, in turn, tells you about his family - how they expect so much, and how, day-by-day, he can feel the pressure getting to him. He tells you he just wants to give up sometimes. When he tells you these kinds of things, you wish you were with him. You just want to hold him and make everything better.  

One night, a different notification distracts you from your text chain with Remus.

Lily: Y/N! Wake up

Y/N: I’m up, what’s going on?

Lily: The results came out

Jumping out of bed, you immediately switch to the portal for the college’s results. Your heart is hammering as you put in your login info, and you hold your breath as the page loads. Finally, you see it:

Dear Y/N,

Congratulations! We are pleased to offer you admission to…

You bite down on your fist to stop yourself from screaming. You ignore Lily’s texts and immediately call Remus - he’s the only person you want to talk to right now. He answers on the first ring, not even sounding groggy. “Hello?”

You can’t even talk at first because you’re hyperventilating so much. “Are you there?” Finally, you calm down your breathing enough to respond.

“I-I got in!” Saying the words out loud makes you want to scream again.

“Oh my god! That’s amazing, Y/N!” You nod frantically until you remember that he can’t see you.

“I’m so excited, Remus, I just want to scream -” you stop talking and stuff your head in your pillow. Deep breaths, Y/N. You suddenly register that Remus is talking again. “Sorry, what? I missed what you said.”

He laughs and repeats himself. “I’m coming over right now.” He hangs up immediately, and you just grin at your phone. You leave it on your bed and tiptoe out the door, waiting for Remus.

-

“So.”

“What?” You’re both in the same park you went to a week ago, and Remus is looking at you expectantly.

“Do we need to take another Instagram picture?”

You grin. “For what?”

“To celebrate you, of course.”

You roll your eyes and take out your phone. “If you insist.”

Remus scoots closer to you and slings an arm around your shoulder. You ignore the shivers that erupt from where his body is touching yours. “Ready?” he breathes, and you feel goosebumps erupt on your neck. You’re finding it hard to speak so you just nod.

As you’re about to press the button, he touches your face lightly, making you turn towards him. “I’m so proud of you,” he says, then kisses your forehead lightly. You sigh, barely hearing the camera shutter click. All you can focus on is the feeling of Remus’ soft lips on your skin.

Later that night, when you’re home in bed, you look at the picture you took. It’s your favorite picture on your camera roll. You fall asleep smiling, but there’s a nagging question in the back of your mind. Is this still pretend?