#also me and my best friend both have had our uncles in jail at some point in our lives and i just think that’s crazy

[peach-tea-tearss]

Shoutout to the time when my mum and dad just moved to the uk and she had a patient who was spewing bullshit and her coworker said ‘oh he’s speaking jibberish’ and my mum (who learnt English from a Dutch guy and shit cartoons basically) replies ‘oh sorry I don’t speak that language’ so sincerely. Like fuck yes girl you’re so right

[robert-de-niro-only-fans]

Escape

Jimmy Conway x Paulie's Daughter! Reader

Hiiiii, this fic is a little surprise I've been working on and I've got a few others in the works. I hope you guys love it! ❤️

TW: smut, mentions of crime and crime families, murder, marriage, mentions of pregnancy

Word Count: 5.2k

As you stand in front of the mirror, your head spins from the morning you've already had. Women everywhere, whizzing around you doing your hair and makeup, getting you into your wedding dress. All that to make you a bride.

And you do look like a bride, you think as you stare into the mirror.

Behind you, you hear a familiar voice, "Ahem, ladies, could I get a moment alone with our bride?" Jimmy. He's being extra charming today, as many of the women left the room giggling because he spoke to them.

"Wow... (Y/N), you look gorgeous..." he creeps up behind you and delicately places his hands on your sides, as if he might break you. He looks at you in the mirror, before gently placing a kiss on your shoulder. "You're gonna stop traffic when you walk down the aisle. I can't wait to see it," he moves your veil and hair to give you a kiss on the cheek.

You don't say anything, just stare into the mirror. After a small pause, Jimmy turns you around, "Hey, you alright?"

Finally, you get a good look at him in his tux: all black with an off white shirt and a deep green vest peaking out from the lapels of his tuxedo jacket. You let out a breath you didn't know you were holding, "Yeah, I'm okay, just nervous," you put your hand on his chest, looking him over again, "I'm glad you're here. You always calm me down, and you look great by the way."

You knew it was an unconventional choice, but you wouldn't have picked anyone else to be your Maid of Honor. And Jimmy was happy to do it for you, even with Tommy and Henry making fun of him for it, at least until they got asked to be bridesmaids.

These were guys that in another life, you never would've been friends with, probably wouldn't have even known. And truthfully, your dad didn't want you being friends with them, because he knows what they are: criminals, nothing but criminals. But they're the only family you have, and Paulie had to admit that it was so cute seeing you get into trouble with Henry and Tommy and then go to "Uncle" Jimmy to get you out of it.

Jimmy wouldn't have done that kind of thing for the guys; they needed to get pinched and learn what it was like, but he would do anything to keep your pretty face out of jail. Since you've grown older, old enough for your father to let you get married, you and Jimmy have grown to be best friends. He's not so much the Uncle he used to be to you.

"(Y/N)?" Jimmy starts, "we got something to tell you, honey."

Just from the man's tone of voice, you can tell something is terribly wrong; you just know him too well. At that point, Jimmy opens the door, and Tommy, Henry, and your dad Paulie shuffle in.

"What's going on?" you say sheepishly, taking a step back from the men before you.

"You may wanna sit down," Jimmy motions to the little couch in the room.

Your dad reaches for one of your hands and you pull it away, "What is it, papa?"

"Sweetie, let's sit down, so we can talk," he places a hand on your back, and you both sit on the couch together. Jimmy, Tommy, and Henry all stand around looking like tough guys: arms crossed, keeping an ear out for anyone who might be listening outside the door, their faces looking stone cold with a bit of worry in their eyes.

"(Y/N), that guy out there," Paulie starts, referring to the groom waiting to marry you, "he ain't the guy you think he is."

"What?" you ask quietly.

"Well, uh, the guys here-" he looks up at the three men standing around you, "Jimmy, uh..." He just couldn't say it to you.

"We've been keeping an eye on this guy, scoping him out," Jimmy finishes for Paulie.

"What? You were spying on my fiancé?" you ask, feeling hurt.

"You didn't think we was just gonna let you marry anyone, did ya?" Tommy pipes up.

"And I'm glad we did," Jimmy cuts back in, "that guy out there, (Y/N), he's a liaison for another crime family! They were using you for information, and now he's able to identify all of us."

"What? No... He's- he's... a union rep," you cast your eyes down as it dawns on you; it was all a lie and a great cover up so he could talk about his friends and you wouldn't even realize. God, did you feel stupid. If anyone was gonna catch him in that lie, it should've been you. "I'm so sorry..." you whisper as tears drop down onto your wedding dress.

Paulie immediately pulls you into a hug, "Hey, hey, it's okay, baby girl. It's okay. The guys here have a plan." He tries to comfort you as you cry into his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry, you know I'd never try to put any of you in danger. I'm sorry I was so stupid!!" You feel horrible and angry with yourself.

"Shhh... You gotta keep your voice down, honey," you feel Jimmy's hand rubbing circles into your back as he kneals next to you. "You're not stupid. It took us a long time to crack this guy. He covered his tracks well."

You turn to Jimmy, tears mixed with mascara running down your face. "Hey..." he says, pulling out a handkerchief and wiping the tears from your face, "Don't cry, angel. You shouldn't cry on your wedding day."

"But-" you get close to him, "it's not my wedding day anymore."

"Still," he pulls you up off the couch and into a hug, "you look too pretty to cry, and besides, we gotta get going."

You give him a confused look, trying to get it together, "Get going? Where are we going?"

"Well, uh, you and I are going on your honeymoon; Tommy and Henry know the rest of the plan."

"Honeymoon? We're not gonna cancel it?" you question.

"Listen, sugar," your dad grabs your attention, "this is the one day we can get your fiancé alone. He didn't dare bring any of his associates; we would recognize them, especially after all the recon we've done. So Jimmy's gonna sneak you out of here, and you're gonna go away for a while, and we're gonna get rid of this crook and tie up all the loose ends."

Just a few moments later, Tommy and Henry go back into the church to make it seem like everything is normal. No one is gonna think anything of Jimmy and your dad being with you, because that's the order the ceremony will go in. Your dad waits out in the hallway, as if he's waiting for you to put the last few finishing touches on your dress, and as everyone clears the hall to go to the church, he signals to Jimmy that it's time.

You and Jimmy quietly sneak out of your dressing room to head to the car. Before you run off, you turn back to your dad, giving him a big hug, "Please be careful, papa. I love you so much, and I'll miss you."

"I love you, too, (Y/N)," he gives you a kiss on the forehead, before you turn to head out the back hallway of the reception hall.

On the way out, Jimmy grabs a huge plate of hors d'oeuvres and holds the door open for you. You make your way out to this random convertible (probably stolen), seeing your suitcase in the backseat.

"Mines in the trunk," he lets you know, before setting the plate of food in the back and helping you in the car. Seconds later, you're peeling out of the church parking lot.

• • •

You and Jimmy can't help but laugh as you get further and further away from your wedding ceremony. You can't explain why you're laughing so hysterically, but it feels like old times getting into trouble with Jimmy. Plus, it's a welcome distraction.

"Jimmy," you interject the laughter.

"Yeah?" he asks, coming down from his laughing fit. You've already reached the highway heading from upstate New York into the city to get to the airport.

"Jimmy, I gotta get out of this dress," there's a serious tone in your voice that tells Jimmy this is more urgent than you let on.

He quickly whips out his switch blade, "Okay, lean forward." And then you feel the cool metal of the blade grace your back as he cuts the ribbons corseting your dress.

The dress loosens around you, and you look over at the man, "Thank you," is all you say before sliding the dress down over your hips, then throwing it up in the air, letting the wind take it down the highway. Jimmy has an impressed look on his face as he glances at you with a half smile on his face.

He reaches over, placing a hand on your bare thigh, pulling your wedding garter down your leg before holding it above his head and spinning it around like a lasso. "WOOOOOO!!!!" he yells at the top of his lungs as he flings the little piece of lace. Anything to make you laugh, and it does get a rise out of you.

There's a pause for a moment as Jimmy takes in the view of you in your white lingerie; his eyes don't linger for long though, because he doesn't want to make you uncomfortable.

Though, you can't help but feel sexy for moment before climbing into the backseat to change.

"Hey, bring that food up to the front seat when you're done," he says, looking at you in the rearview mirror. You smack his shoulder, realizing he can see you changing. He chuckles and flips the rearview up. You spend the rest of the trip leaning on Jimmy and snacking on the hors d'oeuvres on the tray, until you arrive at the airport.

Because you skipped the wedding ceremony and reception, you arrive way earlier than you're supposed to, but it's no issue, Jimmy already worked it out by moving your flight up. It also works out better, because there will be goons at the airport looking for you, but by the time they get there, you and Jimmy will already be gone.

• • •

After a few hours when you arrive in the Bahamas, Jimmy gently runs his fingers through your hair to wake you up from your nap. You were conked out on his shoulder, exhausted from this morning. "C'mon, sleepyhead, let's go have a honeymoon," he helps get you up and grab your bags.

"Mmmm," you yawn following him, "you say that like it's your honeymoon or something."

"Well, it is now," he chuckles, grabbing your hand to lead you off the plane. After a warm welcome from some locals at the check in desk, you head over to your private villa, right on the beach. Even though it's already dark, the island is beautiful. The warm breeze makes the palm trees wave; the sand is soft under your feet; and the sound of waves crashing is seriously so relaxing.

Inside your villa, it looks so cozy and clean, and you're so ready to get some dinner and go to bed. That's just what you do. Jimmy calls the office to order dinner to your little beach house, and you pop into the bathroom to take a shower and change.

By the time you're done, dinner is too. Jimmy greets you with a little side hug and pulls your chair out for you to sit down at the table. "Comfy? In your little robe and all?" he asks, eyeing you up and down quickly.

"Mm-hmmm," you moan, stuffing your face with delicious food. Jimmy chuckles at you before doing the same.

After getting your bellies full on tasty seafood, you decide that it would be a good idea to go to sleep, that way you can make the most of your time on this lovely island.

As you and Jimmy make your way to the bedroom, you're met with a reminder of why you're there in the first place: rose petals and candles littering the room.

Jimmy sees the way you pause, "Do you want me to get rid of this stuff?"

"I- uh, no... It's okay," you look back and forth between him and your bed.

"Here," he says, leading you to the couch, "Stay here."

He goes into the bedroom and closes the door behind him. For a few moments you hear huffing and thudding as he blows out candles and throws them in the trash, and you hear his arms hitting the bed as he wipes the rose petals away. Jimmy exits the room with a trash bag in tow, tossing it out on the front patio before returning to the living room, breathing a little heavy, and holding his arm out, motioning you to the bedroom.

You stand up and put your arms around him, giving him a soft kiss on the cheek, "Thank you, Jimmy."

He places his arm around your waist and presses a cheek to your head, "You're welcome, sweetie. Now go to bed."

"You're not coming?" you ask.

"I'll sleep on the couch. You have a good night, and sweet dreams," he gives your arm a squeeze before heading to the bathroom to get ready for bed.

As you settle into bed and try to sleep, it sinks in. Your relationship that you'd been so happy in is over... And here you are in another country for an undetermined amount of time while your ex-fiancé gets "taken care of." Even though his intention was to hurt you, you can't help but mourn what feels like the loss of your happiness. In fact, there's only one place you can feel happy right now, and you won't sleep until you're there.

"Jimmy?" you whisper through your sniffles. You stand before him as he sleeps soundly on the couch. "Jimmy?" A little louder this time, and that does the trick.

The man takes in a sharp inhale through his nose and his eyes pop open, "(Y/N), hey," he rubs his eyes, "you okay?" You just stand there quietly sniffling, and then Jimmy sees the redness in your face, "Hey, hey, c'mere honey, c'mere." He holds the blanket up for you to climb in, and he immediately wraps his arms around you, cuddling you in his cozy little spot on the couch. You simply bury your head into his chest, and let out a few tears. "Shhhh, shhh," he says as if cooing a baby, "it's okay, I'm here, everything's gonna be alright."

• • •

The sun brightly lights the whole open floor plan of your beach side escape, warming you and Jimmy in your bundle of blankets. You awake to the feeling of his fingers lazily combing through your hair, and when you crack your eyes open, you see him happily smiling down at you. You place a hand on his chest, and he covers it with one of his own, giving your fingers a squeeze.

"Morning, you hungry?" he greets you.

"Mmmm... Good morning, sweet man," you happily nuzzle into him.

He cups a hand on the back of your head, "Whaddaya say we get some breakfast, then ya wanna go swimming later today? Hm? We got that beautiful beach right out there." His head motions towards the large glass doors that look out onto the sand and sea.

"Only if we can stay here a little longer," you hum into his chest, perfectly content with just cuddling up to him all day long.

"Okay, princess, we can stay a little longer."

• • •

After a relaxed morning (yes, you both dozed back off to sleep for a while) and a nice breakfast of fresh fruits, juice, and pastries, you wait on the back patio for Jimmy to change into his swimsuit. When the sliding glass door glides open, you turn and see the man in swim trunks that hit about mid-thigh, short sleeve button up shirt that's unbuttoned, a gold chain, and a cigarette. Of course Jimmy dresses like that for the beach.

"Whaddaya think? How do I look?" he jokes at you.

You walk over and places your hands on his bare chest. "The view looks pretty good from here," you chuckle lowly.

Jimmy grunts, "You better watch those hands of yours," he warns, moving you off his chest before lightly taking your fingers in his. "Alright, let's go," he says, leading you towards the waves.

"Ya know, uh," Jimmy catches your attention.

"Hmm?" you chirp, hand still happily in his.

"How come you're still wearing this?" he asks, holding your hand up, and tapping his thumb on your engagement ring.

"Oh... um... I'm not sure, honestly," you look down at your hands, wringing them together and fidgeting with the little piece of jewelry. As you take your first few steps into the ocean, you slip the ring from your finger. "I guess it doesn't mean anything anymore," you ponder to yourself before chucking it into the water.

Jimmy raises his eyebrows in surprise, "You didn't wanna sell it?"

You turn around and pat him on the chest, "I know you and the boys back home will make me more money than that ring is worth. It wouldn't surprise me if it was fake, knowing what I know now."

• • •

Time got away from you as the two of you enjoyed your day in the sun. After walking along the beach and Jimmy dunking you in the waves a few times (don't worry, you got him back), it's already early afternoon. And boy, were you beat.

"Hmmm, I think it's time for a nap!" you yawn, "This sun has got me drained."

"Wanna go inside?" Jimmy points to your little beach house.

"Yeah, but I don't think I can walk another step," you whine playfully, giving the man puppy eyes.

There's a long pause as Jimmy gives you a serious look, but he's only kidding. "You want me to carry you, don't you?"

"Yes, please!"

And with that, your feet are swept out from under you. Jimmy walks you across the sand and through the sliding glass door, right to the bathroom.

"What are we doing in here?" you question as he walks right into the shower, "Jimmy?!"

"Gotta rinse all the salt and sand off," is all he gets out before the shower faucet sprays cold water on you and the man holding you. You squeal loudly and practically jump from Jimmy's arms! You hold onto him tightly for warmth; luckily the water heats up quickly though.

"You bastard!!" you yell and give the man a swift pop on the chest.

"OW!" he giggles and rubs the spot that is quickly turning red.

Your face forms a pout, feeling bad for smacking him, "I'm sorry." You take a step forward and rub your hand on his chest to sooth the spot. When you place your other hand on his chest, you look up at him. Suddenly you feel his strong hands gripping the back of your head, and his lips meet yours. Your back comes into contact with the shower wall, and you're completely surrounded. You feel the muscles of Jimmy's arms squeezing around you as his tongue urges it's way into your mouth.

You could hardly explain it: the timing and the situation feel so wrong, but he feels so 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, like everything you had ever wanted- no, 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥.

Water soaks your hair, your face, your bodies as Jimmy fiercely kisses you. He's almost scared to stop.

But when you gently suck his bottom lip into your mouth and give it a nibble, it's game over.

Your friend-turned-lover rips open the shower curtain and starts walking you to the bedroom, his lips and his body never leaving yours. His tropical shirt slaps the ground in a wet heap, quickly followed by his swim trunks.

His lips find your neck, and you finally get a moment to catch your breath. Pressed against him as you step backwards, you feel his hands frantically working the straps of your swimsuit. You pull back from him just enough to see his face, and he freezes like a deer in headlights.

You simply look each other over, taking in the features of the other's face for a moment, before you lean forward and place your lips to his chastely, kissing him just once or twice. His rough hands gently caress your back, and then things turn passionate again when he slowly removes your top.

You always thought you'd be nervous to be with Jimmy, but after all, this is a man that you trust with your life. Wait- always? Did this imply you'd thought about being with him before?

In the heat of the moment you couldn't make sense of it. All you know right now is that Jimmy already has you naked and on the bed. It feels like your emotions are in a whirlwind, but Jimmy makes you feel good and you want more.

Your hands rake through his still wet hair, as he showers your chest in affection by kissing and sucking at your collarbone and breasts. He travels further down your body with his ministrations, until he reaches your soft inner thighs. You can feel his five o'clock shadow scratching at the delicate skin there, before he stops and looks up at you nervously. You'd never seen this man look nervous before.

His eyes beg for permission to go down on you and his hot breath passes over your center. You simply push down on his head a bit as a signal to go.

With his elbows buried in the soft mattress, forearms wrapped around your thighs, and eyes closed in concentration, his mouth surrounds that little bundle of nerves, lighting a fire in your belly. The sound of him breathing through his nose and your moans fill the room. Every hair on your body stands on end and your toes curl at the feeling of Jimmy Conway giving you head.

Oh God, Jimmy Conway is giving you head... Jimmy Conway your best friend. Jimmy Conway your Maid of Honor? You quickly push that thought away, then raise your head to look down at the man happily working away between your legs.

This is something you never thought you'd do with Jimmy, yet here you are, and oddly, it feels so... comfortable. You aren't nervous at all. Of course, you can't speak for him.

You lightly scruff up his hair, breathing heavily, "Jimmy..." The first word anyone had said in a while.

"Huh?" he says just after a loud slurping noise. His mouth hangs open in a relaxed way as he catches his breath and looks up at you from under his brow bone.

You let out a laugh in the form of a puff of air and a smile. Jimmy returns the smile; it's a happy smile with a hint of playful mischief in his eyes. A giggle slips out of you, then you both start laughing. At what, you aren't quite sure... the situation, maybe?

Your lover crawls on top of you and cuddles you by pressing his chest to you and wrapping an arm around your waist. Your hands explore his back, lightly scraping your nails over his shoulder blades and the small of his back.

He lets out a soft but deep moan before moving to kiss you again. His fingers nestle in your hair as he softly shows you his affection with his mouth. Your hands rest on his cheeks as he centers himself on top of you, one of his hands gripping under your thigh.

"This alright, princess?" he says in a near whisper.

"Yeah..." you exhale.

"You ready?" He gives you a kiss on the cheek.

"Yeah," you repeat, "I am." You give him a warm smile, cupping a hand on his face again, as if framing it to take a mental snapshot.

His next actions are incredibly gentle, but it makes everything all the more sensual. He plants a few kisses on your neck and collarbone before sitting up on his knees. His arm wraps around your thigh, holding it up in the air, as he aligns the head of his member with your entrance. The tip slides in pretty easily because of your wetness, and you can see Jimmy's breathing deepen; after that, the man moves slowly entering you, making you feel every inch of his length.

You had barely started and you're already both a mess. The pleasure is almost too much to take. Once Jimmy starts to move his hips, he leans forward once again, hovering over you on his hands and knees. You look up into his eyes, feeling his hardness moving inside you. Wanting to be closer to you, he drops down to his elbows and brings his knees up. His hands stroke some hair from your face while his hips rut into yours at a teasing pace.

After appreciating your how pretty you are, Jimmy moves his lips next to your ear and lowly says, "You feel incredible, baby. You feel so good..." He gives you a series of sloppy kisses on your jaw and earlobe.

You simply close your eyes, relax into the man on top of you, and give him an airy moan in response, "You feel good too, Jimmy."

"Mmmm, you like this pace? Or you want me to speed up?" You can feel his hot breath against your neck.

"Maybe, um, deeper?"

"Deeper, huh?" he whispers in your ear, "You wanna feel more of me?" He throws a little chuckle on the end of his question, and he readjusts by hooking a hand under your knee and pushing it up towards you for a deeper feeling while remaining close to you.

With each thrust you let out a grunt or breath of some kind, "Oooh... T-that's- Hnnng!"

"That the spot, baby girl?" Jimmy smiles to himself, happy that he's pleasing you.

A very shaky "mm-hmm" is all you can manage.

Jimmy speeds up his movements just a little, but still maintains a leisurely and romantic mood.

With a gasp, you start, "Jimmy, I- I'm-"

"Cum for me, baby," he coos, lightly sucking and nipping at a little spot on your neck.

"Fuck- Jimmy..." your climax hits you hard, making your head spin, and the only thing you can think about is the man before you, "Jimmy, I- I love you. I love you, Jimmy!"

Before you even have a moment to think about what you'd said, you hear, "I love you, too, (Y/N)," and several grunts and groans as he finds his release inside you.

Jimmy rolls off of you and trucks himself into your side. You hold the man in your arms tightly as you both come down from the high you just experienced. You turn your head to see him nuzzled into the crook of your neck, almost as if he's asleep. He cracks his eyes open at you and props himself up, putting his face close to yours.

You feel... shy for some reason as you press your lips to his, almost as if this is somehow more vulnerable than what you'd just done. You kiss each other softly, over and over, for what feels like a few minutes.

"You know, I didn't know you were close to finishing too," you tell Jimmy, trying to break some tension.

"Mm, well, I told you you felt good," he gives you a half smile, "I didn't know you loved me."

"Oh, well... It just kind of came out, but, uh, it was true. Still is." Another sweet kiss.

"You remember when I told you I couldn't wait to see you walk down that aisle? That was true too," he tells you.

You aren't sure where that came from, and it confuses you, "But... You knew I wasn't gonna get married that day."

"Yeah, but I am gonna see you walk down the aisle one day... when you marry me," he looks down and bites his lip.

You let out a flabbergasted little breath, "Jimmy..."

"C'mon, (Y/N)," he coos, "I love you. I wasn't gonna ever let you marry that other guy. Why do you think I looked into him so hard?"

"I don't understand. Why didn't you just ask me out years ago?" your question ends in a whisper.

"'Cuz I didn't realize what I had 'til I saw it in another man's arms," he tangles his fingers in your hair for another kiss, "but I'm not gonna let it get away from me this time."

• • •

Needless to say, you didn't see much of the beach or much of anyone the rest of your time in the Bahamas. You two already knew everything there was to know about another person, so you spent a lot of time exploring each other... in new ways.

So, it's bittersweet going home to Brooklyn. You'd been away a few months to let tensions between the two crime families die down. You would miss all of the alone time with your new man, but you're so happy to see your dad again.

"Thanks for driving us home from the airport, papa," you say, giving Paulie a side hug as he unlocks the door to the house not too far from the cab stand. You're greeted with hoots and hollers from Tommy, Henry and Karen, Tuddy, and a few others as you step inside. "What's this?!"

"Oh, uh, just a little surprise," Paulie chuckles, "A welcome home party for Jimmy and my girl."

Everyone starts exchanging hugs, giving you and Jimmy a proper New York welcome. As you put your arms around Henry's shoulders, you hear Karen from behind him, "OH no! I know ya not still wearin' your engagement ring," she grabs your hand and pulls you toward her to inspect the ring closer. Her voice lowers a bit, "No, this one's different. It's got pearls on it."

The room is filled with confused faces, until Jimmy takes your other hand in his, "Well, uh, we were on a little island for 2 or 3 months, pearls was all they had!"

Suddenly you're surrounded with Ooh's and Aah's and an "Attaboy Jimmy!" as it dawns on everyone that you're engaged.

"Hey, wait 'til they tell ya about how I'm gonna be a grandad!!" Paulie announces, and again the room fills with noise from everyone's surprise and congratulations. Any other family might have found it odd that you rushed into a new relationship, but this group likes keeping a closed circle, and everyone had their bets placed on you and Jimmy from day one.

Speak of the Devil, you feel his arms slip around you and a hand rests on your baby bump. He whispers in your ear, "I love you both so much. This is the way it always shoulda been."

[villainsandvictimsalliance]

You made me imagine Shigaraki trying to explain his family to like, Spinner or something.

"This is Hana, she's my big sister. I accidentally stole her hands when I got my quirk so she's technically the only person allowed to mess with me."

"This is Himiko, she's...I guess my little sister? I think we might've tried to kill each other when we first met. She's cool."

"This is Eri. We only have custody of her every other weekend because the heroes keep finding our hideouts. I'm pretty sure she's our baby sister, but Dabi is convinced she's either my kid or Hana's."

OKAY BUT BUT BUT ANON, THIS GIVE ME AN IDEA FOR AN AU. HERE ME OUT:

In this au, AFO doesn't exists (what a blessing) and Shirakumo Oboro is still alive.

The night Tenko's quirk manifest, Hana prevents him from doing anything using her quirk: if someone touches her skin recently, she can freeze that person's movements for a short amount of time.

Some years later, Shirakumo saves them both from their abusive family. Kotaro goes to jail, Nao goes to a mental institution to recover from the trauma and Oboro adopts the kids.

Welcome to the Cloud Family.

Shirakumo, a sort of vigilante now, keeps saving and adopting people that were forgotten by society.

Around that time he meets a girl maybe two years older than Hana. Her name is Magne and she ran away from her home because they didn't wanted her for being trans. She ask Shirakumo is she can stay with him, helping him raise the kids. He allows it, thankful.

Magne immediately becomes Hana's best friend. Both girls are an amazing duo and they help Tenko learn how to manage his quirk.

While Hana and Tenko study and Shirakumo works, Magne stays with the home duties, goes out with friends, lives her normal life being who she truly is.

She's cleaning the kitchen one morning and when Shirakumo breaks in through the window, holding a little girl in his arms. The girl looks younger than Tenko and it's covered in mud and blood. She's smiling big, fascinated with Shirakumo's quirk, like she's just taking a ride.

Shirakumo found her playing inside a trash can in the street. She was looking for something to eat. Her parents, some rich bastards, had abandoned her aftering finding out their kid liked to bite living animals and drink their blood. They kicked her out of the house and faked her death.

To cover up his vigilante identity, Shirakumo opens a bar. It's small, comfortable, perfect to hide from heroes and villians. He has a contact named Giran, who redirects to him all those people who need a hero but can't trust in the law.

Magne is the one managing the bar with Shirakumo, whevener he's not working. Hana, Tenko and Toga go to school.

Let's take a minute to imagine Hana and Touya being classmates. Imagine Hana and Touya arguing and even fistfighting. They become rivals. Which is pretty funny because you have Fuyumi trying to stop hee brother from insulting her best friend.

Little Hana hating Endeavor. Preach.

Natsuo and Tenko study together. They bond over trains and having idiotic parents.

PLEASE TOGA AND SHOTO BEING CHILDHOOD FRIENDS.

I mean, I've always headcanoned that Shoto and Toga are both neurodivergent so imagine then bonding over that.

Toga is considered a weird kid but Shoto likes being around her because she doesn't look like him like he's unreachable. Toga is always telling how his fire is so pretty, nothing like Endeavor's fire. Also Shoto, who's always bleeding thanks to his training, doesn't understand why it's a big deal that Toga asks him for some. He just gives her and they pretend to be twins when she uses her quirk.

The day Touya goes to Sekoto peak, Hana is looking for him because Shirakumo insists that she should invite him to have dinner with them. She goes with Shirakumo to Endeavor's house and from there they go look for him at the peak.

When the fire begins, Oboro flies over and rescues Touya. However, they both get pretty burned. Shirakumo scapes with the kid and arrives at the bar. Magne contacts an illegal doctor to cure them both.

Hana tells Fuyumi that Touya is alive but she refuses to tell her where he is. She will only tell her if Fuyumi tells her about Endeavor. Hana knows she's being cruel but she also knows them, and she knows something bad is going on with them.

Hana takes Fuyumi to where they keep Touya once she admits Endeavor's abuse.

But Touya refuses to go back. He's barely healing, slowly, and he hates his dad. He is full with hatred and anger and hurt. Shirakumo fears for his life, but he can't simply fight Endeavor.

Fuyumi returns home, troubled. Finally she talks with Rei and the woman visits Shirakumo in secret. She visits her son.

They reach an agreement: For the world, Touya Todoroki would be dead. Only his siblings and his mother would know the truth, along with the Cloud Family. Dabi would be just a kid without a family, someone who grew up in Shirakumo's bar.

And so they did. The Todorokis would visit him regularly with the excuse of the todosiblings being friends with the cloud kids.

When Hana and Fuyumi started college, Dabi stayed behind with Toga and Tenko. They started training together, and before anyone could notice, they were already a team.

The final adoption of the cloud family happened when a woman gave a little girl to Shirakumo one rainy night. She was terrified of the child. In the hurry, she told him to take the kid to a mafia boss and left, but Shirakumo couldn't do it.

Shirakumo already had experience raising little girls and raising children with problematic quirks, so she fit perfectly in their family of weirdos.

The yakuza never knew about this.

Eri grew up glued to Tenko, because they look a like a lot, so people didn't doubt them being siblings.

Shirakumo turns into a reformed pro-hero just to start teaching at UA along with his old besties, Aizawa and Yamada. He's in charge of teaching the kids about how the villians think and work.

Hana ends up studying to be a lawyer, but only to cover up her family whereabouts.

Toga and Shoto starts studying at UA together (or the AU where Toga replaces Mineta at class 1-A). Toga calls Aizawa "uncle Eraser".

Magne keeps the bar with the help of Tenko aka Tomura and Dabi. Which is just a lie because Tomura and Dabi follow the vigilante path together, creating the Anti-hero League. Bonus point because Natsuo has to constantly use his medical skills on his older sibling and his best friend, since they are both reckless idiots with self-destructive quirks.

Fuyumi works with Eri on learning how to control her quirk. Turns out Fuyumi is an amazing teacher and Eri completely adores her.

Rei is responsible for Shoto's scar but this time is totally an accident. She still goes to the hospital BUT Dabi exposes Endeavor and together they all sent him to jail.

Compress, Spinner, Twice, Mustard, Giran.. They all find their way to the Anti-hero League and most important, to the Cloud Family. Shirakumo is proud as fuck because his son is just like him.

Which takes us to Tomura having to explain he has four sisters to Spinner.

And this is the story Tomura told him and the reason why Spinner keeps losing his mind every time he sees them all on the family reunions.

The end.

[reinerispretty]

rotations. (zuko x f!reader) pt17

there’s a lil easter egg in here :) wonder who can find it first!! thanks so much for reading i lov u

pt1

pt16

pt18

“What if he doesn’t want to see me?” Zuko asked. His amber eyes were transfixed on the tent before him.

“I think you know that isn’t true.” (Y/N) took his hand in hers and squeezed it. “I’ll be with the others if you need me.”

When the group awoke the next morning, Aang was gone. Each member searched high and low for the young Avatar, but to no avail. “I don’t really think this is the time for him to go on one of his special Avatar journeys,” Toph grumbled, to which (Y/N) hummed in agreement. As the group reunited after their searches, Zuko proposed the idea of utilizing the bounty hunter June and her shirshu Nyla in finding Aang. 

“Isn’t she the one who paralyzed me?” (Y/N) asked bitterly.

“And me?” Sokka chimed in. 

“And me?” Katara added. Zuko shrugged. 

“Her shirshu can track someone down from across a continent. If anyone can find Aang, it’s her.” (Y/N) was not interested in the idea of procuring a bounty hunter to find Aang, but it was their only hope. 

And that hope was quickly squandered. When they found June and convinced her to help them, her shirshu couldn’t locate Aang.

“Is he dead?” (Y/N) asked. June shook her head. 

“Nyla would be able to smell his body. Your friend isn’t in this world anymore.” What that meant exactly, the group had no idea. Even when Aang traveled to the Spirit World, his physical body remained in the physical one. How could he have just disappeared? 

“Try this, then,” Zuko said, holding up a piece of clothing to Nyla’s nose. The shirshu sniffed and immediately turned in the opposite direction, ready to dart off into the woods. 

“Whose is that?” Katara asked. 

“It’s my uncle’s. If anyone will be able to tell us what to do, it’s him.” 

Nyla led the friends to the outer wall of Ba Sing Se, where they were met by King Bumi, Master Pakku, and the other great masters they had met over their travels. 

“How do you all know each other?” Sokka asked. 

“We are all part of the Order of the White Lotus,” Piandao explained. “An organization that transcends loyalty to our nations and instead comes together to fight for the common good.” 

“Does that mean my uncle is here?” Zuko asked. Piandao nodded. The six friends were led into the main camps, where many tents had been set up to house other members of the Order. As (Y/N) passed, she recognized a few of the members as people she had known during her time traveling the three nations. Citizens of the Fire Nation that were also part of the Order seemed to be few and far between, but (Y/N) supposed their numbers deteriorated after nearly a hundred years of pro Fire Nation propaganda. 

The biggest tent of them all belonged to the Grand Lotus: Iroh. The rest of the group dispersed to discuss battle plans, leaving (Y/N) and Zuko paused just paces away from the entrance of the tent.

“What if he doesn’t want to see me?” Zuko asked. His amber eyes were transfixed on the tent before him. 

“I think you know that isn’t true.” (Y/N) took his hand in hers and squeezed it. “I’ll be with the others if you need me.” Her fingers slid from his and Zuko turned to watch her walk away before taking a deep breath and entering his uncle’s tent. 

(Y/N) sat between Sokka and Katara as they listened to Master Pakku describe the Order’s plans to liberate Ba Sing Se. He paused as she joined their group. 

“Ah, (Y/N). Glad to see you’re back in the clothes of your home nation.” It was a joke of course, a nod to the last time they had seen each other. 

When the Fire Nation was attacking the Northern Water Tribe, (Y/N) had felt defenseless while fighting off the Fire Nation soldiers, so she had unleashed her firebending on them. Soldiers from the Water Tribe had captured her as a spy and it had taken a lot of convincing from Katara that she really was trying to fight against the Fire Nation. It was an embarrassing misunderstanding that led to (Y/N) to choose hand-to-hand combat over her own firebending if she could help it. 

“Evening, Master Pakku,” (Y/N) said with a smile.

“Do you really think Iroh and the other firebenders will be powerful enough to take back the city?” Sokka questioned. Both Pakku and (Y/N) nodded. 

“His power as a firebender is unparalleled,” Pakku explained. 

“He might look like a sweet old man, but he is one of the best firebenders in the entire nation,” (Y/N) added. “I learned some of my best techniques from studying how he fought. Plus the comet will only make firebenders even more powerful.” 

“Yeah, but you’re fighting against Fire Nation soldiers,” was Sokka’s rebuttal. “Won’t they be more powerful too?” 

(Y/N) nodded. “I don’t mean to sound like a snob, but people like Iroh and I spent a lot more time training than those lousy soldiers. It’ll be a long fight, but not a hard one for Iroh.” 

Almost as if he had been summoned, Iroh exited his tent with Zuko as his side. (Y/N) recognized the glistening trails of tears on Zuko’s face, but also saw the happiness in his eyes. 

“(Y/N)!” Iroh cheered. She smiled widely and stood to run over and give him a hug. “It is very good to see you again.” 

“And you the same,” she said, giving him a bow. “It feels like just yesterday that we broke out of the Fire Nation prison.” 

“This is who broke you out?” Katara asked. Iroh chuckled. 

“You think I would let the only other sane person in the Fire Nation stay in jail?” They returned to the campfire to further discuss their plans for the comet. Iroh poured them all cups of tea as Zuko and (Y/N) sat next to each other. Katara was the only one who caught the look of surprise on his face and she returned it with a smile as she accepted her cup of tea. 

“Katara,” Zuko said. “How would you like to come to the Fire Nation to help (Y/N) and I take down Azula?” 

“It would be my pleasure,” Katara said with a grin. The situation still gave (Y/N) a heavy feeling in her stomach, but sometimes the right thing was the hardest thing to do. 

Eventually, (Y/N’s) friends and the other members of the Order dispersed from the campfire to retire for the night. Only (Y/N) and Iroh remained, finishing off the pot of tea. 

“I see you and Zuko reconciled,” Iroh hummed as he sipped his tea.” 

“For the most part, yes.” Iroh was the easiest person to talk to, (Y/N) found. When she was younger and had not even her own parents to turn to, if Iroh was visiting, he would lend her an ear. “I think I’ve forgiven him. Part of me still gets mad thinking about the things he’s done to me and my friends.” 

“That is only natural. The heart cannot forget the wounds that it has endured, but it can heal from them.” (Y/N) nodded. 

“I’m trying to.” 

“I always thought you and Zuko were the most interesting pair.” 

“How so?” Iroh sat in silence for a moment as he pieced his thoughts together. 

“You are strong in your beliefs. You are not afraid to be defiant if it means doing what is right. I remember when you were younger, I heard you arguing with your mother about why you should continue your firebending training. You told her that you did not care what she wanted you to do, because you knew becoming a better bender would make you stronger.” Iroh chuckled. 

“Zuko had told me to say that, so I could stay in training with him. She gave me the punishment of a lifetime after I said it.” 

“I am sure. But Zuko was not granted the same strength as you. He is loyal to the people he cares about, which is why it was so hard for him to choose what was right and wrong. He loved you and I but loved his father and Azula as well.” 

(Y/N) furrowed her brows. She wasn’t quite sure where Iroh was going with this, but then again, was anything he said ever straightforward?” 

“You pushed Zuko to make the right choices and he pushed you to stand up for yourself. As I watched you grow up, I noticed how you rotated around each other. Like the moon and tides, you and Zuko were always the driving force behind the other.” 

“Until he was banished.” 

“Zuko fought so hard to capture the Avatar because he wanted to restore his honor and return home to you. He will never admit it, but that is all he wanted.” 

“And I guess here I was, fighting against my home for doing horrible things and taking someone I cared about away from me.” 

“We are all connected, but no matter how hard you or Zuko tried to cut the thread that tied the two of you together, it is indestructible.” Iroh finished the last of his tea and stood. “You must rest. We all have a big day ahead of us.” 

(Y/N) watched as Iroh returned to his tent. She squashed out the dying fire. and made her way back to the tens she and her friends had been given. Katara and Toph slept in the first one, Suki and Sokka in the next, and Zuko lay fast asleep in the last one. 

(Y/N) crawled into the spot beside him, feeling the exhaustion of the day weighing heavily on her body. She lay on her back and instantly fell asleep. 

Katara woke the next morning and decided to rouse (Y/N) and Zuko first, since they would be traveling to the Fire Nation together. She pulled open the door to the tent to see (Y/N) snoring on Zuko’s chest, with Zuko’s arm wrapped tightly around her waist. 

Katara dropped the tent door and walked away. She could give them a few more minutes. 

---

Tag List!

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[cora-vizsla]

Into The Dark- Chapter 1

Pairing: Jedi!OC x Sith!Obi Wan

Word Count: 4.5K+

Story Rating: E (18+)

Chapter Rating: Just assume they’re all E at this point.

Warning: Swearing. Threats of violence. Mentions of death/dying. Mention of war. Drugging. Snark. Angst. (I mean seriously if you know me you know angst is gonna happen)

A/N: This is the beginning! If you haven’t read Hypnotic this story isn’t going to make much sense to you. If you have read Hypnotic, welcome back! I hope you’re ready to be sad lol. Anyway, enjoy and let me know if I missed any tags!

“Darling, you can’t be serious. There is no way that you’re going.”

“I am being serious, and I am going. This isn’t really a discussion. I’ve already made up my mind.”

“Explain it to me. Please?”

Zara sighed and sat down next to her husband. Obi Wan smiled at her softly, brushing her hair back.

“Mace called me. Palpatine got loose which shouldn’t surprise anyone. I wouldn’t care but.. he took Cody.”

“Cody? Who the hell is Cody?”

They both looked up to Anakin walking in, a four-year-old Leia on his hip.

“Zara!”

She slipped down Anakins leg and bolted into Zara’s arms. She laughed and giggled as Zara held her close and spun her.

“Oh, my beautiful little Leia. Couldn’t let your daddy go without you?”

“Nope! Gotta watch him. Mama says so.”

Anakin rolled his eyes but laughed.

“I came here to help you, Obi Wan, but if that slimeball took Cody there is no talking her out of it.”

“The clone?”

“My friend.”

Zara snapped and glared at the blonde. He held his hands up defensively and sat back, crossing one leg over the other.

“Yeah, Oh-bee. Her friend!”

Zara laughed and kissed the girls cheek.

“That’s right. You get it. We protect our friends, no matter what.”

“No matter what!”

Zara set Leia down who immediately ran around the room getting into everything. Anakin sighed but Zara motioned for him to let her go. Out of the two, Leia was the well behaved one. She was busy but it was more out of curiosity than breaking anything. Luke was more likely to break things just to see how they worked.

“The question I have is why you didn’t call me to help you.”

“Mace was very clear that neither you nor Obi Wan were welcome on this mission.”

“So, you’re working for the Jedi. Again.”

“No, sweetheart. I am helping them get my friend to safety. We all know how dangerous Palpatine is.”

“All the more reason for me to be by your side.”

“Can’t say I disagree with the Sith, Zar.”

Zara rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

“No. Both of you will stay here. Anakin you have a family now. Your kids and wife are top priority. I’m not letting you get dragged into Jedi shit again. And you, my love, don’t play nice.”

“How rude, darling.”

“Rude, but correct. You don’t play nice with the Jedi and frankly I’m not letting you get near Palpatine again. He controlled you once.”

“So, you don’t trust me.”

Anakin cleared his throat and called for Leia. She ran over and jumped into his arms, holding on tightly.

“C’mon sweetheart. Aunt Zar needs to talk to her domesticated Sith.”

“Mama says you need to be nice to uncle Oh-Bee.”

“Well, mama isn’t here.”

“Good thing I am so I can tell her how mean you are to Aunt Zar’s husband who she loves very much.”

“It’s complicated, Leia.”

“Nope. Everyone duh-serves forgiveness, daddy. Plus, he makes Aunt Zar happy.”

Anakin sighed and looked at Zara for help, but she crossed her harms and shrugged.

“And don’t say its com-pluh-cated. You made Aunt Zara cry before. She forgave you. So, you should be nice.”

“You sound a lot like your mother.”

“Good! She’s the smartest person I know.”

Zara chuckled as Anakin sighed, defeated, and left the small home. She turned back to Obi Wan who had been watching her.

“We have a good life, Zara.”

“I agree.”

“Then why are you leaving?”

She sighed and let her shoulders slump slightly.

“Obi Wan, Cody meant a great deal to me. We worked together for a long time. I know that you don’t really work with anyone or play nice. It’s just when you work with someone for so long they become like family to you.”

“Not to be rude, but you left him before.”

“I left the entire order. I trusted the Jedi to keep the clones safe. They were to have their inhibitor chip removed and retired with honor. That isn’t what happened.”

“Well, your first mistake was trusting the Jedi.”

She sighed in frustration and got up off the couch. She put more things in her bag before turning to look at her husband.

“I need you to trust me. I need you to understand that a friend needs help.”

“And I need you to understand, my darling, that I know Sidious better than anyone on the Jedi counsel. What do you plan to do? Waltz in and tell him to give you your clone back and go back to jail?”

“Of course not.”

“Then what are you doing, Zara? This is reckless.”

“You wouldn’t save a friend if they were in danger?”

“I don’t have friends.”

“You wouldn’t save Anakin?”

“Absolutely not.”

Zara scowled and crossed her arms.

“Obi-Wan!”

“You could have picked anyone else we know, and I would have at least hesitated. That’s on you for choosing Anakin. It’s not like we’re the best of friends.”

“You wouldn’t save Padme? The twins?”

“I wouldn’t save them without you. I wouldn’t even dream of going without you.”

“Palpatine controlled you once.”

“Sidious had control; it was not over me. If you recall I convinced him not to kill you and tricked him into thinking that you were becoming my obedient little plaything. I tricked him at every corner, and he had no idea until the very end. Tell me I am wrong.”

She fell silent, looking at him with sadness written all over her face.

“Then tell me what the true problem is. Tell me that you’re afraid I’ll feel the dark side too strongly and go back. This has nothing to do with me not playing nice. It has everything to do with the Jedi playing into your fear of the very darkness that I carry inside of me and using it to control you. How can you not see that?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Which part?”

Zara looked down at her feet and chewed at her bottom lip.

“None of it. Cody needs my help. If I want the help and the resources needed to help him, I must do it their way. I love you with all my heart. I truly do. Is there some truth to what you said? Yes. I think I’ll always be afraid of you turning fully to the dark and not needing me anymore. The darkness does scare me. I’ve never said anything contrary to it. Your darkness doesn’t scare me though.”

“If you trust me, then you have to also trust that darkness, Zara.”

“I have to do this, Obi Wan.”

“You really don’t. You can’t change my mind of this.”

“Then I guess we’re at an impasse.”

Obi Wan stood up and walked to her, placing his hands gently on her arms.

“I know nothing that I say will stop you from going. I’ve known the entire time we’ve discussed this. Just know that I strongly think you should take me with you. We’re stronger together. Always have been, even if we didn’t want to admit it at the time.”

“I have to do this.”

He nodded and kissed her forehead, holding her close to him.

“Come back to me.”

“Wouldn’t dream of not coming back to you.”

“Don’t make me come looking for you either.”

She laughed and wrapped her arms around his torso, resting the side of her face on his chest.

“I mean it, Zara. I will tear this galaxy apart before I let anyone, or anything keep us apart.”

“I believe you.”

“Good. Just don’t ever let yourself forget that.”

XXX

Zara stepped down the ramp of her ship and pulled her saber into her hand, igniting it. She looked at the burned orange hue of it and thought of the man waiting for her. When she had settled onto Naboo, one of the first things she did was make a saber with the crystal he had given her at the ball.

Now she was glad for it. It reminded her of him and everything that she was always fighting for. It wasn’t as beautiful as his eyes, but it was close enough to bring her some peace. She wasn’t thrilled about not having him there, but she knew it was the best thing she could do.

She thought about their argument quite a bit on her trip. Obi Wan had been right about her fear. She feared losing him more than she feared losing her own life. The last thing she wanted to happen was for Palpatine to get his hands on him again. She couldn’t risk it.

The same went for Anakin. He had already twisted him beyond breaking once. He had no training with the darkness that he now carried. She had wondered if Obi-Wan could teach him but never brought it up. They didn’t get along and it came down to how much the darkness scared her.

It hurt her heart how much Obi-Wan was hurting. She didn’t do it to harm him, but it didn’t change that it did. Zara desperately wanted to get Cody to safety and go back to her life. They both deserved to be done fighting and yet there she was fighting another battle for the Jedi.

She made her way down the hallway and felt through the force. She sighed when she felt a familiar signature and moved into a wide-open room. In the middle of the floor was Cody, hands bound in front of him. Zara looked around to check for any traps but when she didn’t see any, she walked to her old friend.

“General?”

“Just Zara, Cody. I’m not a general anymore.”

“You.. you shouldn’t have come.”

“Of course, I did. You’re my friend. As soon as I found out you were missing, I came.”

“You don’t understand, General. That’s exactly what he wanted.”

“Who? Palpatine?”

“I’m so sorry.”

She knelt down to look at him and picked his head up to look at her gently. Her eyes widened when she saw that he had tears brimming his eyes.

“Cody, why are you sorry? We’ve talked about this in depth. I don’t care that you’re a clone. You mean-“

“I’m not the only one that knows your soft spot for clones, General. I can’t.. I’m so sorry.”

Before Zara could ask him what was wrong, she felt a jab in her arm. She looked down to see Cody sticking a syringe into her arm and push the plunger down all the way. She yanked her arms away and fell backwards onto her butt.

“Cody?”

“I told you.. you shouldn’t have come. I’m so sorry, General.”

The binders fell off Cody’s wrists and he stepped forward, pulling Zara up into his arms. The world was spinning so she shut her eyes, desperately wanting it to stop.

“I have her, sir.”

“Very good, CC-2224. Just as I expected. Bring her here. Destroy her ship before you do.”

“Yes, sir.”

Zara lost consciousness as Cody carried her to his ship. He set her down gently, placing her saber on his waist. Once she was settled, he walked over to her ship and looked through her belongings. He pulled out a few holo pictures that he clicked on. A small smile spread on his lips when he saw Anakin alive and well with Padme and two children. The other ones were of her and the Sith that had taken her. He had been worried when he first heard she had left the order with him but was assured it was her choice.

“You look so happy, General. Exactly what you should be.”

He closed his hands around the holos and slipped them into his pocket. He glanced at the dashboard and saw the emergency signal. He hesitated then reached past it, “accidentally” hitting the emergency button. When he stood up walked outside and waited.

“Stars, I hope that signal gets to someone.”

After a few moments he stepped back and shot at the fuel tank, exploding the ship as instructed. Once he made his way back into the ship and checked on Zara, he hit the coordinates for where he needed to go.

“I know you can’t hear me, General. I just hope you know I wouldn’t do this unless I had any other choice. I’ll do what I can to keep you safe. Hopefully General Skywalker and your Sith can find you in time.”

Once they were into hyperspace, he pulled her saber from his waist and looked at it. It was new from what he remembered, but still beautifully made. He expected nothing less from his former General.

He thought back on the first time he saw her. She showed up to command his troops with a smile on her face. He initially thought that she was going to be a weak leader and weakness meant death to clones. He had been so wrong.

She was the first Jedi to show compassion towards him and his men. She grieved their deaths just as much as he did. Nights when he was up wrestling with the pain of losing someone, she was always right by his side. She didn’t need to; the mission was always finished. She wanted to. She wanted them all to know that they were all individual people to her, regardless of where they came from.

She made it easy to run into the heat of battle. It wasn’t that he didn’t ever want to. He believed in his own fighting and trusted his brothers. It just came down to the fact that he wasn’t fighting for her. He was fighting alongside her.

He ignited the blade and widened his eyes when a new color came out. He didn’t know the particulars of the Jedi and their blades, but he had never seen a blade that color before. Cody looked down at his hand holding the hilt and frowned.

He had hurt her. What was even worse was the possibility that she would never forgive him for what he did. The chip had been deactivated before Order 66 could be initiated but somehow Sidious still had a hold over him. He had gotten close enough to him to activate it just enough to make him obedient. He glanced back at Zara asleep and shook his head.

“We will find a way to get out of this, General. We always do. Somehow, we will get you back to your happiness. Maybe I’ll even find a bit of it myself.”

He chuckled to himself and shook his head again.

“Look at me, thinking a clone can be anything more than a tool. You’d think I’d learn by now. Although you’d be yelling at me for even thinking that. Stars, General, I hope you don’t hate me forever for this.”

XXX

Mace sat in the council chambers alone. The last thing he wanted to do was call up Zara, but he didn’t see any other option. Once the war was ended, the Jedi no longer had the authority to do anything without the government’s approval. He knew that they wouldn’t send them for a single clone. As far as they were concerned Palpatine was no longer a threat. Not that the Jedi agreed with that at all.

When his coms went off with Zara’s emergency signal, he felt his chest get heavy. It ended just as quickly as it was received, but he knew the longer it took for her to message or call him, the worse that was. She had a propensity to bump into buttons, but she always called. He tried to call and was met with no answer. Master Yoda walked into the room and looked at him.

“Her signal went off then immediately went dead.”

“Feel it, do you? A great darkness, there is.”

“Yes. I feel it. It has to be Sidious.”

“Mmm. Yes. Suspect him, I do.”

“I’m going to have to reach out to Anakin and Veth.”

“Go. In much danger, she is.”

XXX

Obi-Wan sat in his home, reading the same book for the third time. As much as he wanted to reach out to Zara, he didn’t want her to think he was trying to distract her or force her back home. It was killing him though. Even just hearing her voice would make him feel better. He looked up from his book when he heard a ship land close by. Before he could stand up, Anakin was bursting into the house.

“Sith, it’s the Jedi.”

“Is Zara with them?”

“It’s only Master Windu.”

“Shit.”

He followed the younger man outside just in time to see Windu walking closer. He clenched his jaw, not wanting to see the Master Jedi at all.

“Anakin. Veth.”

The three men looked to the side as Padme and the twins came running out of their home.

“Wow, even your children are strong with the force.”

Anakin stepped in front of Mace and set his jaw; his hands balled into fists at his side.

“Don’t even look at them. They will never be hurt by you or the council.”

“I’m not here for your children, Anakin.”

“Where is my wife.”

Mace turned to look at Veth who was standing with his arms crossed over his chest. He still looked just as cocky to Mace as he had when he was a child, but the darkness swirling around him was new. It was the first time they had faced each other, other than through a holo communication.

“We should go inside. Small ears don’t need to hear this conversation.”

Anakin glanced over at Obi-Wan, who nodded back at him. Anakin looked back at Padme and gave her a tight smile before following Obi-Wan into the house. Once Mace made it through the door, Obi-Wan used the force to slam it behind him, smirking when the master Jedi jumped.

“If it weren’t for the children, you wouldn’t be welcome in this home. Now tell me, where is my wife and why is she not here with you?”

“She made it to where we though Sidious was with the clone trooper.”

“Cody.”

“What?”

“His name is Cody. You sent my wife to find him and don’t even have the courtesy to use the name she knows him by.”

Mace rolled his jaw and sighed.

“Cody. My apologies. She made it there safely and sent a communication she was heading inside the building. From there, we lost contact. Soon after, her emergency signal reached us and turned off within a few seconds.”

“And nothing since?”

“Nothing.”

“Sidious has her. That emergency signal was a mistake. Where is she.”

Obi-Wan was seething. Her being taken was exactly what he was afraid of, and he was completely powerless to change what was happening. The more he thought about how terrible Sidious was and how much she could be hurt, the more the room started swirling with darkness. Mace put his hand on his own saber and took a step back.

“Please calm down, Veth.”

“You called up my wife, the woman that I love more than anything in the galaxy and asked her to go on a fool’s errand with no backup. Then you come here and tell me that Darth Sidious, the most dangerous man I have ever met likely has her. Now you expect me to calm down. After everything you’ve done to me you’re lucky you’re still breathing. Let alone what you’ve done to her. She came to me broken, Master Windu. She came to me lost and afraid that she had lost every bit of her life and soul because she couldn’t live with your lies anymore. You nearly forced her to kill her best friend. Now you sent her into the hands of a madman. Tell me, why in the galaxy should I calm down?”

“I understand that you’re upset.”

Obi-Wan barked out a laugh and crossed his arms again.

“You don’t understand anything that the Jedi didn’t shove down your throat. Tell me where she is. I will go bring her back home where she belongs.”

“I’m going with you.”

Obi-Wan looked at Anakin and frowned. He could feel how unstable Anakin felt. The normal darkness around Obi-Wan he was used to, but the pure rage he was harnessing was drowning him. It wasn’t ever something that was discussed but he would never be able to fully get away from the dark side. It just wasn’t possible.

“You aren’t stable enough, Skywalker.”

Obi-Wan shot his finger out to point at Mace, shaking his head.

“You don’t get to tell him what to do, Mace. The audacity that you Jedi have. It is absolutely astounding that you thought you could walk into my home and tell anyone under this roof what to do.”

“You know he isn’t stable. I can’t be the only one who feels it.”

“What he is or isn’t is no problem of yours. Just give me the coordinates and I will take care of getting Zara back.”

“I want to help.”

“You have done enough. Now, if you will, I have much to do and none of that involves catering to you being in my home. You’re tarnishing the air and I won’t have it a moment longer.”

Mace sighed and shook his head, setting down a data stick with the coordinates and information about the ship she had been using. He thought about asking him how he planned on helping him, but he thought better and walked through the door. Once he left Anakin huffed out a frustrated sigh and grabbed the stick.

“Alright let’s go.”

“You aren’t going.”

“What!?”

Anakin spun around to glare at Obi-Wan.

“You just said-“

“I said he doesn’t get to come into my home and tell anyone what to do. That does not mean I don’t agree with him. You’re unstable. You have been for a long time.”

“I’m fine.”

“Tell me that my darkness didn’t affect you then.”

Anakin opened his mouth a few times and shut it, without uttering a word.

“Exactly. You have a family here that needs you.”

“Zara is my family too, Veth.”

“Stars above I wish you’d stop calling me that.”

Anakin smirked and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Why do you think I call you that?”

“You’re insufferable. I pity your former master. You wouldn’t have lasted five minutes having been my padawan.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that. I’m a lot stronger than you think I am.”

“I gladly would have tossed you off the first cliff we found. I considered it when we found you if I’m being entirely honest. Ungrateful brat that you are. You’re lucky when I shoved you it was to your safety.”

“I still don’t fully believe that was you. I don’t remember you being so smug.”

“No need for you to. It wouldn’t be the first time that you ignored the reality around you to construct fantasies that mean absolutely nothing to anyone else.”

“You’re an ass, do you know that?”

Obi-Wan barked out a laugh as he started gathering his supplies.

“Oh, I’ve been told. The fact of the matter is that you are not stable enough to come with me. I need to focus on Sidious and whatever he has planned. I can’t babysit you through your temper tantrums, reckless behavior and propensity to disobey any form of authority within a parsec of your location.”

Anakin frowned and huffed out a sigh.

“Then teach me.”

“Teach you? If Padme can’t control you, I highly doubt anyone else can.”

“I’ll listen! I’m not asking you to turn me to the dark side. I just.. I’m the only person in this situation that even remotely trusts you. If you would just help me, I can help you then we both can help Zara.”

He sighed and looked at the younger man in front of him. He meant what he had said to Zara: if given the choice he would not save him. He had a point though. He was someone he could trust to at least want to help his wife. After considering it for a moment he sighed and tossed his hands up in the air.

“Fine. Only if you go tell Padme that it is entirely your idea and that I was opposed to it from the beginning. You will listen to me and do as I tell you to. I will teach you how to control yourself at least enough to help Zara. Beyond that, just stay out of my way.”

“Yes! I’ll go grab my bag and let Padme know what is going on.”

Anakin head towards the door but paused when Obi-Wan spoke to him.

“And Anakin? The first time you aggravate me I’m shoving you out the airlock. Don’t think that I won’t either. I’ve killed for less.”

XXX

Cody carried a still unconscious Zara into a dark room, only having the very center lit up dimly.

“CC-2224 I see you have returned successfully.”

“Yes, sir.”

The shadow of a man stepped forward, using the force to push Zara’s hair from her face. Cody thought that she looked almost peaceful curled up in his harms, her face resting against his chest.

“You have pleased me, trooper. Now the next part of my plan begins. Take her to her chambers. She is not to leave unless I command it.”

“Sir, am I permitted to stay with her?”

“Yes. Keep her calm. Give her a reason to stay here. Though I don’t expect her to be on board with everything I say, at first, this entire plan is contingent on her falling in line.”

“Yes, sir.”

Cody turned, walking down a long hallway. Once he entered Zara’s chambers, the door shut and locked behind him. Normally it would have made him uneasy, but he was calmer knowing that he wouldn’t be separated from his former general just yet. He placed her down gently into the bed, careful to ensure she would be comfortable.

He pulled up a chair and sat down next to the bed, crossing his arms over his chest. He glanced down at the black armor that he now wore, unsure of how he liked it. He always wore armor, so it wasn’t new. It just made him uneasy at how dark it was.

When he shifted, he felt the holo pictures that he had taken from her ship. He pulled them out and turned on their display, looking at Zara’s family. He felt so much guilt and pain knowing that he was part of the reason she wasn’t home with them. Cody knew that nothing good was going to come from Sidious getting his hands on Zara, but he was determined that he wouldn’t let her forget where she belonged.

“I can’t let you forget something that you always deserved to have, Zara. I just can’t.”

Zara continued to sleep while Cody sat next to her. He was caught between his loyalty for her and his obligation to follow Palpatine. He wanted her to wake up, but he also was afraid of what she was going to say once she realized he had betrayed her.

“You’re so strong, General. If anyone can fix this, it’s you. I believe in you so much. Please have just a little bit of faith in me.”

Tag List:

@mapplestrudel @cannedsoupsucks @musubabii @mascaracoffee @ahsoka-padme

[xeo-kunsatan]

Dissatisfied One shot +14 (Part 2)

Warning

This story contains sexual themes, gore, Domestic abuse themes, Suicide, cigarettes use, bad words and prostitution references. If you are sensitive or underage please don't read this story.

8:00 pm

???: Son.. Son!

Bradley: Father?...

It was one of my father's camera larvae.

Betrayus: can you please come?

Bradley: what's wrong Dad?

Betrayus; We need to talk...

Bradley:.. uh?.. okay.

I escaped from round house as i used to do while Quartzy was following me and keeping me safe to go to the labyrinth and then go through a portal to the netherworld.

Now there, My Father was waiting for me, his Expression was different, he seemed worried..

Betrayus: Son we need to talk...

Bradley: What's it Dad?..

Betrayus: I respect your privacy .. but with all respect.. you have nothing to do selling your body like this, You are still so young And this is absolutely not sexual freedom.

Bradley: I know...I can't avoid it..

Betrayus: first Bradley if you needed money or something, you most told me..

Bradley: But i Don't want to bother you...

Betrayus: *pets him* C'mon my shiny Ruby.. it's not a bother for me, i am your father and it's my duty to give you all you need.

Bradley: If i were death.. my life can be better here.

Betrayus: Honestly yes, but Bradley you have a life and all you can do is enyoi and experiment for more things, suffering is not just the only thing is you will have, more wonderful things would be waiting for you.. i am sure it would be.

Bradley: It's strange to hear you saying this.. even when you want to take over Pac world.

Betrayus: Well yes, but i want you to enjoy it before Id destroy it.

Bradley: Sounds reasonable.

Betrayus: Second and very important, what you are doing for your emptiness is wrong.

Bradley: I know.. i just can't avoid it.. I'm just trying to felt filled but not.. i really don't know what exactly i need to feel less pathetic that i already am.

Betrayus: Selling your body with people who treats you as shit will not fill your emptiness

Bradley: And then.. what the fuck you think i need!?

Betrayus; I don't think so.. Bradley what you need is love and support.. and you know what's another problem.. you already have love and support.. from me, your sister, the netherworld.. and not just the netherworld.. maybe it's incredible but you have it from your cousins, even when they tried to separate you from them and of course from your best friend and your dog, and believe me.. you have enough with it, it's just thing about having time for it.

Bradley: I didn't.. think about it.. I'm sorry Dad

Betrayus: So please Bradley, stop selling your body for Money nor even to make you feel filled, here you have all you need.

Bradley: Okay okay Dad, I will try..but hey a good side is that i have a better way to insult my classmates.

Betrayus: Ok you're a Goddam genius and all me, when i was from your age i used to sleep with others and the next day when they pretended to don't know me i used to make fun of them related with their bodies's features.

Bradley: *chuckles* you can't be serious

Betrayus: Really, It was so funny, even a good way to bother my awful brother.

Bradley: Okey

Betrayus: Remember son if you need something, you can tell and i can give it to you, like new clothing so you can have new clothes and not just your sister's clothing.

Bradley: It's not that bad that i inherited my sister's clothes, they are so cool and warm, she had a really good taste in dressing..

Betrayus: All from me and your mother

Bradley: By the way, where is she this time?

Betrayus: In Pacopolis scaring people with Blinky and Inky, both are having fun, also she took my champagne bottle.

Bradley:*chuckles* oh Man

Betrayus: That's my boy, i love to see you smile, so cheer up son.

Bradley:*sighs and hugs Betrayus* i love you Dad..

Betrayus: and i love you too my son, now go before Stratos founds out that you escaped from home.

Bradley: Alright Dad.

I left the netherworld, Quartzy was waiting for me to then walk together to our way to The round house.

During the way, i found out that Bryan, Lexy's boyfriend was laughing next to a girl while they were cuddling up, i didn't helped to feel mad by it and Quartzy was growling at it too.

Bradley: Hey Smallhead!

Bryan: Huh! Me!?

Erika: Eh?!?

Quartzy: Grrrghh...

Bradley: No.. i was talking with the stone behind you..

Bryan: Alright weirdo...

Erika: Ignore him, sweetie

Bradley: You don't catch the sarcasm, right?

Bryan: Now i see you better, Bradley or i mean..The Play-Bunny, you don't have a Dick to eat or something?

Quartzy: *thinks* "Don't make me bite you"..

Erika:*giggles*

Bradley: Didn't you had a Boyfriend to be loyal?

Erika: Wait what!? You have a Boyfriend?

Bryan: E-Eh!? No i can explain!

Lexy: Explain what!? About you cheated on me!!?

Bryan: Lexy!!? What are you doing here!?

Bradley: How did you found us?

Lexy: Biscocho have lost and me and my father are looking for him...and i heard all..

Erika: Eh!? Bryan you told me that you were straight!

Lexy: You told me that you would never disappoint me!

Bryan: I-I..

Bradley: You disgusted me from the start.. now i know i wasn't wrong..

Bryan: You awful slut! *Starts hitting Bradley*

Lexy: Brad!!

Quartzy: Grhhh!! *Bites Bryan in his leg*

Erika: *attacks Lexy* How dare you to take my man!?

Lexy:*stops her* It was my Boyfriend!

Bradley: *defending himself* I am not guilty about that you cheated on my friend!

Bryan: And you judge me? You are the one who is sleeping with all the boys in maze high

Bradley: At least i don't have a partner to be unloyal..

Bryan: Shut up!! *Throws Bradley against the wall, breaking one of Brad's Badges*

Quartzy: Ok.. so you choose to play dirty..

Bryan: What the-

Bradley's right fist temperature was getting higher without him noticing, he hitted Bryan's face burning his face in the process.

Bryan: AAAAAAAAARGH

Bradley: Holy shit.. your face..

Quartzy: :0..

Lexy: Qué?..

Erika: You monster!! I'm leaving!! I will call the police right now!.

Bryan: Aargh!! Please!! And call the ambulance!! My fucking face!

Mitzy: Oh no you don't..*pushes Erika to the road just in time when a car was passing by to then crash her* you're safe now.

Bryan; Erika!!

Lexy: a la puta madre [Holy Shit] A Talking doll!!?

Mitzy: Hehehe

Bradley: Mitzy what the fuck!!?

Quartzy: *thinks* what a chaos

Blinky: We saved you butt your majesty~

Inky: a "Thank you" would be nice.

Bryan: Ghosts!!! Ugh! It's not over yet!! *Leaves*

Bradley: Guys thank you so much, but Mitzy what the heck!?

Mitzy: Don't worry she would be fine~

Quartzy:*sniffs Erika's corpse* ...

Inky: Be careful your majesty, the cups would pass by

Lexy: Ok Bradley.. thank you for defending me and giving that jerk a lesson but.. *takes Bradley's Hand* Run!!

Bradley: I'll go!..

Quartzy: *follows them*

Lexy, Bradley and Quartzy quickly ran away to meet up with Martín.

Martin: Lexy, you came, i finally found Bizco-.. Bradley? What are you doing here?

Bradley:*panting* long... Story

Quartzy:*thinks* a really burning story...

Lexy: Bizcocho! *Hugs the big fat cat* Dad.. my boyfriend cheated on me.

Martín: He what!!??

Lexy: But don't worry, Bradley gave him a lesson, he deformed his face with a punch.

Quartzy: *thinks* Honestly he looks better with that new face hehehe

Bradley: My fist was in fire Lexy.. i don't know why..

Martín: I think i know, please give me your right hand.

Bradley: B-but.. what if i hurt you sir..

Martín: Dear, I'm a chef, i play and work with fire.

Bradley: if you say so...*gives Martín his hand, his palm was covered with tiny flames*

Martín: Bradley, You have powers.. and *shows him his badge of his same hand* your uncle and Grandmother have hided that from you for really long time.

Bradley: What!?.. what do you mean?

Martin:*takes off that badge from Bradley's right hand* do you know what is this?

Bradley: Uhh.. the Badge my grandmother wanted to not take it off, don't think i didn't had my suspicions about it.

Martín: I'm glad that you already suspect about it, this is a badge used for powered Pacworlders so they cannot have problems with their powers, mostly related with stress, some of this Badges used to be to force that, Pacworlders to hide their powers *turns on the badge again* this shit is easy to repair..

Bradley: Are you telling me that.. all this time i.... Oh no... Oh no...

Lexy: Bradley?...

Quartzy: *Thinks* Not again.. not this..

Bradley: Now it was sense... I finally know why my Grandmother and uncle treated me like that... Now i understand why did they used to separate me from my cousins... It has sense.. I'm an actual monster.

Quartzy:*cuddles with Bradley*.. Hmm *Thinks* No Bradley.. you are not a monster.. quit telling that.

Bradley:*takes his badge and puts on it* I'm sorry Mr Martín.. Lexy..

Lexy: Bradley.. no..

The Round house Limo have arrived

Stratos: There you are!, You will be punished by escaping from home!..

Bradley: ..sorry...

Lexy: No Bradley! Wait!!

Martín: With all respect Mr president you..

Stratos: Nope!..

Quartzy: Grrrghh!! *Attacks Stratos*

Stratos: Argh!!

One of the bodyguards shoots Quartzy to make her leave alone Stratos.

Bradley: Quartzy NO!!!

Bizcocho escapes scared by the shoot

Stratos and his bodyguards take Bradley to the Limo and drived away without.

Martin: Viejo conche su madre... [Bitch]

Lexy: *sees after Quartzy* Oww no.. Bradley...

Quartzy:*moves*

Lexy: Oh shit is alive!!

Martin: *takes off the dart* it's not an actual bullet.. it's a Dart

Quartzy: *thinks* Ok I'm a little unlucky with shootings.

Martín: what a relief she is alive *holds her* let's take care of her while she recovers.

Lexy: Oki Doki.

9:49 pm

Stratos have seended Bradley to the Round house jail as a punishment.

Stratos: You cross the line young man.. I told you million times to don't go outside in the night, anything you want to say?

Bradley: You killed Quartzy..

Stratos: don't avoid my question..

Bradley: You killed my dog..and you left her behind as a trash..

Stratos: I didn't killed her, my bodyguards actually shoot her with a pacifier Dart.

Bradley:*sighs*...

Stratos: You would be here all the night and the rest of the next day..*leaves*

Bradley:*sighs* If you already consider me as a monster.. i would give you a real monster *Takes off his right badge*...

His hand started burning again but not with more strength.

While that Betrayus have watched everything with full of rage.

Betrayus: My Son have finally discovered his powers and a part of the truth.. Dear brother you will pay for this.

[unlikelyempathpruneauthor]

It for me Part 1

mob!Harry x mob!Reader

Summary: you and harry are in an arranged marriage and one day you get kidnapped by one of the hollands enemies and harry knew he loved you.

A/N: So I love some Harry fics and well I kinda wanted to do a mob one, as this would be my first one so let's see how this goes.

Next part>>>

TW: mentions of a car crash, arranged marriage, and baby making but not explicit. 

You didn't expect to find the “one” through an arranged marriage. And may i add an arranged marriage with a mafia son, Harry Holland, whose father was one of the biggest and most successful mobs ever to be discovered. You knew your father was very great friends with him and he needed a boost in his line of work. Your father was willing to do whatever it took, but you didn't think you would be in love, to think he would just give you away while he made millions. You had no interest getting involved with the mafia, but you were the oldest, which was rare for a girl, but you had a few tricks up your sleeve. You would help your dad when he asked and well, you were made for this, but you just knew that it wasn't in your nature. But then again people are full of surprise, your father being one of those many people.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

You were at a dinner party to announce your relationship with harry, well fake relationship, you two had to make it seem real even though it didn't feel real. The first time you met Harry you got two words out of him and since that day you knew he wasn't going to be good to get along with.

He had walked up to you but you knew that it was fake for of course both our parents sake.

“So are you gonna need to get used to some blood? Our family is quite hetric.” he said as you were shocked with the question. He had thought you had nothing to do with the mafia business but oh did you surprise him.

“Uh no I don't, I've gotten used to it, you should ask frank stipendii sure got to him and he was a bleeder may I add.” you said as harry was now the one that grew shocked.

“That was you? You seem innocent and not the type.” he said as you nodded knowing where he came from. Everyone called you that until you had shown them the bad side of you and well people had learned to never mess with you.

“Yeah i get that a lot.” you said not giving him eye contact.

“Well I just want you to know that this is just an arrangement and soon we will split, so no feelings attached.” he said as you nodded and looked at him with a blunt look.

“Yeah okay,” you said as Harry was even more shocked with how okay you were with this. Not that this was his second or third arranged marriage but from the stories he heard women get their feelings involved and fall from the mafia man, would it be bad if the positions switched?

“No come, I never fall for no one,” Harry thought but those were the mafia thoughts talking.

A year after dating, your wedding was announced and well it was huge, not the news of the actual wedding but literally the wedding was huge. The agreement had extended because the hollands and your father were making more in business and well now you were getting married and officially a Holland. There was also another thing that had to be done, but you didn't think it would happen. Once you got done getting most people you had met up with harry with a smile as he smiled at you. He had placed his arm around your waist as you walked over to your table.

“Well this is something else, how many weddings have you gone to?” Harry asked as you laughed at him as you sat down.

“I've gone to many, those being my dads, they were not as huge as this though,” you said as he nodded. You two had gotten used to one another almost as if you were friends, you liked that you two were getting along to be in the same room.

But what you didn't know was that Harry had started to fall for you ever since he met you. Of course he wouldn't admit it outloud, but he was sure about you, you made him feel something he would never feel.

As you were getting ready to leave for your “honeymoon” you had gotten to change in a less puffy dress. Nikki walked into your room and you smiled at her presence, she was probably the only who understood your position which helped you a lot. You gave each other a hug, she had told you you were the daughter she never had, even if it was just an arrangement.

“Oh love, you look amazing, once this arrangement is over i will require brunch together, just you and me alright.” she said as you nodded.

Of course you would continue to meet up with her, you actually liked her. You liked Harry too, after he was a little nicer to you, but you knew you couldn't fall for him so you had to act hard and not care when you two were alone.

“Of course Nikki..” you said a little bit on the sadder side, she was the only person you could show this emotion to. She knew you had fallen for her son, she didn't mind, you were perfect for harry, but he hadn't seen that.

“You love him don't you.” she said as you nodded slightly and gave you a final hug.

“You can try with him, but his father taught him very poorly on how to love when he got older, he will see you are the one love.” she said as you smiled and walked out to the reception as your arms were over one another.

You were met with Harry as he walked the both of you out making your final appearance and left. Of course to make this relationship well real, you two had gone on an actual honeymoon, it was the bahamas, which was the most obvious place you two would go.

Remember that one thing that you didn't think would happen, well that thing was, well having a child. At this point you two were friends, having sex with your bestfriend was normal for well normal people. You two talked about it, it happened, and there was nothing awkward about it.

Harry however, his thoughts were on a rollercoaster, he would think about how innocent you looked that night, he couldn't forget how beautiful you looked he had meant everything he did and he just wished his mafia brain would turn off and let him tell you how he feels. You couldn't forget that night either, you didn't know he could do what he could do. You two pretty much surprised one another and well you both would be surprised in the upcoming months.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

Fast forward to today, you had Harry and had just gotten married months ago and well you were expecting. I mean you knew it would happen after, well that night, and you were pretty okay with it. You were having a kid with your best friend for business so in the mafia world this would be considered normal.

You were in your bedroom reading one of the many books either you brought or harry would give you, to pass the time that was spent in, well i guess you could call it a jail but you knew it was for protection for you and your child. As you looked at the same page over and over you wondered what everyone else was doing. You usually spent time with Nicki but she had gone away for some retreat of some sort and well you were pretty left alone. As you got up you were getting so used to you baby bump, you were really excited for this baby. As you were walking along in the hallway and saw paddy in the rec room, you and him were pretty close, you had the same interests and well you two were what's left of any humour in this family, besides Haz but you knew he would try too hard.

“Hey paddy, what are you doing here?” you asked as you sat down across from him as he stopped whatever he was doing. He enjoyed talking to you, you were a sister he never had, he learned more from you than his brothers.

“Oh well you know, making friends, going out, you know living my teenage life.” he said with sarcasm you sensed.

“Yes, teenage years are very important, to find yourself.” you said as you both laughed and silence came right after, but this silence between you too was good, no tension.

“So, has Harry annoyed you yet, cus you know the time you guys spend together, it's like you're inseparable.” he said as you laughed.

“Oh you can't imagine, but the walks in the hallway are pretty nice to well get away from him.” you said.

“Hey, you're already showing huh?” he pointed out as you placed your hand on your bump and smiled.

“Yeah, I can't believe this little one is growing so fast already, it feels unreal.” you said as he smiled.

“I am going to be the best uncle ever, I promise.” he said as you giggled and one of the bodyguards in the building walked in and found you two. Behind them was the Holland gang along with haz. You were guessing that they couldn't find you so they set the building for a search. Harry walked up to you hugging you, a part of you didn't know whether this was for show, or this was his true feelings. .

“There you are darling, what are you and paddy doing here?” Harry said as you looked at him with a smile.

“We were just talking, we're fine.” you said as you reassured him as he looked over at paddy who nodded in agreement as everyone left, you walked along all of them wondering if something had happened.

You and Harry had walked into your room, he was getting ready for a huge meeting and needed your help with the ties. As you were tying it, Harry just looked down at you. It was hard for him to keep his feelings away from this arrangement. That little show was real. He was practically falling for you but he couldn't actually tell you that. He knew you were better off without him. His feelings for you were pretty strong. When it was for show he was glad to show his feelings so you could sense it, but you being the oblivious person you had no clue. He had noticed your bump and he gasped a little and placed his hand over it as you smiled.

“No way our little bean is already showing.” he said as you smiled, the “our” made your stomach flutter, a part of you just wanted to kiss him, but you two were just friends.

“Yeah, i'm just getting used to it, it's kinda unreal but I'm excited.” you said as he nodded with a smile and you went back to fixing his tie,but the question was bugging you so you just asked to get it out of the way, but the pregnant you wanted to find out.

“That little darling, was just for show right? I'm just making sure.” you said as harry was caught off guard and nodding knowing that was the right answer you wanted to hear.

You had told Harry that you were afraid of loving someone, so he knew that he would have to hide his feelings so you didn’t feel that fear.

“No yeah...totally that was just for show...” he said as you nodded fixing his tie. As much as you hated it a part of you was down and quite bummed. You had grown feelings for harry, but alas this whole thing was just for show. As you got done you patted his shoulders and smiled.

“Well good luck.” you said as he smiled and kissed you bump, which made you blush and you tried looking away.

“See you later.” he said as you nodded and he left. You were craving some food hours later so you headed over to the kitchen where you met haz and tom. The other two trouble makers, but very potential mobsters. They noticed you were coming and they greeted you with a smile.

“Hey y/n” Harrison said as you smiled.

“Hey you two, how's it going?” you asked as you looked in the fridge but nothing appealed to you so you closed it right up.

“Nothing just eating before more of our meetings for today.'' Tom said as you nodded, your mind was somewhere else, your small moments with harry. You were honestly quite confused, and you wanted to talk to someone about it and well these two werent really the people you should tell.

“What's wrong?” haz said as you were brought back, and you just shook your head placing your hand on the top of your bump.

“Oh nothing, just I was thinking about something.” you said as haz was definitely going to get it out of you, tom was pretty interested, which was quite normal of him.

Harrison had kept asking you what was wrong and well you spit it out and they just looked at you with shock, but they weren't surprised as they grinned at one another.

“y/n, harry likes you a lot, he just has a hard way of showing it.” haz said as tom nodded and continued.

“Yeah, y/n he freaked out when you weren't in your room, and called a lockdown on the place, just give him time, plus you're having a baby together,” Tom said as you nodded.

“Speaking of baby, he or she is just showing too.” you said as they gasped and were very happy. They have been very excited since they found out they were both gonna be uncles, with Harrison being godfather.

“But anyways back to the situation that whole thing was just for show.” you said as they both shook their heads.

“No that wasn't, y/n we might be better at gossiping then you.'' Tom said as you shook your head playfully and paddy had walked down getting into the freezer. He groaned, “there's no ice cream, shoot.” paddy said.

“Oh yeah, we kinda finished it.'' Harrison shot a look at him then back at tom.

“Oh well i guess.” paddy said as he was walking away and well you were craving ice cream too.

“I could get some, if you want.” you said as paddy smiled and nodded. Harrison and Tom were both going to disagree with you going since you weren't allowed to leave the building at all, but you were pretty careful and the guys had forgotten you were a mob daughter after all so you had your training, but the one thing you would forget is that well you were pregnant.

“You sure you want to go?” Harrison said as you nodded.

“Yes, besides I have training.” you said reminding them again, but this time things changed if you were to go out and something would happen to you harry would be at fault here.

“But youre pregnant.” haz said as tom nodded.

“And... Harry won't like it if you leave alone what if we both go with you.'' Tom suggested knowing his brother would be calm knowing they were with you so you agreed.

You all got in the car and you felt it was quite ridiculous that you had the mob talking you out to go buy icecream for a teenager. One of the body guards had gone with you to go get some, you know not making it so suspicious that he was a bodyguard. You did feel some eyes on you, but you felt that the most when you were out of the store. As you got back inside of the car you were on your way to the house.

“See nothing bad happened, you guys just need to relax.” you said as the both nodded and you rubbed your belly.

Harrison had seen a car tailgating you guys and he realized it was the same car of one of his fathers enemies and he tried to not freak out but he got his phone out texting tom. Tom looked at his window and nodded to Harrison, you sensed the car speeding up and you wondered why. Tom moved over seats just in case anything were to happen. Then out of nowhere a car got right in front of you guys getting you guys into a crash. Glass braking and the breaks of the cars around you was all you heard, plus the sounds of the car alarm going over and over. Before Tom became unconscious he made sure you were safe and he was sure you were okay since the care hadn't flipped over.

Everything then went black and you had no remembrance of where you were going or who you were with. You didn't even get to see if Tom and Harrison were okay or if you and your baby were okay. You felt arms grabbing you and that's all you could remember, you were hoping those arms belonged to either tom or haz, but alas, your brain let you believe that.

[emptysatellite]

breaking and entering according to hy + gar-bear

Ao3

one.

“This is a horrible idea.”

“No, it’s genius.”

Hyacinth was skipping ahead in the moonlit field while Gareth just mopped in amazement. It was midnight and they were at the one place they shouldn’t be; Clair House.

They were only there because of that stupid journal Hyacinth was translating. Gareth’s grandmother, Isabella, had written it throughout her entire marriage, when she moved to England with her new husband. The journal was written in Italian, a language Gareth couldn’t understand in the slightest, leaving Hyacinth to translate for him (although, as she made clear, she was not fluent). Most of the entries centered around Isabella’s daily life, but Hyacinth discovered a secret; a little while before her death, Isabella hid diamond jewelry in the house so her money hungry and gambling-obsessed son couldn’t sell them.

Once Hyacinth found this out, she rushed to Gareth’s, demanding they go to his father’s property at once. Lucky for them, Mr. St. Clair was out of town on a hunting trip, leaving the house completely empty.

“Hyacinth,” he attempted to reason with her, “we could get in trouble for this. Like real, legal trouble. Trespassing and breaking and entering are crimes.”

“Good thing my brother’s a lawyer. Anthony would defend us, no questions asked,” she retorted, hiding behind a tree to get a good look at the dark house.

“I think there would be lots of questions asked, Hyacinth. Lots of questions asked,” he leaned against a nearby tree, although completely in sight of any passerbys.

“I don’t think so. I’m Anthony’s favorite sister.”

“I don’t think that matters in the court of law… Aren’t you studying law? Shouldn’t you know this?”

“I’m studying politics and international relations, actually,” she tore herself away from the tree, strolling closer to the house. “Do you have a key to this place?”

“No.”

“What? Why not?” she froze in place.

“I don’t live here, why would I have a key?”

“I don’t know, you used to live here so I just assumed,” Hyacinth whisper-yelled, turning back to him. She gave Gareth a pointed look, “how are we supposed to break in if we don’t have a key?”

“We could break a window like they do in all those karate movies.”

“This isn’t a karate movie, Gareth! Besides, we can’t break a window; the neighbors might hear something and call the cops!”

“Like the neighbors wouldn’t call the police if they saw two suspicious individuals go through the front door when they know my dad lives alone and is out of town.”

Groaning, she said, “well, do you know anyone we could get a key from?”

“My grandmother, maybe?” he suggested, his calm exterior crumbling upon meeting her angry gaze.

“Professor D?” she demanded.

“I’m sure. She has a collection of keys from homes and apartments she doesn’t live in.”

“Perfect,” Hyacinth gave him a wide smile of pearly white teeth. “I’ll call her tomorrow morning and get the keys by lunch so that we can both come back at nightfall.”

“Aren’t we going on a date tomorrow night?” asked Gareth.

“Oh right! Well, we’ll come here after our date, then.”

There was no point arguing; when Hyacinth’s mind was made up there was no use debating it. They’d be back tomorrow, no doubt in Gareth’s mind.

two.

“God, I love your grandmother.”

“More than me, apparently.”

“Oh, knock it off,” Hyacinth gave Gareth a light shove, playing with Professor Danbury’s key to Clair House in her free hand.

“I wore the cologne you like to dinner and you still wanted to come here to find some stupid diamonds instead of back to my apartment,” he replied.

“Okay, well, three things. First, diamonds are not stupid, they’re my best friends. Second, I love the cologne you wore to dinner, it smells so Gar-bear St. Clair. And third, I still want to go back to your apartment, but when we get the diamonds,” she explained, taking a tangle of manila rope out of her bookbag, with a (seemingly) heavy rock tied to an end.

Her whole statement was questionable. Gareth barely knew how to respond. “Gar-bear?” is what he finally managed. “What is that ?”

Hyacinth laughed, covering her mouth with her hand in order not to wake the neighbors. “It’s your nickname,” she said at last. “Isn’t it cute? I think so. I came up with it last night, when I was making this!”

She pulled a crumpled piece of paper out of the pocket of her leather jacket. “Read it and weep,” she thrust it into his hands.

“ Breaking and entering according to Hy and Gar-bear? ” he demanded. “What the fuck , Hyacinth?”

“I’ve done loads of research on breaking into houses. I’m practically an expert,” Hyacinth replied, throwing the rope up onto the balcony with a huff. “I just thought I should add your name too, even though you didn’t contribute because we’re partners. Get it? We’re partners in crime .”

“Har-har,” his response was much more sarcastic than intended, “disrupting the peace is so funny.”

“We’re not disrupting the peace,” Hyacinth rolled her eyes. She added, “I can’t believe I’m stuck with you.”

“For better or worse.”

“Little early to be saying that, don’t you think, Bud?”

“Nope, your face is adorable.”

“Damn, you know flattery gets you everywhere with me.”

“I know.”

“Climb up the rope.”

“Wait, what?” he was shaken out of the blind flirtation. “You want me to climb that?”

“Of course,” said Hyacinth. “That’s why I brought it. I thought you’d be too wuss to scale the building, so I thought the rope might help.”

“Is it even secure?” Gareth asked, glancing upwards, for any sign (or omen) he should not pull himself up the rope because it was a risk to his health. “Like, will that rock support our weight?”

“Yes; I wouldn’t tell you to do something if I didn’t think it was safe. And the rock should support us… I tried like five other rocks before picking this one.”

“You’ve… already tried this?”

“Obviously.”

“How heavy is the rock?”

“Not sure.”

“Why are we climbing up to the balcony, anyway?”

“To go through the balcony door. Duh.”

“Why can’t we just go through the side door. No one would see us.”

“No one would see us go through the balcony door, either.”

“But going through the balcony door seems more complicated.”

“You know, we’re spending all this time arguing when you could just climb the damn rope and we could find the damn diamonds.”

“No.”

“Do you want me to go first?”

“Yes, that would make me feel better.”

Without another word, Hyacinth caught the rope, pulling herself up in a way that vividly reminded Gareth of secondary school physical education class. Still, she made it to the balcony.

“See, it’s totally safe!” she called down. “Now, come on.”

“I don’t know, I’m still nervous, Hy!” he replied.

“I’m holding the rope tight,” promised Hyacinth, “I won’t drop it!”

“If you drop it, we’re breaking up and I’m suing you.”

“Noted. I won’t drop you.”

And she didn’t. Gareth was able to scamper up the rope safely to see Hyacinth’s wide grin at the top.

“I told you that’d you’d be fine,” she said.

“Yeah, yeah,” he waved a hand dismissively. “You wanna do the honors?”

Hyacinth nodded, taking the key out of her pocket. Carefully, she put it in the deadbolt, twisting it unlocked, then doing the same with the door lever. “Aha!” she exclaimed, opening the windowed door. “It worked!”

three.

“Old Dicky may be an arsehole, but he has good taste in books.”

“Never once in my whole childhood did I ever see Richard in the library.”

“Well, then Grandpa St. Clair had good taste in books.”

“Right-o.”

“Hm,” Hyacinth ran her fingers along the book spines. “So much Shakespeare.”

“God, I hate Shakespeare,” said Gareth, fumbling with his flashlight.

“Literally stop. We’re breaking up. Right now,” she replied, turning her nose up. She sneezed.

“Bless you.”

“Thanks.”

“No problem.”

“I have dust allergies, just so you know.”

“Good to know.”

“Now, Isabella wrote that the diamonds ―or another set of clues that will lead us to the diamonds―should be in the place where the imagination can run wild,” Hyacinth said, “so I assumed it was the library. What do you think?”

“It could also be the nursery,” suggested Gareth, “because my brother and I would play there all the time; I assume Dick and Uncle Ed would have done the same.”

“That’s true,” she scribbled a note on her arm. “We’ll check the nursery after we finish here.”

“Hyacinth?”

“Yes?”

“It’s going to take us forever to go through here,” Gareth said, spreading his arms for dramatic effect.

Hyacinth seemed to think on this for a brief moment, tapping her marker against her chin. “Hm,” she finally replied, “it won’t take forever if we get started now.”

“Capital plan,” he commented, rolling his eyes.

“I know right,” she retorted. “Besides, even if we tear this room up, we can just leave it; we’ll be back tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow, too?”

“Of course. We’re not resting until we find these damn diamonds.”

“Dick is coming home in less than a week.”

“We’ll just have to be very thorough and efficient then,” she replied. “Now, do we want to start by ripping the books off of their shelves? Or go through all the drawers and cabinets by the desk?”

“I’ll do the desk and you do the shelves.”

“Works with me.”

They went to work, flashlights glowing in the dark library. They didn’t talk, concentration ruling their motions.

“I think I found something!” Hyacinth called, after less than an hour of searching.

“What?” Gareth replied, looking up from the stack of dust-covered papers he was flipping through.

“Hold on, I’m translating,” she paused. She looked up at him, saying, “basically, the hint is that the diamonds are in a washroom.”

“There are five washrooms in this house!” he groaned, collapsing onto the nearest chair.

and four.

“We’re literally going to jail. We’re going to spend the night ―and probably quite a few nights―in jail! ”

“It’s okay, Anthony will defend us in court. Simon will too, I’m sure; I’m his favorite sister-in-law. He got me a miniature pony for my sixteenth birthday, you know.”

“Hyacinth, I’m glad you and Simon and Anthony have good relationships, but we’re still going to jail! ”

“Lower your voice, you’ll upset the cop,” Hyacinth shushed Gareth, placing a finger on his lips.

“I think the cop is already upset,” he replied, grumpily, “because he just arrested us for breaking into my father’s mansion and we didn’t even find the diamonds.”

“Okay, to start, Richard is not your father ―” she started, waving her hand dismissively.

“Believe me, he’s made that clear―” Gareth interrupted.

“But Edward is.”

He blinked. “What?”

“Edward is your dad.”

“Edward? As in my uncle Edward ?” demanded Gareth.

“No, as in your dad Edward,” Hyacinth replied.

“Are you serious?”

“Of course I am.”

“Uncle Ed was my dad?”

“Yes, didn’t you hear what I said?”

“I did,” he breathed in amazement, “I just―it’s hard to believe.”

“You can come to therapy with me, if you want,” Hyacinth suggested. “I have my weekly sessions on Wednesdays.”

“Honestly, I might have to take you up on that offer…”

“There’s no shame in it. My therapist is the best, I’ve been working with her for years.”

“Nice, nice.”

“Oh! I forgot to add,” she reached into her jacket, pulling a trinket ―no not a trinket, a necklace, bracelet, and set of earrings―out of her pocket, “we did find the diamonds.”

“Holy shit!” exclaimed Gareth.

“Shh, the cop will hear,” she mumbled, untangling the jewelry from one another.

“I just… Hy, you’re amazing!”

“I know,” she flipped her hair with her free hand, “I’m told all the time.”

“Where did you find it?”

“In Clair House. Duh.”

“No, I meant , where in Clair House?”

“Under a floorboard in the nursery washroom. When we split up and you were in the master washroom.”

“We’re here, hooligans,” the policeman peered at the couple through the rearview mirror.

Hyacinth locked eyes with Gareth, slowly putting the diamond jewelry back into her jacket. She smiled at him and he returned a favor.

Still, they spent the night in jail.

[boop-le-snoot]

PARTY FAVOURS I A VENOMOUS INTERLUDE

Did y'all know symbrock is canon? Well, now you do. Reader's favourite deadbeat surrogate uncle is in town and he brought a... Friend. No warnings, just a boatload of crack and fluff, as usual. Reader being mouthy. Takes place a little bit into the future - around after chapter 32: spoiler alert is useless because we already know a tonybrucestrange/reader quartet is the endgame. 💖💝✨

"What," I had to pause for a second for my brain to catch up with my eyes. "The fuck?!"

It was truly a miracle I could say anything out loud, at all. Words weren't valid enough to describe my shock and confusion. The scene unfolding in front of me resembled and unholy cross between a B-rated horror movies about demonic possession and some deep-sea Eldritch monstrosity.

The eight-feet tall black, oozing dude in front of me? Yes, you, with the teeth. Ctulhu called, he wants his tentacles back.

The creature honest to god rippled, like some nightmare-fuel goth Jell-O, rapidly shrinking in size within seconds. As more of the black tar-like substance receded, a much more human form started to appear under it. Worn jeans, leather jacket, ungroomed beard and the look of a biker gang member coming off a serious bender.

"Uh, Princess?"

"Eddie. Fucking. Brock. Uncle Idiot." I punctuated each word with an increasing widening of my eyes. The world was fucking nuts. Two and two did not compute - Eddie might have looked threatening to some people - like white suburban Karens - even without the... Gooey squid-on-steroids thing he had going on. The man was built like a fucking brick shithouse, but I knew him way too well. Eddie couldn't be that badass to save a life.

"You two know each other?" Tony shrieked indignantly, a coarseness in his voice that indicated only one thing: my boo was well into his third drink. Hell, I didn't blame him - that gaping toothy maw was fucking gnarly.

Hands on my hips, I caught myself slipping into a mute rage, storming over to the 200lbs worth of pure dumbass and knocking him right in the face. "You! Didn't tell! ME!" A black tendril wrapped around my wrist, carefully but firmly securing it and preventing me from causing my non-related uncle any more physical damage. Although I must admit, my knuckles probably were more affected than his jaw. "You! Are! A MUTANT!!! HOW COULD YOU?! How could you NOT tell ME?"

I trusted the man with my soul and most embarrassing drinking stories. Hell, I called Eddie in a stoned haze the very same night I lost my v-card. I just thought we were bros, you know? I saw his whole fucking life implode more than once and personally flew to California to ice his injuries and his hurt ego countless times. I was done dirty in the worst way.

"I'm not-" Eddie's sigh was long-suffering. "I, uh, I have a parasite..." He sounded meek, in the same way he used to describe his drunkenly misconduct when I made our family driver bail out his ass outta jail in the morning.

"TAKE THAT BACK!" A deep gravelly voice thundered, seemingly coming out of his chest?

"Okay, okay," Eddie smiled. It was strangely soft and un-eddie-like. The only person he smiled like that was... used to be Anne. "This is Venom. They're an alien and we're, uh, a thing. It's a recent development." The tentacle unwrapped itself from me as I took an involuntary step back.

Even barring the fact that Eddie was dating an alien, this was way too fucking weird for 3 o'clock on a Sunday. I always knew the reporter was, for the lack of a better word, a little weird but he really took it to new heights. With Thor and Loki looking... Like that, I could see a human dating some sort of a hot alien. But with Ctulhu looking the way he did just minutes ago? Did Eddie seriously let all of those teeth in close proximity of his dick?

I had a "ERROR 404, common sense not found" hanging over me for the longest time. The others were quiet behind me, too, even Tony - one of my boyfriends, the most likely to cause utter chaos, was hanging back and expecting me to do something.

"Venom," I clarified, just to fill the silence with some noise while my brain processors re-synced.

"WE ARE VENOM." The tentacle that was sleek and black now had two completely white eyes and a smaller-scale version of the toothy grin that had drooled all over the common room carpet. Their voice had an interesting effect: it was so deep, the air around them vibrated slightly when they spoke.

I tilted my head examining the appendage. It was considerably less terrifying when it wasn't five times my size. "What are you?" And most importantly, are you a threat to my favourite non-related family member? I left that statement unspoken although it was obvious I was ready to fight it? Them? If need be.

"A SYMBIOTE," They replied, swaying the head-tentacle slowly. "WE LOVE EDDIE AND KEEP HIM ALIVE AND HEALTHY." So, they understood the actual question.

"Which is fucked up because Klyntar usually behave in the opposite way." Hearing Thor swear was, perhaps, even more unsettling than finding out about the symbiote-alien-boyfriend thing my uncle had going on. The thunderer himself was nursing a jug of golden liquid. The good Asgardian stuff, he must've been really fucking bamboozled.

"Okay. So anybody wanna fill me on the details before I beat up my favourite idiot?" I sighed, pointedly looking at Tony.

"I thought I was your favourite idiot!" He immediately retorted, hurt, but nonetheless opened his arms to give me a grounding embrace. We may have sucked face for a few seconds, because why the hell not, Tony was an amazing kisser and his tongue down my throat was very calming.

"Hold up, what the fuck?" Now it was Eddie's turn to act all offended. "Aren't you a little too young for him?"

"You and your most likely carnivorous goth space pudding can fuck right off if you're not going to be supportive of my very inappropriate, very polyamorous relationship with three incredibly hot boomers," I shot back, slipping into some resemblance of normalcy. Me and Eddie go way, way back and shitting on each other's bad life decisions was the founding stone of our bromance. Hell, he was the guy who showed me the wonders of sarcasm at an early age! Wonderbaum!

"There's three of them?" Eddie's voice pitched and he gaped, palming his face.

"SHE HAS A POINT, EDDIE. WE EAT PEOPLE. BEING UNSUPPORTIVE WOULD MAKE US LOOK LIKE AN ASSHOLE." Eddie's buddy stated, sounding almost fed up. So, they were sentient enough to recognize how much of a pain in the ass Eddie could be. I could work with that, disregarding the cannibalism comment, of course. What the fuck was up with that?

"Yes, Eddie, I also periodically bump uglies and trade disgustingly sweet text messages with the Hulk and a badass wizard," I rolled my eyes at the reporter's following gasp and angry muttering. "Venom, I like you."

"WE RETURN THE SENTIMENT. YOUR CHOICE IN MATES IS VERY WISE, CONSIDERING YOU ARE A WEAK MORSEL. THEY CAN PROTECT YOU."

"Shut up, Squid. I'll still kick your motherfucking ass if you hurt Eddie."

The emo space goo laughed, a terse scratching noise, showing way, way too many teeth for me to feel comfortable but I allowed myself to be placed on the couch between Tony and Eddie nonetheless. The initial shock of seeing a talking octopod with fangs passed quickly - I've seen Stephen's "trophies" he brought from his otherworldly journeys and Lovecraftian horrors were, honestly, pretty low on the gross/creepy scale.

"Both of you, explain. For the love of fuck," Tony sighed, emotionally exhausted and drained of his usual bravado.

"Eddie was my dad's friend until he moved to Cali, I've know him for fifteen years, give or take. He taught me how to ride a bike and bake the best pot brownies," I shrugged. There wasn't much to say. "I visited him whenever I could but you know, with school and then you guys, there wasn't that much time to iron out the details." I have Eddie a death glare, pointing to Venom's floaty head with my eyes.

Eddie nodded. "What she said..." And then launched an elaborate tale about some company called Life Foundation, some evil dude named Drake and his own alien pudding named Carnage, who was one ugly motherfucker judging by Eddie's and Venom's combined "ew" face, their aching need for human brains to survive and other, more trivial things, like mental breakdowns in a lobster tank and getting dumped by a fiancé and eating their way through a HYDRA base after being captured and tortured. What a wild fucking ride.

"Sounds like you had a rough year," Everybody's dumbfounded silence was ended by Tony who took a slow swig of his whiskey before speaking.

"Yeah, no shit," Eddie muttered, twisting his black coated fingers in elaborate but frankly pretty shapes. His alien wrapped around his neck like a tube scarf and additional tentacles appeared between Eddie's hands, gently prying them open and enveloping them in a sort of a hug? It was hard to compute, the black mass appeared to be totally amorphous.

"How's your anxiety?" I asked, damn well knowing Eddie's mind tended to run like Tony's: zero to sixty in point five with no clear destination. Having an alien inside of him must've really thrown Eddie for a loop.

"It's, uh, better. Venom helps," The reporter admitted, still staring at his hands but the crease between his brows had disappeared and the expression he wore was kind of fond.

"Good. You know, Venom," I thoughtfully addressed the definitely sentient creature. "Eddie is a bigger dumbass than me, which is saying something. You ought to keep a really close eye on him. If not for me, he'd probably be dead from alcohol poisoning, like, years ago."

"WE ARE AWARE. WE CAN ACCESS EDDIE'S MEMORIES." A head manifested itself on a thicker tentacle, floating over to look me in the face but maintaining a respectful distance and staying out of my personal space bubble. "AND WE ARE THANKFUL. EDDIE IS THE PERFECT HOST. WE LOVE EDDIE."

I felt the corner of my mouth tilt upwards at the alien's proclamation. It was child-like in its blunt honesty but carried a certain weight with it. It told me whoever tries to separate those two in any way would get eaten faster than they could say "SIKE!". And honestly? I would help Venom hide the evidence.

"I literally had you for thirty minutes but I would kill everybody and then myself if you two got hurt. This is too soft, I can't." I snorted, extending a curious hand towards Venom. They looked so shiny. I had to touch them.

And they let me. Venom butted their head into my palm and let me gently run my fingers over their slightly cool, slippery flesh. It felt like putting my hands on a surprisingly sturdy yet bouncy piece of flubber. I purposely avoided the small maw and the endless rows of sharp teeth but managed to accidentally brush against something rough and scratchy - as it turned out, the Symbiote had a very long, very dexterous tongue. And didn't that give me a bunch of interesting mental images.

"Oh my God, NO!" Wanda moaned from somewhere, the voice mortified and disgusted.

"Why are you touching the people-eating alien?" Bruce yelped, entering the room with several people in tow. The scientist looked worried, a little bit green around the edges. The tablet in his hands beeped periodically, signifying the ongoing sciencing bender he was in process of.

"WE WOULD NOT EAT THIS HUMAN. WE ARE FOND OF THE MORSEL." Venom defended, well, venomously. Eddie wisely choose to stay silent, trading a knowing look with Tony.

Stephen Strange sighed, briefly closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose with a jagged movement. "One day, Princess, one day you will stop collecting people that are obviously bad for your health and your future. That, or space in the tower will simply run out." With a deeper, calmer sigh, the sorcerer landed in front of me on the floor, sitting cross-legged and subtly begging for a head scratch. Which meant just placing his always neatly trimmed curls under my free hand. His jealousy was about as subtle as a foot in the face.

"I'll just ask Tony to build more floors, duh," I rolled my eyes with force at the obvious solution, giving into Steph's demands, beginning to card through his hair. It was calming both of us, really.

Bruce came over to give me a kiss and my other boyfriends didn't even grumble about the scientist placing himself in my lap, crawling over both Tony and Stephen to get comfortable.

Our dynamic was unconventional and more than a little weird, but it worked for us and the rest of the team most certainly didn't complain about the vast decrease in conflict that came with the territory. Come to think of it, all of us were more tactile than just a group of friends sharing a house and I was very much on board with that. None of us except select few (looking at you, mister doctor) were hugged enough as children and we were making up for it in spades right fucking now.

"Girl has a type," Wanda remarked, like the messy little shit she was. I stuck out my tongue in retaliation.

The Avengers' brain trust began talking about Venom's slightly inconvenient diet that directly resulted in multiple felonies for one Edward Brock, and as much as I tried to follow the flow and make my own, however feeble, contributions to the scientific side of the conversation, the new life form was much more interesting. I asked Venom several questions and they deemed them acceptable enough to answer - which evolved on both of us absolutely geeking out over the differences in our physiology. The space pudding didn't hold back one bit, insulting the inferior human biology with gleeful gusto.

"They need a chemical called phenethylamine," Bruce sighed, having deduced it through discussion since Venom and Eddie both protested aggressively against any kind of invasive testing. "I can synthesize it. No more head-chomping, no more murder."

It made perfect sense. Except it didn't. "Brucie-bear, you're a brilliant fucking scientist but a shit psychologist." I interrupted whatever came next. "Venom is a person, like me and you and, yes, even Hulk. Tell me this: if you found a way to get rid of Hulk, would you stop sciencing in the gamma radiation field?" I looked my boyfriend straight in the eyes, hoping for a spark of common sense. "Do you see my point? You science, Tony engineers, Steve draws and Clint bakes. Venom hunts. It's who they are, you can't give them a pill to make it go away."

The weight of my word landed in the room like lead, heavy. The only source of sound was the TV, playing the news quietly in the background for the longest time. Those few minutes felt like hours until Thor expectantly turned towards Eddie/Venom.

"IT IS SO. WE ARE AFRAID WE CANNOT INFLUENCE OUR INSTINCT TO HUNT PREY. KLYNTAR ARE APEX PREDATORS." The little black goop sounded almost apologetic. It was hard to hear undertones with their voice being so deep and grating. "BUT WE CAN TRY." Okay, I could totally hear the hope. Finding out the Eldritch horror could make puppy eyes was... Terrifying, to be honest, because they fucking worked.

"Got any better ideas?" Tony asked me sarcastically.

"I do, actually." I leveled a look with Natasha. She understood. "HYDRA goons. The aliens that, for some reason, keep invading New York every month or so. Stephen's adventures in Hell. Do I need to continue?"

"Wait, hold on," Steve raised his palms. "We don't kill HYDRA, we deposit them in SHIELD custody."

I snorted at the naïve Captain. "And what do you think happens to them there? Did you honestly think they just let torturing, murdering, world-domination planning psychos back on the streets?"

Steve frowned in confusion. "They go to prison?"

Natasha choose that moment to step up. "It's not uncommon for them to possess certain enhancements to be deemed too dangerous to be released back into society. Some of them are low-tier mutants and inhumans. Trust me, Steve, the lethal injection is a much more humane treatment than solitary life imprisonment in a ultra-high security prison." Romanoff stated with a trace of compassion. "And some mutants, we can't contain for prolonged periods of time." She added quietly, looking away.

Rogers was staring blankly into the wall, mulling over the information in his head. His intensive thought process was plainly visible on his face. I heard about some kind of fiasco with HYDRA agents suicide-bombing a city in Europe few years ago and Steve was there, along with Wanda and Sam.

"Venom is a whole person, and even if they look like they could be the main character in Call of Ctulhu video game, we can't just disregard them like they are some kind of badly behaving pet. They're my honorary uncle's boyf-sorry-significant other, for fuck's sake," I threw my hands up in the air in exasperation. "Y'all should know I don't fuck with people who give shit to one of my own. Don't disappoint me like that." I finished, feeling more tired than I had in months. I didn't regret giving into the found family dynamic, however I didn't exactly sign up for hard choices like them vs my long lost uncle, y'know?

Great, now I had a headache and three very concerned boyfriends glaring at me for unknown reasons. The urge to pace always manifested strongly within me as the emotional atmosphere rose in the room. With Bruce dangling off my lap, I couldn't do even that and I felt the restlessness blossom into irritation more and more with each passing second of my existence.

Eddie remained silent, looking down. Venom had mostly receded into the reporter's body, save for a few tentacles tightly wrapped around Eddie's palm.

"Alright," Steve suddenly said. "We can work with that."

"Princess, you look like you're either going to cry or yell any second," Bruce said softly, squeezing my shoulder and pulling me closer.

I immediately hid my face in his chest, taking several deep, shaky breaths. "Eddie is family. Y'all are family. It's terrifying to have to choose between the two." I said, after a brief moment of hesitation.

The reporter made some sort of a choked gasp, quickly masking it with a cough - I knew him way too well to miss the way he was fighting back tears of his own. Bruce understood, he really did understand me - hopped off my lap and let me hug Eddie properly, my happy-sad tears soaking through the collar of his tee.

"You're, uh, welcome to stay. I'll have a guest room prepared." Tony cleared his throat, passing his half-finished glass to Stephen who swallowed the liquid in one gulp. My boyfriends were so fucking emotionally illiterate. Disaster humans.

Huh, I really did have a type.

Later that night, I made the mistake of barging into Eddie's room with a bottle of really fancy whiskey I liberated from Tony's overstocked liquor cabinet. Visiting my uncle and boozing and smoking on the balcony, for old times sake, was my plan and...

I failed the mission successfully.

I didn't bother knocking. As soon as I saw a pair of bare feet, my eyes traveled further up on the couch on their own volition. There were so many tentacles, a writhing, oozing silky black mass and Eddie was making sounds, unmistakable noises-

"UNSEE. UNSEE. OH MY GOD, UNSEE, UNSEE." I stumbled back into the common room shivering.

"What happened, is everything okay?" Bucky stood up as soon as he saw me enter the doorway with my face scrunched in a grimace of regret. I felt like I've gone through the five stages of grief in the shortest time possible for a human being.

Somwhere, I heard Wanda's sudden moan full of pain and misery. "Please, stop THINKING about it!"

"Brain bleach, oh my God," I cringed. "Where's the Clorox?! I have decided I don't need my eyeballs-"

"Oooh," Tony's proverbial lightbulb lit up. The engineer sounded like he was about five seconds away from building a space ship and permanently moving to another planet. "They're together-together..." Tony intercepted me nonetheless, doing the most effective thing to make me stop speaking and thinking bullshit. He kissed me. With lots of tongue.

THE TAG LIST IS NOW OPEN! @another-stark-sub ​ @mostly-marvel-musings  @vozit ​ @littlegasps ​ @pilloclock ​ @shereadsinquiet @downeyreads ​ @hermione-grangers-wife ​ @individualistfem ​ @sleep-i-ness @capbrie @lillsxd @agustdowney @dee-vn @justanotherblonde23 @fanngirl19 @persephonehemingway @softie-socks @schemefrenzy @letsby @cutenessloading @romeo-the-cactus @jelly-fishy-babie @mikariell95

[stereksecretsanta]

Merry Christmas, alaidiem!

For @alaidiem. Hope you have a wonderful and Stereky Christmas!!

Read On AO3

*****

Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Make Them a Match

Derek Hale and Stiles Stilinski have been best friends since they were very young.

Two-year-old Stiles toddled up to two and a half-year-old Derek, and patted Derek’s cheeks, a smile blooming behind Stiles’ red pacifier as he murmurs “vulf, pity vulf”.

Once they started school, they were inseparable. Despite being in different classes, they always met up at recess and lunch, swapping bits and pieces from their lunch box and reading the latest Batman comic together.

When Jackson Whittmore joined the school and decided on his first day to push Stiles over in the sandpit, Derek marched over and pushed Jackson over in retaliation, pointing a finger in his face and growling, “If you even look sideways at Stiles, I will hurt you.”

When Derek was being made fun of by Liam Dunbar for having his nose in a book, Stiles tilts his head in a distinctly wolf-like fashion and quips, “You jealous Liam? Heard you only got 52% on your last English test. Need Derek to teach you how to read?”

By the time they had reached high school, both their families were certain the boys were mates. Noah and Claudia Stilinksi had made a bet with Talia and Samuel Hale on when Derek and Stiles’ matehood would manifest.

The Stilinksi’s are guided by the customs of the Emissary. An Emissary comes into their own at the age of 14, their spark igniting in the presence of their mate. The ritual tying the Emissary and their mate is performed on the full moon after their eighteenth birthday when the full power and knowledge is bestowed upon the magic-user, and their mate confirms the match.

The Hales, on the other hand, are guided by the moon and werewolf lore. It is said that a young werewolf would find their mate at the age of sixteen, their wolf recognising their true match and spurring them on to make a pledge of the heart. This pledge is made under the new moon, the beginning of the new lunar cycle, signifying a new start.

Needless to say, there has been quite some competition between the two families over the years, followed by confusion when both boys pass eighteen and they are still unmated.

🐺🐺🐺

Peter Hale stands at the kitchen window watching as Derek and Stiles play around in the pool. Stiles is unsuccessfully trying to push Derek into the water, as the werewolf’s feet are firmly planted on the ground and he’s not moving. The force of pushing against an immovable object causes Stiles to lose his footing, arms windmilling wildly as he tries to find purchase, only for Derek to grab his arm and throw a laughing Stiles in the pool.

Talia saunters up behind her brother and gives him a pinch. “Whatever it is you are thinking Peter, I strongly suggest you forget about it.”

Peter sighs, turning to his older sister as Derek cannonballs into the pool.”Aren’t you frustrated as well Tali? Bets aside, both of their mates should have manifested by now. They are nineteen! Both off to college, different colleges mind you, opening them up to other people when they are clearly each other’s mate! Don’t you just want to shake them and tell them to get their acts together?”

Talia puts an arm around Peter. “I’m not frustrated, I’m sad. They are clearly perfect for each other. It saddens me that maybe they aren’t meant to be when it’s clear to the rest of us that they are. They have the same relationship that Sam and I have, and that you and Lisa have. It was clear to all our families back then, just as clear to us now. Maybe Mother Moon has other plans for our boys. We must be patient.”

“Patient my ass. Those boys are oblivious Tali. Stiles seems to think that Derek is too good for him. And Derek thinks he’s too dumb for Stiles, and Stiles deserves someone smarter like Lydia Martin. I just think they need a little bit of a push. A prod even. A shuffle in the mate direction.”

“Since when do the boys think that? I’ve never heard either of them say any such thing. I don’t think meddling is a good idea, Peter. It needs to happen naturally.”

Peter turns to Talia with a raised brow. “Just last week I heard Stiles on the phone to Scott saying how he doesn’t think he deserves it, and Derek was talking to Laura lamenting just before he left for college how he doesn’t know whether he’s smart enough. And anyway, I’ve never heard any stories of things going badly when someone intervened. It can’t hurt.”

Crossing his arms across his chest, Peter sighs. “Look Tali, we’ve all seen how they look at each other. It’s ridiculous how much in love they are. Also it can’t be good having Stiles abilities not fully manifested. He’s to be Laura’s emissary Tali, if he doesn’t fully come into his powers soon, then it will have a direct impact on the Pack. Something needs to be done.”

Talia pinches the bridge of her nose and heaves a sigh. “Ok, I’ll have a talk with Claudia, see what she has to say. She’ll know more about the Emissary manifestation, maybe there’s something we just don’t know.”

“And, in the meantime, I’m going to get in my nephew’s ear and guide him like the good Alpha’s right hand that I am.”

Talia groans and gives Peter a shove. “Fine, but don’t be too over the top or too blatant. And don’t harm either of them. Or do anything to scare the other one. And no making the other jealous! Nothing that can backfire.”

“You are no fun.”

“I am your Alpha Peter Hale, you need to remember that.”

Peter snorts and salutes his sister, who laughs loudly as she walks out the door. Turning back to the window Peter watches the boys talk quietly as they bob gently in the pool. They are talking quiet enough that Peter can’t hear what they are saying, so when Stiles blushes a deep pink, he desperately wants to know what is being said.

He makes his way out of the back door and down the stairs, opening the pool gate as quietly as possible. Peter puts on his best smirk.

“You know Stiles, we are in the middle of summer. You’re looking a little pink there, forget to put on sunscreen?”

Stiles startles violently, almost smacking Derek in the face. Derek holds Stiles' arms in front of him and turns to glare at Peter. “Must you do that Peter? You know how he flails.”

“Hey! I resemble that remark!” Stiles squawks.

Derek snorts and turns back to Stiles. “He doesn’t look sunburnt to me Peter. Maybe it’s time to get your eyes checked old man.”

Peter’s smirk widens. “Yes, well you’d be able to see whether Stiles is sunburnt or not being that close to him Derek. Do you think you could tell whether it’s sunburn? Or whether Stiles is just blushing. He turns a lovely shade of pink when he blushes.”

Stiles narrows his eyes. “Listen here Uncle Creepy, the fact that you know that is gross, and I’m going to tell Lisa!”

Peter snorts. “Oh no, I’m so scared.”

Derek sneers at his uncle. “What about if I told Aunt Lisa about what you did Friday night? Do you think shed ok if she found out it was YOU that ate the last of her chocolate?”

Stiles starts laughing. “You ate a pregnant werewolf’s chocolate? Oh my god, you are a dead man!”

While Derek and Stiles continue to laugh, Peter swiftly makes his exit, frustrated that his plan failed.

🐺🐺🐺

Talia and Claudia sit on the couch, each nursing a cup of tea. Claudia has her thinking face on, while Talia waits patiently.

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with him Tali. Mischief has been doing all of his Emissary studies, and in fact, is ahead.”

“How is that possible that he’s ahead though? Shouldn’t his abilities have manifested fully by now? I’m not sure how it works, but I would have thought that there was a limit to what Stiles could learn until he came into his powers. And the boys are nineteen now, Claud. Has Stiles said anything to you about the situation? About Derek?”

Claudia shakes her head. “No, he’s always been very secretive with matters of the heart. And there are always things to learn about being an Emissary. In fact, I heard from my sister in Poland, she’s Emissary to one of the Wójcik Alphas you know, and she was saying how on some blood moons, the connection between an Alpha and their Emissary is strengthened with a pulse of power, and …”

“Claud! Off topic.”

“Sorry! It’s fascinating. But as far as the situation as you call it, Stiles hasn’t mentioned anything, and I haven’t asked.”

“I just wonder if we say something to the boys? Peter is going to try his hand at matchmaking, he’s getting a bit worried about it.”

“Honestly Tali, I wouldn’t be too worried. I didn’t meet Noah until I was in my early twenties. I didn’t become your Emissary until my late twenties. The folklore surrounding us is just that, folklore. The Emissary Scrolls were written in a completely different time to now. But if it makes you feel better, I’ll have a talk to Stiles and I’ll let you know.”

Talia lets go of the breath she seemed to be holding and takes another sip of her tea. “Thanks Claud. I’ll let Peter know.”

“He’s not going to stop trying to meddle, surely you know your brother better than that. Remember what happened with Laura?”

There was a moment's silence before the women burst out laughing, remembering when Peter tried to get Laura and her mate Jordan together, Peter ended up locked up in the Beacon Hills Sheriff Department’s jail for the weekend after Peter’s attempted abduction of his niece went terribly wrong.

🐺🐺🐺

Derek walks back in the front door after saying goodbye to Stiles, who incidentally was looking a little pink after forgetting to reapply his sunscreen. He chuckles as he walks into the kitchen to grab a cold drink, almost turning around when he sees his Uncle Peter sitting at the dining table watching Derek keenly.

Opening the fridge, Derek pulls out a bottle of water, turning around to face Peter as he twists the top off and takes a sip.

“Whatever it is you want to say, Peter, just say it.”

“I don’t know what you mean nephew.”

Derek rolls his eyes and starts to walk out of the kitchen to go up to his room, stopping when Peter starts to talk.

“You must miss Stiles when you are at college.”

Derek turns slowly back around towards his uncle and narrows his eyes at him. “Why do you say that?”

“Well, you’ve been practically joined at the hip since you were two. And for the first time in 17 years, you are separated by a 6 hour drive. Are you ok with that?”

“There’s this marvellous invention called a cell phone where we can make phone calls, and even some phones allow you to make video calls! There’s Zoom, Skype, Discord, as well as email, text messages. I may not see him every day, but we talk all the time, and FaceTime every weekend.”

“Yes, but it must be hard not being able to hug him, not being in the same room as him. You must miss his scent.”

Derek looks at Peter like he’s grown a second head. “Are you ok Peter? Did you get sunstroke in the 5 minutes you were outside today? Maybe you are a vampire instead of a werewolf. Yes, that explains everything! Especially since you suck!”

Growling, Peter gets up from his seat and runs at Derek who shrieks and bolts out the front door.

🐺🐺🐺

Thursday afternoon, Stiles is sitting at the diner on Fifth Street waiting for his dad to arrive for lunch. He’s stripping the straw wrapper into a pile in front of his soda, knee bouncing under the table.

Just as he’s about to pull the straw out of his soda, the door of the diner opens with a jingle, Stiles looking up to see his weary father walking towards him.

Noah sits down with a sigh. “Hey, kiddo.”

“Hey pops, you ok?”

“Rough case at the moment, but it’s getting close to being solved which is something to look forward to. How’s your day?”

“Good! Mom asked me to come into the bookstore this morning, Mrs Nelson asked her to ask me if I wanted to do some part-time work there over the Summer, so I had a quick interview, and I have my first shift with mom tomorrow!”

The Sheriff grabs Stiles hand and squeezes. “That’s good news son.”

As Stiles is about to ask his dad about the case, the bell above the door jingles again, and in walks Peter Hale.

Stiles groans. “Ah, crap.”

“What’s wrong son?”

Peter strides right up to the table and presumptuously sits down at one of the two free chairs. “Noah, Stiles, so good to see you! What brings you to the diner today?”

Stiles looks at Peter incredulously and before he can answer, Noah responds. “We’re doing our taxes, Peter.”

“Ah, funny. Yes, you are in a diner, it should be obvious what you are doing. I thought you’d be doing something with Derek today Stiles?”

Noah rolls his eyes and mumbles “Oh lord.”

Stiles looks confused. “Why would I be doing something with Derek today?”

“Why wouldn’t you be! You haven’t seen each other for some time, it’s the summer break, time to reconnect with those you love and all that.”

Stiles blinks.

“You two have been joined at the hip since you were babies! This is the first time you are both out in the big bad world and you’ve gone to opposite ends of the state. I just thought you’d want to spend every waking moment together.”

“I have no idea what you are getting at Peter, but Derek and I are meeting up on Friday. There’s a new Marvel movie out, and the diner has Five Buck Burger Fridays.”

“Why not tomorrow as well?”

Stiles looks at his dad, then looks back at Peter. “Because I’m working, and Derek is working.”

“Derek is working?”

“Yes? He’s working with Samuel at the garage.”

“Ah yes, that’s right. Well, I hope you two get to spend more time together than just on weekends. It would be a shame if you two grew apart.”

Peter gets up from his chair and tucks it back under the table. He bids the Stilinski men good day and walks out the diner.

Stiles looks back as his father. “He is such a fucking weirdo.”

“Language Stiles!”

🐺🐺🐺

When Peter gets home from his gatecrashing the Stilinski lunch, he convinces Talia to arrange a barbecue with the Hales and Stilinskis for Sunday. The weather is forecast to be warm, perfect for swimming and grilling.

Sunday morning dawns and Peter rises with a smirk. Lisa looks flatly at her husband as she sits in the armchair in the corner of the room, rubbing her swollen belly. “What are you smirking at? You’ve just woken up.”

“Well my love, today is the day that I am going to once and for all get Stiles and Derek to admit that they are in fact, in love, and in fact, are mates. The pining and the looks of love from afar end today!”

“I know you think you are this Matchmaker extraordinaire, but the reality is, you are awful at it, and it always backfires.”

“You can’t say it always backfires because I’ve only done it once.”

“That’s the literal definition! Always. Every time you have done it, you’ve failed. One hundred per cent failure rate!”

Peter huffs and trips as he’s removing his sleep pants. Lisa laughs. “Come now my heart. Don’t pout, it’s unbecoming. Now do your pregnant wife a favour and rub my feet.”

🐺🐺🐺

The Stilinskis arrive at the Hale house at 11.30 on the dot. Stiles helps his mom get the plethora of Polish side dishes from the backseat, while Noah grabs the beers, both normal and wolfsbane laced. They walk into the house as a family, dodging screaming kids, laughing adults, and hazardously placed bags.

Stiles stays in the kitchen with Laura and Cora and helps to get the side dishes and desserts set out on the benches. Claudia goes off to find Talia, and Noah parks himself next to the grill, cracking open a cold one for Samuel and himself, chatting to Derek about his work at the garage.

Once the grilling is done and the meat brought inside, Talia calls everyone around and thanks them for coming. After giving directions on where to find everything, and offering for people to sit wherever they want, Peter clears his throat as his Alpha is about to release the pack to get food.

“I just wanted to say a few things before we eat!”

Talia’s “oh no” is mirrored by Claudia, Samuel, and Noah.

“As it is the summer holidays for all our young pack members, I just thought it would be nice to welcome those who have been off at college back home, especially Derek and Stiles who have never been apart this long ever!”

Peter looks around waiting for the laughter. There’s not even a chuckle. Derek steps forward. “What are you doing Peter?”

“Nothing! Well, nothing MUCH. You two have been so close for such a long time, I just worry about you missing each other! Anyway, I just wanted to …”

“You just wanted to what Peter? You’ve been acting fuc .. freaking weird for the last week!” Stiles interrupts Peter with a glare.

Derek nods. “You said the exact same thing about missing each other to me the other day. Why are you so fixated with Stiles and I missing each other?”

Peter looks at Talia for help but she just raises her hands in a “you’re on your own” gesture.

“Lisa?”

“Nope babe. This is your show.”

Peter sighs. “I’ve been trying to get you two to admit you miss each other, which would then get you to admit that you have feelings for each other, which would then get you to realise you are mates!”

Derek walks over to Stiles and puts his arm around him. Stiles snuggles into Derek’s side. “We know we are mates Uncle Peter. We’ve known for years.”

Peter’s jaw drops. Followed by Talia’s and Noah’s. Claudia, Samuel and Lisa are laughing. Cora is looking between Peter, and Derek with confusion. Laura is stifling a laugh.

“What?? But you aren’t mated!!”

Stiles rolls his eyes. “We aren’t officially mated yet no. We wanted to wait until we’ve graduated from college before we made it official.”

“So you know you’re mates, but you don’t miss each other? What am I missing???”

“Uncle Peter, Stiles and I are very much in love so of course we miss each other. But we knew that if we were to be officially mated it would make going to college very difficult. We want to get the first three years done and dusted at our college of choice, and then see what happens. Stiles couldn’t turn down the scholarships from Berkeley, and couldn’t turn down UCLA. But we have every intention of having the official ceremony once we’ve graduated.”

Before Peter can respond, Talia steps in. “It sounds like you’ve had this planned for a long time. Why didn’t you tell anyone?”

Laura clears her throat. “They told me.”

Peter throws his hands up in the air and storms off, leaving his laughing wife behind.

Talia frowns. “Why didn’t they tell me?”

“I’m sorry Alpha Hale, we should have told you. But after discussing it, Derek and I thought it would be best to tell Laura as I’m to be her Emissary.”

“We also knew that if everyone knew they’d make a big deal about us not being mated yet. We really need to do this in our timeline, in our way. I’m sorry mom.”

Talia rushes forward and scoops Derek and Stiles into a hug, and taking the lead of their Alpha, the rest of the pack joins in.

🐺🐺🐺

Three Years Later

Derek and Stiles stand under the new moon in their mating robes. Stiles' hands lay gently on top of Derek’s, a platinum ring in each palm bearing the triskele.

Talia guides her son and his mate through their vows through tears. Derek and Stiles' faces radiate pure love, and as the rings are slipped on the other’s finger, the Hale Alpha declares her son and the future Hale Emissary mates, and to seal the bond, to kiss under the new moon.

The men wrap their arms around each other, and as their lips touch for the first time as official mates, a pulse of power bursts from Stiles wrapping around him and his wolf, drawing them even closer.

The wolves of the pack howl in joy, while the humans cheer. Noah and Claudia hug each other close. Talia and Samuel look at each with love.

Peter looks at his nephew in fondness and turns to Lisa. “I’m taking full credit for this.”

[wannabeauthorclive]

For The First Time In Forever

Link - For The First Time In Forever

Author - Zofija aka me aka Eat_SometimesWrites_Sleep_Repeat on Ao3

Relationships - Peter Parker/Wade Wilson

POV - Wade Wilson

Warnings - One very brief mention of suicide, language, some angst

Rating - Teen and up

Length - 2,500 words

Summary - Wade never wanted to meet his heartmate. It seemed like a disaster to do so. But maybe, after the rollercoaster of the fight with the Rhino, maybe Wade will reconsider. And the boxes, they just love changing everything. And once the author writes one line, they have to use it to their advantage.

This is the first time I’m gonna actually post it on here, on Tumblr. So let’s see how it works out.

Spidey was mad. Mad at himself, mad at Wade. Spidey had always done everything by himself, he was a one man team. Wade understood that, he was the same. Until he met Spider-Man. The two of them worked well together, only Wade wasn’t allowed to kill anyone. But unlike him, Spidey was having a much harder time realizing that he could leave some things for Wade to do. And accepting that he was going to do them differently.

Wade was patient (No, you’re not) but this was the last straw. For himself and for Spidey. They both lost their patience, and both are annoyed at Spidey.

“I hate you!”

Wade knew that it wasn’t true. He knew that. He knew that Spidey was trying to blame someone else for the death of a civilian that laid on his shoulders. Wade was ok with it. He didn’t want Spidey to take the blame, even though Deadpool couldn't have killed the civilian.

He was on the other side of the fight, keeping Rhino distracted (What you do best) [Why do the civilians crowd around the fight anyway? It’s not a boxing match.] No, it is not. While Spidey was taking care of the civilians.

Spidey’s tone had a hate in it. But not in it. It had the I know I did something wrong but I’m going to blame my brother or friend even though you saw me do it type of tone. And Wade was going to let it go. But Spidey was one of those people who lies in then feels bad and owns up to it. Even if he would have gotten away with it.

And the “I hate you” that he yelled, Wade didn’t do much about it. He just has to wait until the whole thing blows over. Spidey would come to the realization that Wade did his job and he didn’t complete his. It would hurt him. Wade knew that. But he didn’t know what else to do.

[ J.J.J is going to be all over the death in tomorrow’s newspaper. ]

( OMG! Spidey! He’s never gonna live this down! This is horrible! )

Shit. [ I think you left the stove on. ] That’s not the problem. Wait, did I? No, He shook his head, This isn’t something that is just going to blow over.

It wasn’t going to blow over, Wade knew that. Spidey knew that. But Spidey was going to own up to it. Because that’s who he is. He takes the blame for everything he does and sometimes for the things he didn’t do. (Yeah, remember the time that you hurt someone super super bad and Spidey was there —) [Right! And then Spidey told the police that he did it so you—] Wouldn’t have to go to jail. Yes, I know. Wade played the scene over and over again in his head, trying to understand why Spidey did what he did.

Once he realized that Spidey was still talking and had stepped closer (He’s in our bubble! We’re gonna get COVID!) [Wrong world, dumbass. Also we wouldn’t get COVID cause we’re both wearing masks] (Screw you, White.)

“Shut up!” He yelled in his head. Spidey’s word vomit or whatever he was saying stopped. And if his mask was up, Wade knew he would see his mouth shut so fast he could’ve broke his jaw. That… wasn’t in my head. (Nope) [You told Spidey to shut up, good job] Fuck. Spidey was still staring at him with those big white eyes. Probably surprised [That’s obvious] and waiting to see if he was going to explain. “I was saying that to the boxes, not you. Continue talking.” [Great job. If I had hands I’d applaud you with how horrible that sounded.] Spidey continued to stare at him.

“You weren’t listening?” Spidey asked, anger so close to the surface.

“Ummm…” In those seconds that nobody said anything, Spidey seemed to break. His walls that Wade didn’t even know were up fell away.

“I don’t know what to do.” His voice broke in the middle, sounding like he is confessing something that he never told anyone before. (I don’t know a lot of stuff—) [You don’t know shit] (But I know that that is exactly what he’s doing) [Of course that’s what he’s doing, that is self explanatory] Oh, will you guys shut up? “It’s like Gwen, and my Uncle Ben, and everyone else I’ve gotten close to. And I have no idea what to do. Someone gets hurt every time I try to save everyone.”

“Hey, hey hey” In the most comforting tone Wade can manage [He’s never —] I need you to shut up. Even the readers want to to shut up. (Yeah, White, you need to shut —) Same with you Yellow. You guys don’t exist in the other fics this author has written. So go away. Nobody wants you. (That hurts) I told you to shut up.

“Baby boy, come here.” Wade walks closer to Spidey, slowly as not to scare him. Or ruin the mood of this wonderful rooftop that they are occupying. He wraps him up in his arms, resting his chin on Spidey’s head. Spidey seems taller from afar, or maybe I grew… (We’re hugging Spider-Man!!!) [I have to admit, that’s pretty awesome.] OMG!!! We’re hugging Spidey!!! Best day of my life!!!

Spidey reached his hands up and pulled his mask up to his hairline, tucking his now unmasked face into Wade’s chest. Wade felt his heart stop at knowing that if he pulled back, he could see Spidey’s face. For the first time in forever.

(Cause for the first time in forever!)

[There’ll be music, there’ll be light]

(For the first time in forever!)

[I’ll be dancing through the night]

Spidey whimpered. Tears falling on Wade’s suit.

“Baby boy, don’t cry.” Wade says as he leans back to look into Spidey’s glassy eyes. His real eyes, not the eyes no his mask. The sight hurt him. His baby boy shouldn’t be hurting like this.

(Don’t know if I’m elated or gassy)

[But I’m somewhere in that zone]

(‘Cause of the first time in forever)

[I won’t be alone]

Spidey’s eyes are red rimmed from crying, tears creating canyons in his cheeks, his beautiful mouth pulled into a frown.

(I can’t wait to meet everyone!)

[What if I meet the one?]

He drags a gloved hand across Spidey’s cheek, resting it there spread across the side of his face. Spidey nuzzling his face down into Wade’s palm. “You did the best you could. You can’t save everyone, Sweetums. It’s not possible.” Spidey mumbled something into Wade’s palm.

(Tonight imagine me gown and all)

[Fetching draped against the wall]

(The picture of sophisticated grace)

[I suddenly see him standing there]

(A beautiful stranger, tall and fair)

[I wanna stuff some chocolate in my face]

Spidey reaches one hand down to his other hand and grabs the top of Wade’s glove. He’s going to take off my glove. Wade’s heart races and he tries to tug his hand away. His scars are not something that he needs to impose on Spidey. Especially in the emotional moment.

(But then we laugh and talk all evening)

[Which is totally bizarre]

(Nothing like the life I’ve lead so far)

But Spidey persisted. He took off the glove, dropped it to the ground, and linked their hands. Not worrying about the scars. Wade sighed glad to know that Spidey didn’t care about the scars. At least the ones on his hand, the ones on his face may be a different deal.

(For the first time in forever!) [Hey! It was my turn to say that line!] (Bummer, I said it first.) [Fuck you, Yellow]

[There’ll be magic, there’ll be fun]

(For the first time in forever!)

[I could be noticed by someone]

Wade gasped. His hand searing. He tried to let go of Spidey’s hand but he couldn’t, tried to tugged his hand out of Spidey’s viselike grip. He looked up to Spidey, and his eyes where foggy. Like he wasn’t there or he was seeing something different. Like he was bewitched.

It was like an elephant charged into his chest, he sucked in a quick, sharp breath. And he stopped seeing Spidey or the rooftop or New York around them. He could still feel them. But now he was… seeing Spidey. But not the present Spidey.

It was the first time they met. Spider-Man beating his ass while trading quips back and forth cause he caught Wade killing people in his city. The first time they ate tacos together. The first time Spidey came to Wade’s place, Wade beat his ass in video games. For all Spidey is at fighting, he’s shit at Mario Cart. The first time Spidey congratulated him for not killing anyone for a whole month.

Every one of their first times doing things together. All their second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth times doing things together. Their fights, taco nights, and adventures were all there. Every memory that Spidey was in flashed through his mind, like he was there all over again. And when it was all over, he stared at Spidey, at his heart mate. The one person that all walls can come down around. The one person where lies don’t exist. The one person who, once you find them, is never supposed to leave. Not until death.

The one person that Wade never wanted to meet. Thinking that no-one would ever love him. Love has never been his friend. Love hates him. But maybe, just maybe, Love chose right.

(And I know it is totally crazy)

[To dream I’d find romance]

(But for the first time in forever)

[At least I’ve got a chance]

It was a brush of the lips. Nothing more than a second that their lips touched. But Spidey had kissed him. Kissed him!! Wait, his mask has to be off for Spidey to kiss him. Wade, not wanting to let go of Spidey’s hand, took his hand off his face and rubbed it on his. If his heart beats any faster, it’s gonna stop. His mask was off. The gorgeous man across from him was staring at his scared face.

(Don’t let them in, don’t let them see)

[Be the good girl you always have to be]

(Conceal, don’t feel, put on a show)

[Make one wrong move and everyone will know]

He tried to let go, turn away, put on his mask, leave. But Spidey held him still, not letting him leave, not letting put his mask back on. He closed his eyes, trying to keep one layer of protection. If Spidey left. If he yelled, if he was disgusted, Wade doesn’t think he’d be able to live. Not with the pain of his Heartmate rejecting him. Multiple bullets to his own head if that happened.

(But it’s only for today)

[It’s only for today]

(It’s agony to wait)

[It’s agony to wait]

(Tell the guards to open up the gate)

[The gate]

There was some shuffling, but Spidey never let go of his hand, or let him leave, then there was a firm kiss. One that reminded Wade of Spidey's stubbornness when he said something Spidey disagreed with. Just resting there, not moving, keeping contact. It wasn’t much longer than the one before, but it was firmer more solid and secure. Wade kept his eyes closed during the whole thing, not wanting to look at the person who was kissing him. Not wanting to look at the person once they open their eyes, not wanting to see the disgust.

(For the first time in forever)

[Don’t let them in, don’t let them see]

(I’m getting what I’m dreaming of)

[Be the good girl you always have to be]

(A chance to change my lonely world)

[Conceal]

(A chance to find true love)

[Conceal, don’t feel, don’t let them know]

“Open your eyes, Pool. Look at me” Spidey’s voice was solid but comforting. But not enough for Wade to let all his walls crumble. ‘Cause once he opens his eyes, they’ll crumble. Turn to dust. And it can either go wonderfully right or it could become a disaster. And even though Spidey brought his walls down to free the tears and take the hug. Wade wasn’t — wait, Spidey took his wall down to Deadpool. Not to Wade. Not to his Heartmate. What if he doesn’t want a Heartmate? What if he doesn’t want to deal with Wade? What if? To many things can go wrong if he opens his eyes. He will not open his eyes.

“DP, please, open your eyes. Let me see what color they are.”

(I know it all ends tomorrow)

[So it has to be today]

Wade opens his eyes, “Seriously? You wanted me to open my eyes so you can see what color they are.” He smirks, raising the skin where an eyebrow would be.

“Yes, Pool, I wanted to see what color they were.” Spidey smiles, lighting his entire face, looking into his eyes. “They’re blue. Prettiest blue eyes I’ve ever seen.”

Wade’s smirk disappears. He opened his eyes. He did the one thing he told himself he wouldn’t do.

But it’s not like he thought. Spidey’s smiling. Smiling. At Wade. No disgust in his big doe brown eyes. And it hit him. Spidey wasn’t disgusted. Not at him, not at his scars.

A gasp escapes his mouth, and he tugs Spidey closer, so close they’re practically merged together. They were standing close before but now, not a sliver of light could pass between their bodies. But, the world is waking up, not enough light to slip though if it had the space. Wade sweeps Spidey’s mask off he top of his head, freeing his head of fluffy brown hair. Burying his face into the fluff, he smells like home. Home like he’s never known before. His arms wrap around his slim body, almost coming back around with how lean he is. Spidey wraps his arms around Wade, finding room around the katanas, tucking his head under Wade’s chin and into his chest.

After few, or maybe it was many, minutes, Spidey backed away. Far enough away that their tender hug ended. Spidey held out his hand, “I’m Peter Parker, Heartmate.”

Wade jumped into the handshake, wanting to share his name with his Heartmate. Shaking Peter’s hand enthusiastically, he said, “Wade Wilson, pleasure to make your acquaintance, Heartmate.” The laugh that he got in response was the best sound in the entire world. Yet Wade was only partly sad to put a stop to it.

Still holding Peter’s hand, he tugged it, bringing a tumbling Peter right up to his chest. He slammed his lips onto Peter’s, stopping Peter’s beautiful laugh, not wanting to waste anymore time to have their first real kiss. Peter’s soft lips reacted, moving against Wade’s in perfect synchronization. It was rushed and hot, not how Wade had imagined his first kiss with Peter to go. But perfect none the less.

The second kiss was different. Slower and more love than heat. Both enjoying finding their other half. Both basking in the love of their Heartmate. The one that they don’t have to hide any of their self from. No lies when you’re with your Heartmate. Lies don’t exist when you’re with your Heartmate. And together, they can face off any enemy. Including tomorrow’s press.

(‘Cause for the first time in forever)

[Nothing’s in my way!]

[ilovefandoms102]

Part 23

Summary: John B. escapes, but not like how you thought he would...

Taglist:

@jeyramarie @iamaunicorn4704 @ma10427 @lonely-kermit @gviosca @justcallmesams @eb15 @outerbongs @hurricane-abigail @runway-to-my-aid @lasnaro @agirlwholovescoffee @fernweh-fangirl @lopineapples @jellyfishbeansontoast @tangledinsparkles 

Part 22 

AU:Part 24 

Note: I started a new series featuring an OC and Kylo Ren/Ben Solo on my Wattpad under the same username! If you like Star Wars go check it out!

======================

We waited for what felt like hours for John B., I started to grow worried if something bad had happened. I paced around my yard while the other Pogues chilled on the porch. I pulled out my phone, anxiously waiting for a text or a call at least from my brother. He should have already been here.

“Where the hell is he?” I asked, turning to face my friends. 

“Maybe there were complications?” Kie said as more of a question. I could see she was almost as worried as I was. 

“You’re stressing yourself out too much baby, take a breather.” JJ said, standing to play with his hacky sack. 

Just then we heard a car coming up to the chateau, a police car. We all jumped into action, I backed up closer to the boat. John B. jumped out of the driver side, all of us sighing in relief. I ran to my brother, crushing him into a hug.

“You scared the shit out of me asshole” I said, playfully shoving him. 

“Is everything ready to go?” he asked, his eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep and crying. My heart tightened in my chest, I wasn’t prepared to let him go.

“Yeah, I packed some stuff for you.” I said, all of us walking to the boat. 

“Love you man, be careful.” Pope said, doing their handshake before embracing for a brief moment.

“Please don’t do anything stupid.” Kie said, tears streaming down her face as she hugged him.

“I love you bro, we’ll meet ya down the coast as soon as we can.” JJ said, the two boys embracing each other for a long moment. I could see tears in JJ’s eyes, despite him trying to put on the tough guy act. 

“I hate this so much” I whispered, tears pouring down my face. My brother and I both sobbed when it came to our turn to hug each other. 

“I-I don’t want to leave you,” John B. cried, burying his face into my neck and I doing the same to him.

“I know, I don’t want you to go either Birdie.” I whispered.

“I love you so so much Bubba. I can’t imagine my life without you, you’re my best friend.” JB blubbered, squeezing me tighter. 

“Do I beat Sarah?” I asked, earning a watery laugh from John B.

“Of course, you’re my sister. Do I beat JJ?” he asked, sniffling. 

“Hey!” JJ yelled jokingly, earning a laugh from all of us.

“Yes of course you do Birdie, you were my first friend. My twin, we literally have shared our whole lives together.” I said, rubbing his back before pulling away. He got on the boat, looking back at us.

“Thank you guys, I’m sorry I got us into this mess” he said, tearing up again. The Pogues held each other close.

“At least we did it together,” I said, looking at my friends then back to John B..

John B. pulled away from the dock, turning back to wave one more time. When he turned back around, my chest started to burn. I let out a choked sob, JJ putting his arms around me from behind and laying his head on my shoulder. Kie and Pope coming to hug me as well. The chateau was then surrounded by hundreds of cops, I grabbed on to JJ tight.

“Where did he go?” one cop asked.

“He’s gone” JJ said.

“You kids come with us” Shouppe said, several cops coming to push us into the vehicles.

We were driven to the Cameron’s where the police had a huge tent set up. I spotted Ward talking to some policemen. My blood boiled, wanting nothing more than to strangle that man myself for what he did to my brother. I was brought to a separate tent, joined by two officers.

“Do you know where your brother is going?” one asked.

“Even if I did know I wouldn’t say shit, you have the wrong person blamed for the sheriff’s murder. It was not my brother.” I said, leaning back to cross my arms. 

“There is a tropical storm your brother is driving straight into, with Mr.Cameron’s daughter on board-” the other officer stated, getting agitated by my attitude.

“Sarah is very capable of making her own choices officer, my brother has nothing to do with that!” I yelled, getting angrier by the minute. 

“We’re trying to save your brother from this storm” he said.

“No! You want him to come back so you can throw him in jail for a crime he didn’t commit!” I shouted, pounding my fists on the table. 

“And how do you know he didn’t do it?” the other one asked.

“I was there you idiots!” I yelled, they both looked at each other confused.

“I see Ward left that out that I witnessed what actually happened.” I said, relaxing now that I thought they might actually listen to what I have to say. Maybe they would even believe me. 

There was a sudden commotion comig from the other side of the tent, both officers rushing out, I followed behind them. Ward was talking on a radio, I immediately grew anxious.

“Son, just come back. You won’t make it through the storm, John B. we just want you and Sarah safe.” Ward said, actually acting concerned. 

“You killed my father, and you tried to kill me and my sister. Then, you blamed me for a crime I didn’t commit! Fuck you Ward!” my brother said from the other end of the radio. 

The officers looked at Ward, Shouppe saying they needed to question him. I went to find my friends, spotting them in another tent they had set up. JJ jumped up as soon as he saw me, pulling me into his arms.

“You ok sweets?” he asked, brushing some of my hair out of my face.

“Ward didn’t tell the officers I was there when Rafe shot the sheriff. I think this might really be an asset on JB’s part. They radioed him and he spilled how Ward tried to kill us and that he killed dad.” I said. 

I sat back down with JJ, leaning my head on his shoulder as we waited for the officers to give us an update. The rain was coming down hard, the wind blowing water inside the tent. I shivered from the chill of the wind, JJ wrapped me up in his arms to keep me warm the best he could. We also had to wait on Pope and Kie’s parents since they wanted to question them as well, I didn’t have anyone, and JJ didn’t really either. The officers came back in, somber looks on their faces.

“We lost him” Shuoppe said, looking at the ground. 

“So he got away?” Kie said, all of us smiling at each other.

“No, we lost him in the storm. He drove right in the middle of it, I’m sorry.” he said. My heart dropped, everything around me started to spin. 

“So they’re dead?” I asked, tears welling in my eyes. 

“YOU LED HIM RIGHT INTO THAT STORM!” JJ screamed, lunging at Shouppe.

“JJ stop!” I said, pulling on his shirt. 

Kie started to sob loudly, pulling me into her arms as we both cried. JJ pulling me away to crush me into his chest, I wailed loudly. I lost all the feelings in my limbs, completely relying on JJ to hold me up.

“He’s gone JJ” I wailed, my shoulders shaking as I sobbed louder.

“I know sweets, I’m so so sorry” he whispered, kissing my cheek.

Kie’s parents, followed by Pope’s came in. They all hugged and I couldn’t move away from JJ. 

“My baby brother” I cried, soaking JJ’s shirt at this point. Then Ward came in the tent, looking at me with regret. “You son of a bitch!” I yelled, charging at the man responsible for all of this. I landed a punch before JJ was struggling to pull me away. “You greedy ass motherfucker! You couldn’t let two teenagers who have struggled their whole life have something beautiful because all you fucking care about is money and power! You are a cold-hearted murderer Ward Cameron! Fuck you!” I screeched, clawing at his face as JJ dragged me away.

“Baby, stop” JJ whispered, turning me around to bury my face into his neck. I wailed, struggling against him at first before I broke down again. 

“He can’t be gone, he can’t” I sobbed. “My brother-h-he” I cried, at this point I was beyond hysterical. My heart had been ripped to shreds.

I was truly alone.

Pope’s parents drove JJ and I back to the chateau. I was zoned out, staring out the window at nothing. I was still trying to process what happened mere minutes ago. John B. and Sarah were dead.... this wasn’t how it was supposed to be. They were supposed to get down to the Bahamas, we would clear his name, get the gold, and then live happily ever after. How the tables have turned now. I could feel JJ’s stare, my hand limp in his not because I didn’t want to hold it. I just couldn’t feel anything, I felt so lost. Like a part of me is gone, how was I supposed to go on without John B.? We were each other’s back bones, he was the glue that held the Pogues together. 

We pulled up the chateau, I thanked Pope’s dad for the ride. JJ, Pope, and I got out of the car. Pope hugged me, telling me how sorry he was. JJ joined our hug, this was all that was left of our original friend group. The four of us grew up together, went to all the same schools, and all of us being attacked by a Kook at least every other day. 

“Love you guys, I’ll see ya later I guess...” Pope said, getting back in the car. 

I walked into the chateau, looking at all the pictures of John B. and I. Some of our dad, our uncle, and the Pogues. I went in my dad’s office, finding everything he had on the Royal Merchant. I put it in a trashcan, taking it outside.

“Babe, what are you doing?” JJ asked, following me outside.

I gathered up some branches, poured some gas on them, and lit them on fire. I took the trashcan and dumped all the papers into the fire, watching them burn.

“Why did you do that?” JJ questioned slowly.

“So no one can get their hands on anything to do with this shit anymore, it brings nothing but death and heartache.” I said coldly, staring at the fire. JJ put his arms around me as we watched the fire burn.

“I love you,” he said, kissing my shoulder.

“I love you Maybank” I said, turning my head to kiss him.

I didn’t know where we would go from here. I was sure that as long as JJ was at my side, things would be ok. I would avenge John B.’s death by getting that gold, and I would make both him and my father proud. 

[reinerispretty]

rotations. (zuko x f!reader) pt12

hi!! sorry i’m posting so late, i had a super busy day today! but i’m here now and i hope you guys are all having a wonderful time :) thank you so much for reading and being so supportive!! pls share if you can 💕

pt 1

pt 11

pt 13

Every time she saw him, the memories of all of their fights and the times he had made her cry over him came flooding back. But she also felt relief in knowing that he was safe and seeing that he was trying to make a change. Needless to say, (Y/N) spent most of her time avoiding Zuko, because her head spun every time she was around him.

To say that (Y/N) was happy to be back with her friends was an understatement. She was absolutely ecstatic. As they flew away from the Fire Nation and to the Western Air Temple, they caught her up on all the adventures they had had while she had been in prison.  

“We were hunted by this guy that can shoot, like, supersonic beams from his head,” Toph informed her. 

“I call him Combustion Man!” Sokka cut in. 

“Toph and I got thrown into jail!” Katara said. 

“And I went to Fire Nation school!” Aang called back as he steered Appa. 

“I learned to swordfight from the best Master in the Fire Nation,” Sokka said, flexing his bicep. “Pretty impressive, huh?” 

“Oh, you met Piandao? He’s so nice! He came to my birthday parties every year when I was younger.” Sokka pouted and leaned back into the side of Appa’s saddle. 

“I forget that you lived in the Fire Nation.” 

It took days until they reached the temple. As much as she loved Appa, (Y/N) was so thankful to be back on solid ground. She hadn’t worn real shoes in weeks and it was so nice to feel the stone and grass beneath her feet. 

This Air Temple was just as breathtaking as the first one she had seen, back when she and her friends had traveled to the North Pole. It was built into the mountain, making it virtually inaccessible from any other way except airbending. It extended across the mountain range. The temples themselves looked as if they had been built upside down. 

While her friends set up camp on the main level of the temple, (Y/N) had decided to walk down to the woods where she had seen a river as they flown over. They hadn’t been allowed to shower in their area of the prison, so she had weeks worth of grime and dirt caked onto her skin. She was surprised her friends had held her so tight when she reunited with them. She smelled horrible. 

Sokka was hesitant to let her go by herself. “I’ll be fine,” she reassured him. “I can protect myself.” 

“I know, but...” He let his sentence trail off, but he didn’t have to finish it. The last time Sokka had left her alone, she had been captured by the Fire Nation and tossed into a prison. He hadn’t been sure if she was alive for weeks. She understood his worry. 

She kissed him quickly before smiling. “If I’m not back in an hour, then you can unleash you fury,” she said with a wink, walking away. 

She sat in the river for a long time, just scrubbing her skin and combing her fingers through her matted hair. The water felt so nice on her skin. If she could, she would stay in there forever. But she knew Sokka would seriously come swinging down the hill with a sword if she was late, so she dried herself off and put on the Fire Nation clothes that Katara had given her. 

(Y/N) slipped on a red, long-sleeved cropped shirt and matching flowy pants. The whole outfit felt light and airy and she couldn’t wait to firebend in it. Kneeling down at the edge of the river, she stared at her reflection as she put her hair into a traditional Fire Nation top knot, but this time with the flame bobby pin she had worn in her old life. She had kept it wrapped in fabric, tucked away in the bottom of Katara’s clothing bag. She hadn’t worn it for almost an entire year, but as soon as she stuck it into place, she felt whole again. There were some parts of her that would always be Fire Nation, and that was okay. 

She traveled back up the hill, her hair still wet, but decided she’d just ask Aang to dry it for her. She hoped that Sokka had caught something for them to eat because it had been weeks since she’d had an actual good meal. Fish, rice, and maybe some mashed berries for dessert if they could find some? Her mouth watered at the thought. (Y/N) laughed at herself for a moment. Her palette had drastically changed since she had been traveling with her friends. 

Instead of a nice, hot meal, (Y/N) walked back into the Western Air Temple to find all of her friends looking ready to attack. Confused, she turned her head and there he was. The boy she wanted to see least at the moment. 

“(Y/N)!” Zuko exclaimed, running over to her. He grabbed her hands in his. “I’m glad you’re okay. I went back to the prison to break you out when I left, but you were gone by the time I got there.” 

She pulled her hands out of his as Sokka walked up and shoved Zuko away. “Hey, don’t touch her!” He said, his voice low and threatening. 

“Watch it!” Zuko snapped back. He looked at (Y/N) confusedly and she hated that she could still tell exactly what he was thinking at that moment. What’s going on here? He seemed to silently ask, and she averted her gaze as quickly as possible. 

“You can’t just show up here and ask for forgiveness after everything you’ve done,” Katara snapped. (Y/N) looked up at Sokka. 

“What’s happening?” She asked. 

“He wants to join us,” he said, his eyes still narrowed at Zuko. 

“I’ve changed,” Zuko said, but this time he directed his words at (Y/N). She tried hard to avoid his gaze. 

“Are you crazy? You’ve tried to kill us, multiple times!” Sokka yelled at him. 

“And capture Aang!” Katara pointed out. 

“Please,” Zuko said. “I’m sorry for everything that I’ve done. I’m sorry for trying to capture you, I’m sorry for trying to kill you, I’m sorry for sending that bounty hunter after you--” 

“You sent Combustion Man after us?” Toph questioned. 

“I mean, that’s not his name, but yes.” 

“The answer is no, Zuko,” Aang said decidedly. “There’s no way that we can trust you.” 

“(Y/N)...” Zuko said to her quietly. She crossed her arms and walked away from him. 

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

“I think you guys are just holding grudges against Zuko,” Toph said that night at dinner. “Aang needs a firebending teacher.” 

“You don’t understand, Toph. You weren’t there for all the destruction he caused,” Katara said as she sipped on her soup. “He betrayed me in Ba Sing Se and he’s hurt (Y/N) more times than I can count.” 

“Besides,” Sokka cut in. “(Y/N) can teach Aang firebending!” She shook her head quicky. 

“I’m too much out of practice. My family wouldn’t let me get training while we stayed in the Earth Kingdom. I know a couple advanced moves, but definitely not enough to help Aang beat the Fire Lord.” She smiled at Aang apologetically. 

“On the one hand, it’s hard to forget everything that Zuko has done to us. But the monks taught me that everyone deserves a second chance,” Aang said. 

“And a third and a fourth?” Sokka muttered. 

“What do you think, (Y/N)?” Toph asked. “You were pretty quiet when he was here today.” 

She stared into her soup to avoid everyone’s gaze. “The truth it, I don’t know how I feel about it. He’s done some pretty awful things. But you need a firebending teacher, Aang. A good one. And as much as I hate to say it, Zuko’s good.” 

Sokka stood, his bowl clattering to the ground as he stormed off toward the bedrooms. Katara moved to go after him, but (Y/N) put her hand up. “I’ll do it,” she sighed, setting her bowl down. She walked briskly down the hall to Sokka’s room, where a sliver of light filtered through the door. She slid it open. 

“What’s wrong?” She asked. He looked at her, his brows furrowed in anger. 

“What’s wrong? You’re out there defending him!” 

“I wasn’t defending him, Sokka.” 

“Well that’s what it sounded like! After everything he’s done to you, you still want to just forgive him by letting him into our group?” 

“Letting him in the group doesn’t mean that I forgive him! It just means that I’m willing to push past my own emotions so that Aang has a chance at beating the Fire Lord!” 

“He can do it without firebending.” 

“We both know that’s not true.” Sokka sighed and turned away from her. 

“I don’t want to constantly be around the reason that I didn’t know whether you were alive or not.” She smiled sadly at him. She walked to his side and intertwined their fingers. 

“Technically, Azula’s the reason I got thrown in jail.” She smiled at him until a small smile formed on his own lips. “We don’t have to like him, but we can put up with him for a few weeks until Aang beats Ozai.”

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

Once Zuko had defeated Combustion Man, the four friends begrudgingly let him join their group. It was a difficult decision for everyone, especially Katara, because she still held on to the memory of Zuko betraying her in the underground palace of Ba Sing Se. (Y/N) was also very uncomfortable with Zuko joining their group. Every time she saw him, the memories of all of their fights and the times he had made her cry over him came flooding back. But she also felt relief in knowing that he was safe and seeing that he was trying to make a change. Needless to say, (Y/N) spent most of her time avoiding Zuko, because her head spun every time she was around him. 

She had been laying out the sleeping bags for the night when Zuko approached her. They were completely alone, so there was no one she could run towards as a distraction. She knew he was there but refused to look up at him. He cleared his throat to get her attention. 

“I wanted to thank you,” he said. “For letting me join your group.” She raised her eyebrow at him.

“It was Toph’s idea,” she said simply as she unfurled Katara’s sleeping bag.

“I also wanted to say that I’m really sorry for everything I’ve done to you. I didn’t say that when you came to the shop in Ba Sing Se, but I wanted to. And I wanted to apologize for everything else that happened there.” 

“Like betraying both me and your uncle after we both had thought you changed? Like letting me rot in prison while you played house with your family?” She saw him physically wince from her tone. “You’re here to teach Aang, Zuko. I have no interest in being your friend.” She laid out the last sleeping bag and walked away in search of literally anyone else. 

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

It took Zuko a while to actually start teaching Aang firebending. Because he had lost the anger he had toward the Avatar, he lost the source of his bending. (Y/N) laughed as she watched Zuko create little puffs of fire with his hands. 

“How do you do it, (Y/N)?” Aang asked. She shrugged. 

“My firebending teachers always told me that I was very headstrong and determined. I guess that’s where I get the source of my bending from.” She walked away from the conversation just as Zuko opened his mouth to say something else. 

He and Aang traveled to the Sun Warrior civilization and (Y/N) would be lying if she said she wasn’t glad to have him gone. Not being around him gave her room to breathe. Every moment he was there, she was thinking of what quip she would give when he tried to talk to her, or the nearest way she could escape if he roped her into a conversation. It was nice to be able to walk around freely without having to worry if Zuko was around. 

When Aang and Zuko returned, they both excitedly told the group of their discovery of the two last dragons in existence. (Y/N) was shocked to learn this because in school she had always learned that Iroh had killed the last dragon. She wasn’t surprised to discover that he had done it to protect them. Iroh was conscientious about things like that. 

Slowly but surely, Zuko’s relationship with everyone in their group (except (Y/N) and Katara) was starting to improve. Toph had never had anything against him and quickly forgave him for accidentally burning her feet. Zuko was incredibly rough around the edges, but Aang learned to like him during their time with the Sun Warriors. Even Sokka would take Zuko down to the river sometimes and fish with him. They did it mostly in silence, but it was still an improvement from their previous interactions. 

Every time Zuko tried to talk to Katara, she shut him down with a harsh comment. (Y/N) either did the same or completely avoided him altogether. He cared about becoming Katara’s friend as well, but it tore him apart inside whenever (Y/N) brushed him off like he didn’t exist. Every night, he lay in bed and thought of the good times they had had together. He thought about building sand castles with her at Ember Island, about attending boring etiquette classes and making silly faces at each other from across the room, and about sneaking into the kitchens on his tenth birthday and stealing fruit tarts for her. 

He knew he had caused her a lot of pain, which is why he was trying his best to be patient. But every morning he woke up wanting to talk to her and when she wouldn’t let him, it was like a painful jab to his heart. Whenever he saw her toss her head back and laugh loudly at something one of her friends said, his heart swelled because he loved the noise and sank because he wasn’t the one making her laugh. 

Zuko watched from the bank of the river as (Y/N) and Sokka wrestled each other in the water. They couldn’t stop laughing and sometimes Toph would create mounds of earth to come up and knock one of them off of their feet, furthering their laughing fit. He watched as Sokka wrapped his arms around her waist and tossed her into the water. 

“So...” Zuko said slowly, his eyes cutting to Aang. The young Avatar sat on the ground beside him, feeding Momo berries and rubbing his belly. “Sokka and (Y/N) are together.” It was phrased as more of a direct statement, but he hoped that Aang would provide him with more information. 

“Yeah!” Aang said as he scratched between Momo’s ears. “They’ve been going out for a few weeks now. About time, if you ask me.” 

Zuko felt the anger growing inside of him and took three deep breaths to calm himself down. He had had a feeling that the two were more than just friends for a while now. They sat closer together at dinner and if one of them was alone, they always found the other. They acted the way (Y/N) and Zuko had, long before all of this had happened. He had known it at the back of his mind, but refused to believe it. Hearing Aang confirm it just made him angry. Aang must have sensed this, because he turned to him. 

“Everything okay?” 

“Yeah!” Zuko said, just a bit too forcefully. “It’s just very different being around her now.” 

“You mean how she doesn’t want to talk to you at all or have anything to do with you?” 

Zuko narrowed his eyes at Aang, who gave a sheepish smile. 

“I guess you’re not wrong,” Zuko admitted. Sokka had lifted her over his shoulder and tossed her into the water. She resurfaced giggling and threw herself into him to knock him over. 

“When she first joined us,” Aang said quietly. “We could all tell that she missed someone a lot. It wasn’t until after Sokka rescued her from your ship that we realized the person she was missing was you. I think she really cares about you, Zuko, which makes this a lot harder for her than the rest of us.” 

Zuko smiled softly at his friend. “Thanks, Aang.” 

“No problem!” 

---

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[yahboobeh]

Metanoia chapter 2

A collaboration with @weaponsmistress​

AO3 | FFN | Insta

"And it falls and it breaks and it turns into something new" - Why can't we be friends? The Academic

She was 11 the first time she saw him. Gai had sent Lee and Tenten into town to pick up some food. Hyuuga Neji had walked past them with purpose as if he knew exactly how high above everyone else he was.

He stuck out like a sore thumb, as every Hyuuga did. His skin was pale, almost like milk, and his eyes were the most peculiar shade of lavender that Tenten had ever seen. Despite likely having been born on the island, he dressed like a foreigner, wrapped in the silk robes that were popular on the mainland.

"Is that a Hyuuga?" asked Lee.

"Yeah. I wonder what he's doing here."

Lee shrugged.

"Probably shopping, like everyone else."

"Don't they have servants for that?"

"Maybe he wanted some fresh air?"

Tenten crossed her arms.

"Do you always have to find the good in everyone?"

Lee shifted the basket of plums he was carrying from one arm to the other, weighing his thoughts before responding.

"There is good in everyone, Tenten."

Tenten looked over at the sweets stand and started walking. The stand was stuffed with cakes, dumplings, and every manner of pastry she knew. Her eyes fell on the skewers of candied fruits. Tenten stuck her hand in her pocket and counted the remaining coins.

"Should we split something?" she asked, pointing towards the fruit.

Lee nodded, before continuing on the lecture that he'd, no doubt, memorized from their father's ramblings.

"You need to take a closer look at people to find the good!"

Tenten paid, grabbed her sweet, and chewed on the first piece of fruit before passing it to Lee.

They took their time walking down the street, enjoying each bite when Neji walked past again. Lee elbowed her, and she looked up.

"What do you see?"

Tenten chewed, considering her answer while she took in every detail of him.

"I see a stuck up rich kid," she finally said, swallowing her snack.

Lee frowned.

"I think he looks sad."

Tenten rolled her eyes, sticking the empty skewer into her basket.

"What could he possibly have to be sad about?"

"I'm not sure," said Lee, "but there's good hidden under it."

Three years later, as Tenten sat across from Neji in their sitting room, she still thought he looked like a stuck up rich kid. It had been a month since the last inspection, and, much to everyone's relief, Tenten had stayed home without putting up a fight.

She crossed her arms and legs, bouncing her foot impatiently while the older Hyuuga instructed Neji as they ran down their checklist.

Gai had set a tea tray down on the table in front of them. Lee had eagerly joined him in pouring and handing out cups.

"How are you enjoying your new accommodations?" Neji asked, looking up from his notebook.

"They are lovely," said Gai, "we still have a lot of work to do, but with the general's permission, I would like to have the school ready to go by spring."

Neji nodded and added to his notes, pausing only for a drink of tea.

Tenten ran her thumbnail over the chip in her cup, feeling frustrated.

"Will our people be allowed to train here?"

Neji met her gaze and shrugged as if she'd asked him about the weather.

"It's unlikely."

"So, we're just supposed to train the enemy?"

"Tenten," Gai warned.

Neji put his tea down and turned his full attention to her. His back was straight, and his eyes narrowed.

"Yes, you are expected to train members of my family. And you will do so gladly."

Tenten clenched the arm of her chair with her free hand, trying to keep her mouth shut.

"You will do this," continued Neji, "and will cease to refer to my family as the enemy. That type of language is prohibited."

Tenten put down her cup and stood up.

"You and your family are my enemies," she spat.

Neji sighed, setting his tea down too. He moved to stand. Tenten turned her back to him and stormed out of the room.

She could hear Neji's voice, soft, casual, privileged.

"Maito Gai, where are her rooms?"

Tenten stopped dead in her tracks. Her stomach sank as she waited for Gai's answer.

"In the upper quarter, on the east side. Lee will show you."

"Thank you."

Tenten remained frozen in place as Lee guided Neji and Hoheto towards the back of the compound. As he passed, Tenten heard Neji whisper to her.

"Learn your place." And then they were gone. She felt Gai behind her as she fought back angry tears.

"Why would you do that, baba?"

"You left me no choice, Tenten."

"But my room?"

"Your room has been searched before, Tenten, and it will be searched again. Hoheto rarely ever checks as he trusts us. Neji does not yet trust us and, and you are making it more difficult."

"Why should he trust us? And why do you trust them?"

"What choice do we have, Tenten?" She felt the weight of his arm on her shoulder. "This is what our lives look like now."

"I hate it."

"I know, but we need to make the best of this situation. If you want me to train more than just Hyuuga children, we need to form a positive relationship with Neji. If we are seen as an asset instead of a threat, then presenting that idea will be met with less resistance."

Both were quiet for a moment before Gai continued.

"I know you're hurting. We're all hurting, sweetheart, but in order to heal, you will need to learn to let go of your anger. What happened to us was not Neji's doing."

"If he is complacent, then how is he any better?"

"Because he and Hoheto are doing what they need to survive. And surviving is much easier if we are all amicable towards each other."

Tenten turned around, still unable to meet Gai's eyes, and buried her face into his chest, hugging him around the waist. He stroked her back and hair whispering soothing words.

"I'm sorry, Tenten. I know you feel like your space is being violated, but it will be over soon."

She wept silently into his shirt while, across the compound, her room was turned over.

--

Neji sat at his desk, looking down at his scant notes about the Maito family.

The search of Tenten's room had turned up nothing unusual. Even the journal she'd tucked under her mattress lacked anything substantial. It would barely be worth mentioning, except that Hoheto pointed out that her behavior would have to be noted this time.

Neji sighed. There were plenty of families in town that were much more suspicious but still provided less resistance than Tenten.

She'd written about him in her journal. It was nothing unexpected, just a recounting of their first meeting (she'd called him a few choice words) and the dread of having to see him again.

Initially, Neji wanted to write down every detail of her behavior and confiscate her journal, but Hoheto had advised against it.

"She is hurting very deeply," Hoheto cautioned, "it would be best if you two could learn not to challenge each other."

"She needs to learn to respect me," Neji had retorted.

"Ah, but Neji, respect must be earned."

And so, when Neji wrote his notes, he carefully stated that the Maito family was amicable and looking forward to training the Hyuuga. He briefly mentioned that Tenten had been upset about the prospect, but a search of her room showed nothing suspicious.

She is likely struggling with her new station and curious as to why we have chosen to work with her father.

Neji wrote down a few more notes before setting down his brush. He stretched out his back and waited for the ink to dry.

Neji wondered what his father might have done in his place. He thought a lot about the advice his father might have been able to give, had he still been alive.

But having lost him at such a young age, the advice of Hyuuga Hizashi was sparse, and often Neji thought it was a miracle he could remember his face.

He would probably say the same things as Hoheto, Neji thought. But he also liked to imagine that Hizashi wouldn't be as complacent as Hoheto. That being the brother of a general, he would speak up when Hiashi overstepped his boundaries. There was a faint memory of a tattoo under a headband, marring the skin of his father's forehead. Neji never knew why it was there, only that his father was ashamed of it. He knew it was a punishment, just not for what, and so as a child he'd imagined it was for acting righteously.

Someday he would find out if that was the truth.

There was a knock at the door.

"Yes?"

The door popped open, revealing Hoheto.

"Have you finished preparing your report?"

Neji nodded and stood up, grabbing the notebook. He handed it to Hoheto, who checked it over.

"Good. This is well done, especially the part about Maito Tenten."

"Why do we go through such lengths to protect them?"

"You should know, Neji, a happy village is a peaceful village. If we toss people into jail cells for every outburst, we'll have another rebellion on our hands before we know it."

"So that's our job? Not just to seek out any plots, but to discourage them from happening at all?"

"Now, you are beginning to understand. This is why you must make Tenten earn your respect. People talk. She has a fiery personality. It won't be long before people learn about your argument and subsequent search of her room. She may have been in the wrong, but her people will always side with her."

Hoheto handed Neji back the notebook, with a slight bow.

"Now, if you are ready, your uncle is prepared to hear your report."

--

Tenten laid back in the sand, relishing in the heat from the sun. She'd waited for Neji to leave the compound before shutting herself in her room to make sure nothing was out of place. But she could still imagine him in her space, pawing through drawers and her closet, seeking out anything that he could label as suspicious. Tenten stood in the center of her room and looked around. He could have trashed it if he'd wanted to, but nothing was out of place. It made her feel sick. If he'd come through in a blind rage and knocked things over and emptied drawers, she would have had something concrete against him. She would have been able to look at Gai and say, "See? This is what happens!"

But her room was exactly as she'd left it.

Tenten grabbed her bag and left, needing distance from Neji. She stocked up with snacks and allowed herself to be seen by Gai as she left.

She spent the rest of the day there, only returning home after it was dark, and she was cold.

When she fell into bed, Tenten was too weary to give much thought to the earlier search, and for that, she was grateful.

--

When Neji arrived for the next inspection, Gai met them at the gate.

"If I may be so bold, Hyuuga Neji, Hyuuga Hoheto," he said with a bow, "Tenten has promised me today she will behave. I ask only that you recognize she has a tendency to challenge authority. We have been working on that with her daily prayers and meditations."

It was a warning, a plea. Please don't antagonize her.

"I am glad to hear she finds herself in better spirits today," said Neji, "I expect things will go much smoother."

I will do my best. Neji hoped Gai understood his assurance.

They strolled through the first courtyard as Gai explained how he wanted to use the space for training his students. Neji nodded and commented on the improvement.

"You must have been working hard. Last month the garden was overgrown and full of weeds."

"Ah, well, as you know, the Yamanaka family are avid botanists. I had some assistance cleaning up."

"How does the Yamanaka family feel about your new station?"

Hoheto met Neji's eyes and gave him an approving nod. They would make sure to question the Yamanaka family about the visit.

"They are pleased to see us rise," said Gai, "and are eager to get their hands dirty with the sweet earth that nourishes life."

When they arrived in the sitting room, Neji was surprised to see Tenten with a tray of tea, waiting for them.

She set it down on the table and began pouring as everyone took their seats.

Tenten offered Hoheto the first cup and Neji the second, meeting his gaze as she spoke.

"It's chrysanthemum today. I hope you don't mind."

Neji could see the strain at the corners of her mouth. She was trying to be pleasant, not to lash out.

"Thank you," he said, and she seemed to relax just a little. His cup today bore no chips. She'd taken care to make sure they had the best ones. Neji took a sip. "Did you brew this, or was it your father?"

Tenten pursed her lips, preparing a retort if Neji chose to mock the tea. She took a breath and straightened her back.

"I prepared it."

"It's good."

She quirked an eyebrow at him.

"What? No comment about it being weak or poisoned?"

Neji smirked at her and took another sip.

"Not today."

--

The inspections slowly grew less formal. Tenten had taken over the role of preparing tea, as it gave her something to do the morning of the inspection. She would try a new blend every month. Tenten had made tea every month for six months when she realized, with a sinking feeling, that she was starting to look forward to the visits.

She was at the market, looking at the various tea blends when it hit her. Tenten looked up at the older man minding the stall. He spoke, but she didn't hear him. Was she really looking forward to making tea for him? After everything she'd been through and the way, he'd first treated her?

"Miss!"

Tenten returned from her thoughts, and the man's face fell into focus.

"I'm sorry," she said, "I didn't catch that."

"I asked what type of tea you would like today, miss."

"Jasmine," and even as she went through the motions of paying and accepting the package, Tenten's mind was gone again.

Her walk home felt surreal. Tenten felt separate from her body, watching from above as it wound through familiar streets. She looked guilty as if a packet of jasmine tea labeled her a traitor. Pleasant visits with Neji and Hoheto, were supposed to be a front, a facade, but she liked them. Was she betraying the memory of her parents? Of everyone else who had died in the rebellion?

Tenten thought she heard whispers about her and Gai, how their tea gave them away as traitors.

She shook her head.

Everyone loves baba; no one would say that.

She stopped at the familiar fork in the road. If she kept going straight, she would find her way home. If she turned right, she could walk the shoreline for a while.

While she struggled to decide, Naruto appeared at her side.

"Tenten! What are you up to?"

"Oh, hi, Naruto," she flashed him a brief smile, "I was just about to head home."

"Did you get anything good in town?"

"Just some tea. Our inspection is tomorrow, and baba insists we show them our hospitali-tea," she rolled her eyes as she placed the emphases into Gai's pun.

"Ugh, I hate inspection day. And the new kid, Neji? He's got a stick pretty far up his ass, huh?"

Tenten wanted to defend Neji but stopped herself. She wasn't supposed to want that.

"Yeah. I wish we could do something about them."

"Now that you mention it," Naruto leaned in close and lowered his voice.

"I head Kakashi talking last time Yamoto came over. There are people making plans."

"Plans?"

"Yeah. To get rid of them."

"The Hyuu—"

"Shhh!" Naruto pressed his finger to her lips, "There's meetings, I guess. I'm going to try and find out more about them."

Tenten felt something stir in her, a sensation she hadn't felt in years: hope. She took a deep breath and felt lighter.

"I want to know what you find out."

[glitterytidalwavedragon]

Putting it Out There (A Biracial Child)

I’ve always wanted to address this, I just never knew where or how to. But, as I write, I see the influences come into play more and more (More so when I am writing my B.B fanfic and the Tourist), so I thought, now is a good time as any and this is the only account and platform I feel safe (maybe because I don’t have 200+ friends or followers here who know me outside of social media). I also feel as if this prospective of life isn’t given much attention or heard. 

I, as some may know cause I had commented as such, am a biracial child. My father is a Caribbean Hispanic male and my mother of German and Italian descent. 

This does not mean I have the best of both worlds. In fact, most of the times I feel alienated. 

Born in the early 90′s, the song “Livin’ La Vida Loca” by Ricky Martin was every where. My mother would tell me that song was about me, now I was 5-6ish. I thought she referred to me liking cats, and trying to go out to perform a crap version of ‘Singing in the Rain’ along with the love for magic. 

No, it wasn’t so innocent. It was straight up because of my skin tone. I looked like the girl the song was describing. I had no idea. Nor did I realize a silent war was raging in my family. 

Growing up was...hard to say the least. It is even harder when you have racism on both sides pointing fingers at each other. On my mother’s side, my aunt and uncle wouldn’t allow me to visit unless it was a holiday to which there was pressure from the family. Out of spite, they would invite my much older siblings father over to cause a fight (The man did not celebrate christmas). Meanwhile my other aunt would tell me over and over again I was Italian. In the end, during these events I would end up alone and not know why. 

Now lets turn to the other side of the family, my father’s. My first words had been Spanish. Yet, I lived with English speaking relatives... guess who stopped speaking Spanish for a long while. When visiting my family on his side, none of of my relatives would address me, only if they had to because my father was not around. These people knew how to speak English, very well even though they had moved from their native island. They just refused to speak to me. This sucked cause where it was 3 people on my mother’s side, it was 16 aunt’s and uncles on my fathers not counting the dozens of cousins I had. So, as the other family events, I ended up alone not knowing why. 

The answer was rather simple but much to complicated for my child self. Both sides of my family was and still is completely racist. My white mother was near exiled for being with a man many would consider black (he considers himself Spanish and oddly doesn’t get the fascination on why his skin matters or makes me worry about him when he is stopped by cops...). I was the ‘mixed’ baby, a simple of her family’s shame. 

My father’s side could not care what color my mother was, only that she was not Spanish. For those who don’t know, Spanish can be an array of color, its cool. But, she was no Spanish, did not speak Spanish and therefore my father was exiled by everyone but his own mother for many years (which is why we ended up in family events, my mama wanted to see her youngest grandchild by her baby boy). This meant being put at the back table, being openly mocked, and never told of big family events like babies or weddings. 

This only lead to more fighting at home and in the end even my own siblings, alienated me. It was a pretty lonely experience. 

This carried on to school and friendships. Elementary was not fun, but I felt the effects more in Jr. and High school. In elementary I was grouped with the other Spanish kids, because starting in late summer I had my Spanish tan on and therefore, I was not white to other white kids. But I did not speak Spanish. At one point I spoke gibberish to just to be able to hang with the Spanish kids at recess. It worked and I still don’t know how. 

In Jr. ahhhh... at one point my family was making good money, which originally, it once took the income of five adults to keep us afloat, now it just took 2. My father and my grandpa (who I will talk about later). We moved to a ‘nicer’ neighborhood. In the early 2000′s that mean, a white neighborhood. Boy, did I stick out. 

Now you might think “But you grew up in NYC, said you were from Brooklyn” well, here is a fun fact. Nothing is more segregated than NYC schools. The north did not do busing like the south did, so white schools stayed mostly white while schools in low income areas stayed mostly black or other minority races. I was a very tan child going into a white neighbor hood to a white school. Lets top it off that I played video games and Yu-Gi-Oh, HA! 

I received hell. I had legit parents sneer at me, and girls asking me if I had sex because I was Spanish. A 12 year old, got hit on by 15 year olds because they thought my race made me easy. I was 12, all I wanted was to collect cards and play Pokemon on my stupid advance, I had no time for boys unless they were anime. But... someone (more than likely their parents) had set these ideas in their head on how Spanish people, more so girls, acted. 

Then I realized, I really liked all things Gothic. A Spanish Goth.... it pains me to think about it. Everything from poser, to faker, and ‘trying to act white’ was laid on me. I could not wait for Jr. High to end. And when it did, a whole 180 happen. 

I was no longer Spanish. I did not know why, just everyone referred to me as ‘the ONLY white girl’ in the school and that is not a joke. My school, was dubbed the worse in all of Brooklyn and shut down, which I believe it was dubbed that because of the 1% white population... I was the 1 after my second year when the other white kid (who was a boy people asked was my boyfriend) graduated. Now, in high school it wasn’t the kids who gave me hell. It was the teachers. 

In fact, high school led me to meet others who were also feeling alienated. One of which I am very close to, a black man who is Jewish (adopted by a white couple) and gay. He did not where he belonged either. In the mid-00′s to be a black gay man living near the ghetto was dangerous. I can’t count how many times he had to hide who he was so he wouldn’t get shot. Nor could I count how many times my other friend coped with being a biracial black man who loved anime and being goth so much he was bullied for it when we weren’t together (who I ended up dating throughout high school). 

Suddenly being labelled white get me an acceptance I was not expecting. I ended up being popular against my best efforts and people who I did not know knew me. At 15 I did not get what had changed, because no one had told me yet. No, I figured it out at 16, when I was placed in senior English because of my grades. My English teacher told me, I was white, in the worse why I could ever imagine. 

My English teacher, a beautiful black woman who celebrated her African roots, gave an assignment one day. I was one out of five in a class of thirty who did it, because I did it in her class the day before. I played sports, so did half the other kids, I did not have time after school. This did not sit well with her, she was mad, which was an understatement. So, she turned to the class and said

“This is why our people end up in Jail or having babies to early. Because like black people don’t take education seriously.” Then called be out by name and continued “is why she will end up being successful, because white people know the importance of an education.” 

First off, she was very racist towards EVERYONE, second I at 16, who was always called Spanish in school was now labelled white in front of everyone by an adult. I was both confused and terrified as my boyfriend who knew my family cared JACK SHIT about education looked ready to kill her. Luckily, he just walked out of class and waited for me as I was too studded to move. 

I later asked him if he thought I was white, he admitted he did until he saw my father and called me biracial. For the first time in 16 years, I had been called biracial. Went home, did not tell anyone what happened, asked my mother if I was biracial and she said yes. To shorten this up, this was what life felt like, 

At home, I had no race. Neither side welcomed me. 

In school, I was told I was Spanish and had to fake my way in the Spanish group.

Jr High, I am now trying to distance myself from everyone as being Spanish makes me a target. 

High School, I thought being Spanish would be a good thing. Now everyone is telling me I am white. 

I had not idea who or what I was. 

All I ever wanted was to be me. I wanted to understand why my family never got close to me, and I wanted friends who were friends because I was me. 

It was like I was being ripped to pieces. I could be what others wanted or be no one at all. I had no idea what to do. If people at the new school found out I was Spanish, would I become a target again? I was allowed to freely play games, watch anime, and be my gothic self if I were white. But that also meant I could not hang out with my friends who lived in the Ghetto, shouldn’t like rap, R&B, and reggaetón or use the slang I grew up always using. 

To be a Spanish person trying to be white

or 

A white person trying to be black/another minority of color. 

I had watched as the former got my friend (boyfriend at the time) kicked out of classrooms as he was compared to those involved in columbine shooting from teachers since he was different. Also the hell he received from other boys for cosplaying and playing anime based card games. At one point it was so rough he thought about dropping out and I begged him to stay along with his mother. I was so afraid of going through that again.

So I kept my mouth shut. 

I took on the military standard of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”. My father never came to the school because he worked so much so no one knew. Everyday, I just took what my English teacher said to be without any force back. When Obama was voted in, she told me I had no right to celebrate, that my people had JFK and that Obama was for all the minorities to celebrate. I fell into a dark hole of hating myself. My home life was awful and now school I had to pretend to be something I wasn’t comfortable with. I started ditching classes, got into more fights than I would care to admit, did some really shady stuff and began hurting myself. 

The only joy I got was when I busted my ass grades wise and got out of school six months early. I did not have to go to school anymore and I could lock myself away to be no one but myself. It was lonely but I found company in books and my art. Through art I was allowed to be me and no one could take that away. 

When I returned for Graduation I June, did I get the final laugh on that English bitch. My mother and father showed up, she asked if my father was a cab driver helping my mother as she had gone blind. I told her, rather happily, that was my father. She went from joy to sheer disgusts faster than you can blink. For years she kept talking about who ‘mix babies’ never got any where as their fathers were never around. Yet, despite me hardly showing up, I gradated top of my class, never had a baby nor was I ‘loose’ (In fact I feared sex as a teenager), and my mixed couple parents as she lovingly called it, were together. 

She walked away from me and never said a word since. 

But now school was over, college was starting. I still hadn’t figured out who I was. Was I white/Italian or Spanish. In college I learnt no one was going to tell me who I was anymore, nor did they care. At home, it was still a battle of the races. Finally, one of my cousins spoke up and declared I wasn’t Spanish as I knew nothing of the language. At home, my aunt and uncle decided I was Spanish and called me a ‘Spick’ as a joke. I did not take it as one and therefore I was called ‘uptight’. 

My siblings also informed me, if I wanted free college to put down Spanish on everything unless it was the census. Then I should be white. Sometimes I still run into people who think I am one over the other. I had people come up to be speaking Spanish to be highly offended when I tell them I don’t speak the Language well. (I tried learning but it is hard when motivation is not there). 

In recent years, I had someone at work tell me how they met a Spanish person, shockingly where my father works, and then described in detail my father and then tell me they thought he was illegal since he looked the type. All because they thought I was white... proud to say that person got fired for being racist.I did also inform them that was my father to their response was “you’re one of them”. 

It never ends. 

No, the reason why I haven’t been driven insane is because of my late grandpa. My grandpa was a man I adopted to be my grandfather. My biological grandfathers on both sides died long before I was born and the man I adopted was close to the family and acted like a father to my parents. He was a good man and the reason I had a childhood. 

He once went through the same, Italian/Jewish, you wouldn’t think there would be a problem but when he was growing up that equaled Catholic/Jewish, to which he too was either pinned in the middle or rejected by both sides, this is the 1930′s-1940s. He gave me the best piece of advance ever. 

To be myself. 

That if I were myself, then it did not matter. The moment I stopped being who I am, that passing or faking would never tell me who my real friends were. That if he, could love me for who I was, a weird girl who liked boy things and drawing strange looking characters, then anyone else could. Being a stranger to myself would never bring happiness. So, after years of not listening to that, I finally decided to listen to my Grandpa. 

I know who I am, I know the history of my families. They might not like that I am not what they want me to be, but they don’t have to live with me. I have to live with who I am. My friends are my friends because they know who I am, not who they think I should be. 

So for all my biracial brothers, sisters and them’s, be yourself. Don’t try to force yourself into a mold, it isn’t worth it. None of it is worth it. 

Look yourself in the mirror and say your name. Say it loud and let everyone know they can not define who you are, and so what if they say you don’t belong, guess what? You do if you want. You belong because YOU say so, because that blood runs in your veins as well as theirs. So you get to make that choice! 

Make that choice of being you! Define yourself to YOUR standards. 

Don’t let anyone take that away. I know I won’t.

So here I see myself! A strange fox who changes coats with the seasons, that loves anime and video games, who plays Yu-Gi-Oh and listens to opera and Metal while can twerk and get low to Daddy Yankee! Who eats sushi and makes a mean chicken cutlet but can also make the best empanda with beans and rice with the rest of them!

And no one can take that from me.

[statticscribbles]

Misread: Dark

Summary: Kurtz/Reader; You start at Riverdale High and people get the wrong impression of you and Kurtz

You’re not surprised when your cousin Sam and your uncle are standing outside the fence. “Heyyyy Y/N. You have a good time at camp.” Sam winks and you roll your eyes stepping past the barbed wire fence of Centerville Correctional Center. “You got out early. We have time to grab breakfast before school if you want.” He smiles and you laugh nodding.

“I’d kill for a burger.” Sam holds his hands up. “You did according to the yard gossip right?” He barks laughing when you smack his shoulder. “I know, I know, it was a joke for Christ sake. We need to thank that lawyer by the way; what do you think we should give her?” You shrug. “I can think when I’ve had food.”

Sam’s decent enough not to comment on your clothes, what you had been brought in wearing; a painfully short skirt and an almost see through top. “You’ll have to change before school. Well at least grab a sweater or some shit. Pretty sure Kurtz left one in the car you can steal.” He nods to you and you tug over the half stack of pancakes he ordered. “Those are mine!” He smacks your hand and you pull one over drowning it in syrup as you push the rest of the plate over. “I think I might puke looking at that.” He snorts as you finish it, dipping the sausage into the leftover syrup. “I haven’t had anything besides prison eggs for breakfast for almost four months. I would drink that entire bottle if I wouldn’t puke from it.” Sam nods. “Come on then, school time, you’re gonna sugar crash if you have more of that shit.”

You weren’t surprised when Southside High shut down; although you were surprised both you and Sam had been transferred to Riverdale; he’d said something about the rest of the Ghoulies being in Greendale. You avoid walking with the other Southsider’s, who move from Pop’s; you avoid the buses and slip into Sam’s car. “You know he’s going to kill me right? For not telling him you’re in town.” Sam scowls as he pulls into the parking lot. You roll your eyes. “He won’t; he’ll be too distracted with me. Don’t worry. What class is he in now?” “English, you have math with me. Come on, I’m sure the teacher’s going to love you.” He smirks and you grip onto Sam’s arm. “Hey; you’ll be fine. You’ll be fine.” You nod settling next to him as the teacher isn’t in. No one moves to greet you but you tap Sam’s arm. “What?”

“Nobody here knows I got in trouble right?” He shrugs. “Most of them don’t know who you are. And really ‘trouble’ you could at least hint at the whole criminal vibe you’re oozing, you look like you rolled off a prison bus an hour ago.” He says as the teacher comes in and starts the lesson. You catch a few people looking at you, but you reason it’s either the fact you’re new or that it looks like all you’re wearing is an oversized hoodie.

“Lunch now; he usually sulks around the Serpent’s.” You nod and Sam’s hand tugs your shoulder. “He might not be to happy to see you.” You turn frowning at him. “Why?” “Because of what happened.” “I didn’t do anything!! He knows that!” You stomp your foot and Sam snorts rolling his eyes. You snarl shoving him, before he shoves you against the wall. “Try me Y/N. I dare you.” You see someone’s hand push against Sam’s shoulder and you’re confused as he lowers his arm.

“You’re new right?” The Serpent turns to you smiling. “Yes. Sorry about Sam, my cousin has a bit of a short temper; he hasn’t given you any trouble?” You ask. “No Kurtz is more trouble.”  He laughs half shrugging. “How?” You tilt your head and Sam smirks. “He tried to kill me. I’m Fangs, pleasure.” You nod side stepping Sam and Fangs. “Would you like a proper apology?” You ask Fangs as he walks with you and Sam towards where ever he eats lunch. You’ve already spotted Kurtz in the student lounge.

“I don’t get why you’re so uptight about the stupid rules, you’re not even the official leader you still have to-“ Kurtz trails off and you know he’s spotted you. “I heard you tried to kill him. What happened?” “No it wasn’t like that we were-“ “What happened?” Kurtz swallows you look unimpressed as he stays quiet. “I dropped him from the second floor.” “Did you apologize, at the least?” “No I-“ You arch an eyebrow and he swallows cringing. “I’m sorry Fangs.” “That’s not a proper one.” You arch your eyebrow again and he scowls, sighing as he stands, you whack at the back of his knee and he kneels after he stumbles, glaring at you as you nod to Fangs.

“Please forgive me. I’m sorry for trying to kill you.” Fangs nods as Kurtz stands, his hand brushing against yours. “I missed you.” He says and you roll your eyes as he pulls you into a hug, face against your neck. “I missed you too.” He sighs against you nodding, and you look expectantly at him. “Well who’re these Serpent’s you’ve cozied up with; I can’t just name them based on how they look like you used to.” You smirk as they narrow their eyes at Kurtz. “Ooh look it’s neck boy; you’re right he is tall enough to climb like a tree. Not bad looking either, you didn’t tell me they looked like a boy band.” “Sweet Pea.” He holds his hand out and you smile.

“Y/N, pleasure.” You name each of the serpents, they seem to take their nicknames in stride and welcome you into their group as Kurtz had been. You meet Jughead’s friends Archie and Veronica and his girlfriend Betty; as well as Josie and Kevin. You sit draped half on the chair half over Kurtz, his hand running through your hair. They watch you oddly and you assume it’s based on the fact you’re a ghoul. Kurtz smirks seeming to enjoy there discomfort and you wait for an explantation that doesn’t come. You notice his hands linger on you more when someone’s watching. You joke about him being a voyeur and Jughead visibly gags. You can’t help but laugh joining Kurtz in whatever odd game he’s playing with the Serpents. Your favourite is when Betty caught you kissing him and tripped over the trashcan when she tried to leave. You’re not sure you’ve ever seen her look so disgusted and it makes you dissolve into a fit of giggles every time you picture it.

“Y/N Walters.” You raise your hand, you can tell someone is watching you but you ignore it. “They’re siblings, I swear. I think Y/N took the fall or got transferred out or something to do with jail, but they’re siblings.” Betty hisses as you walk by. You try your best to keep a straight face, but you text Kurtz to let him know what his friends seem to think. He meets you outside, sliding into the back of Sam’s car with you. Sam glares fixing the mirror so you know he can see both of you. “You’ll have to tell them.”

“But it’ll be funny to watch them guess. I bet it’ll take a week.” “I’m still surprised they haven’t caught on, you think the rings would be a dead giveaway. I really think there’s only so many times they can catch us making out before it boils over.” “Well to be fair they’ve seen me wear mine for months without mentioning you.” “Ooh what about necklaces?” “No that’s too hard they’re Serpent’s remember, dumb as a sack of bricks.” Kurtz laughs. “Yeah they gotta be dumbasses to let you in.” You grin when he smacks your shoulder. “That’s it, no welcome home meal.” You laugh more. “And you knew I was coming today?” “Well you’re not going to be now.” “Will you two shut up about-“ Sam glares from the front seat. “You know what they say about people who get out of prison right Sam?” “I swear if you-“

“They’re incredibly sexually frustrated.” You have tears in your eyes at the disgust on Sam’s face. “She’s my cousin Kurtz, I don’t want to hear anything involving my cousin again.” “You do know she’s my wife right so we’ve-“ “Shut it!” Sam slams the breaks on and Kurtz gets shoved into the back of the front seat grumbling. “Fine, Y/N’s a god damn virgin, you happy?”

You’re not trying to hide it but still the panic that shoots through you when you hear some clear their throat is unavoidable. You know you weren’t being discreet, curled on Kurtz lap in the student lounge tongue in his mouth was about as public as you could get besides going at in the middle of class, which was something you had shot down when he suggested it. You shiver slightly watching as Jughead glares at the two of you. Kurtz nudges you behind him and you peer from around his shoulder, his arm snaking around your waist. “What Jones?”

“You two are related.” He states nodding and you can see the rest of the Serpents and his other friends gathering around. You roll your eyes. “We really taking advice from Mr. I’m dating my half sister?” Jughead narrows his eyes. “Charles shares one of our parents and-“ “He’s your sibling, so you’re dating your half-sibling. Not to mention didn’t your parents fuck when your dad was off being a serial killer?” You comment and both him and Betty glare. “We’re not actually siblings, unlike you two.” You assure them. “You two are brother and sister! You have the same last name, and you call your dad, well dad! The same dad!!”

“Kurtz do you want to tell them? I think they’d get a kick outta you saying it.” “Say what?” Jughead eyes Kurtz warily. “When I say dad, I mean my father in law.” “We’re not siblings, we’re married. You idiots” You chime in and everyone stares, as you hold up your ring, waving it slightly. The Serpent’s stare; turning to Kurtz. “You’re married!??!” “Yes? Why do you guys think I never dated anyone..” “You’re psycho! No one would want- Why? How would you even-“ “You go down to the court and sign the certificate? We both had parental permission; totally legal. Also I love her, it’s not that hard to think or do.” He shrugs at them and you loop your arm in his. “Why is that so surprising?” He asks and Jughead shrugs. Sweet Pea speaks up.

“Just never thought you’d find someone so well normal.” “Oh they don’t know; Sam was right.” “Right?” “I spent my summer in the Centerville Corrections Center. Wrong place, wrong time and all that.” you smile at them and they hesitate. “Why was it the wrong place at the wrong time.” One of them asks. You turn to Kurtz and he shrugs. “Your call.”

“I used to be a runner, not track, I got caught up on a pretty big job near Greendale, didn’t make it out at the right time is all.” “So you went to jail?” Jughead states and you nod. “Basically. I mean they let me out pretty quick, just gave me tons of community service. Which I still have to do, so that’s how I’m spending my summers.” “Y/N; you can’t just tell them that. The full story.” You glare rolling your eyes. “I was in the wrong place and the wrong time, with a knife; and one of the other runners got stabbed at the same time, it was a really weird coincidence.” “Oh my god?” “Yeah I get it I stabbed someone and-“ “You married Kurtz, like you actually chose to marry him? Him of all people.” “You’re insulting me in front of my wife after she just admitted she stabbed someone? Jesus the Serpent are dumb as fuck.”

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