#and dad wanted to stop by my place and i told him he is overestimating the time he has to get in the venue | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

nahoyas-nymph · 3 years ago

Text

BURNING HOUSE

Summary: The reader and their best friend Itsuki have a very toxic relationship; a relationship Kakucho recognises as similar to his and Izana’s.

Content Warning: Dark Content - Alcoholic Father - Trauma - Implied Abuse - Guns - Murder - Blood - Death - Manipulation

BURNING HOUSE

They say that when you’re born in a burning house, you think the whole world is on fire.

Most people think this would make you stronger. If it doesn’t kill you, that is. After all, eventually, you must’ve developed a resistance to fire.

And, in a way, they’re right. The metaphorical burning house in question taught you many things. It taught you to never let your guard down. It taught you 3 different ways to break someone’s arm. It taught you why you should always carry a weapon, especially if ‘home is just a 10-minute walk away’.

But the one thing it never taught you, was how the aforementioned quote really ended.

And that was your greatest weakness. You were naive. But for good reason. Your whole life you had been used and abused. It was the stranger at the party who spiked your drink. You don’t remember what happened, and you don’t want to, but you woke up in his bed the next morning. It was the ex who leaked your nudes around the school after you left them when you found out they cheated. It was the alcoholic father who would often gamble away his paycheck then return home without a cent to his name only to take out his frustrations on you. It was everyone. Everyone except him. At least, that’s what you thought.

Almost every person you let into your life had hurt you. Leaving you an empty, soulless, shell of the person you used to be. You were growing tired of people walking all over you, but you weren’t used to it. No, it hurt every single time. And it created this inescapable pain that was just constantly there. It was like a curse that you didn’t know how to break.

But Itsuki did. Itsuki always knew exactly what advice to give you whenever you needed it. Although the morality of his advice was usually a grey area. But you didn’t mind. You never put too much thought into it. After all, it was only fair. Because it was everyone who hurt you. So everyone would pay.

It was that mindset that made you the perfect vessel for Itsuki to mould into his own personal weapon. At first, he started small. Asking you to steal a packet of chips for him every now and again. Then later he started asking you to beat people up for him, giving you flimsy excuses as to why they deserved it. Soon you became the perfect weapon, doing whatever he told you with no questions asked. Of course, he never phrased his requests as commands. It was always just friendly advice.

“Itsuki?”

“What is it?”

“I don’t know how much longer I can deal with my dad’s drinking, but I don’t know how to get him to stop. What should I do?”

“People like him need to learn the hard way. Teach him a lesson he won’t forget. Next time he comes home drunk, spill a few cans of his beer on the floor, then light a candle. If the candle doesn’t ignite the beer just use a lighter or something. But when he sees the fire, he’ll think he caused it by drunkenly spilling his beer near a candle. Trust me, he’ll never want to drink again after that.”

And you did trust him. Because his plans always worked. Since you followed his advice, your dad had never come home drunk again. Mostly because there was no longer a home to come home to. You overestimated how much beer you would need and, within seconds, the house was engulfed in flames. You had the scar on your arm to prove it.

It was after you told Itsuki you were homeless that he suggested you join the gang he was a part of, Bonten. He said something about great benefits including a safe place to stay and generous compensation for the jobs you would have to do for them.

All this was almost two years ago.

Today you were sitting on the back of Itsuki’s motorbike. You were on your way to visit your leader, Sano Manjiro. Although the reason for your visit was a bit strange.

You were going to kill him.

You didn’t question Itsuki when he asked you to do this with him. You had spent so long listening to whatever he said that you mindlessly said yes before even registering what he had asked. In fact, you were so used to obeying his every ask, that you usually wouldn’t even register what you were doing until after it was done.

And today was no different. You didn’t know why Itsuki wanted to kill his leader, nor did you care. Besides, he probably had a good reason, he always does.

Sano was a difficult person to kill, to say the least. Many that were more skilled than you had tried and failed. For starters, he was almost impossible to find unless he wanted you to find him. Bonten owned 8 multi-story buildings all over Tokyo which they used as their main headquarters. Sano had a place of residence on the top floor of each building. No one, except his executives, knew where he would be staying at any time.

But Itsuki was prepared. Being a part of Bonten himself gave him an advantage. He had spent months following Sano’s movements, finding patterns, sourcing intel on where he would be next. And after eight months of planning, today was the first day you and Itsuki had a chance. Manjiro would be staying at Bonten hideout number three. Five of the seven executives were out of town with their own missions. The other two probably had better things to do. Leaving Sano alone, and since it was 4 in the morning, hopefully asleep.

The ride to hideout number three was silent. That’s how it always was when you and Itsuki were on missions. He would be lost in thought mentally going over the plan. Your mind, however, was entirely empty. Not a single thought went through it. Itsuki loved this about you. You were his subservient little disciple. That’s what made you two such a good pair, you always let Itsuki do the thinking for you.

The two of you casually made your way into the building. It was quiet. All the people who would’ve been working had all gone home. The doors were all locked and the lights were off. This would’ve been a problem but between you and Itsuki, you had enough access codes to make it to the top floor. Itsuki stood watch by the door to the boss’s apartment. Giving you a chance to remove the bobby pin from your hair and fashion it into a makeshift key to pick the lock. Such an important person having such weak security would’ve been a red flag for any other person attempting to break in. But you weren’t thinking, your mind was still empty. Because it was easier that way. It was easier not to think about what you were about to do.

Both you and Itsuki silently readied your guns. You opened the door as quietly as possible to prevent any excess noise that could potentially wake up the Bonten leader before you had the chance to put a bullet in his head.

As the door swung open, Itsuki noticed the lights were still on. Which was strange but it was entirely possible that Manjiro had simply forgotten to turn them off before bed. In any case, Itsuki chose to play his cards safe, letting you go in before him. You both quietly tiptoed around the room, trying to locate which room Manjiro could be sleeping in. But your snooping was cut short, as you both noticed the dark blue head of hair peeking out from on the couch. The hair was likely attached to someone slouching comfortably on the couch in front of you. But Itsuki’s heart dropped when he realised:

Manjiro’s hair is white.

You were still calm, almost ignoring the person on your couch since he wasn’t part of the mission. You were too focused on what Itsuki had requested of you to even think about the fact that your plan had been compromised.

Growing impatient with the two intruders, the man on the couch decided to speak. Not yet turning around to identify the traitors

“You can give up now. He’s not here.”

Both you and Itsuki remained silent. Itsuki stupidly hoped that if he was quiet enough, he wouldn’t get caught. You, however, weren’t hoping for anything. Your hopes and dreams had died long ago. The prolonged silence prompted the man to continue his speech.

“Did you really think you could outsmart the boss? He’s known about your plan since the beginning. We could’ve killed you months ago but he thought it would be more entertaining to let you get your hopes up first. To let you think that you’ve won. And only once you realised that all those months of planning were in vain would you be killed. So how does it feel? You put all this time and effort into betraying Bonten, you tried to assassinate our leader. But after all that, he didn’t even show up. You weren’t even worth his time, so he sent one of his executives to do the job for him.”

Itsuki was shaking. The man on the couch spoke slowly and calmly, a habit he likely picked up from Manjiro himself. It was effective when you wanted to scare someone. Itsuki was about to shit his pants. You, however, were still as unresponsive as ever.

“If it makes you feel any better, it could’ve been worse. It could’ve been one of the Haitani’s sitting here instead of me. Or worse still, you could’ve gotten Sanzu. I pity anyone who’s been on the wrong side of his wrath.”

The man on the couch chuckled to himself at the thought of what Sanzu would do if he was the one sitting here.

“But you got lucky, you got me. Don’t get me wrong, I still have to kill you. But I’m not interested in dragging this out. Your deaths will be quick and painless.”

It was at this point the man on the couch picked up the gun from the coffee table opposite him and cocked it. He finally turned to face the two traitors who had plotted to kill Manjiro. He looked even more intimidating than before.

He had a massive scar that extended from the top of his head, through his eye and down the side of his face. This man had, no doubt, seen things. And he was definitely not playing around. You and Itsuki were such low-level members of Bonten that you’d never even been in the same room as any of the executives. And despite this one insisting that he’s more merciful than his colleagues, it was obvious that he was the real deal.

“I’d ask you to move into the bathroom so clean up would be quicker, but I doubt you want to make this easy for me.”

Itsuki was completely frozen, he was too scared to move. Your eyes were trained on the scene unfolding in front of you, but your brain wasn’t processing any of the information. Despite the situation you were in, your only focus was still killing Manjiro.

“So, any last words?”

The man on the couch waited for a response. But he was met with only silence. He couldn’t help but notice the two of you were silent for different reasons. Itsuki was clearly scared shitless. But you didn’t seem to be feeling anything at all.

The man on the couch had had enough of stalling. He aimed the gun at Itsuki’s head and pulled the trigger. It was surprisingly underwhelming. The gun had a silencer on so there was no loud bang. The man had impeccable aim so Itsuki died quickly and painlessly, just like he’d promised.

Itsuki’s body hit the floor, causing you to look over at him. There was a small hole in the centre of his forehead. And the pool of blood it created was slowly increasing in diameter. The man noticed your lack of response to the corpse of your so-called ‘best friend’. You felt nothing. You’d unconsciously blocked out all your thoughts and feelings years ago. You lived on autopilot, only really listening to the ‘advice’ Itsuki used to give you.

“Aren’t you scared? Or angry at least? Do you think I’m not gonna kill you or something?”

You just shrugged, still not giving much thought to what the man was saying. Nor giving any thought to your dead friend on the floor. You still hadn’t been shot yet, so you began walking around the apartment, searching for clues of where Manjiro might have gone. This made the man even more confused.

“Are you seriously fucking looking for Mikey right now? I just shot your friend! Do you really not care at all? I should shoot you right now.”

He was right. He should’ve shot you. But he didn’t.

After doing a round of the apartment, you walked up to him and sat on the couch beside him. Not realising the insanity of your actions. The man on the couch was still confused, but now he was more intrigued. It was then that you finally spoke.

“Do you know where Manjiro is?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Can you tell me?”

“What?”

“I’m looking for him, can you tell me where he is?”

“Were you even listening? It’s over. You’re not killing Mikey.”

The man was baffled by the way you so calmly asked him to sell out his leader as if he didn’t just murder your friend. Did you really expect him to just tell you where Manjiro was? The man mumbled to himself something along the lines of ‘what am I doing?’ before setting his gun back down on the coffee table.

“What’s your name?”

You didn’t respond.

“Do you know who I am?”

More silence.

“My name is Kakucho.”

He waited for you to reply with your own name, but no luck. You just looked at him blankly. He couldn’t work out if you were stupid, or if you were doing this on purpose. Or maybe there was another reason?

“Why do you want to kill Mikey anyway? You a double agent or something?”

You didn’t respond verbally, but you looked over to Itsuki as the blood continued to pour out of him.

“He put you up to this? Why?”

You shrugged, you didn’t know why. It didn’t matter to you. Kakucho was analysing your face. You didn’t look smug like you would’ve if you were just messing with him. You didn’t look like you were hiding anything either. You just looked… empty.

It was a look he recognised. Because it was the same look he had engraved on his face when his parents died. Memories of that event flooded his mind. For months he had the same lifeless look on his face. He would mindlessly make sculptures in the dirt, and when asked what he was doing he would reply with, ‘I’m building my parents grave’.

It was only after he met Izana that he managed to revive his repressed emotions. He’d follow Izana in everything, doing whatever he asked. Kakucho put two and two together pretty quickly and realised the relationship he had with Izana was likely the relationship you had with the body on the floor.

Kakucho immediately felt guilty, remembering the scene that unfolded when Izana was shot and killed. He remembered how he wanted to die with his friend, but fate willed him to survive. He remembered how even though Izana would literally refer to him as his servant, his time with Izana were some of his fondest memories.

But Kakucho shook away those thoughts, silently cursing himself for being the only executive that can’t kill their targets without getting sentimental. No matter how he felt, he had a job to do. And as much as he saw himself in the person sitting in front of him, he knew that when he was in their shoes, all he wanted was to die with his best friend.

Kakucho grabbed the gun off the coffee table, fiddling with it as he took a deep breath. It felt as though he had been given an opportunity to meet face to face with his past self. He thought about what he would’ve wanted to say to himself, all those years ago.

“Look, I know I don’t know you or anything but I think I get how you feel. You have all these repressed emotions trapped inside of you, yeah? But you didn’t mean for this to happen. Deep down you were a good person. But that person is gone now. Your whole life was probably shit. So you put all your trust into one person who you thought could fix everything. You blindly followed them, effectively letting them think for you, hoping that someday, everything would be okay. But deep down, you can’t shake this feeling of being trapped. Because for some reason everything still seems to be going wrong and it feels like you’re on fire. Kinda like you’re trapped in a burning house. I wish someone would have told me that, eventually, it’ll get better. Because when you spend your whole life in a burning house, you think the whole world is on fire. But it’s not.”

As Kakucho mentioned the burning house, it triggered a response in your brain. Images of your own childhood home being engulfed in flames came to mind. Suddenly the fog in your brain cleared and a million thoughts raced through your mind.

You remembered the scar on your arm and compared it to the one on Kakucho’s face. You wondered why you felt so connected to this stranger, you felt as if you could relate to him even though you knew nothing about him. His words slowly registered in your mind. ‘Deep down you were a good person. But that person is gone now.’ He was right. In your head, memories of your early childhood flashed through your mind. Memories that you had long forgotten. Memories of when you used to go to parties and actually enjoy yourself. Memories of before your ex cheated on you and you were happy together. Memories of you going hiking with your father before he became an alcoholic. You realised that before all the heartache and pain, you were happy. You were a good person. You did good things. So when did it go so wrong?

And suddenly your brain had finished cycling through all your happy memories. Now you were reminded of the time you first stole a bag of chips from the supermarket. The time you beat up some kids you didn’t even know. The time you burned down your own house. Then finally, the time you broke into the apartment of the biggest crime boss in Japan. As you began to mentally retrace the steps you had taken in the last ten minutes, you realised time felt slower than normal. And you seemed to be experiencing these memories in chronological order. That when it hit you, your life was flashing before your eyes.

You tried to open your mouth to speak, really speak. Not just articulate whatever mindless thoughts happened to spurt from your brain. Because you felt like yourself again for the first time in years. You wanted to say thank you. But it was too late. What you felt next could only be described as molten lava being poured through your brain. Your vision immediately went blurry, you only heard the muffled bang of Kakucho’s shotgun before your hearing gave out as well.

As you slowly started to lose consciousness, you felt Kakucho pick you up. When he put you down a few moments later, you felt a cold hand being intertwined with yours. You didn’t have to be able to see to tell who this hand belonged to. The last thing you felt was two fingers closing your eyelids. Then your mind went blank. Every thought you were having had been halted. It was a feeling you were used to. Some might say that meant you had experienced death long before you actually died. Except this time it was different. This time you would never have another thought again.

A/N:

another repost :)

originally i wasn't gonna bother reposting this cause i didn't think it was that great

i would've just deleted it along with my old account if it wasn't for the amazing @rozcdust for changing my mind

it literally made a whole ass presentation about why this one-shot isn't trash 💀

and credit to @eriskaitto for being the one who originally gave me this beautiful request

99 notes · View notes

dreamwritesimagines · 4 years ago

Text

Twisted 20 - The Compass [Spencer Reid x Reader]

A.N.: Thank you so much for your wonderful support my loves! Here’s the next chapter, I hope you will like it as well, and please let me know what you think of it! ❤❤ Ily, kisses! ❤❤❤

Series Masterlist

Warnings: Murder, serial killers, violence, manipulation, mentions of sex, drinking, smoking, blood.

Word Count: 4000

Summary: Coming home can be unpleasant.

After getting a phone call from the FBI, you were now sure of one thing:

Karma really needed another hobby other than messing with you, and this break up was definitely not going the way it was supposed to go.

For starters, people who broke up with each other were not supposed to see each other this much. You had different lives, different social circles, different jobs and somehow universe kept pushing you two in each other’s space.

To make things worse, the last time you talked to Garcia she had offhandedly mentioned Luke dragging Spencer to a nightclub much to his displeasure and introducing him to a friend of his. Naturally, your mind was full of images of Spencer in a happy relationship, eventually moving to a house in the suburbs with her and having kids and all that.

“I don’t know what Luke is thinking,” Garcia said, “But I’m two seconds away from pulling him aside and giving him a piece of my mind. Reid is obviously still not over you, ambushing him to introduce him to a girl won’t change that.”

Needless to say, you had been in a terrible mood for the last couple of days.

“What’s taking her so long?” you checked your wristwatch and Nolan looked at you over his newspaper.

“Oh she’s talking to the board of the charity auction,” he said, “There are some last minute changes, apparently.”

You heaved a sigh and checked the time again, “I can’t stay for long,” you murmured and Nolan raised his brows.

“Oh? In a hurry?”

“Me and Spencer and…well, some of his team will go by the woods,” you said, “They found some bones near dad’s cabin close to the weekend house and they think it might help me remember where the rest is buried.”

He made a face, “That’s disturbing.”

“Nah, I thought going on a dead body remains hunt with my ex in the woods near one of my childhood trauma places would be romantic,” you deadpanned, “You don’t do that with your exes?”

“Not really?”

“Oh man you’re missing out.”

He let out a chuckle and shook his head, “I take it things haven’t improved on the heartbreak front?”

“I wouldn’t know, apparently his friend is setting him up with someone.”

“Mm, let me guess,” he mused, “Your plan is to do nothing about it?”

“No, I’m actually following your example,” you smiled at him sweetly, “I’ll just wait for decades and hope the girl turns out to be a serial killer.”

He tilted his head. “Touché.”

“Aw thank you,” you pushed at the food in your plate, “No seriously, what can I do? I can’t just go to him and tell him not to date other people. We broke up— I broke up with him.”

“You could explain the reason behind that.”

“I can’t do that.”

He clicked his tongue, “Well then, I suggest you get ready just in case he happens to ask for your help planning his wedding.”

“You’ve been absolutely no help at all Nolan, I appreciate that.”

“I’m offering you my wisdom and you’re not taking it,” he held up his hands, gesturing surrender, “I also suggested to get his superiors to fix a meeting with him to talk to him about certain boundaries and mistakes but…”

“Get his superiors— I’m sorry, what?”

“I play poker with the head of the department he works under.”

“Of course you do.” You sipped your coffee, “When did you suggest that exactly?”

“Oh not to you, to your mother,” he nodded to himself as he saw the look on your face, “Yeah. But then I saw how it could not only damage some professional relationships, but also it’s better to let young people solve their own problems, no matter how easy it is to solve them with an outsider’s influence.”

You pulled your brows together.

“Try again.”

“I asked your mother and she said no.”

“Oh thank God.” You pinched the bridge of your nose, “Yeah no, don’t do that. We’re not in high school, you know?”

“Could’ve fooled me,” he smiled slightly at the scandalized look on your face.

“Whatever,” you waved a hand in the air, “It’s strange that mom said no though. She doesn’t really like him nowadays, and she keeps listing all his….disadvantages whenever I talk about him.”

“Disadvantages?”

“Mm hm. The other day she said it was maybe for the best in the long run, because he’s an FBI agent so considering his paychecks, we would eventually fight about our future children’s tuition fees.”

Nolan thought for a moment, “She does have a point, considering what FBI pays their agents…”

You blinked a couple of times, “Right,” you said, “That’s exactly why I broke up with him. Because who would be paying for our hypothetical future children’s future tuition fees, yeah. Deal breaker, that one.”

“It could be a contributing factor though—“ he started but you heard your mother’s heels approaching and soon enough she walked into the living room and pressed a kiss on your cheek.

“Darling, I’m so sorry to have kept you waiting,” she told you before pecking Nolan on the lips, making him smile, “This whole charity auction, honestly…”

“Do I have to come to that thing?” you looked between them, your brows pulled together in an attempt to make them take pity on you but your mother tilted her head.

“Yes you do.”

“It’s just that…” you heaved a dramatic sigh, “You know, I’m going through a break up—“

“You’ve been going through a break up for more than a month now, you’re not allowed to use that as an excuse.”

“My heart is broken!”

“Good, focus on charity then.”

You rolled your eyes and turned to Nolan, “What’s the real reason she’s dragging me to this?”

“Oh no, I’m not getting caught in this crossfire.”

“Mom?”

She cleared her throat and sipped her coffee, “The other day when I visited Nolan at work, he happened to introduce me to this very handsome Chief Marketing Officer who’s handling—“

“Oh no.”

“Keep in mind that we pay him more than what FBI pays his agents.” Nolan stated, laughing up his sleeve as if he found it hilarious and you scrunched up your nose.

“Nolan, I know you were born in the eighteenth century but that’s actually not a problem we have these days.”

“He’s single,” your mother said as if she wasn’t even listening and you threw your head back, letting out a whine, “He loves dogs and squash—“

“Jesus Christ.”

“Don’t worry, he’s not sitting at our table,” your mother said, “I fixed another surprise for you at our table, and I figured you’d want to keep your options open.”

“Besides, if your ex boyfriend is moving on…” Nolan trailed off and your mother raised her brows.

“Oh, Spencer has a girlfriend now?”

“No!” you said way too loudly and then cleared your throat, “I mean—I don’t care. But I don’t think so, I would’ve heard it.”

“See? More reason for you to meet other people.”

You pouted, “I hate this so much. I can’t believe I’m being dragged into this nonsense only because you guys are making me, this is seriously bullshit…”

“Y/N, do you want some cookies?” Nolan interrupted your grumbling, “One of my assistants brought them from France the other day.”

You scoffed, “How old do you think I—” you paused for a moment, then shrugged your shoulders, “Actually yeah, I’d love some cookies right now.”

***

Unfortunately, when you left your mother’s house you had overestimated the traffic and how long it would take you to get there so by the time you had pulled over by the road leading into the woods, you could only see one FBI car. You didn’t have to wonder who was in it when your eyes caught the sight of Spencer leaning against it and your heart skipped a beat.

“Fuck…” you murmured to yourself and considered for a short second to drive away until others got there, but it was too late. Spencer turned his head, saw your car and stopped dead on his tracks so you heaved a sigh and pushed open the door to step outside. You looked around before you pulled yourself up to sit on the hood before you fished your cigarette pack out of your purse.

“You’re early.” Spencer said and you raised your glances to look at him for a second before lighting your cigarette.

“So are you,” you put the lighter back into your purse, “Came by yourself?”

“Luke is talking with the police.”

“Lovely,” you exhaled the smoke and he crossed his arms, looking up at the sky for a moment before stealing a look at you.

You had no idea what to say to him. After that one day of truce, it was like you were back to being enemies and ignoring each other. The fact that he might have been ready to date another person made you feel even worse if it was possible, especially after that phone call between you. He had said that he was a mess just like you were, he had said you had taken a part of him when you left him, and—

You didn’t even know what you hoped for. You knew it wouldn’t change anything, and yet the thought of him being with someone else was more than enough to make you feel like you were falling off a cliff.

Maybe it was just the truce talking. Maybe he didn’t mean any of that.

Your phone vibrating in your purse made you snap out of your thoughts and you looked at the caller I.D., then frowned and answered.

“Hey, I’m a little busy at the moment.”

“On a Sunday?” Lincoln’s voice reached you, “Who’s the workaholic now?”

“Still you Linc,” you said and Spencer’s head shot up, “What’s up?”

“I just called to let you know that they just moved me to your table.”

You pulled your brows, “I’m sorry, what?”

“At the charity auction. My table was 3, they just e-mailed me to say I’ve been moved to 1.”

“Jesus Christ, you’re the surprise?” you asked, pinching the bridge of your nose, “Somebody needs to stop my mother.”

“Hm?”

“Nothing,” you said, “I…That’s great, we’ll sit together then. If you like sulking the whole night, we’ll be just fine.”

“Come on, it could be fun.”

“I doubt that.”

“Hey, at least you’re not alone.”

“I’ll drink throughout that night, you sure you can keep up?”

“Do you even know who you’re talking to, you amateur?”

“Oh it’s on.” You smiled slightly and he chuckled.

“I’ll see you at our table then. With drinks.”

“Yeah, I’ll be there,” you said before you hung up, and put the phone back into your purse before you felt Spencer’s burning gaze on you, so you looked up at him.

“What?” you asked and he scoffed a bitter laugh, shaking his head.

“Nothing.”

“Professor.”

“I didn’t say anything,” he said, his gaze fixed on the woods and you tilted your head.

“Fine.”

He sucked a breath through his clenched teeth, as if trying to decide whether to say anything or not before you could ask again, Luke approached you two, another car pulling over by your car.

“Hey there.” You greeted Luke as you jumped off the hood and he tilted his head.

“Why are you shorter?”

You motioned at your sneakers, “I figured since we’re going into the woods, heels would be a bad idea.”

“Is this the first time I’m seeing you without heels?”

“Probably.”

“Should we get going?”

JJ stole a look at Spencer and you, then turned to Luke, “Actually, do you mind coming with me to the car for a moment? There’s this file I want to get your opinion on.” She nodded at you, “You guys go ahead if you want.”

You pulled your brows together for a second, trying to understand what was happening but then decided you wouldn’t question it and stepped into the woods, a shiver running down your spine.

It looked way too familiar.

You gritted your teeth and started walking, and it didn’t take long for Spencer to catch up with you.

“So I never got to ask you,” you managed to say after almost ten minutes of complete silence, “That…that blood vial in that petal bowl, whose blood was it?”

“Anthony’s.”

“Right,” you murmured as you kept walking, “Was it….was it something my dad did back then?”

“No.” Spencer said curtly and you looked over your shoulder.

“So then what does it—“

“Are you dating other people?” the words left his lips in a hurry as if he didn’t know how to stop them and you stopped dead on your tracks.

“I beg your pardon?”

He opened his mouth for a moment like he was trying to find the right words but then he closed it and shrugged his shoulders.

“Never mind,” he murmured, walking past you and you gawked after him for a while before you rushed after him.

“No, what was that?”

“Nothing.”

Maybe your whole theory about Spencer being a genius therefore not being able to be jealous wasn’t exactly the truth.

“I’m not— is this about Lincoln?” you held up the phone in your hand before you sped up to catch up with his long strides, “There’s this stupid charity auction bullshit and we’re both attending it, that’s it.”

“Alright,” he murmured, still walking and you let out a breath.

“Spencer!”

“What?” he turned around to look at you, that fire burning in his eyes again, “I said never mind, okay?”

“I’m not dating Lincoln!” you exclaimed “And I— even if I were, at least he’s not someone I met at a nightclub my friends forced me to go, unlike some of us.”

“What does that-” he started but it hit him in a second, “Garcia told you.”

“It came up.”

He raised his brows, “Yeah? How?”

“It just did.” You managed to say even if your cheeks were burning, “So what? You’re going to stand there and ask me that when you’re moving on already?”

“I’m not moving on!” he said as if you had just insulted him, “Besides, you broke up with me remember?”

“Yeah and you wasted no time Spencer, congratulations.” You murmured as you walked past him but as soon as your eyes caught the sight of the huge cabin by the small hill, your breath got caught in your throat and you took a step back, the memory flashing through your mind so fast that the headache hit you out of nowhere.

Your father tugged you by your hand through the woods as you yawned, rubbing at your eyes.

“Are you sleepy honey?”

You nodded, looking up at him,

“Daddy I thought we were going to come here tomorrow, with mom and Mina.” you said as you hugged the huge teddy bear you had brought with you when your father had woken you up and told you that you would be taking a small trip to the cabin.

“We are,” he said, “We will go back home after our hunt is done here.”

“Yeah but mom says Mina and I can’t be outside the cabin at night,” you murmured, “The lake is too close, remember? We might fall in, she says.”

“She’s right, no leaving the cabin by yourself when it’s dark outside,” he said, “Or else no chocolate for a week, you know the rules.”

“Okay, okay…” you yawned again, and your father knelt down so that you could look him in the eye.

“Petal honey, I want you to pay attention,” he said, “Look around. Let’s say you’re in the woods by yourself and you’re hunting. You know how we hunt, right?”

You took a deep breath, “Stab the prey, twist the knife, pull it back and watch them bleed.”

“Very good,” he said, “When you’re hunting in the woods, what’s the first thing you do?”

“Look up at the sky,” you said, “That’s how I know where I am.”

“Good start. How about if your prey is running to get away from you? How do you chase them?”

“People aren’t calm when they’re being hunted,” you repeated what he had told you, “They make noises. I follow that, and wait for them to tire themselves out.”

He nodded, then you both climbed the stairs to the front door of the cabin.

“And what’s the one thing you remember?”

“To stay calm and patient.”

He smiled at you and opened the door to the cabin so that you could see the bloodied person tied to a chair, screaming through the gag.

“Good,” he said, “Let’s go over what we do with the prey, shall we?”

“Y/N!” Spencer’s voice cut through the memory, almost grabbing you and pulling you back to the reality and it was only when you realized you weren’t standing anymore, instead you were on the ground on your knees, gasping for breath.

“I can’t—“ you choked out, pressing a hand over your chest “I—I can’t breathe—“

“Yes you can,” he helped you sit and lean your back to the tree trunk, “You just need to focus on me, alright? Can you breathe with me?”

You sniffled, trying to match your breathing with his and he nodded,

“There you go,” he said with a smile, “You’re doing great. Is it okay if I touch you?”

You nodded your head, still desperate to cling to anything that would protect you from that memory and he entwined his fingers with you.

“Keep your focus on me,” he said as he wiped the teardrop off your cheek with his free hand, awakening a fire right beneath your cheekbone, “Here’s what we’re going to do, you will inhale when I squeeze your hand, exhale when I stop. Can we do that together?”

You inhaled when you felt his grip tightening around your hand, then exhaled when it became loose again.

“Y/N?”

You let out a shaky breath, “Hm?”

“Why are public proposals so bad?”

A teary laugh escaped from your lips, “Professor…”

“No, I want you to tell me,” he said as you inhaled again when he squeezed your hand, “Why are they so bad?”

“Because they—“ you exhaled, “They’re not private.”

“They could be romantic.”

“But they’re not,” you protested, “They’re not romantic. They’re pretentious.”

“Pretentious?” he squeezed your hand once more and you took another breath.

“If you need an audience for something like that, you’re pretentious yeah.” You said as the nausea slowly retreated and he pushed your hair behind your ear before his knuckles brushed over your neck, it lasted only a moment but it was enough for you.

“Thanks,” you mumbled and he offered you a small smile.

“Anytime.”

“Brings back the memories, huh?” you leaned your head back to the tree trunk and he nodded.

“Yeah,” he murmured, “Yeah it really does.”

You pressed your lips together, “Spencer, why are you helping me?” you asked him, taking him by surprise, “With….all this. I thought you hated me.”

He swallowed thickly,

“I can’t hate you,” his voice was almost a murmur, “I wish I could. Trust me, I tried.”

“Guys?” you heard Luke’s voice and you turned your head to see them approaching, “What’re you—what happened?”

“We’ll meet you there in a second,” Spencer said, shooting JJ a look and she nodded.

“Okay,” she said, “Come on Luke.”

They walked past you to the cabin and you looked up at the sky for a couple of seconds before willing yourself to focus on him again.

“You remembered something,” he said and you nodded.

“A memory,” you managed to say, “I…Spencer, there are dead bodies in there.”

“I know, we found bones in the backyard—“

“No,” you cut him off, “You don’t understand. There are dead bodies in the cabin.”

He pulled his brows together and you pulled your hand out of his before standing up on shaky legs, still holding onto the tree for support.

“Y/N, we can wait-” he said but you shook your head and made your way to the cabin until you reached the stairs. Every cell in your body was screaming at you to run away, but you managed to force yourself to climb the stone stairs and stopped for a moment at the door as Spencer stepped to stand next to you. Everything looked exactly the same as you had left them all those years ago right before your father was arrested.

A shudder went down your spine, the same as the one you had gotten when you woke up in your apartment after being drugged. Something in here was way too dangerous for you and it wouldn’t rest until you were at its mercy so you had to get away before it could dig its claws under your skin, but-

You had to do this. You could do this.

You had been through much worse than this before.

You had survived your father, you had survived his copycats, you had survived everything thrown your way so far, you could survive this as well.

You rolled your shoulders back and stepped into the huge living room, the memory pushing at your mind but you shook your head, forcing yourself to focus.

“We can leave if you want,” Spencer murmured and you dug your fingernails into your palms hard enough to hurt.

There was a reason why police couldn’t find anything in this goddamn place when they first checked. You had repressed the memory just like you had repressed the rest, and now that you were here…

The memories about the cabin were swirling in your head, each more terrifying than other.

“Luke.”

Luke turned his head, “Yeah?”

“Do you mind stepping aside for a moment?” you asked, “Actually, if no one could—if no one could stand on the rug that’d be ideal. Thanks.”

JJ shot you a look but nodded at the two other agents walking around the living room and you slowly approached the magnetic chess board by the coffee table, holding out your hand over the pieces for a second. Panic roared through you but you gritted your teeth and moved the pawn, then put the bishop where your father taught you to put it way back then.

“It’ll be like a treasure hunt, but you need to keep it a secret,” he had told you, “Pinky swear?”

You turned the queen in hand your for a moment, then put it right next to the bishop and the small basement trapdoor which was impossible to see even if someone was looking for it clicked under the rug. Spencer froze for a moment before he and Luke pulled the rug off the floor and pulled open the hatch but the smell coming from downstairs made you cover your mouth.

“Stay here,” Luke told the agents as he went downstairs and Spencer followed him right before JJ did. You stalled there for a moment, trying to repress the fear pinning you to your spot before you stepped closer to the stairs leading down to the secret basement.

“Miss—“ the agent said but you ignored him and made your way down. JJ and Spencer already had their flashlights on as Luke held his gun, ready to pull the trigger at any unexpected movement.

“You can’t be here.” Spencer told you but you weren’t even mood to snap back at him. You dragged your fingertips on the wall until you found the switch and turned the light on, the smell getting worse and worse.

There were three huge boxes by the wall, all tightly shut and you had a feeling—

No, not a feeling. What you had was a memory and you knew exactly what was in them.

Spencer turned to you, apparently ready to tell you to go upstairs again but as soon as his eyes caught something over your shoulder, he froze, his jaw clenching. You could feel your heartbeat getting faster and faster as Luke stopped dead on his tracks.

“Y/N, go upstairs.” Spencer said, his tone way too controlled until you turned your head, “No wait, don’t look—“

But it was too late. The bloodied message on the wall made you gasp as you took a step back, unable to look away as that familiar dread filled you once more, the simple line causing goosebumps to rise on your skin;

Welcome home Petal.

Chapter 21

#spencer reid #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid imagine #spencer reid imagines #spencer reid x you #criminal minds #spencer #reid #spencer x reader #reid x reader #twisted

1K notes · View notes

sorryjustafangirl · 4 years ago

Text

it’s a love story

a/n: this is my submission for the @doubleminor’s #hockeychallengemusic ! im so so super late but i finally had the time to write this. the toronto six of the nwhl have this as their winning song and i loved watching them celebrate this season. and apparently all i can write is matty tkachuk but i felt he really fit this idea

Pairing: Matthew Tkachuk x reader

Work count: 2.2k+

warnings: mentions of the pandemic and one swear but other than that just fluff :)

disclaimer: this is a work of fiction and real person fiction if you don’t like that, please don’t read! also the gif isn’t mine! all credit to the fantastic gif-maker!

prompt: choose an official team/player goal song and make something using that goal song // found here

He had wanted the proposal to be perfect. The moment he knew you were the one he wanted to marry, he asked your best friend for everything you had ever mentioned about a proposal. You were only going to get proposed to once, and he wanted to make sure it was perfect.

Secluded, yet meaningful, place? Check.

Get it on camera? Check.

Cute outfit with nails done? Check.

But a global pandemic was not in his plan. Not even close.

When the season had got put on pause, his parents suggested he come back to St. Louis to spend time with them, since Brady was coming back too. He was hesitant to go considering you were still going into the office for an essential project, but you assured him that he should go spend time with his family. He didn't get to see them a lot, and you knew he missed them. When he packed, he made sure to take the little velvet box and shove it between his socks. He didn't want to risk you finding it while he was away.

A couple weeks later, after many FaceTimes and virtual date nights, you finished your project and work gave you the all clear to work from home. A two week quarantine and one plane ride later, you had joined him in St. Louis. You were still working, but working from the Tkachuk's home and with your boyfriend was much better than working alone in your shared apartment.

Since you had joined the family, Taryn had noticed her oldest brother was a little jumpier than usual. Before, he was more carefree, aside from the occasional moping, and he definitely wasn't making sure his bedroom door was closed whenever he went in there alone. But now? It seemed odd. He wasn't moping, but he had those moments when he seemed too sad for it just to be about the season.

So after Matthew's third sigh and retreat to his room while you were working, she decided it was time for an intervention. She quietly followed him to his room, where he methodically closed it and made sure it clicked.

***

It was the second time today Matthew had looked at the box today. He knew he was torturing himself, opening the box to look at the ring he had picked out. It wasn't too flashy, something just your style. He remembered the way his heart jumped when he saw it in the store. It instantly reminded him of you and he just knew it was the one. It was like he couldn't help himself, looking at the box another time.

You could’ve already been engaged by now. The two of you could’ve been looking at venues and dates and even if he said he never really cared about that stuff… he couldn’t help but long for those things, because it would mean it was real. The two of you would be getting married, and he’d get to be your husband.

But instead of being engaged, he’d just have to stare at the ring and wish he could make this all go away so he could give you the proposal you’ve always wanted. He relived the time he knew you were the one, anything to remind him that you wouldn’t mind waiting until this pandemic was over to get engaged.

It was a home game against the Senators. Nothing speculator, just a regular game that they unfortunately lost in OT. Because it was against the Sens, and because he scored the only goal of the game, Matt knew he’d be chosen for press. He was tired, and there was nothing he wanted more than to see his family who had made the trek out to Calgary to see the boys play. He left the dressing room with his tie a little crumpled from the rush to meet them.

He turned the corner to see Taryn sitting on a bench, with Brady standing with his parents, probably cracking a joke based on the way his mom was playfully glaring at Brady while his dad laughed loudly. His mood picked up a little after the interview and the loss.

As he got closer, he realized that Taryn wasn’t sitting alone. You were sitting there, your head resting against her shoulder, your eyes slightly closed. He stopped in his tracks when he saw your work bag sitting in your lap and your suitcase beside you. Your flight was supposed to get in around 8 and he had insisted that you just meet him at home after the game. This work trip had been horrible, your co-worker throwing you under the bus in a meeting with executives on a project he didn’t work on. You deserved to be relaxing with a glass of wine in the sanctity of your shared apartment. But you were here, at his game, straight from the airport, laughing with his family despite your drooping eyes. He had never felt more loved than he did right there.

A knock startled him from his thoughts.

“Uhh... just a second!” He snapped the ring box shut and quickly stood up from the bed to shove it in his drawer. Taryn popped her head in to see him very suspiciously standing in front of his dresser.

“It’s just me, dork. What are you doing?” She entered his room, making herself comfy on his bed. He scoffed, and closed the door behind his sister.

“I’m not doing anything. What are you doing?” He went back to standing by the dresser and Taryn rolled her eyes.

“That’s exactly it, you’re doing nothing. Normally, when we’re all home you’re like bouncing off the walls. Like I know this time it’s different but Y/n came too so I thought… I don’t know, you just seem off but Brady didn’t think so and I didn’t want to worry Mom… so like, what’s going on? Is everything okay? Are you and Y/n fighting?”

His eyes bugged out and Taryn would have laughed if she wasn’t so serious. “What no! We’re fine! We’re fine, why-why would you say that?”

“You’ve been quiet Matt. You’re never quiet, especially when Brady’s home with us.” He rolled his eyes and she huffed at her older brother. “You know it’s true! So... what’s going on?” He sighed and turned to find the box from the drawer. He looked down at the velvet in his hands as he sat on the edge of the bed. Taryn moved to be sitting beside him and gasped quietly.

“Is that...?”

“Yeah. I was going to...you know, before the world went to shit. I had it all planned out too. The weather was getting warmer and there’s this hiking trail we like in Banff, it’s only like an hour drive. There’s this perfect spot where I could prop my phone up so I could get it on camera, just like they wanted. But now... I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

“Do you still want to, you know, propose?”

“’Course I do. Honestly, I want nothing more. But, they deserve it to be perfect, you know? And like, I don’t know how I could surprise them here, because we’ve been chilling in the same sweatpants for the past week! Asking them to get dressed up would seem suspicious and I want it to be a surprise,”

“Could… could I help you? I might have an idea…” She grinned towards her brother, his eyes brightening at the idea of marrying you.

***

“Y/N, do you want to do a TikTok with me?” She called to you from across the Tkachuk’s backyard. Taryn must’ve been feeling the quarantine because yesterday the two of you did your nails together, which prompted you to, for once, put on a pair of pants that weren’t Matty’s sweatpants and do your hair, so you had no problem setting down your book and hopping up from your seat to join her. She squealed and you laughed as you joined her.

“It’s so easy! I promise! So, it’s to a remix of Taylor Swift’s ‘Love Story’ and the only set in stone parts are that you actually kneel when she says ‘knelt to the ground’ and then the camera will start to pull away and then you just freestyle! We can do a couple practice ones before we film it for real, if you want?”

“Yes, please, you have severely overestimated my dancing skills,” you laughed. Right at that moment, Matthew came out of the house with a Bud Light in his hand. He placed it on the edge of the firepit before walking over to you.

“What’s got you all cracked up?” He pressed a kiss to your cheek.

“Taryn thinks I’m a good enough dancer to film this TikTok on my first try,” He grinned at you.

“A TikTok you say? Can I do it too? If you can do it surely it’s easy enough for me,” You gave him a playful eye roll and laughed.

“How bored are you to want to film a TikTok?”

“I want to spend time with my girlfriend, is that a crime?” He smirked and you cracked a smile.

Taryn spoke up. “Hey no, this would be perfect! I need to move the camera away from you when you’re dancing anyways, and this way you won’t be alone. And you’ll get Matt’s dancing on camera for future blackmail!” You laughed at her comment and slugged him lightly in the arm.

“Game on, we’ll see who's the better dancer after this,” He just laughed and then told you to tell what the heck he was doing for this dance. After a while, the two of you were ready to film.

Taryn got behind her phone and started the music. You got into position and bumped Matthew’s hip before facing the camera.

Is this in my head, I don’t know what to think. He knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring and said

You knelt down and pretended to open a ring box, while Matthew pulled out the box he’d been hiding for six months.

Marry me Juliet, you’ll never have to be alone

You started to dance as Taryn pulled the camera away from the both of you. Lost in the music, you didn’t seem to notice that Matthew was still on one knee, an adoring smile on his face.

“Y/n,”

I love you and that’s all I really know

You stopped dancing and glanced to your side. “Oh my god,” Your hands flew to cover your mouth as you saw Matt still on one knee, but with a black box in his hands. “Are you joking?”

“Not joking, baby, I promise.” He opened the box to reveal the most beautiful ring you had ever seen. It was classy, with just enough bling to catch your eye and go with the rest of your jewelry. Your eyes filled with tears as he started to speak.

“Y/n, you are the best person I have ever met. I never thought someone would be willing to put up with me, not with my job and the media and how I play my game, but then I met you, and it’s like the whole world shifted. I have fallen more in love with you every day, even the past few days when we do the same thing every day. I love you so much, babe, and all I want is to keep being your person. I know my job means I’ll have to leave sometimes, but with me, with this, I promise you’ll never be alone. I want to be your husband and I want us to have little mini-us’s running around, well really mini-you’s but with my hair, because let’s face it, they aren’t escaping the curls,” You let out a teary laugh, and you could see his shoulder visibly relax a little. “When I look to my future, all I see is you. You are my future. And I know this isn’t perfect or even ideal but..”

“No, no, Matty, it’s perfect.” You whispered, your eyes full of tears. “It’s perfect because it’s with you.”

His grin widened if that was possible, and he looked down at the box in his hands before up to you. “If that’s the case, then Y/n, will you make me the happiest man on Earth and marry me?”

“Yes! Yes, yes, of course,” You bent down to kiss him, leaving your tears on his cheek when you pulled away. He slipped the ring onto your finger and swept you into a bear hug. “Oh my gosh, we’re going to get married!”

“It’s you and me, baby, for the rest of our lives.” He tried to smirk, but it didn’t last long, a smile covering it as the euphoria overcame him.

“Okay, okay, show me the ring!! Matthew didn’t tell me he was proposing!” Chantel came out in the backyard with a bright grin on her face. You couldn’t contain the smile on your face and the two of you admired the ring together.

“I didn’t tell Dad either, don’t get offended,” Matthew said, coming over to meet the both of you.

“Oh, you liar! You totally called me and asked me for advice.” Keith chimed in with a laugh. “Granted, you never told me you were going to do it today… but I’m happy for you kids.”

“I didn’t think he’d ever get the guts to propose, sorry for the wait Y/n,” Brady chirped, earning a whack from his mother.

“I don’t mind, he’s worth the wait.” You looked to your fiancé, only to find him already looking at you, his blue eyes gleaming full of warmth. “So worth the wait.”

let me know what you think! thanks for reading!

#hockeychallengemusic #matthew tkachuk #matthew tkachuk imagine #nhl imagine #matthew tkachuk fic #nhl fic #calgary flames imagine #nhl x reader #hockey imagine #abby writes #again im so so late but better late than never i guess #also i wanted to do this idea justice i thought it was so cute

279 notes · View notes

whatareyousearchingfordean · 4 years ago

Text

Happiness Continues

Part 12: Home

Summary: Jensen and Y/n are adjusting to being new parents when an unexpected visitor turns everything upside down.

Pairing: Jensen Ackles x Plus Size Reader

Word Count: 3.9K+

Warnings: Language, mentions of postpartum struggles, home invasion, attempted kidnapping

Author’s Note: Thank you all for the endless love, my girls who are always there to cheer me on, and my amazing beta @emoryhemsworth xoxo Alex

Catch up with the series masterlist and then check out Alexandra’s Library for more by yours truly!

4 Weeks Later

Steam billowed up from the mug that sat on the counter. Y/n dipped the teas bags in and out of the boiling water, letting the flavor steep out. Once she was satisfied that it had been long enough since she’d initially dropped the bags in, the mother pulled the soaking pouch from the mug, squeezing the excess water from them into the sink. She pulled open the tabs of the nursing bra she was wearing and stuck one bag into each cup, allowing the warm, humid, heat to surround her swollen nipples.

“Every time I walk into this room you are doing something strange in our kitchen.” Jensen’s voice had her popping her head up, a soft smile on her face. Her husband was cradling their son in the crook of his arm, the infant cooing as he looked up at his father.

“I looked it up online; it’s supposed to help with pain,” the noise that fell from her mouth was almost a whine… almost.

“Have you talked to the doctor about it?”

“Yeah, it’s likely he’s just cluster feeding because he’s going through his first growth spurt. It should taper off in a few days, but for now, he’s attached to my fucking breasts, so they are not having a good time.” Y/n picked up her mug and headed into the living room to plop down on the couch.

It was no secret that parents, especially new parents, tended not to get much sleep, but nothing had prepared her for this level of exhaustion. Since birth, Y/n felt like she didn’t get any time to herself. She was a walking milk machine with her body attempting to heal at the same time, and more than once, she found herself in tears out of pure frustration. Jensen had been wonderful, of course, and having Donna around during that first week was a godsend, but they could only do so much, especially now that he was cluster feeding. The fact that Ezra was even letting Jensen hold him at the moment was something of a miracle. She was hoping the tea might help her sleep a tad more soundly, something she had been struggling with since her son was born, her body hyper-aware of everything happening around her, but she had to be careful and watch how it affected the baby. The tip about the tea bags on her sore nipples was a lucky bonus.

Jensen followed her to the couch, sitting beside her as their son babbled away in his arms. The new mother couldn’t even stop herself, her attention immediately on Ezra. She smiled brightly down at him, using her free hand to wipe away the flyaway hairs at the crown of his head. Her husband watched the exchange, an equally wide grin on his face.

“He’s a growing boy, that’s for sure,” Jensen agreed, watching his wife with an amused smile.

“Yeah, well, I wish he would stop.”

“Don’t all parents wish that?” He sat back in his seat, laying out Ezra along the length of his lap. The little boy peered up at his parents, his chubby legs and arms thrashing about.

“I don’t know,” she admitted, her voice high as she played with the giggling baby during their conversation. Y/n continued to make faces at the smiling baby as she spoke, her attention divided between the men in her life. “I just know it makes me feel old.”

“It makes you feel old?” He scoffed out a laugh at her comment.

“You know what I mean. He’s already growing out of outfits. I blame you and your damned height for that.”

“Oh, as if height doesn’t run on your side of the family,” Jensen pursed his lips and she laughed at him.

“Fine, you’ve got me on that one. I’ll just blame my dad.” She turned her attention from the infant, whose eyes had begun to grow heavy, a beaming smile on her face as she looked at her husband.

“Sounds good to me,” he smiled back at her, leaning in to peck her lips. “I’m going to see if he’ll let me rock him.”

“Okay, I’ll see you in bed.” Y/n watched as Jensen shifted Ezra back into his arms so he could stand. He turned to her as he got to his feet, the tall Texan bouncing the infant in place as he spoke.

“It’s seven-thirty.”

“Yeah, so I’ll see you in bed,” she repeated with a pat to his behind as she stood along with him. Jensen shook his head as he headed off, leaving her to get ready for the night with a smile on both their faces.

****

The cries ringing through the house grew insistent, the pitch rising fast through the baby monitor before she was jolted awake. Her body jumped from the bed on instinct, startling the sleeping man next to her.

“Again?” He husked, his voice like gravel as he didn’t bother to open his eyes, but he recognized the sound filling the bedroom. Y/n wiped her hand over her face, rubbing her knuckles into her tired and sore eyes.

“Yeah, it’s the damn cluster feeding,” she replied as she tossed the covers from her body. Jensen moved to get up from the bed at the same time, but she gently urged him back against the mattress. “I’ve got him.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, unless you want to breastfeed him.” It was supposed to be a joke, but she was too exhausted to attempt to hide the aggravation behind her statement. Her adamance about avoiding a bottle had turned into Ezra refusing them, which meant that she and her nipples got no breaks. Not to mention if they wanted to break the cluster feeding, baby-to-breast was the quickest way.

A wide yawn broke across her face as she fetched her robe, slipped it on, and headed to the nursery. She let her muscle memory guide her body through the house, her eyes still struggling to open fully as she shuffled across the floor. The fatigue in every cell of her body was fighting against being awake again.

Y/n pushed open the door with another yawn, her eyes on the crib as she entered. Between the cries, the white noise machine, and the lethargy, her brain didn’t process that something was off until it was too late.

“Hello, Y/n.” Y/n whipped around, her breath catching in her throat at the sight in front of her. Seated in the glider in the corner of the nursery was Chandler, her son wailing away in his arms as the man rocked the chair back and forth. Y/n opened her mouth to talk, but for once she was truly speechless. Adrenaline was now coursing through her blood, the only thought in her head on getting her son away from him.

“There’s no way...” When she finally willed away the lump in her throat, the words slipped past her lips, cracked with fear. Chandler’s menacing grin somehow grew wider on his round face as she spoke.

“Where there is a will, there is a way,” Chandler chuckled to himself as if he’d cracked some code and not just uttered one of the most common idioms in the English language. “See, I overestimated your security system at first. It messed up my whole plan, and I had to improvise. No worries though, he will not notice anything.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Her mind was reeling. Part of her was attempting to assess the situation, looking for any way out, while the other half listened to the deranged words of a sick man, but it seemed Chandler was the priority. That is until he no longer had her son.

“He thought he was doing the right thing by changing out the system when in fact he just made my job of freeing you that much easier,” Chandler went on as if she hadn’t said anything. “Hooking everything up to the Internet just makes it easier to hack. Besides, I was already on your computer—”

“Wait, my computer?” Her voice broke through his rambling.

“I’ve been waiting for years now to save you, but I had to make sure you were safe in the meantime… so I have been keeping an eye on you,” Chandler explained to her, the nonchalance in his voice terrifying as her son continued to cry in the man’s arms.

“You cloned my computer.” The realization hit her like she had been slapped.

“More or less,” Chandler rolled his eyes at her statement. That action somehow irritated her more than the fact that he was holding Ezra hostage at the moment.

“You keep saying ‘save me.’ Save me from what?” At this point, Y/n was only trying to buy herself some time to come up with a plan of her own. Her eyes flickered around the room, landing on the baby monitor sitting high on the wall. The green light on the side of the camera was not shining, signaling that it had been turned off. Whether it was Jensen or Chandler who had done it, she couldn’t be sure. Both her and Jensen were guilty of shutting the device off in the past if their son was still fussy as someone was attending to him in the middle of the night. It was the only way they managed to get an inkling of sleep some nights. Now she was afraid that it could be her undoing.

“This obviously,” he indicated the child in his arms. The infant was still fussing, but his cries had grown softer in the mere minutes since she had walked into the room. “This cliché of a life you’ve gotten yourself into.”

“What if I told you I loved my life?”

“I sincerely doubt that.”

“You don’t even know me!” Y/n reared back at his observation, more than irritated that she had been dropped into the lunacy of this man’s head once again.

“I do know you!” Chandler yelled back, the roar in his voice startling the fussing baby and sending him into another frenzy of cries. He rose to his feet then, and she could now make out the holster on his hip. Y/n stepped back, the revelation of the possible escalation of the situation heavy on her shoulders. “I know you’re way too good just to be someone’s wife and mother!”

It took her a moment to find her voice again, the frightened woman shaking where she stood as she kept her eyes on her son. All she wanted was for him to put Ezra down, but she had to be careful how she went about it. There was no telling what might set him off next time.

“So what now?”

“We leave,” Chandler allowed the grin to return to his features, the triumph in his eyes not lost on Y/n. “You and me.”

Y/n bit down hard on the tip of her tongue, wanting to say anything but what she ended up saying next. “Okay.”

****

The faint sound of a distant shout and the continued muffled cries from across the house pulled Jensen back to consciousness. He blinked in the darkness, confusion taking over as he realized what he was hearing.

He rolled over in the bed, noticing Y/n was still up, making the cries of his son unusual. The still groggy man crawled across the bed and snatched the baby monitor off of the nightstand. He hit the power button, bringing the screen back to life in no time. As it adjusted to the darkness of the room, he could see where his wife stood near the doorway, but she wasn’t holding Ezra, and Jensen couldn’t see him in the crib. The scene perplexed his tired mind. That was until his wife’s voice came through the small monitor.

“So what now?”

“We leave.”

The sound of a second voice in the room had Jensen on his feet in an instant. He cursed under his breath as he ran back to his side of the bed and pulled his pistol out of the locked compartment at the bottom of his drawer where it had been waiting for this very moment. Somewhere deep down, he’d always suspected they hadn’t seen the last of the man that haunted his wife’s dreams. Though he’d hoped that it wouldn’t play out this way, he hadn’t disregarded any of the potential scenarios where Chandler may re-emerge.

Jensen expertly checked the magazine and chamber before flipping off the safety. He ripped his phone from the charger and dialed 9-1-1, putting it on speaker in front of the monitor before sprinting from the bedroom. His long legs brought him to the nursery in no time, his wife’s name on the tip of his tongue.

“Y/n!”

****

“Okay?”

“Yes, just—” The sound of her name had her spinning on her heel, her husband skidding to a stop behind her. His brow creased in the center of his forehead as they made eye contact before he lifted the gun in his hands. The glare that settled into his features as he took in the scene in front of him was downright terrifying to look at. “Jensen, no!”

“I would listen to her,” Chandler challenged, his actions mirroring that of the enraged husband and father. With the baby in his grip, he was at a disadvantage physically, but the reality was that meant he now held all the cards.

“Please?” Y/n put her hands up, one towards Jensen and one towards her stalker. Tears were streaming down her cheeks as she turned a pleading gaze on her husband. “Jensen put the gun down.”

“Y/n—”

“I’m leaving,” she hiccupped, hoping he would understand what she was doing, that every action from here on out was about making sure Ezra was safe. Most of all, she hoped Jensen knew that no matter what, she loved him. “Put it down.”

Jensen searched her face, his eyes scanning over every inch of her tear-stained features, searching for anything to hint she was lying to him, but the truth was she had every intention of going. If it meant Ezra was safe, she would leave and figure the rest out later. It was all she had right now. He nodded, his eyes glistening as he succumbed to the truth in her words. He clicked the safety back on and set it on the ground before kicking it away from him.

Y/n turned back to Chandler. “See, I’m coming with you, but you’ve got to put my son down. Please, just put him in the crib and I’ll go wherever you want.” The man eyed her before glancing at the crying infant. Carefully he placed Ezra into the crib, his eyes never leaving the couple as he did so. A shuddering breath escaped her chest as soon as her son was out of the line of fire.

“Go,” Chandler indicated out the door with his gun, the action causing Y/n to flinch, but she did as she was told. Jensen was forced to step back and watch as the woman he loved was carted off at gunpoint. Instinct was yelling at him to go after them, but one false move could mean he risks her life and he had their son to think about too, so instead, he let her go.

Y/n kept her head forward, blinking back the tears that were blurring her vision as she walked. The unknown laid out before her with every step she made, and it took everything in her to keep from breaking into hysterics. Her chest ached with every fractured breath she attempted, bordering on hyperventilating. Chandler grabbed her arm as she passed the door outside, tugging her back and out the door into the courtyard. She shivered in the night air, the stone wet and cold under her feet as he dragged her along. Her whole being wanted to protest, but there was no use anymore, she was at his mercy.

He continued to drag her down the driveway and into the road, his grip tightening on her bicep. Her feet shuffled beneath her, her toes going numb from the cold with every step. There was no telling where or how far he would take her. She only hoped someone would be able to find her, or one day she’d be able to find her way back.

Chandler walked up to a parked car sitting at the end of the street less than two houses down from her home. He guided her to the passenger seat, unlocking the door and tugging it open for her. Y/n let out a huff as he shoved her forward, biting her tongue to stop the comment she wanted to spit at him. She turned her back on him before she got in, her eyes going straight to his hands and the gun where he was flipping off the safety. The once irritated woman saw his guard down as her opportunity to run, her stomach now in her throat. It was now or never.

The woman used this momentary distraction to disarm him, the gun skidding against the asphalt and behind the car. She lunged for the device as he howled from the pain she inflicted to his wrist, picking up the pistol in trembling hands and bolting across the street. Temporarily dazed, Chandler unintentionally gave her a head start before chasing after, anger enticing his actions. His hand reached out just as she got to her feet, gun in hand, his fingers gripping a sliver of the tie of her robe to tug her backward, making Y/n lose her footing. Her body tumbled to the ground, the wet concrete slicing up the exposed skin of her extremities.

“Stop!” She screamed as she hastily rolled onto her back, the gun aimed at his head as he loomed over her. Her heavy breaths fanned into the night sky in a plume of white mist as she laid out on her back in the middle of the street.

“Ha, you won’t do it,” he snarled, taking in the way the adrenaline and cold had her whole body shaking.

“Try me,” she growled back, refusing to give him the satisfaction of hearing her break yet again. His eyes narrowed as he contemplated whether or not she was capable, but Y/n held her ground, refusing to move first. The sound of police sirens hit before the blue and red flashing lights began to bounce off the nearby houses. Y/n let out a breath as a police car skidded to a stop just in front of them, the headlights bathing the two in blinding light.

“Drop your weapon!” She heard the shouts coming at her, but she wasn’t ready to give in. More than anything she wanted to shoot him, for the months of worry and stress to be over once and for all, but she knew deep down that it was over. Y/n put her hands up in defense, dropping the clip from the gun before setting it down slowly and pushing it out of her reach.

Then everything happened in a blurred mess. She was on her stomach, her hands being pulled behind her back and secured into metal cuffs before the officer brought her to her feet. It was now that she finally let the floodgates open, every emotion hitting her at once and racking her body with sobs. The cops must have thought she was crazy, but she honestly didn’t care.

“Shit, Y/n!” Jensen’s voice had her popping her head up. He was jogging down the street towards her in just his boxers and a robe. The cop turned on him as he approached, stopping in his path.

“Sir, please, you’re gonna have to stand back.” The cop grabbed him by his shoulders as Jensen continued to try and pass him.

“The hell I am! You have my wife in handcuffs!” Jensen barked as he knocked the hands of the cops away from his body.

“This is your wife?”

“Yes, now will you tell me why she’s being detained?” Jensen kept trying to peek over the cop’s shoulder, trying to meet his wife’s eye as she continued to sob. The sight hurt worse than watching her walk out the door. After everything she’d been through, now this, and he couldn’t even be there to hold her.

“She was pointing a gun at this man when we pulled up,” the police officer explained.

“Maybe because he was trying to kidnap her!”

“Sir, please, it's just procedure. Let us take both your statements and we can go from there,” he assured Jensen.

“Can I at least see her?” The annoyance was heavy in his words. The cop nodded and Jensen didn’t think twice before rushing to her side. He pulled her body into his arms, cradling her head against his chest as he began to cry with her. “Don’t you ever do anything like that to me again.”

“I’m sorry, I had to for Ezra,” she wept, her inability to hold him as well making everything worse. Jensen sighed, his whole body going slack when her words registered in his head.

“Shhh, I know, I know. I just—I can’t lose you.” He kissed the crown of her head, one hand moving to rub up and down her back as he continued to try and soothe her.

The police officer returned with the gun now in an evidence bag. Y/n couldn’t believe what was happening. She felt like she was watching someone else’s life through their eyes and not her own. It was all so surreal. The officer took Jensen’s statement before she insisted he go back to the house. He didn’t want to go, but he’d been gone long enough, the baby monitor in his pocket not sufficient for anything longer than he had been away. He reluctantly left her in custody, placing one last kiss on her forehead before he returned to their son.

Once the paramedics arrived on the scene a few minutes later, the cops released her, Y/n’s statement, and Chandler’s record enough to explain the scene they had arrived at. She didn’t want to let the medics clean her wounds, her mind focusing only on returning home, but she eventually relented that it was the best course of action. The second they cleared her, Y/n was on her feet, running back to her house as if her life depended on it because honestly, she felt like it did.

Jensen was waiting in the kitchen, attempting to feed a fighting Ezra a bottle. He turned when he heard the door opening, relief washing over him that she was back to him. The still shaking woman ran to her family, allowing her husband to properly wrap her in his arms as she held both of her men against her chest. Her face was shoved into his robe on his shoulder as she let the floodgates open, soaking the fabric in her tears. Jensen shushed her through the release, her body shaking as it came down from the high of everything that had happened. There was no stopping the trauma the night had inflicted upon her, no matter how much she tried.

So she chose instead to let it out. At the end of it all, Y/n would push it all aside and move forward because she refused to let the experience control her any longer. All that mattered was continuing to build and nurture the family that she and Jensen had started. It wouldn’t be easy, but time would heal the wounds if she worked through them now, and her promise to the guys in her life was to figure it out. Her promise was one of a future filled with nothing but continued happiness.

Epilogue

Forevers: @22sarah08 @akshi8278 @anathewierdo3467 @atc74 @awesome-badass-cafeteria-sauce @briagallen @callmekda @dawnie1988 @deandreamernp @deanwanddamons @ellewritesfix05 @emoryhemsworth @foxyjwls007 @hobby27 @janicho88 @jensengirl83 @katehuntington @lyarr24 @malfoysqueen14 @miss-nerd95 @mrsjenniferwinchester @msmarvelouswinchester @polina-93 @sleepylunarwolf @stiles-stilinski-24-dylan @smol-and-grumpy @suckmyapplejacks @superfanficnatural @supraveng @talesmaniac89 @tatted-trina6 @thoughts-and-funnies @tranquility-or-chaos @waywardbeanie @winchest09

Happiness Continues: @afangirlreacts @anaelsbrunette @ashleyrose0117 @austin-winchester67 @cno92 @deanbowlegsackles @deangirl93 @deans-baby-momma @death-unbecomes-you @dvnmbabe @fangirl199813 @harryhook-lover @hoboal87 @itsdesiree86 @jbsgirl4eber11 @let-me-luve-you @linki-locks11 @lunarmoon8 @neverland14353 @onethirstyunicorn @parinarain @rebeccathefangirl @rebelemilu @smoothdogsgirl @spnfamily-j2 @squirrelnotsam @stoneyggirl @supernatural3002 @traceyaudette @winchestergirl82 @winqhster @zpandaqueen

If your username is crossed out, Tumblr will not let me tag you. Sorry!

182 notes · View notes

something-tofightfor · 4 years ago

Text

Magnetic: Chapter 1 - Home

Pairing: None, yet. (female reader insert; no ‘Y/N’)

Word count: 7,097

Rating: I think you swear a couple times. There’s some blood mentioned. Grogu recalls some past trauma.

Summary: A disappearance. A revelation. An offer. A decision. A discovery. They’re all connected - and everything’s moving quickly.

Author’s note:

Hello, friends! Second part for the week. I’m trying to figure out what the best posting schedule will be moving forward, and I’m thinking once a week, maybe Thursday or Friday night (EST)? We’ll see.

Please make sure you read the previous 2 pieces of this story before this one (top of my Masterlist), or it won’t make much sense. Nothing much ese to say here except that if you want to be tagged, please let me know and I can add you before the next chapter. Enjoy.

(banner created by @malionnes)

Grogu! You called out for him, not taking the time to consider what to call him, his name your only thought. Come on, this isn’t funny anymore. It was the third time you couldn’t find the kid - but only the first that had been your fault to begin with - and this time, he’d been gone for hours. You’d noticed that he seemed off after your trip away from the Academy and into the market, but over the course of the following week, the kid had disappeared three separate times, striking fear deep into your heart each of them.

You’d found him the first time he left, sensing him by accident as you searched the lower level of the building, getting just a glimpse of his view, rocking back and forth in the hanging canopy of one of the freighter ships’ sleeping quarters. He’d been surprised to see you, but excited, too, babbling as he reached for you to lift him up and cradle him to your chest. The second time, one of the Masters found him based on a memory you recalled, urging him to check near a small pond at the edge of one of the fields nearby.

This time? You were determined to be the one to find him again, needing to be the one that got to Grogu first and bringing him back into the warmth and security of the Academy. Why? Why does it need to be me?

You knew the planet was safe. You were sure that the area surrounding the Academy was even safer. You believed that the kid was more than capable of fending for himself if it really came down to it. But you also knew that he was still young, still got overwhelmed - and still overestimated his own capabilities. So you’d left the walls of the Academy and ventured outside, the hood on your cloak lifted to ward off as much of the rain as possible, and taken a seat in the center of the main courtyard, legs folded beneath you. Grogu. Kid, come on. Your eyes were closed as you searched for him, letting your mind wander and covering as much ground as possible.

All of the Masters were looking for him, but they - as well as you - also knew that after spending so many years closing himself off from the Force and the Jedi, he was adept at concealing himself when he wanted to. He has to want to come back. You’d said it to Master Skywalker, the man’s eyes wide and anxious as you told him that you’d only turned away from him for a few seconds to adjust his bedding, meaning to help the kid tidy his room before the two of you spent the night playing in one of the covered outdoor areas, using the time off from his lessons to practice focusing and just relax together. He wouldn’t go far. He wanted to be here in the first place, but he … You’d frowned, the same thought dawning on you and Skywalker at the same time. What if he doesn’t want to anymore? Meeting his clear, blue eyes, you both felt and saw the worry in them, knowing that it was a real possibility.

The man had sent you off to search for the kid, and you just hoped that something - anything was enough to get through to him. Even a single thought - a split second of connection - would help you locate him, but you didn’t know where to begin. The minutes passed and nothing happened aside from your cloak getting damper by the second, a chill settling into your body, fear creeping in along with the cold. You’d called on all of your training to focus on the kid, finding that while most Jedi looked at intense emotions being detrimental, they helped you, enabling you to isolate specific individuals based on what you knew that they felt. But there was nothing - no thoughts of frogs or hyperspace, no thoughts of speeders or a tiny hammock. No thoughts of - “Oh, kid.” You gritted your teeth, using one hand to swipe at your face and push your dripping hair away from your eyes. “I’m sorry, but I have to.”

You closed your eyes again and sighed, settling onto the ground and placing your palms against the earth, swallowing hard. This has to work. Concentrating with all your energy, you thought of the Mandalorian; pictured his stance, allowing yourself to get lost in the memories you’d seen through Grogu’s eyes. A man standing at the foot of his carriage, one gloved finger extended, almost in disbelief. You saw him fearlessly facing off against a giant beast - a Mudhorn, your memory supplied for you. The Mandalorian watching from a short distance away as you - as Grogu - ran through the tall grass, chasing something. Countless memories were in your mind and you flipped through them, trying to isolate one thing from each; the thing that was clearest and most memorable - the most important pieces of the Mandalorian Grogu carried with him. The armor. The way it felt to be held against his broad chest, one arm tucked beneath you, the other stretched across your body, keeping you from bouncing too much as he strode across the ground. The way he handled the pulse rifle and the blaster as if they were weightless, extensions of himself. A vague read on his thoughts time and time again - keep him safe the repeated mantra - something that Grogu had gotten used to. His posture in the pilot’s seat. His stubborn nature.

You felt like you knew the man even though you’d never met him, and by the time you got to the last thing in your arsenal - arguably the most important one - you were exhausted, letting the emotion wash over you along with the rain. Grogu. Grogu. A quiet, surprised laugh. Grogu. It was as if the man was speaking directly into your ear - the sound of his voice was clear - but filtered - in your head, and not a moment later, you felt a quiet coo and a slight rocking sensation as the kid revealed himself to you. Thank the Maker.

You were on your feet as soon as you felt it, body turned toward the small stand of trees off in the distance. I’m coming, kid. Please don’t run. I’m coming. Tell me more about your dad. Every step you took was punctuated with another memory fragment, but these weren’t your doing - they were the child’s.

Some of them you’d seen before, others were entirely new - looking up at the man from between a pair of boots planted firmly on the ground of some desert, the man’s quiet breathing reaching your ears even though you couldn’t see anything in the dark as he slept next to you. You reached the trees as you saw the Mandalorian’s excitement at Grogu using the Force on command for the first time - the small metallic sphere slowly gliding through the air and out of the man’s hands. The trees. That’s why he…

The memories kept coming, and by the time you laid eyes on the kid, standing atop a fallen log, his too-big hood pulled up and over his ears and most of his face, eyes closed, you were nearly overwhelmed by the emotion you felt for the beskar-clad man. They’re not my feelings though. This is how much he … They’re never going to … Luke’s never going to get him to … “Hey, kid.” You croaked out the words, pushing your own hood back and away from your face to cross the small clearing. “You scared me.” Reaching him, you dropped down to one knee, the damp from the ground immediately soaking through the material of your pants. “Scared all of us.” But instead of opening his eyes or replying, you were hit with another memory, and you couldn’t keep from clasping a hand over your mouth, tears leaking from the corner of your eyes as the kid’s emotions flipped to anguish.

You were looking down at the man as he stood next to a woman, distance between you growing by the second, and you realized that it had been the moment Grogu was abducted. He was right there. So close. You had the thought before you could stop it, a gasp leaving your lips as the memory replayed, and you focused on the Mandalorian’s posture, everything about it screaming defeat. “He didn’t give up on you kiddo. He was just a few seconds too late. He came and got you as soon as he could.”

You spoke the words out loud, too tired to think them. I know. Despite your fatigue, you felt relief as the kid replied, your eyes opening. Grogu’s eyes were open, too, and even though it could have been the rain that caused the dampness at the corners of them, you knew it wasn’t. Grogu blinked at you twice, and then his mouth opened in a quiet cry. You finally reached for him, pulling him tightly to your chest and resting your cheek against the top of his head as his fingers clutched the soaked edges of your cloak.

“You miss him so much, kid. I know. I can feel it. You’re like me, hmm? Can’t turn it off, can’t be …” Can’t be what they expect you to be to rise in the ranks and become … “It’s gonna be alright, little guy. But we have to get back. We have to get out of this rain or we’re both going to get really sick.” You carefully stood, relaxing your hold on him slightly, and after a few seconds, Grogu looked up at you, his expression unreadable. “Gotta get you into some dry robes, right? Find something warm to -” Home. The force that the thought erupted with was enough to make you stumble, and you inhaled sharply, biting down on the inside of your lip. Home.

Even though Grogu didn’t fight you as you made your way back to the Academy, you knew that that wasn’t what he meant - nor was it his preferred final destination.

---

A few days later, you were called into one of the conference chambers, the room well-lit, even though there was only one other person inside of it. “Master Sk-” The young man shook his head, closing his eyes.

“For right now, call me Luke. No need for any formality.” It was strange to you; you’d gotten accustomed to addressing him as Master during your training, and again when your paths crossed in the halls or open spaces. You knew he wasn’t as strict about his title as some of the others, but after everything he’d done, he deserved respect. “Are you feeling better?” What? “Our friend told me that you got sick while finding him the other day.”

“Oh.” You smiled, shrugging as you stopped a few feet away from the man, a small table between you. “Yeah, I feel better. Just the flu. I told the kid we’d both -”

“He’s fine. I’m not sure he can get sick.” You stopped, pressing your lips together. “Sit, please.” You did, noticing the tightness in Luke’s tone and finally looking closely at the man’s face. He’s worried. But what … “You’ve gotten close to Grogu since I brought him back.” It wasn’t a question and you just nodded, still eyeing Luke. “He’s very powerful. I’ve only seen anything like it once before, and that …” Luke looked down, taking a deep breath. “He’s made so much progress, and I think he …” The man trailed off, and you waited silently, hands folded on the table in front of you. Where is this going? “We were all very disappointed when you stopped your training.”

He met your eyes again, the bright blue full of honesty. “It was the best option. I can’t… No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t control the way I …” Luke’s lips twitched as you faltered, but it wasn’t unkind. “I’ll be much more helpful here, or in another city, on another planet as an instructor, it -”

“You were skilled with weapons. Quick on your feet.” Luke leaned back in his chair, and you nodded, unsure of where he was going. I must look like an idiot, just nodding. “But your true talent is seeing, right?”

“Yes.” You considered his words carefully. “I’m more comfortable with that. It’s hard, sometimes, because I can’t block it out, but it’s useful. And I know -”

“I watched you with your training blade.” He narrowed his eyes. “You held your own. Even in the beginning.” What is …

“I was older than …” You stumbled over your words. “I didn’t even come here until I … it’s easy to block attacks if I know that -”

“I know.” Luke glanced up. “You stopped your training right before you would have gone through the Gathering ceremony.” I did. I don’t need… didn’t need… “Why then?” He waited for your answer, and even though you took some time to think through it, you were honest when you spoke next. “There was no point in me going through with it if I wasn’t sure. I don’t need a lightsaber if I’m not going to …” You gestured at him with one hand. “I wasn’t going to go through the Trials. I stopped before it even got to that point.” You reached up, touching your temple. “I know I was on a different timeline than everyone because I was older when I found this place, but …”

“You would have passed them.” That’s also not a question. “And you know it, too. Emotions are part of what makes us who we are. It wasn’t always that way, and if they’re not carefully managed, things … get difficult.” He paused, closing his eyes. “But your lack of focus, the inability to tune things out? Your fear of what you can do? Those don’t have to be limitations.” He smiled again. “I’m training my sister, and there’s no way she’d be able to stop herself from feeling everything for the people she loves, too.” That wasn’t news to you, but you were surprised that he was speaking so openly with you about what he did on his own time. “Grogu is thriving here, at least when it comes to his abilities. He’s skilled. He’s capable. He’s grown a ton in the short time he’s been with us.” Luke paused, inhaling. “But he isn’t happy.”

“No, he isn’t.” Afraid that you’d spoken out of turn, you widened your eyes, ready to apologize.

“The other Masters and I have …” Luke’s shoulders slumped. “We’ve decided that it might be a good idea to return him to the Mandalorian for some time.” His words shocked you, but Luke didn’t give you time to think too deeply about them. “Bringing him here was the only option before. But now … things have settled with the Mandalorians somewhat, there’s very little in the galaxy that poses a threat to Grogu. Now that we know that he’s alive, and what he’s capable of, everything’s different.”

“I think he wants to go.” You whispered the words, staring at your hands on the table. “When I found him the other day, he was so sad, and he kept saying home, but it wasn’t the Academy he was talking about, he -”

“He wants his father. He wants his home.” Luke’s voice hitched. “I expected it, but not this soon.” I… oh. But what does that mean for me? “We’re not holding people here against their will, and that extends to everyone.” You looked back up, meeting his eyes again. “We’ve sent a message out. A transmission to Mandalore, which is the last known location of the bounty hunter Grogu was with.” So it’s happening then. “We don’t want to get his hopes up, because we don’t know how long it will take to get an answer, but…” Luke wet his lips. “There’s a good chance he’ll be on his way soon.”

You felt a multitude of emotions at the revelation, but the most overwhelming was relief. He’s going to be so happy. “Why are you telling me this?” You spoke quietly, still unsure. “I’m no one, I have no standing with you, I’m not even -”

“He likes you. Grogu … you’ve connected with him in a way that no one else here has been able to.” There was another pause. “If … when he goes, he’ll need someone to go with him.” What? “We can’t spare a Master, and none of the Knights would be suitable for the trip.” Are you saying … “He listens to you. He speaks to you. He shares things with you, much more than he does with anyone else.” Luke waited, but you didn’t say anything, still trying to process what you were hearing. “And to put it in very simple terms, Grogu is one of the most talented Force users I’ve ever met, and I’d feel better if he -”

“But I’m not a Jedi. I’m not ...I just … I was going to be a Consular, not a Guardian or a Sentinel … how can I …” Luke’s smile grew, and he leaned in, hands flat on the table. “I’d do anything to protect the kid, but reading thoughts is -”

“You know, I was almost 20 the first time I used a real lightsaber.” He shrugged. “And it wasn’t even one that I built.” What? “You’ve had experience with the practice blades. How long has it been since -”

“Over a year. Just before Grogu came here, I -” Your heart was pounding. “I haven’t even thought about …” There’s no way he’s suggesting that I head off with the little guy with a lightsaber in my hand to…

“Ilum is no longer safe to travel to for… us.” He stood, pushing away from the table, and circling around to your side, stopping next to you. “But we’ve been searching the galaxy, and … we’ve found kyber crystals in other locations. Many more of them.” More? “It’s too dangerous to take a group of younglings to search for their crystals as was done in the past, so we’ve brought them here, for when they’re ready to choose them.” There’s no kriffing way he’s going to … “I’d feel a lot better about you leaving with Grogu for a while if you had a lightsaber.”

“But I …” You shook your head back and forth. “Master Skyw - Luke, I’m not trained. I wouldn’t be trained later on, after we left. Grogu doesn’t use a… I wouldn’t be able to practice with anyone -”

“No, that’s not true.” Luke cocked his head to the side, and you caught one of his thoughts. She hasn’t said no. “The Mandalorian has a lightsaber, too.” What? A Mandalorian with a ... “It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen before, but…” Luke leaned in, only a foot or so away from you, his expression serious, but excitement in his eyes. “You’d get your practice in, if he agreed to it.” You thought for a few seconds, picturing the Mandalorian in your mind, and feeling yourself shiver at the thought of sparring with the massive man and his armor. At least I wouldn’t hurt him. “Think about it. It shouldn’t take long to build, you’ll just need the parts and the crystals.” Luke straightened up. “This is an offer not many get. I trust you. Grogu trusts you. Your use of the Force is unconventional but it’s… true. And? You care about him.” Luke sighed. “He’s special.” There was a long pause, and Luke met your gaze again, unblinking as he said your name. “You don’t have to hide it from me. Your time here isn’t … you’ve been thinking of what comes next for you.”

“I have.” You swallowed hard. “To be honest, if Grogu wasn’t here? I probably would have …” Already tried to find another job, at the very least.

“I know.” Luke watched you for a few seconds. “And speaking of him, can you keep this from him? Keep the kid from -”

“Yes.” You were certain of it, and keeping the secret for the few days it would likely take to hear back from the Mandalorian would easily be the most important thing you’d ever been tasked with. “I can. I will.” Especially if I’m building a… “Luke? Master Skywalker?” He hummed a reply, still watching you. “Can I let you know tonight? I want to think about …”

“Of course.” He gave you a nod, and you understood that the conversation was over. “Remember, Grogu can’t know about this. If the Mandalorian doesn’t return the message? If he can’t take some time to -” It was your turn to stand, shaking your head slowly back and forth as you faced the Jedi.

“He will. If what that man feels is anything like what the kid does?” You rolled your eyes, chewing on your lower lip. “He’s probably already answering your call.” ---

But as far as you knew, the Mandalorian didn’t respond that day. And by the time you sought Luke out again that night, your body coursing with adrenaline, it was a good thing that you hadn’t seen the kid, because you wouldn’t have been able to stop thinking about the man’s offer. My own lightsaber. I gave this up, I shouldn’t … But you knew Luke’s reputation, knew that the suggestion wasn’t a hasty one, and that his offer had likely come after discussing it with others of his rank. And that means that other people … they think I …

The doors slid open, and with a swish of robes, Luke gestured for you to come in. Am I really doing this? Am I … “You’ve made a decision?” He stood with his arms held behind his back, head cocked slightly to the side. “I can tell that -”

“I’m perfectly fine with …” You closed your eyes and took a breath. “I understood that when I chose to stop training, I wouldn’t ever be … I wouldn’t ever become like you. Like Master Ordo or Master Sirrah or any of the others. I’d stay right where I am. Attuned to the Force and able to help in some ways, but never … never have the rank or the reputation. Never be able to say that I was a Jedi. And that’s fine. I know now that my limitations are…” You trailed off. Stop rambling. “You took me in when no one else would and helped me understand what was happening with and to me, and I won’t ever forget that. I can’t ever repay you, and that’s why I wanted to stay here. To be… useful.” Luke nodded, but stayed quiet. “But I’d do anything to keep Grogu safe. And if me… not continuing my training, but moving forward with the -”

“You’re not making a lightsaber because you’re a Jedi, you’re making one because you need it to protect yourself and help to protect Grogu if necessary.” His tone wasn’t unkind, but it was forceful. “You won’t have rank. You won’t be a Knight. It’s rare, for non-Jedi to use them, but there are trillions of people in this galaxy, and it’s impossible that all of the blades of old are accounted for.” He shrugged. “It’s no different than using a vibroblade or a blaster. It’s just a weapon. A powerful, intimidating weapon, but ... “ He stepped closer to you, moving his gloved hand from behind his back and laying it on your shoulder. “One that you know how to wield. There are many people that won’t have ever seen them before, and that gives you another advantage.”

“And I’ll need all the advantages that I …” For the first time, you considered what you’d be agreeing to - traveling far from the Academy with Grogu, to a place that was likely inhospitable, deep in the throes of a power struggle, just to reunite him with a man that had his own concerns and responsibilities. “I’m ready. If you … I’ll do it. I’ll pick my crystals and try my best to build a … and I’ll take Grogu. If the Mandalorian returns your message, I’ll make sure he gets back to where he …” Oh, stars, what am I agreeing to?

“Let’s go.” Luke squeezed once, a smile overtaking his face before he pulled his hand away and stepped around you, heading back for the door. “I already knew you’d agree, but I had to hear you say it. We’ll go tonight, you and I, and start the process.” What? I wasn’t … “It doesn’t take long to complete your build, but the sooner you have it done, the sooner we can restart your training.”

“Who will I be -” He stopped as you turned toward him, his head angled to the right and the smile still on his face. “Me.”

---

The next few hours were a whirlwind. You’d had to travel away from the Academy with Luke in the darkness, side by side on speeders to get to the location of the kyber stash. After dismounting, you had no idea where on the planet you were, and you were almost convinced that Luke had complicated the journey, ensuring that you couldn’t ever reveal the location to anyone, even on accident. Smart. Dismounting, Luke led you toward the mouth of a cave set deep within a rocky outcrop, the moonlight helping to provide the only glimpses of your surroundings. “It doesn’t even feel like we’re still -”

“This place was chosen because it’s where we feel the Force the most strongly on this planet.” Luke was a few steps ahead of you, ducking slightly to enter the cave. “It’s isolated, but it’s safe. It’s nothing like the crystal caves on Ilum are, but it’s …” He sighed, reaching for the lamp that was attached to his belt. “There, they grow straight from the floors and walls. They call to you long before you even enter the main caverns. But there’s so much power in those caves that it’s overwhelming.” You saw the outline of his body as he lit the lamp, bathing the walls around you in a soft glow. “Someone like you there? Someone that already sees and feels more than the average being?” He laughed quietly, picking his way carefully through the dark. We’re going down. The path, we’re underground. “I would have liked to see that.”

The two of you walked in silence for a few minutes, Luke leading you through the twists and turns easily, though you stumbled a few times. “I’d get lost down here by myself.” You spoke quietly, doing your best to keep up. “I’m terrible with directions. Always have been.” But there’s something here, you realized, feeling your body relax the deeper into the cave you went. It’s like I should be here. “Are there caves on Mandalore? I -”

“I’m not sure.” Luke kept walking. “I’ve never been there, and there’s not much known about it. You’ll be one of the first people to see it after … everything that’s happened to it.” All of the fighting. The occupation. The destruction of … “Everything.” He stopped, and you did too, eyes focused on what was ahead. “We’re here.” Here? Where’s … “I won’t be going in with you. This isn’t my journey.”

“Where am -” But as your eyes adjusted, you saw a slightly darker area in the wall, and realized it was an opening. “What do I …”

“This isn’t a trial, remember that.” Luke took a deep breath. “But you’ll still need to … search for your crystal. I don’t know what you’ll see in there, if you’ll see anything. I don’t know how it’ll go. But I do know that you’ll know what to do when it’s time.” What is he even … “Here.” He handed you the lamp, passing the smooth metal handle into your hand without pause. “Take your time. Think it through.” You saw one of Luke’s eyebrows rise. “You’ll have this thing for the rest of your life.” Oh, fantastic. No pressure, right?

But you only nodded, thanking him quietly and stepping past the man, between the shadows and through the open space. I don’t even know what I’m looking for. You could feel the power of the place - a low, thrumming sensation that almost felt alive. He wasn’t kidding about this being a concentrated … damn. The deeper into the darkness you walked, the calmer you felt, and that worried you - slightly. “I’m walking into a damn cave in the middle of nowhere at midnight, I should be …” But your words trailed off as the pathway opened up ahead of you, a slight glow adding to the light of the lamp you held. What the …

Glancing up, you saw that you were in a large room, the ceiling high above your head. It wasn’t massive by any means, but it wasn’t small, and after only a few seconds, you set the lamp down, continuing to walk through the space. “This is beautiful,” you whispered, eyes moving over the walls. “I’ve never …” You knew from what Luke told you that most of the glittering spaces in the walls weren’t what you were looking for, but nonetheless you were drawn to them, fingers glancing over the rough and pointed edges, lips curving into a small smile. Closing your eyes, you tried to calm your mind, letting yourself relax, and again felt the pulse in the air, focusing on it. It’s stronger back there, in the… the corner.

Making your way toward the back wall of the room, you heard a crunch beneath your boots, looking down to see that there were more small crystals on the floor, shattering into glittering piles of glass that crumbled into the dirt floor as you stepped on them. Minerals, you realized. They wouldn’t store something so valuable on the ground, not … not when people are just wandering through here. It calmed you further, and by the time you reached the back wall, your mind was blank. Alright. Let’s do this. Taking a deep breath, you pressed both palms to the wall, unsure of what else you needed to do - or where to begin looking. The wall felt alive beneath your hands and you gasped, knees buckling slightly as you began to see images in your mind - men and women, glowing bursts of light, the darkness of space, littered with millions of glowing pinpricks of starlight, the same deep brown eyes from your dreams.

At that, you gasped, lowering yourself to the ground and dropping your chin to your chest, hands moving from the wall to the floor, fingers curling in the pebbled soil. I don’t know who you are. Why am I … The harder you tried to focus on the image of the man, the hazier it got, but the feelings that came with it became much more pronounced. Sadness. Despair. Regret. With a cry of frustration, you forced yourself to think of something else, letting out your held breath and then pressing your lips together to the point of pain. It’s not real. I’ve never seen … that’s not why I’m…

More time passed, your breathing evening out, mind returning to its blank state, and for the first time in more than a year, you didn’t try to keep from tapping into the Force, instead letting it in. This must be what Grogu felt when he went to Tython. You had the thought before you could stop it, and the kid’s face then filled your mind, your chest tightening as you thought of everything he’d been through - everything he’d likely still have to experience in his long, long life. I need to do this so he can go back to … You thought of the Mandalorian then, seeing the man from Grogu’s point of view; the sharp edges of the bottom of his helmet, one tiny, clawed hand resting against the smooth Beskar of his breastplate. “Alright, kid.” You let out another breath, nodding your head. “It’s time.”

Pushing the thoughts of the man and the child out of your head, you focused on what you were feeling, pushing out with your mind to see if anything pushed back. This is stupid, it’s a piece of … But instead of feeling nothing, you felt a slight spot of warmth; a pinprick of light shining in the darkness. Before you could completely focus on it, it was gone, replaced with another feeling - that of fear. Instead of the light from the cave or your lamp, when you opened your eyes in surprise, your mother was standing in front of you, one hand held over her mouth in shock as your younger sister clutched her hip, eyes wide in fear. It’s not … not possible.

You hadn’t seen your mother and sister in years, and at the sight you yelped, scrambling to your feet and holding your hands out in front of you. They haven’t aged. “M-mom?” Blinking, you looked down, head moving back and forth. “It’s ok, I’m not -”

“Dangerous.” You heard her voice clearly, the hiss at he end of it. “You are dangerous. To yourself, to us, to everyone here.” The words stung, and you shied away, never looking up from your sister. “Too dangerous.”

“No. I’m not. I wasn’t, I …” But you trailed off, focused on the little girl and the way she was looking at everything but you. “I didn’t mean to …” Your mother’s laugh cut through the air, sharper than any blade that existed, and you immediately went quiet, tears springing into your eyes.

“Hide it, girl. Hide it or get out.” She pointed, gesturing over your shoulder. “I didn’t raise a witch.” You were crying, the tears tracing lines down your dusty cheeks, but you couldn’t speak, instead staying on your feet, head whipping back and forth. No no no no, you just didn’t know, we didn’t understand, I’m not … “They’re all talking about you.” She spat the words, eyes narrowed. “Talking about my daughter, about me, about your father, asking if your sister can use magic too, asking if -”

“No!” The word erupted from your lips, stopping your mother’s speech. “I am not a witch. I am not dangerous.” You were still crying, but your voice was strong. “It’s not magic. It’s the Force, and it’s useful, it’s good.” You said her name, reaching out with one hand but the woman recoiled, pulling your sister with her. “I was barely an adult and you were more worried about …” Sniffling, you continued. “You made me think that I had to hide what I am, what I can do just to survive. But I didn’t. I don’t.” You straightened up, staring at the woman head on. “You were wrong. You didn’t know it, but you were… there was no reason to…” She’s already said this to me.

You widened your eyes as you remembered the day your mother had given you an ultimatum: hide your ability or get out. But it hadn’t really been an option, since you’d blown your cover - accidentally reading a boy’s mind and reacting, warning one of your town’s lawmen that he’d committed a crime and then honestly telling him how you’d known. Unsure of how to explain the way you’d come to know the information, you revealed more - other people’s thoughts, things they’d kept hidden, the lawman’s childhood best friend’s name - in an attempt to make them understand that it was real. But from that day, the entire town had avoided you, in turn, shunning the rest of your family as well. But it wasn’t my fault. You’d wished every day that you’d kept your mouth shut instead of trying to make them see, but the true end of your time at home had come just months later.

“I’m sorry.” You dropped to your knees, saying your sister’s name. “I was trying to help you, and I didn’t…” The two of you had been playing near the forest behind your home, the little girl skipping over the ground when she’d tripped, a short scream the only noise you’d heard. Without thought, you’d turned your attention to the girl, fear filling your heart as you saw her falling toward a large boulder, half buried in the ground. You didn’t know how you’d done it, but in the blink of an eye, she was frozen in midair, hands outstretched and the sound of her wail still carrying through the air. Stunned, you’d realized that you were holding her in place, one hand reaching out for her to keep her from hitting her head. “I couldn’t control it because I didn’t know what it was and I …” At the sound of your mother’s yell, your concentration had broken, your sister falling through the air, her temple glancing off the rock. Though it wasn’t as direct a hit as it would have been, there was still blood, and by the time the woman had made it to the two of you - your sister crying as she laid next to the rock, holding her bloodied head and you, exhausted and crumpled on the ground - the little girl could only say your name in response to being asked what happened. And that was it. They never … they didn’t want me because they … “We didn’t understand. But I wasn’t dangerous. I’d never hurt you. I’d never hurt anyone. I just needed to … needed to know what …”

You were crying again, eyes closed and your shoulders shaking. You hadn’t thought of the confrontation in years; it felt more and more unreal with each passing month away from the small town you’d grown up in, traveling off-planet and to a larger city as soon as you’d earned passage on a ship, finding ways to get information in each new place you went. You’d picked up a lot of skills in the months you’d traveled before you found anything close to information about people that could do what you did.

I wanted to go back. Wanted to tell you … Sniffling, you looked back up, the woman and child standing in front of you silently. “I can’t hide this. I shouldn’t hide this. People like me are the ones that protect … the Force is …” You took a deep breath, straightening your shoulders and meeting your mother’s eyes. “This is who I am, and it’s what I want.”

In the blink of an eye, the cave went dark again, the figures disappearing as fast as they’d shown up. Breaths quick, your jaw dropped, eyes darting around the darkened space until they found that same pinpoint of light - this time brighter. Silently, you got to your feet, still breathing heavily. What is … You reached the wall, kneeling down again and stretching your hand out until it touched stone. It’s in the wall, but it … Frowning, you moved your hand down, feeling the slight protrusion as your skin touched the point of light, the prismatic shape contrasting with the rest of the mostly smooth lower wall. This is it. You knew it as soon as your hand touched the crystal, heart rate increasing again as your thumb and first finger pinched it between them, tugging toward you. It didn’t move right away, but after a few moments you felt it wiggle, and then, after another pull it came free, dropping into the waiting palm of your other hand. “Oh.”

It was a pale golden orange, and although the light that guided you to it faded to a dull twinkle as soon as it was pulled free from the wall, it was the most beautiful thing you’d ever seen. It’s mine. You stared at it for a few seconds, trying to control your breathing, and then shut your eyes, fingers curling around the tiny thing. It chose me. Giving yourself a few seconds to collect your thoughts, you stood, walking back over to the lamp and leaning over to pick it up, the crystal still held loosely in your free hand.

You made your way back to the mouth of the cave, carefully walking through the narrow space, and were surprised to see Luke sitting on the ground with his eyes closed, back against the wall and his legs stretched out in front of him. “Mast - Luke?” You spoke softly but the man sprung to life, eyes flying open and his hand going to his waist. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up, but I -” You held out your hand, uncurling your fingers. “I think I found it.”

“I… you…” He shook his head, blowing a breath through his lips. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep, but it took so long, I couldn’t…” Took so long? I was only in there for … But even in the low light, you could see the shadow at his jaw. His beard is … that means… “Yeah. It’s been about twelve hours, you …”

“What?!” Shocked, you shook your head. “No way, I -” But Luke had never lied to you, and you knew that he wouldn’t have fallen asleep unless what he was saying was true. “I didn’t mean to take so long, I … I saw my -”

“No.” He shook his head quickly, eyes on your outstretched hand. “What you saw? What you said? That’s yours. I don’t need to know about it. The only thing that matters is that you …” He leaned closer, smiling. “You found the heart of your lightsaber.” Luke glanced up at you, his sandy hair falling over one eyebrow. “Let’s get back, if you can manage on the speeder, otherwise we’ll camp here today. Then you can begin building.”

“I’m good. We should get back, I wonder if Grogu’s….” You winced at the thought that he might have found an empty bed the previous night, wondering what he’d think - where he would think you were - and gestured past Luke. “Plus it’s got to be light out, if it’s been so long, so that will keep me awake. We should get back.” You closed your eyes. “Maybe the Mandalorian returned your message while we were gone. And if that’s the case then -”

“Then we need to hurry.” Luke smiled at you, giving you a single nod of his head. “I agree with you.” He didn’t say anything else; instead the man turned away from you and began heading back the way you’d come from the previous night, quickly disappearing into the darkness.

---

Tag list is OPEN. Please feel free to ask to be added!

Magnetic/Din Djarin Tag List:

@the-blind-assassin-12 @pheedraws @alraedesigns @malionnes @deceiverofgodss @thisisparadisemylove @siegfriedkingsglaive @valkblue @hehe-oof @jynrumbly

145 notes · View notes

sagamemes · 4 years ago

Text

critrole sentences — thursday by night, part one. here and below the cut, there’s 160+ lines of dialogue from with the first installment of the two-part show. themes in these sentences are supernatural, survival situations, danger and murder.some more casual things dropped in there to spice things up... but mostly it’s about weird or bad things happening. go wild with horror and supernatural and zombie aus. change names, pronouns, diction, anything to your liking. tw: death, violence, uh... consumption of humans, gore mentions.

❝ i'd say you're dead to me, but, you know. you're dead to everybody. ❞

❝ he's wearing my jacket. if you get blood on my jacket, i'm gonna be very upset. ❞

❝ they like disney films. cheese. amazon gift cards. ❞

❝ maybe they have some leftover chinese. ❞

❝ finish it. finish it, i dare you. ❞

❝ are you gonna suck [name]'s blood?! ❞

❝ if we break the magic, everything comes back to normal, that's how these things work. ❞

❝ it's probably just sean. he works so late. ❞

❝ we're gonna get the fuck out of here, and we're gonna take you with us. ❞

❝ look at my teeth! ❞

❝ come and sit down, have some tea, it's just what you need. ❞

❝ don't fucking jump out and scare me, i'm gonna fucking attack— ❞

❝ i never get this kind of positive feedback, i'm actually liking this. ❞

❝ he's your [petname/friend/brother], man. make sure he's gonna... ❞

❝ you're actually the person i'm most concerned about. ❞

❝ it doesn't look like you're in a lot of pain, i can't tell? ❞

❝ yeah, you guys are fucked. ❞

❝ it's the only door the keycard won't open. /i don't know why./ ❞

❝ don't think i don't have plans. ❞

❝ we would be doing so well if [name] was with us right now. he would know what to do. ❞

❝ this looks like a really crazy game that you're playing. ❞

❝ we don't tell [name]. ❞

❝ you're nothing without us! ❞

❝ i found a bunch of pencils. ❞

❝ somehow, he looks less creepy. ❞

❝ you're here to keep everybody safe. ❞

❝ i just kicked someone in the face and they laughed! ❞

❝ you wanna switch? i take the dagger, you take the giant sword? ❞

❝ whoever comes out, it's not gonna go well for that person. ❞

❝ i am not going to kill you. ❞

❝ /i/ am not going to kill you. ❞

❝ you really need to keep me safe so i can get us out of here. ❞

❝ i'm gonna be honest with you. not all of this was the plan. ❞

❝ how do i end? ❞

❝ do you usually touch things that look like they're gonna explode? ❞

❝ what did we learn about drinking the tea? ❞

❝ there are, for some strange reason, lucky charms in the cabinet. ❞

❝ those might also be worth some money. ❞

❝ you guys have your own language. ❞

❝ you and i will just get out of here. ❞

❝ i wanna eat [food/"food"] again. it was really good. ❞

❝ if you're really squeamish, it's gonna get a little weird. ❞

❝ how well and intimately do you know [name]? ...could you recognise him by just—parts? ❞

❝ you could've lied and i wouldn't have known that! ❞

❝ knock... seven times when the coast is clear. no one knocks seven times, that's ridiculous. ❞

❝ i gotta get to the office. ❞

❝ dad's coming back any second now. ❞

❝ evil people don't pinky-swear! evil people middle-finger-swear! ❞

❝ is anything safe? i mean, come on. ❞

❝ can i take my shirt off—? ❞

❝ what's the matter? you love lucky charms! ❞

❝ we're really thankful that you're here, but... ❞

❝ oh man, this is intense. i'm not even sure this feeling is a high, i don't know what this is. ❞

❝ i've been busy all week. ❞

❝ that's a very good keycard. ❞

❝ the wedding is probably not happening. ❞

❝ welcome to terrible decisions in my life. ❞

❝ she'll freak out. ❞

❝ i convinced [name] that i'm on her side. ❞

❝ i really like [name] but i kinda feel like we should kill her. ❞

❝ half the people you've talked about i've never heard of. ❞

❝ you stay close to me. ❞

❝ [name]'s a goner. ❞

❝ mushrooms have never sat well with me. ❞

❝ life needs things to live. ❞

❝ how cute is the rat? ❞

❝ there's still time. things can still get weird. ❞

❝ it's gonna get a little weird and i'm so sorry. ❞

❝ will it explode if i touch it? ❞

❝ do we get a refund on the wedding gift? ❞

❝ they're saying that if things go pear-shaped, they're gonna fuck us and take care of each other. ❞

❝ i could ask upstairs. ❞

❝ we're all kids when we're in the jaws of a werewolf. ❞

❝ i mean, if you're gonna be a big girl about it. ❞

❝ okay, if shit goes down, i'll help you. ❞

❝ this is not a riddle, i don't have time for that shit. ❞

❝ i feel funny. i'm really hungry. ❞

❝ i'm glad you asked though, it's very polite. ❞

❝ you don't wanna go upstairs. ❞

❝ only i know. ❞

❝ we can't tell [name], they were about to get married! ❞

❝ this doesn't make any sense, but so much sense, at the same time. ❞

❝ you have some weird people working here, you know that? ❞

❝ [softly] jazz hands. ❞

❝ i didn't seem like it was possible to win. ❞

❝ if things go pear-shaped, i got you. ❞

❝ can i just quickly admit that i don't know the layout of the building at all? ❞

❝ pick up the ashes! ❞

❝ have some tea. we'll explain everything. ❞

❝ something is wrong. ❞

❝ quick note: we could get out of here and leave everybody else. ❞

❝ oh my god, i killed someone? ❞

❝ something is wrong, including the giant sign on the wall painted in blood that says ‘ something is wrong ’. ❞

❝ this place is even more trashed than normal. ❞

❝ wow. you /love/ me. ❞

❝ is this one of those magician tricks where you're telling me to pull a certain card and i don't realise it? ❞

❝ i've been wanting to get you in one of my games for a while. ❞

❝ i love the impulse for violence. ❞

❝ evil people don't pinky-swear! ❞

❝ we are in a survival situation! ❞

❝ i ate a rat, baby! ❞

❝ don't burn the company down [when/while] i'm dead. ❞

❝ could somebody get me out of wherever the fuck it is that i am? ❞

❝ i know you're not supposed to be in this meeting. ❞

❝ how much you overestimate me. ❞

❝ you are super cute and all but could you get me out? ❞

❝ [name], this is messed up! [other person] and [other person] are dead! ❞

❝ [name]... [i/you] don't drink tea. ❞

❝ hey, that was a tough night, but i'm sorry, are you okay? ❞

❝ you're huge! you can like, deadlift a house, you can't bust down a door? ❞

❝ what the fuck happened to you?! ❞

❝ i feel like you haven't /earned/ that kind of information yet. ❞

❝ it doesn't taste right. ❞

❝ i hate to rush into anything too hastily. ❞

❝ oh, yeah, right, you're married. ❞

❝ i'm having fun in the most terrifying way possible. ❞

❝ now we all know how you feel about us. ❞

❝ i'm just terrified i'll still have a deadline if i ever get out of here. ❞

❝ stop sticking your fingers in your mouth! ❞

❝ i never know what you're talking about. ❞

❝ maybe there's a way to undo it. ❞

❝ i feel like this is real life. ❞

❝ [it/she] thinks you're the nicest, sweetest, most wonderful person. ❞

❝ we're gonna find a phone. ❞

❝ there's a lot of work to be done. ❞

❝ i'm judging you hard. real hard. ❞

❝ i don't know what any of these buttons do. ❞

❝ i don't see his head. ❞

❝ i think we're all fucked up. ❞

❝ we keep the lights on at this place. ❞

❝ we've never fucking drank tea. ❞

❝ you know me: this is not a riddle. ❞

❝ it was like breakfast pizza and... gyros. ❞

❝ i'm gonna club her in the back of the head, and then we're gonna run off like bandits. ❞

❝ don't judge. ❞

❝ sorry about the stabbing. ❞

❝ well, ask me no more questions and i'll tell you no more lies! ❞

❝ man, you're nervous! ❞

❝ the fuck are you talking about?! ❞

❝ it's not safe out there, shut the—! ❞

❝ [name], show me your hands! ❞

❝ you think this is magic? ❞

❝ i was born in a box. ❞

❝ this is like jumping out of an aeroplane without a parachute but knowing it's foam underneath. ❞

❝ we said that we would look after each other. ❞

❝ everybody's a kid when you're a vampire. ❞

❝ everyone here, i don't know why, kinda likes me. i'm an idiot, but they do. ❞

❝ [name] must be so worried. ❞

❝ i'm sorry i told you you look like shit right after everything happened. i didn't think about it. ❞

❝ i just punched through the floor. ❞

❝ it's not that cute. ❞

❝ you know, you should never meet your heroes. ❞

❝ they're kind of refreshing. don't judge, man. ❞

❝ you're my best friend. /they're/ my best friends, but they're /married/, they have to help each other. so you and me—... ❞

❝ everybody likes me here. ❞

❝ you keep me alive—we all live. ❞

❝ i ate a /man/. ❞

❝ of course! of course, i know what's going on; that's my job. i know what's going on. ❞

❝ i have a good mind for these things and you know what? my intuition is saying i go first. ❞

❝ i think that's a compliment. ❞

#what do you mean it's not october yet #* meme.#* sentences.#sentence starters #sentence meme #rp sentence starters #rp sentence meme

260 notes · View notes

wickedmilo · 4 years ago

Photo

ISN’T THIS NICE | MILO & DANI

PLACE: The Summers family home TIMING: 9:12 PM SUMMARY: Dani sees another chance to put Milo out of his misery, only the setting is far less than ideal WRITING PARTNER: @surmamort CONTENT WARNINGS: Mentions of addiction, alcoholism

Realistically Milo had always known that returning to his parents’ house was inevitable, something he needed to do. But returning so soon after his death felt stupid, and reckless. Not in the way he usually enjoyed. Two months had passed, and he was still being battered by calls, and texts from his mom, asking if he was okay, demanding he come home to his family, insisting he should be in a rehab facility, and not carelessly roaming the streets. If the Summers still hadn’t taken the hint, then him showing up on their doorstep was only going to complicate trying to cut them out of his life. That being said, he wanted his wardrobe, he wanted his comic books. He missed the things in his life that inherently made up Milo, and most of them were here. Night was only just beginning to fall, he had taken a chance in arriving early. It was very possible both of his parents were at the hospital, but also very possible they were already at home together. Without breaking into the garage to look for their cars, he really had no way of knowing. There were no lights shining from the front of the house, but the office they shared was towards the back of the building. If they were working from home, he was only going to find out when it was too late to turn back. He had tried to listen for heartbeats, breathing, shuffling papers, literally anything that might give away their presence. But apparently he had overestimated his abilities. It was why, after hesitating on the porch for more than a few minutes, he eventually let himself into the house.

Carefully closing the door to avoid making any sound, when he turned to face the hall it was dark, and shadowy. Despite that, he was able to see everything. Every shape, every detail, every pattern, every surface. It seemed each time he felt as though he might be getting used to what he was, the universe liked to send him pointed reminders of just how weird things had become. Eyeing the table beside the door, there were keys in the bowl, and the faint smell of his mom’s perfume seemed to linger in the air. It was accompanied by the scent of air fresheners, and the polish his dad used to clean the glass frames hanging above the staircase, proudly displaying his varying degrees. It was familiar, but overwhelmingly so. Like his entire childhood was being pressed down upon him, every smell, every item, every memory he had in this room… almost too much. Almost enough to make him turn around and leave. Glancing up towards the mezzanine level, he wondered if he would be able to make it to his bedroom without being seen. If he only focused on his stealth, if he tried to utilise his new agility, then it might be possible. He had done it before on many occasions. Hell, he had done it drunk. It didn’t feel like too much of a stretch, but so many of these expeditions required outright luck. And he wasn’t sure luck had been on his side, as of late.

Just get in, and get out, he thought, swiping a ten dollar bill and a handful of change from beside the key bowl, slipping them into his pocket as he made a hurried mental note of the items he wanted to take. Clothes, as many as he could fit, a handful of his favourite comics, if he could find his dad’s prescription book then a few blank prescriptions certainly wouldn’t hurt, and his laptop. In and out. You can do this. Swallowing the strange sense of anxiety in his chest, he tried not to think about how close he was to his mom, about how much he missed her, and began to make his way towards the staircase. His foot had barely connected with the first step before he heard the front door beginning to open. His senses on high alert, he spun with unnatural speed, freezing in place as he waited for his dad to enter the room, to catch him in the act as he made an effort to avoid the very people who had raised him, who had supported him over the years. Only, he realised almost immediately that it wasn’t his father. It was Dani. Dani who had tried to kill him more than once now, Dani who wanted him dead, Dani who had followed him into his family home. She was moving as slowly and as swiftly as he had been, clearly attempting to catch him off guard, and he felt a sudden surge of anger course through him. If she wanted to hurt him there was nothing he could do about it, but she was trespassing, she was on his parents’ property, bringing her toxicity, and aggression into the home they had both grown up in. It filled him with rage. How could she taint this space after everything? How was she expecting to look his parents in the eye knowing she had tried to kill their son in the entryway of their home? Glaring at her silently, his expression an equal mixture of shock, and frustration, he threw out a hand to stop her where she stood, doing everything he could to keep his voice low so that nobody would hear him. “Don’t you fucking dare.” He hissed. “Don’t do this, Dani. Not here.”

Dani rarely had nightmares. Despite the horrors that crept in and out of her life, she rarely held onto them with her heart. Every moment was a chance for collapse if she didn’t get her head on straight. There was no point in being scared. Being scared meant being vulnerable. However, the way that the tide ripped her apart, the feeling of being dragged over the river bottom’s surface-- the feeling of suffocation. It woke her up every night, and it continued to be just as jarring as the moments she had experienced it. Dani had been up against plenty of different monsters, but none of them had created a rag doll of her the way that the combination of the water and the selkie had. It made her stomach churn thinking about it.

So Dani decided to go on a walk. The moon was nowhere to be seen in the sky, but there were plenty of stars. The street lights flickered, but were bright enough to aid Dani’s already superior night vision. However, as she crossed the street, planning on going deeper into the neighborhood, movement caught her eye. She saw him, and she blocked out the part of herself that hoped it wasn’t him, that she had mistaken the stranger for somebody else. But as he slinked into his house, Dani knew that it was him. She froze. What if his parents were home? She couldn’t let him hurt them, even if sometimes they were annoying. They were still humans. Dani sprang into action, following after Milo silently. Just as he had, she slipped through the door.

The sound of his voice was loud against the silence. She looked up at him through the darkness. His tone accusatory, her eyebrows knit themselves together. “You shouldn’t have come back here.” She wished he hadn’t. No, Dani thought to herself, it’s good that you did. The weight of the dagger strapped to her wrist-- wood, bone, and silver dipped into her palm as she flicked her wrist. She gripped it tightly. “I live next door, Milo-- you expect me to just let you go? Even here?” She motioned around them. Despite the fact that she’d hate to kill the Summers’ son in their own home, it needed to be done. He was no longer Milo-- he was a ghost of who he once was. Not even a ghost, a replication with a stilled heart and a thirst for violence that, if he continued on any longer, was bound to unleash. “You can either die here, or you can run and you can die somewhere else. Your choice.” She kept her gaze steady, listening for any noise-- were his parents home?

Why? Milo thought, his rage only growing stronger. Considering he had spent years doing everything he could to avoid the place, he was incredibly offended by being told he should never have returned. “This is my home.” He whispered, a sharp edge to his voice. “You don’t get to tell me I don’t belong here.” Watching her through the darkness, he stayed frozen, avoiding sudden movements in the same way prey might when being observed by a predator. It struck him that their positions really should be reversed. But underneath everything, his indignance, his offense, his anger, his bitterness, he was just as scared as he had been upon waking up a vampire. Just as scared as he had been when Dani first decided to attack him. He was so tired of being scared. He was tired of everything. Worried if he moved before she did, she would use it as an excuse to jump on him, he waited at the bottom of the staircase. He wasn’t sure what else he could do. “I know you live next door,” he snapped. “I didn’t think you’d be watching my fucking house. My parents have nothing to do with this.” Even here? She said it as though the building meant nothing to her, as though they didn’t have a million shared memories inside these walls. There was no fondness, no appreciation for how close they had once been. It meant nothing anymore.

Swallowing his anxiety, he knew she was never going to stop. If she wasn’t successful now, she wouldn’t rest until she had forced a stake through his heart, had watched the life drain out of him, and his body crumble to dust. It made him feel sick. “My choice is for you to realise you’re being the monster here.” The words were strong, and he made it incredibly clear that he meant them. She was going to kill him in his childhood home, she was going to kill him when his parents might be inside the house with them. His Mom was going to vacuum the hall, straighten his father’s degrees, tidy up the clutter, without ever knowing she was standing where he had taken his final breath. His dad was going to drag his golf clubs from the garage to polish them in the living room, was going to kick off his shoes by the front door after a long, and stressful day at work, was going to slip outside in the early hours of the morning to watch the sun rise from the front porch with a coffee, not knowing his only son had died quite literally yards away. “Mom and Dad took care of us!” He continued, unable to help himself. His anger was spilling over, forcing words to escape him. “They took care of you, how could you even think about doing this to them, Dani? What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“Is it? Is it really?” Dani recalled the number of times that she had begged Milo to come home. The glass bottles acted as wreckage beneath her sneakers as she fought against every instinct to go in and take out the monsters who had taken him from her. If Dani were a different person, then maybe she would have simply knocked Milo out and dragged him back by force. Looking at him now, maybe that’s what she should have done. If she had acted on that impulse, would he still be her Milo? Would he be a healthier version than he had been in the past? Would he still have a heartbeat? His words shake her from her thoughts and she can’t help the laugh that splits from between her lips. “Oh, come on-- I’m not watching your fucking house.” Though, it might have done her some good to do so. It hadn’t occurred to her that he’d be stupid enough to show back up, especially knowing she was next door. “I saw you go through the front door while I was outside.” She didn’t know why she was reasoning with him-- there was no point in doing so. “No shit your parents have nothing to do with this. It’s not them I’m concerned about. Tell me, do you want to rip out your mother’s throat?” Maybe a little too harsh. This wasn’t her Milo, she reminded herself. Not anymore.

Dani had been used to the excuses that Milo would throw at her. She never allowed herself to be angry with him. Instead, she prided herself on acting as his savior. Dragging him home, or to 24 hour diners in order to help him sober up-- rubbing circles into his back during the worst of it. She remembered the amount of times that she had 911 on speed dial, waiting for the day that she’d find him. Only, she hadn’t. He had been found by somebody else, and now he was this creature, void of life. It was her fault he was like this. She thought back to the moments in the woods, the exact timing that she understood what she had to do. Her recollection did not sway her, but it certainly made things more complicated than what she dealt with in the cemetery, or under any other circumstance. “Do you think they’d love you if they knew what you turned into?” Dani said pointedly, “I don’t think so.” They had still loved him despite his slipping through the cracks-- despite the amount of times he had betrayed them, so who was to say they would look past the monster that he now was? Dani would not wait to find out. She approached him slowly, “you’re going to hurt people-- God only knows how many you’ve hurt already.” She didn’t typically talk down the vampires that she was trying to kill. Instead she’d lunge, wrestle, and kill. Milo was different, and it was excruciating. “I have to do this,” Dani said after a moment, her voice tinted with nothing but anger, “because if I don’t, who will you hurt next?”

Milo didn’t know how to counter the question. Dani was right, technically this hadn’t been his home in a very long time. But he wasn’t about to admit that to her, especially not given the circumstance. He had done so much to get through to her, begged her to understand, sent her texts recounting sentimental memories, given Athena the shirt to pass along… nothing was working, nothing was going to work. If she was willing to do this, here, and now, then it was over. How could he fight for their friendship when it had disintegrated so rapidly? Become so painful, and complicated that thinking about it consumed him with grief... He wasn’t expecting her to deny watching the house, but he also didn’t trust her to be honest with him. So he narrowed his eyes, his chest burning with each unnecessary breath as he fought against the urge to raise his voice. And then she caught him off guard again, causing him to flinch at the mention of hurting his mom. Blinking tears from his eyes, the image was so real, so visceral, that he knew it was going to haunt him. He had a difficult relationship with his parents, but he loved them. More than he could put into words. The idea of seeing either of them in pain was abhorrent, it was unthinkable. “No.” He said quietly, his voice firm, barely louder than a whisper. “But you’re trying to kill her son so don’t tell me you give a shit about her wellbeing.”

Falling silent again, letting her words hit him with the same amount of force she usually reserved for her fists, he didn’t know. He couldn’t answer her. They could never find out what he was, that much had become obvious to him. But a small part of him was desperate to believe they would accept him. They accepted him as gay, they accepted him as somebody who enjoyed using drugs, albiet begrudgingly, and with obvious disappointment. There was no real reason to believe they wouldn’t try to support him through this too. Slowly reaching up to brush away his tears, he didn’t break eye contact, hoping that would stop her from suddenly lunging. And maybe it worked. She didn’t immediately attack, but he noticed her take a careful step towards him. He couldn’t see a weapon, though he knew she had to have one. Where could he go? What could he possibly do to fight back against her? “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” His tone was still seething, still fierce, and defiant, despite the overwhelming onslaught of emotion. He didn’t understand why she was apparently so convinced he now lived to attack people, bite people, kill them without hesitation. He had never wanted to do those things before, and yet she assumed his nature had changed. His appetite had, but with Harsh’s help that felt under control. He felt under control. And he cared. The only person he had ever been content with harming had been himself, that was still very much the case. “No, you don’t.” He countered, gripping the banister of the staircase, his knuckles white with the pressure. He could feel his fingertips denting the wood, but he didn’t release his hold. “Who are you going to hurt next?” He asked pointedly, blinking fresh tears out of his eyes. They ran down his cheeks, but this time he let them fall. “Milo Summers…” He whispered, his voice cracking as she continued to approach him. “Your friend, Dani. Orion’s friend… Allison, and Oliver’s son.”

Dani knew that if she allowed any part of this to affect her, that it’d be over. She recalled the conversation she had with the hunter in the woods shortly after Milo had escaped. Dani thought about how she had him pinned at the University, only to be thwarted again. Now was her chance. The location was in no shape or form ideal. Of course she didn’t want to kill Milo in his childhood home where his parents would unknowingly walk over his ashes-- of course not. Voicing the fact was another thing. A weakness. Dani’s grip tightened on the dagger as Milo spoke. She let out a cold laugh. “You’re pretending that you’re still her son.” When Dani had first begun to train, she had questions-- plenty of them. Jeanette had done her best to answer them. The texts, too. Other hunters with worn hands and scarred necks spoke their stories. Though Dani wouldn’t consider herself as fearful, it was what they had to say that made her believe in the monstrous things that grew at the roots of White Crest. Milo had sprouted from that very darkness. It was terrible, but Dani didn’t have the time to be sad.

“I’ve lived in this world longer than you have, Milo.” She wanted to add on that it was she who had protected him, as well as his family from it for so long, but her defeat was laid out at his feet. He stood as a monument, embellished in her failures. Dani watched him carefully as he took a step back on the staircase. Oblivious to the way that his hold dented the bannister, Dani shook her head, “My friend died.” Her tone was void of any emotion-- the anger and fear that she held in the quiet moments alone buried deep. She refused to address them, especially when she had him so close. “As far as Rio goes, he’s an idiot.” Dani glanced to her right, picking up a picture frame, chucking it at his head. Hopeful that it’d act as a distraction, she ignored the sound of the glass shattering against the wall and she lunged at him.

Milo continued to watch Dani, blinking away fresh tears as they formed. He had no idea what she was thinking, but he could see her mind working impossibly fast. Only now did he realise she was holding a dagger, and he wondered whether she might be imagining driving it through his chest. Flinching again at the sound of her laughter, her words cut through him, sharp, and cold. Why was it so impossible for her to believe he was still who he once had been? He couldn’t understand her level of blind conviction. “I’m not pretending…” He said, his voice quiet as he tried to resist feeling utterly defeated. He wanted to escape this, he couldn’t afford to lose all hope. For their friendship, maybe. He was beginning to feel that might be inevitable, but not for his continued survival. He had so much to live for. “I know.” He insisted. “But clearly you have as much to learn as I do.” He wasn’t sure why he was still trying, but he couldn’t stop himself. This was Dani. He had never felt a need to filter himself around her before. In fact, he had always been honest with her. More honest than he had been with anybody else in his life. She never judged him, she never used his words against him, or shared what he had said in confidence. How could this be the same person now? Standing before him, ready to kill. “Yeah, he did. But he’s still here.” He begged her to listen, his body still tense as he waited for her to make the first move.

Even when he knew it was coming, she managed to catch him off guard. The mention of Rio distracted him, left him with an urge to defend his friend’s intelligence, and then a frame was shattering against the wall. For a brief, ridiculous moment, he wanted to shout at her. That was one of his father’s frames, a degree the man had worked to achieve. One he displayed proudly in the hall where people could see it, where he could talk about everything it meant. Sure, it was also a reminder of how he had failed his parents, of how accomplished they both were, how accomplished they had been hoping he might grow to be himself. But it was also tied to many fond memories, and he hated that. He hated that Dani knew and still chose to destroy it. In the split second it took him to feel his rage boil over, she had lunged towards him. His arms already raised to protect himself from falling glass, he reacted instinctively. If he could only get to the door. He just needed to reach the door. Barrelling forward to meet her, using his anger to fuel the action, he pushed back with every ounce of his strength, twisting Dani so that she was forced back against the stairs. He stumbled over his own feet as he backed away, scrambling to reach the front porch before she could right herself.

In the back of her mind, Dani knew that maybe she was crossing a line. Killing Milo in his own home where Mrs. Summers would have to walk over it, high heels making imprints in what was left of her son. Though, if she believed Milo were truly gone-- that this was not her Milo, nor Allison’s son, then the idea of him being killed inside his childhood home shouldn’t bother her. It shouldn’t. Dani could see the recognition on his face, as well as the fear-- but there was something else. Anger. She had to get this over with. The longer he was alive, the easier it would be for him to hurt others. It’d only be a matter of time before Jeanette realized what was going on, that Milo was no longer Milo and that Dani hadn’t taken care of the problem yet. Even now, her mother was only a yard-- if that, away from what was currently transpiring.

Before she could get a grip on Milo, he was knocking her back into the stairs. Almost immediately, the wind was knocked out of her. Dani gulped in air, quickly regaining her composure and got to her feet. She was lucky she hadn’t broken entirely through the staircase. At least Milo was finally fighting back. As he tried to run, Dani reached out and grabbed the back of his t-shirt. She yanked him backwards, aiming to make him stumble. She quickly threw all of her weight into him, sending them both to the ground. “How many more times will you run?” She growled, using the majority of her strength to wrestle him down. The sound of the door in front of them opening caused Dani to look up. Horror flickered across her features as she saw the Summers’ walk into the house, their faces contorted with disbelief, fear, and surprise.

Dani didn’t respond to his words, and Milo couldn’t say he was surprised. She had been talking for too long, he could see her expression shift to one of determination, and disconnect. She was forcing herself not to see him for who he was, forcing herself to take action. For a moment, he thought maybe he had bought himself enough time, but then she grabbed the back of his shirt, yanking him backwards before throwing her weight on him, pushing him in the opposite direction. It would be enough for anybody to lose their balance, and for what felt like the millionth time, he tumbled to the floor, hitting the hardwood with enough force to do some serious damage had he still been human. He already knew he had no hope of reaching the door before she was on top of him, so he decided to fight back instead.

It went against so many of his instincts, but he only needed her to falter, or get distracted. Just one opportunity to bolt… She had fallen with him, and was already working to trap him in the same way she had outside of the college. Her breathing loud, and heavy in his ears, he moved beneath her, desperate to find some purchase so that he would be able to slip out of her grasp. “As many times as it takes… for you to realise... you’re wrong about me- Dani, stop!” His voice was strained, and quiet. He wasn’t sure she had even heard him, but she did stop. She stopped and stared upwards, looking suddenly like a deer caught in the headlights. In his distraction, he hadn’t heard the sound of the door, and their scent managed to reach him before he saw them both. Falling still himself, he followed her gaze, tilting his head back to look up at his parents from where he was currently pinned to the floor. The look of confusion, and shock on their faces was about what he might expect. Though he didn’t have time to feel any relief. In seconds that shock turned to their usual guarded expressions, the stern and level headed approach they often took when they were forced to deal with his problematic behaviour. His mother was the first to speak. He longed to hear her protect him, defend him, say something to get Dani to leave him alone. But he was beginning to realise that wasn’t how this was going to play out.

“Milo, stop it. You’re going to hurt her!” She said, her voice curt, and assertive. The sound of his mom breaking the brief silence was enough to spur on his dad, who jumped suddenly into action. Moving forward, he gestured for Dani to get off of his son, but not in an aggressive, or defensive way. He was understanding, and gentle, subtly checking her for injuries. It was then that Milo was able to see what they thought was happening, and his stomach churned uncomfortably in response. How many times had Dani brought him home? On occasion she would catch him sneaking out, or stealing, and insist on making sure he didn’t get away with it. This wasn’t the first time his parents had caught them in a compromising position. And this wouldn’t be the first time Dani had pinned him to the ground when he was under the influence, a desperate attempt to save him from himself. They knew that, his parents knew that.

“Milo, stand up.” His father’s voice was equally as measured, lacking the soft concern he had reserved for Dani, and he felt fresh tears roll down his cheeks. He wasn’t sure what Dani was going to do, or say. He only knew he was powerless to stop what was happening.

Dani worked quickly to slide her wooden dagger back up her sleeve and out of sight. She shifted uncomfortably on top of Milo, only beginning to slide off when Milo’s dad walked around, guiding her off of him by her elbow. He was gentle with her, and it took Dani a moment to realize that they had no idea what was happening. Mrs. Summers turned on the lamp and Dani blinked rapidly against the sudden burst of light that flooded through the hallway. She glanced at Milo who looked… upset? She could hear her heartbeat, quick and loud. She knew that Milo could too. He’d know she was nervous. Shit. While Dani knew what she had to do, she hadn’t actually wrestled with what it meant to kill Milo in his home. She had done it under the guise of protecting him, but hadn’t put faces to the names that he spoke-- she chose to ignore them. Until now. She had known from the moment that she saw Milo in the woods that night, when he felt different, that this would be far more difficult than she could have ever imagined. She cursed herself for allowing her feelings to get in the way, even now.

Dani looked between Milo’s parents and him. It felt like she was being thrown back into the nights where she’d catch him trying to sneak out his window after she had brought him home, only for her to climb it and wrestle him to the ground-- to prevent him from slipping past the care that the Summers’ had for him. She backed away from Mr. Summers and looked towards his mother, a careful smile directed at the pair of them. “He wasn’t--” She bit her lower lip, “he wasn’t hurting me. It’s fine.” She wasn’t sure if she was defending Milo, or if she was defending herself from the idea that he’d ever be able to hurt her.

Dani looked at Milo who seemed severely dejected. Something short of anxiety began to crawl and bubble at the base of her throat. She worked to slow down the quick beat of her heart as best as she could, swallowing the air in the small room that only seemed to be growing smaller. As a distraction, Dani walked backwards and purposely knocked against a table, a small figurine toppling to the ground. “Oh, sorry.” Dani knelt down to pick it up and looked to meet Milo’s gaze. For the first time since he had turned, she saw her friend. He wore the same expression he typically had when he had run-ins with his parents. “I uh-- I should get going.” Dani couldn’t do this here, not now. She’d come back later tonight. She’d watch the house and make sure that Milo wouldn’t hurt his parents.

Milo waited patiently for Dani to remove herself from him, staying where he was on the floor, entirely overwhelmed by the situation. There were so many things wrong with this, so many things he couldn’t think about, not without dissolving into tears. And he couldn’t afford to. Dani was still here, she was still dangerous. Although he had to hope she wouldn’t try anything in front of his parents. Surely, even she was above that level of violence. He wasn’t hurting me. It’s fine. He had no way of knowing whether she was trying to make the situation better or worse. Was she assuring his parents that he wasn’t being violent, that things were as okay as they could be? Or was she encouraging them to believe she was saving him, she was holding him back from making another self-destructive decision? He swallowed, feeling fresh tears run down his cheeks, only to get lost in his hair as they fell towards the hardwood behind his head.

Continuing to stare at Dani as she knocked over an ornament, when she bent to pick it up she intentionally caught his gaze, but her expression wasn’t filled with loathing, or anger. Not in the way he had expected. She was looking at him, and for the first time since his death, he felt as though she might actually be seeing him. Did she have any idea how hard this was going to be? Was she even going to consider the fact that he had been avoiding his parents to avoid acknowledging he could no longer be a part of their lives? Everything he had lost was inside this building, and it hurt. It hurt more than he would ever be able to say. Flinching suddenly at the sound of his father’s voice, he shakily forced himself to his feet. Only a few seconds passed before Oliver had his fingers under his chin, tilting his head back to observe his pupils in the sudden light of the hall. He heard his mom close the door, locking it behind herself as though she could keep him in if she only made a little effort. Or maybe she was trying to hide him from the neighbours. Hide what a mess her son had become. “...’m not high, Dad.” He muttered, pulling his face out of his grip. Brushing away his tears with the sleeve of his hoodie, he sniffled, wishing he could be almost anywhere else. Anywhere but here, with these people, under this circumstance.

“I’ll believe it when I see it, Milo. You know the drill.” Milo set his jaw, chancing a glance towards his mom who only gestured silently to the downstairs bathroom. He couldn’t remember the last time he had come home and not been asked to take a drug test. On multiple occasions he had heard his parents fighting over whether it was even a beneficial demand. You already know what the test is going to say, Ali. Why are you doing this to yourself? His father’s voice was never angry, but always tired, always disappointed. Laced with the question of how this had become his life. Wouldn’t you rather know, Oliver? Know what our boy is doing out there? Isn’t it better to know…

There was no way around it, he knew that much. The idea of leaving Dani alone with his parents terrified him, but what else could he do? Brushing past his childhood friend, he heard her insist she should leave as he pointedly slammed the door to the bathroom, opening the cabinet above the sink to pull out the box of home tests. Tearing open one of the cards, finding the designated cup his parents saved for such glamorous occasions, he listened to the conversation taking place outside of the door. His mom’s voice was soft, filled with concern, and affection. She was talking to Dani like she was grateful.

“Please don’t feel like you need to leave, Dani… we owe you so much, we all do. We have cake, you know? Maybe we can all have a coffee?” She was trying to entice her, to make her feel as though she couldn’t say no. Staring at the mirror above the sink, devoid of his reflection, he silently willed his parents to open the front door, to usher Dani out of it and never let her back into the safety of their home. But unfortunately telepathy wasn’t an ability he had inherited. Not that it would matter, they almost never took his word. Uncapping the bottom of the thin, white card, he dipped the strip of material into his urine sample, watching as the liquid was absorbed. After ten seconds had passed, he reapplied the cap. Washing the cup, and his hands before re-emerging from the bathroom, he already knew what the test was going to say, he already knew he was going to fail it like the thousand previous tests he had been forced to take. But apparently just being willing to provide them with proof was enough to give his parents some illusion of control. He would never understand it. “Dani wants to go.” He said, his voice blunt, an edge to it as he pointedly refused to look back at her. He handed the white card over to his mom, who was already holding out a hand to take it. “Let her go.”

Dani watched as Milo wasted no time in brushing past her. Would he run? Would he make a chance escape through the window-- No, Dani thought. There was no window in that bathroom, not from what she could remember. She stared ahead, down the hallway towards where Milo had disappeared. She barely registered Allison’s voice in her ears, but forced her gaze away from the bathroom door. It’d only take her a few strides to make sure that he hadn’t escaped. No, she couldn’t do that. Not with his parents there. Not when Mrs. Summers was offering her cake. “No really-- that’s… That’s okay.” Dani felt like a deer in headlights. She had the vampire behind the door and his parents right in front of her who were clearly ignorant to the fact that their only son was now a part of the living dead.

Dani decided, for a brief moment, she’d give Milo his privacy. She turned her attention towards his mother and looked down at the bag that she held in her hand. “Oh, you must try this-- it’s from the bakery down on Main St.” Dani opened her mouth to speak, only to snap it shut again once Milo had appeared in the doorway. She recognized the drug test in his hand. She had seen it plenty of times. Most times, she sat on the couch while she listened to the Summers’ argument just outside of the bathroom. Dani glanced back at Milo, only now realizing that there were tears blotting the collar of his shirt. She shifted uncomfortably under the gaze of him, his parents, and the lamplight that seemed to illuminate far too much of the hallway. She glanced at the test, not catching the result. Was he still using? Even in this state?

“That’s um, that’s okay.” Before Dani could insist on leaving again, she felt Oliver’s hand on her shoulder. She looked up to meet his gaze, forcing the small smile to stay. “Oh, come on. We haven’t seen you in awhile. Just a quick slice.” She looked back to Milo. Her heartbeat had quieted some, but the anxiety was still there. How was she going to get out of this? She couldn’t sit a foot across from Milo and not do anything. What if Jeanette sensed him for some odd reason? Before she could further object, she felt a nudge in the direction of the kitchen. Probably a means for privacy between Milo and his mother. Shit. Dani found herself being directed towards the kitchen island while a low conversation followed her.

Milo could sense Dani’s tension, even with her standing behind him. No doubt she was waiting for him to try and make another escape. But it felt so pointless. Not only would she find him again, he would be leaving her with his parents. What if she used them to try and draw him out? He wanted so badly to think she would never stoop so low, but he didn’t know her anymore. He couldn’t begin to comprehend what she might be capable of. The atmosphere in the hall was odd, his parents had fallen into their usual routine of moving between disappointment, and pretending there was nothing dysfunctional about their family. And Dani… it didn’t look as though she was willing to turn down his mother’s offer. Namely because his mom was clearly so determined to convince her to stay. Cake. From a bakery. It was painfully desperate, to the point that he almost couldn’t bring himself to be angry. His mom took the test from him, clutching it tightly in her hands before setting a timer on her phone for the results. She shot him a pointed look at his words, as though she couldn’t believe he would be so rude to the woman who had just pinned him to the floor and tried to kill him.

“Milo.” She used the same tone she had been using for years. It reminded him of being a child, of making simple mistakes during his piano lessons, or talking back when he was instructed to go to bed. “You know as well as I do that if it weren’t for Dani you would be-” She broke off, for a brief second he saw genuine emotion cloud her expression, fear maybe, and heartbreak, as she tried not to dwell on the death of her son. If only she knew he was already dead. Dani hadn’t been able to save him. Nobody had. Turning his attention back to his father, who seemed to sense Dani’s hesitation too, he caught her eye, watching as Oliver put a steady hand on her shoulder. His dad was using a far more gentle tactic. He could still hear her heart pounding in her chest, still hear how shocked, and anxious she was. Good. He thought bitterly. Suffer with me.

“She threw one of your degrees at me.” He said. He knew it was petulant, but he couldn’t stop the words from escaping his lips. His dad seemed to suddenly notice the glass on the staircase behind him, the shattered frame, and the paper that had escaped it. A frown creased his brow, but he didn’t look upset.

“She also brought you home.” He countered, and Milo knew there was absolutely nothing he could say in return, not without giving away too much of what was really happening. He opened his mouth anyway, hoping something of use might come out, but he was interrupted by the sound of an alarm. His mom silenced it quickly, reading the results of his test without reacting to the information.

“One out of five.” She said finally, forcing him to hold her gaze as she spoke. “I suppose we should be proud. That’s better than last time.” Milo held his tongue, he wasn’t sure whether she was trying to guilt trip him, or embarrass him in front of Dani to make a point. He could barely remember his last results, he was pretty certain two out of five of the recognisable substances had tested positive. Maybe even three. “Opioids.” She muttered quietly, in answer to his father’s silent question. And then the moment was over. She readjusted her bags, forcing a smile onto her face, before making her way into the kitchen. “I’ll put the coffee on.” She called, flipping light switches as she moved throughout the house. He stayed where he was, powerless to stop his dad as he encouraged Dani to follow.

“Come on, Dani. It’d mean a lot to us. After everything...”

Dani winced at Milo’s words. She shot him a look as if to tell him to cut it out. He didn’t want them to know what he was and he had pleaded with her not to kill him in his own house, and yet he was hellbent on trying to twist the situation, to reveal what had happened, and for what? The two of them had been through this time and time again. Milo was chastised while Dani was praised. It had made her feel guilty then, but Dani refused to let it make her feel guilty now. Not when they were wrong; when they didn’t even realize who and what was under their roof. She wanted to shout at them. Can’t you see? Can’t you see that this is not Milo! He’s dead!

It was no use, because Dani knew that even if she whispered his true existence, they would not believe her. It’d go against her code, too. Despite wanting to get rid of him once and for all, she couldn’t out him to his parents, not when they weren’t supposed to know what vampires were in the first place. Dani flexed her fingers and averted her gaze when the timer went off. She listened to Allison speak, her tone reserved and precise. She kept her gaze on the wall where the degree had once been. So Milo was still using. Dani hadn’t been aware that the undead were susceptible to drugs. Usually, Dani would interject-- she would tell them that she had found him in time, that he didn’t mean it. That he was trying to get better.

This time, Dani stayed silent. It seemed as though something broke in the air, because Allison was moving towards the kitchen quickly, the bags in her hands shuffling against one another. She followed after Milo’s parents, every step feeling as if there were weights in her shoes. It was like a constant alarm was going off, her senses going wild. Vampire, vampire, vampire! She could see him, but she couldn’t touch him. This was worse than in the woods. Worse than with Rio. Dani jumped slightly as Oliver handed her a plate. He let out a laugh and Dani tried to smile. She looked at Milo before setting her own plate down on the table.

“I didn’t--” Didn’t do anything. Doing something would mean he’d no longer be here. “Sure.” Unlike usual, Dani didn’t have any witty quips to shoot at Milo as they prepared for their sit down. Instead, she stayed silent, like a fly to a wall. She waited for him to speak, to run, to tear their throats out. Would he? She couldn’t be sure. “No coffee for me, please.” Dani raised a hand to stop the fourth mug from being filled. “Water is fine.”

Milo stared at Dani, disbelief written across his features as she told him to stop with a pointed look. Why should he? She had started this. Because of her, old wounds were now being opened, and he had absolutely no way of escaping the pain. He was going to have to sit across from his parents and pretend things were normal, he was going to have to look two people in the eye, knowing he couldn’t stay in their lives. Knowing, no matter how much they worried, how desperate they were for him to come home, it was no longer an option. Cutting them off had been his choice, and now that it wasn’t his choice, now that it was being forced upon him, he was beginning to wonder whether he had ever really wanted them gone. When his substance abuse was announced to the room, the silence that followed was deafening, it pulled him out of his thoughts. Dani wasn’t going to defend him this time, she wasn’t going to insist he was okay, or doing better, or at the very least trying to do better. There was no lying to herself, or lying on his behalf. Only a cold, empty distance between them both that seemed impossible for either of them to cross.

Listening quietly to his mother as she began to busy herself in the kitchen, it didn’t take long for Dani and his father to join her. He knew if he stayed in the hall it would be a matter of seconds before somebody came to find him, convinced he would be attempting to climb out of a window, or steal one of their prescription books. They didn’t need to know the latter was partially why he had returned. Taking a deep breath, glancing down at the glass littering the hall, he begrudgingly made his way to the kitchen, his jaw still set as he hovered in the doorway. The scene unfolding before him was so twisted. Seeing his parents being warm, and affectionate towards the person who had now tried to kill him on three separate occasions made his stomach churn. They were treating her like a daughter. His father was the first to take a seat at the kitchen table, and Dani settled next to him while his mom continued to find ways of distracting herself, ways for her to pass the time until she was forced to confront the awkwardness of the situation. Eventually she set down four plates, each holding a slice of cake, and a generous helping of whipped cream, before turning her attention to the coffee pot.

“Come on, Milo. Sit.” She encouraged him, pausing briefly as she passed where he was standing, running a hand through his hair in the same way she used to when he had a nightmare, or was struggling to sleep. Steeling himself, he ignored the ache in his chest, the longing for her to hold him like that again, and tell him everything was going to be okay. He took the seat on the other side of his dad, opposite Dani who he continued to stare at, willing her to feel his conflict, the agony she was forcing him to endure. The cake in front of him smelled good, but no longer like food, no longer like something his body wanted him to eat, and so he pointedly ignored it. Would that make Dani uncomfortable? Yet another reminder of the fact he was no longer human. Probably. “I thought everybody was drinking coffee these days.” Allison tried to make polite conversation. “Aren’t the kids going to Starbucks for just about anything? Are you sure I can’t tempt you?” She held up the coffee pot as though that might convince Dani to change her mind, and started to ready the three cups she had waiting on the counter.

“You can’t buy drugs at Starbucks, Mom.” Milo muttered under his breath. It was his fallback, making things more difficult than they needed to be. If he could hold his parents at arms length, maybe he could ignore how badly he wanted to break down and cry. He could be gone by now, he could have his clothes, and his laptop, and be safely at home with Harsh.

“Milo.” Oliver’s voice was low, a warning, and he scowled down at the table in response. His mom chose not to hear his comment, handing drinks out to everybody before taking a seat herself, finally acknowledging the tense atmosphere with a smile he could only assume was forced.

“There. See, isn’t this nice? To have everybody back together again? Almost like when you were kids, right Dani? Milo? The amount of fun you both used to have at this table.”

When Allison began to talk about Starbucks, it took everything in Dani’s power not to laugh. She stared down at her plate, watching as a slice of cake was added to it. Were these people really that oblivious that their only son was no longer their son? Had they been so used to his change in demeanor because of… She looked up at Milo. The same dejected expression still flickered across his features. If looks could kill. Dani picked up her fork with no intention to actually eat, but she began to push around the chocolate and creme. It dawned on her then, that with their son missing-- over two months, the Summers’ were joining together to eat cake. Were they even actively looking for him? Had it only been her who did?

When Milo made his quip, she suppressed the familiar shit-eating grin that begged to curl at her lips. She coughed into her shoulder instead and straightened up in her chair. Things were tense, more tense than ever before. The amount of times that she had brought Milo back didn’t compare to this, not by a longshot. Now, Dani had no intention of saving Milo-- or, at least, not in the usual sense. She wanted to save him, but by shoving a stake into his chest. The longer she stayed seated around the Summers’, old patterns blooming before her, the more she realized that this wouldn’t be a one and done type of staking.

At Allison’s words, Dani looked up to meet her gaze. She was expecting an answer. “Oh. Um.” She refused to look at Milo this time. “Sure, yeah. Sorry-- I have um, a big test that I’ve been studying for. I’m just tired.” It was a blatant lie, but they didn’t need to know that. Milo obviously would.

“Do you remember,” Oliver started with a laugh, “when you kids would build forts in the living room? Then you’d get bored, so you’d go to the back yard and pitch a tent.”

Dani remembered those moments vividly. They ran wild in her dreams-- she and Milo-- able to be together, the simplicity of their childhoods. She hadn’t ever dreamt that it’d come to this. She had tried so hard to prevent this. “Yeah, I do.” Dani kept her gaze trained on her plate, her fork grinding against the china. No matter how hard she wanted to try, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to pretend that this was normal. She wouldn’t be able to provide the Summers’ the smiles that they were grasping at straws for. Things were not the same, and they never would be again.

Glancing over at Dani when she coughed suddenly in response to his comment, it wasn’t lost on Milo that she had hidden her face. He couldn’t bring himself to hope, it was too painful to imagine a world where she accepted the fact that he was still very much himself, but he could have sworn she was repressing her amusement. One of his hands reaching to grip the edge of the table, his touch was gentle, and familiar. As children hiding beneath it one day, they had rebelliously decided to sign their names in Sharpie against the underside. He couldn’t feel the evidence of the ink, but he knew it was there, beneath his fingertips. A memory that was so tangible, so close. Evidence of how deep their bond ran, and how awful it was that Dani was desperate to shatter it. Offering his childhood friend a look when she decided to mention a test, he knew it was irrational to be so angry about her guilting his parents, especially when he so often manipulated them in the same way. But they were his parents, and after everything she was trying to take from them, she had no right to be so callous.

“Oh, don’t apologise, Dani.” Allison hurried to assure her. “Honestly, it’s refreshing to see someone so young take their studies seriously.” Great, Milo thought to himself. A compliment for Dani, and an insult for him. His grip on the table tightened, but he was careful not to dent the wood. More aware now than he had been when Dani had first taken him by surprise. Briefly turning his attention to his father, he seemed as determined as his wife to keep up pretence, he wished he could block his ears, or get up and leave. but neither felt like a genuine option. Not now. He didn’t need this, he wasn’t sure how much of this he could take.

“My ambulance tent was outside. The indoor fort was the hospital… we had too many patients, we were forced to expand.” He said, in a begrudging response to Dani’s quiet admission. His voice was barely louder than a whisper as the details came flooding back to him. How many times had he played doctor with Dani? Convinced that was what he was going to be when he was older, too young to question what his parents were telling him. Wincing just a little at the sound of cutlery against china, it was a horrible noise, one only exacerbated by his sensitive hearing. He stared at Dani as she twisted her fork, willing her to drop it. “Stop.” He told her, his voice firm, positively dripping with irritation. No doubt she would do the opposite, all too aware of his new abilities causing him discomfort, but the demand escaped him before he could hold his tongue.

“Okay.” Letting out a huff of breath, Oliver ran a tired hand down his face. Already halfway through his cake, he carefully set his fork down before looking between Dani and his son. “I don’t know what has happened between you two tonight, but Milo, you have been gone for months. Can you please allow us to enjoy your company before you disappear to shoot up in some alleyway? Is that really too much to ask after everything you put us through?” His voice, as always, didn’t hold any anger. But it was tense, and Milo was begrudgingly forced to admit the man sounded exhausted. He always assumed, when he was missing, that his parents sent texts, and attempted to call him out of obligation more often than genuine concern. They had decided worrying was a waste of their time years ago… hadn’t they? A detriment to their own wellbeing? Allison reached out, linking fingers with Oliver, smiling sadly at him with unguarded affection. He did everything he could to shrug off the guilt weighing on his chest, but looking at his parents, it proved impossible.

“Just for tonight?” Allison’s voice was softer somehow, but laced with a desperation he was all too familiar with. “Milo, I know you don’t want to be here… but you’re here now. You too, Dani. We won’t keep you long, but we miss you… we miss both of you. It just means so much to have you home...”

Dani inhaled sharply as Milo began to speak. She did everything in her power to keep her gaze on the plate in front of her. Why did he bother picking apart stories from when they were young? It was silly, thinking that they were the same children who loved things like face paint, climbing trees, and playing hospital. The only time she had ever been able to be normal had been with Milo. Now? Neither of them were normal. Far from it. Their relationship had suffered under the crosshairs of her duty and his rebirth. She dug the fork into her plate even harder at Milo’s words. She glanced over at him and let it drop, the clatter louder than anything else that night.

She picked up her mug of water and took a sip, not realizing just how dry her mouth had gotten. Dani drained the cup and Allison was quick to refill it. When Oliver began to speak, Dani dropped her gaze back to the plate. The creme was smeared against the pink and blue flowers, making a mess of what could be considered a beautiful dish. Growing up, Dani had always appreciated that about the Summers. They cared about beauty. Maybe a little too much, but they cared. Jeanette cared only for necessities. Most of anything that the Edwards owned was cheap and easy to replace. Save for their weapons, of course. Once upon a time, Dani would have told Oliver some ridiculous, one-off story in order to take the heat off of Milo. She knew how exhausted they all were-- Milo, because what he was doing wasn’t his choice, and his parents, because they were worried. Dani only ever wanted Milo to be safe. The longer she kept her mouth shut, the more foul she felt.

The ache in Dani’s heart would have to be inspected at another time. She didn’t have the capacity to reason with the guilt she suddenly felt, not while in Milo’s presence. Deflated, Dani took another quick breath between her teeth. There was no use in staying around for much longer. She wouldn’t be getting Milo tonight, and despite his control, or lack thereof, Dani had to trust, not in the vampire, but that he wouldn’t be stupid enough to kill his parents with Dani only a few doors down, her eyes unleaving from the very house he claimed to hate so much. “I would love to, but--” Dani hurriedly took her new burner phone out of her pocket-- a clunky brick that she’d replace once she had the money, “my mom actually needs me home.” She forced a small, polite smile towards Allison and Oliver, ignoring Milo entirely. “Besides, you should really talk.” She finally looked at Milo, “if you need me, I’m only a few houses down.” A threat. To him, letting him know that despite her absence in the house, she would be able to come back in a heartbeat, should anything happen. Without allowing the Summers’ to object, Dani raised a hand in goodbye and quietly slipped out the back door. She waited until she was far enough away from the house to allow herself the time to process what had just happened. All of the anger she felt in the beginning, before his parents had arrived-- it was gone. Now, nothing but sadness and exhaustion filled her heart.

How was she going to kill him?

Unable to stop himself from flinching as Dani dropped her fork, Milo continued to watch her, struggling to discern her expression. What was she thinking? Her usual anger seemed to have faded away over the course of the conversation, only to be replaced by something impossible to recognise. Refusing to acknowledge his father’s words, he found it far easier to stare at his childhood friend. He could see in the way her body was tense, the way she was poised on the edge of her seat, feet flat against the floor, that she was preparing herself to leave. He knew his parents would be disappointed, the saviour of their son was letting herself out, but the wave of relief that washed over him was strong. At least for now, he could relax. He had so many things to focus on, so many emotions to process. Not needing to worry about Dani becoming violent made everything easier. Albeit, not by very much. Glancing down at the brick phone she pulled out, a frown creased his brow when he realised it was new. He had so many questions but he was smart enough to understand that asking them wouldn’t grant him any answers. Either she had blocked him, or she had bought an entirely new device to make sure he couldn’t contact her. The thought hurt, but the pain was dull now. He was slowly becoming used to it. Seeing his mom open her mouth to argue, he cut her off before she could speak. “Dani wants to go, Mom. Just… just let her.” He muttered. “It doesn’t matter.” Looking up at Dani, shooting her the same pointed glare she had given him earlier when she had tried telling him to stop, he wanted to do so many things. Throw something at her, scream, physically force her outside, cry, get high... “No, we shouldn’t. There’s nothing to talk about.” He countered, his tone forceful, and sharp as he held her gaze. Screw you, Dani. Screw you and all of the pain you’re causing me.

Steeling his expression, making it painfully clear he understood her thinly veiled threat, he stayed where he was, waiting for her to leave before allowing himself to exhale. The threat was out of sight, but not out of reach. He needed to remember that. She could get to the house in a heartbeat if she wanted to. Listening to her as she walked to her home, crossing the lawn instead of taking the path, when her footsteps began to fade he became very aware of his parents. They were both watching him, concern written across their features as they sat in a mutual silence. “I’m not staying.” He hurried to warn them, pushing away from the table, and getting to his feet. Both Allison, and Oliver followed his lead. It was clear by the way they caught each other's eye they had already accepted that would be the case. “I just- I need to get some things, and then I’ll be gone, okay? So you can stop worrying about how your son is such a fuck up, and how I’ll just- I’ll embarrass you in front of the neighbours or fucking-” He broke off suddenly, caught off guard by his mom as she pulled him towards her, enveloping him in a hug. Holding his breath, too comforted by the close proximity to want to risk any potential bloodlust, he felt tears sting at his eyes the moment his father decided to join them. Standing in the kitchen of his childhood home, in the arms of his mom and dad, the people who had raised him, who had once made him feel so safe, he couldn’t stop himself from breaking down. He fought it for a brief moment, but sobs soon began to wrack his body and he wrapped his arms around them too, holding them as close as he possibly could without hurting them both.

“Shh, shh… We love you, Milo.” Allison pressed a gentle kiss to his temple, running her fingers through his hair as she spoke. “It’s okay, sweetheart. We love you so much… you make mistakes, you do. And you know we don’t agree with your decisions, but you’re always going to be our son. And we’re not embarrassed by you… never.” Burying his face into the crook of her neck, he knew he wouldn’t be able to last very long before the scent of blood began to tempt him. But he was determined to make the most of it while he could. This was all he had been really craving, and all he had been denying himself. Because as much as he needed his parents to hold him, to tell him everything was going to be okay, everything wasn’t going to be okay. They didn’t know it, they had no way of knowing it, but this was essentially a goodbye.

#c:dani #milo and dani #addiction tw #alcoholism tw

9 notes · View notes

good-rwbyaus · 4 years ago

Text

Uncle Crow AU - mod lilac - [ Prologue - 2 out of 2 ] [ prev ]

Description: A month after Summer’s death, Yang is determined to look for her mother and takes a curious Ruby with her through the reputably safe forests of Patch. Meanwhile, Qrow chooses to check in first with Ozpin instead of visiting the girls first. As a result, a near miss turns into a true disaster.

But he can make this right.

He failed to save his teammate. He won’t fail her family.

Characters: Qrow, Ruby Rose, Yang Xiao Long, Ozpin, Taiyang

Trigger Warning: Suicide

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

“The surgery went well, but...” the doctor trailed off as he stared into the eyes of a worried, desperate father. His mouth flopped open and closed like a goldfish.

Ah shit. Who let the amateur in here? Qrow’s lips thinned into a line, pulling out his flask and taking a sip to stop himself from saying something acerbic.

“But what? You said it went well,” Taiyang stood up to his full height and loomed over the other man, hands shaking, “Didn’t you say it went well?” His eyes gleamed feverishly, making the doctor gulp audibly, “There shouldn’t be anything wrong then, right?”

“Well yeah, the surgery did. But...”

“Hey, let’s take it outside,” Qrow interrupted. “Yang’s trying to sleep.”

He’d rather have the eventual explosion happen outside rather than inside his niece’s room where she could see it all. This wasn’t going to end well; he could already see the growing storm brewing inside his friend. It’s why one doesn’t pussyfoot around Hunters. He patted his back clandestinely to make sure Harbinger was there before taking the lead to go outside, followed by two anxious men.

The door slid open, letting the three of them into the hallway. Several doctors meandered about including a pair of senior-looking doctors that he saw with Ruby earlier. They tried to make themselves scarce. Those fuckers. No wonder the doctor in front of them seemed like a joke, probably a medical intern delivering bad news to a Hunter for the first time.

“Doctor. Just. Tell me about my daughter. Please. I need to know if she’s gonna be alright,” Taiyang spoke out, “If the surgery went well, it had to be alright, right?”

“Yeah, the surgery went alright, b-b-but...” the doctor continued on, trying to find the words.

Qrow slammed his fist into a wall, interrupting the young doctor’s stuttering.

“Just spit it out already,” Qrow interrupted, “You’re speaking in circles. Lemme guess, you never did grief counseling for Hunters before, and your seniors just shoved this onto you without warning. We understand. Just give us the bad news straight. And if we don’t have any questions, you can leave.”

The doctor swallowed his saliva and glanced briefly at the tense blond Hunter beside him who was staring at him with the focus of a laser.

“I-I...” he took a deep breath, “We removed the bleeding part of her kidney and repaired her injured abdominal aorta. Even though her Aura accelerated her blood production, her injured aorta meant she couldn’t get adequate perfusion to her organs. Most of her organs are already showing signs of failure.” He stood back, seeing the blond’s fists grip tightly together. “E-e-even on a heart-lung machine, we don’t expect her to survive the week, maybe not even 48 hours. I-I...I’m sorry.”

Ruby... Qrow shut his eyes, gritting his teeth upon hearing the news. He knew it was bad, but he didn’t know it was tha-

“I...I...No. Ruby,” Taiyang opened and closed his mouth, his gaze unfocused as he repeated his words over and over. “No. No. You’re...”

“You’re lying! The surgery went well, you said!” Taiyang snapped out, face red like a bull as he made a grab for the doctor. “My kid’s going to be okay! You can’t say th-”

“Tai! Tai! Urg-” Qrow lunged forward as soon as his friend did, wrapping him in his arms from behind and taking an elbow to his gut for the trouble. “Tai!”

“No! Qrow! He’s lying!” Taiyang roared, alarming the rest of the hall as he tried to throw Qrow off of him. “She’s gonna be okay! I’m gonna make him tell the truth! She’ll be-”

“Tai. Urg- You know he’s- telling the truth,” Qrow strained to keep his bearhug on the stronger man, even amidst the elbows and headbutts.

“No! Don’t believe him, Qrow! No! Not her too! Not her too!” His Aura started to flare; he was about to lose his grip on the man.

“Taiyang Xiao Long! If you continue on like this, I’ll be forced to pull out Harbinger. You know this!” Qrow choked out, bitter tears falling from his face. “Your daughter deserves to have her father by her side in her final moments, not rotting in a detention cell somewhere!”

Those words made his friend completely halt his struggles. Instead, he just blankly stared at the ground and then collapsed onto his knees. Qrow moved to his friend’s front and took a knee, hands placed on the other man’s shoulders to keep him steady.

“Tai. Just breat-”

“It’s not fair, Qrow. For Yang. For Ruby.”

Qrow inhaled sharply upon seeing his friend’s face.

Taiyang was crying.

He’d never seen the other man cry before. Even after all the friends they lost. Even after Raven left him to be a single father without a word. He never shed a tear or indulged in self-pity. Only after Summer died and the funeral had did he see the cracks in his carefree composure, the days where he looked like a dead man walking, but he still never shed a tear. His eyes might’ve looked dead, but they held a spark - a promise to continue living for his daughters.

He couldn’t see that spark anymore.

“I understand if it’s me, Qrow. But why do they get the short stick? They’re just kids,” the man cried into his shoulder, “They don’t deserve having their moms leave them such a young age. Don’t deserve a father who can’t keep things together. A man who can’t even protect his family.”

“Tai. Listen to m-”

“I don’t deserve them. My decisions only hurt them. I’m a horrible dad. My kids wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for my mouth,” the blond blubbered out through his sobs. “Maybe if I weren’t here...”

“Tai. Shut up. Don’t speak lik-

“No. Qrow! Maybe if I were dead, they could have had a chance to live with a real father. Experience a family that’s complete and whole,” Taiyang yelled and punched the ground, a sizable crater appearing on the floor. “A family who wouldn’t bring them misery because their dad’s an utter failure!”

The man’s words turned into incoherent blubbering as he continued on, nerves already taut and energy drained from the recent death of his wife. His tears stained both their vests damp.

By the time Taiyang calmed down, the blond had passed out on the floor, muttering words that vaguely sounded like self-blame.

Qrow meanwhile had to wipe the tears from his own eyes. It pained him to hear his friend like that. Pained him to hear that the small family he admired was about to shatter like a pane of glass.

He knew very well that if Ruby didn’t survive this, it would destroy her dad completely.

It was then Qrow noticed the security hunters lingering about, having been called in by the disturbance. He waved a hand to bring their leader over.

“Hey. Make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid,” Qrow asked her and her team, “I’m going to have a talk with Ozpin, alright?”

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

Beep. Beep.

Seeing such a lively child now covered with tubes and wires made him want to scream about the injustice of it all. Sure, he and Raven had gotten the short end of the stick in life, having to steal and plunder to survive as kids. But he recognized that it shouldn’t be that way.

Kids deserved to live like kids before being thrust out into the cruel world of Remnant. Where not even a Kingdom is perfectly safe against the ravages of the Grimm and their Master.

A truth that his niece had to learn early, a truth that she might not survive learning. The doctor’s prognosis was grim - not being able to survive 48 hours was probably an overestimate as doctors were wont to do. Ruby might not even survive the night.

Taiyang knew this too. They were experienced Hunters after all, but it was completely different when it happened to family.

The hospital knew this too. It’s why when it came to Hunters, only indirectly related friends could bring in their weapons inside, just so they can subdue a Hunter who went crazy like Taiyang almost did. That doctor probably would’ve not survived the encounter had Taiyang got ahold of him - people who didn’t have Aura couldn’t deal with the forces that Hunters could casually exert.

“I know what you’re going to ask, Qrow,” the silver-haired man carefully watching him finally spoke. Sitting on his lap was his cane. The man looked a bit peaked, the signs of Aura overuse being apparent.

But if there was a miracle that could save Ruby, it was Ozpin. A living legend.

“Then Oz. Can you?”

“I can’t do what you want me to do,” Ozpin shook his head despondently, “I can’t save her.”

Qrow gritted his teeth.

“Can’t or won’t?”

The man grimaced painfully at his words.

“Can’t. It already took nearly everything I had left to help her survive the surgery.”

“Bullshit!” Qrow yelled, stomping on the floor. “You created the Maidens. Gave Raven and I the power to transform into animals. Don’t tell me you can’t save one little girl who didn’t deserve to end up in this stupid war.”

“I-”

“Oz! If you’re holding out on Tai and I, I won’t forgive you,” he growled out leaning forward, hands pressed on the table, “He’s already lost so much. Losing Ruby will kill him. He’s already going off the deep end. You know what he told him?”

“I told you I can’t hel-.”

“That he was a failure. That he was better off dead. So that his girls could liv-”

"Qrow. I swear that I’m not lying to you, “ Ozpin said determinedly. He leaned forward in his seat before sighing. “You’re grossly overestimating what remains of my power. Magic for me is not like Aura where it comes back after a period of rest.”

“It’s like taking away puzzle pieces from a whole. Magic that’s given is lost until it’s reclaimed,” the man explained, “When I created the Maidens originally, my intention was to give them superior means to fight against the Grimm, and it took nearly all my magic to forge their powers. When the Maidens lived out their lives, that power should’ve returned to me.”

He shifted uncomfortably in his chair before exhaling wistfully. “Instead, I underestimated the symbolic act of sealing my magic in a cycle, particularly the cycle of Seasons. The magic never returned to me but continued to remain in that cycle, resulting in our current situation. Four Maidens always existing with the new ones chosen by the last woman in their memory.”

“The last useful bits of magic I had left were given to you and your sister,” he sighed, suddenly looking older and tired, “What remains is just a droplet of what used to be an ocean. Useful for maybe a barrier or two but not much else,” His eyes left him and towards the small girl covered in too many tubes and lines. The machine beat unsteadily as if her heart was a flickering flame on the verge of going out.

The room became silent once more. “You...you never explained that part to me.”

“Would it have made any difference if you knew?" Ozpin sighed, “Besides you put that spark of magic to use better than I ever could. Your sister too back when she believed in our cause.”

An uncomfortable silence rose between them. Raven was an awkward topic on many levels.

“So there’s nothing you can do?” Qrow switched the topic to matters more important than his wayward sister.

“Maybe if it was before I - No. There’s nothing I can do now,” Ozpin shook his head despondently.

“Damn it!” Qrow slammed his fist into the table, eyes red and head bowed in frustration.

#######################################

“We would’ve named you godfather, but I always thought Uncle Qrow has such a nice ring to it, no?” a white-cloaked woman - Summer - chuckled, holding a young infant in her arms.

“What are you talking about? Godfather Qrow sounds so stately and honora-”

“Yeah, neither of which are you,” Taiyang laughed.

“You’re right, fuc-”

Smack.

“Ow, Summer!?”

Qrow held the back of his head in pain, Summer’s hand hovered behind him.

“No cussing in front of my kid,” Summer frowned with a glare before gazing tenderly at the baby in her arms...

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

“Hey. That bird’s kinda weird. It’s just been watching us play outside for hours now,” a five-year old Yang remarked as she laid on the dirt tired, head extended back to stare at the crow on the fence.

“Maybe it’s friendly?” Taiyang grinned, looking at where his daughter was looking at. “Here, give him this.” The man handed his daughter something he couldn’t quite see, even with his superior bird version.

Tilting his head to the side, Qrow watched as his niece approached his small roosting spot on the fence, hand clenched around whatever his friend handed her.

“Hey, Mister Crow,” Yang toothily smiled, “These are really good. Do you want some?”

With dawning horror, Qrow watched as his niece revealed a bright red cherry tomato, and he was about to pretend to just be another bird and fly away before catching Taiyang’s lips silently moving from further away.

“This is your niece giving you your filial respects,” Taiyang mouthed threateningly, eyes mirthful, “If you hurt her by flying away, I’m going to make you cry.”

Grudgingly he picked the tomato up from the girl’s hand with his beak and chomped on the gross sour-sweet vegetable-fruit thing. It took a colossal effort on his part to keep the disgusting thing down.

“Haha. He’s eating it!” Yang squealed happily, turning back to her dad in delight.

But he supposed seeing the innocent laughter from his niece made the torture of his tastebuds worth it.

“Dad, he likes it! Gimme more!”

!!!!!!!

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

“And and one day I’m gonna learn to fly, and maybe if I fly high enough, I’ll see Mom!” a young Ruby declared loudly to the night sky, “And I’ll bring her back to see Dad and Yang again.”

“I’m sure you will, sis,” Yang quietly sniffed, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. “I’m sure.”

In front of them was their father kneeling in front of a grave covered in snow, crying bitterly while trying to assure that his deceased wife that they’ll be alright.

All the while none of them noticed an accidental spectator intruding upon their private moment.

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

A smaller grave now lied next to the taller one. A small statue of an angel was erected on top of it. White snow gently blanketed the forest.

In front of the graves was a figure covered entirely by the fallen snow, bits of blond hair sticking out from the white. He kneeled lifelessly in front of the pair of gravestones, muttering repeatedly about his failures. Yang tugged tearfully at the blond man, scared and worried, while staring at the smaller grave with guilt in her eyes.

“Dad, the funeral’s already over. You’re scaring me. You have to go home. Please. Let’s go home,” Yang begged, hands tightly gripping on her father’s arm as if he would suddenly disappear.

It’s been an hour since the funeral ended. Taiyang hasn’t moved from the spot. Hasn’t noticed his daughter started getting the reddish glow that could only be the start of frostbite.

Having watched this gone on for long enough, he stepped forward from the treeline and transformed back to his human form, ending his silent vigil. He patted Yang gently on the head as he walked past and forcefully lifting Taiyang up by his armpit while looking at him straight in the eye.

And seeing nothing but emptiness inside.

“You have to keep yourself together, man,” he remarked worriedly, “If not for yourself, for your daughter.”

He received no response.

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

A trio of graves can now be seen on the cliffside, illuminated by the moon and stars above. A blond girl was sitting down with her hands around her knees, sobbing and mumbling.

“I didn’t meant for any of this to happen,” Yang whispered, “I didn’t want anyone to get hurt. I just wanted to find my other mom.”

“I never meant to hurt Ruby. She’s my sister. My good younger sis who didn’t deserve what happened to her,” she continued to talk to the graves, “Is that why you left me? Because you couldn’t live knowing you had a daughter who murdered her sister?”

“I swear I didn’t mean it.”

“If I could trade my life for everyone’s, I would. So please. Please come back,” Yang begged, “I don’t mind if I disappear...as long as you all come back. Please.”

It was at that moment he found his niece, having noticed the open window in her room.

“Yang...” he spoke, causing the girl’s head to turn towards him.

The girl’s violet hues stared straight into his eyes.

With the same empty expression as her father after Ruby’s funeral.

#############################

He stumbled onto the wall, his hand pressing onto his temple as a result from the vivid images he saw in his mind. Disoriented, he felt the world spin for another couple of moments before everything returned to normal.

Him inside a ICU room with his dying niece and a worried Ozpin.

What the hell wa-

“Qrow? Qrow? Are you alright?” Ozpin questioned concernedly, hands on his armrest and already half-way standing.

Qrow held up his hand up to indicate he was okay.

Was that what people called a vision or just a product of an overactive imagination? Did it matter? He didn’t really believe in prophecy or fate, but he could see the events he witnessed coming to pass. Taiyang barely survived emotionally after Summer’s death - if Ruby died too, he’d probably give up entirely. And when that man decided on something, there was nothing anyone can do to stop him.

The best they could do would be to put him under twenty-four hour surveillance under a controlled environment, because a Hunter determined to kill himself will find a way. And ultimately, it would still leave their family broken - and Yang without a father - both father and daughter blaming themselves for the events of today, even though no one could’ve expected something like this to happen.

It was inevitable.

No.

He wouldn’t let that come to pass. This was not just simply the family of a friend. This was his family. His nieces. His brother-in-arms. A mother-in-heaven who was relying on him to protect her daughters.

He clenched his fists together. There had to be something he could do. Something.

...Something.

He calmly looked over at the girl in the ICU bed before taking out the flask from his vest. He gave it a look before taking one long sip of the bitter, burning drink.

“You shouldn’t drink in the hospital,” good old Oz said mostly reflexively, though both of them knew he’d do it anyway.

He took another long swig before emptying out the flask. It might be the last he’ll have for a long while.

“Hey, Oz. Tell it to me straight. If you didn’t give Raven and I our powers, would you’ve been able to save Ruby?”

“You shouldn’t dwell on something you can’t predi-”

“Oz. Just tell me.”

“...Maybe,” Ozpin admitted, “I can’t say with cert-”

He held a hand up to interrupt Ozpin and then smiled.

“It’s okay,” Qrow said in relief, “I can bet on a maybe.”

A flash of metal emerged from behind him as he drew Harbinger. His weapon’s barrel rested against the underside of his chin.

“Qrow! What are you doing? Have you gone cra-”

“I’ve always been crazy, Oz, but I’ve always known what I’m doing. If I die, the magic you imbued into me returns to you, right? And then you can save Ruby.”

“That’s why you’re doing this?! I can’t guarantee that’ll work. And even then I only said maybe, Qrow!” Ozpin agitatedly said, having stood up. He could already see Ozpin’s panicked eyes calculating and looking for openings, measuring the distance and angles he’ll need to safely disarm him. “You’re insane.”

“Never thought I could make you lose your composure on my behalf,” Qrow said with a smile. He really found a good man to follow, “but like I said, I can bet on a maybe. I won’t let Taiyang’s family fall apart. I’m their uncle Qrow.”

“Just put down the gun, Qrow,” Ozpin said anxiously, “We can talk about other optio-”

“Oz, as much as you like to play things close to the chest, you’re a bad liar,” Qrow rebuked, “I won’t blame you if you can’t save my niece after this. I’m happy for this chance. Just... don’t tell Tai.”

“Qrow. You can’t do this. It mig-”

His finger began applying pressure to the trigger.

In that moment, he realized where where he was. In the heart of the hospital. Inside an ICU room. With only Oz as company. His eyes gazed apologetically at his boss, his mentor, his friend.

“Sorry for making you clean up another one of my messes.”

“Qrow!” Ozpin lunged forward.

Bang.

#rwby fic #rwby #rwby au #taiyang xiao long #qrow branwen #ozpin #suicide tw #long exhausting piece to write #i hope it came out well though!#uncle crow au #mod lilac

34 notes · View notes

todorokifanboy · 4 years ago

Text

Death Note: anti-hero idealism

Warning! Major spoilers ahead.

What would you do if you discovered a notebook that could kill people just by writing their names on the pages? Would you kill for fun? Impose a new world order? Think you’re a god? When Light Yagami discovers the titular article, he decides to do all three. And what results is an enthralling exploration of the human condition, specifically the complex interplay of arrogance, idealism and power.

Quick recap: Light Yagami is the genius son of a detective and his wife. One day, outside his school, he sees a notebook drop from the sky. When he picks it up, he discovers that it is a Death Note, with instructions written inside for its use. Suddenly struck by radical idealism after testing it out twice and realizing it was legit, Light begins to plan out what could essentially be called a systematic genocide...only it was with criminals broadcast on the news. Acceptable? His increasing number of murders attracts the attention of radical fans who dub him Kira and swear allegiance, and unfortunately of global investigation agencies. They send their best detective L (who, before his introduction, has already deduced Light resides in Japan) to find out more about this Kira. If that didn’t already make for an exciting cat-and-mouse-mystery-chase, wait till you see the way Light begins outsmarting his own detective dad, who joins L’s team to bring down Kira. Or the way Light has his memory erased just to avoid being caught by L.

I’m sure everyone’s heard of the Socratic maxim: “I know that I know nothing.” It could be considered an old-fashioned warning against the Dunning-Kruger effect (aka overestimating yourself). If Light was a real character who existed at the time, he would have just written down Socrates' name in the Death Note with a slight smirk. In Light’s eyes, he knows he knows best. He knows the deeply corrupt nature of the world, the injustices that go about unpunished, the sinners that are left to roam the earth. And more importantly, he knows that only he really knows that you can murder people by writing down their names in a notebook.

That’s why his character is so fascinating. He embarks on what one could consider a genocide, fuelled with an idealistic vision of making the world a better place (like every fascist leader ever?). And what’s more worrisome, and equally captivating, is that Light is an absolute genius. He’s cold, concise and cunning, keeping the entire investigation wrapped around his little finger. The success of his murders is also tangible: there is a drastic decrease in crime, with much of the public revering Kira and his swift, decisive judgement. And Light is slowly consumed by this power. It slowly becomes less about the world-as-a-better-place and more about Light-as-new-god.

Although you could parallel his trajectory with a fascist, you could also do so with yourself. Or even someone you know. It’s almost natural to become so lost in an ideal or a principle, something we hold so deep to us it alters our actions and judgement forevermore. Light is, after all, just an eighteen year old highschool student. One really couldn’t say he is the villain of the show. He’s perfectly human: he was a disillusioned, cynical child who, upon obtaining power, was filled with an arrogance and idealism that were so intertwined they could not be separated. He wanted better for everyone. He wanted the evil to suffer. At the heart of it all, he was really just being a petulant child. One so gripped by his idealisms, he is even willing to sacrifice his family to see his dreams fulfilled. But still, just a child.

My grandfather once told me that good literature gives you a better insight with human character than anything else. Sometimes even more than personal experience. I believe the same can be said about good anime. While Death Note’s plot is still fantastical, the character types you see provide a realistic insight to human nature. Although I must admit, I stopped watching the series after Light killed Watari and L because...L just deserved better. But I have to pick it up again. After all, I wonder to what fate Light’s trajectory will lead him.

#death note #anime #manga #light yagami #yagami light #shinigami #ryuk #watari #l

12 notes · View notes

nachtai-ish · 5 years ago

Text

I Like That (Part 3)

Title: I Like That Pairing: Erik X BlackFemale!Reader Previous Parts: Part 1, Part 2 summary: just uh....hide your purse aight? (author’s note: uh, ...so...um...it’s been a while right? very sorry about that but it’s here now and I already know how i’m ending it so that’s great. ...this part is written in erik’s pov cause that really helped me break the block i had on it. ...I hope you enjoy it. only one more part to go.) He knew he had fucked up. She wouldn’t even look at him and had scooted as close to her door as she possibly could. He mentally cursed himself and his ego. He wasn’t even sure why he had snapped at her so hard. What she said was fundamentally true and she had the right to speak on what she knew first hand, but it must have been the mixture of David, her being so mad at him, and the fact that her blow had hurt that had him acting up.

“Y/n, listen.”

“Erik, I said shut up.” She said looking down at her nails that were done in a french tip, something she had been doing since grade school. He remembered how her mom thought color was too ‘grown’ and that ‘young women should only have French tipped nails’. He remembered laughing at her nails in the car when she held them out for him to see, and then he remembered moaning as those same nails wrapped around him.

“I’m sorry, alright.” He sighed and rubbed his hand down his face.

“You’re always sorry Erik. It never helps anything. You’re a sorry ass nigga. So what?” She finally looked at him fury and sadness in her brown eyes.

He swallowed his anger at her name calling and looked out of the window to calm down, “Listen, I know you fucking hate me, and I don’t blame you. I treated you like shit in high school.”

“No, you treated me worst than shit. You dogged me, Erik. Do you know how it feels to be beaten down by the nigga you thought you were in love with? No you don’t because everybody loved you.” Her voice had raised, he could tell that she didn’t give a shit about the mixed company they were in.

“Y/n.”

“Don’t Y/n me. I’m going to say what I should have been said, Erik. You fucked me in private. Used me like a sex toy and in public I was your verbal punching bag. And you set the tone for everyone else in high school. High school was hell for me.”

“What was I supposed to do about it? I was a kid, Y/n. I really feel like you’re overestimating my influence.”

“You were supposed to stop it, not add on to it.”

“Well I’m sorry. I truly am. I wasn’t perfect back then and I’m not perfect now and all I can do now is apologize.”

She shook her head, wiping under her eyes quickly. “It was so long ago, and I haven’t thought about it in years. I stopped being your victim a long time ago Erik….it’s just this reunion has brought up so many memories.” She took a deep breath and exhaled looking at him again. “I’m sorry too. I’ve been acting like a child.”

“Yes you have.” He joked, laughing when she shot a scowl his way. “I’m kidding. I understand your anger. I really do. It’s not right how I treated you, and if any man treated my daughter like that I’d kill him with my bare hands.”

“Your daughter? You got a child?” She looked surprised.

He smirked, “What if I said I did? What would that mean?”

“That you still haven’t learned to use condoms.” She shook her head, running her hand through her hair. She looked surprised, as if that wasn’t what she wanted to hear.

He smirked to himself.“I’m kidding. No kids yet. …Ain’t found the right woman…” He looked down her seated frame, biting down on his lip as his gaze settled on her hips and the thigh that had poked out of the slit on the dress. “And the woman I want to have my babies don’t want me.”

She was pointedly ignoring his blatant staring, choosing instead to scroll through her phone. “Well maybe you’ll have luck at the reunion. Remember that girl Monica? She’s been asking the facebook group if you were coming.”

He rolled his eyes and sat back in his seat, “Don’t nobody want Monica. Her breath was stank.” She chuckled and the sound warmed his soul.

The best times he could remember in high school was of her and him chilling in his car outside of her house. She would sneak out the window because her mom didn’t allow boys in the house and honestly didn’t like him one bit but she would take the chances of being caught outside with him anyway.

They would sit and listen to the radio, singing along with their favorite songs, and roasting the bad songs. They would sling insults back and forth until they ended up not being able to speak from laughing so hard.

In tough times, she would be a warm shoulder to lean on, saying nothing that might make him close up when he happened to cry. In reverse, he would be there times when her dad would flake on her again or forget her birthday, or when her mom was just being too restrictive.

It was those times he remembered, even more than the sex they shared, those times where she was his best friend. He missed that.

“Her breath did used to be a little tart.” She spoke back looking at him.

“A little? The girl used to exhale and burn off people’s eyebrows.”

She laughed then, fully, holding onto her stomach. “You’re mean.”

“I’m honest.” He looked out the window. They still had about twenty minutes until they made it to the reunion. “So, where did you meet David?”

She looked at him and shook her head. “Uh uh.”

“Uh uh? What do you mean uh uh?”

“You are not fixin to clown my man, okay? No. I’m not letting it happen.”

“Ain’t nobody about to clown your man. …I mean I didn’t know you liked light skinned men but-

“See you’re already clowning him.”

He shook his head, “No, I was just joking. Seriously, tell me I want to know.”

She rolled her eyes, “Well if you must know, we met at a conference in Arizona.”

“So he’s in business?”

“No, tech actually. He was at the conference networking. At the time he was trying to startup this app, Nozzle. It’s a app that-

“I know about Nozzle.” Erik actually knew Nozzle pretty well seeing as he had invested some money in the startup a while back trying to get his portfolio up.

However, he didn’t remember seeing David’s name in the business plan. “So, he’s still working with Nozzle then?”

“Nah, they ousted him. He had a completely different vision than the other two men and they decided to part ways amicably. He’s actually working on a festival idea, kind of like a black Coachella but not like Afropunk or anything. That’s why he’s not here right now. He had a meeting to attend with some investors.”

Erik couldn’t help but smirk, “A festival?”

“Don’t even-“

“I bet its going to be lit. …Straight…Fyre.”

“I’m not talking to you anymore.” She looked out of the window folding her arms again.

“Wait, wait. I’m just kidding.” He pulled one of her arms down, so she wouldn’t close up on him again. “Seriously though, he does know a new festival right now, it’s not the move.”

She sighed, “It’s legit though and he has a good plan for it. Nothing too extravagant. I’ve been working it out with him, setting up meetings for him.”

“Setting up meetings for him? You a secretary now?”

“Nah, I’m a good girlfriend. Why shouldn’t I help him if I can?”

Erik looked at her and then shrugged, “I mean, I guess. But…just don’t put none of your money in it.” When she didn’t say anything, he sighed. “How much?”

It was her turn to rub the back of her neck, “Uh…just 50,000 dollars.”

“50,000 dollars?”

“We got a loan, so he could have the capital to start moving stuff and showing investors he wasn’t coming in empty handed.”

“Oh my god, Y/n. The whole reason you get investors is so that you don’t have to get loans like that or at least so you can pay off the damn loan. How much has he paid off.”

“10,000.”

“Oh my godddd.” Erik wanted to die. He wanted to strangle Y/n, in the most loving way, for being so stupid and then he wanted to kill David. “He’s fucking scamming you and probably everyone else he’s talked to. Why did he get ousted from Nozzle?”

“I told you because they had different visions-“

“Nah, that’s what that nigga told you.” He pulled out his phone. “Send me a picture of him.”

“Why?” Erik rolled his eyes and tried hard not to snap at her, “Don’t argue with me right now. Send me a picture.” When she pulled out her phone he sighed.

“This nigga is running your name into the ground and you probably don’t even know it.”

“He’s legit Erik.” The airdrop notification came up on his phone and he accepted it, getting a fairly clear picture of David.

“We’ll see.” He pulled up an app that allowed him to search FBI databases, search engines, wanted ads, and many more places by picture and name.

“What’s his name?”

“David Johnson.” She had moved closer trying to see what he was doing on his phone. “Are you doing a background check on him?”

“Nah, but you should have.” He hit search and the app began trying to match David’s photo and name to anything they could.

“I can’t believe this. You’re so fucking smart, Y/n. You graduated summa cum lade and you’re nearly running that firm you’re at. I can’t believe that you can’t smell a scammer from a mile away.”

“How do you know all of that?”

Before he could answer his phone dinged, he smirked pressing the article that came up. David Johnson was Gregory Malcolm, the man who was caught misappropriating funds from Nozzle. Who was still wanted by authorities in California, New York, and Georgia.

“Is David’s middle name Joanne?” He started looking down at the picture of David being escorted out of a building in handcuffs.

“No…why?”

“Cause your man’s a fucking scammer.”

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

(author’s note: just

and I hope that this part was not a total let down.) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

taglist: @halonahoney @scumyeol @fangirlingbookworm1 @elaindeereads @groovybbyyy @holy-minseok @ljstraightnochaser @chefjessypooh @sweet-epiphany85 @hold-me-like-a-heart-beat @tiava143

@chaneajoyyy @ raysunshine78 fuckmegoodbruhh ghostfacekill-monger mellifluousbabe browngirldominion

(i probably didn’t tag half the people that wanted to be tagged. sorry about that!)

#erik stevens x reader #killmonger x reader #erik x reader #Erik Stevens #black panther killmonger #black panther fanfic #erik x black reader

149 notes · View notes

dammitadolfnomorecake · 4 years ago

Text

Once Bitten, Twice Stupid prt 117

117

Lance was slowly dying inside, thanks to his dramatic flare for extremes. How he was sweating up a storm he didn’t know. He’d shed his jacket, now tied around Keith waist, as Kosmo tugged him onwards. It was hot. He’d gone from one extreme to another and questioned if he really was a tropical vampire. It was unusual for him to get this warm, his stomach gurgling as he followed his friends through the woods to where Matt and Rieva had been the previous night. He didn’t doubt their directional skills, able to pick up where Matt had marked trees along the way. The trees Kosmo seemed to really want to pee on matching Matt’s scent.

Ahead of him, Keith had his camera out, stopping whenever anything took his fancy. Pidge had been a total poser, roping Curtis and Hunk into helping her onto fallen trees for the perfect shot. It really was only him who was slowing the group down, thankfully able to blame it on Kosmo, mentally promising extra belly rubs and treats for him later. Nature was nice. Garrison had a couple of wooded areas but nothing like this... the only problem was the humidity. He was not a “humid vampire”. Rieva checking on him from time to time, making him paranoid that she knew. It didn’t help that he kept moving his hand to stomach without thinking. Feeling Kosmo tug on his lead a little too hard, Lance lurched with him, world spinning as smacked into the closest tree. “Not far” in werewolf speak seemed very fucking far as he rubbed his shoulder.

Having seen what happened, Matt laughed at him

“Dude, you’re asleep on your feet”

“Fuck off, Kosmo has to pee every two minutes”

“Let me take him”

Nooooo. He’d lose his excuse for lagging

“I’ve got him. I’m not letting you corrupt my fur son”

“Don’t come crying to me when you...”

Matt’s words becoming a predication as he tripped over his own feet, glasses going flying as Kosmo jumped on him, yipping as he did

“... trip. Damn... Keith, your boyfriend’s klutz is in overdrive”

Jogging back to him, Keith pulled Kosmo back

“Give us a moment, we’ll...”

Being viciously attacked by a tree, followed by tripping, Lance sighed as he flopped sideways, sprawling out against the cool ground

“Babe!”

“Here, give him some water. It’s pretty hot in here”

Shay offered her water bottle, Keith pulling out his own to offer Lance

“Guys, we’re going to take a break here. You guys go ahead”

“If he’s not feeling well, shouldn’t we turn back”

Fucking... fuck. Just... fuck. Someone shoot him. Shoot him and bury him here

“I’m fine. Just hot. Gimme a moment I’ll be good to go”

“You haven’t been well since we got here...”

“I’m fine, Shay. My body likes to either torture me with freezing my arse off or making me like I’ve landed on the surface of the sun”

“Are you sure? You look very pale”

“I’m fine. Sorry, Guys. Chocolate and hiking doesn’t seem to suit me. I don’t think I’m made for the wild outdoors”

Lance sent a mental apology to Hunk over Shay being so considerate, Hunk clearing his throat

“I can stay with you... if you want?”

“Nah, man. Shay’s totally loving this wild and manly adventurer look on you. We’ll catch up in a few”

None of his friends were sure about leaving. Pidge and Hunk thinking of him too humanly. Shiro awkwardly holding Curtis’s hand, the lie probably weighing heavily on him. Matt and Rieva were sympathetic, but knew he always threw up when he ate. Begging Matt with his eyes, Matt sighed at him

“If you two losers aren’t there in the next five minutes, I’m coming back to kick your arses”

“Sounds good. Seriously guys, don’t hike and snack”

Leaving them behind, Keith took him by the arm and pulled him away from the middle of the track. Sitting him down at the base of a tree, Lance was grateful Kosmo and Matt hadn’t peed against it

“You look hot. Do you have a fever?”

“Nah. Too much human food and heat. You could have gone with them”

“I’m not leaving you behind. I didn’t think you felt so sick”

“I don’t really. A bit dizzy but I’m okay”

Keith unclipped the handle part of Kosmo’s lead, extending it as far it went then clipping into place around his ankle so Kosmo wouldn’t wander off

“Water?”

“Please”

Sure. It’d come up. But he needed something to cool him back down.

Drinking carefully from Keith’s water bottle, he passed it back. The others were fussing over him. Shay especially

“Babe... do you think we should tell Shay?”

Keith hummed

“I don’t know. She’ll probably freak”

“She’s already worried. I hate it...”

“I know. The others will look after her”

“Hunk and Pidge are worried too. I’m not usually like this camping”

“You’re worrying too much. Hunk asked me if this was normal when I was doing the dishes. I told him it’s because you have no self control when he’s cooking”

“That’s true... He’s such an amazing cook. I really want him to open his own place up. I don’t think I’d stop eating if he did”

“I think we’d all be fat if we lived off his cooking. He’s better than most chefs at the places in Rome”

“I’m not surprised... Babe, I’m okay. I was hot before, but I’m cooling down”

“You flopped on the ground”

“Because it’s nice and cool. Woodlands and forests have their own micro-climates... I don’t think I do humidity well”

“Better than snow?”

“Everything’s better than snow. You didn’t have to wait back with me”

“I told you it’s fine, and it is. How do your feet feel?”

Lance tapped his heels together three times, finding himself still trapped in the toe eating boots

“Not too bad. Not as bad as my stomach, I’m like hungry again”

“Did you want to eat?”

“I didn’t bring... oh. No. No. I’ll be okay”

“Babe, that’s not what I’m asking”

“I know what you’re asking. The smell was super strong in the cabin, it’s like stuck in my nose or something”

“If you want...”

“We talked about this”

Keith sighed heavily. Yeah. He didn’t like Lance saying no

“I know, but you’ve been slowing down and you walked into a tree”

“I didn’t walk, I was pulled into by Kosmo. Matt scented the area last night and he’s trying to scent over it all”

“I still think if you’re hungry...”

“I’ll be fine. Just the change in weather or something. To think I was wrapped up and baking in front of the fire yesterday and here we are today”

“It is pretty extreme. I know it’s late to ask, but do you know where the others are?”

Lance suppressed rolling his eyes at Keith

“Yeah. I can hear them and I can smell them. They haven’t reached this mythical pond yet”

“I thought it was going to be closer to camp”

“Apparently werewolves like to overestimate things”

Keith snorted, getting the joke that at one time would gone right over his head

“Matt’s not going to like that”

“Then he shouldn’t have lied about the length”

Waiting, Lance shook his head when he heard a clear “Fuck you!” from Matt

“He didn’t like the joke”

“He heard?”

Seriously. How could a hunter...? How were the Blades still around?

“Babe, werewolf. And it’s not like we’re being quiet. I don’t need to feed, I’ve cooled down now and Kosmo seems to be trying to pull your leg off. Let’s go meet the others”

“You’ll tell me if you feel weaker or faint, won’t you?”

“Yes, mum. You’re fussing too much”

“Or am I fussing just enough?”

God. He loved this man. Keith was a special kind of idiot that owner his heart and soul.

The pond found by Matt and Rieva was nice and all, but Keith wasn’t sure it was that nice. At least not work the trek to the middle of fucking nowhere just to see a pond that didn’t have all that much appeal. The underground lake had been awesome. The pond a solid “eh”. Duckweed clung around edges, the reeds kind of making it nice to photograph. Pidge wasn’t thrilled their walking had ended with a pond that didn’t look safe to swim in. Finding a stray branch, she poked at the duckweed at the side of the pond

“Reckon it’s safe?”

Matt chuckled at his sister

“It was last night”

“Yeah, before you go to it. Man, you could have said it was basically a swamp”

Standing up, Pidge threw her branch into the water

“You’re just not seeing it’s potential”

“And I’m telling mum”

Matt gaped at Pidge. Keith sucking his lips in, trying not to laugh at the look on Matt’s face. With one gape he looked thoroughly betrayed

“That’s enough. We’re here now, we might as well make the most of it”

Shiro tried to restore calm with his “Dad” voice. Hunk nervously looking around them

“We’re not going to be killed here, are we? I feel like we could be killed here”

“Guys, you’re over reacting. It’s a nice spot”

Matt was trying too hard to make the sale no one buying

“Maybe if you’re a dog... Kosmo! Ack...”

Keith hadn’t noticed he was standing in mud, Kosmo had. Shaking himself off, mud went flying, Kosmo’s tongue lolling as he looked up at them proudly. Pidge wiping flecks off mud from her face with an unimpressed grimace

“He’s a menace...”

Great now Matt looked like he wanted to wolf out and join Kosmo in the mud

“He’s just being a dog. You wouldn’t understand”

“No, I’ll leave that to you and him. Right, if you need me, I’ll be on my tablet”

Hunk set up the snacks he’d brought at what he deemed a safe distance from the pond. Matt showing he didn’t care by wading out into the cold water, trying to coax Kosmo in for swim. Even Kosmo was smarter than to follow that idiot. Sitting next to Lance, his boyfriend had his head resting against Keith’s shoulder

“Hey babe, can you show me that thing on your phone again?”

He didn’t think Lance would ask in front of everyone. Pulling his phone out, he unlocked it then handed it over, Lance taking the device carefully, before starting to tap on the screen. It only took him a few moments to type his message out

“The pond sucks, but you’re beautiful”

Keith tried to ignore how happy the silly message made him, typing at the end of the Lance’s message with one finger that made things infinitely harder

“Can I be handsome?”

Lance nodding as he typed back

“Don’t forget rugged and grizzly”

Keith ducked his head, embarrassed over the praise, Lance adding

“I really love you”

Which only made his heart do that stupid thing it did. After 6 months, he thought the butterflies and weird heart beats would stop, yet Lance always seemed to make it happen far too often. Taking his phone back, he added to the message

“I love you too babe. Sorry about the pond”

Lance shook his head, it seemed the conversation had ended naturally. A moment or two passing before Lance took his phone back

“I’m sleepy. Matt was right about this being a good nap place... apart from the smell”

Yeah. It stunk to him and he was human. Damn dogs and their attraction to smell dead things

“Wanna talk a walk?”

Lance moved his head up to smile at him

“Okay... but not too far”

“Nah. I want to get some photos”

And spend some alone time with Lance again.

Picking a path around the pond, it was larger than reeds and duckweed made it seem. Lance holding his hand as they walked, Keith found he didn’t actually know what to say. Walking like this was nice. Maybe it was okay for things to be quiet? It didn’t feel uncomfortable until he realised they’d walked quite a way from the others. Pidge could still be heard yelling, some laughter in the otherwise still air... Then Lance went and sighed. He wished he knew what his boyfriend was thinking. And why he’d snapped at Shiro. Shiro seemed okay, and Lance would apologise again, even though he probably didn’t need to

“Babe?”

“I’m okay...”

“You sighed”

Lance sighed at him again, Keith rolling his eyes before pulling Lance in for a hug, Lance protesting lightly

“I’m fine”

“You still sighed”

“You weren’t saying anything...”

Keith couldn’t help but chuckle

“I was thinking the same thing... it’s nice not being surrounded by noise”

“Speak for yourself”

Keith kissed Lance’s forehead as he slid his hands down to his boyfriend’s arse. Lance squeaking as he groped him lightly

“What was that for?!”

“Because I could. Want to take a break?”

“Actually, yeah... You haven’t been taking any photos”

“That’s because I was too busy holding your hand. Want to try to taking a photo with me?”

“Haven’t you got enough of me?”

Keith chuckled again. He’d meant of the lake, and he knew he was biased and all, but he couldn’t have enough photos of Lance

“Nope. Here, I want to show you something”

Sliding around Lance, so he was now standing behind him, Keith popped the cap off the camera lens and flicked the knob to on. The camera chiming as it booted up

“Okay. Now, we’re going to take a photo”

“I know how to take a photo”

“Mmmm... but you said you weren’t sure about it and I want to share this with you”

In Rome he’d been shit scared everyone would find out and laugh at him over his hobby. Sometimes it was hard to have his camera out in front of their friends, but with Lance it was easier. His boyfriend never judged, even before they were dating

“It’s just duckweed”

Keith moved the camera to the right

“See how the light filters through the trees, and almost cuts the photo in half on the diagonal? If we zoom in, what do you see?”

On the screen he showed Lance the different. The way the one section caught the light, almost shimmering in the specs of water between the weedy growth

“That’s cool”

“Yeah... hold on”

Clicking the capture button, the image appeared on the screen for a few seconds before returning to viewfinder. Zooming out slowly, Lance perked up

“I like that one”

Keith bit down his snort. Lance must have assumed he’d already capture the image. His boyfriend reading his body language

“Not like that. It’s half and half properly now”

Keith clicked capture again, he personally would have moved the camera a little to the left to get the light balance two thirds instead of the half

“It is. But if we move it like this, tell me which looks better”

Adjusting his view, Lance hummed at him

“I get it... and it’d be a totally different picture again if you changed the angle”

“Yep...”

Letting his head loll back on Keith’s shoulder, Lance smiled at him

“I don’t think I’ll ever be a star photographer, but it suits you”

“I could teach you properly”

“You offered before. Honestly, I really like watching you. The way your eyes light up when you’ve got a shot you like”

“Am I really that transparent?”

“A little. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone with eyes as honest as yours”

“Then you really do need glasses”

They would have forgotten Lance’s glasses earlier if Kosmo hadn’t pawed at them when they were getting ready to meet up with the other

“And you need to accept the compliment”

“You’re the one who compliments me too much”

“Then you shouldn’t be so kind to me”

Keith groaned. What was he supposed to do with that?

“Shut up”

Lance laughed at him. Keith dropping his left hand to rub his boyfriend’s stomach, Lance immediately letting out a soft moan that was far too cute

“Stoooooop”

“Why?”

“Because we’re got company that can hear me moaning and all you’re doing is messing with me”

“I’m not messing with you. Does it feel okay?”

“Honestly human food came up so hard in the cabin that I don’t want to eat”

“You kept the water down”

“I went and dealt with that while Hunk was finding the perfect picnic spot”

“You should have...”

“Babe. You know things came out one way or the other... Kind of comes with the whole being dead thing. I love that you care, but you’ve also got to remember I’ve been dealing with this for years and I’m used to dealing with it alone”

“Doesn’t mean you have to now”

“Fine, the next time I have to shit my guts out...”

Keith wrinkled his nose

“Okay. Okay. I’m overthinking. As long as you’re okay”

It was then that Lance’s stomach let out a loud gurgle. His boyfriend closing his eyes as he groaned

“I’m sick of it. It’s been doing that nonstop”

“Are you hungry?”

“A little...”

“You should eat”

“I didn’t pack anything. I thought “short walk” would be like a “human short walk””

“You need to eat. It’s not good...”

“I’ll be fine”

“Babe...”

“Keith, I’ll be fine”

Lance needed to be eating more. More of everything if you asked Keith. He didn’t like Lance having to throw up, but he and their baby needed the calories

“Then take...”

“No”

“You... look. You can feed off my fingers again. Just enough to make the hunger go away”

“Why do you keep offering?”

How did Lance not know? Other than the jealousy, which he was trying to work through, he didn’t have a problem. Lance wasn’t going to turn him from a feed. So why couldn’t his boyfriend see it was because of how he felt about him

“Because I love you. If we were in opposite positions, you’d be forcing it on me”

“I’m not that forceful”

“Right. And I’m not secretly half alien here hiding from the master race”

Lance laughed, face scrunched up as he did

“You know, you’d make a good half alien. I’d still love you just as much”

“You’re such a damn sap”

“And you’re twice as bad. Can we sit for a bit? I don’t feel like going back just yet”

“We’re not walking around the entire pond?”

Lance shrugged, opening his eyes

“I was following you”

Keith played along

“But I was following you”

His boyfriend shrugged again

“I guess we’re lost forever then”

“I think I’m okay with that”

Lance’s knees gave out on the way back to the others. Disguising it as tripping, he wasn’t sure why they’d suddenly given out. Not until he saw his hands. His nails long, dug into the ground. He could feel his fangs against his lip, edges pressing down against the toughened skin. Raising his head to look at Keith, Keith swore softly, his boyfriend pushing him aside as he drew out his hand gun. Lance not even getting the chance to be shocked as Keith shot him.

Shooting up from where he’d fallen asleep against Hunk, he realised everyone was staring at him. Right. They were in the main cabin now. He, Hunk, and Pidge had been sitting on the sofa. The three of them with their feet on the coffee table as they compared blisters and Curtis tended to their feet

“Ugh, bud? You okay there?”

Dropping back down beside Hunk, Hunk wrapped his arms around him. Keith was in the bathroom washing Kosmo with Shiro, so he couldn’t have been asleep for very long

“Yeah. Ugh ... I think I fell asleep”

“You did... I’ve been wondering how to wake you up so I could start dinner”

“How long was I out?”

“Half an hour. Keith’s still trying to get Kosmo clean...”

Lance could feel the dirt beneath his nails. His body wouldn’t stop shaking at the thought of Keith putting a bullet in his brain... Whining the name of his best friend softly, he needed the comfort Hunk provided

“Hunk...”

“Why don’t you help me with dinner? It’s been a while since we cooked together”

Lance kind of felt disappointed. He wanted to cuddle with his best friend, but Hunk liked to be moving when he had a lot to think about

“Okay... What’s for dinner?”

“Pasta, made fresh”

“Alright...”

Lance washed his hands, the scent of blood from the morning had finally started to disappear. As Hunk grabbed the eggs out the fridge, he watched his friend. Pidge was watching from them from the sofa... probably worrying. He made everyone worry and it was so damn draining

“Right. Can you grab the flour out?”

“Ah... sure”

Lance should have picked up on the signs Hunk was trying to distract him. Grabbing the flour out the pantry, Hunk smiled softly as he moved to the kitchen bench, Lance joining him

“Bud, I know somethings up. You can tell me”

“It’s...”

He wanted to. He wanted to so badly... That nightmare had shaken him. He didn’t think he was strong enough to keep his secret

“I... Hunk...”

As he sniffled Hunk pulled him into a hug

“Whatever happens, Bud, you can rely on me”

“I know... I know... it’s just not... I... I don’t want you to hate me”

“I won’t... Do you need a bit to think it out?”

“Yeah... I had a nightmare Keith shot me in the head and... I’ve been lying again... and I hate it...”

“It’s alright. I mean, I know you’ve got a few secrets... you’d have to. Here, pour out the flour for me... and I’ll get the pasta machine out”

Lance poured the flour on the bench, sniffling as he did. He didn’t know where everyone one was, but he did know he couldn’t mentally keep his secret any longer. He’d wanted to wait. To be more confident and sure of the pregnancy. Flattening out the flour, Hunk bumped into him gently

“It’s just flour, Bud. No need for the tears”

Fuck... He needed his best friend. Having a boyfriend was a different kind of friendship...

“I... I’m...”

“Lance, it’s okay, Bud. You don’t have to rush right away”

“It’s not that... you can’t tell”

“Now you’re making me worried”

“Just... hang on”

Keith put the idea in his head, Lance spelling out his secret in the flour. Those simple letters with so much more meaning

“Don’t tell anyone yet...”

He spelt it out, waiting for Hunk to catch on, his bestie humming when he did, Lance brushing the flour back into place

“... Matt and Rieva hear everything”

Hunk nodded quickly, before drawing a smiley face in the flour

“I’m pregnant”

This two words had Hunk sweeping him into the tightest hug of his life as Lance messed the flour up to hide the evidence

“I... I wondered... are you...?”

Lance nodded as his nerves went weird. Hunk hugging him hadn’t been... well it’d been a dream

“Oh, man... it makes sense now... but... nope, I’ll ask later...”

“Thank you... I’m so sorry”

“Shhh... Keith, uh, he kind of put the idea in my head and I guess maybe he wanted me to work it out”

“Keith is very attached to “macaroon”... just don’t use the word too much”

Hunk immediately let him go, hands going to Lance’s shoulders as he hung his head

“I thought you just wanted macaroons...”

“It’s okay, Hunk. But now Pidge is watching, she’s about ready to demand to know what’s going on”

“Oh, right. Be cool... be cool... do you need anything? Should you be resting?”

Great. Someone else to over worry about him...

“I’m okay. It’s not that different just more puking. Anyway, we should start dinner”

“Yeah, man. I’m making garlic knots. This is a special occasion”

“You’re not grossed out”

“I’m shocked, not quite sure how it works, or if I really want to ask, but as long as...”

Lance threw his arms around Hunk. Nearly sobbing in relief of the weight lifted off his shoulders, and, kind of more importantly, that his best bro wasn’t about to reject him.

“Okay, you two are acting weird. What’s going on here? And why am I not part of it?”

Lance peered at Pidge over his best friends shoulder

“Hunk promised to teach me the secret ingredient in his mama’s spaghetti bolognese!”

Pidge’s eyes went wide

“That’s a top secret family recipe!”

“That’s why I’m excited... I’ve been after it for years!”

He already had the recipe, but there was something different about how Hunk’s mother made it taste. Being taught to be useful he’d offered to help Hunk’s mother, memorising things by watching her. She kind of loved him, not that he was bragging

“Sorry, guys. I can teach Lance the recipe but we’ll have to talk about it when we get home. I don’t have everything here”

Lance pulled away, wiping at his eyes. The conversation may have gone differently if Keith hadn’t already planted that thought in Hunk’s brain

“Dude... I’m totally betrayed here. It’s a good thing the pastas going to be delicious”

“I wouldn’t say that...”

“Hunk, you are a kitchen god descended before us mostly human beings. Even Keith agrees. We’d all be fat with how good your cooking is, buddy”

Hunk shuffled nervously under the praise

“I don’t know. You and Miriam know so many great recipes too”

“Which I’ll totally teach you. Let’s get the pasta started”

“Sure thing, man”

Watching the exchange, Pidge grumbled

“Boys are so freaking weird. I’m going to go hang with Shay, at least she’s interesting”

“Let her nap. She’s making the most of getting some sleep in before she goes back to work”

Lance realised he hadn’t thought to ask about Shay... Pidge made a show of climbing off the sofa, walking away from them with his feet turned slightly out to avoid pulling weight on the blisters on her big toes. Lance waited until she was gone before whispering

“Hunk, I want to ask you something and I want you to be honest. Do you think I should I tell her the truth? Like about me? I don’t want you having to lie to her, it sucked so damn hard having to lie to you, and I don’t want to rob you of your happiness with her”

“I don’t know, man... I don’t want to freak her out... I don’t want her freaking out at me for hiding it...”

“I know. I know and I’m sorry... I hated lying to you, but once you know about the scary things you can’t take it all back”

Realising they were born whispering at the same time, the moves away from each other. Lance moving to start welling the flour, Hunk going on the search for his pasta rolling machine

“Let me think about it? I’m still... processing... I mean... you and Keith are dudes... you’re... a guy... and I’m not saying this right, man. I’m like super happy for you... but I still have like a hundred questions of how this even happens”

They didn’t have time for the hundred questions. Lance still a hundred questions over how it’s happened and how he was going to get Hunk alone to fill him in on everything so far

“I’m a different type of vampire from drinking Keith’s blood. That still sounds really gross and wrong... I’m really gross when you think about it. I only did it to save his life and my body started changing thanks to it. I really love Keith, but I don’t... the thought of feeding from someone warm and living, makes me feel gross”

“I kind of don’t think about it. I mean, I do, but I mean like you’re our best friend. Me and Pidge are starting to get it”

“You shouldn’t have to though...”

“It’s weird, but when you think about it, blood is used in a lot of different dishes around the world. Mongolian tribes have this dish made of horse blood and milk, and then there’s things like blood sausages... I mean, no one gets hurt right? To get the blood?”

“It’s donated. People get compensated... Coran makes sure they’re not mistreated or anything like that... It’s... um... easier to eat when you don’t know where it’s from”

“Like it’s easier to eat devilled ham spread when you don’t know they use pig eyeballs and eye lashes in it”

Lance shook his head, he didn’t want to feel so reassured that it was okay to be drinking human blood in front of his human friends

“You’re being too calm”

“Lance, have you ever wanted to feed off of me, or off of Pidge”

Lance took instant offence

“No! Ew... no. I love you guys, how could you even think that’s okay!”

“You just answered how we’re okay with this. You wouldn’t. Not unless there was absolutely no other option. You’ve got another option, but if you didn’t, neither of us want to see you suffer. We’re friends and friends work things out together”

Oh.

Deserting his role with the flour, Lance wrapped his arms around Hunk again

“I’m sorry I lost it... I shouldn’t have snapped...”

Hunk chuckled, always up for a hug

“It’s fine, man. Sometimes you get caught up in your head too much”

“I’ve never had... you know... human friends who knew about me. You guys... I love you guys so much. I’d never feed on you... I can’t...”

“I don’t know, Shay calls me her “tasty snack”...”

“Yeah. No. She can snack on you. I’m sorry, I’m being all weird”

“You’ve been weirder than normal for weeks now, but you’ve always been a little weird”

“I’ve been weird for 7 weeks... Keith’s accident started it all”

Hunk swatted at his arm

“Dude. Too much information”

“We we’re going to wait until the next time I saw Coran...”

“It’s okay. I’m not about to tell... but you need to be taking better care of yourself”

“I’m trying. God. At this rate dinner’s never going to be done”

“Are you saying my hugs aren’t worth it?”

“They’re totally worth it... you’re like, the coolest dude ever”

“It’s my gift and my curse”

They both laughed. Out of everyone, he was so fucking relieved that Hunk knew. He just hoped Pidge would take the news as well as him.

#ashratherose #oncebittentwicestupid #once bitten twice stupid

9 notes · View notes

nelllraiser · 4 years ago

Text

served shaken and stirred | lucky, connor, & nell

LOCATION: The Common, by the center fountain. PARTIES: @lvcky-charms, @connorspiracy, and @nelllraiser. SUMMARY: lucky, connor, and nell gate crash a group of highschoolers’ fun, putting a real big damper on an otherwise thrilling Summoning attempt. CONTENTS: self-harm (sacrificial), death, homophobia (highschoolers being dumb).

“Come onnn, how long is this gonna take?” Gary stuffed his hands in his hoodie pockets and stood back as Drew and Megan lit the candles. “It’s getting late, and my parents don’t want me out past 10. What’s the point of this shit, anyways? You really think that dumb note you found is gonna do something?” Of course they did. Mom and dad always cautioned him not to read any weird writing he found, especially out loud, but his friends really had their hearts set on this. He really should’ve known better than to listen to Drew. Drew always got them into trouble. And ever since he and Megan started dating, Gary found himself consistently outvoted.

Megan sat on the edge of the fountain, kicking her legs in the air. “Your parents don’t want you to have a life, Gary. And aren’t you curious? He paid $50 for this sheet of paper. It has to do something.” She shrugged, her mop of curly hair bouncing. “Besides, I wouldn’t waste my Yankee Candles if I didn’t think this wasn’t going to work.”

“Okay,” Drew announced, stepping back from the last candle, “I think we’re ready.” He checked the paper, like it was a sheet of instructions for assembling an IKEA dresser instead of a dangerous incantation. “Oh, it says we need to put blood onto the surface. Megan? You’ve been PMSing all week.”

She scowled at Drew. “Very funny. You know, I could’ve dated Shane instead. Maybe I made a mistake.” Megan hopped off the fountain’s edge and rummaged through her backpack, pulling out a dissection kit. “You’re just lucky I’m in AP Bio.” Drew still looked confused. She clicked open the small box and pulled out the scalpel as her answer, carefully handing it over to Drew.

Gary’s nose wrinkled. “Did you use that on a frog or something? Is that sanitary?” Megan just rolled her eyes and tossed her hair back. Drew didn’t seem to care one way or the other, and held out his hand. But something made him freeze. Gary quickly understood why. “Do you guys hear something?”

It was a shitty habit, he knew, but Connor’s vape had ran out of battery, so he was left with the emergency cigarettes he kept in his inside jacket pocket. “Where the fuck did I put that lighter?” He patted himself down like it was magically going to appear, groaning to himself. “Fuck sake.” He glanced around, looking for someone else who might be able to lend him one, and across the common he caught sight of--was that candles? He scrunched up his nose, curious, heading towards what looked to be a bunch of high schoolers. “Didn’t the fire brigade ever come to your school and warn you about flames in a wooded area?” he teased, then held up the cigarette. “Which of you has a light?” He glanced around at their faces, looking like a bunch of deer in the headlights, then his eyes fell on the paper. “Oh, bloody hell, not a summoning circle. Hand it over.”

Ever since Constance had decided to give Nell a deadly bath in the ocean, the ache of whatever the hell was wrong with her ribs had made it rather uncomfortable to breathe...or move- or do most of anything. But she’d run out of Takis at home, and desperate times called for desperate measures. If it hadn’t been for the faintest crackle of magic in the air, she would have walked on by whatever the hell was happening in the Commons, but the prickling of her skin turned Nell’s head towards the commotion, and a frown was quick to come over her as she slowly made her way over to the source of it, injury permitting. “What the hell are you all doing?” she asked unforgivingly the moment she saw the spread of the spell, obviously drawn with an inexperienced hand. Then she saw the scalpel, and realized they were only inches away from making a very big mistake. “Give me that,” she demanded in her next breath, holding her palm open for the tiny blade. “Or you’re probably about to get yourself and all your friends killed.” Summonings gone wrong were rarely forgiving.

“I had nothing to do with this,” Connor said, holding up his hands. “I just wanted a fag.”

“Sorry, Mary Poppins,” one of the boys answered. “Try Flaming Mo’s.”

Connor raised an eyebrow, looking over at Nell. He had to admit, it was nice to see her, even though they were clearly interrupting something stupid. Luckily, it wasn’t exactly unheard of for Connor to be involved in stupid shit. “That’s not what I meant.”

Nell was reaching for the scalpel, and the girl was staring at her, holding onto it protectively. “No, it’s mine. Get your own, you old bat.”

The other boy, the one who seemed to be her boyfriend, stepped forward protectively, grabbing the scalpel from her. Whether it was deliberate or whether it was an accident in the struggle, Connor couldn’t say, but in the scuffle, the scalpel went right through the palm of Nell’s hand, falling onto the scandals and fountain. “Jesus,” Connor exclaimed. “Bugger, that must’ve hurt. You alright?”

The stiffness that had settled into Lucky’s joints kept him from getting any semblance of normal sleep. He figured maybe, just maybe, a walk would help loosen him up and tire him out to the point where he couldn’t not sleep. He maybe overestimated how familiar he was with White Crest, as now he was ambling around and definitely lost. The walk hadn’t even done anything to ease his aching joints as, now, they throbbed with every step. He was just about to find a place to sit and rest for a moment when something caught his eye. Was that people? And candles? That seemed like a disaster waiting to happen in a town like this, but still, he begrudgingly walked towards them, coming upon some kids, a stranger, and...Nell? Good, this definitely meant he should turn around and leave; she never seemed to not be getting into trouble from what Lucky could tell by their interactions thus far. Against his better judgement, he called out softly as he approached. “Uh, hey folks.”

The moment the blood fell from her hand into the fountain, Nell knew what it meant. A sacrifice had been given, and the spell would be complete. But it wasn’t enough. Already she could feel the spell demanding more blood, and now that the floodgates had been opened it would take all the energy it needed until it was satisfied. Drew, the boyfriend, fell to his knees almost instantly, his face shriveling in like a dried apple before their very eyes as the magic took the energy it needed. It had taken all of five seconds for the night to turn into mystery occult fun to deadly. His girlfriend was screaming somewhere, but Nell couldn’t focus on that now. “I’m fine!” she replied reflexively to Connor, ignoring the pulsing pain of her hand. “But it needs more blood or it’s gonna keep taking what it wants!” she yelled with a nod towards the husk of a teenage boy that lay unmoving on the grass. Hastily, she grabbed the scalpel from his hand to draw it along the length of her forearm before shoving the entirety of her arm into the fountain, trying to complete the sacrifice for the summoning. “Lucky, get out of here!” she yelled, not even sure where the selkie had come from.

Lucky’s mouth hung open as he stared at what was unfolding before him. “Are you okay?” he asked, rushing forward towards Nell and trying to look at her arm. “Why would you do that!?” He glanced away at the teenager on the ground and physically recoiled at the appearance of him. Tentatively, Lucky bent down and prodded at him, stomach lurching as he did. “Nell? What the fuck is going on right now?” he asked, standing back up and looking at her and then around at the faces of everyone gathered. “What is wrong with this town?”

"Holy fucking hell," Connor cursed, stumbling back a couple of steps as the entity appeared in the fountain. "Sh, sh, stop screaming!" He told the girl, which was probably difficult when her boyfriend was lying on the ground like a shrivelled prune. Cigarette long abandoned, he grabbed the paper the ritual was written on. His first thought was to destroy it. Maybe that would work, right? But then, they might need the words to find out how to reverse them. "Nell, shit! Stop that!" But in the short time he'd known her, Connor figured this girl knew plenty about summonings. She knew what she was doing. "Who the hell is Lucky?" Connor asked, turning towards the stranger who had decided to amble into this conversation at precisely the wrong time. "Mate, no offense, but she's right, you need to bugger off."

“We were only trying to have a little fun!” Gary interjected, the look of immense shock and horror engrained on his features. “We didn’t mean to-- Oh, fuck… Drew…”

Of course, in a situation like this Nell couldn’t have been fortunate enough to be blessed with two boys that knew their way around a summoning such as this one. Instead she had Connor and Lucky. Gone was any patience she had outside of non-life threatening situations as she tried her best to explain. “These dumbasses-” she began with a pointed finger towards the two remaining highschoolers. “Just summoned who fucking knows what! And now that it’s been started- it won’t stop until it has the sacrifice it needs! Which means it’s gonna come through whether we like it or not! I have to give it more of a sacrifice or it’s gonna start turning all of us into corn husk dolls like him!” What the hell had they summoned anyway? As her blood continued to spill into the fountain, staining the water red, all she knew was that the entity felt hungry. “What’s the paper say?!” she asked Connor, noticing he’d found some sort of instructions.

Lucky was having a hard time reading lips by candlelight, but he made out enough to understand that whatever was currently in the fountain was certainly bad fucking news. “How do we make it go away? How do we stop it?” he asked, running his hands through his hair as the panic tightened in his chest. Why was he always at the wrong place at the wrong time? This was the second ghostly encounter he’d seen thus far and he was not prepared for how this one was going. He looked to Connor, opening and closing his mouth as he searched for words, before walking towards him and trying to get a glimpse of the paper and what it might say or be for that matter.

“Tryna figure that out, mate,” Connor answered. Didn’t seem like this Lucky guy was going to be very much help. Connor might still be figuring this exorcist shit out, but at least he had some experience, which he figured was more than could be said for Lucky. “It’s not good…” The fountain was bubbling as if it was made up of boiling blood, and the figure that had once appeared on the surface seemed as if it was trying like hell to manifest. It stared at Connor, pale face and tangled dark hair, as if it was staring into his very soul. Then it looked to Lucky, and then to Nell. He held up the paper for her and Lucky to see, guiding them back. The paper read; Bloody Mary Summoning Ritual.

As Nell made eye contact with the ghoulish face in the fountain, her eyes went wide, instantly getting the sense that this was no backyard bumpkin of a ghost or otherwise that had been summoned. Megan, apparently desiring revenge in the face of her boyfriend’s perceived killer rushed the fountain, yelling all the while. Her attempted attack didn’t get far before an arm darted out of the depths of the water, grabbing the highschooler by the throat- only to drag her face first into the bloodied fountain. It happened within the blink of an eye, faster than anyone could hope to react. In an instant the girl was gone, her body disappearing entirely into a fountain that couldn’t have been more than a couple of feet deep.

“Fuck!” Nell cursed, the deaths of the highschoolers not yet fully sinking in when danger was still front and center. Then she turned to read the paper Connor was showing, and her blood ran cold. Bloody Mary. Even Nell who wasn’t all that versed in ghosts and the like had heard the whispers, though she’d never known whether or not to believe them. “You gotta go,” she urged once again, speaking both to Connor and Lucky this time. In the corner of her eye she saw the face, and only the face of Megan float to the surface of the water, the rest of her gone. “We can’t stop the summoning, and the circle isn’t good enough to hold her.” Nell could tell that simply by looking at the sad excuse for a spell. “She’s gonna be-” But before her sentence could finish, the boiling blood-water of the fountain exploded forth in a forceful wave, throwing her and anyone else in the radius back from the epicenter. A yelp of pain later, Nell was trying to right herself, ignoring the blood that was covering her in favor of trying to figure out a way to get this bitch bound in time.

Oh, shit. Sure, Lucky didn’t really think ghosts were real real, but this was definitely something real real. He’d heard of Bloody Mary before, but he thought that that was a story kids dared each other to try in a dark bathroom. This was definitely not what he would’ve expected by any means. Honestly, he didn’t need to be told again to leave, but would Nell and the others be safe if Lucky did leave? He opened his mouth to argue this with her, but before he could say anything or get a word in, he was being tossed onto his back by a wave from the fountain. The hard landing certainly didn’t make Lucky’s aching body feel any better and he groaned in pain, coughing as he rolled to his side. The water was warm, bordering on hot, and...viscous? Wiping it from his eyes so he could see, Lucky looked down to see that it wasn’t water but was, in fact, blood. His stomach did a flip again as he pushed himself into a sitting position and tried to wipe off his face. Looking around, he tried to see if Connor still had the paper and if it was intact or also blood soaked.

Connor frantically folded the paper, stuffing it into his pocket. He all but pulled Lucky and Nell back by their arms. “Don’t let her touch you! She can’t reach you.” She was confined to reflective surfaces, right? He’d remembered that correctly? That was the problem about stories like hers; it was tough to distinguish fact from fable. “The kids… she’s supposed to go after murderers. Why the hell is she going after kids?” Because they summoned her and she didn’t deem them worth her time? Or just for the sake of it? A killer with a code was one thing, but killing at random was something more terrifying entirely. His eyes widened as her bloody yet pale form emerged from the fountain, standing like Carrie at the Prom in the center of it, dripping blood.

Another gasp of pain left Nell as Connor dragged her and Lucky along, her ribs instantly protesting at the unexpected movement. “But I have to try and bind her!” she said as she struggled, trying to get back to the fountain. “She can’t just go free! Who knows what might happen?!” But it was too late. As she looked back to the fountain, Nell saw the outline of Bloody Mary standing in it, her shoulders shaking with what looked to be a joyful cackle. Then the ghost raised a single, skeletally thin arm to send a wave in their direction, as if bidding them a mocking thank you for their part in this. As quickly as it had begun, the ghost was gone, having sunk back into the fountain, the blood in the water receding along with her- leaving two highschoolers dead and one sufficiently traumatized. “We gotta find her,” Nell spoke with a steely determination in her voice, realizing the dire nature of the situation. “We gotta find her before she finds anyone else.” Otherwise, who knew what terrors awaited White Crest?

#chatzy #self harm tw #homophobia tw #wickedswriting #ch:connor #ch:lucky #served shaken and stirred

14 notes · View notes