#and i caught the tail end of today and he got to the interrogation

[nerdstreak]

survived working 5am shifts this week

thinkin abt concon again finally

[intergalacticwanderer]

(I hadn’t planned on writing a follow up to this fic, but I kept thinking about what would happen next and therefore this happened.)

It was later in the day when Beau finally caught up with Kingsley again, hangover mostly gone and jobs winding down on the ship. Things had proceeded as normal that morning outside of the initial outburst, but as the day went on Beau had noticed Kingsley getting quieter and quieter, already unusual on its own but downright concerning after what had happened last night and this morning. She had no idea what was even running through the tiefling’s head right now, but based on what he’d yelled right after waking up? It was probably an unholy mess. Just trying to sort it out made her head hurt, and it wasn’t even her head.

She really hoped he could be okay, at least.

“Hey,” Beau said as she came up next to Kingsley at the edge of the ship, resting her forearms on the rail and looking over at him. He didn’t acknowledge her at first, continuing to stare out at the ocean and arms crossed as he leaned on the rail. She waited. If he wanted to talk, he would, and if not, she could at least give him some company.

It was around six minutes before Kingsley finally spoke up.

“You know,” Kingsley said, voice soft and a little rough from disuse, “for as much shit as I give you, we make a pretty good fighting team. It went better than the last time like that at least.” He reached up and rubbed at the scar on his chest and Beau’s heart clenched.

Jumping right into it it seemed. Shit.

“You remember that?” If he was going to jump in she might as well too, but her stomach still lurched at that particular memory. Memories which he apparently had now too, with no warning what so ever. No wonder he’d been so quiet today.

“Yeah. I-I think so.” His hands were shaking slightly. “Remembering’s pretty different than reading your book.”

He threw his hands up in the air. “And I know we've had plenty of times fighting bad guys together. That was just the first time I've been...” He trailed off, seemingly unable to finish the thought out loud. Instead he just huffed, going back to the rail.

“How you holding up? That’s... a lot, man.” Understatement of the year, but how do you even start to address something like that? (Something niggled at her, that there was more to it than remembering dying, but she couldn’t quite place it. She put a pin in the thought for later.)

“Honestly?” He scrubbed at his eyes for a few moments before dragging his hand down his face. “No fucking clue. And... yeah. It’s a lot.” Kingsley blew out a long breath and then groaned, planting his elbows on the rail and burying his face in hands. “This sucks.”

“You got that right.”

Beau let him have another few minutes, watching as some seabirds wheeled overhead in the afternoon sky and a few wispy clouds drifted on the horizon. At one point Fjord caught her eye from another part of the deck and he almost came over but she waved him off, not wanting Kingsley to have to deal with too many people at once. Eventually Kingsley shifted to prop his chin on his hand and Beau decided she'd be the one to break the silence this time.

“Do you remember anything else? Besides-” she gestured to the scar on his chest- “that?” His reactions this morning implied that he did, but it'd be better to hear it from Kingsley himself. He glanced over, straightening up and rubbing the back of his neck.

“Some? A lot? It’s hard to tell when I don't know how much there is to begin with. It... matches what Yasha's told me at least.”

Beau’s heart rate sped up a little. Those comments he’d made this morning about suddenly having two names, about possibly making Molly his middle name now, she forced herself to actually look at that. That niggling thought she’d had earlier got stronger.

“Anything in particular you’re wondering about?” Maybe a bit on the leading side, but probably harmless (and she really wanted to figure this out). She leaned forward a little.

Unfortunately for her, Kingsley picked up on her weird vibe and gave her a confused squint, leaning back the same distance. Fuck. So much for harmless.

“Nnnooo? What the hell are you on about?”

“Nothing! Just curious.” That just made him squint at her even harder. Ugh, Dairon would have given her so much shit for this, she wasn’t used to trying to interrogate a friend. A second later Beau realized the ‘interrogate’ part was the problem and she forced herself to relax. She was here to try and help her friend out. And fuck, why did he have to look so much like a kicked puppy when he was upset? That should have been illegal. She let out an exasperated noise.

“Okay, fine, seeing you so quiet and moody is fucking weird. And I wanted to find out what was up.” There. She’d said it.

“Nice to know I usually have the emotional depth of a teacup,” he deadpanned.

“Oh fuck off. You know what I meant.”

Kingsley cocked his head, just staring back as she glowered and eventually he shrugged. “Alright. What is it?”

“Something’s obviously eating at you.”

“And?”

“Captive audience if you want to rant a bit.” Kingsley raised an eyebrow at the captive part and Beau rolled her eyes. “Not literally. I'll still listen.”

“You? Willingly listening to me?” Back to being an asshole. And an obvious attempt to deflect if she’d ever seen it.

“Yeah. Shocking.” She didn't move, the wind blowing a few stray hairs around her face and Kingsley’s hair tossed about as well while he thought.

“How about this.” He crossed his arms. “You guys going to treat me differently now that I remember stuff from Molly?”

Beau froze.

She wanted to say ‘of course not.’ She should say of course not. But she still remembered that morning, when confronted with yelling purple teifling and memories of the death match fresh in her head, she’d called him Molly.

“Not unless you want us to.” The wind picked up a little and she rubbed at her arms, trying to chase away the gooseflesh. Beau wasn’t sure if it was just the wind.

Kingsley gave her a flat look, red eyes unblinking. “Really.”

“Yes, really. You’re our friend. You.” She hoped that was the right thing to say at least.

“So you guys weren’t disappointed at all when you got me?” He looked at her while leaning his back against the rail, arms still crossed and tail lashing back and forth. Beau suddenly remembered that even if he'd never reached the uncanny level that Caduceus was at, Molly had still been surprisingly good at reading people. And, apparently, Kingsley was too. Fuck.

She sighed and looked down. It felt crappy to admit, but she had to be honest. “Yeah, that'd be a bit of a lie. Still wouldn't justify taking it out on you though.” Her fingers dug into her upper arm. “What matters is who you are now. Trying to force you to be someone you don't want to be is just shitty.” She looked back up at him.

A few more connections came together in her head. She had to know.

“Do... you still consider yourself and Molly to be two separate people, now that you have the memories?” Beau knew as soon she said the words out loud that she’d finally hit on the crux of the issue and Kingsley outright flinched. She mentally scrambled backwards. Shit fuck shit- “You don't have to answer,” she added on quickly, “it's not my business.”

Kingsley hugged himself tightly, looking down and tail coiled around his leg. She felt like her heart was about to beat out of her chest.

"I don't know," he said, so quietly that Beau almost missed it. He didn’t look up.

“You don’t have to,” she said. “It’s okay to not know. And like I said it’s none of my business.” (And yet she’d still asked the question. Great job, Beau.)

“It’s just-” He let out a frustrated noise. “This morning, right after I woke up, with all the yelling?” His heel tapped on the deck, jittery. “I was him, mentally. Probably why it didn’t bother me then. But then of course I had to have a bunch of time to fucking think.” Kingsley hunched over a little, looking smaller. “Now it just scares the shit out of me.”

There it was. The answer to why Kingsley had been so out of it all day, and all it did was make her feel like a nosy asshole.

Beau let out a shaky breath, taking another moment to look at the ship around them. For better or worse they were completely alone right then, save for a couple of the seabirds still flying over head. Think. What could she say right now that might be able to help? She’d just exposed some terrifying personal bullshit on accident, so... maybe she could let him see some of her own personal bullshit? Even the scales a little.

“I know it’s not really the same situation, but...” Inhale, exhale. It was okay to talk to him about this. “I’ve talked to you about my shitty dad before, right?”

Kingsley nodded. “Yeah, I know about the shitbag. Still think he could use some extra stabbing.”

Beau couldn’t help but smile a little at that. They really were all ride or die for each other.

“Not gonna disagree with you. The reason I bring him up is-” She sighed. “Main problem he had is he wanted me to be someone I’m not. So focused on the ‘should have been’ and the idea in his head that he ignored the person right in front of him. Well. Still payed enough attention to be awful.” Kingsley was quiet, listening, and Beau gathered the rest of her thoughts.

“Guess what I’m trying to say is I know how awful expectations like that can be. And that’s the last thing I’d want to do to you, okay? And I’ll fucking deck anyone who does that.”

“Even if that person is me?”

What.

Beau was left speechless for a moment, completely unprepared for that response. That was. What??? “Okay, you’re gonna have to explain that one to me. The fuck?”

He shrugged. “Are you gonna deck me? For having unreasonable expectations about myself?” The end of his tail tapped against his boot and Beau just stared at him. “That sounds like what you’re saying.”

“That’s not what I fucking- ugh!” She gave a frustrated tug at the hair on the top of her head, some of it coming out of her hairstyle. “What I’m trying to say you asshole is that the only thing that matters is who YOU want to be and that’s the end of it! Fucking hell!” Her words caught up with her and Beau deflated a bit. “Ahhh shi- fuck-” her face screwed up. “I’m sorry. That came out completely wrong. Sorry. Shit!” Why did she have to be so bad at this?

“N-nah, I get it,” Kingsley said, looking away and cheeks flushing. “And I was pretty shit with what I was trying to say too.” He scratched the back of his head. “And, uh, thanks. For saying that. Really.”

He leaned back, propping his elbows on the rail behind him and hair partially falling in his face. “I guess what I was trying? To say? Is that other people aren’t the issue for me. It’s my own head that’s the mess.” He sighed.

“I like being me, you know? I’m happy. But...” He went quiet again, chewing on his lip.

“But?”

He looked directly at her.

“What the hell am I supposed to do when I can’t even tell what ‘me’ is?”

Just hearing that made her go cold.

“That’s... fuck, dude.”

“You think?” He lurched up and started pacing next to the rail, Beau watching as he went back and forth, tail swishing side to side and one hand gesturing, the other tangled in his hair. “I went to bed as Kingsley Tealeaf, that’s me. Fine, dandy! Then last night we fight in a death match, and there? Mollymauk Tealeaf! Also great! But now?”

He stopped pacing, hands falling to his side. Slumped against the rail. “I don’t know. If I think about picking, ditching one of them, I’m terrified. Not a conscious thing, just thinking about it, makes me scared.” Hugged himself. “But I’m also scared that trying to hold onto both might make me lose ‘me’ anyway. I just. I don’t know.”

He was quiet for several more seconds, eventually raking both his hands through his hair at once and staring up at the sky. “What the fuck am I going to do now?” he breathed out.

“You want an actual answer to that, or you just thinking out loud?”

It slipped out before Beau could stop herself and she had a small moment of panic. This was the kind of stuff Caduceus was good at, not her, but at the same time? She was the person who was actually here right now. And she still wanted to do right by her friend. Somehow.

Kingsley blinked and then barked out a laugh, one hand staying tangled in his hair and the other going back to the rail as the looked over to Beau. “Do you have an answer Scribbles? Or are you just bullshitting?”

“Psht, that’s your job,” Beau said, rolling her eyes, and she noticed him relax a little at the jab. Good. “But, honestly?” She thought it over for a moment. “You do what you want to. And I’m not bullshitting you,” she said, raising her hands in front of her at the look he gave her. “You do what you want. It doesn’t have to be complicated.”

He blinked at her a couple more times. Dread squirmed in her stomach, wondering if she’d fucked up her advice giving again, but she forced herself to calm down. “Just think about it. What you might want to do next.”

She could practically see the process of him thinking for the next few minutes, holding still and his eyes distant. Eventually he made a thoughtful noise, hands coming up to steeple in front of his chin and a glint coming into his eyes.

“Does that mean whatever I want?”

“Okay, now you’re just being an ass,” Beau said and Kingsley broke out into a grin. Maybe she hadn’t completely fucked this up.

“Takes one to know one Scribbles.”

“You know what, I might just deck you anyway-”

“I’d like to see you tr- actually, no, you definitely could,” Kingsley said, backpedaling and raising his hands in front of him as his brain caught up with his mouth and seeing Beau raising a fist. She couldn’t keep it up however and soon enough she was grinning too, Kingsley breathing a sigh of relief. At which point she socked him in the shoulder.

“OW!” He hissed out between his teeth, rubbing his shoulder. “Did you have to do it that hard?”

“If I meant to hit you hard, you’d know.” Beau held her fist in the air. “Trust me.“

He eyed the raised fist. “You guys are still terrifying.”

“Hey, that includes you, don’t sell yourself short.” She paused, mulling over her next question. It’d be better for her to know, she decided. “The memories you have from the death match, of... earlier Molly stuff. Do you want me to refer to that as happening to you? Or someone else?”

Kingsley’s face screwed up like he’d bitten into something sour. “Case by case I guess? Death match is okay since it just happened, not sure on the rest yet.” He gave helpless shrug. “I’ll let you know later.”

“Good enough for me. Cause you in the death match? Definitely in the terrifying camp. Like I said, don’t sell yourself short.”

The glint returned to his eyes, along with a toothy grin. “I admit, it was pretty satisfying.”

“Aaand case in point right there, just that expression is terrifying. Fucking hell, dude.”

“I do have a future reputation to build,” he said airily, which somewhat ruined the expression. It also made Beau have to muffle a laugh, and she had to work even harder to muffle it when she saw Kingsley pouting.

“Now that’s just rude.”

“Sorry, sorry,” Beau said, waving a hand in the air and breathing deep to calm the laughter. “This about the pirate idea?”

He nodded. “It is indeed! You should know that I have plans.”

That glint was back in his eyes again, even more worrying than before. Maybe she should warn Fjord about it.

...

Nah, he could find out on his own.

Beau stretched, rolling her head and resting her palm on the back of her neck before looking at Kingsley again. One more question she needed to ask.

“Any updates on the name?”

There was a pause, a long pause, and then he shook his head. “I’ll stick with Kingsley for now. And what I said with the middle name this morning... I’ll keep thinking on it.” There was still some hesitancy, but overall? He actually looked okay.

“Fine by me. And hey, you wouldn’t be the first of the Nein to end up with a different name.” She shrugged. “Caleb and Veth did. Hell, even Jester picked her own name.”

“Really?”

“Yeah! You should ask her about it sometime.” Beau looked back out over the ocean, sun getting lower and the last of the sea birds flying off. “And I think it'd be good to talk Jester and Fjord about stuff in general. I’m not the best at this life advice thing.”

“Noooooo, really?”

“Oh eat a dick.”

“Sorry, can't, you don't have one.”

Beau paused.

“You know, ask Jester about some early Xhorhas disguises we had. I think you’d get a kick out of it.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Color me intrigued. Any reason you can’t tell it?”

“Don’t want to rob Jester of the experience.”

“Now I’m really intrigued.”

“Beauuuu! Kingsleeeey!”

The two of them turned and looked up, following the voice to find Jester in the crow’s nest and waving down at them before cupping her hands around her mouth for the next shout. “We’re having dinner in 10 minutes! Be there!”

“Sure thing, Jes!” Beau hollered, waving back.

“Don't eat all the pastries before I get there!” Kingsley shouted.

“No promises!” Jester shouted back, before she gave one more very enthusiastic wave and started climbing down from the crow's nest.

Beau looked back to Kingsley, stretching then placing her hands on her hips. “Well, I think that’s our cue to get back to civilization.”

“You call this crew civilized?”

“Point. You know that includes you, right?” she said as the two of them started to walk.

“I know what I’m about,” Kingsley said, grinning.

“Suuure you do.”

“Yep!” he said cheerfully. He bounded ahead, tail swishing animatedly before spinning on one foot and throwing his arms out wide. “One uncivilized teifling, right here! And sorry, you’re stuck with me.”

“No refunds?”

“Nope!”

“Well damn. Sucks to be me I guess,” Beau deadpanned, but as she did she came up next to Kingsley and threw an arm around his shoulder, and her friend continued to grin.

“Come on. Let’s go show the rest of this uncivilized bunch what they’re missing.”

(Part Three)

[miekasa]

the pre-pancetta snippet: early december, 3 months before the world went to shit

💉levi gets sick [levi grumbles in the background]

it was the pre-pandemic flu season. levi caught it at work and just his luck, it was pretty bad for him. but healthcare is expensive, capitalism sucks, so he wore a mask and still went to work the next day, thinking bedrest during the weekend would be enough. erwin kindly dropped off some sports drinks while hange gave him a new bag of black tea leaves. oc comes home to find him almost asleep at the table while waiting for water to boil for his tea and her senses tingle. she just knows. levi is pretty out of it by then, very pissed, feeling like shit, but still thinking about the slack he has to pick up at work. oc is very concerned because he looks awful. she bugs him and asks him if he’s okay with her checking him up. he is about to tell her to piss off but what the hell, lucky his roomie’s a doctor and he’ll take free healthcare when he can. so he nods once in dramatic brooding levi fashion.

her hands are cool on his forehead and neck, it feels so good, and levi is really trying not to accidentally moan out loud. when she brings out her stethoscope and asks him to take deep breaths, his focus is on her hand absentmindedly rubbing his shoulder [levi thoughts: he’s really out of it if this is all he can focus on]. oc’s brow furrows when she finds out he’s had only one cup of tea for the entire day and only one meal the day before. he says he’s brewing more, but oc is not having it! she heats up some leftover soup she has and makes him eat before handing him a tylenol. levi feels unsteady and weak but he’s trying to keep up the i’m-fine-it’s-just-the-flu facade. oc sees right through it and tails him to his room.

she helps him to bed, all while saying he’ll need meds for the virus and he needs to eat and drink more fluids because he’ll need an IV drip if not. even if it’s just the flu, he got a pretty bad case. levi strips off his shirt before he drops onto his pillows, grumpy and dismissive, telling her to just leave the prescription. he can handle it. oc snorts before leaving him alone (for now)

levi wakes up to rustling sounds and finds oc by his bedside setting up some stuff. his head is pounding, entire body is aching, and his cough is killing his throat. he’s very grumpy and is about to tell oc to just let him be but he gets a coughing fit. oc rubs his back while checking his vitals, her voice soft with worry as she asks him how he is feeling. he says he went to the bathroom but that’s it. he doesn’t see oc frown, but he’s more than annoyed that he is disturbed when she digs him out of the blankets. she helps him sit up, propping him on his pillows, and she makes him eat more soup, drink some tea, and take his meds. his throat is cooling and he realizes belatedly that she made him strong mint tea. he’s just swallowing whatever so he can go back to sleep [levi is trying very hard not to vocalize his disappointment whenever her hands leave him]. oc sighs at the little care her patient has for himself, but she tells him that he needs a drip at this point. she’s not satisfied with how little he’s been eating and drinking. levi is ready to throw hands because he refuses to spend thousands of dollars for 2 hours at the emergency room and get scammed by health insurance just so they can give him IV fluids, but oc surprises him by saying she’s all set up, and if he’s okay with it, she can do it here.

he shrugs and holds out his hand. the skin of her hands are a little rough with a few calluses, her touch so light and sure. the needle pinches but the pain dulls after a few seconds. he watches oc taping up the line and securing his hand to some makeshift splint so it doesn’t move around much. oc hangs up the bottle on the hanger she installed on the wall lamp by his bed before heading out. levi tries to fall back into sleep again. suddenly, he feels a damp cool cloth brush his forehead and his face while another hand runs through his hair gently. he’s groggy and he squirms because what. he hears oc shushing him, saying something about sponge baths for fever, and he’s just so not used to tenderness and care, and she’s sponging down his neck and his chest, running over his arms, turning him on his side gently so she doesn’t jostle him into wakefulness. her hands are firm and gentle as they wipe down his back and it’s cool and soothing and so good over his heated skin. he falls asleep in minutes. this never happens.

he thinks oc drops in once more in the middle of the night because he remembers someone holding him up to take something. when he wakes up the next morning, his fever is gone and he feels like himself again. he sees an empty bottle on his bedside table which means oc must have changed his drip too. the one he’s hooked to is almost gone. he’s in the middle of answering a work email on his phone when oc, already dressed for work, pops in to check on him. she has a tray in hand, looking genuinely relieved and happy that he’s better. his knows his appetite is back because the smell immediately makes his mouth water. he is very hungry after 3 days of soup and tea. she made really good pancakes, fried bacon to a perfect crisp, and the scrambled eggs are savory and creamy. it’s killing him. he can forgive the tea bag from a packet. levi is still a tea snob. oc is cheery, chirping that he’s good to go without a drip as long as he keeps up his food and fluids.

oc: water, tea, or pocari sweat, levi! none of the sugary sports drinks erwin left you, that stuff is a scam.

levi: i don’t have pocari—

oc: i bought you some, they’re in the drinks cupboard!

levi: why—

oc: it’s not just sugar, it has the electrolytes you need!!

she unhooks the IV and takes out his line, lays out his medication regimen and tells him to please call her if he starts feeling bad again. levi rolls his eyes and bats her concern away, grumbling that he’s fine and well enough, but he’s listening to every word she says. he utters a small thank you because how on earth does he convey his immense gratitude in words, he is not used to words!!! his cheeks feel very warm. oc giggles and ruffles his hair. she understands her roomie’s not talkative, but his soft gaze betrays everything beneath his gruff exterior. his shyness is adorable even if he was a grumpy old man while sick. oc thinks that her theory of him being 89 years old deep inside might be right after all. she sternly tells him to rest and lay off strenuous activities until he’s really recovered.

oc: rest. no cleaning today.

levi: my room—

oc: no. cleaning. today.

and just like that, she’s off to work [levi thoughts: wtf she works on sundays?]. all that levi can think of for three days, or more like since that day, are her gentle, comforting touches, her kind smiles, and how pretty she is. he tries, he really tries to push back the thoughts and bury the memories, but all efforts become in vain for him the next week.

he’s reading on the couch and relaxing for the night when oc comes out of her room looking like a fucking goddess. she’s in a deep green dress of flowing silk with thigh-high slit, sporting a dark, vibrant red lip, complaining of some recognition ceremony she has to attend for one of her bosses at work. she pouts while slipping on pumps that make her legs look even more stunning. levi is aware that he is staring and has tuned out her voice, so he forces himself out of it. he remembers basic conversation etiquette and lamely asks about the party. oc says it’s a black-tie-long-gown thing that’s a waste of her time. she twists her hair up in a messy bun and puts on earrings, grumbling that this is the most formal she’ll go. levi is mildly amused when she says she’ll nick a bottle of good champagne and some desserts before she escapes the party in an hour. tops.

levi: what if you get caught?

oc: they can spare one bottle and a few cupcakes

levi: and what reason have you come up with if they start interrogating you?

oc: my roommate is sad and a stress-eat is essential after shitty weeks of being underpaid laborers *cheeky smile*

he rolls his eyes. when she steps out their door (her uber’s there), levi counts to ten before groaning very loudly to let his frustrations out.

but she really did steal and bring home the good stuff, squealing in excitement when she sees that he was still up. he actually waited for her to get home but she doesn’t need to know that. they shared fruit tarts and fancy mini-cakes and worked through the bottle of champagne while bonding over their mutual disdain for assholes at work. conversation was open and easy, and levi cannot remember when he has been this comfortable around others who weren’t old friends of his. he was in an old shirt and jogger shorts. oc was still in her dress, barefoot, lipstick still perfect and bun still messy, picking a strawberry off the last cake while laughing at his dry jab about her boss. and jesus christ, she was exquisite.

at this point, denial begins to trickle in, but levi doesn’t know that yet. it’s just the champagne, right?

end. this was so mf long, i’m so sorry 😭 anyway this is insanely self-indulgent, and this is me coping with the pandemic (and with SnK ending today)

AHHHHHHH I LOVE ALL OF THIS ANON!!! SO MUCH!!!! PLEASE THIS HIT ALL THE MARKS!! Levi being reluctant to having someone take care of him, oc picking up on him not feeling well even though he’s not really showing it, and eventually just giving him the care and attention he needs (without suffocating him because you know he would be grumpy about that). I love this wow, seriously. 

AND THE END!! When they’re drinking together and he’s feeling better, you know damn well he didn’t even want her to leave in the first place, and IM SO GLAD HE’S FINALLY REALIZING!! Levi, my beloved, you are in love it is not the champagne 😌😌

[mulderist]

Wicked Game

Previous chapter || Read on A03 || tagging @today-in-fic

CHAPTER 9

Hegal Place

Alexandria, VA

My footfalls echoed down the hallway as I approached the front door. With a firm push it swung open and I descended the short brick staircase to the sidewalk. I surveyed the familiar rowhomes across the street; small front yards bordered by thin wrought iron fences. A small child was being led by the hand down the steps of one brownstone. I waited for the kid and her mother to walk up the block then I chose the opposite direction. An older model Packard chugged down the otherwise quiet street, coughing an exhaust smoke signal as it passed. That driver should probably see his mechanic sooner rather than later.

As I walked I felt my holster sticking into my right ribs, suppose that’s what I get for hastily slipping it on. It was enough of an annoyance to force me to focus on the task at hand; finding Alex Krycek. The steady afternoon breeze brought in clouds but not enough to predict rain. I still had a few hours before sunset and wished for a drier evening than my previous outing. I sighed and hoped Scully found herself a cab.

A dog bark caught my attention and I saw an excited yellow Labrador happily wagging a tail at an average looking man. As I moved to get a better view I saw the dog connected to a leash being held by a young woman. The average man gave the dog a gentle pat on the head and must have felt my stare because he straightened up and let the woman and her furry companion pass by. I knew it was him by the way he watched the woman walk away. Krycek slipped his hands into his pockets and stood firm on the spot. I ran through a dozen different scenarios of how I would approach him; close-quarters-combat, a strong right hook, or a simple shot to the leg. I honestly didn’t want to draw too much attention. The challenge was having a conversation without sounding like two territorial alleycats. Right as I finished my thought, Krycek took off around the corner.

I swore to myself and tightly gripped the butt of my gun as I followed in pursuit. A footrace was certainly not where I wanted this to go. My lungs burned while my feet pounded against the sidewalk, a stern reminder that I needed to resume my visits to the campus track. There was a flash of a jacket down what I assumed was an alleyway. I slowed my pace and found a proper hold on my gun. I pressed against the brick wall, careful to hide my position until the right moment. Like so many times before I took a deep inhale and with the exhale I glanced around the corner. I ducked back to avoid Krycek’s fist, then I charged forward pushing him farther into the alley. He stumbled and tried a quick jab to my stomach. I tightened up right as he made contact and in return I let my gun give him a kiss on the cheek. Krycek doubled over and spat on the ground. With both hands I grabbed him by the shirt I tossed him against the wall, the tip of my Browning wedged into his abdomen.

“You know as well as I do that a bullet to the gut is a slow way to go,” I said with my left arm braced across his chest, “So you better talk.”

“Well that’s a fine how-do-you-do,” Krycek grumbled with a crimson smile. I quickly frisked him, found his Walther and relieved him of it. I pressed my weapon back into his stomach then said,

“A little birdie told me you were at Washington General earlier today.”

“Is that so?” he mumbled.

“Cut the shit, Krycek,” I responded, applying more pressure to his chest, inching my forearm closer to his throat. He choked out a laugh,

“The redhead! Ah Mulder you sure can pick ‘em.”

“Leave her out of this!” My gun pressed harder into the soft surface of his abdomen. I saw him wince and I twisted my hand hoping I found a nerve,

“Damnit,” he hissed, “I only gave her some friendly advice.”

“Stay away from her,” I growled. He shook his head disapprovingly with a limited range of movement.

“Oh now I get it. You’re sweet on her, aren’t you --ah! -- jesus!” His assumption was cut short thanks in part to my weapon stabbing him in between the ribs. I cocked my gun and felt my jaw clench as he struggled.

“Red got herself involved when she worked on that autopsy,” Krycek sputtered.

I eased up a bit, put the hammer back down but still held my aim.

“What do you mean? Who was the stiff?” I asked, uncertain if I was going to get a truthful answer. He swallowed and licked his lips.

“A nobody by all accounts.”

“Then what’s the big deal?” I shrugged and felt like this was starting to become a waste of my time.

“The body wasn’t disposed of properly. He never should have ended up at the hospital morgue.”

Finally, some clarity. It’s as though the sea of confusion was at low tide, revealing an answer like shells on the shore. I witnessed it myself that night at the Navy Yard. They thought the cabbie would just float downriver and disappear. Now they wanted to cover their tracks as soon as that body washed up near the marina. Scully was just doing her job in the wrong place at the wrong time. Scully. I had to get back to the precinct.

“Are we done, Mulder?” Krycek asked, breaking my concentration. My attention snapped back as he was fixing his shirt.

“Not quite,” I said as I tentatively put my gun back in the holster, “I want to know one other thing; tell me your connection to Spender.”

“Spender?” Krycek’s voice was now hampered with a slur, “God, I am so tired of hearing that name.”

“Talk.”

“It’s like I told you before,” he gestured, “Spender was a hophead. Got a taste of the stuff when he was investigating Vincenti. Do you remember that tip I sold you about four months ago? Turns out your partner wanted to have a private meeting with Vincenti’s second in command. Detective Spender dealt himself right into the drug game on the government’s dime.”

“How the hell do you know that?”

“Because,” Krycek coughed out, “Carlo Lodi told me.”

My mind worked like playing cards being shuffled, each revelation waterfalled onto another until the deck was stacked.

“You told Lodi to put the hit on Spender,” I said pointedly.

“I’m a snitch,” he stated a little too simply for my taste. “Frankly I had had enough of being the information errand boy, so I sold him out. Your partner thought he could muscle in on Vincenti’s pushers and try to expand the trade routes, so to speak. The elder Spender got wise and to keep things kosher with Vincenti and his boys, he ordered a hit.”

“Wait a minute. Did you say Spender’s father?”

“Who do you think helps keep the peace?” he replied rhetorically. I thought for a moment and chided myself for not seeing far enough up the ladder.

“Whose side are you on, Krycek?”

“My own,” he curtly answered, “I don’t care if the mob kills the whole lot of you.”

“As long as you get box seats to the show,” I said. He chuckled and spit a trail of red once again onto the pavement. There wasn’t much more I could add. No more interrogation to give. I returned his Walther and left the alley.

------

After a less than ideal cab ride, I arrived at the precinct and bypassed the front desk, heading straight for the stairwell. As I descended the steps I tried to think of how I would untangle this web I found myself in. I never fully trusted Krycek, apparently Spender did. The new information was swirling in my head and I needed to pin down the facts before I approached Skinner. But first I needed to talk to Frohike and the boys.

The door to their department was ajar, sending a quick surge of adrenaline to my chest. I pushed the door open further and entered the lab, relieved when I saw Langley flipping through a thick-bound book.

“You guys should really put a lock on that door,” I began, “never know what’ll wander in here.”

He chuckled and quipped that instead I should have a bell around my neck so they’d know when I was coming. I asked if Scully had arrived and he directed me around the corner where I practically bowled over Frohike, who clutched a blanket to his chest. I raised an eyebrow.

“I uh -- this was for our guest,” Frohike said softly. I reached over and he relinquished it, then I gave him a hearty pat on the shoulder. Scully was curled into the threadbare sofa, she looked exhausted. It surprised me to see an actual piece of furniture in the lab, though I’m sure they needed something other than an army cot for those overnight cases. I unfolded the blanket and gently laid it over her sleeping frame. The sudden weight caused Scully to stir, eyelashes fluttered against the makeshift pillow of her hand. I crouched down and heard a hum escape her lips.

“Glad you made it,” she said with eyes still closed.

“True to my word,” I replied. She turned her head away from her hand and slowly blinked open her eyes.

“Did you find him?”

“I did. We had a friendly chat and a smoke.”

“What actually happened?” she asked, voice heavy with sleep.

“He took a swing at me and I shoved him into an alley; he won’t bother you again. As it turns out, my former informant has his finger in just about every dish on the crime buffet.” I tried to adjust the blanket which had slipped down her shoulder but her arm snaked out, fingers pressed tenderly against my forearm.

“Thank you,” she said softly.

“Rest for a little bit. I’ll be back,” I left her with a kiss on the forehead then went to round up the boys.

Langley passed by and I gestured for him and Frohike to join me, moving towards the exam tables on the opposite side of the lab. Byers suddenly emerged from the front door with a binder in hand and I waved him over as he muttered something about a body coming in for autopsy.

“Mulder you look like something’s on your mind,” Frohike said.

“Krycek was the one who confronted Scully at the hospital,” I relayed, “After twisting some truth out of him, he told me the body she did an autopsy on should never have been found. He can’t be trusted.”

“What are you going to do?” asked Langley, scratching at a blonde temple.

“I need to give a report to Skinner, he needs to know it was Krycek that put the hit out on Spender.”

“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph it was all true,” Byers exclaimed as he folded his arms.

“We still need to find out who killed Lodi and his henchman,” I said, running a hand over my neck, “It had to come from whoever is at the top of the food chain.”

“Do you think Krycek could actually be pulling the strings? I mean he’s basically been lying to you from the start,” Frohike countered, pushing the bridge of his glasses back up his nose. I nearly laughed aloud but thought long and hard at the potential of Krycek being a crime boss. It would be a hell of a curve ball to try and take a swing at. Langley, Byers, and Frohike exchanged looks as I continued to ponder the question.

“No,” I said, “but I appreciate the creativity. He isn’t loyal to either the DCPD or Vincenti’s mafia family. The profile I’ve developed is that he’s a man who would just like to sit back and watch the city burn.”

The shrill sound of a telephone ring interrupted our conversation. It continued until Frohike broke away to answer it. I heard him agree with the party on the other line, then he shot a glance in my direction. He nodded then quickly hung up.

“The Captain must have a sixth sense or have a bug somewhere down here,” Frohike said as he walked back over.

“I certainly hope we’re not bugged,” Byers responded with a quick look up at the ceiling.

“He wants me upstairs?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

“Double time,” quipped Frohike. I rolled my shoulders and as I turned to leave I heard a new voice say,

“Leaving so soon.”

The boys seemed to scatter, save for Frohike who was glued to the spot when Scully stepped into the main area of the lab. Her stark white nurse uniform fit a little too perfectly amongst the shelves of science and macabre medical arts. She approached me and Frohike got the hint, trying to busy himself with tidying up the counter behind him.

“The boss is requesting my presence,” I told her, “And I’ve got a few things I’d like to say to him as well.”

“Is there anything I can do?” she asked, a look of concern in her eyes, “I could give a statement about what happened.”

“Sorry Scully, this invite is for a party of one.”

“Are you coming back?”

“Planned on it, unless they burn me at the stake.”

“So dramatic,” she shook her head and reached for my hand with slender fingers. With a quick squeeze she added, “As much as you hate to hear this, I’m involved now. I don’t want to sit on the sidelines. Let me help where I can.”

I saw Byers timidly approach out of the corner of my eye.

“Excuse me Miss Scully,” he said with a kind wave, “there is a body due to arrive for an autopsy if you’d like to observe.”

“I’m sure we could use her assistance,” Frohike piped up, “that is, if she wouldn’t mind.”

I tried to think of a jab but she silenced me. She gave a pleasant smile in their direction then leaned a little closer, the faint scent of her perfume hit my senses.

“Go. Don’t want to keep the boss waiting.”

I got caught in her blue eyes, only able to manage a simple nod of agreement. My hand slipped from hers and I left the quiet of the forensic lab, bracing myself for the roar of the bullpen and Captain Skinner.

[fandomfindings]

Help

Pairing: (Fred Weasley x Non-Gryffindor Reader)

Word Count: 2.6K

Warning(s): A few swears 

Summary: A Fred Weasley imagine in which you both face off in a quidditch match against the other. When it comes down to the wire Fred purposely doesn’t make a game changing hit, leading to a short strain in your relationship. 

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It was a lovely day for a quidditch match. The air was cold and crisp. It was cloudy, yet the sun peaked through from beyond said clouds now and then.

Your team was going against Gryffindor, the same team your boyfriend Fred Weasley plays beater for. This wasn't the first time you two had competed against each other, but this would be the first time as significant others.

You had been friends with the twins since first year, but as time grew on, you and Fred developed a stronger relationship, something beyond the lines of friends.

You were indeed nervous about going up against Fred, but you had to remember this was nothing new; you had done this before. The only difference now is that he meant more to you. You both now shared a more intimate connection not only mentally but also physically. You admittedly had a soft spot for the beater, but you couldn't let that influence how you played today.

The current score was 140 to 80, and your team was down. If the chasers couldn't score any more points before Gryffindor's seeker caught the golden snitch, your house would lose. It was up to you; you needed to find and catch the snitch before Gryffindor's lead got too far.

You scanned over the pitch, looking for any traces of the small golden object.

As you were about to set your eyes on another part of the pitch, you caught a glimpse of something shiny, the golden snitch. The clouds had made it harder to find, but thanks to the sun breaking through them, its rays reflected off the fast-flying object.

You quickly flew in the direction of the snitch, knowing it would soon move positions, especially as you got closer.

The match continued in the background, but you were now laser-focused on the golden snitch. You heard cheers, though you weren't sure if it was because the crowd noticed your pursuit or if the houses had scored once again.

You reached the snitch, not close enough to grab but close enough to ensure you could follow it without losing sight of the thing. Quickly, you looked up to the scoreboard, in short enough time to read it. You had to make sure that if you caught the golden snitch now, your team would win. The score was now 150 to 100, so your team had made a small gain but still not enough to win without that snitch.

Looking back to the snitch, you noticed it hadn't moved much, but something had moved, Gryffindor's seeker Harry. He must have caught sight of the golden snitch once you made your haste to it. That or he had seen the sunbeams on it as well, which you doubted.

Taking Harry's further distance into consideration, your chances of catching the snitch was higher than his own but not guaranteed; the snitch was unpredictable.

A strategy quickly coming to mind you put it into motion. You swiftly made your way around the snitch, putting yourself between it and Harry as an extra safeguard. Then you pursued it.

The golden snitch was fast, but you were faster. You began to gain on it. However, you still weren't close enough to catch it. You took a brief moment to survey your surroundings, making sure that Harry hadn't gained much on you or the object you were chasing.

Not to your surprise, he had gained some. Harry was a fast flyer, you'd give him that, but he still had much to learn. Turning back to the goal in hand, you realized it had grown a bit closer in the few seconds you weren't looking at it.

Extending your hand out to reach for the golden snitch, it was barely out of reach, if only you had been blessed with slightly longer limbs like your boyfriend.

Shit, your boyfriend. The beaters. They would try to hit you to try to get you off the snitch's tail, given a chance. You looked past the snitch, and as you expected, Fred was there bat in hand and eyes set on an incoming bludger.

You needed to grab the snitch quickly before the bludger knocked you off track or your broom entirely.

Things began to almost move in slow motion as you looked between the snitch and your boyfriend. You wondered what would happen first, Fred hitting the bludger towards you or you catching the snitch. Quicker than you had hoped, you got your answer, hearing the audible smack of the bludger against Fred's bat.

You felt a brisk wind pass your head, enough to blow your hair in another direction slightly. You followed where it went and realized it was the bludger that Fred had just hit. Looking back to your boyfriend in shock, Fred never missed.

Deciding to act now and ask questions later, you continued your chase of the snitch.

It didn't take long for you to feel the object on your fingertips. Jolting your broom and body forward even more than before, you now had the golden snitch in your grasp.

"They did it! Gryffindor is defeated after (Y/N) (L/N) caught the snitch," Lee Jordan commented as Madam Hooch blew the whistle, effectively ending the match and announcing your house the victors.

You looked to the snitch in hand, then back up as cheers from your house and boos from the opposing range out across the pitch. You saw the Gryffindor team leave and dismount their brooms in defeat, all but your red-headed boyfriend.

Hoovering in the air for a bit, processing everything that just happened, you came to one conclusion. You had unwanted help catching the snitch and winning the match.

Your team had a quick celebration on the pitch. You all set your brooms down where you were, and they all ran to you. Your house's victory chant was all that you could hear as they lifted you in the air for a few moments. You laughed, but all you could think about was how you didn't truly earn that win, and there was only one person to blame.

You scan the pitch looking for the red-head in question, and it doesn't take you long to find him, for he was a tree among bushes. You saw him being scolded by their captain Oliver Wood. Surely, Wood had seen Fred's missed shot just before you caught the snitch; at least you weren't the only one.

Your teammates placed you back on your feet, and they all grabbed their brooms from the ground as your captain announced a celebratory party in your house's common room after dinner.

Your cheerful teammates only took moments to leave the pitch, with a few of them patting your back in gratitude and proudness. On the other hand, you stayed back, insuring you would have the entire pitch to scold your idiot of a boyfriend.

"Are you coming (L/N)?" Your captain questioned, placing a celebratory hand on your shoulder like many others.

"Uh," You hesitated, glancing over to your team, who were now passing Fred on their way to the changing rooms.

"Yeah, I'll meet you all in the changing rooms. I want to bask a bit longer at the moment," You conned, looking from the snitch in your hand to the now-empty stands.

"I understand, you did well today. We'll be taking home the quidditch cup in no time," Your captain said with a smile and one final path to your shoulder.

As your captain passed Fred, they patted him on the shoulder as well and said something along the lines of 'good game' before retreating into your house's changing room.

You rolled your eyes at the statement knowing Fred didn't play to his full potential. You once again looked to your hand, seeing the golden snitch you now felt you didn't deserve. Clutching the small golden object, you then looked up, seeing that Fred was already halfway to you, his long legs definitely helping in the matter.

Once to you, there was a silence, an uncomfortable one no less, for obvious reasons. Fred feared speaking first, and you feared hurting his handsome face considering you were debating on punching. Instead, you went for a calmer approach, at least as calm as you could be right now.

"Are you going to tell me what the fuck that was?" You interrogated softly, only adding emphasis to the swear that left your mouth.

"What do you mean?" He tried to ask in mock oblivion. However, he knew that you knew that he knew what he did.

"You know exactly what I mean," You said, glaring. "You had a clear shot and missed, you never miss."

"It wasn't clear enough; I guess I can miss sometimes. Besides, I could've hit Harry." Fred tried to reason, but you knew that wasn't true. Fred had time to think of this excuse, and yes, Harry was close, but not close enough for the bludger to hit him instead of you.

"Bullshit."

"Look, I was only trying to help," Fred said, realizing his plan to deny didn't work. He honestly wasn't surprised either, you were smart, but he thought it was worth a shot.

"I didn't ask for your help."

"I know but-," Fred began reaching out his arm to you, wanting to calm you down with his touch. Something that would surely happen if you gave him the chance.

"But nothing," You interrupted, shoving his approaching arm away from your own. "Next time you want to help, don't," You finished taking the snitch from your hand and thrusting it into your boyfriend's chest.

Fred grabbed hold of the golden snitch and your hand before you could release it. At his gesture, you looked him in the eyes, and you could see the pain within them. He hated seeing you upset, even more so, you being upset with him.

You gazed too long in his eyes; you began to feel yourself losing strength to be angry with him, but you persevered. Snatching your hand away from his but leaving the golden snitch.

"Congratulations on your win," You mumbled to the distraught red-head, picking up your long-forgotten broom, leaving the pitch and Fred to his thoughts.

----------

Fred stayed there for a while, not wanting to face anyone from his house, more specifically, his team. While everyone wasn't aware of his hesitation on the field like you, Wood, or even George, it still hurt to let his team down. Fred thought it was worth it, he thought he was making you happy, but in reality, he had let you down as well.

And down, you felt. As your entire house celebrated the win of today and a higher chance of winning the quidditch cup, you sat sulking in the corner. The butterbeer that was given to you when you first entered the common room, only having a few sips taken from it. In contrast, others were on their second or even third glass of the night.

The room was loud with cheers, chants, and conversations. It was much too loud for you to think, something you needed to do desperately right now.

You hedged your bets on the Astronomy Tower, being quiet and private enough to be alone and ponder, so you left your common room.

The tower was typically off-limits during times that didn't involve a lesson with Professor Sinistra, so you had high hopes you would be alone. Unfortunately, you realized that wasn't the case once you reach the said tower. Inside stood a tall red-headed Weasley, your tall red-headed Weasley. You let out a quiet sigh before joining him on the railing he decided to trust his body weight with, leaning on it.

Fred noticed you the moment you stepped onto the tower. He didn't have to see you to know it was you. It wasn't often that people came up here alone. Usually, it was couples trying to sneak away to make out or have private time, you and Fred included. So, to know only one set of footsteps pattered the floor, he was almost positive it was you. Fred's guess was proven once you stood next to him, not enough to touch you but enough to feel your presence.

You both stayed silent, looking across the night sky. It was still cloudy out, so not much could be seen, but the moon could not be ignored for it was big and bright.

Enough time passed that it gave you the time you needed to think and consult your inner thoughts. You realized you understood where Fred was coming from, but that didn't mean what he did was right.

Fred had known this. Once he realized the impact his decision had on you, his team, and his house, he knew he was wrong, and he needed to make it right. Your boyfriend had been practicing his apology for some time now.

See, Fred had time to think from his time at the pitch and the astronomy tower. He even skipped dinner, something you had noticed as you picked at your own plate, not taking any more than three bites.

Unlike Fred, who was left to his own devices, you were sucked into your house's celebrations. This being the first time you were left alone to your thoughts.

"Are you ever going to speak to me again?" Fred questioned, not taking his gaze away from the beautiful night sky.

"I'm still debating," You responded with a hint of humor in your voice, a good sign in Fred's opinion.

"Funny," Fred replied with a short chuckle. Fred turned to you, taking your hands from the rail and to his own.

"I am sorry, truly. If I would've known me helping you," Fred paused to correct himself. "Or what I thought was helping you would lead to so many issues I would've never done it."

"I know. While I will always appreciate your help, sometimes it's not necessary, Freddy. I just want you to understand that I can handle things on my own," You explained. "Besides, I've kicked your ass in quidditch without your assistance plenty of times," You added, chuckling.

"What's your definition of 'plenty of times' ?" Fred questioned, placing his forehead against yours, smiling none the less.

Fred's smile being contagious brought a smile to your face as well, and you responded, "Well, there was that time when I made you hit yourself with your own bat, and then again the next year, oh, and let's not forget this summer at The Burrow when you..."

Fred cut you off, "Alright, alright, you've made your point love."

He brought you in more, tugging at your arms until there was little space between you two. Bringing his face closer, Fred placed a kiss to your lips, nothing you weren't used to, but it felt especially nice after the misunderstanding you two just recovered from.

After a few seconds, you both part.

"Just know that if you ever pull something like that again, I'll beat you with a bludger myself, Freddy, " You jokingly threatened, pointing a jokingly stern finger at your boyfriend.

"I will keep that in mind," Fred laughed, slowly moving your finger from his face and back to his hand. He went for your lips again, pecking them softly.

"Good, "You said, interrupting the short kiss. Fred rolled his eyes as you kissed him again, deepening it slightly.

The exchange of kisses and loving glances continued on for a short while. However, it didn't last for your empty stomach decided to make itself known with a growl.

"Are you hungry?" Fred wondered.

"Starving."

"Lucky for you, I've made friends with a few house-elves. I'm sure they'll be willing to give us some leftovers from dinner or even cook us something."

"Lucky for me," You said, smiling. You brought Fred in for one final kiss before dragging him from the Astronomy Tower and down to the kitchens for some much-needed food.

----------

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed this imagine as much as I enjoyed writing it. Fred is one my favorite characters from Harry Potter and I love reading about him so I decided to have a go at writing about him as well. Who’s your favorite Harry Potter character? Anyway please let me know what you guys think!

Lots of Love <3

[aerynwrites]

The Devil You Know - Part 3

Complications

(Gif by @pedroispunk​)

Author’s Note: Finally! Here is chapter 3 of TDYK. I had so much fun writing this, and so far it’s my favorite chapter, so I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do! All Spanish translations are located at the bottom of the post

Word Count: 5k

Warnings: Brief mentions of torture/rough interrogation, cursing, angst, fluff?

Previous part | Next Part | Masterlist

////

It had been a couple days since your run in with Javier at the bar, your last words to him nagging at the front of your mind ever since. You had that stupid piece of paper with his phone number on it tucked away in your jacket pocket since you got home that night, having every intention to call him when you had a spare moment. Unfortunately, the past few days had been spent interrogating the Sicario smuggler Carrillo’s men had managed to capture, a task you were less than enthused about due to the methods required to get any kind of answer out of him. Then, when you did have a free moment alone, you would pull out the slightly crumpled piece of paper and pick the phone up from the receiver. But every time as you sat there, listening to the dial tone with your fingers hovering over the buttons, you would let out a sigh and set the phone back down in the cradle. You felt like a nervous teenager in high school, and you couldn’t even figure out why this felt like such a momentous task. It was just a phone call, right? Why were you making such a big deal out of it?

“Hello!” A familiar voice called, “Earth to (y/n),” Steve said teasingly, waving his hand in front of your face, finally pulling you from your thoughts.

You shake your head slightly and look over to your partner sitting in the driver’s seat of his jeep, an amused look on his face, “Did you hear anything I just said?” he asked, an entertained look on his face.

You felt yourself flush slightly as you stumbled to come up with an answer, “uh-“ you wracked your brain to try and remember what Steve was saying, “something about the cartel?”

Steve chuckles and shakes his head, “you’re not wrong but not right either. I said that Carrillo needs our help with Santiago, thinks that maybe we can help get some more information out of him,” he repeats, opening his door and exiting the vehicle. You all must have arrived at your destination while you were stuck in your head.

You cringe slightly at the thought of being in the room while Carrillo interrogates Santiago. Even though you had been in Colombia for quite some time, you still had standards - personal ideals that you upheld. And the things that Carrillo and some of the other locals did, while necessary, made your stomach churn. Nevertheless, you follow Steve’s lead and exit the car and walk with him into the building. The minute you enter, one of Carrillo’s men leads you and Steve into a side room that’s been converted into a makeshift office for the DEA and the Search Bloc’s combined task force to take down the Los Carnales cartel. Just as you approached the whiteboard, eyes scanning the new pictures of possible cartel members and quick scrawls of writing, Carrillo strode into the room, wiping at his knuckles with a bloody towel.

“You’re late,” he said, voice clipped.

You turned to face him, crossing your arms, “We came as fast as we could Colonel. We were following another lead,” you informed coolly.

The man chuckled, shaking his head and tossing the towel onto a nearby table, flexing his fingers slightly, “You Americans…” he sighs, “you’re so busy chasing every single bone tossed your way you don’t bother focusing on the one right in front of you,” he bites, frustration lacing his words as he approaches you and Steve.

Steve doesn’t take too kindly to the accusation, “Listen man, we have orders - legal orders. So, we can’t just sit on our asses and wait for this bastard to finally decide to talk to-“

Steve was cut off by Carrillo shoving an accusing finger into his chest, “I don’t need a gringo questioning my methods. I do what I have to do in order to make this city a safer place for my people – my family. If you don’t like the way I do things, then I will happily withdrawal my men and you can chase your tails on your own” He threatens.

You saw Steve take in a breath, surely getting ready to rip the Colonel a new one but you stepped between the two men pushing them apart slightly, “No need for that Colonel, I’m sure what Steve meant to say-“ you give your partner a pointed look, “is that we have orders from higher up, we have to follow them or else we’ll get further behind. Now, you said you needed our help?” you asked, hoping to deescalate the situation. The last thing you needed was the entire Search Bloc team fighting against you instead of with you.

Carrillo glances from you back to Steve before letting out a defeated huff and back away a few steps, “Well, I thought I needed your help, but right after I called you both here, I got him talking. He gave me all the information that he claimed to have, and with him being a lower level player to the cartel, I believe him,” he explained, a slight hopefulness to his tone.

Your eyes widened slightly, and you couldn’t keep the excitement from your voice, “Well what did he tell you? anything useful?”

“He claimed to not know much about the head of the operation,” he began, “But the information I did get from him should help us all in moving forward with the investigation.”

***

You and Steve practically ran back into the embassy, eager to get a jump start on the next leg of the investigation, the information Carrillo managed to extract from Santiago being some of the best and most helpful intel you had gotten since you began. It laid out the basic make-up of the cartel, and that the cartel itself was split into three main operations: production, smuggling, and security. Each operation had its own leader, someone in charge of making sure that specific section ran smoothly and efficiently. Santiago knew the names of almost half of those higher ups, having to work directly with them in order to complete his job as a drug mule. If you took these key players down, it brought you that much closer to taking down the man at the top - your unknown cartel leader - and the ring leader behind the Los Carnales, the cartel that has remained in the shadows.

Until now.

This cartel may have managed to hide a successful drug trafficking operation in Colombia up until now, but as you stood staring at the operations board you and Steve had pieced together, you felt hopeful. Hopeful that you could catch these people, hopeful that you could bring an end to the violence and most of all, you felt hopeful that you could bring Carlos and his family some justice. Your eyes drift from the board in front of you over to your desk, immediately drawn to the small green matchbox car sitting next to the phone, and you felt your resolve harden. You would do what ever it took to finish this, you had too.

“Hey,” Steve’s voice caught your attention and you moved away from the board and over to your conjoined desks taking a seat across from him.

He pushes away from the desk as you sit down and jabs his thumb towards the exit of the office, “I was going to take a late lunch and go grab some tamales, from that corner market down the road, you want to come with me?” he asks.

You can’t help but chuckle at his total mispronunciation of the word tamales and shake your head as he pipes up once more, “What’s so funny?”

“You,” you say, still giggling, “You really need to work on your Spanish agent Murphy because that was terrible,” you tease.

He just rolls his eyes, and stands from his seat, “you know what, I retract my invitation, I don’t need any negative Nancy’s ruining my celebratory lunch.”

You just let out a laugh as he pulls his jacket on, “Yeah well, I was going to stay here and get some work done anyway-“ you watch as Steve just nods and starts to walk away, “But I wouldn’t mind if you brought me two tamales when you come back!” you call after him.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever you want your highness,” he tosses back as he exits the office.

You roll your eyes at his snarky response and lean back into your chair, letting out a soft sigh. Today had been good, it was a win in your book, and it gave you a small sense of victory. In your momentary bliss, your eyes fell to the phone sitting in the corner of your desk, and you felt a brief flicker of bravery shoot through you. You sat up, hand digging in the pocket of your blazer and pulling out the slightly crumpled piece of paper. You give a quick glance around the office, making sure no one else was around before unfolding the piece of paper and picking up the phone. You fingers hover over the digits on the receiver for a moment, a split second of hesitation keeping you from proceeding before you squashed it down, quickly punching in the numbers and replacing the haunting dial tone with a familiar ringing. You held your breath as you listened to the continuous sound, slowly deflating the longer it went on.

Maybe it was stupid to call him, you thought, he probably just left his number behind so he wouldn’t seem like an asshole.

You were just about to abandon all hope, your small bubble of courage dashed out as the phone continued to ring, when a small click sounded on the other end, followed by a familiar voice,

“Buenos,” it greets simply, waiting for you to respond.

Your brain seems to stutter to a stop, you aren’t exactly sure why , but you’re suddenly over come with a rush of nervousness and your mouth opens and closes in an effort to string a sentence together.

“¿Hola? ¿Hay alguien ahí?” he asks, confusion clear in his tone.

You finally managed to catch up with yourself and splutter out a response, “¿Javier? Este es (y/n), ¿es este el número correcto?” you ask, switching to Spanish out of habit since he was speaking it as well.

You hear a small chuckle on the other end and can’t help the butterflies that erupt in your stomach because of it, “I see you took my suggestion on speaking more Spanish…I could get used to that,” he says suggestively, his low baritone seeping through the phones speaker.

You feel yourself blush slightly at his words, and he takes the silence as a cue to continue, “I was beginning to think you weren’t going to call. Thought I had scared you off,” he teases.

You bite your lip trying to hold back the smile threatening to creep onto your lips and shake your head, “No you didn’t scare me off,” you begin, “work has just been really busy is all,” you explain, leaving out the part about how many times you had tried and failed to call him.

He hums quietly, the low frequency causing the speaker to crackle slightly before he speaks up, “so work has been busy?” he follows up.

You nod even though he can’t see you and you relax back in your chair, swiveling side to side slowly, “Yeah, we just got a huge lead on our case, so I’ve had a lot on my plate. I’m…exhausted honestly,” you admit, your tough-agent exterior slowly fading as you talked to him.

It’s silent for a moment before Javier responds, “Are you free tonight?”

Your heart speeds up at this question. Why did he want to know? Did he want to meet at the bar again? Or did he want to arrange some other activities?

Your thoughts were racing so fast that you didn’t respond immediately, prompting Javier to clear his throat, “You still there?”

You startle slightly, “yeah, uh – yeah I’m still here,” you say quickly, “and yes I’m free tonight…why do you ask?” you question cautiously.

“Well,” he begins, “I wanted to know if you’d let me take you to dinner.” He says, his words shocking you.

Your grip on the phone becomes tighter as your palms become slightly clammy, “like-“ you pause, stumbling over your words, “like a date?” you ask, voice coming out in a higher pitch than intended.

Javier lets out a laugh on the other end of the phone and you feel an embarrassed flush creep up your neck, completely sure you had made an utter fool of yourself. But Javier spoke up after his laughter died down and you felt your heart flutter in your chest at his words.

“Yes, like a date,” he confirms, amusement clear in his voice.

A smile creeps onto your face and you lean forward, fingers playing with the chord of the phone, and you let out a small sigh, “That would be…nice,” you admit, “I would love to go to dinner with you Javier.”

“Perfect. I’ll pick you up at 6. Does that time work okay?”

“I get off at 5, so that works great. I’ll see you then Javi,” you say gently, afraid If you speak any louder it will somehow ruin the happy moment you’re having.

“I’ll see you at 6,” he confirms, then you hear a soft click, indicating the call was over.

You set the phone back in its cradle before taking the small piece of paper with his number on it and tucking it away in your jacket. A large smile adorning your face the entire time, even as you glanced at the clock.

Three more hours.

Your heart sped up slightly at the thought of your plans once more and you tried to look less excited, lest anyone walks back into the office. But you couldn’t hide the smile even as you returned to your work.

You had a date with Javier Peña.

***

You stood in front of your bathroom mirror, picking at your hair and running your hands down the front of the dress you had on. It was five minutes till six and your nerves had reached an all time high as you fussed with your outfit while waiting for Javier to arrive. He hadn’t specified where he was taking you tonight, and you had been too caught up in the fact that he had asked you on a date to even think about inquiring about the destination. So now you were stuck here, in front of your mirror, deciding whether you dressed appropriately or not. You didn’t want to stay in your work clothes for obvious reasons, but you also didn’t want to be overdressed. So, you ended up settling on a simple yellow sundress, something suitable for the warm Colombian weather, and also a bit nicer than what you usually wear.

A sudden and firm knocking at your door made your heart race, and you glanced at your reflection in the mirror one last time before you darted from the bathroom and out to the living room grabbing your purse from the couch as you went.

“I’m coming!” you call as you approached the door.

Your hand fell to the doorknob and you close your eyes, taking one final steadying breath, trying to remind yourself that it was just a date and that you had done this a million times. Why are you freaking out? You open your eyes again before finally turning the knob and opening the door. You smiled at the sight that greeted you – it was Javier, obviously, but he was a little more dressed up than usual. Dark jeans paired with a dark red button up shirt that complimented him very well with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. You watched as his mouth fell open slightly and his eyes traveled from your face down to your feet then back up again, and you felt yourself flush under his gaze, suddenly self-conscious.

“Is this okay?” you ask, fingers fiddling with the hem of your dress, “You didn’t say where we were going so I just-“

Javier cut you off, “No, no – nothing’s wrong I just,” he stumbles over his words, resting one hand on his hip while gesturing to you with the other, “Te ves hermosa,” he says.

You feel your face heat up even more at his compliment, “Thank you Javi,” you say quietly, “you look really handsome yourself,” you state, stepping from the apartment and locking the door behind you before turning to him again, giving him a wide smile.

“Ready?” you ask.

Javier returns the gesture, casting you his signature smile before offering you his hand, “of course, my car is parked out front.” He says, threading his finger with yours as you place your hand in his

Neither of you say anything until you reach his car. He opens the door for you, waiting until you get inside before shutting it and walking around to his side. the minuet the door is shut you are hit with the faintly familiar smell of whiskey, cigarettes, and just a very faint hint of cologne - a smell that you can only describe as Javi. You watch as he walks around the front of the car to the driver’s side and opens the door, sliding in and starting the ignition. He pulls out of the parking lot of your apartment and onto the road before you finally speak.

“Where are we going anyway?” you ask.

Javier glances from the road to you momentarily before shrugging his shoulder slightly and returning his gaze to the road, “it’s just this mom and pop place on the other side of town. I’m friends with the owners so I go there a lot, it’s probably one of the best restaurants in Bogotá. They have the best enmolada’s in town,” he says confidently.

You nod, “That sounds good. I’m excited to try something other than the places on my street,” you admit.

“Well, after you eat here, you won’t want to eat anywhere else,” he insists.

You chuckle, “we’ll see about that.”

The conversation continues on like that, both of you talking about little things until you pull into the parking lot of the restaurant and Javier kills the engine. He quickly hops out of the driver’s seat and jogs over to your side, opening your door before you could and offering you his hand to help you out.

Ever the gentleman it seems.

You give him a small smile and don’t fail to notice that he keeps his hand in yours all the way into the restaurant. He calls a short greeting to a man in the back of the restaurant, someone who you assume to be the owner he claimed to know, before you were both seated in a booth towards the middle of the room. Javier doesn’t even let you look at the menu that had been sat in front of you, stating that you were going to try the enmolada’s just so he could prove to you he was right. You just rolled your eyes teasingly, swatting his arm but relenting to his request, nonetheless. As you two waited on your meal, and even throughout the meal, conversation flowed nonstop. You talked about anything and everything. Whether it was work, family, telling him about the antics you and Steve got into at work, or Javier telling you stories about his Dad and the trouble they would get into when he was younger. It was…refreshing. You can’t remember the last time you had laughed or smiled this much in years, not to mention the near constant butterflies in your stomach anytime Javier smiled or winked at you. You found yourself hoping that there would be more dates in the future. More Javier in your future. Both of you stayed late into the night, your dishes mostly finished and taken away by the waiter hours before, yet you two stayed talked until you brought up the one question you had been curious about all night but kept forgetting to ask.

“So, what do you do?” you ask, “You know what I do for work, but you haven’t told me what kind of work you do.” You observe innocently.

Javier takes a sip of his drink and shrugs, “my family runs a coffee plantation on the outskirts of Bogotá,” he begins, “It’s gotten pretty big in the past few years so I help manage it and deal with exports,” he states.

You feel your eyes brows raise, “I didn’t take you for a coffee bean farmer,” you joke.

Javier rolls his eyes, “I’m not,” he defends, “I handle the managerial side of it. I’m better with logistics and running the business,” he explains, “but I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty if I have too,” he says plainly.

You nod your head, completely unaware of the double meaning behind Javier’s words. While he wasn’t telling you the whole truth, he wasn’t necessarily lying to you. He did handle the business side of things, he was good at logistics and planning and strategizing, just not for a coffee plantation. But you didn’t know that, and Javier intended to keep it that way.

He was about to turn the conversation back on you when he heard his name being called. He stopped in his tracks and looked up to see the owner, Mateo, walking up to the booth you both occupied.He stopped when he was next to the table and leaned down to whisper in Javier’s ear.

You looked between them confusedly, watching as the smile fell from Javier’s face before he patted the man’s arm, “Está bien, ya voy” Javier says, sighing as the man walks away and he looks to you, a slightly regretful look in his eyes.

“I’ll be right back, okay?” he says, as he stands from the booth.

You cast him a confused glance, “What? Where – “

He cuts you off, “I promise it will only take a minute,” he says, eyes pleading with you.

You swallow your questions and just nod, “Okay, I’ll be here,” you say quietly, eyes not leaving him as he nods before walking to the back of the restaurant.

He was true to his word however, because not even five minutes later you saw Javier stalk back into the dinning room. But the minute he arrived back at your table you could tell something was off, his lips were set into a frown and his shoulders were tense. But mostly you could tell when he spoke, his words harsh and clipped.

“We have to go,” he said curtly, standing beside the table and looking down at you.

It feels like you have whiplash from how different his demeanor is, but you don’t really think to question him as you stand from your seat and struggle to keep up with this fast pace as you exit the building.

“Is everything okay?” you ask when you get to the car, not failing to notice how he doesn’t open the door for you this time.

He let’s out a small huff as you both climb into the car, and he puts the key into the ignition, bringing the car to life and pulling out of the parking lot, “it’s nothing,” he snaps, ushering you both into an anxious silence.

You don’t dare say a word as Javier drives you back to your apartment, the tension in the air suffocating. You keep your eyes on the scenery passing by outside the window, afraid that if you even look at him, you’ll set something off. Only when you pull up to your apartment is there a slight shift in the atmosphere. He parks the car and kills the engine, exiting his side and walking over to greet you as you exit yours. He doesn’t take your hand, but he does walk with you up to your apartment, his hand laying gently on the small of your back until you reach your door. Once you arrive, you turn to face him, swallowing past the anxious lump in your throat in order to speak, a small effort to try and lessen the tension.

“I had a really good time tonight,” you say quietly, not meeting his eyes.

Your voice is small, as if your afraid you’ll upset him if you speak any louder, and Javier lets outs a sigh, rubbing a hand down his face.

The night had started out great for Javier. He had the perfect plan to get just that much closer to you, and it all started with this date. Had to put on an act. It went perfectly in the beginning, he oversold his chivalrous nature, silently celebrating when you fell for it immediately. He took you to his favorite restaurant, something else he knew you would like since it showed you more of him personally. Then, you both started talking, and as the evening drew on longer and longer, Javier started to notice a small problem.

He wasn’t acting anymore.

His laughs became less forced, his smiles came naturally, and he even felt an unfamiliar stirring in his chest when you would let out a laugh or blush at something he said. As the minutes turned into hours, Javier was completely and utterly surprised to come to the conclusion that he genuinely enjoyed your company. He enjoyed hearing about your everyday life, even the mundane things – and this was not part of the plan.

Neither was the phone call.

What turned out to be a surprisingly good night on Javier’s part, was turned sour when Mateo had approached Javier, informing him that there was a call for him on the establishments phone, apparently one of his men searching for him. If that wasn’t disconcerting enough, the information he was given completely ruined his mood. His closest confidant and partner in the cartel, Arlo, was on the other end, and he had nothing good to say. He had information that several of the lower level cartel members had gone AWOL, deciding that they no longer wanted to follow the rules Javier had set in place, claiming that his discrete nature was preventing the cartel from moving further ahead. So, they left, leaving mass destruction in their wake as well as stealing several hundred kilos of his cocaine supply on the way out. Javier had slammed the phone back on the receiver, mind clouded with frustration not only about his stolen drugs and betrayal, but about his feelings for you as well. His anger had gotten the best of him and given him the title of ‘worst date ever’. He only realized this as he stood in front of you at your apartment, taking in the way your arms wrapped around yourself and how you refused to look at him as you told him you had a good time despite acting the exact opposite.

“No,” he sighs, “you didn’t. And it’s my fault,” he admits, regret lacing his words.

You finally met his eyes as the words left his lips and you shook your head, reaching out to take one of his hands on your own, squeezing gently, “No, Javi – I really did have a good time,” you reassured, “the ending was a little…tense,” you admit, shrugging your shoulders slightly before continuing, “but I really did have a great time. I promise.”

Javier looked to you now, eyes searching yours and finding nothing but sincerity. And in that moment, Javier knew he was in a lot deeper than he had anticipated. Yet, he couldn’t find it in him to care all that much, not as he saw the innocent look in your eyes and the small smile tugging at your lips. You genuinely had a good night, and seemed to care about him in some way, something Javier hasn’t experience in a long time. So, before he can stop himself, his free hand is gently cupping your cheek, as he leans down slightly, smiling just a little when your lips meet his. You let go of his hand in favor of bringing both of yours to rest on his chest, while his other hand wraps around your waist, pulling you closer to him.

Your heart stutters as your lips move in sync, and even though you had done a lot more than just kiss him the first time you met, this was different. You couldn’t explain how, but you just knew there was something more behind this small act of affection than anything else. When Javier finally pulls away, you both are slightly breathless and you take a small step back, pulling your keys from your purse and gesturing to your apartment - a silent plea for him to stay.

Javier pauses for a moment. His initial reaction is to jump on the opportunity, say yes and stay with you all night long, but his more rational thoughts are telling him no. He’s already starting to feel things he shouldn’t, this wasn’t meant to be real,  He just needs to get close to you to protect his cartel - his life. He can’t let his foolish feelings get in the way of protecting everything he’s built. So, he shakes his head, trying to ignore the pang in his chest at your slightly crestfallen expression.

He reaches forward, taking your hand in his lightly, “I would love too,” he admits, “but there’s an issue at work that have to deal with…that’s what happened back at the restaurant,” he explains.

Though you’re still disappointed, you nod, “I get it,” you turn and unlock your apartment door, one of your hands still held in Javier’s as you take a small step inside the apartment, “I think I understand more than anyone really,” you say earnestly.

Javier casts you a small, albeit regretful, smile before bringing the back of your hand up to his lips, pressing a gentle kiss to your knuckles, “thank you,” he says quietly, dropping your hand and taking a step back, “buenas noches preciosa,” he says lowly, before turning and retreating down the hallway.

“Buenas noches, Javi,” you whisper.

But by the time you reply, he’s already out of sight - leaving you with a warm feeling in your chest but completely unaware of the storm raging inside of him.

////

¿Hola? ¿Hay alguien ahí? – hello? Is anyone there?

¿Javier? este es (y/n), ¿es este el número correcto? – Javier? This is (y/n), is this the right number?

Te ves hermosa – you look beautiful.

Está bien, ya voy. – okay, I’ll be right there.

buenas noches preciosa – Good night beautiful.

Buenas noches – Good night.

///

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[tiramisiyu]

【未定事件簿】 Tears of Themis: “Romantic Rail Getaway” Lu Jinghe Route, Day 2

Translation Masterlist | Event Masterlist

Lu Jinghe Route: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5

Videos, where applicable, are hyperlinked on the headings in the post.

See under cut!

Part 1: Mangrove Forest Scenery – “The Beauty of the Mangrove Forest”

The dense mangrove forest meandered into little parts, and the rich green assaulted our senses, stretching to ends beyond our sight.

MC: The mangrove forest is so beautiful…

Lu Jinghe: Mhmm, it feels really good to breathe in fresh air.

In this sea of trees, I felt like I had become one with the clear, free air, making me particularly relaxed.

Lu Jinghe: Right! It said on the guide that the special events of the Mangrove Forest Park were canoe rafting and forest exploration.

Lu Jinghe: Which do you want to try?

Do you even need to ask? Only a kid would bother choosing. An adult would, of course…

MC: I want them all!

 Park Inquiry Hut

Staff: Hello, which event would you two like to try?

MC: We want to experience canoe rafting and the cableway adventure.

Staff: The canoe rafting location is at the forest dock. The two of you can follow the leftside pathway to the end.

Staff: The cableway adventure location just happens to be near the end of the canoe rafting event.

Staff: The two of you can try the canoe rafting first, and after you arrive to the end on the boat, you can follow the riverside forest path to go to the cableway adventure location.

MC: Okay, thank you.

Staff: No problem. If there’s anything else you want to know, you can ask me.

--

INTERROGATION START

Park Attractions

MC: May I ask, aside from the canoe rafting and forest exploration, what other fun attractions are there in the Mangrove Forest Park?

Staff: I’d recommend that the two of you check out the Pathway of Reverie and the root-carving art museum.

Staff: These two spots are also popular attractions in our park, and they’re worth the trip.

Pathway of Reverie

MC: What’s the Pathway of Reverie?

Staff: The Pathway of Reverie is a forest path, formed from specially-shaped mangrove wood.

Staff: We’ve designed a specific shape for each mangrove tree. Visitors who walk on the path will feel like they’ve appeared in a fairy-tale world.

MC: (A fairy tale world path? Sounds pretty charming.)

MC: When we have time later, let’s go see.

Root-carving Art Museum

Lu Jinghe: Where is the root-carving art museum located?

Staff: It’s near the art display area on the south side.

Staff: Over a hundred root-carving works meticulously designed by Tambuyani’s root-carving artists are collected there.

Staff: I’m sure visitors will definitely feel the charm of the root-carving art.

Special Events

MC: I’ve looked over the guide recommendations before. It seems like the mangrove forest park has some special events?

MC: What kinds of events are they? Could you give us a simple intro?

Staff: If we’re talking special… it’s probably the park’s tree-root carving experience and the mangrove bug barbeque taste test that the dining area just put out.

Mangrove Bug

Lu Jinghe: Do mangrove bugs taste good?

Why does Lu Jinghe look like he’s looking forward to it?!

Staff: The mangrove bug is a type of parasitic bug that lives in mangrove trunks.

Staff: After the chefs use their special methods to deal with it, and when Tambuyani’s special local dipping sauce is added to it, the taste is refreshing, with a special hint of fruit tree wood.

Staff: I recommend that daring guests try it out.

Lu Jinghe: Jiejie, how about we…

MC: Nope, nope. I… I can just watch you eat.

Root Carving Experience

MC: Whoa… I’m pretty interested in the root-carving experience!

Staff: The tree-root carving experience is on the first floor of the root-carving art museum. Visitors who would like to try can head there.

Staff: We provide mangrove tree roots for free to visitors who participate in the event, and the visitors can also take their carved works for themselves.

MC: (This one really tests hands-on skills. Hm… although, with Lu Jinghe here, I should be able to try!)

INTERROGATION COMPLETE

--

Staff: Do the two of you have any other questions?

MC: None left, thank you.

Staff: No problem, I hope you two have fun.

--

MC: Canoeing, the cableway, the Pathway of Reverie, and the root-carving experience… they all seem pretty interesting.

MC: Hm, looks like today’s itinerary is already full.

Lu Jinghe: It’s not full – it’s rich.

Lu Jinghe: Let’s go – our rich, fun day starts now!

 Part 2: Forest Exploration

[Gameplay]

Part 3: Pathway of Reverie

[Gameplay]

 Part 4: Root-carving Art Area – “Unexpected Indigenous Peoples”

Mangrove Forest Park

After we finished visiting the Pathway of Reverie and the root-carving art museum, we eagerly followed the path towards the next attraction – the canoe rafting.

But before we neared the path, thick smoke came from the shrubs, assaulting our senses, making me cough repeatedly.

MC: Ahem ahem… something’s caught fire?!

Lu Jinghe: Yeah, someone’s burning something in the forest!

Mangroves grew on the edge of the tidal flats, and the surroundings were all very wet. It was unlikely for a fire to occur naturally.

It was very evident that someone was intentionally burning something on the tree borderline.

Lu Jinghe: I’m going to contact the staff first, and then we’ll go see.

MC: Okay!

--

There were scorch marks all over the shrubbery and plants, and the further we walked, the more choking the smoke grew.

In the middle of a mess, several people wearing Tambuyani indigenous clothing had gathered up closely amid the trees.

Some people, holding torches, lit up the shrubbery and incinerated the grass. Some people, holding axes, were chopping off tree branches and clearing up the excess.

MC: What are you doing?!

My voice caught the attention of that group. A man that looked like the leader walked out.

Indigenous Leader: We’re plowing the land.

Lu Jinghe: Friend, don’t your words sound kind of wrong? You all are clearly burning the trees and cutting at random.

Lu Jinghe had just spoken when one of the indigenous people started to shout.

Indigenous Person A: Leader, drive them away!

Indigenous Person B: Exactly, exactly. What do foreigners know – don’t get in our way!

[Gameplay]

Indigenous Leader: We have a reason behind why we’re doing this. Foreigners, I’d encourage you to not concern yourself where you shouldn’t.

The indigenous leader’s tone downplayed the situation, as if cutting down trees that had grown for so long was as simple as pulling up weeds in a courtyard.

That’s way too awful. We absolutely can’t compromise so easily!

I thought about it, then decided to talk to them to delay time, until staff members arrived.

--

INTERROGATION START

Reason for Incinerating Trees

MC: Then couldn’t you tell us about the reason?

Lu Jinghe: Yeah, you’re keeping us foreigners in suspense by only speaking about half of it.

Indigenous Leader: You foreigners are so annoying!

It seemed like our questions had annoyed him. He put down the tools he was holding and started explaining to us.

Indigenous Leader: It’s such a waste to grow these useless trees on such a large tract of land. Might as well make space for us to grow parrot-tail fairy flowers!

Parrot-tail Fairy Flower

MC: Y-you’re going to plant parrot-tail fairy flowers?!

Aren’t parrot-tail fairy flowers a rare plant that Pax’s researchers only noticed recently?

It wasn’t just me – Lu Jinghe also had a stunned expression.

Although, he changed to an extremely professional business smile very quickly.

Lu Jinghe: The flower you’re talking about… what is it? How come I’ve never heard of it?

Indigenous Leader: That’s the sacred flower of Tambuyani. If you eat its petals, you can get rid of the diseases you have and live healthily and peacefully forever.

Lu Jinghe: If you eat this flower, is it that you’ll never get sick again?

Indigenous Leader: Yeah. Otherwise, how could we call it a sacred flower? Foreigners, want to buy some and try?

Lu Jinghe: Sure, how are you selling it?

As expected of Lu Jinghe. His tone was absolutely that of a foreign visitor that knew nothing and was easily fooled.

The indigenous leader gradually let down his guard, becoming quite eager.

Indigenous Leader: For our friendship, the price is negotiable!

Indigenous Leader: We’ve got flower fields at other places. How about I take you two there to see it?

Location of the Flower Field

Lu Jinghe: Where is the flower field? If I buy a lot, can you give me a discount?

Indigenous Leader: Hah, don’t worry! We’ve got a large parrot-tail fairy flower field in Imana Forest, and I guarantee that supply will be sufficient!

Indigenous Leader: As for discounts… we’ll have to see how much you buy.

INTERROGATION COMPLETE

--

MC: (If we keep asking, these indigenous people might actually take us to their flower field to see their supply.)

We’d delayed time for so long, so the staff members should probably almost be here.

I surreptitiously tugged at the opening of Lu Jinghe’s sleeve, hinting that it was about time. He turned around and winked, receiving my hint.

Indigenous Leader: Now that we’ve said this much, are you two going to buy the parrot-tail fairy flower?

Lu Jinghe: I thought about it seriously… and I feel like this situation still isn’t that reliable.

Lu Jinghe: Also, before you start conducting business so warmly, you should consider the current circumstances first.

Indigenous Leader: What?!

Not too far away, we heard the faint sounds of screeching sirens and the rolling movements of tires.

Seeing their plan dissolve away, the indigenous people showed expressions of fury, one by one.

Indigenous Leader: So goddamn annoying, you hindering foreigners!

However, it was pointless no matter how furious they got. Staff and police arrived very quickly and got the situation under control.

The end of the matter here could be considered a temporary moment of peace.

 Part 5: Wetlands in the Forest

[Gameplay]

 Part 6: Unexpected Interference

Mangrove Forest Park

The sky grew gradually darker, and the clamoring turmoil in the mangrove forest park also gradually died down.

There were only the remnants of burnt-smelling air from the incinerations, reminding of us the disaster that this mangrove forest had endured, not too long ago.

In this sort of atmosphere, neither I nor Lu Jinghe had the heart to have fun.

We sat by the river and randomly ate a few things, ending the day’s itinerary carelessly.

MC: I didn’t think that this much stuff would happen today.

Lu Jinghe: Ugh, the canoe rafting and the mangrove forest cableway adventure plans all went up in smoke.

Lu Jinghe dejectedly held a tree branch, drawing circles on the ground.

Seeing the mangrove branch in his hand, the scenes of the indigenous people roughly cutting down the trees and setting fire to the forest emerged before my eyes.

MC: The most troublesome issue right now are those indigenous people… what if they continue wreaking damage on the mangrove forest park tomorrow?

Lu Jinghe: I’ve gotten someone to let the local people in charge know about the situation, to have them dispatch people to supervise and manage this place.

MC: Hmm… that’s all we can do for now.

Lu Jinghe: I’m just afraid that they can manage this place for a while, but they can’t manage it forever.

Lu Jinghe: It seems like those indigenous people don’t know that burning and cutting down trees is a bad thing at all…

MC: That’s what I also felt… maybe, to them, we’re the interfering rascals.

Lu Jinghe: They even said “We’ve got a large parrot-tail fairy flower field in Imana Forest, and I guarantee that supply will be sufficient”…

Lu Jinghe: If I didn’t learn about the parrot-tail fairy flower situation in advance, I definitely would’ve thought that this is a medicinal herb panacea that’s always ready in the households of the indigenous.

MC: Maybe they truly believe that the flowers they’ve planted are the “parrot-tail fairy flowers” that can bring wealth.

Tambuyani’s economy was undeveloped, and the gap between the rich and poor was significant.

The indigenous people were mostly simple and pure. If they were to believe that there was something that could bring them greater wealth…

They would simply finish off this matter without considering any consequences.

If so, as we don’t know how many forests would encounter unacceptable disasters, what should we do?

>Mention your own suggestion >Ask for help from Lu Jinghe

MC: Should we go to Imana Rainforest and take a look at the flower field that the indigenous people mentioned?

MC: Just listening to them say these things isn’t enough for us to confirm the situation… we have to see it to believe it.

Lu Jinghe: No problem. Tomorrow, the train is going to drive near the Imana Rainforest tribe. We can look around on the way.

MC: Mhmm, let’s do that for now!

 >Mention your own suggestion >Ask for help from Lu Jinghe

MC: Lu Jinghe, do… you have any ideas?

Lu Jinghe: Let me think… the train will drive near the Imana Rainforest tribe tomorrow…

Lu Jinghe: How about we take a look at what’s up with that flower field that the indigenous people mentioned, on the way?

MC: Sounds reasonable… seeing is believing, after all. Only when we get our hands on the detailed situation can we think up of a way to solve this.

MC: Then tomorrow, we’ll figure things alone the way at the rainforest!

[thekillerssluts]

Will Butler explains how his Harvard degree developed into his second solo album

“Yeah, it’s terrifying,” Will Butler says, pondering how it feels to be releasing music away from the umbrella of Arcade Fire.

“It’s the classic thing about all writers,” he continues. “The creative process makes them wanna puke the whole time they’re writing something, then they read something back and it makes them feel worse, then a year later they read it and think ‘yeah, it’s okay’. It’s a glorious experience, but it really makes your stomach hurt.”

On the one hand Will Butler is well accustomed to this writing process, being a multi-instrumentalist in the Canadian indie-rock band fronted by brother Win - Arcade Fire. But on his own terms, it’s an entirely new process. Butler’s second solo album Generations arrives five years after his debut Policy, a collection that rattled with a ramshackle charm and what he describes now as a ‘consciously very unproduced’ sound. Arcade Fire wound down from their Everything Now tour in September 2018, leaving Butler with the last two years of playtime. Most musicians, particularly those accustomed to big album cycles, set aside their downtime for family or other musical projects. Somehow Butler’s managed to do both while also completing a masters degree in Public Policy at Harvard.

“I went to school for a variety of reasons but there was an artistic side to it too,” he says. “I have always tried to let music and lyrics emerge from the world that I’m in; you fertilise the soil and see what grows. It was a way to better understand where we are, how we got here and what's going on. You know, ‘where am I from? What's going to happen?’” Both of these questions explored in his degree are used as fuel for Generations.

It’s easy to imagine an album by somebody who’s just pursued a Public Policy MSt to form in reams of political commentary, probably set to an acoustic guitar. However, Butler instead engages character portraits soundtracked by a broad range of thrilling sonics. Opener “Outta Here” is shrouded by a monstrous bass that lurks beneath the depths of the instrumentation before bursting out midway through. “Got enough things on my plate without you talking about my salvation,” he screams.

While the cage-rattling “Bethlehem” is mania underpinned by a thrashing guitar and bubbling synths that help lift the track to boiling point.While there’s no current world leaders namechecked or any on-the-nose political commentary across the LP, the angst of its contents is instantly tangible, backed by the intellect of somebody who’s spent the past few years studying the ins and outs of government processes. A perfect combination, you could say.

This fuel was partly discovered through Butler reconnecting with the music that defined his teenage years: namely Bjork, The Clash and Eurythmics. While these influences certainly slip into frame across Generations, they were paired with something of an unlikely muse: “I got into this habit of listening to every single song on the Spotify Top 50 every six weeks,” Butler explains. “So many of them are horrible, terrifying and just awful but there’s something inspiring about how god damn avant garde the shittiest pop music is now. Just completely divorced from any sense of reality - it’s just layers upon layers upon layers - it’s amazing. It’s like Marcel Duchamp making a pop hit every single song.”

We turn from current music to current events. Navigating Covid-19 with his wife and three kids in their home of Brooklyn, a majority of 2020 has been caught up in family time for Butler. “The summer’s been easier because everybody’s outside, whereas in spring it was like ‘it’s family time because we have to lock our doors as there's a plague outside.’” While being surrounded by the trappings of lockdown since his second solo album Generations was completed in March, the album itself wriggles with the spirit of live instrumentation, which at this point seems like some sort of relic from a bygone era."I think eventually rediscovering this album back in the live setting would be amazing - we’re a really great live band, it’s a shame to not be in front of people."

The source of this energy can be traced back to the way the songs came together; they were forged and finessed at a series of shows in the early stages of the project. “It just raises the stakes. You can tell how good or how dumb a lyric is when you sing it in front of a hundred people,” he reflects. “It’s like ‘are you embarrassed because what you’re saying is true?’ or ‘is it just embarrassing?’ It’s a good refiner for that stuff. I think eventually rediscovering this album back in the live setting would be amazing - we’re a really great live band, it’s a shame to not be in front of people.”

Like his day job in Arcade Fire, Butler’s solo live group is something of a family affair - both his wife and sister-in-law feature in the band, alongside Broadway's West Side Story star, and the student of the legendary Fela Kuti drummer, Tony Allen. Together this eclectic mix of musicians conjures an infectious spirit through the raw combination of thundering synths and pedal-to-the-metal instrumentation; an apt concoction indeed for lyrics that are attempting to unhatch the bamboozling questions that surround our current times.

The timing for Butler’s decision to study Public Policy couldn’t have been more perfect, with his course starting in the Fall of 2016. “I was at Harvard for the election which was a really bizarre time to be in a government school, but it was great to be in a space for unpacking questions like ‘my god, how did we get here?!’” he reflects, with a note of mockery in the bright voice.

“I had a course taught by a professor named Leah Wright Rigueur. The class was essentially on race in America but with an eye towards policy. The class explored what was going to happen in terms of race under the next president. The second to last week was about Hilary Clinton and the last week was about Donald Trump. We read riot reports - Ferguson in 2015, Baltimore in 2016, the Detroit uprisings in the ‘60s and Chicago in 1919 - it's certainly helping me understand the last 5 years, you know. Just to be in that context was very lucky.”

As we’ve seen with statues being toppled, privileges being checked and lyrics of national anthems being interrogated in recent months, history is a complex, labyrinthine subject to navigate requiring both ruthless self-scrutiny and a commitment to the long-haul in order to correct things. The concept of Generations shoots from the same hip employing character portraits to engage in the broader picture.

The writing, at times, is beamed from a place of disconnect (“had enough of bad news / had enough of your generation”), from a place of conscious disengagement (“I’m not talking because I don’t feel like lying / if you stay silent you can walk on in silence”) and from a place of honest self-assessment (“I was born rich / three quarters protestant / connections at Harvard and a wonderful work ethic”).

“I’m rooted in history to a fault,” he says. “My great grandfather was the last son of a Mormon pioneer who’d gone West after being kicked out of America by mob violence. He wanted to be a musician which was crazy - he got 6 months in a conservatory in Chicago before his first child was born. He always felt like he could have been a genius, he could of been writing operas but he was teaching music in like tiny western towns and he had all these kids and he made them be a family band and they were driving around the American west before there were roads in the deserts - literally just driving through the desert! He would go to these small towns and get arrested for trying to skip bills and just live this wild existence.”

Butler’s grandma, meanwhile, was just a child at this point. She went on to become a jazz singer with her sisters and married the guitar player Alvino Rey. “The fact that me and my brother are musicians is no coincidence,” he smiles. “It’s not like I decided to be a musician, it’s down to decisions that were made at the end of the 19th century that have very clearly impacted where I am today. The musical side of it is very beautiful, it is super uncomplicated and a total joy to have a tradition of music in our family...but also in the American context - which is the only context I know - it's also these very thorny inheritances from the 19th century and beyond that influence why my life is like it is.

“For me it’s like, ‘I made my money because my grandpa was a small business owner’ or ‘my grandpa was a boat builder and got a pretty good contract in WW2 and was able to send his kids to college’. Both of which are so unpoetic and unromantic but it is an important thing to talk about, that's a personal political thing to talk about; there's horrifying and beautiful aspects there.”

The lament of “I’m gonna die in a hospital surrounded by strangers who keep saying they’re my kids” on “Not Gonna Die” could well be croaked by somebody on the tail end of a life lived on the American Dream. At times, Butler plays the characters off against each other, like on “Surrender,” which chronicles two flawed characters going back and forth played by Butler’s lead vocals and his female backing singers that undermine his memory; “I remember we were walking” is cut up with the shrug of “I dunno” and “maybe so”. “I found having the backing voices there gave me something to play with,” he explains. “Either something threatening to the main character or something affirming to the main character, just providing another point of view.”

Elsewhere, “I Don’t Know What I Don’t Know” explores the feeling of being unsuitably equipped to unravel the complexities that surrounds us day-to-day. “The basic emotion of that song is very much ‘I don’t know what I can do’ which is an emotion we all have,” he ponders. “There’s also the notion that follows that, like ‘maybe don’t even tell me what to do because it’s going to be too overwhelming to even do anything’.”

Some of these portraits materialised in the aftershows Butler began hosting while on Arcade Fire’s Everything Now tour which found him instigating conversations and talks by local councilman, politicians and activists on local issues. “On some of the good nights of the aftershow town halls, you’d feel that switch away from despair and into action,” he says smiling. “The step between despair and action is possible, that sentiment isn’t spelled out lyrically on the record but it’s definitely there spiritually.”

“I learned anew what a treasure it is to have people in a room. Getting humans in a room can be absurd. And we were having from 5,000 to 15,000 people in a room every night, most of them local. I’m very comfortable with art for art’s sake; I think art is super important and it’s great people can like music that's not political. It was sort of like ‘well we’re here and I know a lot of you are thinking about the world and you’re thinking about what a shit show everything is. You want to know what we can do and I also want to know what we can do!’ So I put on these after shows.”"The dream lineup would be to have a local activist and a local politician talking about a local issue because that’s the easiest way to make concrete change."

Butler would find a suitable location near the Arcade Fire gig through venue owners who were often connected to the local music and comedy scenes to host these events. “The dream lineup would be to have a local activist and a local politician talking about a local issue because that’s the easiest way to make concrete change. Arguably, the most important way is through the city council and state government. The New York state government is in Albany, New York. The shit that happens in Albany is all super important so I wanted to highlight that and equip people with some concrete levers to pull.

“In Tampa we had people who were organizing against felon disenfranchisement, like if you’ve been convicted of a felon you couldn’t vote in Florida, and something absurd like 22% of black men in Florida couldn’t vote and there were people organising to change that - this was in 2018 - and you could just see people being like ‘holy shit, I didn't even know this was happening!’

“These were not topics I’m an expert in - it’s like these are things that are happening. The thought was trying to engage, I’m sad to not be doing something similar this Fall, I mean what a time it would have been to go around America.”

Understandably the looming 2020 election is on Butler’s radar. “It doesn't feel good,” he sighs. “I’ve never had any ability to predict, like 2 weeks from now the world could be completely different from what it is today. There was always a one-in-a-billion chance of the apocalypse and now it's like a one-in-a-million chance which is a thousand times more likely but also unlikely. It’s going to be a real slog in the next couple of years on a policy side, like getting to a place where people don’t die for stupid reasons, I’m not even talking about the coronavirus necessarily just like policy in general. Who knows, it could be great but it seems like it's going to be a slog.”

There’s a moment on the closing track “Fine”, a stream-of-consciousness, Randy Newman-style saloon waltz, where Butler hits the nail on the head. “George [Washington], he turned to camera 3, he looked right at me and said...I know that freedom falters when it’s built with human hands”. It’s one of the many lyrical gems that surface throughout the record but one that chimes with an undeniable truth. It’s the same eloquence that breaks through as he touches on the broad ranging subjects in our conversation, always with a bright cadence despite the gloom that hangs over some of the topics.

The live show is without a doubt Arcade Fire’s bread and butter. While Butler questions how realistic the notion of getting people in packed rooms in the near future is, he reveals the group are making movements on LP6. “Arcade Fire is constantly thinking about things and demoing, it's hard to work across the internet but at some point we’ll get together. It probably won’t be much longer than our usual album cycle,” he says.

You only have to pick out one random Arcade Fire performance on YouTube to see Butler’s innate passion bursting out, whether it’s early performances that found him and Richard Reed Parry adorning motorbike helmets annihilating each other with drumsticks to the 1-2-3 beat of “Neighbourhood #2 (Laika)” or the roaring “woah-ohs” that ascend in the anthem of “Wake Up” every night on tour. It’s an energy that burns bright throughout our conversation and across Generations.

https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/features/interviews/arcade-fires-will-butler-new-solo-record-generations

[backtothestart02]

Mixed Drink - 20/? | westallen fanfiction

A/N: And so it begins. (Next chap will start looong flashbacks to Iris’ entire backstory.)

Commissioned by @andromidagalaxie

...

Chapter 20 -

Wally watched as his sister fell apart before his eyes. He hadn’t seen her like this maybe ever, or at least not for a long time. She practically crumbled, feeling around for a chair away from where he was standing so he couldn’t see. That irked him a little, but they had been in the middle of a fight. It was no wonder she didn’t want him looking on to see her in such a vulnerable state.

When her breath hitched and the chair leg squeaked across the floor though, he forgot about their fight entirely, even all the bitterness that he held against her, and just wanted to hold her. He might be her little brother, but he was still her brother, and brothers protected their sisters from being hurt.

For the first time in years he felt a stab of guilt over him being the one who was hurting her for so long.

The thought faded, although the feeling didn’t, when he saw his sister end the call, literally trembling now with the information she’d been given.

“Iris?” he asked hesitantly.

She slowly turned around.

“You need to go,” she said on a shaky breath.

His brows narrowed. “What? Why?”

“Because I need to go, and you can’t be here after I leave. I have to lock up.”

That sounded rational. He relaxed.

“But also, I really don’t want to see your face right now.”

His brows locked together again.

“Because?” He scoffed.

“Because the last thing I need to worry about right now is what you think of our past and our relationship and all the shit I’ve done to our family that has you loathing the very sight of me. Even though you were the one seeking me out tonight, so-”

“Forget that,” he said. “Who was on the phone?”

She blinked, suddenly enraged that he was playing the concerned brother card after so many years of pushing her away.

“That’s none of your business,” she spat.

“But it’s your business.”

She scoffed. “Which makes it not yours.” She shook her head. “Asshole.”

She started moving past him, but he stopped her before she could get too far ahead.

“Why are you crying?” he asked, noting the tear tracks staining her cheeks.

“Because-” She huffed, pulling herself free from his grip. “Fine. You want to know why I’m crying?” Wally nodded. “Because my boyfriend just got shot and is in critical condition. I’m going to the hospital, so you need to leave.”

“Wait.” He took a step back and halted her again. “Since when do you have a boyfriend?”

Her eyes widened and jaw dropped in disbelief.

“I don’t have to explain myself to you!”

“Wait, Iris-”

“It’s time to go, Wally. We can talk about…whatever this was supposed to be another time. The longer you stay, the longer I have to stay, and the more time there is before I can see if my boyfriend is going to be okay or if he’ll be long dead before I’ve finished talking with you.”

Her voice was still shaky, but there was determination in it now. She was done giving explanations.

He sighed, exasperated.

“Shouldn’t… Shouldn’t you take someone with you?” Her eyes blazed. “I mean, I could-”

“You?!” she asked incredulously. “You don’t give a shit about me and would probably judge the hell out of my boyfriend. I’m not telling you where I’m going or letting you come with me. That’s final.”

He stared her down, so Iris scrambled to come up with an answer he’d accept.

“I’ll call Stacy. She’ll meet me there, I’m sure of it.”

He didn’t like it, but he could see he wasn’t going to get any further with her tonight, and he did have his own relationship to worry about. Jesse hadn’t exactly been pleased when he ran off with her recorder after listening to the tail end of the recording.

“Fine.”

He took a step back and headed for the door. Once outside, he jumpstarted the conversation again.

“But you’ll call me if-”

“I will not call you. Go salvage your relationship, if you can, and tell Jesse she can go to hell too. You don’t go into a meeting with a source without asking them if it’s okay you can record them. She’s a real bitch for that one.”

“Hey-”

“Leave, Wally. It’s what you’re best at anyway.”

That shook him to the core. He watched her lock up and push past him and knew a sense of defeat unlike anything he’d ever felt before.

“Iris!” he called before she was too far away, but she kept walking.

He knew she heard him because there was a brief pause in her step when he called, barely noticeable to any innocent observer, but he’d seen it. Of course, he’d seen it. He knew her. She was his sister. And they used to be best friends.

If only he’d known that night 10 years ago would change everything…

The near silent creak of the door opening started to wake Wally up in the middle of the night. He mumbled something in his sleep and shut his eyes tightly. There was not a robber at his door. It was impossible.

“Psst. Wally.”

Oh, thank God. It was just his sister.

He moaned, still half-asleep.

“Wally!” she whispered a little louder, so he sighed and pulled back the cover, propping himself up on his elbow. He reached for his glasses and pushed them on, squinting in the darkness.

“What?” he croaked.

Iris slipped into his room and closed the door quietly behind her.

“Shh, Mom and Dad will hear you if you’re too loud.”

“They’re at the other end of the hall,” he said, dropping his head back into his soft pillow.

“Wally!” she yell-whispered.

He groaned. “WHAT?”

She came and sat down on the edge of his bed.

“Should you be asleep?” he complained.

“Not tonight,” she said, practically giddy. “Tonight we’re going on an adventure.”

Wally opened one eye to see her beaming. Despite himself, he was intrigued.

“What kind of adventure?”

Her teeth shone brightly in the moonlight streaming through his window.

“We’re going to break into Dad’s office.”

“Huh?” he asked, worriedly. “Why would we do that?”

“To grab some of his files, obviously.”

“But why-”

“I need it for my class. You don’t need to know the details.”

“I do if I’m going to get punished for it!” he squeaked.

She rolled her eyes. “You won’t get punished. I’ve planned it all out. Now are you in or are you out?”

“What do you need me for?” he grumbled.

“As a look out, of course. I need someone smaller than me-”

“I’m not that much smaller,” he interjected, much to her annoyance. At 16 she’d stopped growing, but at 12 he was only about a foot shorter than her.

“You’re small enough,” she retorted. “I told my friends you’d have no problem, that you weren’t an absolute scaredy-cat.”

“I’m not!” he whined, and she clamped her hand over his mouth.

“I know you’re not.” She smiled slowly. “Thanks for coming through for me, buddy.”

“Wait.” He pulled her hand down. “I never said-”

“Meet me in the kitchen in five,” she said, her eyes gleaming. “Trust me, Wally, you’re not going to want to miss this.”

He took a deep breath as soon as she left, and very reluctantly started to change his clothes. He had a very bad feeling about this, but Iris was his sister, and her ‘exciting plans’ usually amounted to something great. He wasn’t going to chicken out this time.

Wally brought himself back to the present and looked ahead to see his sister disappear just around the bend. Some old resentment rushed to the surface, but so did his stubborn returned need to be there for his sister, and to find out who the hell this boyfriend was.

He could listen to the full recording to find out more possible details, but he knew he’d have to talk to Jesse too. She’d been a natural in her Journalism class since it started. He knew she was a math and science genius, but the way she interrogated and softened in the same breath made him wonder if she’d be more suited as a lawyer or a journalist than an engineer or scientist.

It would be hard though. They hadn’t exactly parted on loving words.

“Go to hell, Wally!”

He winced. Time to grovel and then scheme, just as Iris had taught him.

…

With shaking fingers, Iris pulled her phone back out and called her go-to number in all things end-of-the-world.

“Come on. Pick up, pick up, pick up…” She gnawed on her bottom lip, eager to get to her place so she could grab her car and head on over to North Central City Hospital where Felicity had told her Barry was on the way too.

She couldn’t believe this was happening. First he gets mugged that first week she saw him, and now he’s shot? Just what kind of job did he do and how did Central City suddenly get so violent?

It hardly mattered at the moment, but it was a nagging voice in the back of her mind that she knew she’d have to come back to when all of this was over.

“Hello?” came the chipper voice of one Stacy Conwell.

She knew she could count on her to still be up at almost midnight.

“Stace! Thank God you picked up.”

“Iris?” Stacy’s brows furrowed on the other end. “What’s wrong?”

“Barry’s been shot.”

“What?!”

Iris nodded, tears escaping her now.

“His co-worker just called me, said it happened on the job. She didn’t have many details to share, but I guess there a freak shooter that just came in and Barry was trying to protect people when he was caught in the line of fire.”

“Oh, my God.” Stacy thought frantically for a moment. “Where are you?”

“A couple blocks away from Jitters.”

Stacy frowned. “I thought your shift ended earlier today.”

“It did. I was just-” She was barely holding back tears, so Stacy aborted her line of questioning.

“You know what, you can tell me later. Do you want me to come pick you up?”

“Yes, please.” She sniffled. “He’s at North Central City hospital.”

“Shit. That’s not close.”

“I know, I know!” Iris cried.

“Okay, stay put. I’m coming as fast as I can. Alright?”

Iris nodded and sniffled again. “Okay. Thank you.”

“Yeah. No problem. See you soon, Iris.”

Iris ended the call and huddled against the building she was nearest to. It was pitch black outside, streetlights the only thing keeping the city from falling into complete darkness. It was cold too, and Iris hadn’t brought a coat with her.

Barry’s face flashed before her eyes. Their kisses, their little moments, his love declaration, their dirty texts… Three weeks with this man, and she was already hopelessly in love with him. This couldn’t be the end of their story. She refused.

Unfortunately, when she tried to make her mind think of something else, all it kept going back to was her conversations with Wally and Jesse.

The nerve of that girl, making her think she had the best of intentions, that they were kindred spirits, that she wanted to bring her family back together, when really she… Well, Iris didn’t know what Jesse was up to, but it couldn’t be anything good if she’d planned to record her without her consent. That was the kind of scandalous thing… Well, that she would’ve done before everything got shot to hell.

She’d been so prepared tonight to share everything, to delve into her deepest, darkest secret, known only to the West family, to who was a complete stranger to her. She’d been a fool to think this girl was trustworthy. But in thinking about what she was going to say, it really started to take her back. She’d thought on those memories with regret and distaste but also longing for what had been.

She’d been in high school when it began, in her junior year at Central City High. She’d just enrolled in a Journalism class and found herself fascinated by the topic. Before that, she’d been determined to be a cop. Not solely to piss her dad off, though that was kind of amusing in and of itself, but because she wanted to be a force on the streets, protecting those who needed protecting and making sure other cops were kept in line, sticking to their vow of defending the helpless while maintaining order in the justice system.

But that was before she discovered journalism. In that first class she had fallen hard, not only with the charming professor who spoke about his passion for the truth and the public’s right to know it as if it was the air who breathed, but also the subject itself. It was a beating drum inside her that she couldn’t squelch. And she knew then that this was what she was meant to do.

Unfortunately for her, the types of stories the school newspaper was expected to write were hardly worth talking about. Meetings and basketball games and fundraisers, hardly the stuff she wanted to write. No, she wanted to bring criminals to justice and stop victims from feeling so helpless and unprotected. A story she wanted to write could do that, but at what cost?

She hadn’t considered the repercussions then. And if she had, well, she probably would’ve done the same thing. It would’ve been worth the risk in her mind, just as everything had been…

For Iris West, writer extraordinaire, nothing could come between her and a story.

Even her own and her family’s reputation.

And safety.

The sound of a horn beeping pulled her from her thoughts, and she realized Stacy had finally arrived. She climbed into the car and shut the door, trying to still herself as thoughts of Barry resurfaced.

Stacy reached across the middle to squeeze her hand tightly, and Iris forced a smile. She released her hand then and turned to look out the window, her thoughts drifting to the past once more.

It had started to rain, and thunder rumbled in the distance.

Just like that night so many years ago…

...

*will be posted on AO3 and FFnet when beta’d.

[bokutoez]

Wipeout

Mermaid!Bokuto X Fem!Reader

A/N: This is my first fic! Sorry if it sucks, my sister proofread it for me adsfskjet (Gif not mine)

Summary: You decide to try something new, but it doesn’t work out too well. Luckily, Bokuto is to the rescue.

Word Count: 2480

It was a day pretty much like any other day, except you were sick of constantly doing the same repeating schedule. Wake up, shift at the cafe, then come home and try to pass the time. You lived pretty close to a beach, though it was often empty because there were plenty of better beaches not too far away. Although you lived most of your life near the ocean, you never really took a lot of time to go there. You decided it was time to do something new and impulse bought a surfboard at a shop nearby. You didn’t have any prior knowledge of surfing, but what is the worst that could happen, right?

After you got off work, you changed into your swimsuit and set off to teach yourself how to surf. Should you look into some tutorials? Yes, definitely. Are you going to just dive into it without research? Also yes, definitely. You saw some surfing movies, so you’re basically a pro. The beach is deserted, only a field of sand, crashing blue waves, and a long pier in your view. You set down your stuff, grabbed the board, and headed out to sea. Ah, now this isn’t too bad. You were pretty far out and decided to attempt the first wave. Unfortunately, the attempt ended up with you falling, knocking yourself with the board in the process, and being swallowed by the massive wave. With no lifeguard on duty, and how far out you had gotten, you were basically screwed. Well, you thought you were.

Bokuto had been watching you and your attempt to surf. He was probably the most curious of his people, so he would come out to watch the surfers when the beach wasn’t too crowded. When he saw you fall without coming back up, he knew what he had to do. He swam over as fast as he could and pulled you out of the water. You weren’t moving and he was mildly freaking out. Where should he put you? It’s not like he could just walk on the shore, he didn’t have legs. Ok, hmmm. The pier! That's the best place because it was in deep enough water where he could swim and you wouldn’t be re-submerged.

He managed to get you on the pier and stayed to watch you, hopefully you would wake up soon. You did wake up and started coughing your lungs up. You were confused and tried to recall where you were. The beach, surfing, falling, oh yeah, you were basically dead. So how did you get here? You look around the pier and don’t see anyone. 

“Hello? Is anyone there?”

No response, but you feel eyes on you. You look towards the ocean and your eyes meet two bright yellow ones barely above the surface. It looks like a man with white and gray hair, but why is he watching you from the water? Suddenly, he's off. Is that… a tail? You decided that you would let it go since it was getting late, but after your shift tomorrow at the cafe, you would be back.

As much as Bokuto wanted to stay and talk to you, he was scared because he had never really been that close to a human, much less talked to one. When he made it to his home, Akaashi was there to question him on his whereabouts. Bokuto hardly listens though, he’s still beaming from meeting a human girl. He thought that humans were cool from a distance, but nothing could have prepared him to be face to face with your beauty. Akaashi is quick to get him to spill the beans on what happened.

“You should have seen her, Akaashi. She was surfing and she fell! She didn’t come back up, so I had to save her! I even got her onto the pier, and she woke up!” Bokuto sounded proud of his heroic act.

“Bokuto, I am glad you were able to help her, but did she see you, what if she tells the others and our people end up being hunted down? You have to be careful,” Akaashi was right.

“I don’t think she saw my tail, she was calling to see if anyone was there, but I didn’t say anything. I just had the top of my head out of the water to make sure she woke up! But just incase, I’ll go back to make sure, and if she did see, I’ll make her promise to keep it a secret”

“That’s not… just be careful, Bokuto. You know what could happen.”

The conversation ended there. Truth was, Bokuto was intrigued and wanted to talk to you. You definitely felt the same way as the next day rolled around. You walked into the cafe and some of your coworkers noticed that you had a couple of scratches, but when they asked you what happened, you just told them you fell. You didn’t want to try and explain something you honestly didn’t fully understand. You shift came to a close, and you decided to bring a brownie from the cafe as you made your way back to the pier. The beach was empty as usual, and you sat down at the edge dangling your toes near the water. 

“Hello? I don’t know if you are out there, but I brought you something! I… uh... wanted to thank you…” You started to trail off, not really knowing what you were doing. 

You felt a little crazy, yelling into the distance like some magical man was going to pop out. I mean, he did have yellow eyes, and you could have sworn that the tail you saw was attached to the set of eyes you saw. Maybe you didn’t see anything, maybe it was just your near-death delusions. 

Bokuto was watching you, unsure of how exactly to approach. What should he say? ‘Hey, I’m the merman that saved you yesterday’ or ‘Oh hey, I was watching you surf.’ Maybe a simple ‘hello’ would be fine. However, it seemed as if you were going to get up so he had to act fast. In a panicked state, he reached up and tickled at your toes to alert his presence. Nice…

You started to scream as you felt something on your dangling foot, but then you heard the voice of a man, and watched those same wide, bright eyes appear before you.

“Hey, hey, hey! It’s just me! Don’t scream! You were calling for me earlier, so I decided to come and see you,” Bokuto tried his best to calm you down.

Wow, he was really attractive. You hadn’t seen his full face last night, but now as you watched him talk, his hair was damp against his face, eyes full of emotion, and not to mention his broad shoulders and toned chest were peaking from beneath the waves. Oh shoot! You need to say something. You’ve been staring. 

Bokuto’s cheeks are dusted pink when you finally speak up, “H-hi, Hello, I’m Y/N. Thank you for saving me yesterday. Here!”

You grab the brownie and reach your arm out to hand it to him. He looks confused, but he takes it and sniffs the chocolatey dessert.

“You can call me Bokuto. What’s this?”

He doesn’t know what a brownie is…?

You quickly explain it to him, “It’s called a brownie, you’re supposed to eat it. They’re pretty good, I think.”

He takes a giant bite, his eyes growing wide, he looks almost more excited than before if that’s even possible. You giggle as he spouts praises at you, continuing to chew the dessert until it’s gone. After he thanks you, there’s an awkward pause. You decide to just come out and ask him.

“Soo, are you, like, a mermaid?” Wow that could not have come out worse.

“Actually, I’m a MerMAN, but yeah, pretty much,” He gives you a wide smile, flipping up his golden, shimmery tail.

You laugh at his correction, but can’t help to look at the tail. It’s quite impressive. You want to reach out and touch it, but decide it’s probably better if you don’t for the time being. You guys end up falling into conversation about humans versus mermaids, desserts, and funny stories you both have. It’s getting late though, and of course, you work tomorrow, so you have to go. Bokuto is on the verge of going into emo mode, he wants to keep talking to you, but he doesn’t know what to say, but the next thing you say puts a smile back on his face.

“I’ll see you tomorrow though, right?” 

“Yes! I’ll be here, same time as today!” At this point you have a big grin on your face, too.

As you walk back down the pier, and Bokuto swims off, you’re thinking about how much you enjoyed being around each other. Even though this is the first time you guys spoke to each other, it felt like you had been friends forever. The next day, you are rushing through your shift, everyone is looking at you confused. Since when has she had something important to do? As soon as your shift is over, you practically sprint out the door, this time grabbing a cinnamon bun for Bokuto since he liked the brownie so much. Similarly, Bokuto is rushing to get to the pier, but he spots a really beautiful shell, and decides to bring it for you.

Just as you take the last step to the end of the pier, Bokuto pops out of the water, only mildly startling you. You smile and hold up the cinnamon bun, and as you hand it over, he trades you the shell.

“I’ve seen a lot of seashells in my life, but this one is one of the best yet, here!” Your heart melts when his large hand drops the shell into your smaller one. He really is one of the cutest guys you’ve ever seen. You hold onto the shell, looking at the intricate patterns and rich colors as he chows down on the cinnamon bun. Of course, he thoroughly enjoys it, and gives his thanks. Similar meetings go on for about another week, you are constantly learning new things about each other. Honestly, you may have had a hard fall off your surfboard, but you’re definitely falling harder for Bokuto.

One day, you get off your shift, rushing back to the pier, but Bokuto isn’t there. You wait for a while, but it doesn’t seem like he’s going to show up. Did you say something wrong? You start to nibble on the blueberry muffin you brought him as you wait.

Meanwhile, Bokuto is being interrogated harder than a murder suspect. The others in his group are questioning where he’s been. They know how curious he can be, and they fear it will lead to them being caught, they worry for him as well. Bokuto sighs, trying to decide whether to come clean or brush them off. Akaashi gives him a look from behind the other mermen. Bokuto knows Akaashi would keep any secret, so he isn’t too stressed about his friend knowing. Eventually Bokuto is able to dodge enough questions to be left alone, but it’s too late to meet you. He feels pretty bad knowing that you were probably waiting for him, and goes into emo mode. Tomorrow, he’ll make sure he’s early and he's gonna make it up to you. Hopefully, you’ll still come to see him.

You didn’t even think twice about not going back, assuming he got busy and couldn’t make it. Today, you grab some chocolate strawberries because the cafe was running a special. As you walk down the pier, you see the familiar white and grey locks of hair above the water's surface. You can’t help but to get excited even though you only missed a day of seeing him.

Bokuto apologizes several times, telling you something came up and it won’t happen again. You can tell he feels bad, but when you accept his apology, his bright smile once again graces his face.

“Are those for me?” He asks you pointing to the strawberries.

“Yes, Bokuto. They are for you.” You laugh at his giddiness as you hand them over. They were a success, like your desserts always are.

“Hey, do you wanna do something really fun? Here hop in and get on my back,” Bokuto says abruptly.

“I..uh.. Okay sure!” You convince yourself mentally to just get in, even though you don’t have a change of clothes. As you hop in, your foot brushes Bokuto’s tail, it’s kinda weirdly slimy.

“How does your tail even work?” You laugh and Bokuto reminds himself that you, in fact, don’t have a tail, so you wouldn’t know.

“I guess it works like your legs, but it's shiny and makes me swim faster!” That’s a good enough response as he starts to swim far out. You start to get a little nervous, remembering what happened last time you went out this far.

“Uhm, Bokuto, how far are we going?” He can sense the apprehension in your voice.

“Do you trust me?” You don’t have to think twice. He’s a merman that you barely just met, but you trust him wholeheartedly.

“Of course I do, Bo.” That all he needs and swims just a little further. He emits a weird type of whistle, and sea creatures start to appear. Dolphins, turtles, and even some random types of fish. Bokuto turns back at you, smiling proudly.

“You can get on them if you want or pet them, they don’t mind,” Your mind is still processing, but you reach out to the creatures and they start to come up to you. Even though the water is deep, you feel safe. Bokuto splashes you with water, and you look at him, shocked, before you splash him back. The rest of your time together goes great, and as it starts to get dark, Bokuto takes you back to the pier. This time though, he pulls you into a hug and swims with you on his chest. When you get to the pier, he grabs the ladder with one hand and stabilizes so you can climb up. You go to say bye, and realize just how close your face is to his. You notice he’s blushing, he must’ve also noticed. Both of you want a kiss, but will one of you be able to initiate. You decide to bite the bullet and go for it. As soon as your lips meet his, he’s pulling you closer. The awkwardness of it fades away as you pull back. Now, both of you are blushing.

You speak up, “I’ll see you tomorrow then, right?”

“Of course, tomorrow and everyday you'll have me.” 

You give him one last peck on the lips and disappear into the night.

[calitraditionalism]

Arc Two: Chapter Fourteen

(AO3 counterpart here.)

“You’re kidding.”

“I wish I was.” Beetlefoot was clearly struggling to keep his fur down on his body. His tail was jittery and his round yellow eyes were almost bulging with alarm. “But I heard them perfectly clearly.”

The quartet were far outside the perimeter of the camp at the stream, under the guise of hunting together as a group. Someone had questioned why the blind cat was going with them. Darkpelt, the excellent actress that she was, had breezily passed it off as just playing around and being a distraction to her friends. That someone then asked why they’d go out when a storm was coming, to which she then mentioned that getting prey now would be better than having to hunt in the rain. They had received no further questions and left quickly.

To keep up the charade, Mistface and Beetlefoot had caught some prey of their own, while Laurelclaw dove into the water for a sizable fish of some kind that Mistface did not know the name of. He had given the fish to Darkpelt before pretending to search for more. Laurelclaw had his back to them, but they were close enough to talk easily and at a lower volume. No one was touching their catches.

“That’s ridiculous,” was all Mistface could say. He tried to think of something else to add on, but his shock seized the clever part of his mind and he could only repeat himself. “That’s just too ridiculous. Runagate ain’t even real.”

“It’s totally real!” Laurelclaw turned his head back with a shocked and outraged expression. “There’s too many stories about it for it to be a fake! Besides, if Greyleaf and Redheart both talked about it like that…”

“I had hoped that it could just be a dream or a hallucination of some kind,” Beetlefoot said. “But I can’t argue for that if they’re both seeing it.”

Mistface was barely restraining himself from lashing his tail and twitching his lip. He was aware enough to admit that it was not anger making him act like this. It was fear.

Only Darkpelt was completely calm. She hardly looked present, her big eyes half glazed over, her head not pointed to any of the toms. She was thinking again.

“We have to tell someone,” Laurelclaw said. “Someone needs to know. One of the seers, or- or maybe it’s time to get the leaders involved. We can’t just let them invite the Runagate to be around all these cats. There are apprentices who could be in danger!”

“And we’re running out of time,” Beetlefoot added. “If we don’t call them soon, Redheart will take her groups away unhindered. It’ll be too dangerous for anyone to go all the way out there to bring them back, and if they refuse, there will be a fight.”

Mistface couldn’t say anything. He was unable to stand still; he got up and started pacing back and forth, tail stuck straight out behind him. His mind was working overtime to find a response, or a solution, or an argument for all of this being a joke. He couldn’t find any of these.

“Darkpelt,” Beetlefoot said. “What do you think we should do?”

Mistface jerked around to face her. Beetlefoot and Laurelclaw were looking at her, hopeful that she could solve their problems.

Darkpelt didn’t say anything for a long moment, sitting still as a stone. Slowly, she took in a long breath, eyes narrowing a little.

“There’s something missing,” she nearly whispered, sounding like she was talking to herself. “What does it have to do with all this…?”

“Darkpelt,” Mistface said, a little too sharply.

She blinked, her eyes lit up again, and she falsely scanned the cats looking at her. “I don’t like that we have to cut this short, but I think Laurelclaw’s right. It’s time to call the leaders. We need to keep up appearances until they arrive, though, so let’s do this carefully.”

Beetlefoot nodded and straightened up, more collected and calm. Laurelclaw gave up the fake hunt and joined the rest of the group.

“Mistface,” Darkpelt said, turning to the tom in question. “When do you plan to see your mother next?”

Something clicked in Mistface’s mind, and at once he could make himself relax again. “Well, I don’t know, but I could take Beetlefoot with me.”

“And he can take that time to find the patrollers and sound the alarm,” Darkpelt said. “Go without your brother, and do it today.”

“It’d be suspicious if I went without tellin’ him,” Mistface said, and after a moment of thought, “But he is always busy. Easy to just leave him to his work.”

“Excellent.” Darkpelt nodded. “You, Laurelclaw, are staying with me here. I have a feeling I’ll be needing some muscle.”

“Will I have to hurt anyone?” Laurelclaw asked anxiously. “I know tensions are high, but…”

“Just keep me alive.” Darkpelt put out a paw in a soothing gesture for quiet. “And if we need to, prevent Redheart from leaving until we have backup.”

“What about Greyleaf?” Beetlefoot and Mistface said at the same time. They looked at each other, startled.

Darkpelt tilted her head. “He’s going to be questioned too, I’m sure. Lucky thing he’s a lot easier to contain. Even I could do it.”

“He don’t need to go anywhere,” Mistface said quickly. “I can come back and talk him down.”

Darkpelt turned her head to him and, oddly, there was a bit of sympathy in her expression. “I know he’s your brother, but he’s also the second leader of this whole operation. He can’t get away from that. Talk him down, sure, but he’s going to be arrested too. There isn’t anything we can do about that.”

“My mother won’t be able to handle her son being treated like a criminal.” Mistface tried to sound assertive, but, shamefully, his voice was weak. “She can’t see that at the end of her life.”

“She doesn’t need to know,” Laurelclaw offered with a nervous shift in his body. “Maybe you can just not tell her?”

Darkpelt was unmoved. She spoke with a firm calmness. “Greyleaf is trying to steal warriors, kits and apprentices from the safest place in the world. He’s inciting rebellion, he abandoned his post with the leaders, and he’s speaking to a demon, which sounds like a regular occurrence. Under all that, he would be considered dangerous. The leaders will have to take him in for interrogation at the very least.”

Mistface opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

Darkpelt seemed to know what face he was making, because she continued with, “Sorry. That’s just how it is. Again, Laurelclaw’s right. You don’t have to let your mother know. Once this is resolved, things can return to normal.”

Mistface, lost, looked at Beetlefoot for help. Beetlefoot, downcast, simply shook his head. Laurelclaw wouldn’t even meet Mistface’s eye. There was a long silence while Mistface tried to think of a sound argument, before he hung his head and sighed.

Darkpelt got to her feet with that noise. “Let’s get back with this prey. Mistface, Beetlefoot, leave immediately. Laurelclaw, stick to me like sap.”

The toms picked up their catches and the group unhappily made their way back to the settlement. When they returned, the camp was abuzz with cats talking and arguing. No one noticed the four come back, or deposit their prey, or nod to each other and split up.

“You know where Greyleaf is?” Mistface asked the dull grey tom, flawlessly casual and friendly. “Wanted to invite him to see our mother before we get goin’.”

The tom frowned deeply, but he kept whatever he was thinking to himself and simply shook his head. “He’s with Redheart, I’m sure. I don’t know where either of them is.”

Mistface nodded and kept walking, Beetlefoot at his side. He silently hoped that Greyleaf would be completely inaccessible so he didn’t have to face him, ask a risky question, and be refused.

Or just face him at all, really.

As luck would have it, the den that Greyleaf and Redheart spent most of their time in was surrounded by cats. Some were grumbling, others were calling for Redheart’s attention, and there were a few just standing around and watching the growing disgruntlement.

“Ain’t no way to ask him, then,” Mistface said to Beetlefoot quietly. “Let’s mosey.”

They kept a pace between casually slow and eagerly choppy as they circled around the settlement and landed themselves in the direction of where the Vultures were resting. Mistface quietly observed the gnarled, dark clouds overhead that seemed to be curving their claws closer and closer to the ground.

“This’ll make it hard for the patrol to see me coming,” Beetlefoot remarked.

“Or for anyone else to see you,” Mistface replied. “Come along, then-“

“Wait! Mistface!”

Both toms flinched and looked back to see a harried, untidy Snowshine running for them. She looked exhausted and almost frantic.

“Can-“ she panted, skidding to a halt. “Can I talk to you really quick?”

Mistface, keeping his cool, nodded to Beetlefoot. “You go on ahead. I’ll catch up with you. Don’t go too fast, now.”

Beetlefoot gave a jerk of a nod back and set off at his usual trot.

Mistface turned fully to Snowshine with his winning smile and a very relaxed wave of his tail. “You look like you’re bein’ run all over the place. You alright?”

She lowered her head, caught her breath, and looked back up at him. “I know you’re a spy.”

Mistface’s smile twitched. “What do you mean?”

“You and those cats you came with,” Snowshine explained. She kept her voice low, thankfully. “I know. I’ve seen you all hanging out together and whispering, and going quiet when someone walks by. And the leaders – they already asked about what was going on multiple times. I had a feeling they’d send someone, and I was right.” She suddenly looked embarrassed. “I am right, aren’t I?”

Mistface had a couple options. He could deny and laugh it off, or he could threaten her into silence, or even just sweet-talk her until she forgot what she was saying. He wondered if Darkpelt had ever been in a situation like this, and what she would do.

“It’s okay,” Snowshine whispered. “I’m not going to tell anyone. I just need your help.”

Mistface’s eyes drifted upwards. He took a breath, let it out, dropped his smile, and looked back down at her.

“This better be an important problem,” he said.

“It is.” Snowshine’s face almost crumpled with relief. “The Clast, they’re losing their patience. I can’t keep them back much longer. They want Redheart out of their home, but they don’t want the other cats to go with her. But those cats are sick of the Clast too, and they’re resistant to everything I say, and- and it’s just one big mess, and I don’t know what I can do.”

Mistface was a little surprised to feel a stab of sympathy in his heart. “That ain’t easy.”

“It isn’t.” Snowshine looked around conspiratorially and leaned in. “Whatever connections you have, I need them, and now. Please tell me you can call the leaders here.”

Mistface’s smile faintly returned. “As it happens, Beetlefoot just went off to alert our patrollers that it’s time for action.”

Snowshine’s entire body sagged. “Oh, thank the stars. Redheart wants to leave by tomorrow, and I think that’s all I have left before a fight breaks out.”

Mistface nodded noncommittally and turned, watching Beetlefoot as he grew smaller and smaller in the distance. “That’ll be all the time we need, I like to think.”

[twilightknight17]

Today on P5S, we’re taking a nice relaxing dip in the hot sprin--

Fukuoka, Kyushu! The plan was to keep going straight through to Kyoto, but Makoto was hurting from all the driving, so we pulled over with the intention of spending the night in a proper hotel and having a good meal. Which, of course, means ramen, because we gotta try the local ramen in each place. ^_^

Even Morgana wanted to try, though he requested that Akira blow on it, first, because “feline tongues are sensitive.”

The plan was to stay in Fukuoka until Makoto was feeling better, but Zenkichi called and basically said we had to get to Kyoto right away. So after a night of sleep, we got up the next morning, and we finally learned why Haru hasn’t been driving, despite having her license.

My wife has a lead foot.

Apparently no one but Joker and Queen ever drove the Mona Bus, because everyone but Makoto seemed extremely surprised.

Supposedly it was eight hours to Kyoto. We were there by noon.

Anyway, this old bar is apparently Zenkichi’s safe house, if anything ever goes wrong on an investigation.

He’s tracked the list of names that we found in the lab back to a politician called Jyun Owada, who was apparently a Shido supporter. This guy would benefit from changes of heart, and one of his supporters is the CEO of Madicce, Mr. Akira Konoe. They determine that Owada wouldn’t have a Jail himself, but that he’s probably getting Konoe to influence people for him. Which means that, since Sophia sensed a Jail in Osaka (that we missed because we were all screaming at Haru’s driving), it’s most likely that Konoe is a Monarch.

So my dart hit the board, I just gotta see how close to the bullseye.

Zenkichi heads to Osaka for a meeting with Konoe to try to get his keyword, and convinces the kids to stay behind. They need to rest and recover so they can be at their best for the Jail. Plus, he’s put them up in the nicest hotel in Kyoto! Which means it’s time to go to the hot springs!

The boys are having a lovely time relaxing. Even Morgana’s chilling on a rock with his tail in the water, basking in the chance to really unwind.

.......Atlus. We need to have words.

Not only was this absolutely unnecessary...

It’s the exact same scenario as P3. We’re even in the same goddamn city. If I thought Gekkoukan would be willing to spend 40K per person a night, it might as well be the same hotel.

Apparently, the boys went in right before the time switched over, and didn’t realize. And now, once again, they’re up for an unjust execution. At least Yosuke and Teddie were actually peeping in P4.

Personally, I think a better plan would have been to start yelling, “Who’s there?” as soon as the girls came in. Sneaking just makes it look like you’re up to something nefarious. It was an honest mistake. And really, trying to get out without causing a scene isn’t a heinous crime.

We don’t see who knocked over the thing that got them caught, but they do get caught. There’s no gameplay here. Defeat is inevitable. And...

The girls jump immediately to accusing them of being perverts. Never mind that they’re wet because they just got out of the damn hot spring. And the boys try to explain. They try their best. They explain that they didn’t realize the time had switched. They explain that they’d gotten locked in without noticing, because the men’s side doors lock when it switches over. “It was an accident,” Akira says, plaintively.

And Makoto looks at these boys that she’s fought alongside for over a year. The ones who risked their lives to save her and everyone more than once. The teammates that she stood beside as they shot a god and saved the entire damn world. The ones who, on this very roadtrip, stepped in to defend Haru from Natsume being a harassing jackass... And she says...

She sounds actually angry.

And she beats them up.

For an honest mistake.

I know this is a trope, but in this particular instance, it’s stupid, and it feels incredibly out of character. None of the boys deserve this, but Akira least of all. He’s your goddamn leader; he’s done more for any of you than anyone else. He’s been falsely accused of shit over and over, and now he has to deal with it from his own teammates?

For shame, Atlus. Shitty writing, especially because this event is never going to be brought up again. Was this supposed to be funny? Because in this situation, it wasn’t at all.

...now that I’m done being cranky, let’s go check how Zenkichi’s meeting in Osaka is going.

Hm. Nowhere, apparently, because Konoe’s gone for the day. Weird. Zenkichi had an appointment and everything.

Now let’s check on... well fuck.

Commissioner Kaburagi, Zenkichi’s boss, is summoned by the commissioner general and the previously mentioned Owada. This asshole is claiming to have evidence that the Phantom Thieves are behind all the changes of heart. They hacked into EMMA!

You’ve got a lot of fucking nerve, when you’re the one behind this.

.......maybe this lady is better than I thought.

She says that there’s not enough proof, and that they need to look into things more. The commissioner general counters that the Thieves are going to be tried for murder. Because apparently they killed that poor man at the Okinawa facility after they learned how to get into EMMA.

Kaburagi knows this is bullshit and wants to investigate more, but they basically tell her to do it or else. And promise that she’ll be commissioner general one day. After the current commissioner general launches his political career with the capture of the Phantom Thieves, of course. And she’s just going to follow orders. Never mind. God. I didn’t misjudge her at all.

Konoe goes on TV and announces that they’re shutting down EMMA temporarily, because the Phantom Thieves hacked it and stole personal information. He also informs everyone that they murdered one of his employees. Zenkichi and I had the same reaction, which was “WHAT?!”

Look at this asshole.

Zenkichi realizes what’s going to happen and takes off for Kyoto. Cut to that night, where there’s an entire fucking squad of police outside of the hotel in riot gear. For seven teenagers. Zenkichi shows up and basically pleads with Kaburagi to stop and think, because the real mastermind is still out there.

Kaburagi snaps back with, “You mean like with your wife?” and Zenkichi shuts up. Low blow, lady. She also points out that he seems very attached to criminals.

Before Kaburagi can have the police storm the place, Zenkichi yells for the kids to run, and gets arrested for it. The kids make it to the safe house, but when they find out about the arrest, they want to go after him. They end up agreeing to let Makoto handle that, and then we get a look at King Asshole himself.

I hate how nice this man’s office is.

And I’m kind of afraid of EMMA.

Good luck with that, though. You’d have to break them first; you can’t change the heart of someone stable enough to have a persona. Not that this fuck would know that.

God, he’s like if Shido and Maruki had a fucked-up kid. He wants his own personal team capable of entering the metaverse and changing people, to make the world “better”. Holy fuck.

Somehow I don’t think you’re the one in the right, when you’re talking about making us a “sacrifice to bring about [your] new world order.”

So the next day, the Thieves get a text from Akane’s phone number, that basically says she’s been kidnapped. It’s clearly a trap, but they all agree that they have to go. According to the text, if they want her back, they need to come to Inari Taisha.

Also known as Fushimi Inari, the largest Inari Shrine in Japan. I’ve been there.

I have literally been right there. I have a picture:

And so the kids head into a Jail based on Fushimi Inari where the keyword is “Phantom Thieves”, and I try not to explode from sheer glee because oh boy I thought I’d have to wait a lot longer for this and also I didn’t expect it to be somewhere I know.

Eeeeeeeee~

They find Akane tied up and all go running towards her. Futaba trips, and before she can catch up, a huge cage snatches up the rest of them, because surprise, the Jail Monarch is Akane, and she’s absolutely ready to lord it over them.

Meanwhile, Zenkichi is getting beaten up in interrogation and taking it like a champ.

But it’s okay, because Makoto called in a favor. <3

Futaba managed to get back to the safe house, and Zenkichi met up with her there after Sae got him released.

So you know that bit in P5 where the phan-site poll hits 100% belief and we summoned a demon the size of a skyscraper? That’s Zenkichi right now, except he’s hitting Maximum Dad Energy and I’m pretty sure he’s going to summon his persona.

There’s a cool stealth sequence where you have to sneak by a bunch of shadows, because Zenkichi doesn’t have a persona. Futaba runs navigation for him, but it’s so funny because he... sneaks like a regular person. He doesn’t leap into cover with superhuman speeds.

It might have been cool to play Zenkichi With A Gun, but stealth mode was fun, too. XD

And then the confrontation with Akane. She gives the Thieves a choice of who wants their heart changed first, but before anyone can stupidly volunteer, Zenkichi shows up, and a few more things get revealed. Most importantly, the fact that Owada is the one who killed Zenkichi’s wife, and Zenkichi got death threats directed at Akane if he didn’t stop investigating. No fucking wonder he couldn’t solve the case. But Akane is too disillusioned to listen, because she doesn’t understand. And Zenkichi is forced to confront that at some point, he compromised his morals, telling himself he was doing it for Akane.

This line wasn’t sung, but I kind of wish it was, considering who his persona is. :P

Zenkichi admits that he might have been wrong. But he was doing it to protect the only family he had left.

“But at least I know what makes a person evil. Evil only cares about itself. It’s the mark of a man who would bring another to ruin and dare not show remorse.”

And his awakening was badass.

Shitty picture, but his literal shadow had glowing eyes while it was forming the contract. It was so cool. :D

Wolf is awesome. After beating up a whole hoard of shadows by himself, Akane got away, the Thieves were freed, and we all went back to the safe house to rest. And I swear, you take a nap for one hour, and cannot get any peace. XDDD

Thank you, darling. Now I gotta figure out what deck that’s from.

So that was today. Technically I only played for like...2 and a half hours?? But god, we hit the hot springs and everything just flung itself directly off a cliff and all I could do was hold on.

I have so many thoughts about things!!! But I need to see more first. But this has been fantastic overall.

[thatrandomcatoverthere]

She devil part 1

Photo not mine. Honestly, I was just listening to Dying by lil peep and it inspired this so I’m not sure which direction this story will go. I plan to make this a series, it depends on how I feel about this part in a few days. 

Bucky x Reader 

Summary: Y/n was a lone wolf assassin that Bucky found during a mission scoping out a hydra base. Even though Bucky convinced her to join the avengers, she doesn’t get close to the others. She hides her secrets well, and spends her nights getting high. Bucky wants to learn more about her but doesn’t expect it to be so hard even if he is the only one she talks to. 

Warnings: Weed (i refuse to write about hard drugs as I’m highly against them personally), minor depression, canon typical violence but it may include non-canon violence and gore later on, may include smut later on, cursing. This may include things that are triggering to some at some point, please proceed with caution. 

Bucky had found y/n scoping out the same hydra base as him and Steve. When they finally had an attack planned she had taken it upon herself to snipe multiple soldiers from the tree line. After that the two decided she could prove useful especially since she shared the same hate for hydra. She originally wouldn’t give her real name, “She Devil” is all she would give when asked. She was a woman of few words. Very rarely would you hear her say a full sentence unless she was talking to Bucky. 

Y/n laid down in her bed on top of her fluffy black comforter and sighed. She had just got done with some nightly training with Bucky. She refused to do training in the mornings with the others unless mandatory. She was zoned out when a knock to her door snapped her out of it. “Come in.” She said already assuming it was Bucky. The metal armed male walked in and leaned on the doorframe, “You know eventually you’ll have to train with the others and open up right? I’m not pushing, but they’ve been asking if it’ll ever happen.” 

“Maybe, I don’t know.” Was all she said. Bucky chose not to argue or push any harder, “Just something to think about Y/n.” With that he left closing the door behind him. She didn’t waste any time to lock her door and pulled out her dab pen. It was the easiest way to smoke without anyone smelling it. She took a few hits, after a minute the world around her became jaded. She felt happy, like everything from her past was nothing but a thought. She laid back down and let her eyes close. The world was spinning around her as she fell into a soft slumber. 

She knew she should stop doing this, it was the only way she could properly sleep without every noise waking her up. 

The next morning she woke up with a start, the peaceful dream she was having shifted into the vivid memory of her first kill. 

Deep inhale. Slow exhale. The scope of her carbon fiber cheytac m300 aimed onto her target. She didn’t know what he did wrong to get a hit on him in her organization, but she had orders to follow. 

Deep inhale. Slow exhale. Squeeze the trigger. He fell.

She hesitated a second, a child ran up to him. It looked like his daughter, she was bawling and holding him. She felt sick as she swiftly packed up her gun into a guitar case. 

She felt sick at the memory. She found out later that he had threatened to spill the whereabouts of her organization to police. It made her wish she hadn’t killed him, she would not have suffered 6 more years with them. Wiping away tears that had found their way down her face, she went to shower. 

Steve looked up, it was rare others were awake at 6AM like him. By now he was used to Y/n being awake too. He watched as the girl walked into the kitchen to make herself some coffee saying nothing to him but “Good morning.” 

“Good morning Y/n, sleep well?” She nodded pouring her cup. He caught the hesitation though, the split second it took her. The pause she took while pouring the dark liquid. The deep inhale and the raise of her heartbeat. 

He eyed her wondering if he should say something, but quickly decided against it. She would open up in time. “Just a heads up, you, Bucky, and Nat are being sent on a mission today. The debriefing will be at 9 o’clock sharp.” He was taken back when she said more than three words after that. 

“Where to this time Captain? Siberia is too damn cold, please don’t be there.” She surprised herself honestly. When she was around Bucky or Steve she felt welcome, like she could be herself. It was still a work in progress to hold a conversation with Steve, but she was trying. “South Africa this time, so it’ll be hot. I would pack light.” 

The debriefing went by fast, Y/n was nervous she had never been on a mission with Nat. Excitement of seeing THE Black Widow in action coursed through her veins, but she tried to hide it. The trio were in the quinjet, Bucky was in the bathroom when Nat decided to speak up. 

“So why “She Devil”? Iron man is obvious, Captain America was given, and Hawkeye is just fitting. What’s your name story?” Nat looked over at Y/n hoping she would respond. She was trying to trust the sniper more, but there was nothing about her. Her hometown, her parents, everything up until the last year and a half. But she the h/c haired girl had been with for almost a year of that. It was amazing how long she kept to managed to keep herself hidden from the team. 

“It’s a long story.” 

“We have the time, it’s another 6 hours until we land. You can trust me Y/n, truly.” 

Y/n knew better, it was easy to spot an interrogation. She couldn’t and wouldn’t spill her secret unless she had to. Silence. Nat realized she wouldn’t win this and stayed quiet after that. 

 A week later, the group was ready for the attack. It was simple after Y/n scoped the area. Go in through the unused back entrance, take out the target and get the hell out of dodge. At least it was going to be simple. Until Y/n heard a yelp from her red haired companion. She had grown to like the ex-assassin over the past week, even started to talk a bit more. Thats when she saw it, the crimson liquid leaked out of Nat’s side. Bucky wasn’t out of the building yet, and the girls were surrounded. “Bucky Widow was hit and there’s at least ten of them around us.” Y/n said low enough that the hydra agents could not hear it. 

“Can you take them? Keep Nat safe I’ll be out there in about 60 seconds.” They didn’t have that much time. Y/n knew what she would have to do, but it would spill her secret. She would have a lot of explaining to do later. 

Suddenly her e/c orbs turned a dark red. Two black devil horns sprouted out of her head, along with a long devil tail that had a triangle tip at the end from her tailbone. Her canines got sharper and longer. It was a fierce sight to see, but also terrifying to the poor agents who had to deal with her. It was all a blur to Nat, who was sitting leaned up against a wall her hand on her side. 

Y/n pulled out a pistol and with an unnatural speed shot two of the agents. Her tail wrapped around the gun in one mans hands and yanked him to her as she jabbed her dagger into his chest. She quickly took care of the rest, it was effortless for her. The form granted her speed no human could hope to have, and eyesight and hearing similar to a hawk looking for its prey.  

Bucky ran out right when it finished and was about to aim at the she devil. He froze when he recognized her hair. He looked at Nat, she was in and out and losing a lot of blood. He made quick work of picking her up as he and y/n ran to the quinjet. Y/n taking care of any hydra they came across on the way. 

Y/n stayed in her room for the next two days, it took a toll on her body to transform into the She Devil. Not to include she really did NOT want to have the conversation about what happened. She knew it was all caught on footage, she had plugged a usb into a computer at the facility that allowed Tony to go through their footage. Ranging from a few months before to the present. Everyone in the compound had to know about it by now, it was only a matter of time before someone dragged her downstairs about it. 

Those two days she spent high of her rocker, she wanted to feel something other than fear and disgust. She hated what she is, she was born a mutant. She had just taken another hit when a knock sounded through her room. She ignored it at first before Bucky barged straight in. 

“What do you want?” she tried to say to him but it came out kinda jumbled. He put two and two together when he saw the pen. “Are you high right now?” He asked already knowing the answer. Her half lidded eyes and slower responses were enough of an answer, “How’d you know Buckaroo?” 

He stared at her when she said that. Was this her? The real Y/n? He so badly wanted to see more of it, but he didn’t want her to push him away when she sobered up. The last hit she took caused her to relax too much as her horns sprouted again. “I know you don’t want to, but you need to come and talk to us about what the hell scene you made on the mission.” He walked over to her and attempted to grab her hand and make her stand up. She pulled away quickly, “Then what? I get kicked out?” 

That’s what this was about. The reason no one had seen her for two days straight. He sighed, “Look I’ll try to convince Steve to let it wait until tomorrow but you better be sober when I come to get you. Though you at least need to go visit Nat in the med bay today when you sober up. She wants to personally thank you. Oh and I’m taking this you can have it back tomorrow after the meeting.” 

With that he swiftly grabbed the dab pen and left. Leaving behind an upset y/n.

When she finally sobered up later that day she waited until she was sure everyone would be in bed. She finally left her room and went to visit Nat, they had got close during the mission. When she entered the room Nat looked up from her laptop, “Hey She Devil.” 

She was giving y/n a rare smile that no one ever got to see. “Hey Nat, How ya feeling?” 

“Much better than the other day thanks to your quick work of those agents. I’m actually glad in a way that I got shot. I got to see something new about you.” 

“So you don’t hate me?” Y/n had dropped her barriers around Nat. She knew she could trust her now, it was strange for both of them honestly. Y/n rarely opens up around anyone, and Nat barely knew anything about y/n a week ago but already began to trust her. “Of course not, you saved my life that day. I gotta admit, it’s nice to see the real you. I hope one day you’ll fully open up.” 

They talked for almost 2 hours before deciding it was getting late. When y/n woke up the next day, she finally left her room. She slept terrible that night due to Bucky forcing sobriety on her, so when Cap saw how tired she looked he was surprised. Surely she would’ve spent those days locked away sleeping. She didn’t say good morning this time. She didn’t even glance at him while she made her cup of coffee. “Meeting at 10. Be there y/n.” when he got no reply he continued, “It’s nice to see you out of your room again by the way. Mornings are lonely when the quietest person alive isn’t around.” 

That earned a small smile from the girl who stayed staring at her coffee. But it was gone within a split second and replaced with a straight face again. The morning went by slow as y/n dreaded the meeting, already knowing it was about her. She was seated in the living room next to Bucky on the couch when JARVIS alerted them that the meeting was in 5 minutes. “It’ll be ok Y/n/n, all you have to do is explain what happened, and what the She Devil is. There will be questions, but no one will condemn you for any of your answers. We all have red on our ledger, it’s about time you explain some of yours to us.” Bucky reassured her on the way there.

When they arrived, she sat in-between Bucky and Nat. Glancing around the room she saw Tony, Steve, Sam, Wanda, Vision, and Thor. Just then Fury walked into the room and he immediately put his gaze on her. Locking eyes, well eye to eyes, with her. 

“Y/n Y/l/n. It’s been a while. I believe you owe all of us an explanation on what the hell that was on the mission.” He sounded irritated but intrigued at the same time and y/n didn’t know how to feel towards it. Her anxiety spiked high and Bucky grabbed her hand reassuringly under the table, something that did not miss Nat’s attention. Then all eyes were on y/n when she began to speak. 

“I apologize for not saying something sooner about it. I owe all of you an explanation of my past. So here goes nothing.” 

Author: I did not expect this to be so long, I will make a part 2 in a few days hopefully. I fell in love with this the more I wrote. 

 @dreaming-about-fanfictions​  I wrote this too dang early in the morning, but I hope you enjoy this one as much as the last and thank you for your support 😊

[another-sonic-blog]

Before disaster strikes

Situated between Sonic IDW Issue #6 & #7

This one-shot ff mostly focuses in Shadow and Amy’s relationship but not in a romantic way. (If you want to see it as romantic, then go ahead and do so) Just the two trying to communicate with each other and how they react with each other’s circumstances.This is basically “If Amy and Shadow interact in the Sonic IDW comics, how would it be?” “Can they be friends?” “And if so, how will this relationship start?” “Can they have a heartfelt moment? This is an experiment based of those questions. I apologize for the mistakes, I didn’t have time to revise.

5K100

. 

    The wind danced freely through the summer's grass as it tangled and disentangled the flowers within it. The sun was beginning to set and the tweeting of the birds made the scene almost too perfect. Looking over the horizons, a black and red hedgehog wondered where to go next.

He had said his goodbyes to Rouge at Windmill Village and that was the end of it. After Sonic somehow convinced him that Dr. Eggman was harmless he didn't have anything else to do.

"You tried to destroy me in the past too, remember? You even tried to obliterate an entire planet. So-what? You want me to take you out with Eggman? After all, if he can't be forgiven, can you?"

Sonic words still resonated in him. He tried not to let those kinds of things bother him, after all, he had redeemed himself and had come to terms with his past a long time ago.

... Did he?

Shadow began to run, he had nowhere in mind he wanted to go. He enjoyed the wind running through his quills, and thanks to his enhanced abilities, he could smell distinct flowers.

It was a beautiful planet and all he wanted was to protect it and all the Mobians on it.

But could he?

How could he save anyone if he let himself be convinced by Sonic so easily?  

He growled to himself. Maybe he could go back and wait till Sonic was gone so he could fully interrogate Eggman or take him to a place where he could be watched until he made sure he can be trusted.

But if Sonic was right? Maybe he was seeing too much of Eggman in himself. Shadow wished he had the same luck as him. He would have preferred to forget everything and be good than been evil like he was.

Now that he looks back at it, it scares him the measures that he was willing to go to find the truth about himself.

He was dangerous then and maybe unconsciously, he was dangerous now.

He was ready to destroy Eggman even if he had changed, without giving him a chance.

Maybe Sonic was right ... he can't be forgiven.

By night time, Shadow had reached a small town which he didn't know the name to. He was going to keep on running but the destroyed gigantic crab-bot outside the town caught his attention. He decided to investigate a little, after all, it wasn't like he had any plans. He entered the town, colorful small houses and many of them. Some of them were destroyed and others were already up for re-building. He reached what it seemed to be the town hall, he was surprised to see the great number of destroyed bots. Sonic or someone else from the Resistance most had taken care of it. Too bad he wasn't there, it seemed like fun.

Shadow turned around, ready to run back the way he came from but as he did a scream resonated in his ears.

"It's another robot!"

Shadow noticed a townfolk was pointing at him, he wanted to go against his words but today's incidents were still in his head.

After all, if he can't be forgiven, can you?"

He broke out of his trance but it was too late. The town's militia had come out of the biggest building around. It caught the dark hedgehog off guard. And within seconds, he was surrounded and pointing wispons at him.

Couldn't they recognize him? Didn't they know he helped save the world as well?

Or maybe they did remember him ... and how he tried to destroy the world.

"Chaos-"

"YOU ALL PUT YOUR WISPONS DOWN!"

Shadow heard a female voice scream at the militia, he somehow felt familiar with it.

"It's Shadow the Hedgehog, so you all better leave him alone."

Mobians from the militia moved away as Amy Rose walked past them, walking towards the dark one.

"Everyone, go back to the town-hall, I got it from here."

Shadow rolled his eyes. He was annoyed at the fact that no one in the militia tried to apologize to him for the mistake. Did he radiate that much evil that he scared everyone instantly?

Shadow and Amy watched the militia walk back to the town-hall. When everyone was in, Amy directed her attention to the red striped hedgehog.

"I didn't expect you to see you here Shadow," Amy said. "I thought you-"

"What happened at this place?"

Amy left out a chuckle. She was a bit annoyed that Shadow cut her off like that but once again that was how Shadow acted normally.

"Bots came to attack the town, Sonic and I took them out." Amy added, "There was a lot of them but it was fun-"

Once again, Shadow interrupted the pink one as he turned around, wanting to leave the town.

Amy pouted angrily. Would he ever change? She was annoyed that Shadow couldn't even give her a few minutes of his precious time to talk. Even for old times sake. Well, not like they shared many memories. Their most intimate moment must be at the ARK and probably Shadow didn't remember that.

"Please Shadow I beg you ... give them a chance!"

Amy shook her head at the memory. For a few moments, she was embarrassed at the thoughts of her old self. She was ... something else.

"Seems like you are in a hurry," Amy had an idea, just to give him a little bit of payback for his rudeness. "I was going to tell you about how the recent bots attacks have been more organized ... someone is behind this and it's not Eggman."

Shadow stopped walking and he turned around to face the pink hedgehog. He had been traveling as well and had noticed that the bots attacks were different from before. He knew it couldn't be Eggman because he just saw him ... but what if it was him? What if he was secretly planning the bots attack. But that wouldn't be ‘Eggman-ish’. After all, he wasn't one to keep on the low.

"Tell me more," Shadow walked back to Amy. She seemed to be too sure about her statement. As if she knew the answers to his questions.

Amy smiled devilishly at Shadow. He looked impatient and that made her happiest the most. "Well, it's late already and I am hungry ... What if you stay for dinner and we can talk afterward?"

Shadow rolled his eyes again. This girl was getting to his nerves. Why couldn't she just give him the details? It would be much easier that way and he could leave and investigate the matter right away.  

Shadow sighed, "I don't have time-"

"You never do."

He let out a loud growl, he thought Amy would be intimidated but on the contrary, she had a smile on her face. She found him funny. Amy was making fun of him.

"The guts of this girl,"

Shadow spoke again, "Just tell me. If you don't I am still going to find out."

"I doubt it," Amy said. "The only ones who know about it is Tails, Sonic and I and I doubt they will tell you anything on the matter."

Shadow hated to admit it but the pink one was right. He didn't have the best relationship with Tails and the recent fight with Sonic didn't leave them in the right terms.

Shadow looked around the town. He had his arms around his chest but he lowered his defense. He didn't want to say it, he was waiting for Amy to figure out his body language. But maybe that was too much to ask of her-

"Come on, let's go eat before the food gets cold."

.

Amy didn't have a good relationship with Shadow. Well, maybe she didn't have a relationship with him at all. However, she still tried to be nice to him whenever she could. In her mind, Shadow was still part of the Resistance and their team. He, just like everyone in the table, deserved to be treated with kindness.

But she had to admit she was having a hard time.

Inside the town-hall, the militia had already prepared themselves to eat dinner at the tables. Five long tables were placed across the room. In the middle, some catgirl and a sheep boy were distributing some type of soup. Amy and Shadow got a bowl of it and sat down in one of the tables.

Amy was in front of him, and as she took a sip of her soup she noticed that Shadow wasn't eating. She didn't know if it was because he was the Ultimate Life Form, that he didn't need to eat. Or simply because he wasn't hungry.

It was a lively atmosphere and the soup was really good, mostly because she helped to make it.

"Why can't he just enjoy it-"

The realization hit Amy like a truck. No one dared to sit next to them. They kept a distance of five seats away from the two. They looked at the two as if they were sick or infected with an incurable virus.

This wasn't a normal scene for the pink one. Amy was very used to be surrounded by Mobians. They would approach her and tried to be friends with her. However, today wasn't like that. She knew it wasn't her ... it was Shadow.

"Is this what everyday life is to him? Living alone and having to feel the judgemental stares of others on you?"

Amy drank a bit of water and tried to make some conversation as she smiled at him.

"Aren't you hungry-"

"No."

Well, that was that.

Shadow looked at Amy. He noticed how the smile on her face vanished the moment the word 'no' came out of his mouth. A sense of guilt overtook him. He still didn't know why Amy made him do all of this. They barely knew each other, maybe they had spoken a few words before. Probably when the BlackArms attacked but besides that, they didn't have any connection whatsoever.

And even so, he still felt guilty somehow.

"I don't need to eat. I never feel hungry ... " Shadow crossed his arms as he looked away. In the corner of his eyes, he could tell that the pink one had a surprising look but her face held a smile afterward.

"That doesn't mean you can't enjoy eating. You know eating is one of the few pleasures of life," Amy said. "You run like crazy as well ... so you can eat and no gain weight. So ... enjoy."

Shadow looked down at his plate as if he was thinking about it. Amy decided to give him one more push.

Amy smiled again, "Also, I helped to make it! It's good, I promise."

Shadow looked at Amy and seeing that she was expecting him to try it, he reluctantly picked up his spoon. He looked at the soup in his spoon and he placed it on his mouth.

Salt, pepper and hot peppers. Different condiments touched his taste buds and he wasn't expecting how warm it made him feel on his stomach. Shadow never feels hungry. But for the first time, he was for craving more of this soup.

He put his spoon up and down his mouth in a rapid manner trying to eat as fast as he could. Feeling like he wasn't getting satisfied by the way he was eating, he puts his spoon down. He tilted his head up and placed an edge of the bowl on his lips. He began drinking his soup straight up from the bowl.

Amy looked at him in wonder trying not to judge him.

"When was the last time he ate?"

Even with Shadow's lack of table manners, Amy was happy that someone was so eager to eat her food. It has been a long time since she had cooked because she was busy with the Resistance but it was comforting to see that her skills were still there.

Without Shadow noticing. Amy had stopped eating and gave him her complete attention. She placed her elbow on the table and placed her chin on her hand smiled at him as he ate.

"What does he think he is doing?"

"What a hero he turned out to be."

"He eats like a little kid ... that's humiliating."

Amy heard the Mobians whisper between themselves as they gave Shadow a nasty look. If Amy could hear them, then Shadow all the better.  

Hearing their remarks, Shadow had put his bowl down. He didn't want to show it, but he was ashamed of his actions although he didn't know exactly what he did wrong.

But he always felt like he was doing something wrong anyways.

A part of Amy broke as she saw Shadow. He was such a strong character and seeing him doubt himself wasn't something that Amy enjoyed.

Amy loudly puts her spoon on the table, smack it against the wooden table as she got everyone's eyes on her now. She began to do exactly what Shadow was doing. Eating straight from her bowl as she added some noises just to let her thoughts be known to the others.

She finished quickly and she burped loudly as she placed her bowl down.

"Well, that hit the spot, didn't it Shads?" Amy didn't know where did she get the courage to nickname him like that all of a sudden, but given the circumstances, she didn't care.

Shadow was surprised once again at this girl. He didn't doubt her skills or anything for that matter. But he had always had that feminine perception of her. That whatever she had to do, had to be cute and feminine.

But Amy Rose was more than that.

She stood up from her seat as she looked at Shadow.

"Let's go to the rooftop and talk, shall we?"

.

Shadow wanted to get the information out of her and leave. However, he couldn't find the right moment as she began to vomit.

"This is what I get for eating so fast- Blargh" Amy was on the edge of the rooftop. On the other side, Shadow looked from afar.

Shadow rolled his eyes, he just couldn't understand the female. "If you already knew that you would get like this, then why do it?"

"Blargh- I did it -Blargh- for you!" Amy said as she finally felt better after letting everything out.

Shadow stance softens. At first, he had thought that Amy was coping with his eating mannerisms just to be funny. However, it seemed like just like he did, she heard the comments the other Mobians said about him.

"Those Mobians were speaking badly about you, I couldn't just stand there and do nothing," Amy said as she stood up the edge. "They are hypocrites. Believe me, if it was anyone else, they wouldn't have said anything. But because it's you-"

Amy stopped herself. She didn't want to get there but maybe she should have. After all, she was sure that Shadow knew about what others thought of him by now.

"I know I don't have the best reputation," Shadow said as if he was reading Amy's mind. "And I don't care."

Amy knew that was a lie but Shadow had too much pride to ever admit that. A few minutes passed without them saying a word. Amy watched the full moon in front of them, bigger than usual and even more beautiful. If instead of Shadow, Sonic was here, this scene could be way too perfect. Straight out of a romantic movie.

"Well, this is awkward."

"Provide information." Shadow broke the silence. It took him a few minutes to realize where he was again. Amy's gesture had taken him by surprise. Even when she knew that she was going to throw up, she still decided to go through that pain for him. He decided, that he might as well try to be a bit nicer towards the pink one.

"Oh yeah about that ..." Amy looked around nervously. "I don't have much information. Tails was the one who came up with the theory that someone besides Eggman was controlling the bots in a more organized matter. Eggman likes to show off ... If it was him coordinating the bots, then we would have known by now. So we believe its someone else-"

"It's definitely not Eggman," Shadow interrupted her. He was a bit annoyed that everything he went through was for nothing. "We found Eggman in Windmill Village today."

Amy walked towards Shadow, confused.

"What?"

"Well, Sonic was already with him when I arrived with Rouge ... Eggman lost his memories and he now dedicates to building bots for good apparently." Shadow looked at the moon and not at Amy.

Amy had to admit that she was a bit angry that she was finding the news through Shadow and not Sonic. Couldn't he take some time off his day to communicate with her? She was only one call away anyways.

Amy dismissed her thought. At the moment Shadow was the one that worried her the most. His eyes showed something she couldn't quite describe.

“Oh, wait. I know what it is.”

"Alright, what did Sonic do?" Amy asked.

"What?" This time Shadow looked at Amy. She was next to him and maybe too close for his comfort.

"You have that face ... I always put that face when I am worried about Sonic." Amy said. "And something tells me you are not telling me the full story."

Shadow had to give credit where credit is due. Amy was very perceptive. He normally wouldn't say anything. In al honesty, if it was anyone else, he would have been gone in an instant. He wasn't very communicative but it seems like he was different with the pink one.

"I was there to get rid of Eggman but Sonic convinced me of giving him another chance," Shadow said as he looked at the moon again. "And I am just not fully convinced that he is good ... and if anything bad happens then there will be no one to blame but me."

Amy kept looking at Shadow as her eyes soften at the black hedgehog.

"He would blame himself instead of blaming Sonic for convincing him? That's very Shadow like."

"Shadow, why are you so invested in saving the world?" Amy asked.

The question caught Shadow off guard and he looked at the pink waiting for her to elaborate more on her question.

"I mean, I've seen how everyone treats you," Amy said. "I just saw it today ... a small moment of your life and you just deserve so much better. After today, I don't understand why you would want to save this world."

"Not everyone is bad," without a heart-beat Shadow answered. "Some people fight over the most trivial things. Some people may be selfish but they are basically good if they try their best and never give up on their wishes. They always have a reason to be happy and that's why I should help them out."

"Oh Chaos no, he remembers that? No, no, no-"

Amy gulped saliva and she looked everywhere but at Shadow's directions. She didn't want to show her embarrassment and at the moment, she didn't if Shadow was teasing her or he just simply remembered her words.

"What a nice ideology ..." Amy said as her voice trembled a little. "Where did you get it from?"

"Maria probably told me that, I think," Shadow made a pause. Maria's name came naturally to him but he was surprised that he was talking about her to Amy nonetheless. "But to be honest, I don't quite remember. It's a very blurry memory ... at the ARK and a voice."

Amy sighed in relief. She had to admit that it was a nice gesture of Shadow to remember her words at the ARK. After all, she did mean every word she said and she let her heart out when she begged him to save the planet. She has decided to keep that secret within her forever.

Even more now.

Knowing Shadow, he takes everything to heart.

And as far as he knows or remembers, Shadow helped save the word out of the goodness of his heart. If Shadow were to know that he helped save the world because Amy asked him to then he would have more complications. Would he think that he is no good? Shadow never gave himself enough credit for what he was done ...

"But maybe you are right."

Amy faced the black hedgehog again. A few moments of silence had passed between them and she still couldn't believe she was having a conversation with Shadow after so many years. Now, it was Shadow who started the conversation and she was grateful to him that he had started it this time.

"I don't know why I focus on saving the world when I am not even sure if I am good for it." Shadow said, "I always thought that the cause justifies the means ... but how can I save everyone when along the way I keep making the wrong decisions?"

Shadow didn't know if it was just the rush of the moment or the nice atmosphere around them that he felt relaxed. Maybe it was the fact that after this, they wouldn't be seeing each other after a long time. Until the world was at risk again. That comforted Shadow in a sense. Unlike Rouge, who he saw almost daily, he would see Amy in a couple of months or years even.

Right now, Amy was playing the role of a therapist which she didn't mind. She knew that people felt comfortable talking about themselves when the person they are talking to was a stranger. Or they had a low possibility of seeing each other.  

Whatever the reason it was, she was glad it was Shadow.

"Something tells me you are not telling me the whole story," Amy got closer to Shadow. For her, it was a way to bring him comfort and although he appreciated the gesture, he still wasn't used to it. "Did something else happened at Windmill Village?"

Once again, he couldn't figure out what it was. Yes, he hesitated. He was about to walk away and never come back but that strange thing is that he didn't want to. There was literally nothing attaching him to this moment. Amy had admitted to knowing almost nothing about this organized bots attacks, he should be gone by now. Looking for a nice tree to sleep on or try to at least.

But he felt very calmed and relaxed around the pink one. It can't hurt to let his guard down just for a few more minutes. Maybe it was something unconscious like his body and mind told him it was alright to be like this with her.

"I was fighting Sonic over whether Eggman was good an not and ..." Shadow looked to the side, not wanting to look at Amy for the moment. "He said that if Eggman can't be forgiven... then I can't be forgiven either."

A few seconds passed without the two saying anything. Shadow waited for Amy to say something, he expected something else. However, he should have known better. This was Amy Rose he was talking about. She would defend Sonic and his ideology's to the end of the world-

"Wow, what a jerk."

Shadow snapped his head at Amy's direction. Her words surprised the red striped one.

"Don't get me wrong," Amy said. "I trust Sonic and his decisions and I know that if anything bad happens he has our backs ... but that still doesn't give him the right to bring up your past mistakes!"

Amy looked over to the view in front of her, the town was beautiful at night. Fairy lights surrounded the entire town, Mobians lively walked and talk with their friends.

She saw that she had Shadow's full attention and decided to continue. "Eggman became good because he lost his memory but you? You made the conscious decision to redeem your self and you did! You worked hard and you are willing to do anything to save the world even when people aren't' the nicest to you. You are nothing like Eggman and will never be, Shadow you-"

Amy stopped herself. She realized she had been talking none stop about Shadow. Yes, she admired the black and red hedgehog. Her inner fangirl side may have gotten the best of her. She kept looking at the town, hoping that Shadow will take the hint and change the conversation.

"I may be nothing like Eggman but I still look like one of his robots." Shadow said. "Even this town's militia thought I was one today."

Amy sighed relief to be able to change the topic. "Don't blame them too much, your dark fur camouflages with the night and then you have the most vibrant red eyes I've seen! But to be honest, that's how I knew it was you. Your eyes are like rubies, very beauti-

"For Chaos Amy, stop talking! He is going to think you like him or something and it's definitely not like that!"

"Like I was saying!" Amy tried to compose herself, still, she didn't dare to look at Shadow. "You are not like Eggman and sometimes Sonic doesn't measure his words. If he ever offends you, just come to me and I'll show him a piece of my hammer."

"I can defend myself." Shadow said, "But ... thank you, Rose."

Shadow didn't expect this night to turn out like this. He thought he would have been gone in an instant but he was glad he decided to stay a bit longer. He wasn't to get complimented and in all honesty, he didn't know how to properly react to it either.

So, a simple thanks should be sufficient and proper.

"Rose? Should I refer to you as Shads now?" Amy let out a small giggle and it was Shadow time to be embarrassed.

"This is what I get for being nice ... never again."

They were looking at each other now and Shadow's uncomfortableness went away. They were so close that their shoulder's almost touched.

"Just call me Amy," Amy interrupted his thoughts. "Rose is too formal, and well I don't want us to be strangers."

"I'll keep calling you 'Rose'," Shadow responded.

"Alright ... Shads," Amy teased him and to her surprise, Shadow didn't protest against the nickname. After all, he did had a soft side. It's a bit sad however, she knew that it will probably be a long time before she gets to call Shadow that again.

"So ... what's your plan now? Anywhere specific you want to go?" Amy asked.

"Not really," Shadow said. " Eggman is no longer a threat and it seems like you and your team have everything under control."

"Well, if you don't have a place, the Resistance will always have the doors open for you." Amy looked at Shadow and their eyes met. They were comfortable with each other now and all past tension was gone. "We could use someone like you ... for cleaning the building I mean."

"What?"

"Come on Shads, you are fast! You will finish cleaning in the blink of an eye!! Amy added, "Or are you not as Ultimate as you say?"

"The guts of this hedgehog to insult me ... It's impressive."

Shadow looked over the moon once again, and then back to Amy. "Although I appreciate the thought ... I have to deny, I'll be on my way."

"Very well then, I can't stop you but just know I'll always be here in case you need anything-"

"Chaos Amy Rose! Stop talking like that! You sound like a crazy romantic, you have gone past that phase!"

Thankfully for Amy, Shadow was very unaware of what meant to be a crazy romantic or anything of that matter. Shadow was never one to pay attention to those things nor he had the time. Not like he cared as well.

"I meant everyone is here for you! We will always be here for you, Shadow." Amy smiled at him.

"Shads," Shadow said.

"What?" Amy asked.

"You are Rose and I am Shads."

If Amy could, she would hug Shadow but she knew that would be over the boundaries. Amy felt her body get warm at Shadow's soft side. He might have a cold personality but he had feelings like everyone else. Her heart was content at Shadow's hidden cuteness and she had a new personal mission.

Protect Shadow the Hedgehog at all costs.

"Well, it seems like I won't see you in a while then," Amy said. "Until the next destruction of the world at least."

"We will see about that." Shadow said, "I may go to the Resistance once in a while."

Shadow wanted to say something along the lines of 'I will visit you.' However, words like that will never come out of his mouth and for his own sake, he wasn't going to say them.

"For investigation purposes only of course." He added.

They looked at each other and Amy smiled at him. Surprisingly enough, Shadow smiled back at her and to be honest, that's all Amy wanted from tonight. For Shadow to have a good time and for her to learn something new about him.

Amy had always thought of Shadow as someone she could rely on. Now she was happy that Shadow thought the same about her.

Maybe, they could be friends later on. But for now, she was content at the moments they had.

"Of course, for investigation only."

There were many things Shadow wasn't ready to admit nor he ever was going to. But if there was one thing he was sure about was that Amy wasn't that bad at all. He could see himself talking to her more often and if she wanted, he could drop by the Resistance and help her out with the missions. It didn't seem like a bad direction to take after today.

But right now, that didn't matter. For once, he didn't care about his past nor the future. He was free to enjoy the present with Amy.

And that was all he could ever ask for.

.

.

.

.

.

.

A/N: I was re-reading Sonic IDW Issue #6 and it lowkey bothered me when Sonic brought up Shadow's past to convenience him to give Eggman another chance. I just couldn't stop thinking about it and I couldn't bring myself to write anything but that. That's why I decided to write this, to have a nice conclusion of my own. As well that I like to explore the relationship between characters. Yes, I ship ShadAmy but not of their interactions have to be romantic. Remember that intimacy can be many things and it can be with anyone.

Anyways, I am writing the last chapter of 'Stages' and that will be done and up online most likely tomorrow. I just sometimes need breaks from stories to get the ideas going. After 'Stages' is done, I'll start with the requests.

[novadust86]

The Best Laid Plans CH2

Chapter 2: Confessions of a teenage cat girl

Hermione was just finishing unpacking her trunk, and was working through what she needed to do: shelving her books; sorting her clothes, putting the clean ones away and putting the dirty ones, that the magic of Hogwarts haven't cleaned yet, in the hamper; and setting her photos of her parents and other nick nacks in their proper places.

The drive home had been filled with Hermione asking her parents how their year had been. Now that they were home she was expecting to be called downstairs for what she jokingly thought of as her interrogation. It had become a sort of tradition; on her first evening home from Hogwarts, Her parents would pick up a take-away* that broke all their rules about healthy eating and sugary drinks. Then, over the distractingly enticing dinner they would talk about what had happened while she was away at school.

It wasn't long before she heard her mum call for her. Hermione made her way to the dining room to find her parents at the table, ready with pizza and fried chicken, all steaming hot waiting for her. Hermione sat and served herself, savouring the unhealthy food that was a rare treat at home. In fact, now that she thought about it, it had been almost a year since she had last eaten pizza. It wasn't in the Hogwarts meal rotation that tended to favor classic British food, and she hadn't left Hogwarts at all this year.

“So, Kitten”, her father then winced at his phrasing. He had used the old nickname on reflex and immediately regretted it, worried how his daughter would take it. Hermione, however, was laughing at his reaction to his own perceived faux pas*. After getting herself under control she grinned back at him, “it’s ok dad, you can still call me kitten. You have been doing it for as long as I can remember…I’d miss it if you stopped.”

“Ok, then...kitten”, he seemed decidedly uncomfortable with using the nickname now, “in the letters we received from you and McGonagall, who says she’s your Head of House, we were expecting to see cat ears and a tail, but I don't, so did they find a cure...or did your teachers hide them for you?”

Hermione finished chewing her bite of pizza; the toppings were a favorite she shared with her mum, which were ham, mushrooms, pineapple and prawns. “They are hidden, but it was Harry who found a way to hide them. Not one of the teachers. He gave me this hair band today, the spells on it give me somewhere to put the ears. There is also a similar item for my tail.” She hesitated a second, then, checking that the curtains were closed and seeing that it was safe as they were alone, Hermione removed the hair band, revealing the brown and blond tabby cat ears for her parents to see.

Hermione sat there, waiting to hear what her parents would say. They sat in silence for what was probably only about thirty seconds, but they were the longest seconds of her life. Waiting for them to pass judgment on her. Would they think her a freak? Would they disown the monster she had become? Would they insist that she stop coming home from school at Christmas and Easter? Just do their job until they could kick her out once she finished school?

The anxiety-driven thoughts were driven from her head just as quickly when her mum spoke up finally, “Your ears look lovely dear”, with just those five words, Hermione relaxed immensely, feeling a tension she hadn't known she carried slip away, “Is your tail the same colour?”

Hermione's head bounced up and down, “Yes, I would show you, but taking the bag off my tail is difficult in this skirt”, it would also have been embarrassing, the high waist meant that the only way her tail could go was down. This was fine most of the time, but if she got happy or angry her tail tended to shoot up, and that was the last thing she wanted while in a skirt. 

“Did you say bag, Honey?” Her mother seemed a bit confused. Hermione slipped into her lecture mode as she explained to her parents about the three bags and how two of them were concealed in the hair band and how each of the bags had an undetectable expansion charm on them, that created extradimensional space inside the bags. Her parents caught on quickly and soon the whole family were having fun making Doctor who references.

“So, Hermione, you mentioned a few other changes in your letters. I think me and your mum need to hear them all”, the joking was over and they were back to the main topic. “Well...you know about the ears and tail. The ears give me better hearing. It's not magic, it's just that the ears are so big compared to normal ears. My taste in food changed a little, I like fish, chicken, milk and cheese more now”, her parents nodded along; the cheese part was new to them but Hermione had already mentioned in her letters about how her taste in food had changed. Mr Granger had already added a few tins* of different types of fish to the shopping when he picked up the groceries a few days ago. “I also understand cats better. I just seem to know what they are trying to tell me”, Hermione hesitated for a second, thinking about something else, before saying, “that's it.”

Her parents looked at each other, silently debating whether to push. One of the letters they had gotten from Hermione's Head of House had mentioned their daughter was now taking a potion once a month to manage some other aspect of her transformation. Her mother, who had a suspicion about it just what was about, suggested waiting when her husband spoke up, “Hermione we know there's more. Your Professor mentioned a potion you now need to take. Now tell us everything”, he usually wasn’t this harsh, but he was concerned for his daughter and to help her, he needed to know what was the problem.

Hermione sat in her seat fidgeting nervously. It wasn't that she was keeping it from her parents, just that she didn't want to talk about such things with her dad. It had been bad enough when Harry had asked about the potion, but she could tell Harry to drop it and he would listen. She knew that he was still worried about her, but he had relaxed a lot when she promised him it was nothing dangerous.

And it really wasn't, but how do you tell your new twelve-year-old boyfriend that the potion you are taking is to stop you from losing control and jumping him every month?

She definitely wasn’t ready to have that conversation with Harry and she didn’t think Harry was ready for it either. And Hermione really wasn’t ready to talk to her dad about it, “Um…dad, it’s...“, Hermione was trying to work out a way to phrase things when her mother came to her rescue, “Hermione honey, is this a mother-daughter discussion?” Hermione blushed, nodded and suddenly found a bit of lint in her lap very interesting, so interesting that she missed that her father was just as suddenly interested in one of the pictures on the wall. Her mother smiled at two of them; they were so alike at times.

The discussion moved on swiftly; the talk about the potion postponed until later, when the two Granger women could talk alone. They asked about Hermione's classes and how she thought she had done on her end of year tests. The two of them had found it odd that the Headmaster had canceled the end of year tests; they knew that some of them were rather important, the magical equivalent of O and A levels, so surely they couldn't just be canceled? Hermione thought that the people sitting their O.W.Ls and their N.E.W.Ts would have to do them over the summer., but agreed it sounded like a lot of hassle.

The dinner continued for a while longer; the three of them just enjoying being back together as a family, if only for the summer holidays.

---ϟϟϟ---

Hermione had just finished getting ready for bed and was about to go brush her teeth (she may have skipped the odd day here and there while she was at Hogwarts but she knew that she wouldn't get away with that at home) when her mum came in to her room, surprisingly carrying two large bowls of what looked to be chocolate caramel-swirl ice-cream. “Got time for a girly chat?” Hermione eyed the bowls of her own personal ice-cream nirvana suspiciously, her mother didn’t usually indulge in such unhealthy treats, “I think I could maybe find some time”.

The two of them sat cross-legged on Hermione's bed, each holding a bowl but the older of the two still holding on to the spoons, “So...fun questions first. It's boyfriend Harry now, not best friend Harry. what's the story there?” Her mum asked, grinning as she handed over Hermione's spoon. A smile came over Hermione's face as she remembered that happy moment, “it was in the hospital wing after Christmas. Ron and I had had a falling out over his legendary lack of tact. So at that point, it was only Harry coming to see me regularly. Lav and Pav popped in occasionally but Harry was there every day right up until curfew. Classes had started back up and Harry was helping me keep on top of everything, since I was unable to make it to classes.”

Hermione stopped talking for a bit to sample the ice-cream and gave a slight moan of pleasure. “Then Madam Pomfrey asked me to make a decision on something. She asked if I wanted to keep the cat eyes or change them back to normal. I chose to change them back; dad always said my eyes are like grandad's so I wanted to keep them. Anyway, to change them back I needed to take a potion every morning for six days. That was fine as I was already taking a lot of potions, so what was one more? Only...this one had a noticeable side effect.

While my eyes were changing my vision was blurry. I could see well enough to know if someone was there, or to walk to the bathroom and back, but I couldn't read, which you know would’ve been a problem for me. I was a little upset about that particular thing, and then Harry turns up about an hour later. It was a Saturday. And, he was with some of my favorite books. I told him that I couldn't read them because my eyes where being fixed, and that he may as well take them away. He looked at me for a few seconds and I couldn't see the look on his face, but I just know he had that smirk of his on his face, then he just sat down in the chair next to me and pulled out my copy of 'The Hobbit’ and started reading it out loud to me.”

Hermione paused to take another mouthful of ice-cream and her mother jumped in, “So let me get this straight; you were stuck without your books for a week and Harry just started reading them to you”, Hermione nodded slowly, her mouth still full of ice-cream,“Oh god, the poor boy is doomed. Only you would find love through reading, kitten.” Hermione giggled, then continued on after swallowing her bite, “well after about five hours in that chair I realized Harry had to be uncomfortable...so”, she paused for a second wondering how her mother would take it, “I-I moved him up onto the bed with me.” Seeing her mother beginning to smirk, she powered on with her tale;

“Before you say anything, the beds are adult-sized so the two of us fit quite comfortably. He came back every day to keep reading the books to me. Unlike some of the others I showed my muggle books, he was completely fine with them. I guess it was cause he grew up a muggle like me. We were two-thirds of the way through 'Return of the King’ before I was able to see normally again, but Harry hates to leave a job unfinished, and he kept reading to me till he finished.

Over the six days, I wasn't used to things being a bit different from my accident. Apparently, the cat hair I used in the potion came from an adult cat, well, Kneazle. Which is a type of magical cat which is why I couldn't be changed back all the way. The Kneazle magic, portion magic and my magic all got mixed up in a knot and won't come undone”, She took a deep breath, “And I am so glad it was a girl cat, that could have lead to problems I don't even want to think about.” Her mother's face went a little green as she thought of the possibilities. At this point, Hermione began blushing profusely, “But anyway...as the cat was an adult, it...well...I guess you could say I'm more ‘interested’ in boys than I normally should be...” Hermione was burning so hot by now that she was surprised she hadn't melted the ice-cream in her lap.

“So Harry was next to me, and after a few days, it just felt natural to snuggle up next to him. And too easy to dismiss it as a cat thing to cuddle up to something warm. One thing just sort of led to the next, and before I left the hospital wing we were a couple-” Her mother abruptly interrupted Hermione and asked cautiously, “and just what exactly did it lead to?” Her tone was conspiratorial, like two girlfriends gossiping. She didn't want Hermione to close her off, but inside she was of course a worrying mum. Just how far had her thirteen-year-old daughter gone with her boyfriend? 

“Well, let’s just say Harry is a good kisser. A really good kisser...” Mrs Granger relaxed immensely; while she still felt her daughter was a bit young, it sounded as though they had kept their clothes on at the very least. But there was more, “But, that kiss is what lead to Madam Pomfrey putting me on the potion dad asked about.” That sparked her mother’s interest, she had been intending to ask about that after hearing about Harry, but it seemed that they had reached the topic naturally.

“She felt that it was out of character for me to be kissing Harry quite so quickly and did some checking she hadn't thought about till then.” Hermione was now in a constant state of embarrassment, her blush reaching shades her mother hadn't seen since she had talked to her about being prepared for her monthly ‘visitor’. “It turns out I now go into heat like a cat and because the cat was an adult I have been thrown in at the deep end. The potion tones down the feelings I would have without it and lets me act more normally.”

Emma didn't know what to say; her daughter was embarrassed and obviously dealing with some real issues. She’d gone from being a budding teen girl less than six months from her first monthly visit to having to deal with a full-blown sex drive practically overnight. She set the two half-finished bowls of ice-cream on Hermione's writing desk and crawled over to her daughter, pulling her into a hug. “It's Ok honey, we can cope with this. It's going to be fine. aAnyway, you love Harry anyway, right?” Hermione nodded numbly in her mother’s arms and started crying, the last of the tension she had been holding for weeks finally finding an outlet.

They stayed like that for a while; the two replaying a scene as old as humanity, a Mother comforting her daughter on the cusp of leaving behind her childhood. After that, the two sat there talking for a good hour and a half, the Mother asking questions and doing the groundwork to help her Daughter cope with the new challenges that were waiting for her.

chapters 1-45 are avalable on https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13294547/1/The-Best-Laid-Plans and https://archiveofourown.org/works/18862810/chapters/44770174

[tiramisiyu]

【未定事件簿】 Tears of Themis: “Romantic Rail Getaway” Lu Jinghe Route, Day 3

Translation Masterlist | Event Masterlist

Lu Jinghe Route: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5

Videos, where applicable, are hyperlinked on the headings in the post.

See under cut!

Part 1: Rainforest Landscape

[Gameplay]

Part 2: Forest Lake

[Gameplay]

 Part 3: Ecology Park

[Gameplay]

 Part 4: Imana Wetlands

[Gameplay]

 Part 5: Rainforest Tribe Village – “Slash-and-burn Agriculture Crisis”

Indigenous Leader: I’m warning you, don’t touch the parrot-tail fairy flowers that we’ve planted, or I won’t be so polite with you!

Akka: We’ve already told you multiple times, what you’ve grown aren’t parrot-tail fairy flowers at all!

Indigenous Leader: So it isn’t just because you say it isn’t?!

Indigenous Leader: I bet you foreigners just want to get rid of us, to plant flowers and make money with your group of natives in the rainforest!

Akka: All of you always have such an aggressive attitude, so how can we continue discussing with you?

Indigenous Leader: As if we want to discuss with you! Get out, get out now!

We’d just stepped into the Imana Rainforest tribe village when I heard the sounds of a fierce argument.

MC: It’s Akka? He’s fighting with the group of indigenous people we ran into yesterday?

Lu Jinghe: Mhmm, what a coincidence… running into them again right after arriving at Imana Rainforest.

Indigenous Leader: Your group of scientists are always talking to us about reason from day to night, but what use is there to it! Can reason be exchanged for money?!

Seeing how the indigenous people looked, refusing to listen to excuses and as if they were preparing to continue cutting down the rainforest trees, I walked up and blocked them with Akka.

MC: Cutting down trees and burning the rainforest is a severely illegal act. Please stop immediately!

Indigenous Leader: You people again? You foreigners really are so goddamn annoying!

[Gameplay]

Indigenous Leader: What does what we do have to do with you foreigners?!

Probably due to how he couldn’t defeat us with words, the indigenous leader started to glare furiously, shoving his false arguments at us.

I originally had prepared to argue with him until the very end. Luckily, the commotion in the rainforest caught the attention of villagers from nearby tribes…

The people who came to stop this increased more and more, and the indigenous people could only leave resentfully.

It was just that they didn’t look hurried at all, as if they had gotten used to circumstances like these long ago.

Akka: CEO Lu, Lawyer MC, thank you for your help.

Seeing Akka’s heavy expression… I could tell that today’s issue might have troubled him for a long time.

--

INTERROGATION START

Reason for coming to the Rainforest

MC: Akka, why are you here? [1]

Akka: Ugh, I came because of the help-requesting call from a colleague I got that day at Xiangya City.

Akka: He noticed some vine plants that were in an unusual state in Imana Rainforest, and had me come to collect related information.

Akka: I didn’t think that after arriving, we’d run into that group of indigenous people…

Akka: They took advantage of when everyone wasn’t paying attention and cut down all the vine plants we’d marked off! Seriously…

 [1] In the game, this was mistakenly written as being said by Akka.

Rainforest-Burning Indigenous People

MC: Exactly what’s the matter with this group of indigenous people? We ran into them too yesterday…

I told Akka about what had happened yesterday. The expression on his face became even heavier after he finished hearing it all.

Akka: They’re a group of indigenous people who live near Napo Jungle.

Akka: I don’t know where they found out about the miraculous medicinal effects of the parrot-tail fairy flower, but it made them start planting like mad and wanting to profit from this.

Akka: But the issue is, what they’re planting aren’t parrot-tail fairy flowers at all!

Akka: I explained to them a lot of times, but they didn’t believe me at all, and they even thought I wanted to prevent them from making money…

The Truth of the Fake Flowers

Lu Jinghe: Then what are the flowers they’re planting?

Akka: It’s the parrot impatiens flower that’s commonly seen in the rainforest. It doesn’t have any medicinal value at all.

Akka pointed depressedly at the area in front of the trees that had been completely emptied out.

Akka: The worst part is, they think that planting flowers is just like planting wheat and corn, needing to clear out a large area…

Akka: So they’ve been incessantly cutting down the trees in the rainforest, competing for land resources.

Akka: Look, this area that originally had shrubbery and trees is now completely cleared out…

MC: (So this is what they were talking about yesterday – the truth about the large flower field in Imana Rainforest.)

The Goal of the Indigenous People

MC: Why are they doing this…

Akka: Of course, it’s to earn money.

Akka: The indigenous people typically rely on mining, digging, and making some simple handicrafts to maintain their livelihoods. The income they can get is severely limited.

Akka: So, as soon as they heard that the parrot-tail fairy flower had value, they started to plant them desperately, trying to exchange them for greater wealth.

Akka: However, not only can they not get rich from these blind actions, but they’ll also damage the ecosystem, pressing on their own survival space.

Akka: If the balance of the rainforest ecosystem is damaged, this will be a catastrophic blow to all of Tambuyani.

INTERROGATION COMPLETE

--

Akka’s expression was very troubled, and he kept sighing.

Akka: The villagers who live in the rainforest have tried to help convince them several times, but it was basically fruitless.

Akka: These two days, I’m even planning to station myself in the tribal village and patrol with the villagers, to prevent them from coming again to damage the rainforest.

Lu Jinghe: It is indeed a troublesome issue…

MC: It would be great if a way to solve this was found.

I could tell that Akka had been troubled a lot by that group of indigenous people in the past while.

However, keeping guard could only prevent it all for a period of time. To truly solve this difficult issue, there was still a long road ahead.

  Part 6: Brand-New Plan

Imana Rainforest Tribe Village

After a long and complicated day, Imana Rainforest was finally shrouded by the night.

The clamor went far away, and the people who lived in the rainforest lit up a bonfire. The fire wavered slightly and the insects cried, and the slight scent of smoke and fire finally permeated the air.

Lu Jinghe and I sat beside the bonfire, casually chatting about what had happened during the day.

MC: Looks like this matter is, from top to bottom, a behemoth of an issue.

The indigenous people outside the rainforest wholeheartedly thought that they had found a shortcut to wealth, not realizing that it was all futile labour…

Lu Jinghe: I really don’t know how I should talk about them.

Their actions in cutting down trees and damaging the rainforest were wrong.

But they blindly planted flowers to get rich because they were compelled to by their living circumstances, and I couldn’t help feeling somewhat bad for them.

They were just a group of people that were struggling on the edge of survival. They did this solely in the hopes that they could live a little better.

However… their simple original intentions gave rise to an erroneous result.

Lu Jinghe: They were stopped this time, but there will be a next time, and a time after the next… it’ll be endless.

Lu Jinghe: If no feasible solution can be found from the root, this issue will not end.

MC: … I understand.

I got all of what Lu Jinghe was saying, but…

MC: I want to do something to help them.

Lu Jinghe: Don’t frown anymore. You’ve got me, right?

Lu Jinghe reached out and stroked the space between my brows, and the warmth was transmitted from the fingers to that space. I froze, lifted my head, and my gaze collided with his.

Lu Jinghe: Isn’t there a phrase like this in the old Chinese farmer almanacs… as long as it’s a problem that can be solved by money, then it’s not a problem.

Lu Jinghe: Won’t it be solved if we think up of a way for them to earn some more money?

Amused by him, the anxiety that had just been at the bottom of my heart was significantly alleviated.

MC: Pfft… where did you find such an almanac.

Lu Jinghe: The Lu family’s almanac, passed down from ancestors.

Lu Jinghe: Alright, I’m gonna say a serious problem-solving method.  

Lu Jinghe: Tomorrow, the train is going to arrive at the Napo Jungle stop. The biological research station that Pax funded the construction of is nearby.

Lu Jinghe: Let’s see first how miraculous the parrot-tail fairy flowers are, and how high its medicinal and economic value really is.

Lu Jinghe: If it really is that miraculous, then it would be pretty nice to find some more people to help grow it together.

MC: You mean… finding a professional to instruct them to plant flowers and gain wealth?

Hearing this, I did get the concept of what Lu Jinghe was saying.

True, if they could get science-backed skills on planting the parrot-tail fairy flowers, and with the addition of skill instruction…

With Pax’s power, creating a scientific planting business chain shouldn’t be a difficult issue.

MC: Lu Jinghe, you’re really amazing!

Lu Jinghe didn’t respond. He was uncharacteristically shaking his head, looking extremely cautious.

Lu Jinghe: Everything’s still in envisioning stages. I can’t guarantee that it will definitely be successful.

Lu Jinghe: So I’ve got to save your praise… after the issue ends, you can praise me several times more.

He winked at me, the moonlight passing through the thick, dense foliage and brushing over his face, flickering in front of my eyes.

On his handsome and leisurely face, I could see a firm and relieving power.